Fighting Dreamers Chapter 59: Mud, and Lift, Sand, and Pull, a pokémon fanfic

Unrelated note of today: Go play 'Cards, the Universe and Everything'

OH, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!

Yup, I had to cut the chapter in half, sorry folks, but the full chapter was already over 40k words and was still missing a good chunk, all that stuff in one chapter was too much even for me. We'll have Bertha and Marshal's battles this chapter, while the Drasna battle will be moved to the next one, which will keep the name I've been mentioning 'Only the Rampaging Ones know Gentleness', it's worth mentioning that I spent like 2 hours looking for an appropriate title for this chapter, hope the one I ended up picking is good enough.

Anyway, is this a normal thing among authors?

Like, you have the content of a chapter pretty much ready in your mind, but once you start writing it, it ends up being too much and you cut it in half to make it feel more natural and because you don't want to overwhelm the readers?

Because this has happened to me like 25 times so far and I don't ever see any other author mention it.

Ugh, whatever.

Let's get into it.

Also, let's do a little game, try to count how many times there is a 'pinch cheek' and 'crossed arms' moment in this chapter!

Outside of the Alolan stadium.

"So today's the grand day." Hala said as he walked to the stadium along the other Kahunas.

"You said that exact same thing yesterday." Nanu answered.

"Adding to that, even if he defeats the remaining Elite Four members, the champion battle would be tomorrow." Olivia said. "That's what the 'Grand Day' would be."

"I have no doubt Ash will win!" Hapu said. "His battles from yesterday were amazing!"

"Remind me again why do we have to be here?" Nanu asked them.

"It's only one of our many duties as Kahunas." Hala said. "Seeing the rise of our champion against all odds, it's not only a task, but an honor."

"Not sure if 'honor' is the word I'd use." Nanu sighed. "Like, you do know what the kid is doing inside that mansion we made for him, right?"

"Why, of course, Kukui gave me a handful of the information." Hala answered. "And not only I am honored that he trusted me such a secret, but I'm honestly happy for Ash, knowing the kind of person he is, those women would only have accepted if they were all sure and content with their situation."

"Besides, what he's doing is technically not illegal." Olivia asked. "Or well, it isn't in Alola."

"Yeah, I guess I have no room complaining." Nanu sighed. "At least I don't have to deal with Acerola scolding me 24/7 anymore." He said to then look at Hapu staring at the ground. "Alright, kid, what do you have in mind?"

"Well... as you three know I also am in love with Ash." Hapu said. "I confessed to him after our battle and that's when he told me that he had 8 girlfriends already, he told me how all of them agreed to join him in a shared relationship and he also wanted me to join, but I declined... You think I did the right thing?"

"Well, did it feel like the right thing?" Hala asked.

"I don't even know anymore." Hapu answered holding her head. "I thought I wouldn't be happy if I was part of such a relationship, and still... I can't stop thinking about what would've happened if I had at least tried for Ash's sake."

"I still think it's not too late to change your mind, Hapu." Olivia said. "A happy relationship is very hard to find, you shouldn't let it escape from you."

"Yeah, I mean, Acerola seems to be doing alright." Nanu shrugged shoulders. "If you feel like it, go for it."

"I also think you should just listen to your heart." Hala said. "I'm sure you'll figure out what's the best for you."

"I..."

"Uh, excuse me!" Someone called behind them and the Kahunas turned around to see Phoebe running at them.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Uhane!" Hala said with a laugh as Phoebe stopped in front of them. "I saw you among the crowd yesterday and I almost couldn't believe it was you!"

"We heard the news of you abandoning the Hoenn Elite Four." Olivia said. "Though I'll admit I wasn't that sure you'd come back."

"Eh, nice to see ya, kid." Nanu said with a small smile.

"My, everyone knows this lady besides me, it seems." Hapu scratched her cheek embarrassed.

"Ah, of course, you two haven't met." Hala said. "Hapu, this is Phoebe Uhane, she's one of the strongest trainers to ever be born in Alola and an ex-member of the Hoenn Elite Four."

"Correct, I was born and raised in this beautiful region, but my duties in Hoenn forced me to completely move over there, but I missed a lot my home, which is why I recently decided to retire and return here." Phoebe explained. "But enough about me, Kahuna Hapu, I've been looking for you actually, I was wondering if it'd be okay that I challenge you to a battle."

"Uh, me? Right now?" Hapu asked. "I'm not sure, we should be getting to the stadium already and-"

"It'll be fast, I promise!" Phoebe said. "Just a simple 1v1, pretty please."

"...Well, alright then." Hapu answered. "It'll be my pleasure."

"Do your best, both of you." Hala replied. "But we'll get going. See you there, Hapu."

"Of course, I promise I won't be late!" Hapu said to them.

"You better don't get confident around that girl." Nanu said.

"Yeah, she gave us all quite a beating before she left Alola." Olivia added and the three Kahunas left.

"Huh, so I'm the only Kahuna you haven't faced?" Hapu asked.

"Indeed, I never got the beat your predecessor either, he was far stronger than me at the time." Phoebe replied. "And not to sound rude, but that's something I need to fix."

"Then let's do it, Mudsdale!" Hapu shouted calling upon her ace.

"Come on by, Dusknoir!" Phoebe made a pirouette and released her ace as well.

"Alright, let's have a fun battle and-" Hapu was interrupted by a shine as Phoebe instantly activated her Z-Ring.

"I'm sorry, but like I told you I need to fix this." Phoebe said before quickly doing the corresponding pose while Dusknoir was surrounded by light blue Z-Power.

"H-Huh?! W-Wait!" Hapu quickly activated her Z-Ring as well.

"Sub-Zero Slammer!" Phoebe shouted stomping the ground and Dusknoir opened his mouth to shoot an ice Beam that froze Mudsdale solid before raising up his hands to create a giant Ice Ball, tossing it at the frozen Mudsdale and causing an explosion that left the horse defeated instantly and left the floor around them frozen.

"I-I..." Hapu simply stared at her defeated partner before recalling him with a sigh. "Gosh, I guess the other Kahunas were serious about you."

"Thanks for the chance nevertheless." Phoebe said as she recalled Dusknoir.

"Well, if that's all, I'll be leaving." Hapu said before walking away. "Wouldn't wanna run late."

"Of course! Thanks again!" Phoebe said waving to her.

"So you did it, huh?" Caitlin called from above as she descended on top of what appeared to be a giant white rose along with Shauntal, with the rose disappearing once they reached the ground.

"You're really gonna go through with this?" Shauntal asked.

"Yes, though I'll have to wait until his battles of today are done." Phoebe sighed. "This is the best for everyone, including Ash."

"I still feel like you should let them do whatever they want with their lives." Shauntal said. "Acerola already told you she's fine like that."

"Acerola is still too young for what it's worth." Phoebe sighed. "She still doesn't understand, but I'll make her. And with due respect, you two don't know her as much as I do."

"That may be true, but remember, Phoebe, you were the one who asked for Shauntal's help to get Ash and Acerola together." Caitlin said.

"And like, that castle we prepared for the date wasn't exactly cheap." Shauntal added. "Whatever's the case, everything worked out for them, you should be happy."

"I would be happy, if it wasn't for the fact that he has a harem!" Phoebe shouted. "I should just tell the police!"

"And why haven't you exactly?" Shauntal asked. "Aside from the fact it's not illegal in this region?"

"Because Acerola is part of that!" Phoebe said. "I need to get her out; and if this is the only way to get them to comply then so be it!"

"But-"

"I won't discuss this further!" Phoebe shouted to then walk onward the stadium.

"...You think we should stop her when she tries to do that thing?' Shauntal asked.

"No, I don't think so, if we've learned anything from this misadventure is that it's better to let things play out on their own." Caitlin answered. "If she does exactly what she explained us, then I'm sure Ash will give her a taste of her own medicine, now come on, I don't wanna miss the battles."

"I can only hope you're right." Shauntal said and the two followed Phoebe to the stadium.

Back at the Interpol Base.

"I'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible." Anabel said taking off her gloves and placing a hand on Regina's forehead while Team Dawn we're all tied down to chairs. "So, please, don't resist."

"What are you-" Regina was bout to ask, but was interrupted by a small spark that appeared on Anabel's palm, who then pulled back her hand to stare at it.

"Hmmp... only a few mentions. Nothing relevant here." Anabel said.

"Uh... Ouch?" Regina asked not understanding what happened while Anabel moved to Ursula and repeated the same movement on Ursula's forehead; and this time her hand briefly illuminated with purple light.

"Now that's better." Anabel said getting her hand off Ursula. "Not that much, but it should work."

"Well, thanks?" Ursula said while Anabel moved to Angie and repeated the motion, with her hand shining in purple far more brightly for around 10 seconds.

"That was quite a lot more... hmmp, he also thought you were a boy, huh?" Anabel asked with a small smile.

"What are you-" Angie's question was interrupted by a sudden headache and she simply cried in pain while being unable to hold her head. "W-What's going on?!" Angie asked and Anabel simply sighed before moving to Dawn.

"What are you doing to them?!" Dawn shouted. "This was my idea! If you're gonna do something, leave them alone and do it to me!"

"I'm getting to that..." Anabel cracked her fingers once she was in front of Dawn and once again placed her right hand on the girl's forehead, with this shining even brighter than before.

"T-That's too much." Anabel complained before placing her other hand on Dawn's forehead and both hands shined brightly while Dawn was struck by a strong headache.

"L-Let go!" Dawn shouted trying to force her way out of the chair.

"I'm almost done..." Anabel replied and after 30 more seconds she let go of Dawn, leaving the girl panting and bleeding from her nose and ears, while both Anabel's palms had mild burns on them.

"Agh, What was that?!" Dawn shouted with a cough.

"Huff... Let's just say I needed to quickly check the size of something." Anabel said putting on her gloves again and pulling out a handkerchief to clean Dawn's bleeding, but the girl shook her head to keep her away and then tried to bite her.

"Don't you touch me again!" Dawn shouted, causing Anabel to give a few steps back.

"Fine then... We're done here!" Anabel shouted to the wall and after a few seconds, a group of Interpol Agents along with Danika and Quillon and Professor Amaranth entered the room.

"That looked pretty hardcore, not gonna lie." Quillon said to Anabel.

"You got what you needed?" Danika asked.

"Yes, it was more than I expected, but I think I can handle it." Anabel said holding her head. "Doing the actual deed will require a lot more energy though."

"Fine, take a rest before you leave." Amaranth said while the other agents began to untie the girls from the chairs. "Ah, right, presentation, girls, my name is Professor Amaranth and I'm charge of this division of the Interpol, I'll admit it's impressive how much trouble you've been causing us... Nevertheless, it seems to go without saying that you've lost... Please take these ladies back to their cell."

"Hey! Answer me! What did you do?!" Dawn shouted at Anabel.

"She isn't going to tell you anything." Quillon said.

"Well, she's not going anywhere so I suppose telling her won't do any harm." Anabel said.

"You sure?" Danika asked.

"Yeah, at least it'll save her some of the pain when she finds out later." Anabel said to then look at Amaranth. "Sir?"

"Sure, go ahead." Amaranth replied and Anabel looked at Dawn's group again.

"Alright, listen ladies, thanks to you and your little girls' night out, our mission has been compromised, Chloe somehow managed to escape from Goh and company, they destroyed her phone, but Horace analyzed what was left of it and we know the last thing she did was to try and call Ash, as per your idea I suppose." She said pointing at Dawn. "So I imagine her next move will be trying to go with Ash and tell him everything personally, which is why we'll be getting to Alola first, Danika already told Ash she'll be going back to take her Urshifu Totem so Ash won't suspect anything when she arrives, thing is, that I'll also go with her."

"Yeah, like I told you earlier, Dawn, my plan was to simply tell Ash about what's been going on with you in hope that he'll decide to help us and let us control the situation." Danika said.

"Ash will never side with you!" Dawn shouted. "There's no way he'll stand back knowing I'm jailed here!"

"I'm afraid we're well aware of that." Amarath replied.

"Which is why we came up with what we think is a better plan." Anabel added. "I'm permanently erasing you four from Ash's memory."

"...What?" Dawn asked as her eyes widened and felt she suddenly ran out of air.

"What I did to you girls just now was a quick skim, to know what to look for when I get to Ash's mind." Anabel replied. "So when I get to him, I'll eliminate all the memories he shares with you from his mind using a special psychic spell, It'll take a lot more of my energy to do it, but I'm sure I can; and once I erase every memory that Ash has from you, you'll be strangers, simple criminals to him, guess I'll also have to erase his memories of Chloe just in case."

"...Y-You can't do that." Dawn whispered before suddenly starting to hyperventilate. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! You can't manipulate him like that! You can't make him forget us! I won't let you!" She shouted trying to get to Anabel but the agents held her by her arms.

"Y-You're gonna... make him forget us?" Angie whispered feeling weak to her knees.

"But that's... Not fair." Ursula replied with a confused face. "With all the good that someone like Ash has done for you and for this world?"

"That's exactly the point, unfortunately." Amaranth replied. "Ash has too much power, we need to keep him in check somehow."

"But manipulating a person's mind?" Regina asked. "That's just wrong from any way one sees it, and you dare call yourselves the heroes?"

"Who said we were heroes?" Amarath asked. "We're just people trying to do the only right thing, this is beyond what you wanted to achieve with your personal gains, we know how much of a force Ash can be, how many allies he has and what happens to those he sees as enemies, one way or another, he'll eventually find out about what happened to you... Danika may want to try and convince him, but we know that the most likely outcome is that he'll try to help you instead, we can't allow that, we can't take that risk, whatever happens from now on with Akari and this time-space anomaly that she brought here, we have to make sure that Ash sides with the Interpol."

"Please, I'm begging you!" Dawn shouted in tears. "P-Please, don't make him forget me, please, I'll do anything you say!"

"...It's too late to cooperate, Dawn." Anabel said to then leave the room. "You took your choice, we're taking ours."

"Get back here!" Dawn shouted and started to try forcing her way out, until one of the Agents tased her. "You... YOU COWARDS!"

"I'm sorry, Dawn, but I warned you of what would happen if you came here." Danika said.

"Danika, listen!" Dawn shouted. "If you love Ash too then you can't let her do that! Who knows if it could harm Ash or if he forgets the wrong things?!"

Danika stared at her for a second before sighing. "Miss Anabel is a master in the realm of the Aura and Psychic powers; and she also cares a lot about Ash." She said. "There's no way she'd do anything to hurt him... and either way, this is for the greater good... Ash will be better off without you." She said to then leave the room along as well.

"Quillon, I want you in standby next to these girls' cell." Amaranth told him.

"You'd really think they'd be able of doing something with how they are now?" Quillon asked.

"It's just a safety measure, we can't know for sure if Chloe was their only ally." Amaranth answered.

"Understood." Quillon nodded and Amaranth left the room as well, while Quillon and the other Agents took the girls back to the cell they shared and tossed them inside before closing the glass barrier of it, the girls quickly stood up, except for Dawn, who was still recovering from the taser.

"Dawn, are you okay?!" Angie shouted trying to help her and Dawn simply pushed her away.

"We... we have to..." Dawn stood up and walked to the glass of the cell, but she quickly collapsed and the girls caught her in their arms.

"Dawn, calm down!" Regina shouted. "Between that girl from earlier electrocuting you, that brain scanning and the taser you've been way too injured!"

"W-We have to get out of here! We can't let her do that to Ash!" Dawn shouted.

"Nice to see you got your motivation back at least." Ursula sighed. "We'll find a way out, but try to rest first, whatever we come up with, we need all the team at full capacity."

"Whatever you come up with, don't even think about it." Quillon said outside of the cell. "It's over, you tried and lost, let's leave it like that." He said crossing his arms. "If you hadn't come here in the first place, we wouldn't have to jail you and we wouldn't have to do this to Ash, if you had just stayed aside, Akari would have eventually been sent to her time and your mother would've been released, but here we are."

"Ash..." Dawn called him between tears. "Ash, I'm so sorry."

Meanwhile in the Ketchum Mansion.

"He looks troubled." Skyla said while she stared at the naked and unconscious Ash, whose head while still resting on Bea's lap.

"Yeah, I guess, it's like his mind wants him to wake up, but his body won't let him." Bea added.

"Here's the towel." Nessa said returning from the bathroom and placing it around Ash's waist. "Hey, you okay, Skyla?" Nessa asked her seeing how she was simply staring at Ash with a lost gaze.

"Y-Y-Yeah! Sorry, I know this isn't the moment, but... I guess I can't help, but feel excited by seeing Ash like this." She admitted. "It'll be my turn tonight after all, along with Acerola, of course."

"Listen, I understand you're excited, but our priority right now is making sure that Ash wakes up." Nessa said.

"And not too sound rude, but after this we can't assure Ash will be up to the task tonight, he might need to rest." Bea added.

"Of course! I get that; and if you need my help with anything just tell me." Skyla replied.

"And what about you, Bea?" Nessa asked her. "How are you feeling?"

"Me? Well, I guess I feel kinda responsible for this." Bea replied while brushing Ash's hair. "If we hadn't made him come during our turns, maybe he wouldn't be so tired now."

"Guess you have a point." Nessa sighed. "Well, at least we didn't have him finish inside, it would've been quite dangerous since we weren't on the pill."

"Y-Yeah, dangerous." Bea stuttered and Nessa raised an eyebrow.

"Bea... What did you two do exactly?" Nessa asked.

"Uh, y-you know, he rested his face between my thighs for a bit and then he started sucking my chest and he." Bea simply blushed reminiscing their time together. "H-He thrusted... In between my thighs too!"

"Oh, for-" Nessa held her head for a moment before taking a deep breath. "S-Skyla, take Ash on your lap for a moment. I need to talk with Bea in private."

"Uh, sure?" Skyla replied sitting by Ash's side in the bed and carefully grabbing his head to place it on her lap.

"N-No, I mean-" Bea was about to complain, but Nessa suddenly grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her out of the room, closing the door shut once they were outside. "W-W-What's the matter?"

"He came inside you, didn't he?!" Nessa shouted.

"D-Don't be so loud!" Bea shouted.

"Y-You weren't protected, were you? Oh gosh." Nessa held her head again and took a few steps back.

"Nessa, listen-"

"Does he know?!" She shouted.

"...No, he doesn't." Bea sighed. "I guess that since he's getting used to doing it with us, he assumed I was on the pill when I told him it was okay to finish inside."

"Bea, you can't just lie like that to him!" Nessa shouted. "W-What about that whole story you told us?! Have you learned nothing?!"

"I-I was going to tell him, but... I guess I didn't want him to worry." Bea said holding her stomach. "B-Besides, it's not like we know for sure."

"But what if you're actually pregnant?!" Nessa exclaimed. "Ash told you he wasn't ready!"

"But I am ready!" Bea shouted back. "I-I- , since I talked with my Mom, I can't stop thinking about it, I want this to happen, I want to have a child with Ash, a-as his first girlfriend I have the right!"

"Just because you're the first it doesn't mean you can do something like that!"

"It doesn't?!" Bea shouted. "Have you forgotten how things went?! Out of the 50 or so girls he met during this travel, he picked ME, I was his only girlfriend, I had already won! I just had to say NO when he asked me to share him with you and he wouldn't have done this, but I stepped back! For him and for all of you! I let him have this harem! It doesn't matter how much I care about you girls, you're with Ash because of me! He's got 11 girlfriends because of me! And I know I may be sick in the head for agreeing to do something like this, but that's fine! I'm not complaining! Because I know he loves me and you girls are all great, but... But I wanted this, even if Ash doesn't feel ready, i-it's not like I expect him to throw everything away because of this, I can take care of our kid until Ash feels ready and I'm sure you girls will help me too anyway so... Am I... Really asking for too much?"

"... No, you're not." Nessa sighed. "Sorry, I overreacted, just... Just promise me that once you're sure, you'll tell Ash right away."

"Of course, t-that's exactly the plan." Bea nodded.

"Huff, fine then." Nessa said before giving Bea a hug. "Whatever happens, we're a family... we're in this together."

"Thanks, Nessa." Bea answered hugging her as well.

Meanwhile in Santalune.

"What- Emma!" Calem shouted running at her, being followed by the girls. "W-What are you doing here? I thought Looker had you in containment."

"Calem..." She whispered taking off her helmet to then hold him by his shoulder. "I need your help."

"Oh, you better don't be that third girl!" Evelyn shouted.

"Ash Ketchum is in Alola! Go make it his problem!" Hexy exclaimed.

"Uh... Who are these people?" Emma asked.

"Oh, well, the two on the right are my girlfriends." Calem explained. "And the other two are my friend and her friend."

"Yeah, sure, excuse me, but I'll be taking Calem for a moment." Emma said.

"You can't just take him away!" Evelyn shouted.

"Sure I can, watch this." Emma said with her hand still on Calem's shoulder and two started shining brightly with an orange light. "We'll be on his house, don't worry." She said before the two disappeared in flash of light.

"CALEM!" His girlfriends shouted.

"Who was that girl?" Miette asked.

"She looked... Familiar." Serena replied.

"No time to think, if what she said it's true, we're going to Calem's house!" Evelyn shouted and tossed a Poke Ball to the air, releasing an Entei that fearsomely roared once he was on scene.

"This week just can't get any weirder." Miette said.

"You just had to say that." Serena answered.

Meanwhile in Vaniville.

"M-My room." Calem said looking around and Emma let go off him once the teleportation was done.

"Turn on your computer." Emma told him. "I need you get inside the Interpol."

"Hey, Emma, sorry, but I don't do hacking anymore." Calem replied. "You know Looker caught me the last time and-"

"And that's how I met you, which is why I'm here." Emma interrupted. "Please, I just need you to quickly look for something, I promise to not bother you afterwards."

"... Alright then." Calem said.

Meanwhile in the Kitchen of the Ketchum mansion.

"We're here!" Acerola shouted still dragging Meray and both Mallow and her went to different storages of the kitchen.

"Tell us what you need to make the medicine and we'll give it to you." Mallow said.

"A-Alright, it's a relatively simple berry recipe, first off I need some Oran Berries."

"Here, take this!" Acerola shouted tossing a bowl with Oran Berries inside and Meray barely managed to catch it.

"Great, now, uh, Chesto Berries!" Meray said.

"Here you go!" Mallow said tossing a pair to the bowl.

"Sitrus Berries!" Meray continued.

"I got you!" Acerola replied.

"Now a single Lum Berry and a Leppa Berry!"

"Here!" Mallow exclaimed with the berries in her hands and ran to Meray to place them in the bowl.

"That'd be all for the berries." Meray said. "I need a blender, that'd make things much faster."

"Figured you'd say as much." Acerola said while carrying a blender and giving it to Meray who quickly put the berries inside and turned it on.

"What is the medicine exactly? A juice?" Acerola asked.

"It usually is, yes, but Ash seems to be too weak to drink anything at the moment." Meray answered. "I'll try to turn this into a paste to apply it to his body, so I'll also need sugar, honey and water."

"You got it." Acerola replied and returned to the storage.

"Have you prepared this before?" Mallow asked.

"Uh, yes, for an uncle of mine once." Meray asked rather embarrassed. "I did it by hand that time, but Kimia showed me the convenience of machinery. Although having to rely on this makes me feel rather powerless."

"Powerless? What do you mean?" Mallow asked.

"I take it you know what Aura is, right?" Meray asked.

"Uh, yes, some kind of energy power. Ash has it." Mallow explained.

"I was born in Arche Valley in the Kalos region, it's a place of mythical properties that was founded by Aura Users, so all of their descendants, me included, are also capable of using Aura, but mine in specific is rather limited." Meray said. "It's mostly only useful for containment and reparation of physical objects, but nothing more than that, I've tried to learn some other types of usage, such as attacking, protection and healing, but I haven't gotten much luck with them."

"My, that could've been helpful in this situation." Mallow said.

"Tell me about it; and to make the matter worse, those types of Aura I actually can use are limited on their own, I can barely do anything without my brother's help." Meray sighed. "He's far more capable, serious and strong. He's basically a better version of me in every sense."

"Hey, don't look down on yourself." Mallow said placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get better with that stuff, who knows? Maybe Ash could help you."

"Hmm... Then I'll have to help him first." Meray replied. "I can only hope this recipe works."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll do just fine." Mallow replied.

"I just don't want to disappoint you, girls." Meray answered. "I mean, if I don't get this right, I'm sure you all won't let me join."

"Oh, so you do want to join." Mallow said with a smile.

"I-I-I mean... Yes, I suppose." Meray replied. "Kimia also wants to, but we both think we need to get to know Ash a little better before anything happens."

"Well, Kimia is already doing her best to help Lillie with her Magearna; and if you get this right, then this family will be in debt with both of you." Mallow explained. "We'll make sure you two get some time to know Ash; and if you two want to join I'm sure nobody would complain."

"T-Thanks a lot." Meray smiled at her. "Either way, let's try to focus on this for now. I know you're all counting on me with this and we're racing against time, so the pressure is a little hard to bear. How much time do we have left?"

"Around 50 minutes." Mallow said.

"Here we go!" Acerola said returning to the scene with a bag of sugar, a jar of honey and a jar of water.

"Great, the blender here is almost done, place all that on the bowl and then we'll add the Berry juice." Meray said and Acerola did as told, then once the juice was done, she poured it into the bowl and picked a large spoon to start stirring right away.

"Now we just need a bit of stirring and then we'll place it in the freezer for 5 minutes, that should be enough."

"Consider it done." Acerola said.

"We believe in you, Meray!" Mallow exclaimed.

"Thanks again." Meray smiled. "If I want to earn my place then I'll do all I can to help."

Back in the Interpol.

"You got everything ready, Danika?" Anabel asked finding the girl in the locker room.

"Yes, all ready." She replied taking a brown backpack before walking to the Frontier Brain, with the two walking out of the locker room side by side accompanied by an awkward silence. "Miss Anabel... Are you completely sure that what you'll do isn't going to harm Ash?"

"Of course I am." Anabel replied. "Why the question? Having second thoughts?"

"N-No! Of course not, I'd never question a superior." Danika replied. "It's just that... I would've liked if you had at least let me explain the situation to Ash as it is. I'm not too sure if manipulating him is the best way to solve this."

"I understand how you feel, Danika, but if you tell him what happened the outcome would be obvious." Anabel replied. "Ash may be a righteous person that follows the law, but he puts his family and friends above all, if we tell him what happened, he's gonna choose Dawn over you. He's gonna throw this whole building to free her if necessary."

"Y-Yeah... You're right." Danika sighed. "There's no way he'd side with me instead of her."

"...So you're also in love with Ash, huh?" Anabel sighed and Danika simply blushed while she looked at the floor. "If the situation was better I'd probably let you grow closer to him to make him side with us, but we don't have much time here."

"Still, what about Ash's friends who also know Dawn?" Danika asked. "Wouldn't they mention her eventually?"

"Oh, right, friends..." Anabel said with a smile. "You didn't include that in the report."

"What do you mean? I-I mentioned it." Danika stuttered.

"Yes, but I think you forgot to write the 'girl' part." Anabel replied.

"M-Miss Anabel-"

"Don't worry, I understand, it was honestly for the best." Anabel said. "You were trying to protect Ash, we don't know who could get their hands on that report."

"Well, he trusted me with their secret, I thought protecting was the least I could do." Danika said.

"Yeah, Ash's harem could be a problem." Anabel said to then think in silence. "Or it could actually be a perfect solution."

"Hey, Anabel!" Looker called her while running to the two with Mimi, Emma's Espurr, sitting on his shoulder. "You guys are leaving already, right?"

"We are, do you need something?" Anabel asked. "Aside from what we've already discussed?"

"Listen, I'm still not too sure about this idea, but you and the other Higher-ups already accepted it so I can do much about it." Looker said. "But that's not what I want to talk about this time, I'd like to know your opinion regarding a certain topic. Do you think we should tell Ash about Emma?"

"Hmm... Well, if someone could find her that'd certainly be Ash." Anabel said.

"You don't think she'll return on her own?" Danika asked.

"I want to believe that, but I wouldn't count on it." Looker replied. "That look in her face... she looked so disappointed... And she had the right to be, but what worries me the most is how determined she looked, I'm honestly worried about what she might do... And if she uses her powers again, even if she escaped with her suit, her state could still decay."

"Then we'll tell Ash about it." Anabel said. "He's got friends all over the world, I'm sure someone will happen to meet with Emma."

"The other Chasers and I will also have our eyes open for her, Mr. Looker." Danika. "I'm sure we'll find her eventually."

"I hope so, I'm really worried about those glitches." Looker sighed to then look at Mimi who simply had a lost stare. "Emma... Wherever could you be?"

Meanwhile in Vaniville, Kalos.

Name: Emma Mattiere.

Codename: Essentia.

Equipment: A pitch-black suit created from self-assembling nano-fiber formed with an intercellular shape memory alloy which boosts the user already enhanced speed and strength, as well as protection from outside harm.

Additional information: The subject was kidnapped, brainwashed and biologically modified to an atomic level by Team Flare as a test for creating perfect humans for the new world said organization was trying to achieve, during said time, the subject was used to run several field tests, which included intel, stealing and the murder of 164 targets, all of this without the subject being conscious of her actions.

Abilities: The subject is capable of using Pokemon Moves which are listed below, however, this modification was flawed and the more her powers are used, the more her atoms are damaged, causing her body to physically glitch and temporarily render itself apart, something that only can be contained while she's wearing her suit or when she's inside a cell of similar properties.

Known Moves capable of using:

Normal: Extreme Speed, Transform.

Water: ?

Fire: Flame Burst.

Grass: ?

Bug: String Shot.

Electric: Discharge (Requires physical contact).

Ground: Earth Power.

Rock: Stone Edge.

Steel: Bullet Punch, Iron Defense.

Flying: Hurricane.

Ice: Ice Beam.

Dragon: Dragon Claw.

Poison: Poison Sting.

Dark: ?

Psychic: Teleport.

Ghost: (Has the ability to become intangible for an approximate period of 10 seconds)

Fighting: Superpower.

Fairy: ?

-It is possible that the subject is capable of using more moves that the ones listed here, but she hasn't shown signs of doing so.

After Team Flare was defeated, Essentia was found inside one of their labs barely holding onto life, Agent Looker took her under his wing and brought her to the Interpol, where a special containment cell was created for her with the properties of the suit, allowing us to control her powers, albeit the user has suffered isolated glitch events from time to time, and these seem to become more frequent, therefore her life expectancy isn't expected to be long.

Threat Level: Extremely High.

The subject must not be released under any circumstances.

Additional data: Team Flare Admin Xerosic, the head scientist of the organization and leader of the Essentia test is currently under arrest, but has refused to give any information regarding the subject.

...

"That's all that it says." Calem said as they were looking at some Interpol archives on his computer.

"It's no different from Team Flare's reports." Emma whispered blankly staring at the screen before backing down. "So they weren't planning to release me after all, huh?"

"I'm sure Looker would have tried to convince them, you know how much he cares about you." Calem replied standing up from his seat. "Must be the reason why they haven't updated the archive saying that you escaped, Looker must be hoping you return to them."

"Well, I'm not going to." Emma replied. "I waited two years for Keiji to find a solution, and what happened in that time? Diantha lost the King's Credential with all the data that could possibly help me and now some random girls almost destroyed the whole Interpol building I was staying at!"

"Emma, listen, I need you to calm down."

"I'm not going to calm down!" Emma answered suddenly pushing him to the floor. "I'm sick of everyone telling me THAT!" She shouted to then let out a scream of pain as her body started to glitch.

"Emma!" Calem rushed to Emma's helmet and quickly put it on her head, causing the glitch to stop while Emma knelt down on the floor.

"Are you okay?!" He shouted.

"I'm fine..." She sighed. "I-I'm sorry."

"That looked a lot worse than the ones you had while I was at the Interpol." Calem said.

"I-It hurt more too..." Emma replied as she struggled to stand up and Calem helped her to do so. "It's been a while since I had a glitch that big... But that's fine, I just need to find a cure."

"Emma, but... What if there's no cure?" Calem asked.

"There HAS to be!" She shouted taking off her helmet again. "Anything, anyone, something! I refuse to die like this! I refuse to be just a failed subject!"

"ROAR!" A rumble was heard from outside as the earth shook.

"Ah, great." Calem sighed and the two looked outside the window to see Entei landing on the backyard with Evelyn, Hexy, Miette and Serena on his back. "Let's go with them before they burn down the house." He said picking up his computer and jumped out of the window along with Emma, with the quartet running to them once they noticed.

"Calem!" Evelyn shouted.

"Get away from him!" Hexy said.

"Everyone, calm down!" Calem stepped between them. "Listen, girls, this is Emma, she's an old friend of mine and needed a bit of help with something, that's all."

"I'm very sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean it." Emma said. "But I didn't have much time and Calem is probably the only person in the world who I have left to trust."

"And who are you exactly?" Miette asked.

"I'm... A person with problems." Emma replied. "You don't need to know anything else." She said staring at the four girls until she set her sight on Serena. "You... I know you. You're one of those kids who messed with Team Flare."

"Uh, yes, I guess that's true." Serena replied. "Messed with and won, needless to say."

"Well, you didn't mess enough." Emma replied. "Maybe if you had defeated them sooner, Looker would've found me earlier and I wouldn't be like this."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked before taking a more detailed look at Emma. "Wait, that suit... I-I remember now! I saw you on a screen of Lysandre Labs, you're one of Xerosic's experiments."

"Ex... periment?!" Emma shouted raising a hand and her arm was surrounded by a Dragon Claw, but Calem quickly stood in front of Serena.

"Emma, calm down! She doesn't know you, she didn't mean it!" Calem shouted while she looked at him. "It's not gonna happen again, I promise!" He said and Emma stared at him for a moment before the Dragon Claw disappeared and she growled before walking away from the group.

"T-Try to not use that word, ok?" Calem told them. "It's a serious trigger, she hates being called that."

"I-I still don't get it, what happened to her?" Miette asked.

"TEAM FLARE HAPPENED!" Emma shouted. "They stole my life! They turned me into a weapon and when I wasn't of use anymore they left me to die!" She shouted forming a Flame Burst on her hand and tossing it to a nearby tree, blowing it to bits while she panted heavily.

"Emma..." Calem said under his breath before a ringing sound was heard coming from his computer and he opened it again.

"What's going on?" Evelyn asked.

"Looks an the Interpol Alarm." Calem said. "La Santé Prison of Kalos is under attack."

"Under attack? Are they trying to break someone out?" Hexy asked.

"Seems like it." Calem replied. "Someone opened the cells and all the prisoners escaped, the officers that were over there weren't enough to stop them; and as if that wasn't enough, it looks like the criminals are heading to Lumiose City."

"Was there anyone important caged in there?" Emma asked.

"Uh... N-No, of course not, just random criminals." Calem said.

"... Why are you lying to me?" Emma said deeply staring at him.

"Emma, it's no one you should be worried about." He answered.

"Just tell me, I'm already here in Kalos, might as well go there and help contain the criminals to give these stupid powers an actual purpose."

"Listen, it's... Xerosic and the other Team Flare Admins." Calem answered and he saw how Emma's purple pupils turned pitch-black for a brief second before returning to normal and then she put on her helmet. "Emma, don't-!" He called her to no avail as the girl teleported away disappearing in a flash of light. "Oh, no..."

"What do you think she's planning to do?" Miette asked.

"If I had to guess... Retaliate first." Serena answered.

"We need to get there!" Calem shouted. "Evelyn, can Entei take us?"

"Y-Yes, he can, but you said that prison is close to Lumiose, right?" She asked. "Even for Entei, that's too far, It'll take us like half an hour to get there."

"So assuming her teleportation works in an instant way, she's already there, we won't arrive in time to stop whatever she's up to." Hexy said.

"We need to try!" Calem said to then look at Miette and Serena. "You two coming with us?"

"Yes, we are." Serena answered.

"WE ARE?!" Miette shouted while Serena dragged her and the five hopped onto Entei's back before the Legendary jumped away.

Meanwhile in a cruise on its way to Alola.

"Folks, this is Miku, Miku, this is my crew at the moment, Vic, Mar-Mar, Hilda and Rosa."

"Very nice to meet you." Victor said. "Just for clarification, I'm Victor, Victor Sodo Tsururate, and this is my girlfriend Marnie."

"Yup, we're both from Galar, you see?" Marnie added.

"Welp, Hilda here, and this is my half-sister, Rosa." She said hugging the girl by her side. "We're from Unova, what about you?"

"Good afternoon! Hello! Hi!" The human-disguised Meloetta exclaimed. "Isn't it nice to be human?"

"Huh-"

"Entirely human!" She shouted to then let out a nervous laugh. "Eh, I-I mean, I'm from Unova as well."

"Miku will be joining us until we arrive at Alola." Roxie said. "She says she has some business with Ketchum."

"What kind of business?" Rosa asked.

"It's nothing important, really." Miku answered. "I just need his help with something."

"Heh, yeah sure, by the kind of things he usually deals with, I'd bet some good money that what you want to tell him has to do with the end of the world or that sort of thing." Hilda said.

"Y-Y-You really overestimate me." Miku answered.

"Don't mind them, they also joined my crew to see Ketchum." Roxie said. "Anyway, you'll get to meet him later, for the moment come with us, I'm supposed to give a show right now. You ready, Mar-Mar?"

"I guess." She answered with a sigh.

"I'm sure you'll do great." Victor said.

Back in the Ketchum Mansion.

"Here it is!" Mallow shouted opening the door of Ash's room, with Meray running in with the bowl on her hands while Acerola followed her, finding the unconscious Ash still resting on Skyla's lap, while Bea and Nessa were sitting on bed by her side.

"We need to apply this to his whole body so his skin can absorb it properly." Meray explained placing the bowl next to Ash to then blush. "And yes, with 'whole' I mean all of his body."

"Well, I guess we can do that." Bea said placing her hand in the bowl and feeling the rather thickish paste.

"Which means towel off!" Skyla exclaimed with a smile before tossing away the towel that was around Ash's waist, giving all the girls a clear view of Ash's manhood again; and while the girlfriends couldn't help but blush and smile, Meray's whole face turned red and she felt her body trembling.

"A-A-Alright, you girlfriends take care of that, meanwhile I'll be preparing a bathtub for him!" Meray said running to the bathroom and breathing heavily once she was there. "H-How did I end up like this again?" She asked herself to then look around. "Sweet Arceus, this bathroom is huge." She said to then go to the bathtub and open the faucet, while the girls were applying the paste all over Ash's body, with Acerola, Mallow and Skyla happily covering his lower half, while Bea and Nessa had to settle for his upper half, a scene that kept on for roughly 5 minutes until the bowl was empty.

"Meray, we're done here!" Mallow called.

"Are we really?" Skyla asked enthralled by the sight of Ash's dick. "I can't wait to see him standing proud."

"That's gonna be all ours tonight, gal." Acerola said to her and the two fist-bumped.

"I'm done here too! You can bring him." Meray told them.

"Alright ladies, move aside." Bea said while cracking the fingers. "This is a job for the sword hero." She smiled before taking Ash into a bridal carry and brought him to the bath with the other girls following her, Bea then placed Ash inside the water-filled bathtub carefully leaving his head outside with a pillow just in the edge.

"Great job with the paste, the water will help his body absorb the medicine." Meray said. "Best case scenario, we'll just have to wait a few minutes for him to wake up."

"Thanks a lot for your help, Meray." Bea said. "Not too sure of what we would've come up with if you hadn't been here."

"Yeah, girl, you really came in clutch with that medicine." Nessa said.

"The good thing of this family continuing to grow is that we'll have someone to cover any problem we can face." Mallow said. "Meray would be a great addition to the fray, don't you think?"

"Well, if what you're looking for is permission then you have mine." Bea said.

"Mine too." Nessa added.

"And mine!" Skyla exclaimed.

"Uh, t-thanks a lot everyone, but seriously it's no big deal." She answered. "Besides we're still not sure if it's gonna work."

"Ugh, my head." Ash complained and the girls turned to see him waking up.

"ASH!" They all shouted and knelt next to the bathtub while Meray stood behind them.

"Thank Goodness." Nessa sighed in relief before hugging him. "You had us so worried."

"Uh, girls, what just happened?" He asked.

"Seems like you overdid yourself with Gloria, Nia and Selene last night." Acerola said. "Apparently your body couldn't handle it."

"You just wouldn't wake up, we all freaked out." Skyla said. "And we're also a little angry that you had your way with Selene before the rest of us!"

"Y-Yeah, sorry, Gloria had the idea and-"

"Yeah, yeah, they explained us, don't bother." Bea said. "We'll talk about that after the battles."

"Either way, Meray here prepared a medicine to heal your body." Mallow said. "And it seems like it worked."

"Wow, you really did that, Meray?" Ash asked.

"I-It was nothing, really!" Meray shouted. "I'm just happy it worked out."

"Uh, well, thanks a lot, but Bea, wouldn't it have been easier to just use Flabebe's healing pollen for this?"

"Uh... Y-Yeah, I guess." Bea said. "I mean, I thought about it, but as your first girlfriend I thought it'd be the best to prove we can function even without your help, you passed out because of us after all, it was only fair that we found a way to help you ourselves."

"Well, I appreciate that." Ash said.

'Thank God he believed that.' Bea thought.

"Wait, how much time do we have left before the battles?" Ash asked.

"Around 30 minutes." Nessa said.

"It's still not too late. Ash, you think you can move?" Bea asked.

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine." He answered.

"Then we'll prepare ourselves to leave." Bea said. "Also, to avoid suspicions, it'll be the best if we leave and arrive at the stadium in split groups instead of all us together with you."

"Sounds like a good idea." Ash said. "The same 15 people arriving at the same time would raise some questions."

"Fine then, Meray, can I ask you to stay here with Ash while we get ready?" Bea asked. "You know, in case something happens."

"O-Of course, leave it to me." Meray nodded.

"Thank you, call us if you deem it necessary, everyone else, let's get moving." Bea said and the other girlfriends left the scene and went to their respective rooms.

'...Hey, wait a moment... Did they just... Leave me alone with him?!' Meray shouted in her mind as she kept blushing. 'With their naked boyfriend?!'

"Well, I think I'll be taking a shower, sounds faster." Ash said and tried to stand up but Meray suddenly pushed him back to the bathtub.

"N-No! I mean, your body is still absorbing the medicine, it'll be the best if you stay in the bathtub." She explained. "J-Just let me..." Meray looked around and picked a soap, shampoo and a sponge to then give them to Ash. "There, you stay there and I... Will be looking somewhere else." She said turning his back on him.

'Just try to not imagine him.' She thought while Ash washed himself and she did her best to not turn around and to not talk and make the situation more awkward than it already was for her.

"Hey, Meray, you can leave if you want to." Ash told her.

"No, it's fine, don't worry about it." She said. "I'm here just in case, to make sure you're recovering accordingly, I'm just, well, a little embarrassed about seeing you naked, that's all."

"Hehe, yeah, sorry about dragging you in this kind of stuff." He answered. "I'm quite a mess, aren't I?"

"I... Wouldn't say that." Meray said to then sigh. "...Ash, may I ask a question?"

"Of course, Meray, anything you want." He answered.

"Well, I've been thinking about something... you already have 11 girlfriends; and from what Flannery told us, you still have plenty of room for more girls to join your family." She said. "But, uh, at what point do you exactly plan to stop?"

"Well, considering the way things have been, I guess I'll stop when I simply get to be with all my girlfriends." Ash answered.

"Uh, I Don't think I get it." Meray said.

"I'll stop once I am with all the girls that I love and that love me and decide to join my family." Ash said. "Of course, there's no way for sure to know how much that will be, even if I can try to make a picture in my mind, not every girl who likes me will be okay with this relationship, a few have already rejected it even."

"I see... Well, you seem very motivated. I hope you get to be with all your fated maidens someday." She said.

"Thanks a lot, Meray." Ash said. "Though I guess I'll also have to be a little more careful from now on, I already passed the double digits, having so many people in one place could lead to unwanted attention."

"Yeah... speaking of that, don't you plan on revealing the truth to the world eventually?" Meray asked. "You're already a regional champion and you're on your way to the Galar League as well, you could end up becoming World champion. What will happen after that? Will you keep your relationship in secret?"

"I'm... Honestly not sure..." He admitted. "Keeping it a secret sounds like the obvious thing to do, but it'd be unfair to them, they all want to marry and have children eventually and I... As much as I want those things too, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it while keeping it away from the public."

"Sorry if this sounds too rude, but... You'll have to make it public eventually." Meray said. "It'll be easier if you do it, instead of it being the wrong person finding out and creating an scandal... Yeah, some people won't accept it at first, but they'll have to get used to it eventually, they'll have to realize there's nothing they can do to pull you apart... I've barely been here for a day, but even I can tell how happy everyone here is, I've seen lots of harems back in the valley, but you guys are different from that, there's so much more joy to be shared here than what you'd get from a monogamous relationship, I don't know what the other people you've told about this may think, but to me... I really feel like this is the most beautiful kind of love in the world... And I'd love to be part of it if you give me the chance." She sighed to then finally turn around and see him.

"You mean-"

"Both Kimia and I have been thinking about it." She said to then kneel next to the bathtub and take one of his hands with both of hers. "We both fell in love with you during the adventures we shared and that's why we'll try to get to know you better while we're here, we're not asking you to accept us right away, but at least keep us in mind... Heh, I'd assume your blushing face is a good sign." Meray said with a smile.

"S-Sorry about that." Ash replied embarrassed. "Geez, look at me, eleven girlfriends and I still blush when I receive a confession."

"Like I said, it's a good sign." Meray replied. "It means you still value the feelings of any girl you encounter, I'm sure Kimia will give you her proper confession as well, but she's focusing on fixing Magearna first, if you ask me, that's probably her way of showing you that you can you rely on her."

"You think so?" Ash asked.

"I'm sure of it." Meray replied. "She did came all the way from Kalos when you asked for help... But that's enough about us, you got some other things to worry about." She said picking up a towel and offering it to Ash. "You seem fully healed, I'll leave you so you can change yourself, I'll also be going with you all to the stadium to let Kimia focus on her work. It'll be nice to see your power in person."

"Thanks for everything, Meray." Ash answered taking the towel and standing up from the bathtub. "Heh, I really feel good as new, what was that medicine exactly?"

"To not get into much detail is a special recipe to treat exhaustion after a night with multiple partners." Meray answered while Ash placed the towel around his waist. "It should also give you a bit more energy for a few days if you want to try it again, but that's something you'll have to test yourself. Now, you should be getting yourself ready, remember we're against the clock."

"Roger that." Ash replied approaching the girl and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, really."

"Uhm... I-I'll be waiting for you in the front door!" She exclaimed before running away and leaving Ash alone in his room.

"Heh... when are you gonna stop Ash Ketchum?" He asked as he held his head, while Meray ran all to the way to the front door, panting exhausted once she made it.

"I-I really did that, huh?" Meray asked herself. "I-I told him everything, a-and he seemingly accepted, gosh, I shouldn't have told him about Kimia, as obvious as it may be, it was her confession to make."

"You okay, Meray?"

"YES!" She suddenly shouted turning around to see Bea in her orange cheerleader outfit. "Oh, h-hi, Bea, yes, everything's fine, Ash seems to be fully healed so I left him alone so he could get dressed."

"Got it, thanks again for everything." Bea replied. "The rest of the girls already left, will you be coming with us to the stadium?"

"Indeed, I'll be joining you, Kimia works better when she's alone after all." Meray nodded. "As long as you're okay with it.

"Well, there's no reason why I wouldn't be." Bea answered. "...Though that gives me an idea. Can I ask you a little favor?"

"O-of course!" Meray nodded. "You're the head mistress of the house after all, as long as I'm here, I'll do anything you ask."

"Anything, huh?" Bea asked.

Back at the cruise.

"How is it going, people?!" Roxie shouted to the passengers while she was on a stage outside the ship as the sun rose behind them. "We're almost there! So to close this trip, my Pops asked me to do a special show for y'all! And I brought a very special song along with my fella Marnie!"

"Why am I doing this again?" Marnie asked by her side with a microphone in hand.

"You can do it, Marnie!" Victor cheered on her.

"Right, that for." Marnie said with a smile.

"What are you so worried about?" Roxie asked. "I've seen your concerts with Piers in Spikemuth, you sing crazy good."

"Guess, I'm just used to my usual public." Marnie sighed again. "Oh, well, let's do this! Music, Maestro!" She exclaimed and the DJ at the side of the stage started playing a slow blues music, which Roxie joined with her bass before starting to sing the first verse.

...

I know that you watch me
I know what you whisper
I'm well aware of what's up in my mind
As well as what's up in yours, boy

...

She finished to then wink at Marnie who took a deep breath before following her.

...

I know where you are
I know where I am
I always know what time it is
That's why I don't need to hear a damn ring!

...

The two girls then shared a high five before starting to sing together.

...

There's mute girls, there's talkative girls
There's careful girls, there's all-out girls
And still...

...

We may all be di-fferent
But that's what makes us humans, ain't it?

...

There's dangerous girls, there's harmless girls
There's talented girls, there's useless girls

...

But if I were you, I'd look at what's behind that

...

Roxie and Marnie then shared a hip bump before walking in tip toes around the stage while they continued to sing together.

...

Be-ware the strange girls
Be-ware the strange girls

...

If you judge a book by its cover

Then before you notice the game will be over!

...

Be-ware the strange girls
Be-ware the strange girls

...

That Magikarp is already a Gyarados and you don't even know it!

...

So if you think you know all that you need to know
My crew of strange girls will be happy to show that you're wrong

...

Marnie and Roxie then put their backs together as Roxie went for a solo, before the music started to fade.

...

Cause if you think you know all that you need to know
My crew of strange girls will be happy to show that you're wrong

...

The music stopped and both girls stood side by side to take a bow at the crowd while receiving a round of applauses.

"That was amazing!" Victor shouted while the two girls got off the stage and took Marnie in a hug. "Your voice is so wonderful."

"T-T-Thanks, Vic." She stuttered.

"Yeah, yeah, it was pretty good, but I think I prefer your usual heavy metal stuff." Hilda said.

"I dunno about that, I like how you've been experimenting lots of different music styles lately, it's nice to see you expand." Rosa said.

"Yup, every music is special in its own way." Miku added.

"Say Hilda, how about we sing as well?" Rosa asked her.

"Ha! Sorry, Sis, but I got the singing voice of truck driver and you know it." Hilda replied pinching her cheek. "If you want to sing, you'll do it alone."

"Geez, it's not like I sing that much either." Rosa said. "I'm an actress first, must of that stuff is playback."

"Well, what about you, Miku?" Roxie asked her. "You look like a musical girl, can you sing?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess a little." She admitted.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Roxie asked handing over a microphone and Miku hesitated before taking it and getting on the stage while she cleared her throat.

"So, what are you gonna sing?" The DJ asked and Miku smirked before snapping her fingers and the console started to play music on its own.

...

"How about I go Psychic?"

...

She asked right before the beat drop and started dancing around.

...

You have no idea of the things that I keep.

It's a Mythical power that I am about to release!

It's an unpredictable Ki-ne-sis!

I'll show you now, my secret, I'll show you now, my third eye!

...

Was it my turn?

Or was it your turn?

Whose turn was it then?

Even the swirling-

Beams of light-

At their own tempo they're now!

...

It's Eight-beat?

Or 8-bit?

You don't even know what's up or down!

You're in a Struggle!

And it won't end!

Until I say that it ends!

...

You will ne-ver catch my love, no!

But still, well

I choose you!

...

Psychic, Psychic! That's what I am!

I'm feeling something deep within my brain and my heart!

But I'm a Monster, Monster! That's what I am!

A monster that will read your mind!

...
Psychic, Monster!

I'm a Psychic Monster!

That will use Telekinesis straight to your heart!

Monster, Monster! That's right I'm a monster!

And you also are! But I'm still keeping a Calm Mind!

...

Miku then started stomping the stage along the beat and the crowd clapped alongside it as well.

...

Ra-Pa-Pa-Ra-Pa-Pa-Ra-Pa-Pa-Ra-Ra!

...

A Cosmic Power is gathering within my Twisted Spoon!

You're so Oblivious that I just want to Zen Headbutt you!

And then you'll Flinch and It'll get tough, so here's a Future Sight to see what's next!

...
There's no place to hide!

Nowhere to run now, nope!

You can't just use Te-le-port to get away from my heart!

...

Miku then closed her eyes as she kept singing, while her body was outlined by pink light and pink glowing music notes surrounded her.

...

Psychic, Psychic, that's what I am...

I'm feeling something deep within my brain and my heart...

But I'm a Monster, MONSTER! That's what I am...

A monster that will read your mind and-

See what you're doing in there!

...

Psychic, Psychic! That's what I am!

I'm feeling something deep within your brain and your heart!

But I'm a Monster, Monster! That's what I am!

A MONSTER THAT WILL READ YOUR MIND!

...

As Miku kept singing, the notes rose up in the air and they shined brighter.

...

Psychic, Monster!

I'm a Psychic Monster!

That will use Extrasensory straight to your heart!

Monster, Monster! That's right I'm a monster!

And you also are! But I'm still keeping a Calm Mind!

...

Psychic, Monster!

I'M A PSYCHIC MONSTER!

That will use Heart Stamp and make you fall down!

Monster, Monster! That's right I'm a monster!

And you also are! But I'm still keeping a Calm Mind!

...

We're both monsters here, but who's gonna win this fight?
...

Miku kept dancing around until the music stopped and then finished with a pose, causing the music notes to explode like fireworks, the passengers stared at her for a moment before exploding with a round of applauses and cheers.

"What... Just happened?" Victor asked.

"I don't know, but she should do it again." Marnie answered.

"Wow, that was pretty crazy." Hilda said.

"Yup! I liked it a lot!" Rosa added. "What do you think, Roxie?"

"I think that that microphone I gave her was turned off." Roxie smirked.

Back at the mansion.

"Is it done?"

"No, Flannery, it's not done." Korrina answered as her friend stood behind her, while she was still working on Ash's Key Stone.

"...Is it done?"

"No, Flannery, it's not." She answered again and Flannery started walking around the room.

"...Is it done?"

"No, Flannery, it's not!" She shouted suddenly standing up and grabbing the chair she was sitting on to then toss it at Flannery, who barely managed to avoid it. "If you're just gonna stand there and ask me the same thing every 5 seconds then it'd be easier if you just leave!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Flannery said. "I'm just still a little worried about Ash."

"Bea already told us he's okay when she came looking for your uniform." Korrina said.

"I know, but he could have problems during the battle, like some kind of hangover." Flannery said. "Either way, he's gonna need all the help he can get. You know Aunt Drasna and her Pokemon are crazy strong."

"I know, I barely managed to beat her during that inspection and from what I understand she wasn't even using her A-Team against me." Korrina sighed while Flannery picked up the chair and placed it back to where it was.

"Let's keep working, okay? I'll try to not bother you."

"Thanks." Korrina sat again, but the duo was interrupted by a knock from the door.

"Girls! It's me, Ash!"

"Of course he is." Korrina said holding her head.

"Coming!" Flannery ran to the door and Korrina let out a heavy sigh before following her and the two met with Ash at the door.

"Glad to see you look better." Korrina said.

"You really scared us for a second." Flannery said.

"Well, sorry about that, I guess I bit more than I could chew." Ash answered. "Anyway, you girls sure you aren't coming?"

"Y-Yes, I'm still working on your Key Stone." Korrina answered.

"And I'll stay here to help her for now." Flannery said. "Korrina says she's almost done, right?"

"I am, for real this time." Korrina nodded. "I know I've been saying that since I got here, but I mean it, I'm this close to finishing it."

"Seriously, Korrina, you don't need to push yourself so hard." Ash said.

"But I want to." Korrina said. "I-I mean... This is really important, for both you and me, I want to make sure it works."

"Well, I'm sure it will, I can't wait to use it." Ash answered.

"I'm happy to hear that, the moment we're done, we'll run to the stadium to give it to you." Korrina added.

"Oh! We can both go on skates!" Flannery said. "Korrina here has been giving me some lessons, you see?"

"Heh, I'm still surprised you two ended up becoming friends." Ash said.

"Yup, who would've thought?" Flannery said hugging Korrina over her shoulder. "It all started with us meeting at an Ice cream shop and look at us now, about to share a boyfriend." She said pinching the blonde's cheeks.

"F-Flannery..." She simply stuttered.

"Oh, well, we'll have time to think about that later." Flannery laughed. "You should get going, Ash, you're already running late. All this effort will be worthless if they disqualify you."

"Guess you're right, I just need to make one last stop before leaving." Ash said. "But first..." Ash approached Flannery and gave her a lip kiss, which she happily accepted and after separating the two looked at Korrina.

"Uh, I-, Y-Y-You..." She simply stuttered with a blushing smile while Ash took both her hands.

"Well, you already kissed me back in the Distortion World so this is only fair." Ash said.

"Yeah... I guess." Korrina smiled and the two shared a kiss before Korrina softly pushed him away. "I-I'll get that Stone ready, I swear." She whispered. "And afterwards... I wouldn't mind a reward, you know?" She added and Ash hugged both girls in response.

"I love you both." He said before running away.

"Heh... That's really revitalizing." Flannery said.

"You're right, I feel like I could move a mountain now." Korrina answered with a smile. "Well, let's get back to work!"

"Right behind you!"

...

"Kimia, can I come in?"

"Of course Ash, this is your house after all." She answered from inside the room and Ash opened the door.

"Don't say it like that, I mean, this is supposed to be your room and-" Ash froze in place once he saw Kimia wearing nothing but white lingerie, while she was crouching and staring at Lillie's Magearna's open heart with a screwdriver in hand, while her own Magearna was on her side. "Uh... Why?" He simply asked.

"Please forgive me, most of my clothes are rather ostentatious and could get in the way. Wouldn't want to get caught in between the gears." Kimia answered standing up and walking to Ash. "But don't worry, your girlfriend Skyla already offered me help with that matter."

"Now I'm a little worried of what clothes she'd pick for you." Ash said. "Anyway, I just wanted to pass by real quick and see how you were doing with Magearna, I'm already running late, actually."

"I'm making progress, slowly, but I think I have a good idea of what to do now." Kimia answered. "I'll inform you the moment I achieve anything significant. That topic aside, I'm glad to see you're standing on your own feet again, I told the girls they could trust Meray with your health."

"Heh, yeah, that medicine made me feel good as new." Ash replied.

"I'm also glad that she'll be joining you and your girls today." Kimia answered. "First, It'll be great for her to have a change of routine; and second, as much as I like her company, I work better when I don't have distractions. Hopefully, Hoopa over there will understand that." She said pointing at the Mythical who was snoring inside a donut box.

"Well, if that's the case I won't distract you anymore." Ash said and was about to walk away, but Kimia held his hand and stopped him.

"You're the one who looks distracted here." Kimia said with a smile. "Excuse my boldness, but it seems like you enjoy the view."

"Yeah, uh, I guess I do." Ash answered. "As long as you don't mind me seeing you like this."

"I must certainly don't." Kimia blushed in response before planting a kiss on Ash's hand. "I'm honored you think my body is worthy of praise."

"Uh... Those two are watching us." Ash pointed out and Kimia turned around to see the Magearnas looking at them, with them looking in another direction after noticing they were spotted.

"It's still interesting the way you get embarrassed despite what you do with your girlfriends." Kimia said.

"Huh, Meray also pointed that out." Ash answered and Kimia finally let go of his hand.

"Well, be on your way, you mentioned you were already late, didn't you?" She said. "I'll be here once you return, and you also have my number already, so you can call me if you wish to."

"... Thanks." Ash smiled at her with a blush before leaving the room and Kimia smiled satisfied to herself.

Meanwhile in Celadon, Kanto.

"Here we go." Shauna said serving tea for both Jasmine and Erika. "I hope you like it, I made it myself."

"Thanks a lot, Shauna." Jasmine replied before taking the first sip. "My, this is is really good!"

"I'm glad you think so!" Shauna exclaimed.

"Wouldn't expect less from my apprentice." Erika added with a proud smile.

"So, an apprentice." Jasmine said to then look at Erika. "But isn't she like the rest of the Lasses that hang around here?"

"Not at all, Shauna is very different from the Lasses." Erika said. "Most of them are only here for the flowers and the perfumes, which is perfectly fine, of course, but Shauna here has been learning a lot about tradition, my battle style and the like, at first I was only doing it as a favor to Valerie, but I've grown really fond of her, who knows? If she keeps up like this, I could inherit the Gym to her."

"T-T-That seems like a bit too much, Miss Erika." Shauna stuttered. "And you're also still quite young, right? Why would you leave the Gym on my care?"

"Yes, yes, I know I'm no old hag, but I've been thinking a lot about sitting back, you know?" Erika sighed. "I guess I've been feeling like I'm not achieving my full potential at this Gym, like I need to try something else, just like you've been wanting to find something besides performance, Shauna. Maybe being a Gym Leader would suit you better."

"I-I really feel like you overestimate me." Shauna answered. "But I'll... think about it, if that's what you wish."

"I don't want you to feel pressured, of course." Erika said. "I mean, it's not like I already decided to quit, it's just some thoughts here and there."

"Well, as lovely as this topic is, I feel the need to interrupt." Jasmine said. "Miss Erika, like I told you, I really appreciate the invitation, but I would like to know the reason of it, what was so important that you required me to come all the way from Johto so we could talk about it in person?"

"Thing is, I'm not so sure myself." Erika said. "I wasn't the one who needed you to come here."

"Wait, uh, who was it then?" Jasmine asked.

"That would be me." Sabrina said appearing behind Shauna.

"GAH!" Shauna asked hiding behind Erika. "I'll never get used to that..."

"Jasmine Teegel, pleasure to meet you." She said. "My name is Sabrina Morningstar."

"Uh, yeah, pleasure is mine." Jasmine answered. "Erika talks a lot about you and I've seen you in some Gym Leader reunions, but I guess this is the first time we talk... So, wait, you're the one who needed to talk with me?"

"I need to talk with you three actually." Sabrina answered. "But first, Jasmine, you need to be aware of Ash's situation."

"Ash's situation? What do you mean?" Jasmine asked.

"These two know it already since they met with him recently." Sabrina said looking at Erika and Shauna. "But he hasn't gotten the chance to tell you himself, so I'll save him the speech, Ash Ketchum is currently dating 11 girls."

"...He's what?!" Jasmine shouted.

"Wait, they're 11 already?" Shauna asked.

"My, they were 8 when we met in the Distortion World, right?" Erika asked. "We merely turn around a moment and he's alre-"

"You two knew about this too?!" Jasmine shouted standing up from her chair.

"Yeah, well, a lot of things happened in the Distortion World." Shauna added. "To put it short, both Miss Erika and me met with Ash there and we confessed our love to him, there were also plenty of other girls there who did the same and he ended up revealing to us that he was making a harem.

"H-He, but you..." Jasmine thought in silence for a moment before looking at Sabrina. "I-I don't get it, why are you telling me this?"

"I had a vision of you, a worrying vision." Sabrina explained. "I'd rather not get into details to avoid any problems, but telling you now is the only way to make sure it doesn't happen."

"Wait, wait! You mean I join his harem in the future?!" Jasmine shouted.

"I'm not saying that." Sabrina. "But I'm also not not saying that, the point is that in my vision, something bad happened when Ash was the one to tell you, so by telling you myself I'm trying to avoid that."

"Gosh..." Jasmine sat on her chair again and then looked at Erika and Shauna. "Wait, so, uh, you two are going to join that?"

"W-W-Well, I can't say for sure, but... Uh, I guess it's one of those things I'm thinking about?" Shauna replied with a nervous laugh.

"If Ash invites me, I certainly wouldn't complain." Erika nodded. "He seems really confident and determined on the idea, and his girls all seem to be very happy despite their situation too, they all get along and Ash is doing his best for all of them."

"So... That's the thing he said he needed to explain that day I called him." Jasmine sighed. "I mean, of course I love him too, I-I guess it was fun to have moments with him along with Bea, Dawn and Flannery, but to let him openly date me along all those girls... I-I... What exactly was going to happen if Ash had told me?"

"Like I said, when dealing with the future and visions, it's best to not get into details." Sabrina answered. "Let's just say you'll have more time to think."

"I see..." Jasmine sighed again. "And you're also willing to join Ash on that, aren't you?"

"I can't say yet." Sabrina answered. "Ash did save me, both literally and figuratively, I do have feelings for him, but when you have the powers I have, you think thrice before doing anything... That'd be it, sorry for making you come all the way here, but you needed to know." Sabrina said before snapping her fingers and disappearing in a flash of light.

"Mysterious as always." Erika sighed. "I'm very sorry, Jasmine, I had no idea she would bring up that topic."

"No, no, it's fine." Jasmine sighed. "I mean, that's not a topic you'd just say to anyone... But I would still like to know what she meant... More time to think... Miss Erika, would it be okay if I stay here for a few days?"

"Of course, feel free to do so." Erika answered. "And please, just call me Erika."

"Thanks a lot." Jasmine answered with another sigh. "Ash, what did you get yourself into?"

Back at the mansion.

"Alright, girls, I'm ready!" Ash called running down the stairs with Pikachu on his shoulder to find Bea standing next to the door with her cheerleader outfit.

"There you are, you look a lot better." Bea said.

"Yup, that medicine was seriously something." Ash answered. "I just was with Flannery, Korrina and Kimia. Everyone left already?"

"Almost everyone, the rest of the girlfriends already left, but there's someone else who will be coming with us two."

"Uh, you mean-"

"S-She means me, I fear." Meray stuttered and Ash turned around to see her wearing Flannery's red cheerleader outfit while she was trying to cover herself with the pom-poms. "P-Please don't look at me." He said to no avail as the blushing Ash had his sight fixed on her.

"Since Flannery won't be coming, I asked her to lend us her outfit for today." Bea said. "I'd say it suits her well, though I'm honestly surprised Flannery didn't ruin the chest area."

"Bea! Y-Y-You can't expect me to go out like this in public!" Meray shouted.

"Hey, listen, I'll just tell you what the person who gave me this outfit told me." Bea said walking to her and holding her by her shoulders. "You just have to visualize this: you're doing it for Ash and only for Ash."

"For Ash?" Meray whispered to then look at him again. "Ash, do you, uh... T-Think I should wear this?"

"W-Well, if you don't want to, then of course not." Ash answered scratching the back of his head. "But I... Think you look great, for the record."

"I-I see..." Meray blushed even more before taking a deep breath. "Fine, let's get going."

"Well, you heard her, Ash." Bea said.

"...Of course." Ash smiled and took both girls' hands. "Let's not waste any more time."

Meanwhile in the outskirts of Lumiose City.

"There's too many of them!" An officer Jenny shouted shooting some prisoners with taser guns. "They're getting too close to the city. How long until the reinforcements get here?"

"Like 10 minutes!" Another Jenny answered before being grabbed by a prisoner from behind only for Emma to teleport in scene and grab the criminal by his head, causing him to let go off the Jenny before Emma raised him up in the air, before tossing him away and knocking down two more prisoners with him.

"Hey! Helmet off! Who the hell are you?!" The other Jenny asked pointing her gun at Emma.

"Head to Lumiose and focus on protecting the civilians." Emma answered. "I'll hold back the prisoners, I won't let them get to the city."

"I don't take orders from you!" Jenny replied while a prisoner was about to hit her from behind with a Crowbar, but in less than a second Emma dashed to him and knocked him onto the ground and Emma simply stared at her afterwards.

"...E-Everyone, head back to Lumiose, focus on protecting the civilians. Let the criminals alone." Jenny said to her walkie-talkie and Emma nodded before looking at the mob of criminals approaching them.

"Are you sure you can handle them? There must be hundreds of them." The other Jenny asked.

"I know, too bad there isn't more." Emma answered while the Jennys looked at each other before running away. "Self Control..." She whispered cracking her knuckles before dashing to the criminals using Extreme Speed and started knocking them one by one with precise Bullet punches. "Iron Defense." She said to herself while some criminals tried to attack her with punches and kicks only to get themselves injured by the toughness of the suit before Emma knocked them out, the scene continued for about a minute and Emma knocked out dozens of prisoners, with some of the criminals giving up on the fight and simply running away from her.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Emma shouted and extended her arms, with streams of String Shots coming from her wrists and wrapping around the criminals before she tossed them around and slammed them against each other, until she spotted a purple haired woman running amongst the crowd.

"CELOSIA!" Emma shouted teleporting in front of her and grabbing her by her neck. "Where's Xerosic?!" She asked looking at who she was grabbing. "Huh? ...Argh, damn it!" Emma said before letting go off her. "Hmp, I mistook you by someone else."

"Yeah, you're not the first one." She answered rubbing her neck while Emma raised a fist. "Wait, wait! I give up!" She said kneeling in front of Emma and raising her hands. "Y-You said you were looking for Xerosic?"

"You know where he is?" Emma asked.

"Two girls broke him out of his cell before freeing everyone else as a distraction, I saw them heading to the forest."

"If you're lying-"

"Why would I exactly?" She asked. "Believe me, I don't like him anymore than you do. Just be careful if you're gonna keep mistaking people."

"Who are you even?" Emma asked.

"My name is Courtney." She answered. "Courtney Moore."

"Moore, huh? That family is just full of rotten people." Emma answered. "Well, Courtney, stay here and don't fight back the officers." She said before teleporting away.

"..." Courtney simply stared from afar at the forest she mentioned before running towards it.

Back in Alola.

Meanwhile in the stadium, everyone was eagerly waiting for Ash, with Bertha already in position on her side of the battlefield, while Kukui was also on his referee spot, but there seemed to be no sign of the champion-in-the-making.

"I can't help but wonder what could've happened for him to be late." Lance said up in the VIP section along the other champions and Elite Four Members. "This is all too strange."

"Maybe he's in some kind of trouble?" Lorelei asked.

"That could make sense, considering the kind of stuff he tends to deal with." Karen answered.

"Perhaps someone should go out and look for him." Juan said.

"We're not babysitters, we're here as an obstacle for him." Marshall answered.

"I guess Marshall has a point." Drasna said. "Whatever Ash is up to, if he wants to be recognized as a Champion he has to handle it on his own."

"I hate to admit it, but I'm getting a little worried." Iris said.

"You are?" Clair asked. "Even though you always mentioned that having to look over him was the worst part of your travel together?"

"He's... Still a precious friend despite everything." Iris answered.

"Do you happen to know what happened to Ash, Cynthia?" Diantha asked.

"What makes you think that?" Cynthia asked with a rather cold glare that scared Diantha a bit.

"Uh... Nothing." Diantha answered while Goodshow silently looked down at the battlefield.

"Just where is he?" Elaine asked in the stands next to the girlfriends

"Yeah, you girls said everything was under control, right?" Mina asked them.

"Yup, we did." Gloria answered. "He should be-"

"I'm here!" Ash shouted running into the battlefield.

"Gosh, finally, we made it." Bea said running to the girls along with Meray, with Pikachu being on the latter's shoulder.

"Excuse the delay, everyone." Meray added while Ash went with Bertha.

"Miss Bertha! I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting." He shouted once he was in front of her.

"Well, it's good to finally see you, but did something happen?" She asked. "From what I've heard about you, you'd never be late for a battle."

"Just some personal stuff, please, don't worry." Ash replied.

"Well, if you say so." Bertha answered. "Like I told you the other day, I was really looking forward to this battle after what Agatha told me."

"Right, so Agatha told you that she fought against me?" Ash Asked.

"Why, of course, Agatha is my sister, didn't you know?"

"No, I don't think I did, I'm just noticing you're both last named Zutto." Ash replied. "Anyway, I'm ready to fight if you are."

"Of course, give me your best." Bertha nodded and Ash ran to his side of the battlefield.

"Well, it looks like everything is set, so it's my turn!" Dahlia smiled in her announcer stand to then spin her small roulette, with the arrow ending on a a section with the Dynamax, Z-Move and Mega Evolution symbols all crossed out. "The rule for this fight is no gimmicks!"

"Something simple at least." Ash sighed relieved.

"Fine by me, as much as I enjoy gimmicks, there's nothing like a good ol' fashioned straightforward battle." Bertha smiled to then look at Ash again. "Still, to think we'd meet in a battlefield again, dear child. It looks as though you've grown more confident since the last time we've met, but don't let that get to your head, this old lady will show you again what a little life experience can do."

"I've also gotten some life experience these last years." Ash answered.

"We'll see how true that is." Bertha said.

"Trainers, release your first Pokemon!" Kukui shouted.

"Gible, I choose you!" Ash shouted releasing the land shark who manifested himself on top of his head to bite him down as always, with the Dragon Scale that Ash received from Juan being tied to his fin. "To no one's surprise." Ash said with a smile to then grab Gible with his hands. "You'll have time for that later, for now let's focus on the fight, ok?"

"Gib!" He exclaimed to then jump to the Battlefield.

"So be it. Come forth, Hippowdon!" Bertha called upon her ace who entered the scene with a roar and summoned a Sandstorm that quickly surrounded the arena.

"And Hippowdon shows up with his Sand Stream Ability right away!" Dahlia shouted.

"If both trainers are ready then the battle begins now!" Kukui shouted.

"Ice Fang!" Bertha gave the first order and Hippowdon rushed towards Gible with his mouth wide open as his teeth were covered by sharp ice, but before he could land the bite, Gible made a sudden jump at high speed causing Hippowdon to miss his mark.

"Dragon Pulse!" Ash shouted and Gible tossed a purple orb down to Hippowdon, creating an explosion.

"Water Pulse!" Hippowdon opened his mouth again and fired a water orb towards Gible, but the shark quickly jumped up to avoid it and then fell down with a Metal Claw, landing a double slash on Hippowdon's forehead.

"Wait, that speed... Heh, that's Sand Evil!" Ash exclaimed while Gible happily jumped around.

"Would you look at that? Seems like the Sandstorm backfired to Bertha." Dahlia said.

"I see..." Bertha smiled. "If that's the case then Hippowdon isn't gonna catch him, a chase would be worthless." She said to then return Hippowdon. "Come forth, Whiscash! Dragon Dance!" Bertha called upon the fish who started jumping around as he was surrounded by dark blue energy.

"Dragon Pulse!" Ash ordered and Gible tossed the attack, pushing Whiscash back.

"Dragon Dance again!" Bertha scene and Whiscash continued dancing around.

"Use Draco Meteor!" Ash ordered and Gible roared to then shoot an orange orb from his mouth to the skies, which then exploded mid-air and turned into several smaller orbs that rained over Whiscash, each creating smaller explosions.

"Dragon Dance!" Bertha called again and Whiscash continued his motion, but now the earth shook a little with every jump he gave.

"Mud Slap!" Ash shouted and Gible opened his mouth again, this time shooting a stream of mud towards Whiscash.

"Zen Headbutt!" Bertha exclaimed and the W on Whiscash's forehead illuminated and then summoned a giant burst of pink energy that took the same W shape, the fish then used his tail as a spring and shot himself forward, breaking through the Mud Shot and landing a huge hit on Gible, sending him flying onto a wall of the stadium.

"Gible!" Ash shouted worried while Gible fell to the floor and tried to stand up with difficulty.

"Dragon Dance." Bertha said again and this time the field slightly broke apart with each of Whiscash's jumps.

"Is she just gonna keep doing that forever?" Selene asked.

"She's trying to use Whiscash as a wall." Nessa said. "If she keeps boosting him, Ash could have trouble defeating him and his team would be too weakened to fight the rest of Bertha's."

"Hmm... Gible, return!" Ash said recalling and changing Poke Balls.

"It seems like I surprised you, dear." Bertha said.

"Well, I got some surprises myself." Ash answered. "Lucario, I choose you!"

"A Steel-Type, huh?" Bertha smiled again. "We'll play your game then. Fissure!" She exclaimed and Whiscash slammed his tail with force on the ground, causing the whole stadium to shake and creating a crack in the middle of the battlefield.

"Magnet Rise!" Ash said and Lucario slammed his fists on the floor, causing several parts of it to rise in the air to use them as platforms as he started jumping in between them. "Now Bone Rush!" He said and Lucario summoned a staff as he rushed towards Whiscash.

"Muddy Water!" Bertha ordered and Whiscash summoned a wave of dirty water from behind him, Lucario tried to avoid it, but he lost footing on one of the platforms and was struck by the wave, which pushed him inside the still opened crack in the battlefield.

"What- Lucario!" Ash shouted.

"That'd be it." Bertha smiled as she clenched her fist and Whiscash slammed his tail against the floor again, suddenly closing the crack with Lucario inside, Whiscash then slammed his tail one more time and a geyser of Muddy Water surged from the floor, pushing Lucario outside and leaving him to fall defeated on the ground.

"Lucario is unable to battle! Whiscash is the winner!" Kukui shouted.

"Dragon Dance!" Bertha repeated.

"Holy door to hell! That's why they're called OH-KO moves!" Dahlia shouted. "Whatever strategy Ash had in mind it went directly to the toilet, not only that switch didn't work out, but he's now down 4 to 3!"

"...Thanks, Lucario, return." Ash said with a sigh. "Hmp, Corvisquire, I choose you!" He shouted calling upon the bird. "Agility!"

"Zen Headbutt!" Whiscash jumped while Corvisquire was spinning to boost his speed and abruptly knocked him away with his attack, pushing him directly to the floor.

"Bertha just doesn't want to give Ash a break!" Dahlia shouted.

"Ugh, Behemoth Bash!" Ash shouted and Corvisquire was surrounded by red energy that took the shape of a wolf before he rushed towards Whiscash.

"Zen Headbutt!" Bertha said again and Whiscash simply fell down, crashing against Corvisquire and overpowering his Behemoth Bash to then push him onto the floor again and leave him defeated.

"What?!" Ash shouted.

"Dragon Dance!" Bertha continued while Ash recalled Corvisquire.

"That makes six Dragon Dances! Whiscash is now boosted to the max! What is Ash going to do now?"

"Looks she has him cornered." Marshal said.

"What a shame, I was really looking forward to fight him." Drasna said.

"Well, you two, I'd recommend you to think twice before you count him out." Juan said.

"Yup, remember, a Pokemon is far more dangerous when it's cornered." Karen said.

"He better doesn't give up after the that fight we had or I'll swear I'll go down there and kick his butt!" Lorelei shouted.

"He's down 4 to 2 already..." Iris whispered.

"You think he can still make a comeback?" Clair asked.

"I'd say he still can pull it off." Lance said.

"Yup, Ash is the walking proof of 'it's not over until it's over'." Diantha said to then look at Cynthia. "Isn't that right?"

"...You can do it, Ash!" She shouted standing up from her seat. "You've gotten out of worse! Show them why you deserve to be a Champion!"

"You... Know he can't hear you from here, right?" Goodshow asked and Cynthia blushed embarrassed, and while it was true that Ash couldn't hear her, he did see her standing up and shouting something so he smiled assuming all that could be was a cheer, he then glanced over to his girlfriends, all of them cheering on him with their pompoms while Bea and Meray were at the front lines with their cheerleader outfits.

"Heh... This isn't over!" Ash shouted.

"Look at that, staring at his cheerleader gave him back his motivation." Gary said with tears on his eyes. "I-I'm so proud of him, he's grown so much."

"Why did I accept coming here with you again?" Leaf asked.

"That's the spirit, child! Show me what you got!" Bertha said.

"Gible, I choose you!" Ash shouted releasing the land shark again, with the Dragon Scale on his head now shining with blue light. "Let's try this again!"

"Fissure!" Bertha ordered again and this time Whiscash roared causing the earth to open again.

"Metal Claw!" Gible quickly ran towards Whiscash, the fish tried to jump to avoid it, but the Sand Veil made Gible fast enough to reach him and land a double slash.

"Muddy Water!" Whiscash quickly summoned a wave and successfully pushed Gible inside the Fissure just like he did with Lucario, the fish then landed on his tail and the crack started to close.

"Dragon Pulse!" A explosion was seen from inside the crack, with Gible shooting himself upwards out of the Fissure right before this could close to then start gliding on the air along the Sandstorm.

"Zen Headbutt!" Whiscash once again jumped towards Gible with his head surrounded by psychic energy.

"Block it with Metal Claw!" Gible put one of his claws in front of him and blocked the impact, but Whiscash's attack was still strong enough to toss him upwards, with the sandstorm picking him up and guiding him higher and higher.

"Gible, use Draco Meteor from up there!" Ash shouted and Gible shot the move several times, letting the meteors rain all over the battlefield, kicking up plenty of dust that joined the Sandstorm, giving both trainers difficulty to see and Gible was eventually lost from sight in between the Sandstorm.

"Just what are you planning..." Bertha wondered. "Go for him! Muddy Water!" She exclaimed and Whiscash summoned another wave, this time riding on top of it to then jump off, letting himself getting carried away by the sandstorm as he looked for Gible.

"Now, Gible!" Ash shouted as Gible suddenly emerged from the sands and jumped on top of Whiscash's head to then hold onto his whiskers.

"Get him off! Muddy Water!" Bertha said and Whiscash summoned yet another wave that washed them both away and took them to the ground, but Gible still held onto the whiskers.

"Dragon Pulse!" Gible charged the attack and shot the move at close range right onto Whiscash's head, which caused Whiscash to cry in pain; and in a quick movement, Gible somersaulted and hurled himself inside of Whiscash's mouth.

"WHAT?!" Everyone but Ash shouted.

"Now Draco Meteor!" Ash ordered and Gible fired the move from inside Whiscash's mouth, creating a massive explosion that shot the fish upwards, with the sandstorm catching him and carrying him in the air.

"Metal Claw!" Gible jumped in the air once again glided into the sandstorm until he made it to Whiscash and slashed him down to then use Dragon Pulse and push him onto the floor leaving him knocked out.

"Whiscash is unable to battle! Gible is the winner!" Kukui exclaimed while Ash sighed relieved and Gible landed onto the battlefield to then happily jump around again.

"Not bad at all." Bertha smiled while recalling Whiscash. "But that was only a quarter of my team, Ash, I hope you're ready for more. Rhydon, you're next!" She said calling upon the Kanto Pokemon who roared once he was on scene.

"Gible, can you keep going?" Ash replied receiving a nod in response. "Fine then, Metal Claw!"

"Meteor Beam!" Rhydon gave a roar as he absorbed energy and then shot from his mouth an orange beam of light that Gible managed to avoid thanks to the Sand Veil and the shark then jumped to land a Metal Claw right onto Rhydon's face.

"Poison Jab!" Rhydon's arms were suddenly surrounded in purple energy as he landed a strong punch on Gible and sent him flying through the battlefield. "Do it again!" She ordered and Rhydon ran towards Gible.

"Mud Slap!" Gible quickly shot the attack to the floor and pushed himself backwards, causing Rhydon to miss his mark and hit the ground.

"Heat Crash!" Rhydon suddenly jumped into the air as his whole body was surrounded in flames and fell on top of Gible creating a fiery explosion. "Drill Run!" Rhydon roared again as his horn elongated and stabbed Gible with it, sending him flying again to then hit him mid-air with a Poison Jab and crash him against the floor.

"Tsk..." Ash gritted his teeth as he saw the shark struggling to get up again. "Gible, return for now." He said recalling him.

"He's cornered again." Marshall said.

"And he'll get himself out again." Juan replied. "Just wait and see."

"Palpitoad, I choose you!"

"Palpitoad makes Ash's fourth and final Pokemon in the match!" Dahlia said. "And all he has left besides him is an injured Gible, while Bertha still has Rhydon, a pretty much unscratched Hippowdon and a remaining fourth Pokemon. Will Ash really be able of making it out of this?"

"Only one way to find out. Hydro Pump!" Ash shouted and Palpitoad shot the attack at full force, hitting Rhydon and pushing him away.

"Hmp, Meteor Beam!"

"Earth Power!" While Rhydon was charging the attack, Palpitoad started vibrating and several explosions emerged from the earth, eventually hitting Rhydon and causing him to miss his attack.

"Sludge Bomb!" Palpitoad jumped in the air and swung his tongue around, shooting several balls of poison that exploded on contact while Rhydon covered himself with his arms.

"Drill Run!" Rhydon once again rushed towards his opponent and stabbed him to then push him onto the ground.

"Poison Jab!" Without giving Palpitoad time to react, Rhydon started punching him with his left and right fists surrounded by poison, hitting Palpitoad with a flurry of punches.

"Hydro Pump!" Ash called out but before Palpitoad could make the attack, Rhydon punched him right on his mouth and stopped him.

"Ngh, Hyper Voice!" Palpitoad let out a huge scream that caused Rhydon to flinch for a brief second only for the rhino to punch Palpitoad on the mouth yet again.

"Meteor Beam!"

"Palpitoad! Get out of there!" Ash shouted while Palpitoad tried to force his way out to no avail as Rhydon kept him down with his fist as he charged the attack. "Use Earth Power!" Palpitoad started vibrating again and the earth started to crumble beneath them but Rhydon shot his Meteor Beam at the exact same moment that the Earth Power surged from the ground, creating a massive explosion that sent Rhydon flying away before he landed roughly on the floor, meanwhile Palpitoad's silhouette could be seen between the dust and the sand laying motionless until it started shining with blue light as he stood up again and started growing, with two long arms being the first thing to be distinguished from the silhouette.

"SEISMITOAD!" He shouted causing the earth to shake once the evolution was complete.

"Someone didn't hear no bell!" Dahlia cheered on.

"Thank goodness." Ash sighed to then use the Pokedex App on his Rotom Phone. "Seismitoad, the Vibrating Pokemon, it increases the power of its punches by vibrating the bumps on its fists. It can turn a boulder to rubble with one punch. Seismitoad moveset has been updated: Hydro Pump, Quaking Punch, Focus Blast, Sludge Bomb. His ability is now Swift Swim.

"Hmp, shoot an Hydro Pump to the skies!" Ash said an Seismitoad did as told, with the Hydro Pump, creating a brief rain. "Use Quaking Punch!" He ordered and Seismitoad ran at high speed towards Rhydon as his punch vibrated and then sent him flying to a wall with a punch.

"Focus Blast!" Seismitoad put his hands and charged the attack, with an orange orb forming in between them.

"Drill Run!" Rhydon once again shot himself towards his enemy while Seismitoad tossed the attack, but the Drill Run managed to break through it and Rhydon stabbed him once again. "Poison Jab again!" She ordered and Rhydon once again attacked with a barrage of punches aiming at Seismitoad's stomach.

"Quaking Punch!" Seismitoad stopped one of Rhydon's fists with his own and then landed a quick uppercut to then push him away with a Hydro Pump, but Rhydon nailed his claws onto the ground to resist it.

"Poison Jab!"

"Quaking Punch!"

Both Pokemon made their moves and their fists met in the middle, creating a shockwave that caused the battlefield to crack, both Pokemon stood motionless in that position until Rhydon eventually fell to the floor and Seismitoad crossed his arms with a smirk.

"Rhydon is unable to battle! Seismitoad is the winner!" Kukui said but once he finished, Seismitoad flinched as his whole body was surrounded by purple sparks.

"My, my, Ash managed to settle the score, but it looks like all those Poison Jabs did their work and now Seismitoad is poisoned!" Dahlia shouted.

"S-Seismitoad, return-"

"TOAD!" He shouted and shook his head at him.

"Don't worry about his pain, child. I'll finish him fast." Bertha said as she recalled Rhydon. "You've gotten lucky a few times during the match, but it ends here. Come forth, Sudowoodo!" She exclaimed and the 'tree' took presence in the battlefield.

"Quaking Punch!" Ash ordered and Seismitoad moved swiftly and managed to land the attack and push Sudowoodo back.

"Rock Polish!" Bertha said and Sudowoodo spun around as his whole body shined.

"Sludge Bomb!" Seismitoad swung his tongue around, but Sudowoodo dashed away to avoid the poison orbs and then ran towards Seismitoad.

"Wood Hammer!" Bertha shouted as Sudowoodo's arms were surrounded by green energy and took the shape of a mace before he smacked Seismitoad away. "Do it again!"

"Focus Blast!" Seismitoad shot the move several times while Sudowoodo was running towards him and managed to land one of them, but Sudowoodo stayed on his feet regardless and then jumped high on the air before bringing himself down on him.

"Sludge Bomb!" Seismitoad shot the move again and this time most of the orbs hit Sudowoodo directly but he kept his course and slammed himself into Seismitoad with the Wood Hammer, leaving the toad out of commission.

"Seismitoad is unable to battle! Sudowoodo is the winner!" Kukui said and once again the winner of the battle was struck by poison damage as they were declared victorious.

"And eye for an eye!" Dahlia shouted wile Ash recalled Seismitoad. "Sudowoodo won rather quickly, but now he's poisoned, but whatever, that evolution wasn't enough to save Ash. Bertha still has her Hippowdon while he is down to his Gible, will he be able to pull a miracle like he did yesterday with Scraggy or are we before the end of his run as a champion?"

"...Wow." That was all Ash could mutter as he held onto Gible's Poke Ball. "Is this... Really it?" He asked to himself. "Even with Scraggy in a similar situation yesterday, there was only one Pokemon remaining, here there's two, I... No... What are you doing, Ash Ketchum? ... I'm not just going to give up, not until the battle is over... Besides, who cares if I lose? At the end of the day, this champion thing is just a title, I'll still have my Pokemon, my family, my friends... Heh, I'll still have my girls... Gible, I choose you!" He shouted and the land shark entered the scene again. "We believe in you, buddy!"

"Gible!" He exclaimed flexing his arms.

"Hehe, Rock Throw!" Bertha ordered and Sudowoodo stomped the ground, shooting several rock shards from the ground towards Gible.

"Metal Claw!" Gible rushed towards Sudowoodo while breaking the rocks with his claws until he reached Sudowoodo and slashed his face.

"Wood Hammer!" Sudowoodo was about to attack but the poison caused him to flinch, giving Gible a chance to hit him with another Metal Claw.

"Use Dragon Pulse!"

"Mimic!" Bertha ordered and Sudowoodo mirrored Gible's movements, with both of them shooting the attack at the same time and creating an explosion in the middle.

"Hmp." Ash smirked. "Keep using Dragon Pulse!"

"Then keep Mimicking!" Both Pokemon kept tossing orbs at each other until the two missed the mark and instead of hitting each other, the Dragon Pulses passed next to each other and hit their opponent.

"Draco Meteor!"

"Mimic!"

Both Pokemon prepared the attack and shot them to the air, however instead of exploding, Sudowoodo's Draco Meteor simply popped and ended falling down right back onto him with an explosion, which was then joined by Gible's Draco Meteor who exploded accordingly and rained over Sudowoodo.

"Alright, Metal Claw!"

"Use Mimic!" Bertha said and the two Pokemon slashed through each other, standing motionless for a few seconds before Sudowoodo fell down defeated.

"Sudowoodo is unable to battle! Gible is the winner!" Kukui said as Bertha recalled Sudowoodo.

"Heh, very well... You may have turned the tide, but Dear child, don't assume for an instant that you've won." Bertha said calling upon Hippowdon again, who summoned an even stronger Sandstorm this time. "Victory may be in sight, but take care not to lose your footing."

'Well, I don't want to sound pessimistic here.' Ash thought. "But if that Ice Fang from earlier hits us we're most likely done for, Gible may be faster thanks to the Sand Veil, but we can't get too confident on that... Dragon Pulse!"

"Iron Head!" Bertha ordered and Hippowdon's whole head turned silver as he ran towards Gible, breaking through the Dragon Pulse and hitting him Directly with a Headbutt. "Ice Fang!" Hippowdon was about to bite down Gible but the shark managed to jump away and avoid the attack.

"Hmp, you really think we'll let you use our Sandstorm to your advantage?" Bertha asked. "Let's see how you handle this! Scorching Sands!" She said and Hippowdon roared while releasing several stream of orange sand that mixed with the ongoing Sandstorm and started burning Gible.

"Perfect." Ash said with a cough as the hot sand also reached him, but Bertha seemed unfazed by it.

"Well, I say we help the little one refresh a little!" Bertha said. "If you don't mind, Ash, I'd like to try your unorthodox battle style myself. Hippowdon, form a Water Pulse and then freeze it with Ice Fang!" She said and her ace opened his mouth and did as told, freezing the Water Pulse and turning it into an Ice Ball that he shot towards Gible, the shark managed to avoid it again, but the Ice Ball exploded once it hit the ground and several ice shards came from it, hitting Gible in the process.

"Gible! Are you okay?!" Ash shouted while he struggled to stand up again.

"Looks like he wasn't fast enough for that." Bertha said. "I'm very sorry, child, I'm impressed you've made it so far, but this is the end of your road. Ice Ball again!"

"Come on, get up, Gible." Iris said.

"Gible..." Ash trailed off while the shark fell to the floor again, but just as he did, the Dragon Scale on his fin started to illuminate. "Huh?"

"Don!" Hippowdon grunted before tossing the Ice Ball, but at the exact moment the Dragon Scale shined brighter and Gible's body illuminated on purple light before he finally stood up.

"Gible!" He roared as his body expelled out several arrow shaped scales that that stopped the Ice Ball and broke through it go then keep going and reach Hippowdon, exploding on contact and pushing him back a few steps.

"Scale Shot!" Ash smiled recognizing the new move to then stare at Nessa. "Oh, I remember that, less defense, but more speed." He said while Gible stomped the ground.

"As if that evolution wasn't enough! Looks like Ash always has a card up his sleeve!" Dahlia shouted.

"Come on! It's all or nothing! Scale Shot!" Ash shouted and Gible repeated the move, shooting several arrow shaped scales at Hippowdon.

"Iron Head!" Hippowdon ran at Gible again, blocking the scales with his head, but failing to land his attack once he reached him.

"Metal Claw!" Ash said as Gible swiftly moved around and hit Hippowdon from all directions.

"Above you! Iron Head!" Bertha called and Hippowdon managed to get the right timing, sending Gible flying up with a Headbutt, but this once again got carried away by the Sandstorm and started gliding around at high speed despite the Scorching Sands still on play. "Ice Ball!" Hippowdon shot the move several times, but Gible continued to glide away and avoid them.

"Scale Shot!" Gible shot the move from above and Hippowdon was unable to avoid them as the explosive arrows surrounded him. "Now go down and use Metal Claw!" Gible then took dive among the Sandstorm preparing both claws for the attack.

"We got you! Ice Ball!" Hippowdon quickly shot the move as Gible descended towards him, but before he could reach it, Gible started spinning as his fin was also surrounded by metal, breaking through the ice like a buzzsaw and then hitting Hippowdon right on his head and slamming him onto the ground, leaving him defeated and finally ending the battle.

"Hippowdon is unable to battle! Gible is the winner and the victory goes to Ash!" Kukui called out and Ash sighed relieved while Gible ran to him and jumped to his head, biting him again.

"You did an amazing job, Gible!" Ash exclaimed taking the shark on his arms again and giving him a hug.

"He did indeed." Bertha replied recalling Hippowdon to then walk to Ash. "Your Pokémon believed in you and did their best to earn you the win... heh, look a me, even though I've lost, I find myself with this silly grin!"

"Thanks for the battle, Miss Bertha." Ash replied. "I honestly thought I had already lost for a second, but I wasn't going to give in."

"And for that, I congratulate you, Ash." She said. "But be prepared, the remaining Elite Four Members that go after me are both much more formidable opponents. You really must have your wits about you. However, I think you can go as far as you desire. Best of luck." She said with a smile to then walk out of the arena.

"Very well, everyone, we'll do our usual 30 minutes break to let the champion breathe and rearrange his team." Dahlia said to the crowd. "His next battle will be against the Unova representative, Marshal Reich, so get ready for it!"

"YES! HE DID IT!" Cynthia shouted. "In your face!" She said pointing at Marshal and the rest of the trainers simply stared awkwardly at her.

"My apologies, it seems I truly underestimated him." Marshal replied. "Best way I can apologize is to give him an even better battle so I'll be heading down for a last-minute warm-up." He said before walking out of the room.

"Looks like I'll get to do my part after all." Drasna said. "Which means I'll get to use my special guest too!"

"Wait, you mean that Dragon-Type you showed Clair and me the other day?" Iris said.

"Yes, indeed!" Drasna giggled. "But it's a surprise, so don't tell anyone!"

"I'm quite interested to see it in battle honestly." Clair added.

"What are you three talking about?" Lance asked.

"I just said it's a surprise." Drasna said pinching his cheek.

"Well, Diantha, do you still think these challenges are too much for Ash?" Goodshow asked.

"No, I definitely don't." Diantha answered. "I don't even know why I doubted it, I've seen first-hand how strong Ash can be."

"I told you all." Cynthia said before walking to the door. "Anyway, I need to something real quick, I'll see you before the next battle."

"The young Atlas once again surpassed our expectations." Lorelei said.

"Hey, I was thinking, maybe you and I could make a party for him after he earns his champion title." Karen said.

"Why you and I specifically?" Lorelei asked.

"Ever heard of double sandwiches?" She asked with a smirk as she bopped Lorelei's chest

"What do you..." Lorelei stared at her for a moment before blushing profusely. "YOU WHOR-"

...

Meanwhile, as per usual, the girlfriends left the stands and met with Ash in his designated changing room along with Elaine and Mina.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Elaine shouted with both hers and Ash's Pikachu on her shoulders while she pointed at Ash. "You're the champion! You're supposed to set an example! How dare showing up late?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Elaine." Ash said while the girl pouted and crossed her arms. "Seriously, it's not like it was my idea, it was just something that happened unexpectedly."

"Ugh, yeah, sure, and who are you anyway?" Elaine said looking at Meray. "That's Flannery's outfit, isn't it?"

"Uh, yes, it is." Meray answered. "But she isn't coming, Bea here thought it'd be a good idea for me to wear it just for today, my name is Meray Bohemie, I'm not Ash's girlfriend yet, I just happened to come along with someone that he needed to help him."

"I see..." Elaine said. "Well, sorry if I'm sounding rude, but I'm Ash's sister and I'm trying to keep track of all the girls."

"Speaking of that, since everyone is here now, shouldn't we talk about what happened with Selene?" Cynthia asked and the rest of the girls looked at mentioned girl.

"Welp, I imagine we should let you discuss that in private. Peace." Mina said grabbing Elaine and carrying her under her arm, with her Pikachu jumping to painter's shoulders before they walked out of the room while Ash's Pikachu jumped to Meray's shoulders, leaving Ash alone with his 10 official girlfriends, along with Selene and Meray, with the latter taking a few steps back from the group, but deciding to stay in the room regardless, while the rest formed a circle around Selene.

"Selene, you know that what you did was an abuse of trust, right?" Bea asked.

"I know and I'm really sorry." Selene answered. "I-It's never gonna happen again, I swear, p-please don't pull me away from Ash, my heart has been hearing for him for so long, I-I love him as much as you all do."

"And we know Ash loves you as much as he loves us." Nessa said. "Otherwise what happened wouldn't have happened."

"And it was mostly Gloria and Nia's fault, so I guess we can't complain much about you." Mallow said.

"Yeah, we probably would have done the same if we had been in your shoes." Lana said.

"I'm hearing, you two." Lillie sighed. "But they're right to a degree. Uh, sorry about strangling you."

"Yup, we all love Ash a lot and that makes us go overboard sometimes." Skyla said. "But that's why we got us to support each other."

"And Ash was the one to pull the trigger anyway." Cynthia said pinching his cheek. "You could've chosen not to drill her, you know?"

"I-I'm sorry too." Ash said.

"I guess we were all too moved by the suddenness earlier." Bea said. "So, everyone who's okay with Selene joining us raise your hand." She said and one by one all 10 girlfriends ended up with one hand in the air.

"We're really starting to look like a cult, aren't we?" Gloria asked with a laugh.

"I don't think that's a laughing matter." Peonia said.

"Looks like it's settled then." Bea said offering a handshake to Selene while she smiled. "Welcome in."

"T-Thank you so much." Selene whispered accepting the handshake and did her best to not cry before looking at Ash and jumping to him with a hug that almost knocked him down only to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Our first kiss as a couple." She smiled at him with tears in her eyes.

"Yup, the first of many." Ash answered taking her into another kiss to then hug her and the rest of the girlfriends quickly joined in, while Meray stood behind with a smile and Pikachu covered his eyes embarrassed.

"Guess I was right." Meray said. "This is truly the most beautiful kind of love in the whole world."

Back in Kalos.

"Can you explain me why haven't we left exactly?" Domino asked.

"It looks like the more I use this stuff, the more time it needs to recharge." Millis said looking at her watch while they were deep inside a forest.

"You probably used the wrong materials to make it." Xerosic answered sitting on a log. "Even though the King's Credential should have the exact details."

"Well, that's why you're coming with us, Mr. Heat Miser." Millis replied. "Giovanni wants you to help with this big master plan he's making."

"And what's the bright idea exactly?" Xerosic asked.

"We aren't sure just yet, he'll probably tell you himself once we're there." Millis said.

"I must remind you that I still haven't agreed to either go with you or join your cause." Xerosic answered.

"We broke you out of prison, so you're in debt with Team Rocket." Domino replied. "Besides, if we leave you here, where exactly are you planning to run off to? There must be an army of police officers on the way here to contain the other criminals that escaped and all of Team Flare's bases have been brought down."

"I guess you have a point..." Xerosic said before tensing up and looking around.

"What's the matter?" Millis asked.

"There's a chill in the air..." Xerosic whispered. "She's here!" He shouted standing up right before Emma teleported in front of the group.

"...Well, what do we have here?" Emma asked.

"...Ah, if it isn't my finest work." Xerosic smiled. "Impressive you're still alive. I missed you, Essentia."

"That. Is not. MY NAME!" She shouted running to him and landing a Bullet Punch right on his stomach, sending him flying through a tree before jumping and landing next to him.

"Uh... you saw that too, right?" Domino asked while Millis was frozen in place. "We, uh, w-we have to help him! Giovanni needs him-" Domino was about to pull out a Poke Ball, but Millis stopped her.

"Let's... stand aside for now." Millis said.

"But our mission is to bring Xerosic to Team Rocket!" Domino exclaimed.

"T-This is obviously personal, we're not getting into that fight." Millis answered before guiding Domino to hide with her behind a bush.

"But Millis-

"Hey! I'm your superior and I say we're staying aside!" She interrupted her while she looked at Emma. "Besides... That voice..."

"Come on, get up!" Emma shouted grabbing Xerosic by his shoulders and lifting him up before slamming his back against a tree. "You thought I'd just die in that lab, didn't you?"

"It wouldn't been more convenient for both of us, yes." Xerosic answered before quickly looking inside his pocket and pulling out a syringe with a bright orange liquid inside and Emma quickly dashed away from him once she saw it.

"You're still scared of these, huh?" Xerosic asked. "Don't worry, this isn't for you." He smiled before nailing the syringe in his arm. "Ngh, this is something I've been working on while in prison, like I mentioned you, we did a massive progress while doing field tests with you, we gave so many steps closer to creating a perfect human." As he explained this, the veins of his body started to glow with an orange light. "I'll admit it's not a perfect formula yet, but it should be able of letting me go toe to toe with you." After saying this, Xerosic ran at Emma at high speed and landed an uppercut that sent her helmet flying away. "What do you think?" He asked while Emma gave a few steps back.

"That girl..." Millis whispered looking at Emma's face once she didn't have her helmet on.

"You know her?" Domino asked.

"That's... Not your problem." Millis answered.

"...That didn't hurt." Emma answered looking down and seeing the blood drops coming from her nose.

"Ah, of course not, blocking your pain receptors was one of our first tests." Xerosic said. "After all, we couldn't afford you letting the pain stop a mission half way through. I suppose you don't feel pain aside from the glitches, but as you can see, your body can still take damage." Xerosic then ran to her and tried to punch her again, but Emma stopped him with her hand.

"Yeah... you can damage me." Emma said staring at Xerosic while her pupils turned pitch black again. "Which means, I don't have to hold back." She said with a smile before closing her fist on his and breaking his fingers, causing Xerosic to scream in pain and step back while Emma slowly walked towards him.

"Huh, looks like your pain receptors aren't blocked." Emma giggled before landing another Bullet Punch right on his face and send him to another tree.

"T-This is no matter!" He shouted. "I developed a healing factor that will-"

"Oh, really?" Emma asked dashing to him and pushing him to the floor. "Then I really don't have to worry about killing you." She giggled again before landing another punch on his face. "Come on, say it."

"Say what?" He asked coughing blood.

"Say it..." She whispered holding him by his hair. "Say what you said every time you tortured me..."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"SAY IT!" Emma shouted to then scream in pain as her body started to glitch and Xerosic took the opportunity to run away. "Ngh... Keep it inside." She said to herself while her body returned to normal and then looked at her helmet laying on the floor. "No... If this is going to happen, he's gonna see me eye to eye." She said before teleporting away.

"Help me, you idiots!" Xerosic shouted looking around for Domino and Millis only to be surprised by Emma who grabbed him by his neck before raising him up and tossing him to the floor again, while Domino and Millis remained hidden behind the bushes.

"I'm gonna put it in a language you can understand." Emma said staring at him while Xerosic tried to stand up again. "Say what you said every time you gave me a new power, what you said every time you 'saved me'." She said before kicking him away. "What you said every time you helped me become a 'perfect human'." Emma added with another smile.

"Oh, that." Xerosic suddenly stood up and punched her on the face, he then tried to run away, but Emma grabbed him by his back, getting a hold of his spine and crushing it with her hand, making Xerosic scream in pain again.

"Say it." She whispered to his ear.

"...Blessed... are the wicked... who are healed by my hand." He whispered and Emma took a deep breath before tossing him to another tree.

"Come on, is that all?" She asked slowly walking to him. "I thought you were stronger, you said you could go toe to toe with me."

"I still don't get it." Xerosic said effortlessly trying to move. "After all I did for you, you should be thankful."

"Thankful?!" Emma shouted dashing to him and grabbing him by his neck before releasing a Discharge. "You turned me into a monster!"

"I turned you into a God!" He answered. "Look at things you're capable of! Things that humans can't even dream of doing!"

"Does this look like a God to you?!" Emma shouted before being hit by another glitch. "AAAAAARGH! GAH! NGH-" She grunted while holding her head and tried to get her body to return to normal.

"Heh, you should put on your helmet." He said with a grin.

"JUST WHY ME?!" Emma shouted. "Of all the people in Kalos, why choose me?!

"Wrong place, wrong time, nothing more than that." Xerosic answered. "Don't think too highly of yourself, you weren't anything special before we found you."

"Enough of this!" Emma shouted once her body stopped glitching and punched Xerosic on his chest, causing him to spurt out blood from his mouth. "You and I are headed to fix me! You're gonna turn me into a normal human again!" She said and Xerosic simply smiled. "What are you laughing at?!" Emma shouted grabbing him by his neck again.

"Even after all this... You're still unbearable naive, Essentia."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" She shouted and took a hold of his left arm to then crush it and Xerosic gritted his teeth before sighing.

"Did you... really think there was a cure... for what you are?"

"What do you mean?!" Emma asked.

"You heard me, dear." He said to then laugh between coughs of blood while Emma silently stared at him. "I can't fix you, because there's nothing to fix, you're not 'broken', you're upgraded, with side effects, but upgraded, you are now beyond humanity, there's no way for you to go back, you'll live with those powers until your body can't handle the glitches anymore and destroys itself from inside out.

"So, you mean to say..." Emma started glitching again, but she managed to control it and held Xerosic's neck with both her hands. "That after all this... there's no cure for me?"

"It sounds even stupider when you say it." Xerosic replied.

"As stupid as admitting you can't do the one thing I'm keeping you alive for?!" Emma shouted.

"...There might be something you can do." Xerosic said. "Malva... she may know something."

"What could she possibly know that you didn't?!"

"She was Lysandre's second-in-command after all, she was aware of everything more than anyone else." He explained. "Why do you think they released her? Because she gave away all of the information regarding Team Flare."

"They released her?!" Emma shouted. "After everything she did?!"

"Heh, I thought you knew, she's living her best life outside." Xerosic said.

"Why... Why wouldn't Looker tell me?!" Emma exclaimed.

"Looker?" Xerosic asked. "Oh, right, that agent who came asking questions about you, pfft, by the way he talked, it sounded like they wanted to make use of you and your powers as well."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Emma shouted grabbing his broken arm again and fastening her grip on it before fully ripping it off and tossing it aside, letting Xerosic scream in pain while she took a few steps back, holding her head and hyperventilating as another glitch hit her, meanwhile Xerosic's arm landed in front of the Team Rocket girls and Domino held onto Millis' arm in fear.

"Looker... Looker would NEVER let the Interpol use me like you did!" Emma shouted.

"Then... why are you here?" Xerosic asked. "If they... didn't send you to contain the riot then I imagine you escaped from their custody... but why would you do that if you believed in that guy Looker so much? ...Either way, I'm a little flattered that the first thing you thought of was to pay me a visit."

"SHUT UP!" Emma shouted using Extreme Speed combined with a Bullet Punch, landing it on Xerosic's stomach and going all the way through him. "I'm HERE because apparently I can't trust the authorities with ANYTHING! I can't trust them to protect ME! I can't trust them stop criminals like YOU! ...but that's fine." She sighed before glitching again. "Cause I'm here to make sure you don't do this to anybody else ever again." She said pulling out her arm and raising it up in the air, forming a Dragon Claw on her hand. "Any last words?"

"...I'm... proud of you... Essentia." He whispered with a smile.

"Who the hell cares?" Emma asked with a blank stare.

"Are we seriously not going to do anything?!" Domino asked while Millis silently frowned.

Back in Alola.

After another lovey-dovey session with his girlfriends, Ash returned to the battlefield, this time without running late, but Marshal was already waiting on his side of the arena, so Ash walked to him once he entered it.

"So here you are." Marshal said. "Like I told you, I've heard lots of things about you both from my Master Alder and from Iris. While your three battles from yesterday were interesting, I was starting to think they exaggerated while seeing your performance against Bertha, but you managed to pull yourself back up and win, not to mention, anyone has gotten cornered in a battle at least once... I apologize for underestimating you, just give me your best."

"The best is what you're getting." Ash replied and Marshal smiled before Ash ran to his position.

"So Marshal, do you know him, Bea?" Nessa asked. "I think your father mentioned him once."

"He visited the Stow-on-side Gym a few times, but I never got to meet him." Bea answered. "My father wouldn't let me go outside even for stuff like that, huh."

"Sounds like you've been through a lot." Meray said.

"Yeah, but I don't really care about all that now." Bea answered. "My life now is with Ash, and all you, of course, that's all that matters."

"Looks like we're all set. So the condition for this fifth battle will be..." Dahlia spun her roulette again until it stopped on the symbol of a circle with a double-sided arrows around it. "A Rotation Battle!"

"Rotation Battle?" Ash asked.

"Seems like it's my lucky day." Marshal said. "I assume you haven't had one of those before, right?"

"No, I haven't." Ash replied.

"Then I'll explain, if you don't mind." Marshal said as the battlefield changed again, showing two circles with double-sided arrows around them. "This is a special type of battle that has become popular in Unova lately, and one that I'm very fond of myself, it's normally a 3v3, but this battle is meant to be 4v4 so we can adjust that rule, now the battle is as follow." Marshal looked for his Poke Balls and released four Pokemon, a Conkeldurr who stood at the front part of the circle, a Sawk at his right, a Throh at his left and a Poliwrath behind them.

"All the Pokemon that will be part of the battle will be at the battlefield at all times, however only the one that is at the front of the circle can attack and be attacked." Marshal explained as Conkeldurr smirked before the trainer pulled out his Rotom Phone. "There's an app you have download, once you do, you only have to open it and link it to the current battlefield, which will give you control over your wheel." He said as the circle spun with the Pokemon on top of it, leaving Sawk at the front. "The point of the battle is to keep switching back and forth until one side is left without Pokemon, your opponent can see all your Pokemon so he might be able to guess what you're gonna do next, but you're the one who controls your wheel so whatever choice you take is up to you, the wheel will protect the other Pokemon from any harm caused by the moves, but the after effects such as status will remain after being switched, also, the other Pokemon can't use support moves nor boost themselves if they're not in turn, you got all that?"

"Yeah, I think I did." Ash nodded while he downloaded the app. "Fine then. Talonflame, Snivy, Pignite, Dewott, I choose you!" He shouted calling upon the four Pokemon, who stood on the wheel with Snivy on the front, Dewott on the right, Pignite on the left and Talonflame behind them. "Now let's see..." Ash tested out the app and the wheel spun around, leaving Talonflame at the front. "Alright, I think I'm ready."

"So be it." Marshall nodded.

"If both trainers are ready, then the battle begins now!" Kukui shouted.

"Brave Bird!" Ash gave the first order and Talonflame took flight surrounded by blue energy as he aimed at Sawk.

"Bulk Up!" Marshal replied and Sawk flexed his muscles. "Now Rock Tomb!" He added and the wheel spun again, taking Conkeldurr to the front, who then tossed his concrete pillars at Talonflame, stopping his attack and knocking him to the ground. "Now Bulldoze!" The wheel spun again and now Sawk was at the front again, with him slamming his palm against the ground, creating a shockwave that hit Talonflame and pushed him away.

"Marshal practices this type of battle a lot." Shauntal said in the stands next to Caitlin and Phoebe. "And since Ash has never tried it before this is yet another wall against him."

"He has managed to adapt and overcome every challenge so far. I doubt this will be any different." Caitlin answered to then stare at Phoebe, who simply had her arms crossed while she looked at the battle.

"Did I take you by surprise as well?" Marshal asked.

"I just need to get used to this battle style." Ash replied staring at his Rotom Phone and steering the wheel so Dewott would be at the front. "Rest a bit, Talonflame!"

"Hmp, Bulk Up!" Marshal said and Sawk flexed his muscles again.

"Dewott, Air Slash!" Ash said and Dewott took both Scalchops in hand as white blades formed on them and he ran towards Sawk.

"Dual Chop!" Sawk bumped his fists together and these were surrounded by purple energy that took the shape of a roaring dragon to then form two purple sais on his hands, which he used to block Dewott's attack. "As Grimsley would say, en garde." Marshal said as the two Pokemon started to trade attacks back and forth, Dewott's slashes were a lot faster, but Sawk managed to block them with his sais, while his stabs seemed to carry much force, but were slower, which allowed Dewott to avoid them, the scene continued until Dewott jumped and spun around, using his tail to knock the sais of Sawk's hands and managing to slash him twice on his face with the Air Slash.

"Great job! Now Hydro Spear!" Ash said and Dewott raised two Air Slashes on the air to then push himself up with an Aqua Jet, stabbing Sawk on a drilling motion and leaving him on the floor. "Air Slash!"

"Mat Block!" Marshal said steering the wheel and now Throh was in front, Throh then crossed his arms and a red Mat appeared in front of him, creating a smoke explosion and sending Dewott flying away once he hit it.

"Hmp, Trump Card!" Dewott stood up and crossed his arms, summoning several large cards with different symbols on it, he then slashed a card with a rope symbol and this shoot itself at Throh.

"Bulk Up!" Throh flexed his muscles and braced himself for the attack, but once the card reached him, it didn't nothing at all. "Wait, what?" Marshal asked before noticing a small seed on top of Throh's head, which then turned into a small vine that quickly grew and wrapped around his chest. "Wait a..." Marshal looked at his Rotom Phone and tried to steer the wheel, but this didn't respond. "Ngh, that's Leech Seed!"

"Looks like luck is back in our side!" Ash exclaimed steering the wheel and leaving Snivy on the front. "Use Attract!" He ordered and Snivy jumped as she winked, sending several hearts to Throh, who was trying to rip the vine off him.

"Mat Block!" Throh summoned the shield again and blocked the hearts, but Snivy took advantage of the smoke created by this and quickly dashed towards Throh, ending up right in front of him.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash said and Snivy slashed Throh with her tail in an upwards motion, sending him flying up. "Now Twister!" Snivy spun her tail around and summoned a purple tornado that caught Throh while he was still in the air only to slam him against the battlefield. "Now, it's your chance, Attract!" Snivy once again did her signature move and Throh was unable to block, becoming infatuated by Snivy. "Now let's finish him up! Steel Wing!" Ash steered the wheel again and Talonflame was now in front, quickly flying at the defenseless Throh and slashing him several times with his wings to then take flight, all of that while the Leech Seed continued to drain Throh. "Brave Bird!" Ash called out and Talonflame descended on a high speed dive.

"Throh! You need to react now! Use Circle Throw!" He called out and his Pokemon snapped out of the Attract just enough to to grab Talonflame by his wings and toss him onto the floor, but right after that the Attract took over him again.

"Razor Wind!" Talonflame took flight again and started flapping his wings, sending several blades of wind towards Throh.

"Sawk!" The Pokemon shouted and looked back at Marshal.

"As long as that Leech Seed is on him I can't activate the wheel!" Marshal replied. "I'm sorry to say it, but Throh is on his own."

"Flare Blitz!" Talonflame engulfed himself on flames and crashed against Throh to then grab him with his claws raise him up on the air. "Now Brave Bird!" Talonflame let go off Throh and kicked him away, only to dive onto him while on free fall all the way down until they both crashed onto the battlefield, kicking up plenty of dust, and once this settled, Throh was seen unable to battle, while Talonflame was pecking his wings on top of him.

"Throh is unable to battle! Talonflame is the winner!" Kukui announced.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Bea shouted raising her pom-poms up in the air and Meray shyly joined her.

"Well, after seeing how much he struggled against Bertha, it is nice to see him starting with the upper hand." Meray added.

"Looks like Ash learned some things from that Bertha battle!" Dahlia said. "But let's see if he can keep that up!"

"You did your best, Throh." Marshal said while recalling him.

"Sawk!" The Pokemon called him again.

"No, you're irate and I can't let you fight like that. I understand how you're feeling, you consider that tactic dirty, but it was a completely fair fight all things considered. Try to calm down for the moment." He answered to then steer the wheel again, leaving Conkeldurr at the front while Sawk sighed and knelt down to start meditating.

"Let's keep going, guys!" Ash said steering his wheel and leaving Pignite at the front. "Gyro Ball!" Pignite jumped in the air and summersault as his body was outlined by silver light to then roll at high speed towards Conkeldurr.

"Bulk Up!" Conkeldurr flexed his muscles and the Gyro Ball hit him right on the chest, but he managed to withstand and pushed Pignite away with his pecs.

"Brick Break!" Pignite ran at Conkeldurr again while his arm shined with red energy.

"Rock Tomb!" Before Pignite could reach him, Conkeldurr raised his pillars and swung them around, sending Pignite flying away again. "Now Focus Punch!" Marshal ordered again and in an instant Conkeldurr nailed his pillars on the ground, leaving them behind as he dashed towards Pignite, landing a powerful uppercut and sending him flying up.

"Use Gyro Ball from there!" Ash said and Pignite curled up as he descended, landing on top of Conkeldurr. "Brick Break!" Pignite once again prepared the attack and managed to land it on Conkeldurr's face, sending him flying away and making him crash against his pillars.

"Heh, very good..." Marshall said. "Fine! Use Rain Dance!"

"What?" Ash asked while Conkeldurr raised his arms and the sky was covered in black clouds that instantly started to rain over the battlefield.

"But..." Ash stared at Marshal's team for a moment. "I see, then Attract!" Ash activated the wheel again and left Snivy at the front, who quickly made her move while Marshall simply smiled and activated his wheel as well, leaving Poliwrath at the front and letting the Attract surrounded her, but after the move hit, Poliwrath simply bumped her fists."

"She's female!" Ash said.

"And I imagine you already guessed her ability." Marshal said. "Let's see how you handle this! Ice Punch!" Poliwrath swiftly moved on the battlefield, reaching Snivy in a matter of seconds to then hit her with an Ice Punch in an uppercut manner, sending her flying away, before jumping towards her and punching her down to the floor again.

"Snivy!" Ash called out and was about to spin the wheel again.

"No, you're not! Whirlpool!" The spiral on Poliwrath's belly quickly started to spin and shoot a stream of water that surrounded Snivy before forming a whirlpool around her and exploding. "You caught us with that Leech Seed earlier so I'll be returning you the favor." Marshal said as a smaller Whirlpool surrounded Snivy and Ash tried to spin the wheel, but this didn't respond.

"So we can't spin." Ash said while Snivy looked at him and simply shrugged her shoulders. "Well, alright then! Let's fight the old way! Use Aerial Ace!"

"Ice Punch!"

Snivy jumped in the air and tried to hit Poliwrath from above, but the frog dashed away and caused her to crash against the floor only to hit her with an Ice Punch and send her flying away again.

"Low Kick!"

"Use Leaf Blade!"

Poliwrath slid on the now wet battlefield to try and land the kick, but Snivy jumped up just in time and slashed her with her tail to then jump away.

"Now Twister!"

"Bulk Up!"

Poliwrath flexed her muscles while Snivy charged the move and then tossed the purple tornado at him, Poliwrath was pushed back by the wind, but she then started walking against the tornado, Snivy tried to intensify the wind, but Poliwrath kept going against it until Snivy was hit by another small whirlpool, which caused her to stop her move and gave Poliwrath the chance to reach her and grab her by her neck.

"She's done for." Marshal said as Poliwrath raised Snivy in the air while still holding her by her neck and started using ice Punch, with the ice slowly covering Snivy's while body.

"Snivy!" Ash shouted while she tried to force her way out, but her movements slowed down the more the ice covered her body.

"Pignite Pig!"

"Dewott Wott!"

The other two Unova starters cheered on her and Snivy smiled at them before the ice covered her whole body from head to tail, with Poliwrath letting her fall to the floor once this was done. "Finish her off!" Marshal said and Poliwrath charged another Ice Punch, but before she could hit Snivy again, the ice that surrounded her suddenly exploded with a burst of green energy that pushed Poliwrath away.

"Snivy?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pignite!"

"Dewott!"

"Don't tell me..." Marshal trailed off while he saw Snivy stand up as her whole body was surrounded by a green light which died down to reveal a smirking Servine. "Heh, two evolutions in a row, seems like your luck just refuses to run out." He said while Ash scanned Servine.

'Servine, the Grass Snake Pokemon, They avoid attacks by sinking into the shadows of thick foliage and retaliate with masterful whipping techniques. Servine has forgotten Leaf Blade and learned Grass Pledge."

"The evolution freed her from the whirlpool and... Grass Pledge..." Ash said while Dewott and Pignite both looked back at him. "Oh, hell, yes!"

"Once again, a surprise evolution has hit Ash in the middle of a battle!" Dahlia said. "But this time with him already having the advantage, could it be that Marshall is done for?"

"Don't count on that! Ice Punch!"

"Grass Pledge!" Servine slammed her tail against the ground and several columns of green energy rose from beneath, stopping Poliwrath and exploding onto her.

"Fire Pledge!" Ash steered the wheel and left Pignite on the front, with him slamming his fist on the ground and attacking Poliwrath with several columns of fire.

"Now Dewott! Like we practiced! Water Pledge!" Ash steered the wheel again and once Dewott was on the lead he jumped up and then landed forcefully on the battlefield, summoning a giant water column that raised Poliwrath in the air, this column was then joined by the remnants of the Fire and Grass Pledges and the three moves merged together to then create a massive explosion mid-air that dissipated the clouds and stopped the rain, Poliwrath then fell down and once she hit the ground again she was knocked out.

"Poliwrath is unable to battle! Dewott is the winner!" Kukui exclaimed while the three starters celebrated only to pant exhausted afterwards.

"Great, Nia's idea worked out in the end." Ash said looking at her and giving her a thumbs up.

"Alright! I told you teaching Water Pledge to Dewott was a great idea!" Peonia said to the other girls. "It was a plan in case he got a double battle, but this worked out even better."

"And with that Ash now has the lead at 4 to 2! Pretty impressive considering the Battle against Bertha!" Dahlia said.

"Once again, it appears that I underestimated you." Marshal said to then recall Poliwrath and steer the wheel to leave Conkeldurr at the front, while Sawk was still meditating. "Bulk up!" He ordered and Conkeldurr flexed his muscles yet again.

"Alright, you three need to rest after that combined pledge, so I'll need you to hold the forth for a moment, Talonflame." Ash said steering the wheel and leaving the bird on the front. "Brave Bird!"

"Focus Punch!" Conkeldurr nailed his pillars on the ground again and waited until Talonflame reached him to intercept his attack with the Focus Punch, sending them both flying in opposite directions, Talonflame quickly took flight again, while Conkeldurr stood up with difficulty to then be hit by a burn.

"Alright! Talonflame's Flame Body!" Mallow said.

"I wouldn't get too confident on that." Bea said.

"Bulk up!" Marshal ordered and Conkeldurr flexed his muscles yet again. "Now Rain Dance!" Conkeldurr raised his hands and restarted the rain, albeit this was heavier than before and even thunders could be heard rumbling.

"His ability must be Guts." Bea said. "He's using the rain to damper the burn, but the attack boost should remain the same."

"Rock Tomb! Mode 2!" Conkeldurr quickly ran to his pillars and raised them in the air to then smack them against each other, instantly turning them into rubble only to raise his hands again and send the rubble flying towards Talonflame.

"Steel Wing!" Talonflame reacted quickly and started cutting through the rocks, but while he was doing that, Conkeldurr ran to him and landed another Focus Punch, sending Talonflame to the floor. "Razor Wind!" Talonflame started flapping his wings again, but Conkeldurr withstood the attacks thanks to the several Bulk Ups and landed another Focus Punch on Talonflame.

"Bulk Up!" He repeated and Conkeldurr flexed his muscles again.

"Talonflame is in a bit of a trouble... but the others are still exhausted because of the Pledges." Ash said looking at the starters while Conkeldurr was flexing. "Fine then!" Ash exclaimed and activated a Z-Crystal to then strike the corresponding poses.

"I see... Well, you've been adjusting very well to this Unova style of battle so I'll do the same for your Alola Style!" Marshal revealed his own Z-Ring and activated a Z-Crystal, with Conkeldurr synchronizing his moves with him as Talonflame went up in the air.

"Corkscrew Crash!" Ash shouted and Talonflame took dive in a spinning motion while being surrounded by a giant silver drill-shaped energy.

"Continental Crush!" Marshal shouted and Conkeldurr roared while several rocks rose from the ground and formed a giant fist-shaped boulder on his arm.

"DURR!"

"FLAME!"

Both Pokemon shouted before their attacks met and caused a massive explosion followed by a shockwave, both Ash and his Pokemon barely managed to stand on their feet while Marshal was seemingly unaffected and Sawk continued meditating, several rocks then fell from the sky and as the scene cleared the two Pokemon could be seen defeated.

"Both Talonflame and Conkeldurr are unable to battle! The match is a tie!" Kukui exclaimed while both trainers recalled their Pokemon.

"And with that Marshal is left with only one Pokemon against Ash's three, will he be able the equal the match or has Ash already won?" Dahlia asked while Marshal spun the wheel to leave Sawk at the front, while Ash let Servine at the lead.

"My last Pokemon, it all comes down to this." Marshal said. "You really surprised me, Ash, I see now, more than exaggerating, I think Master Alder and Iris fell short, to be able to oppose me, with Pokemon who aren't even in their final form yet, that's truly remarkable... But don't get too cocky, the battle isn't over until one side is out of Pokemon." He smiled while Sawk finally stood up from his meditating pose and immediately used Bulk Up.

'Another combined Pledge could be enough to end him.' Ash thought. 'But they're still exhausted from the first one and there's no real guarantee... Servine, use Attract!"

"Dual Chop!" Sawk once again bumped his fist together, but this time instead of sais, the energy took the shape of a double-ended spear, Sawk then ran towards the hearts and slashed them apart with the blades to then nail the spear on the floor and use it as a vaulting pole, sending himself flying towards Servine to bring her down with a kick. "Close Combat!" Before Servine could stand up, Sawk attacked her with a flurry of punches and kicks in a matter of seconds.

"Aerial Ace!" Servine quickly slithered on the ground and used her tail to slash Sawk several times on his legs, causing him to kneel in pain, but Sawk managed to grab her by her tail and then smacked her against the floor. "Use Attract while you're close!"

"Dual Chop!" Sawk quickly let go of Servine to use the move, this time forming a double-sided axe and sending Service to the skies with a quick upper slash, the hearts of the Attract then surrounded him, but Sawk quickly jumped to avoid them while still holding the axe, grabbing Servine by her tail with his free hand to then slam her to the ground and toss the axe at her.

"Gyro Ball!" Ash steered the wheel last minute and put Pignite on the front, with him jumping and curling up, breaking through the axe and then slamming himself onto Sawk, but he quickly reacted and grabbed the pig by his tail as well, tossing him the floor like he did with Servine.

"Bulldoze!" Marshal shouted while Sawk fell and this landed with this fist on the ground, sending a massive shockwave that tossed Pignite to a wall. "Dual Chop!" Sawk bumped his fists again, this time taking the shape of tonfas as he ran towards Pignite.

"Brick Break!" Pignite ran towards Sawk as well and tried to hit him, but his attack were blocked by the tonfas and Sawk then responded by smacking him in the face repeatedly with them. "Close Combat!" Marshal said and Sawk jumped back before tossing the tonfas at Pignite, causing a explosion right on his face that disoriented him just enough to let Sawk get close again and hit him with a Close Combat combo, sending him rolling away with the last punch.

"Use Flame Charge!" Ash said while an angry Pignite started stomping the ground until his body was surrounded by dust, but instead of flames, he emerged surrounded by electricity as he shot himself towards Sawk and slammed himself into him, the move created an explosion that sent them both in different directions, with Sawk standing again albeit with difficulty, while Pignite struggled to get up as his body was covered in sparks.

"That was Wild charge, huh?" Ash said as he saw Pignite was taking the recoil damage. "Well, Dewott, we'll leave this in your care." He added steering the wheel and leaving the otter at the front.

"Bulldoze!"

"Aqua Jet!" Dewott jumped up and avoided the attack to then shoot himself at Sawk.

"Dual Chop!" Sawk bumped his fists again and this time the energy took the shape of two Hook Swords and Sawk took stance with them preparing for impact, while Dewott pulled out his Scalchops and prepared two Air Slashes, but Sawk managed to stop them along the Aqua Jet, Dewott then tried to slash him again, but Sawk used the tips of of the hook swords to catch Dewott's Scalchops and threw them off his hands, Dewott tried to get them back, but Sawk slashed him right on the face and then continued to slash the now unarmed Dewott.

"Trump Card!" Dewott summoned the cards, pushing Sawk away but before he could pick one, Sawk jumped above them and landed in front of him, kicking him away and making him select the card that was behind him, which had the symbol of three human silhouettes, all pointing up, after this Dewott started shining brightly; and Pignite and Servine behind him started shining as well while an orb of fire and and orb of leaves formed next to Dewott.

"A Unity Attack?" Tina asked next to Malva in the stands. "Ash! Tell him to use Water Pledge!" She shouted and Ash looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"Well, you heard her, Dewott! Water Pledge!" Ash shouted and Dewott jumped in the air to use the attack, while the orbs suddenly took the form of Pignite and Servine, slamming their fist and tail respectively on the ground before disappearing at the same moment Dewott landed on the floor with a stomp, activating the three Pledges together and columns of fire, water and grass rushed to Sawk, who tried to block them only to be hit by a massive explosion that sent him flying to a wall and left him knocked out.

"Sawk is unable to battle! Dewott is the winner and the victory goes to Ash!" Kukui shouted while the three starters sighed relieved before dropping themselves on the floor.

"And Ash did it!" Dahlia shouted. "Oh, yeah! This kid is crazy, I love him! Now all that's left for him is to face Drasna Caena Moore representing the Kalos Region and afterwards we'll decide the champion battle. See you in other 30 minutes, folks."

"The hell was that?" Malva asked.

"It was a Unity Attack." Tina answered. "It's something that's mostly done for triple battles, my friends and I practiced it a lot back in the orphanage; and once I recognized it, I had to tell Ash."

"I see... Well, your Mom is, uh... You know, your other Mom, she, us, you... Ugh, Drasna is next, let's see if Mr. Hero is really up to the task." Malva said while seeing Ash and Marshal meet at the middle of the battlefield.

"Thanks a lot for the fight." Ash said. "Rotation Battles are surely something, I hope I did well for it being my first."

"You surely did." Marshal said while crossing his arms. "You know, Ash? Master Alder once told me something, he told me that there is no such thing as a single strongest Pokémon or a sole best combination... That's why it is difficult to keep winning. However, I think a heart that desires strength and strives to grow stronger is a precious ideal. That is why you have earned my respect today, because you have those things. I have no doubt you'll complete this task they've given you, but to me, you already are a champion." Marshall then bowed before Ash while his Pokemon and him did the same.

After that Ash ran out of the battlefield to meet with his girlfriends again, but before he could turn around the corner to get to the changing room he found someone waiting for him.

"Do you feel happy, Ash Ketchum?" She asked and Ash stopped running to then stare at her.

"...What are you doing here, May?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing important." She said. "I just wanted to see how you and those bitches were doing." May said putting some emphasis on that word, but Ash simply sighed.

"We're doing fine." Ash said to then take a more detailed look at the girl. "But you not so much, it seems." He said noticing the bags under her eyes. "Looks like you haven't gotten enough sleep."

"That ain't your problem." May said. "I'm just here to warn you again, I already made up my mind, you either break up with those girls or I will be breaking you all!"

"And how are you gonna do that exactly?" Ash asked.

"Do you really wanna know?" May sighed before walking to him only to push him away slightly. "One week, I won't give you any more time, if you haven't broke up with them by then, all of your lives will be ruined. Have a good day." She said and then tried to walk away but Ash suddenly grabbed her by her wrist.

"May... What's wrong with you?" He asked. "You... This isn't like you."

"Like Me?! This is all your fault!" She answered forcing herself out of her grip. "You caused this! The only thing that I wanted was to be happy with you, but you had to go and ruin it with this stupid harem idea!"

"May, I told you, my-"

"SHUT UP!" She shouted. "You're not going to convince me with some half-assed sugarcoated explanations! How many girls are now, huh? Fifteen?! Will they be twenty-five next week?! Not on my watch, Ash Ketchum! I'll make you regret everything, I'll make you realize your mistake and then you'll crawl back to me!" She said and raised a palm wanting to slap him, but ended up caressing one of his cheeks. "I'm doing this for your own good, because I love you, I'll show you that I'm everything you could ever need."

"May!" Someone shouted and the two saw Zoey running to them. "Ugh, here you are, you can't just run like that without telling me, what are you even-" She stopped talking to then see Ash. "Right."

"Uh, nice to see you again, Zoey." Ash said.

"S-Sorry to interrupt, I-"

"You're not interrupting anything." May answered shedding a few tears before walking past her. "We're leaving."

"Sorry, uh, I'm kind of her agent now." Zoey explained. "She's been talking like crazy about what you've been doing and I'm honestly getting a little worried, she says she wants to-"

"ZOEY!" May shouted. "I said we're leaving!"

"Ugh..." Zoey simply held her head.

"Hey, just... Take care of her, please." Ash told her.

"Will do." Zoey nodded. "And Ash, for the record." She approached him to whisper to his ear. "I'm honestly a little jealous of you." She said with a smile to then run away until she reached May, walking by her side while Ash looked at them go in silence.

"I have to fix this... somehow." He said to himself.

"Should I be concerned about all that?"

"Gah! IRIS!" Ash shouted noticing the girl standing behind him. "Uh, h-how long have you been here?"

"Quite enough." She answered. "I wanted to congratulate you and the Unova gang for that fight against Marshal, but I saw arguing with that girl and decided to stay behind... So, uh, those girls that were in your mansion that day, they weren't exactly visits, now were they?"

"Iris, I-"

"No, it's fine, don't worry." Iris interrupted him. "If you managed to pull off something like that, then I guess I don't have the right to call you a kid anymore, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks a lot, really." Ash said.

"But what are you gonna do about that girl May?"

"I'm not too sure honestly, I'll just try to talk this out with her." Ash said. "She loves me too, but it looks it I won't convince her to join so I can only hope she accepts what the girls and I have."

"Well, I wish you luck with that." Iris said. "Speaking of, I also wanted to wish you luck in your fight against Drasna. I fought her once and she's really strong."

"Yeah, I've heard about that." Ash answered. "But I believe in my Pokemon, we've gotten this far after all."

"Heh, of course..." Iris said with a smile. "Hey, I just thought of something, you still have your Boldore, right?"

Back in Kalos.

"What's the matter?" Xerosic asked while Emma was still with a Dragon Claw in hand as she simply stared at him. "Don't tell me you don't have the guts? I must warn you, if you don't kill me, my healing factor will eventually heal me completely... Or perhaps you just want to prove that you're better than me?"

"I have nothing to prove to you..." Emma whispered before suddenly slamming the Dragon Claw on his chest, making him spurt out from his mouth whatever blood he had left. "You made me kill innocent people... you really think I'd hesitate doing the same to you? ...This is gonna be the last thing you hear, so listen up." She said grabbing him by his head to make sure he looked at her. "When you meet with Lysandre... Tell him that I'll see him soon enough." She whispered before pulling back her arm and ripping out a grey heart from Xerosic's chest. Emma then slowly stood up while taking a deep breath and stared at the heart while she saw Xerosic's body go completely limp. "I'm honestly not surprised by the color... You never used this anyway." She said before crushing it with her palm. "Heal factor your way out of that."

"We need to get out of here." Domino whispered to Millis after the two had seen everything.

"You don't say." Millis said as she tapped her watch.

"So Malva, huh? I'll have to figure out where she is." Emma said. "But first." Emma raised a hand and a small flame formed on it, burning the the remains of Xerosic's heart.

"Uh, Millis?" Domino called her and the two saw Millis was now staring at the bush the two were hiding behind.

"Merde!" Millis shouted before Emma shot a Flame Burst at the bush, creating an explosion that shot the two girls in different directions.

"I would've normally asked why you were trying to free Xerosic, but I'm not really in the mood." Emma said approaching them while the fire started to extend around the forest. "Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are... I'll make this fast."

Meanwhile in Sinnoh.

"That's never going to work!"

"We're running out of time, we can't just keep discussing this forever."

"I'm just trying to get you to understand that your plan is too dangerous."

"Well, your plan is too crazy!"

"Then we'll do both." Mitsumi interrupted the two women that were arguing. "Mars, Jupiter, it's time we show my sister what a real breakout looks like."

And that's it!

Well, how were those battles? Do I still have the touch?

Anyway, it was fun to write them, a little info about myself regarding that: 'Whenever I have to write a Pokemon battle, I'd listen to the corresponding battle theme in loop'

It is surprisingly helpful, I wonder if other Pokemon writers do the same thing.

We also got the first main focus of both Meray and Emma in this chapter, what did you think of them?

And both the Interpol and Team Dawn keep making their moves, who's gonna win in the end?

And what are May and Phoebe planning?

We'll see soon enough!

Also, 'Psychic, Psychic' is by a long shot my most favorite Project Voltage song and it was fun to write an English adaptation. Maybe I'll have Miku/Meloetta sing more of those.

And now I'm only missing 6 Bondi Band covers to complete all the songs of the show!

Reviews:

bogan0203

Thanks a lot! Also I'm glad somebody is actually reading those updates in my bio.

Guest 1

Well, those 3 are the OGs at the end of the day, we'll see how their arcs develop.

hdrm012

Nah, thanks to you.

Rustudio

We have a winner!

zarc4d

Make that a 3b3 ... Or 2b2b2?

UltimateCCC

I guess Timeless Wonders kinda is?

Zoroark. Fan. 570

Thanks a lot! Glad the lemon seem to be working, we'll have another one either next chapter or the following one.

Reaper36

Aaaaaah! You ruined the surprise!

Oh well, Courtney is here and she'll be joining Domino and Millis' little gang, let's see if they end up with our man... Unless Emma kills them, of course.

ArufaForOne

Here it is!

56 is quite a funny number, isn't it?

Juan Pablo

You, uh, you know Grusha is a guy, right?

Anyway, aside from the Paldea girls, we'll see.

Like I mentioned, nothing from Gen 9 will be implemented here. That's what we got Timeless Wonders for.

Sammy-1000

I know I say this a lot, but still, we'll see.

Elesa has a pretty good chance, I mean, we already got Skyla and you can't really have one without the other, but we'll have to wait a bit to get back to Elesa. Of course I'm planning Ash to have a rematch with her eventually, you may have noticed by now that I'm not the biggest fan of the way that the BW anime handled some things.

Diantha also has a good chance, I actually grew really fond of her during the Masters 8, her design is also really good and I like her chemistry with Cynthia.

Not too sure about Caitlin though, since Shauntal and her and a couple in this fic that'd most surely mean that I'd have to add them both to Ash's harem, which could be a good idea, they're both quite underrated gals, but they've been largely support characters so far. In fact, one of my ideas for Marshal's battle was to actually make it a triple battle along with those two, but I ended up scrapping that, let's see what happens now.

stryker141

Glad you guys are back here too! Let's see how the plot continues next chapter.

neostardustdragon101

We'll see, mate, I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm the first (and only) person to ever write Ash x Danika and she's probably my most favorite anime original design ever, not sure if I want that to go to waste.

Welp, see you next time in 'Only the Rampaging ones know Gentleness'.

Have some previews:

"Shelter!"

"Forest Flash!"

"To me, my Cells!"

Ke hoʻopiʻi nei au iā ʻoe!

"Well, you knew the new Elite Four Member who replaced Malva was coming for your Gym inspection today, right?" She asked. "Well, surprise! Here I am."

That'd be it!

Holdonlupin is out!