Lavender Town

The two boys made eye contact, brown to fiery brown.

And there was an old saying what would happen when the eyes of two trainers met.

Almost instinctively, the two reached for their Pokéballs, their Pikachu’s cheeks sparking in imminent conflict.

Dramatic wind blew between them, blowing along a set of tumbleweeds that had no logical place being here and probably slipped out of someone's old shed.

A battle was about to begin.

"Whoa, whoa, hold your Ponytas!"

Only for a portly man in a blue tropical shirt to burst between them, waving his arms frantically, which caused the pre-battle tension and the dramatic winds to die down quickly.

"Pika..?" 'Is that, um...Scottie? Sawyer? Shota?' Pikachu wondered as Ash mentally corrected his friend that the guy's name was Scott.

The Battle Frontier owner. A few... years? Months? Days? Early, and a bit younger sounding. But still the same guy, who was now playing mediator between the two battle-ready trainers.

"I know that trainers are supposed to fight the moment their eyes meet, but there is a proper time and a place for that!" he insisted, though somehow Ash didn't think he was trying to prevent property damage. He looked at Ash, Misty, and Iris with the eyes of an evaluator looking over potential treasures. "Tell me, are you three Pokémon Trainers?"

Misty nodded, Iris making a noise of confirmation in turn, while Ash just gestured at Pikachu to answer the question.

"Excellent!" Scott shouted surprisingly loudly, causing Iris to jump in shock at the sudden noise. The girl, Yellow, meanwhile looked at Scott in surprise while her traveling companion had a somewhat bored look on his face, with a hint of understanding as to whatever it was Scott wanted.

"If you really want to get your battling fix, there are far better places to do so than at the town entrance, I mean think of people who want to get in while you're battling. You can battle at my tournament, which as it happens has three open spots that I really need to get filled right now!"

"Um..." Misty failed to answer in a nervous tone as Scott grinned wider and wider.

"It's free!"

"Most tournaments are." Ash couldn't recall having to pay to enter any tournament, the Indigo League or any league that he'd ever entered for that matter.

"I'll give you free stuff, and all participants get free food!"

At the mention of the last part, the stomachs of all five young people around Scott went off all at once.

That answered Scott's question, and would later win said portly man 20 bucks from Brandon over if having catering for the tournament was a waste of money.

The Battle Dome

"Welcome trainers and battle enthusiasts alike!"

To the roar of a massive crowd, one that caused Iris to clench her ears in pain in the middle of the Battle Dome arena, where she and fifteen other trainers stood for the world to see. A certain Dome Ace descended from above, all the while floating on top of a levitating Metagross and posing dramatically.

Dressed in purple and white with his hair as purple as a Mismagius, the Dome Ace waved to his massive audience, which only caused them to get louder. Though Ash noticed he had something else on him, a clear stone in the middle of his elaborate hair piece.

Odd, didn't seem to fit with what Ash remembered from last time. Then again, what did Ash know about 'fashion'? He rarely paid attention to what people were wearing so it might've been there and he just didn't notice.

"Why are they so loud?" Iris whimpered as Ash shrugged.

"He's popular, for some reason." A reason he didn't understand the first time, and a second time did not make it any more comprehensible.

Noting how many of the screaming, really loud fans were female, Iris immediately questioned human taste.

Ash couldn't see Misty, but he got the impression Tucker didn't really impress her much either. Oddly that made him feel better.

Once Metagross got near the ground Tucker leapt off his mount with a somersault, releasing more Pokéballs as he did so. If Ash wasn't mistaken, he saw at least one timer ball among them.

Several Pokémon were thus promptly released: the familiar Swampert and Arcanine were joined by a Charizard, Salamence, Hitmonchan, Victreebel, and Magnezone.

Ash noted that the Pokémon seemed to pair up with each other: Swampert and Arcanine, Metagross and Hitmonchan, Charizard and Victreebel, and Salamence and Magnezone. He also noted that of those eight Pokémon, four of them (Swampert, Metagross, Charizard, and Salamence), had some sort of item holder on them somewhere, ranging from arm bands to armor on their front. At the center of each was a single stone, of various colors with cores that had themselves different colored versions of a mark of some sort.

The more Ash looked at those stones, the more he was starting to feel what he could only describe as a power coming off them. As if with only a few sparks, they would release a major power. Ash just had no clue what those sparks were.

He wasn't the only one though: he could see the other Pikachu bearing trainer in the room eyeing them in the same way, and Iris (who had tried to not focus on the large crowds) had turned her gaze towards the Ace's Pokémon and eyed them like they were about to evolve into something entirely new.

Ash supposed it was possible: he had no idea Rhydon or Piloswine could evolve further when he was in the Indigo and Silver Leagues after all. Perhaps Swamperior or Mamagross was possible.

"Welcome, to the Battle Dome. The facility where battles are fought with the passion of a thousand suns, and where the trainers and their Pokémon shine like ten-thousand suns as they wage those battles!" Tucker kept hamming it up. "And today, brought to you by the Battle Dome, and the Battle Frontier (Dome, Pike, Palace, Pyramid, and now Factory. Fight it now!), the Frontier Rookie Competition Extravaganza!"

The Battle Frontier only had five parts to it? Huh, sounded pretty bare bones for a Battle Frontier. Well, Ash supposed it made sense: Greta and Anabel seemed about his age in the old timeline, whatever that had been, so it only made sense that they were the newest members. He did fight them a few regions on after all.

In the stands, sitting next to a Yellow who was currently eating a large sandwich sat Scott, who was face palming over Tucker adding extravaganza into the title. Funny how those things went.

"Now, the tournament today will be a four-round, sixteen-man elimination tournament! Each trainer is allowed to use three different Pokémon, but each battle is a one on one fight, and trainers must use, or be able to use, all registered Pokémon at least once!"

Ash recalled the Club Battle tournament in Nimbasa Town: it had a similar rule like that, which was why Pikachu vs Excadrill happened.

"Also, this is an item-less tournament, for trainers without league experience or Grand Festival entrances!”

Pikachu, noting his own item holder (which contained the Eviolite stone) immediately realized why he was out of the tournament before it even began.

"Pika..." 'Well no wonder I'm benched.' The mouse sighed.

"Now, the Battle Frontier is nothing if not generous! In addition to top-class catering, all trainers entering our little tournament will receive a myriad of prizes! For starters..." With outstretched arms, several psychically controlled round objects floated up from behind him, likely from his Metagross. The round objects all descended from the sky gracefully and in a quite controlled manner, before floating in front of each competitor.

"These!"

"Um, these what?" Ash wondered out loud as he reached and took one of the stones into his hand. Looking it over, the stone sort of looked like a marble, being light and filled with a myriad of colors.

Pikachu sniffed it, unsure of what it was.

"Pika?" 'Doesn't smell like an evolution stone?'

Putting it up to his eyes, Ash tried looking into it, seeing if he could decipher anything from it. The stone shimmered in the light inside the stadium, but it revealed nothing else under his examination.

"These stones are keys, keys to the potential of both trainers and Pokémon to go beyond their limits. They say only the greatest of trainers can unlock the secrets of these stones, so even if you lose today trainers, these stones may one day unlock future victories!"

"Future victories?" Ash parroted to himself, as his eyes flashed orange-brown.

…

From the lava of Cinnabar Volcano, a black dragon rose up from within, blue flames billowing out its jaws and oddly resembling a Charizard. The Magmar who stood on the stone pillars before it looked shocked, just as the dragon swooped towards it.

…

As dozens of Spearow and a nasty looking Fearow flew at an unusually large Pidgeot in both wing and plumage size. The Pidgeot cried out with force, before blowing its wings and sending a giant twister right into the opposing flock.

…

A Blastoise, a much larger than usual cannon emerging from its back and two smaller ones on its hands, stared down an oddly bulky and red marked Heracross in Silver Stadium. As a massive water blast flew out of the turtle's shell, the Heracross reacted with Bullet Seed of all moves.

…

A Glalie, with a much darker underside to it and a massive, open jaw the likes of which was rather creepy, head-butted an enemy Metang. From that head smash, ice spread across the Metang. Was that Ice Head or something?

…

On a contest stage, a Sceptile with a missile like tail charged forward with a very large Leaf Blade. On the other end, an odd Blaziken charged right at it, it's foot on fire.

…

But unlike the other Pokemon he had seen in these visions, Ash had seen that odd Blaziken before...

Or as it was known when he saw it: Mega Blaziken.

Was this stone somehow related to Mega Evolution? Those battles...his battle with Blaine's Magmar, his first and last battle with Pidgeot, his Silver League match with Gary, his Hoenn League match with Morrison, his farewell fight with May... all those battles seemed to involve Mega Evolution.

Charizard, Pidgeot, Blastoise, Heracross, Glalie, Sceptile, Blaziken. Could all of them Mega-Evolve? And what were those visions. They certainly weren't the future, apparently the Spearow flock had been taken by parties unknown after they had nearly mauled him and Pikachu. Were they what could have been...?

"Now, let the tournament get underway, with heated battles!"

Tucker's loud voice interrupted Ash's thought process.

How annoying.

Battle 1

"And now for our first battle! Alex Davis from Johto's Cherrygrove City, vs Red from Viridian City!"

"Kadabra, I choose you!"

Thrown from a Quick Ball, likely used to capture it when it was just an Abra, the yellow and brown single spoon wielder appeared before him.

Red eyed the Psychic-type that was now facing him with shadowed eyes.

Psychic-type. Mid-evolution of Abra line. He had defeated one before, the one used by the one called Gary Oak.

Victory odds, 86 %.

"Go, Charmeleon!"

Red threw his Pokéball out, releasing the Fire-type.

The two middle evolutions stared each other down, as Red recalled what had happened when he had looked into that stone he had been given at the start of this tournament.

The two Pokémon, at least to Red, now seemed to have their evolutions super-imposed behind them, and a stage even before that behind them: a wizened Alakazam and a more streamlined Charizard.

What were they? What secret did these stones unlock?

"Begin!"

"Dragon Rage!" Red commanded as blue flames billowed in Charmeleon's mouth. With a roar, they were sent spewing right towards the Kadabra.

His trainer, a kid Red's age with an orange bandana covering all of his hair, cut through the air with his hand dramatically. "Avoid it with Teleport!"

The Kadabra complied, vanishing as the blue flames went right through the empty space.

Kadabra reappeared behind Charmeleon, causing both trainer and Pokémon to be surprised.

"Now, use Power-Up Punch!" Davis commanded as the Fighting-type move charged in Kadabra's hand.

A physical attack? From a Kadabra? Peculiar.

"Counter with Fire Fang!" Red called as Charmeleon's mouth burst into flames.

With a snarl, the fist was countered with teeth, seemingly being even.

"Now, Headbutt!" Alex shouted. With that command, Kadabra slammed its head into Charmeleon, knocking him to the ground and freeing Kadabra's fist.

It appeared Kadabra had an unusually high attack power for physical combat.

Red could literally see the path to his victory become more complicated.

Victory odds were now at 81%, and likely were about to drop more.

"And what an exchange!" the announcer shouted. "Both our visitor from Johto and our resident trainer clearly know how to react to various situations!"

"Clearly, their gym badges were not pity gifts," Tucker mused. "Red with his victories over Brock, the Sensational Sisters, and Lt. Surge, and Alex Davis with his wins over Janine, Lt. Surge, and Brock, both of them are looking like future stars!"

Right, future stars. They still had a ways to go first.

Red pointed at Kadabra, getting Charmeleon's attention as he stood. "Now, use Rock Tomb!"

Stones began to form around Charmeleon, before being promptly launched right at his opponent.

Alex countered rather calmly. "Teleport out of the way!"

"Ka!" Kadabra shouted as it vanished moments before a stone hit. It then did so again when another stone was about to hit it.

And again, and again...until it teleported right in front of Charmeleon.

"What!?/Dabra!?" It appeared trainer and Pokémon were in sync there.

"Now, use Fire Fang!" Red directed.

"Char!" Charmeleon agreed with a deep growl echoing from his throat and a fiery set of chompers. The Flame Pokémon took hold of Kadabra's punching arm in its jaws, biting down hard. In reaction the Psychic-type began whacking Charmeleon in the head with its spoon, but its head spike deflected it.

Probably not what nature's intended use was, but useful nonetheless.

"Get it off, use Confusion!" Alex ordered the counterattack. Kadabra's eyes glowed blue, but it stopped when its body suddenly burst into flames.

Burn status. Fire Fang's additional effect alongside a chance of flinching. Briefly Charmeleon's body shimmered, but it faded away quickly. Apparently Kadabra's ability was Synchronize, and one could not burn a Fire-type.

Victory odds had now recovered to a very good 91%. The paths to victory were now quite clear.

"End this with Shadow Claw!" Red shouted, his eyes briefly flashing orange. With a roar, Charmeleon's claws glowed dark black and with them, slashed Kadabra.

The hit, and now burning Kadabra was sent flying to the ground, where it remained. The flames did die down though.

"Kadabra is unable to battle, the winner is Charmeleon. The victory goes to Red from Viridian City!"

"And with that spectacular and skillful turnaround!" Tucker shouted. "Red has taken the day, but let us not look down upon his opponent either! Both deserve a resounding round of applause!"

As the cheers went up, Red and Alex Davis made eye contact for a few moments as they returned their Pokémon.

They then gave each other respective nods and turned around, each off the stage.

Both congratulating their pocket monsters, with one prepared to continue from this success and the other telling his Pokémon it did very well and they'd win the next time.

Battle 4

Placing the stone she had obtained from the oddity that was Tucker, the stone that had given her the oddest visuals in her mind of an altered looking Blastoise, Gyarados, Slowbro, Swampert and Sharpedo, in her pocket, she tried to put them out of her mind, as well as the fact she had just seen the blue-haired member of Team Rocket who were self-admitted stalkers win a match before her with some odd masked Ghost-type, (which Ash's Pokédex had called a Yamask), that used Shadow Ball against a Haunter, and focused on her opponent.

Battles were not something she sought out like Ash or Iris. She wasn't after strength herself, however, strength was necessary to obtain one's goals: particularly hers. Captures took battles, and thus to capture every water-type she needed to be strong enough, thus training and battles were a necessity.

Plus, the tournament offered free food. Very high quality free food.

"The excitement keeps heating up here at the Battle Dome! And now, Misty of Cerulean City," Must they announce that? "….faces off against Otoshi from Fuchsia City!"

Fuchsia City, the southern Kanto city known for Ninja? That might explain why the black haired trainer she was facing dressed like something out of a historical documentary.

"Misty is a cousin of the famous Water-Type Master from Kalos Siebold, while Otoshi had made several Gym Badge wins in Fuchsia, Cinnabar, and Vermillion! Who will triumph?!"

Well, glad that they didn't mention who her sisters were. Kudos to them.

"Cubone, you're up!" Otoshi called as he threw his Pokéball into the air. Bursting open, a brown creature with a bone skull and club became her opponent.

A Ground-type. Excellent.

"Staryu, let's go!" Misty called up her choice as the star shaped Water-type appeared. Otoshi and his Cubone tensed, already knowing what to expect now.

"Begin!"

"Let's get this going with Water Gun!" Misty called as a burst of water flew right out Staryu's top point, covering the distance between the two Pokémon quickly.

Otoshi wasn't going to have it though. "Deflect it with Bone Club!"

"Cu!" His partner responded, taking his bone in hand and slamming it into the water blast. The water stream shattered on impact causing it to rain down in small droplets.

Staryu made an indescribable sound, 'How did that even work?' Staryu questioned, a question Misty had to agree with. How exactly did that... Misty had to put that question to the back of her mind for later thought as Otoshi used her small hesitation to press his attack.

"Now, use Headbutt!" Otoshi pressed forward, as Cubone charged right at Staryu with a lowered head.

"Okay, two can play the deflection game!" Misty stated. "Staryu, use Rapid Spin!"

With another sound the author cannot describe with words, Staryu began to spin rapidly. The two attacks promptly met, and the spinning grated against Cubone's helmet until the ground-type was knocked off balance and tumbled to the ground.

"Okay, now use Water Gun!" Misty shouted as Staryu ceased its spinning and began blasting.

"Block it!" Otoshi called once more as Cubone held its bone to intercept the water strike. Held horizontally, the water stream was cut in half and Cubone was spared the hit.

"Oh come on!" Misty shouted at this continued blocking. "Staryu, Swift!"

Changing battle tactics, the water blast was replaced by a storm of stars.

"Block them!" Otoshi called as Cubone began smacking down the stars using a style that seemed to be based in swordsmanship, but it couldn't block them all.

Soon dozens of stars were now striking Cubone, the ones who had gotten through where hundreds of their brethren had failed to get past the sword-like bone.

"Cu!"

"No, Cubone!" Otoshi shouted as Cubone was knocked flat onto its back, its bone clattering to the ground and out of reach with a few stars sending the bone club further away.

"And Cubone's defense has finally fallen! Staryu has finally broken through! Can Misty keep up the pressure?!"

"I can, and I will! Staryu, Water Gun!"

The water stream was sent right at the down Pokémon, who tried to grab its bone...

"Cu!"

And failed as Cubone was struck by the blast and sent flying through the air as the Water Gun kept pushing.

"Cubone!" Otoshi shouted as the ground type was flung right at him. Darting around a bit Otoshi managed to grab his falling partner, though he was knocked out and soaking wet.

"And with that, Cubone is down! The winner is Misty and Staryu!"

As the crowds cheered, Otoshi carried his fallen partner onto the field, looking for his fallen blade.

Only to find it being handed back to him, by the victor.

"And so the fallen warrior is returned its weapon by the championing victor! Truly, this is the pinnacle of good sportsmanship! Let's give her a round of applause!"

With the deafening roar of Tucker's fangirls, Misty really wished he'd stop talking.

Battle 7

A dragon as black as night, with blue flames billowing from its fangs.

A Garchomp with arms like a Scyther

A green dragon with a back of seeds.

A fluffier Altaria.

A Salamence who resembled a crescent moon.

Two similar purple dragons.

And a massive green one, resembling the old stories about the ruler of the sky.

All of them seemed to flash before her eyes every time she looked into the odd stone each of them had received, and Iris wasn't sure what it was all about.

Maybe it was something one just learned as they got stronger.

"And now, battle number 7 of the first round begins! A visitor from the distant land of Unova, Iris!" The oddly loud voice in the room shouted, giving Iris a severe headache as she arrived on the designated battlefield. "Will face down the beauty from Crimson City, Jeanette Fisher!"

A dark haired girl in red clothing that seemed rather...impractical to Iris from a movement perspective walked stood on the opposite end of the battlefield.

"Jeanette has had resounding success recently, earning gym badges from Celadon, Pewter, Cerulean, and Vermillion City! But can this home-grown beauty manage to counter the strange and unfamiliar Pokémon of the Unova Region!?"

As the cheers blew up again as the oddly dressed Tucker spoke in an overly dramatic fashion, Iris's eyed the black haired girl with surprise.

Four Badges...

Suddenly Iris didn't see the cheering crowd behind the girl. She was seeing a distant silhouette of that vile woman who had taken away from family, standing behind the girl.

Hunter J.

Beating this girl, would be the first step to taking her down. If she was able to beat Ash easily, who had three Gym Badges, whom then beat her….if she beat a trainer who was stronger than Ash was, that would show herself as getting stronger, getting closer to being able to make Hunter J pay.

She would win this fight. She had to.

Jeanette was eyeing two Pokéballs, one in each hand. She briefly prepared to launch one out, mentioning something about Bells, but changed her mind and went with the other.

"Go, Scyther!"

The giant green mantis Pokémon was her choice of a fighter: now for her own.

"Go, Emolga!"

In comparison, the cute and adorable flying squirrel did not look proper fighting a giant bug with swords for arms. However...

"SO CUTE!" Iris flinched due to the shout from every girl and woman at the sight of the Sky Squirrel Pokémon.

The crowd suddenly yelling about how adorable Emolga was really annoying. And that would do only wonderful things for Emolga's ego...

"Emol!"

The waving her electric type was doing just confirmed Iris's worries about the whole thing.

"So, the native champion of the Bug-Type, vs a foreign adorable warrior who's more than what meets the eye!" Tucker narrated "Who will win!?"

"Begin!"

They were about to find out.

"Emolga, use Attract!" First rule of either hunting or battle, the former often involving the latter at some point, immobilize one's target.

With an overly dramatic blink, and more crowd cheering, Emolga unleashed a storm of hearts right at Scyther.

Which, based on its abdomen size, was male.

Thus, Attract would work.

"Block it with Fury Cuter!" Her opponent called as Scyther's blades glowed green.

"Scy!"

And so the blades began to slice.

"Scy!"

And cut.

"Scy!"

And shatter.

"Scy!"

And basically otherwise stop all of Emolga's hearts. Apparently this girl knew exactly what to do against an opponent using Attract...

"Sawk!"

As the last hearts were destroyed, Iris briefly saw the Scyther as the blue fighting type Sawk that hailed from Unova. She wasn't sure why though, and it was somewhat unnerving.

"And would you look at that! Emolga's Attract has been completely neutralized by the ferocity of Scyther's Fury Cutter! What's Iris to do in response to this stunning turn of events?"

Did they expect her to tell them, in detail, what she planned to do, then do it and hope Jeanette didn't counter her with full knowledge of what her plans were?

Strange, really strange. Was there some sort of unspoken rule she had to explain her plans in detail when people asked her to?

Well, if there was Iris wasn't going to be following it today.

"Emolga, use Discharge!" Iris called as the electricity flew.

"Emol!"

The attack struck Scyther, causing it to cringe in pain from the impact, but as the electricity dissipated away it was neither defeated nor paralyzed.

"Now, Slash!" Jeanette called for the counter attack as Scyther's wings extended. It then sped forward, blade arms extended and gleaming under the lights of the Battle Dome.

"Emolga, dodge!" Iris shouted. Emolga nodded, taking off higher into the air...only to have the slicing attack slam into Emolga's tail, not her body.

Emolga shouted in pain as she was sent spinning to the ground by the indirect impact.

"Emolga!"

"And despite Emolga's best efforts, the speed of Kanto's strongest Bug-Type was too much to avoid!" Even as Emolga struggled back up, idly rubbing it's now bruised tailbone, the loud announcer people seemed to be suggesting this match was no longer hers.

"I'd suggest giving up now, before we have to name your Pokémon Em-Ow-lga!" Jeanette stated, before laughing for some reason. Why, that didn't seem to be at all worthy of laughter.

However, she could tell it was meant to be an insult. That registered quite clearly.

"Emolga, Quick Attack!" Iris commanded with clenched fists that were slowly pulsing with draconic energy but not enough for people to notice, this girl and her insect were going down even if Iris herself had to jump into the battle.

"Counter with your own Quick Attack!" Jeanette countered.

Both Flying-types flew at one another, white streaks surrounding themselves as the two Pokémon slammed into each other at high speeds.

They gritted against each other for a few moments, before Scyther blew Emolga back. As Emolga managed, with some struggle, to stabilize itself, static electricity surrounded Scyther.

"Scy!"

"Oh no!" Jeanette's eyes went wide in shock.

"And while Scyther managed to win the duel of Quick Attacks, Emolga got in a parting shot, and no I don't mean a move called Parting Shot! No, Emolga's Static Ability, one found in several Kanto-Native Pokémon including the Pikachu and Electabuzz families, which paralyzes the foe on contact!"

As Emolga floated back over to her trainer, the flying squirrel turned her gaze to Iris.

Iris could not understand Emolga's or Excadrill's words. It was impossible for her to do so with any Pokémon that was not a Dragon-Type. Not even Dragon-like Pokémon like Gyarados could be understood by her. It was a great frustration, communication only through a middleman, or as it generally was a middle-Axew.

She could, however, read their facial expressions and pick up on their emotions. It was a talent that took most humans quite a while to truly learn, and only among the most skilled.

The rare trainers who could take that talent and be able to truly understand intent, according to her parents they were the ones destined for great things.

Being able to do that with all Pokémon, not just Dragons...if Iris did not need to get stronger to save her parents she'd be aiming for that goal first and foremost.

Looking into Emolga's eyes, she could feel determination. A spark of something new...

A glowing yellow ball of energy appeared on Emolga's hands, with which Emolga attacked a foe.

Was this...a sense of what Emolga was trying to convey?

Iris's eyes began filled with determination. She knew exactly what to do.

"Emolga, use your new move, now!" Iris bellowed. Emolga nodded in agreement as an electric ball began to form...on Emolga's tail.

Not her hands.

Electro Ball, not Volt Switch.

...It would appear she still had a ways to go until she could truly understand Emolga, but this would still win them the battle.

It was still a sign of Emolga getting stronger, and closer to their end goal.

"Now, Electro Ball!" Iris shouted.

"Emol!" The attack was now finished charging. Jeanette was quick on the uptake though.

"Scyther, quickly stop it!" She called. Scyther seemed to pick up that Jeanette wanted him to use Quick Attack, but Static acted up, stopping the attack before Scyther even had a chance to use it.

Scyther groaned in pain Jeanette wore a terrified expression, and Iris' expression seemed almost predatory in satisfaction.

"Ga!" Emolga fired the Electro Ball, which flew into and exploded on Scyther.

As the resulting smoke cleared, one smoking bug-type lay on the battlefield, defeated.

"No!" Jeanette gasped, a hand rising to cover her mouth.

"The Scyther has been defeated! The winner is Emolga, and victory goes to Iris!"

Emolga landed on Iris' shoulder, tired but triumphant. In return, Iris rubbed her head affectionately, causing Emolga to let out a content sigh.

Walking up to her fallen warrior, Jeanette took a knee next to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder as her other went for her Pokéball.

"You fought well Scyther. Take a good rest, you have earned it." Scyther slowly opened one eye and gave his trainer a small nod before disappearing in a cloud of red light.

Just before Battle 8

"Mega Evolution."

"Paleontologists suspect that relatively few of the modern Pokémon types existed in the ancient past. As of now, only Water, Flying, Grass, Bug, Dragon, and Ice types were known to have existed prior to the legendary and yet unsolved extinction event. Some argue a prototype existed that became the modern steel type, and a second-prototype that has many similarities to the modern rock-type. Mew of course, existed as well during this time period, but its type is unknown even at this present time," the Pokédex offered unhelpfully and very much off-topically.

"Mega Evolution." Ash questioned his Pokédex, not amused at the random trivia.

"Size and weight data given by the Pokédex is of course highly subjective. Pokémon weight can easily be less or more than the recorded numbers due to factors like diet and age, while height is as varied as in humans, particularly as Pokémon are capable of indeterminate growth."

"Yeah, yeah, I can carry a Hippopotas on my head and I won't require surgery afterwards." Ash had wondered about that, and why talking about it with pre-time shatter Professor Oak had made him panic so much and nearly got him sent to a chiropractor. "Now, Mega Evolution."

"Mega Evolution is...a form of evolution that mega-amplifies the power of evolution." The Pokédex seemed to be trying to avoid giving details...

Wait a minute. Did the Pokédex not know anything about…?

Oh, this would be fun.

"You don't know anything about it, do you?" Ash couldn't help but grin smugly at his ever so know-it-all device.

"I saw a mention of it in the Rotan archives I downloaded...”

“Stole.”

“I am not human, thus your laws apply not to me.”

“Yeah, my I-Pod broke into government databases on its own accord, I'm sure that will fly in court.”

“It actually has in the past.”

“Wha?!”

"...but I have yet to fully translate the data. Sadly getting through Sir Aaron's 10,000 page thesis on his favorite foods has proven surprisingly difficult. I will eventually know about it, nothing can be hidden from an internet capable device!"

"Not true, I can't find a single episode of a show I used to watch as a kid online," Ash countered before stuffing the Pokédex back into his pocket and walking onto stage.

'"And our final battle of the first round is about to begin! Representing the town of Pallet and Professor Oak as one of this year's Pokédex recipients from the Kanto Region, is Ash Ketchum! With outstanding wins at the Pewter, Cerulean, and Vermillion Gyms, this young trainer is on a roll. In fact, he even managed to win a battle against the full power of the Cerulean Gym Leaders: so you could say that this remarkable young trainer technically has ten badges! Obviously he believes you can never be too prepared to take on your first Pokémon League Championship, am I right?!"

Ash gave off wide, startled eyes at that call. Did they...did they really just say that out loud? Why was that even relevant?

...

Up in the stands, where Pikachu had been 'strongly' suggested to relocate by Tournament Staff, the Electric Mouse Pokémon turned his heard sharply at his portly seating neighbor. On the other side of the mouse, the curious Goomy let off a confused sound, a soda-drinking hat stocked with water instead of soda on his head, and on the other side of Pikachu's portly seating neighbor, Yellow was sipping a soda, and now curiously looking at Scott as well.

The portly man sweat-dropped. "The Battle Frontier always knows, I have my sources. However, due to certain legalities in tournament seeding we had to explain why. Legal precedence after a few lawsuits in other small tournaments when trainers of radically different skill tiers were paired up first round requires priority in sorting trainers with high amounts of badges together, that sort of crud. Also helps minimize gambling.”

"Pika pi." 'Why does that sound like it's going to be painful for Ash?'

"I don't know what you exactly said my Electric-type friend, but I assume you are worried about Ash. Well, you may be right..." He turned to Goomy now, and sighed at the now gooped up hat. "Tell you what, win, lose, or whatever...tell Ash he can keep my Soda-Drink Hat."

...

"Wait, what about Ash and the Cerulean Gym Leaders?!"

Having ran over to his place the moment the Professor had called her to say that her son was going to be on T.V, Delia had arrived just as Misty's match began, and had waited patiently for Ash's battle to start.

Thankfully the Professor had not had to explain to Delia about Ash's female traveling companion, or why there now appeared to be a second one with him since the last time he had met up with the boy (was it related to the Strato-Goomy incident?). He felt he probably owed it to Ash after that telecommunications man incident.

He had also not explained to Delia about another incident that happened when he had last met up with Ash...

Bulbasaur and Krabby quickly read the mood and got the hell out of dodge.

...

Currently in the kitchen cooking with an apron on, Brock's eyes nearly opened from realization.

"Oh, so that's why those three got fired!"

He had been wondering about that.

...

The Television blaring in front of him, and a fully dressed hot dog in hand ready to be eaten, Lt. Surge barely avoided face palming and splattering his face with ketchup.

"How tactless! That sort of thing would have gotten you killed in the war!" And really, all the Gym Leaders could read the writing on the wall there: that kid had, with guts, determination, luck, and skill, managed to overcome the trickery of those now fired Gym Leaders, and then found out how weak they were.

Clearly he wanted to work on his Pokémon skills properly and prepare himself, before he found out the hard way at the League what happened if you weren't ready.

His nine Raichu: Corporal Raichu, Sergeant Raichu, Staff Sergeant Raichu, Sergeant First Class Raichu, Master Sergeant Raichu, First Sergeant Raichu, Sergeant General Raichu, Command Sergeant Raichu, and Sergeant Major Raichu of Lt. Surge's slowly forming Elite Four Challenge Team (Also doable for possible Zapdos capturing or Ranger Killing as necessary) all shook their head at Lt. Surge saying that a person lacked tact.

...

On his way towards Celadon City, Paul looked at the televised tournament with a furious gaze.

...

For unknown reasons, dread settled on Ash's soul. Somehow he figured his mother would be involved somehow.

"Facing up against him is a trainer whose accomplishments are closest to his, with six gym badges!"

Wait, six!?

"Winning at Pewter, Cerulean, Celadon, Fuchsia, Cinnabar and..." Ash missed the last one over the roar of the crowds. "Give it up for the Pewter born beauty, Solidad!"

Wait...Solidad.

The orange clad, pink-haired Coordinator (at least before) arrived on stage to a flurry of applause. Ash did note some differences with her appearance though: she seemed a little younger than when he had met her in the old timeline, at least when comparing his age then (relatively anyway) to what hers appeared to be, and now had a necklace on which now featured the odd stone he had obtained from this Tournament, the one that seemed somehow connected to Mega-Evolution. Apparently she had been aware of what the prize was and accessorized accordingly.

So, the coordinator who had defeated May in the Top 4 of the Kanto Grand Festival, was walking nightmare fuel to Drew, could tolerate Harley for more than five minutes, and took the Kanto Grand Festival Ribbon Cup was here, facing him, and on paper was at least twice as powerful as he was.

And she had what was probably the key to making her Pokémon Mega Evolve on hand, and knowing his luck she probably had whatever other pieces there were to the puzzle of Mega Evolution.

This should be fun.

"The humble town, or the stone-hard city? Which will triumph? Trainers, go!"

"I choose you!" Both trainers shouted at once. "Snivy/Slowbro!"

As Ash's Grass-type was sent out, so was the large, pink, and shell bitten Pokémon.

Snivy looked pretty determined all things considering, while Slowbro looked...well like a Slowbro. They didn't really do determined, hot-blooded or angry that well, mostly sticking to dumbstruck and gormless.

"Slowbro, the Hermit Crab Pokémon. Named long before Kantonian scholars were aware of the Dwebble line, Slowbro evolve when a Shellder bites a Slowbro's tail, and devolves when it lets go. It is thus one of the few Pokémon capable of devolution, though doing so in official matches leads to instant disqualifications for the shell remover. Slowbro bile is used in ADHD medication."

Ash was suddenly glad he did not have ADHD. Who wanted to ingest Slowbro bile?

He wasn't quite sure what bile was, but he doubted it was pleasant to ingest, or to be removed from the Slowbro.

"Begin!"

Solidad was eyeing Snivy warily, unsure of what it was capable of. Then again, she probably had never seen one before and was probably trying to figure out what type of Pokémon it was.

A green Pokémon did suggest Grass-Type, but it could also mean Bug. Its serpentine body was akin to something like an Ekans, or a Dratini.

If he was, say, Paul, he'd probably make a snide comment about not knowing about typing, but Ash was hardly in any place to make commentary about messing up typing. He'd done it himself in the past, granted he'd done well in some of those situations so it wasn't something he'd pull someone else up on.

"Snivy, use Attract!" Might as well keep the typing a mystery as long as he could, and if he was going to have to fight another Pokémon that, on paper, was much tougher than his, he was going to have to be strategic and forward thinking.

After all, unlike the Cerulean Sisters, Solidad was competent!

With a wink, Snivy sent a storm of hearts flying at Slowbro...which on contact dissolved away. Slowbro didn't even register that it had been hit.

"Wha?!/Sni!?" It translated about the same.

"Slowbro is Oblivious," the Pokédex pointed out, though why it felt the need to remind him of that was beyond him.

"Oblivious is an Ability that prevents Attraction and Taunting," the Pokédex elaborated further, as if knowing what Ash was thinking.

Oh...

Solidad raised an eyebrow. Ash was fluent enough in eyebrows that it was an 'everyone makes that mistake' kind of way rather than a 'you're an idiot' sort of way. Perhaps Slowbro's used in battle didn't normally have that ability.

"I see what you were going for, and it was a good idea. Now, here's my opening move, Slowbro use Yawn!"

With a wide open mouth, bubbles began to fly out of Slowbro's mouth, right towards Snivy. Ash did notice, however, that the bubbles seemed a tad shinier than he was used to seeing in regular Yawn bubbles, or even the kind he'd recalled opponents like Flannery using. But shiny bubbles weren't important right now.

He raised an Attract, and she countered with a Yawn. There was only one thing to do against that.

"Block it with Attract!"

With another wink, Snivy sent a flurry of hearts right into the bubbles, which promptly cancelled the two out.

"Amazing folks! With one of his moves unable to be used for its intended purpose against Slowbro, Ash reworks it into a defense! An excellent tactician must be able to rapidly adjust to changes in battle and redeploy the attack, even if what he has on him isn't being used in the way it was intended to be!" Tucker seemed to think it was a good tactic, at least.

Solidad seemed impressed as well.

"Not bad. It's rare to see trainers with any sort of imagination like that. Of course, defense isn't going to win the battle for you. Slowbro, Water Gun!"

With a long breath, Slowbro then expelled a massive stream of water right at Snivy, who tensed as the attack came her way.

"Snivy, use Leaf Blade to dodge, then to attack!" Ash called. Snivy nodded, jumping into the air as her tail glowed green.

The tail was used to springboard off the Water Gun, gaining some air before coming right back down on Slowbro with a powerful slashing attack.

Snivy regained distance before Slowbro even felt the hit. So, not all that good a compliment given the Slowbro lag, but still notable as Slowbro rubbed the afflicted area as one would a bruise.

"A Grass-type," Solidad noted with interest. "Flamethrower!"

"Flamethrower..." Ash repeated, sure that call was a mistake. Then he saw the flames billowing out of Slowbro's mouth. "That, that shouldn't even work!?"

But it did anyway, and he was going to have to react. Fast.

"Snivy, get out the way and use Leaf Blade!"

"Sni!" 'Well!' Snivy noted as she jumped over the flames. 'This is certainly surprising, the Water-types of your homeland are certainly weird.' With a glowing green tail she flung herself right at the Slowbro as the flames flickered away. 'But I can certainly manage anything...'

"Use Psychic!"

Slowbro's body glowed blue, as it promptly bent over its shell covered tail with more flexibility than the pink lummox would normally be capable of. Snivy's attack promptly missed it by mere inches, sending Snivy skidding across the other side of the stadium.

"Vy?" 'Except...whatever that was. What just happened?'

Ash recalled similar moves used by this same Slowbro before, during the Grand Festival.

'It's contest battling.' Ash explained telepathically. He had been practicing with it recently, and it didn't even seem to give his Pokémon migraines anymore. He still wasn't going to use it to give commands in battle, but this wasn't giving commands. 'It's the kind of battling Dawn uses, remember Dawn?'

'The girl with the extremely short skirt and the Piplup who never had a chance with Meloetta?'

'Yep'. Ash decided to end the telepathic conversation at this point and resume battling. "Okay, now use Leaf Storm, again and again!"

Jumping into the air, Snivy began releasing a barrage of the grass style Overheats one after another.

"Dodge it with Psychic!" Solidad commanded. Once more glowing blue, Slowbro continued to avoid Leaf Storm like it was a top or something.

It was very contest-like really. His constant missing would have probably taken him down a few pegs by now.

Of course, this wasn't that kind of battle. He didn't lose any points with a miss except coolness points.

"And no matter how much Ash tries to hit it, Slowbro continues to dodge! Those misfires are going to cost Ash though!"

Snivy eventually stopped firing them, and Slowbro stopped spinning and righted itself.

"That was a bad move Ash," Solidad told him with the air of a teacher correcting a pupil. "Leaf Storm isn't like a normal move, it gets weaker the more one uses it. Slowbro, Flamethrower!"

The fiery power once more began to build in Slowbro's mouth.

"Block it with Leaf Storm!" Ash called in return, as the green leaves began to billow around Snivy once more.

"Ash, that wouldn't work even if you hadn't been spamming them like mad already..." Solidad told him in a tone that sounded like a teacher helpfully informing a student that what they were doing was wrong, as the leaves hit the fire attack head on and blew right through it.

The Leaf Storm continued on at the shocked trainer and Slowbro, whose face slowly morphed into shock as the leaves hit it head on. The amount if leaves and smoke the attack caused hid Slowbro from sight, only the occasional grunt could be heard letting them know what was happening.

Snivy landed with a smug expression after that move. "Snivy." 'Got to love Contrary.'

Ash was going to ask if she had always had Contrary, or if that was an add-on for the new universe, as the smoke cleared to reveal a still standing Slowbro, though with a number of marks on it and more than a few leaves in its mouth. Solidad eyed him in surprise, but smiled.

"So, you do know what you're doing. I can see how you managed to qualify for the League like you did. Of course, power is something you could still work on a bit," Solidad said, pulling a stray leaf out of her hair that had managed to lodge itself in there from the powerful attack damage.

"Of course, what do you think I'm here for?!" Sure, technically he was here because Scott had food, but that wasn't relevant.

"Vy!" Snivy stated in agreement, though with a side note directed his way. 'Ash, you do realize I cannot spam Leaf Storm non-stop, right? While moves don't exactly have set amounts of uses, they can wear thin.'

Ash nodded in acknowledgement of Snivy's warning. "Okay Snivy, use Leaf Blade!"

With a glowing green tail, Snivy charged right at Slowbro, who had finally spat out its mouth leaves.

Solidad grinned. "Block with Aerial Ace!"

"Wait, Aerial Ace!?" Ash exclaimed in shock. A fifth move.

"Trained Pokémon can begin using more than the starting four-move limit with sufficient training," the Pokédex supplied. "You should try it after a few more badges."

Slowbro's shell was now glowing blue, and was swung right at Snivy as she got close. Snivy countered with her own attack, though after a few moments of struggle was flung back and on the ground. She recovered quickly though, though some part of him felt like she had taken about as much damage in that one hit as Slowbro had in the entire battle.

Had they needed more time to train?

Snivy eyed the Slowbro with more shock now, and more than a little annoyance at being struck by the same move as had allowed Ash to capture her this time around.

"Now, Flamethrower!" Solidad pressed her momentum forward as the flames billowed out. Ash kept Snivy's words to note, though.

"Snivy, roll on the ground!" he called, noting the flames were not hitting the ground. Snivy grit her teeth about the indignity of that command, much like she had whenever she saw the Counter-Shield in this and the original timeline, but acknowledged why he was doing it. And so, the thin snake Pokémon stop, dropped, and rolled.

The flames missed completely, only warming the scales on Snivy's back and stomach as they passed over her entirely.

"And would you look at that folks! Apparently Ash takes his fire safety lessons to heart!"

Guilty as charged.

"Okay, now Leaf Storm!" Ash hoped enough time had passed. The sound of leafs billowing around his Snivy, and not the sound of a car failing to start, was a good sign that enough time had passed.

"Use Psychic!" Solidad ordered as Solidad glowed blue, and promptly floated over the Leaf Storm and begin to rotate across the field like it was on a spinning carnival ride.

Slowbro then began to descend behind Snivy, like a god from the clouds above. Only in Azalea Town was such a thought ever to be truly taken seriously though.

"Now Aerial Ace!"

The tail was glowing blue once more, as Slowbro disengaged Psychic and fell with the force of gravity.

"Get out of the way!" Ash reacted as Snivy managed to avoid the Aerial Ace attack with a jump, even as it shattered the ground at impact. Snivy gracefully landed a couple of feet away from her opponent glaring at Slowbro angrily.

"Now, Flamethrower/Leaf Storm!" Solidad called her command a few moments before Ash reacted. And a few moments was not enough time for a Slowbro to do anything, so the Leaf Storm hit it first at close range.

As Snivy once more landed with grace, the Slowbro still stood tall. Apparently power was something he did need more work on with Snivy in this timeline.

Or Slowbro were unstoppable juggernauts. One of the two.

"Hey Solidad!" Ash shouted, as the redhead acknowledged she had heard him. "Those moves you were using...they are kind of...different you know. They seem a bit fancier and more...er..."

"Razzle-Dazzle?" Solidad offered.

"Yeah." Ash took the suggested verb, or was it noun? Adjective? He couldn't recall.

"Well, if you must know I hope to go into Pokémon Coordinating," Solidad admitted. "However, I first want to have my Pokémon compete in the League circuit to ensure that they are strong enough to win Contest Battles by knockout if need be. I'm not sure you are familiar with how Contests work..."

"Oh, I am somewhat familiar with them." Three regions, two companions, a Top 8, 4, and runner up, and more than a few sparkling hairdos and cross-dressing eccentrics to be specific.

"Then you can understand why I want an ace in the hole," Solidad finished, with Ash nodding in acceptance of her reasoning. Though that did lead him into an odd thought about how Mega-Evolution would impact a Pokémon Contest.

He had the oddest image in his head now of Nando with an extremely muscular Kricketune with flames like an Emboar on its whiskers and Harley with a Cacturne that seemed to look unusually like him. Come to think of it, why did Harley keep coming up in his head recently? It was somewhat worrying.

Regardless, he had the oddest concern for May and (Arceus please have it be another Iris) Dawn's contests if that was the case.

But he could worry about that later, when he figured out how it even worked. Or if Mega-Kricketune or Cacturne were actually a thing.

"Speaking of aces, Slowbro use Yawn!"

"Snivy, Attract!" Ash wasn't sure if Leaf Storm would work, and right now he wasn't willing to risk it. And with that, bubbles and hearts canceled each other once more.

Though now Snivy was really starting to look tired. Slowbro was...well Ash couldn't tell but he didn't think it would be Slowbro who'd drop first at this rate.

There had to be some way to end this quickly...though even if Snivy knew Vine Whip like before he couldn't see how that would. The other move Snivy knew was just...

A light bulb went off in Ash's brain and he had to suppress a grin as he had an idea.

"Slowbro, use Aerial Ace!" Solidad called as once more the tail glowed blue, for some reason. What happened to Aerial Ace as a tackle? Was it just another way to do it?

But no matter, because it was brainstorm time. Time to make his inspiration reality!

"Snivy, use Wrap on Slowbro's tail, below the shell!"

Snivy charged forward, just as the Aerial Ace got close...before ducking under it and curling her body around the base of Slowbro's tail. A confused Slowbro stopped attacking, and Solidad seemed to be having a hard time of determining what Ash could possibly be up to.

"Now, use Leaf Storm, as narrow as you possibly can get it!"

Solidad's eyes went wide as the Leaf Storm formed, with only the very middle of Slowbro's body not being blasted with leaves.

"No, Slowbro!"

"And from the weakest attack to the strongest, Ash pulls out an unusual trump card out of Snivy's optional!" the announcer called as the storm eventually ended. An exhausted and oddly sweaty Snivy returned to him, looking like she needed a shower.

Though any annoyance at him was undone from the fruit of the combination that now lay defeated on the ground.

"Slowbro is unable to battle! The winner is Snivy, and victory goes to Ash!"

As the crowds went wild, Tucker spoke.

"What a battle between two budding tacticians! Clearly you can see the strategies flowing like pure mountain water! Let this battle be a lesson to all trainers that one must be willing to use all their options to win a battle, even the weakest among them."

"You were awesome Snivy!" Ash congratulated his Pokémon, who nodded in acknowledgement with a proud look in her eyes.

As Slowbro was returned to its Pokéball with a thank you from Solidad, she walked over to Ash and his now oddly smelling Snivy.

She was smiling.

"Well fought Ash," she told him as she extended a hand to him. "So, I take it I'll be seeing you at the Indigo League then?"

Ash nodded, taking her hand in turn as Snivy grinned in triumph.

"Assuming I don't get turned into a statue or something, you'll definitely be seeing me there!"

...

"I thought you said you had to get stronger to get into the Pokémon League?"

Iris asked him this blunt question as they took a catering break during the after round break. Somehow, it was all going to be in one day: it was odd to Ash, but he accepted it.

"I do," Ash explained patiently, somewhat expecting the confusion. He had omitted it after all. "However, just because I technically can do something, doesn't mean I am strong enough to do it. I mean, I could go and poke a sleeping Ursaring, but I'm not strong enough to do it." Not that many people would go bother a sleeping Ursaring though, even someone as strong as Cynthia didn't see such activities as worthwhile or safe. "You see Iris, I won the badge to get me into the League because I was tricked into doing so, and only won it with a lot of good luck, skill, and the fact that my opponents were about as competent as my shoes."

"You're giving them too much credit," Misty snarked from the other end of the table as she ate a box of donuts, all the while Psyduck was under them hopping feebly to grab them.

"I know I'm not really that strong yet, and if I go into the League I'm just going to make a fool out of myself. So while I can enter the League now if I do nothing, I won't." Ash finished. Iris seemed to accept the explanation, though he knew that...

"Ring a ring, ring a ring. Phone, or should I say Pokédex Call! Caller I-D registers one, Delia Ketchum. Your mother, thirty-three years old, standing at..."

As his Pokédex rang/spoke, startling Iris in the process, and continuing to show itself off as some multi-functional device, Ash sighed, knowing what was going to happen. So, interrupting it before he found out anything about his mother that could be dangerous to his health (like her weight), he took the doom/call.

"Hello..."

The resulting conversation was only half as bad as Ash had feared.

...

"And welcome to Round 2! What a brilliant round of white-hot intensive battles that was, and here's to seeing this tournament deliver a similar degree of amazement!" Tucker spoke as the crowds focused it all back to him "For making it this far, all trainers present received a Trainers Berry Starter Kit! Growing your own Oran, Sitrus, Liechi, and all the other essential berries of a Pokémon Trainer, Coordinator, or just plain Pokémon fan has never been easier!"

Maybe to him, but Ash couldn't make heads or tails of the thing, and neither could Misty or Iris. Do it yourself didn't always mean easy to understand.

He just decided to send all three of their berry kits off to Professor Oak. Pokémon ate berries, and Professor Oak had to feed a lot of Pokémon, so maybe some berry growing would help out his bottom line?

Ash did plan on trying to track down as many of his Tauros as possible when the time came after all. This was just Ash's way of making it up to the old man before his fence bill skyrocketed.

"Who's going to go on once more and win even more wonders!? Find out now, as Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town finds himself facing down A.J!"

The green haired master of the Sandshrew who Ash had fought before was once more his opponent, and he seemed rather friendly. He wasn't glaring at him like he was fresh meat to be grounded or anything like that.

"I may have lost to you last time," A.J noted as he held up his Pokéball, "but I'm not losing this time!"

"And I plan on keeping my winning streak." Ash countered.

Battle 1, Round 2

"I choose you!" Both trainers shouted as they threw out their Pokémon.

"Slash!"

A.J's choice was the scaly backed, clawed evolution of Sandshrew. And his...

"Squirtle!" his choice shouted to the world. 'Let's get this rematch started, it's time for our duel to begin!'

"Sandslash, the Mouse Pokémon, though a movement to recategorize it as a Pangolin Pokémon has been gaining traction in the scientific world as of late. Sandslash hide themselves with sand, and attack their enemies with sharp claws and spikes." The Pokédex provided Ash information that would not particularly help him as Sandslash was not being fought in a sandbox.

"So, you're using your Squirtle?" A.J noted with amusement. "Me and Sandslash have been getting a whole lot better since the last time we fought. We beat Lt. Surge together, we won't lose to you again."

"Neither will we!" Ash countered, idly noting Squirtle's use of the word duel. He wasn't going to have to refer to him as Sir Squirtle, was he?

"Bring it on!”

"Begin!"

"Okay Sandslash, let's get this match started with Bulldoze!" A.J called. With a nod, Sandslash slammed the battlefield with its claws, sending a wave through the earth right at Squirtle.

"Jump out of the way and use Water Gun!" Ash shouted. With his own nod, Squirtle used his tail to give himself a good burst into the air, avoiding the ground attack before shooting out the water attack that hit the ground-type square on.

Sandslash took it like a champ though. Training after all did bring perks.

"Counter with Poison Jab!" A.J called. With a shout of the Sand part of its name, Sandslash's claws glowed purple, and the water attack was stabbed right through.

With several calls of Slash, it began trying to jab Squirtle with its purple claws.

"Slash!" Squirtle ducked into his shell to avoid a head injury.

"Slash!" Then Squirtle swerved to the left.

"Slash!" Then to the right, making sure to keep his tail out of reach.

"Stop it with Return Squirtle!" Ash ordered. With a nod, Squirtle's fist began glowing white, before making impact in Sandslash's chest.

The Ground-type was sent rolling back, not even fully curled up kicking up a cloud of dust as his spiky back tore into the ground.

"Sandslash! Are you okay?!" A.J shouted with an evidently concerned tone. Sandslash nodded in affirmative as it slowly got back up, though it was holding its chest where Squirtle had hit it like it hurt.

"And the power of friendship was really packing in that attack!" the announcer shouted to the roars of the crowd.

"Okay then, let's wrap this up Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Squirtle began to well up the power of the seas within himself as A.J glared at it.

"Oh no you don't, use Bulldoze!" Raising its claw into the air, Sandslash slammed the earth with it and sent another tremor right at Squirtle.

Ash had begun the order to dodge, but the Bulldoze hit first.

"Squir!" his first Turtle Pokémon shouted as he was sent flying into the air.

"No, Squirtle!" Ash yelled, as A.J grinned wickedly.

"This is our chance, use Poison Jab!"

With purple tipped claws, the evolved Ground-Type leapt into the air, ready to take down Squirtle.

The same Squirtle who was now glowing blue.

A blue he had seen before...

"And it looks like Squirtle has accessed its ability, Torrent. This powerful ability increases the power of its Water-type attacks, but one more hit and it's all over for Squirtle!"

Torrent now?

That seemed...too quick.

It didn't make any sense though...Squirtle had taken only a single hit.

He had trained Squirtle plenty since he had captured him: his defenses should be stronger than that. Come to think of it...both Squirtle and Snivy had the same issue...

...

"I see our young Ash has picked up the problem in his strategy," Scott observed.

Pikachu and Goomy eyed the portly man in confusion, a look mirrored by Yellow whose little mouth was currently deep in a cookie.

"Pika?"

Scott grinned at the unintelligible question. "You see, from what I have observed both here and in after-action reports from the Gym Leaders, Ash favors Pokémon much like you Pikachu: fast Pokémon that hit hard and can dodge attacks easily because of their small size. However, such preference to small and powerful things leaves him vulnerable to being knocked out much easier than he would be if his Pokémon were evolved."

Removing her mouth from the cookie, Yellow looked at Scott curiously and asked. "So, you're saying Ash should have evolved his Pokémon?"

"No, not at all." Scott then explained, "His strategy is a perfectly valid one: unevolved Pokémon learn moves faster than their evolved counterparts, and opponents who know how to fight a Charizard are less versed on how one defeats a Charmander trained to the same level. His Squirtle did seemingly bruise a Sandslash's ribs with a single Return, clearly not pressuring his Pokémon and a lot of training led to a very powerful friendship punch. Like all strategies however, it comes with drawbacks. Ash is seeing it right now, and probably also noticed it during his fight with Solidad, though I can tell he's had his Squirtle for longer and thus probably assumed it was just how green Snivy was."

He then noted the girl, the dragon, and the mouse giving him looks for his unintentional pun.

"Sorry."

...

Opening his mouth, Squirtle began to form a water attack, though one Ash wasn't quite sure of the exact nature of. It did, however, smell unusually salty.

"Brine, a Water-type attack whose power is doubled when used on an already weakened opponent. Like the Sandslash," the Pokédex offered him helpfully.

It was in fact quite helpful, truth be told. The Pokédex should try and say more things like this and less about Slowbro bile and parasite mushrooms.

"Okay Squirtle, end this with Brine!"

With the salty spew of water, Squirtle blasted Sandslash right in the kisser just before Poison Jab made contact. And so, the already greatly weakened Ground-Type was hit with a Torrent boosted Brine whose power was already boosted per its own unique attributes.

A salted Sandslash hitting the ground with a loud thump was the end result, with a woozy Squirtle standing on top.

"Squirtle," the turtle noted, licking his lips. 'Salty...where did that move come from?'

It was a fair question. Then again, Pokémon learning a new technique without training but from sheer determination was hardly unique to him or anyone else really.

"Sandslash is unable to battle, the winner is Squirtle! Victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

"What a battle everyone! A Salty Squirtle refusing to give up, a powerful turnaround attempt by Sandslash, clearly that match was anyone's game the entire time!"

Returning Sandslash, A.J held up a hand which Ash promptly shook.

"You may have won this time, but I'm going to get stronger. This time I was close to winning, next time I will!"

"Good luck with that," Ash said in a tone that didn't sound nearly as mocking as the phrasing implied.

...

Rounds 2 and 3 passed without much incident: Misty defeated her opponent with Poliwrath (That Hiker guy Ash had fought around the time Bulbasaur had learned Solar Beam), while James had somehow pulled Carnivine out of his hat to win his match.

Wait, whatever happened to Carnivine? After Sinnoh the floating Grass-type just vanished, along with Mime Jr, Seviper, Yanmega...

Really, where did the Rocket Pokémon keep going off to? Did they have some sort of retirement home for them out in the country?

Round 4 however...

Well, Red and Iris were up.

An identical stranger of him versus his Unovan female companion...Not exactly something he had ever expected to happen.

It would be like her and Ritchie having a battle...how would that have gone?

...

Battle 4, Round 2

Unova.

The distant land whose Pokémon evolved differently from those in other regions, it was a region he knew very little about.

His opponent used such Pokémon, one of which was an Electric/Flying type. A Pokémon she was unlikely to reuse just as he was unlikely to use his Charmeleon again.

Victory odds: 50%

Red reached for his Pokéball, contemplating the potential ways this could all go wrong.

After all, a single bad call could make or break a match. Particularly a one-on-one fight.

This was it.

"Go, Clefairy!"

"Go, Axew!"

As a green, tusked Pokémon seemed to shoot out of the girl's hair, he let loose his Pink Fairy-type, when he felt his eyes flash.

Victory odds: 98%

He raised an eyebrow at what he was seeing. The once windy, twisty, and unnavigable path to a victory had now become a single, straight path. For such a change to have occurred. …..

Truly, he had picked the right Pokémon. If, as he suspected, Axew was a Dragon-Type...victory with Pikachu or Charmeleon would be far closer to 50%.

But with Clefairy...the odds were entirely in his favor.

...

Having flown through Kanto once before, there was a place that her family had avoided like the plague.

A certain mountain, said to be home to the shards of the moon. Or at least that was how the legends went.

They had said, when she had asked, that the mountain was home to a terrifying race of monsters the likes of which were virtually unknown in Unova.

Iris had no idea why that had come back into her head, but it wasn't going to distract her.

She and Axew had to get stronger, and here was a trainer with a Pokémon in her path. She and Axew would win this, and be stronger for it.

"Alright Axew, let's get this started! Use Dragon Claw!"

"Ax!" Axew shouted as its claws began to glow green.

…

A depressed looking Axew sat forlorn some time ago, the moon it's only companion before a barely dented boulder.

The little creature looked at its hands, and looked away in self-disgust.

"Axew!"

Axew didn't even look up as the long limbs of his sister ran over to him, sounding rather relieved to see him.

"Axew, are you still trying to learn Dragon Claw?" She asked him. The dragon-type sighed at the truth of the matter.

He had been trying to learn Dragon Claw. Not had learned Dragon Claw.

His sister noted the rock he had only slightly harmed, before sending him a smile.

"And you managed to get that far, without anyone to show you?"

Axew turned his head to her, confused. Why did she sound proud of him?

"You're nearly there Axew...let me help you get past the last bit" She asked him, her own hand glowing green. Axew's dulled eyes lit up at once, and with a determined chirp raised his arm in the air as it shimmered an unstable green.

The next morning saw the both of them collapsed on the ground, a broken boulder shattered before them.

…

Axew's Dragon Claw wasn't just a move, it was a triumph.

And what better move for getting stronger than showing its power right here, right now, and letting it grow even more powerful from this battle.

With a powerful slash, the claws made contact...and fizzled out like sand in the wind.

What!?

...

Fairy-Types: immune to Dragon-Types. They were poorly understood, and were still being studied.

Perhaps Unovans were just behind in that regard.

No matter.

"Clefairy, use Sing!"

...

Iris's shock at the failure of Dragon Claw was mirrored on Axew's face, who looked like something they had been pinning all their hopes on had fallen completely flat.

However, she managed to shock herself out of her panic when the notes began to fly.

"Hurry Axew, stop it with Dragon Rage!"

Still in shock from what had just happened, Axew none the less gathered the blue fire in his maw, before letting it fly. The attack burned away all the musical notes and hit Clefairy dead center.

However, the attack dissolved away once more, like it was nothing.

"Clefairy." The Pokémon said in an unsettling tone.

...

Victory odds 97%?

Huh, it dropped a bit there.

No matter, it was still quite acceptable for ensuring a victory He did not fear a 3% chance of a upset.

"Clefairy, use Double Slap!"

...

If Dragon-Type moves didn't seem to work then that just left...

"Counter with Scratch!"

"Ax!" 'Got it!'

White claws and hands collided in a fury of strike and blows, this time not magically dissolving on contact.

With a few more scrapes Axew came on top of the exchange, as the red lines on Clefairy's palms attested that caused Clefairy to wince in confused pain.

"Fairy?"

...

Victory odds 90%

The road to victory was starting to get a little fuzzy.

So, it appeared that Axew's Scratch was more powerful than Clefairy's Double Slap. Was it worth determining if Wake-Up Slap was any stronger?

No...It wasn't. The injuries to Clefairy's palms would limit its effectiveness.

Red silently cursed the fact that he was still working with Clefairy to learn a Fairy-technique. All he had left was Sing and... that move.

Thinking of that move somehow didn't make his odds go down any further...so be it.

"Clefairy, Metronome."

...

"Fairy, Fairy, Fairy..." Clefairy started to sing song creepily. Axew nervously began backing away from it as its fingers glowed.

Iris couldn't hear what Clefairy was saying.

Thankfully.

...

'Round and round we go! Where I stop, no one knows! Let's play a game little dragon, a fun game! Hehehe!'

Up in the stands, Pikachu and Goomy simultaneously shivered. That voice sounded demented. Mad. Disturbed even.

...

On his shoulder and as silent as ever, Red noticed his Pikachu shiver, looking at his Clefairy with unusual unease.

One of these days he really needed to figure out why Clefairy creeped his other Pokémon out.

...

"Fairy!"

From the glowing fingers formed a glowing purple ball, which Clefairy promptly lobbed right at Axew.

"Stop it Axew with Dragon Claw!" Iris countered. "Then hit Clefairy with Scratch!"

With glowing green claws Axew leapt from his current spot, and sliced Shadow Ball in half with it, before dropping green for white and flying right at Clefairy.

Who was still metronoming.

"Fairy!"

With the next burst of inspiration Clefairy opened its mouth, and let loose a gigantic tongue that promptly licked Axew top to bottom, several times. As if tasting him, causing a visible shiver to go through the dragon type.

Axew fell on the ground, rather paralyzed. Probably not just from the effect of Lick, the tongue was just creepy looking in general. For one thing, it looked like something out of a purple Lickitung and it smelled a bit like an old shoe.

Even Clefairy's own trainer was disturbed by it.

Then Clefairy loomed over the downed Axew, the light shadowing Clefairy's face and looking as creepy as possible.

"Cle Fai!" Metronome was still active, and now had given Clefairy what looked like Vice Grip, pinching them menacingly over Axew like some creepy robot. To all who could understand what Clefairy had just said.

To those who could however….

"Xew..." Axew whimpered in terror. 'What about you liking my teeth, and my claws!?'

Iris's eyes went wide open as she heard her brother's panic, which was quickly becoming her own. And so, she reacted immediately.

"I give, I give, just stop!" Iris shouted in horror running onto the field. Both of them wanted to get stronger, but whatever it was that Clefairy wanted to do was not worth it.

After all, what older sister would ever want to see their little brother get parts of him yanked off by a freak of nature? Teeth may grow back, but it was not exactly a painless process to remove them. Nor was it instantaneous. And she had no idea if claws meant just Axew's nails, which could regrow….or his fingers, which could not.

The moment she shouted, and the ref's flag rose, Red returned Clefairy as it was moments before plying off one of Axew's teeth for...reasons unknown to anyone. Red had to return Clefairy as the Fairy Pokémon had ignored Iris' cry and the ref's signal that the battle was over, Clefairy had still been reaching out to take one of Axew's tusks.

He looked at the Pokéball with unease, before clicking it securely away. He then eyed the trainer and Axew currently being comforted by said trainer.

...

"Sorry." He felt the need to say. He normally did not apologize for winning, or curb-stomping, or anything like that...but it was a special case here.

"And sometimes, the best act a tactician can give, is to retreat. Better to lose a battle, than a war." Tucker noted sagely.

Iris's gaze rose to look at his, revealing an inhuman fury to them, like a mother Ursaring or Tyranitar.

Red held his ground momentarily, before slowly turning around and walking away with a slight increase in his walking speed. He had apologized for his Clefairy behaving like a crazy person...he couldn't think of anything else to do in this situation.

Except maybe figure out if there was a Pokémon therapist he could send Clefairy too.

Sometimes one had to wonder why he was able to find just one Clefairy in Mount Moon. Perhaps it wasn't luck as much as the other Clefairy just didn't want his one around.

It was a theory, unbeknownst to him, his Pikachu already had.

...

Snivy eyed her new item, courtesy of the ever generous tournament with interest. It was a seed, but one that seemed to radiate the power of the Grass-Type itself.

Misty had gotten a Mystic Water, which was currently being worn by Staryu.

Ash had used the Pokédex to put an order in for a holder for Snivy, though, because he sensed something was off...

It felt like waves of...depression really. Odd how that was suddenly something one could feel.

It turned out to be Iris. She was sitting in a corner, looking down. She was holding Axew in her arms rocking him gently back and forth as he looked scared out of his mind.

Then again, that Clefairy had been rather disturbing, even for someone who couldn't tell what it had been saying.

"Iris?" Ash got to his knees in front of her. She looked up at him, looking defensive.

"What do you want?" she questioned as he looked at her, concerned.

"You don't seem to be taking losing well." He told her as she scowled.

"Well, no one ever likes losing. Especially a fight you had no chance of winning." She said the last one quietly. Ash recalled the fight with Clefairy.

"Something was up with that Clefairy." Ash recalled as he felt his Pokédex shake in his pocket. Probably to give him a heads up as it begun spouting exposition, oddly considerate of it really.

"Clefairy, as the name suggests, is a Fairy-Type Pokémon. A Fairy-Type has complete immunity to Dragon-Type attacks."

A Fairy-Type? That was new...

"...So that's what my parents meant about Mt. Moon," Iris mused to herself.

"A Fairy-Type takes reduces damage from Fighting, Dark, and Bug attacks. It's weak to Poison and Steel type moves," the Pokédex continued, possibly for Ash's benefit.

"So, if I had used Excadrill..." Iris seemed to only get more depressed at that.

Or to do that. Hard to tell if that making Iris depressed was its goal or not.

"Everyone makes bad calls Iris." Ash tried to assure her. "I mean, I used a Charmander against a Kingdra." He wouldn't point out the Charmander won. That would not help here.

"Sometimes you just end up in a bad match up. A Durant can't change the fact that it's just food for a Heatmor." Iris apparently agreed with him. At least, Ash thought what that reference was about.

"However...what about when you throw your own Durant at a Heatmor, expecting it to win?"

Or perhaps, it was not a positive one.

She clutched Axew tighter now. "I nearly got my brother maimed. It was my decision that put him in that fight. What if I hadn't been able to get him out before that monster did something to him?"

Why did that comment make Ash think of Guillotine or Horn Drill?

Recalling a gym battle past, where he had chosen surrender over seeing Pikachu fall into lava, Ash extended a hand, slowly, to Iris's shoulder. When she didn't look like she'd claw him, he placed it on her shoulder, causing her to jerk and look at him in surprise.

"You got him out of there before that happened Iris," he told her calmly. "That's all that counts. You and Axew, you both want to get stronger. Losing one battle you don't think you two could have won isn't the end of it." Hearing a call for him, Ash stood up and made his way to the battlefield. Before he left, however, he turned around and faced her with a grin on his face.

"In fact, given that you had managed to stop Clefairy's regular attack with Scratch, I think you two are strong enough to beat Clefairy next time. You know about Metronome now, you can prepare for it next time. If you can learn about why you lost and grow from it, you can come out on top during the rematch".

As he walked away, he failed to catch both dragon and dragon girl watch him leave, far cheerier than before he talked to them.

...

Battle 1, Round 3

Of course, if he lost here, he'd have to follow his own advice.

"Well, fancy meeting you here!"

...And his opponent was James. Looking rather friendly to be honest, as opposed to rather villainous or stalker-like.

Okay...so losing was probably off the table today then.

"Now, I know the two of us have met under some...complicated circumstances in the past," James offered as a greeting. "However, let's put those meetings behind us temporarily and have a good, fair fight with no baggage, shall we."

Translation: do not say he's a member of Team Rocket? Or that he was stalking him?

Come to think of it, where were Jessie and Meowth? He looked around, but he only saw two of that trio of oddly familiar event vendors watching them battle. Odd, they must be working here today and the taller male among them must be out sick or something.

Well, okay. Ash supposed he could be the better man and not shout out that his opponent was a member of a criminal organization. Ash wasn't sure if he could prove it, and that sort of accusation throwing did seem somehow juvenile when he thought about it a bit.

Of course, his inner ten-year-old was insisting he shout it. Five years of further socialization lessons told him not to, however.

"And with that, a match between two real rivals will now begin! What Pokémon will they chose? Will they be old favorites, or new competitors?!"

"Go!"

"Free!" In a burst of pollen, his currently only fully evolved Pokémon appeared for battle. 'Okay, time to see what a tournament is really...um...'

"Inkay!" The floating squid greeted cheerfully, thus answering the question of who was fighting.

It was all newcomers.

Turning to Ash, Butterfree made a whining like noise and gestured at Inkay in confusion. While the crowd's question had been answered, Butterfree himself had his own question. Ash responded with his Pokédex.

"Inkay, the Revolving Pokémon. Inkay confused it's foes with flashing lights and strange movements, dazing them and making them weakly hallucinate. It is illegal to evolve an Inkay."

Um, okay? So what, it evolved into a Gyarados on steroids or something?

For that matter, why did James have his Kalos Pokémon with him?

"Oh, if you are wondering about all my new friends, it's simple really!" James seemed to pick up on his unspoken confusion. "You see, long ago I had friends! Then my parents took them away because they are horrible people, and I can say that because I am not afraid of libel lawsuits!" He said the last one as a boastful laugh.

Could parents sue children for Libel?

"But we're back together now, and our friendship is stronger than ever! It's time to show you the powers of friendship!"

As James said that however, Ash and Butterfree could have sworn they saw James, his Koffing, Growlithe, Carnivine, and Yamask pose with Inkay, all wearing golden crowns with various symbols in them that radiated virtues like kindness, generosity, laughter, and magic.

It was brief however, and Ash and Butterfree quickly just left that up to Inkay messing with them.

The Tackle to Butterfree that came just as they realized this was probably an indication of it.

That sent Butterfree back a bit, though he managed to stabilize himself quickly.

"Free." 'Well, that hurt.'

The tackle, and James as part of a friendship sentai pose. Both were painful to see.

"Now, Psybeam!" James followed up with a psychic beam attack.

"Counter it with your own Psybeam!" Ash shouted as Butterfree's eyes let loose their own blast.

The two attacks collided with equal force, they started to meld into a ball of multicolored light until it blew up. A cloud of thick smoke covered the area between the two Pokémon.

As the resulting smoke began to clear, Ash heard James call for another Tackle.

"Block it with Gust!" Ash declared. Butterfree nodded, before it began to blow with his wings, and all his might.

The wind storm cleared away all the remaining smoke, Inkay struggled against the gale at first but was sent flying back.

"And a repeat performance has been blown right off course by Ash Ketchum's quick thinking!"

As the windstorm ended, Ash noted Butterfree's wings. As the storm ended, they glowed slightly.

Interesting...

Inkay returned to battle however, and James wasn't done yet. Ash could ponder Butterfree's wings later.

"Not bad, but Inkay's not so easily blown away! Use Return!" Inkay began glowing white, the power of friendship surging through its body.

And Ash recalled the last time one of his Pokémon got hit by that move.

"Engulf it in Sleep Powder!" Ash ordered. Butterfree followed with a blowing of sleeping spores.

"Stop Inkay!" James countered as Inkay halted to a complete stop, inches away from the powder. "Now, Psybeam!"

The beam flew fast right at Butterfree, blasting through the Sleep Powder and striking him in the side just before Ash could call a counterattack. The resulting hit caused Butterfree to lose altitude, quickly.

"Free!" 'Ash, I'm not going to be able to stay in the air!'

"Butterfree!" Ash shouted in concern, before pointing right at Inkay. "Take Inkay with you, with String Shot!"

Seconds later, Inkay wondered why a white thread had grabbed it by the tentacles, moments before being flung down to the ground by it with a slam.

Butterfree stood on his legs, spitting out the String Shot from his mouth as Inkay jumped back up, hovering slightly and rubbing its back with its tentacles.

"Hey, you can't hogtie my Inkay!" James shouted in complaint.

"Actually, that move was perfectly legal," the announcer pointed out. "Had Ash Ketchum attempted to tie you up, he'd have been disqualified. Of course, you can't simply set it up so you can get hit by a String Shot not aimed at you to win that way..."

Why did both sound like they were decisions made because they became actual problems?

James growled as Inkay pointed itself right at Butterfree, like a missile. "Very well, if you want to play cowboy, I hope you're ready to fear the Tauros horn! Inkay, Return!"

Inkay glowed white and pure, like friendship. It then flew at Butterfree, with immense force.

Could Gust stop it? Well, Ash would have to find out.

"Stop it with Gust!" Ash called as Butterfree began to flap his wings, only to send out a storm attack with not just a wind attack.

No, it was filled with a silvery powder that glittered beautifully.

"Free!" 'This isn't a Gust, not anymore! It's Silver Wind!'

"Silver Wind?!" Ash shouted in surprise. That was a new move for him, and Butterfree in general. Come to think of it, why hadn't he seen Silver Wind in Kanto at all his first time through?

Though that itself wasn't as a relevant, as Silver Wind was itself as it flew right at a certain flying squid.

"Silver Wind?! As in, a Bug-Type attack!?" James shouted in horror as the attack hit Inkay, and promptly exploded. "Inkay!"

Inkay promptly fell out of the smoke cloud, defeated.

"No, Inkay!"

"Inkay is unable to battle, the winner is Ash of Pallet Town!"

The crowd cheered as James sighed, returning Inkay and looking at Ash with a calm face and a shrug.

"Well, this was efficient stalking for today. See you tomorrow!" No one seemed to hear what he said as he spun around and walked away after that friendly departure.

Ash and Butterfree just watched him leave, and wondered frankly what was wrong with him.

Battle 2, Round 3

What did Misty know about this trainer?

Well, his name was Red. He defeated the three Gym Leaders Ash had, and had defeated Iris with a Clefairy who clearly was not normal, nor right in the head.

He also looked a lot like Ash, right down to the shoulder mounted Pikachu he had with him. And given what Ash had been ruled on with his own Pikachu to sit out for, it meant he was likely going to be using that Pikachu for this battle.

After all, he probably had noticed her Pokémon of choice by now.

...

The Cerulean Sisters...had been the weakest Gym Leaders he had faced. Gary had been a far tougher challenge, even though in the end he had still won without a single casualty.

This Misty...there was something about her that reminded him of them. The way her face was...a cousin perhaps? He could have sworn reading that Siebold and the Cerulean Sisters were related.

She shared the same type affinity as them, but clearly she was far more talented at it. Or perhaps she actually just put work into it. What Pokémon he'd use was clear though. There was no other logical choice.

...

Of course, she had seen a Pikachu in action enough times to know exactly what to do to counter one. Of course, that did lead to the question of what happened when she won this fight.

After all, battling wasn't exactly something she did for a living, like Ash or this Red guy. On the other hand, she did like the free food they gave between rounds, and it would be somewhat rude to just walk out after eating.

Eh, she'd figure that out when this was all over.

"Begin!"

"Gyarados!" Misty declared as she threw out her old friend. "Let's go!"

"Pikachu." Red declared as his mouse jumped onto the battle field, just as the great Water-Flying type appeared with a roar.

...

Victory odds: 99%.

This would be over in one move.

"Thunderbolt," Red declared as the yellow aura surrounded his Electric-type, as his opponent grinned.

Why? A Gyarados could not possess Lightning Rod, Motor Drive, or use Mud Sport. What could she possibly be planning, Protect maybe?

...

Well, time to put their new technique to use. Though perhaps it wasn't quite new, as she'd borrowed the ideas from a certain companion of hers.

Though with some changes of course. After all, a Gyarados did not have claws.

"Iron Tail," Misty declared as Gyarados's tail glowed white, before being slammed into the field.

The lightning hit Gyarados, and while it did illuminate the great serpent, it didn't seem to hurt the Gyarados at all.

Misty couldn't help but smirk. Everything was working perfectly. Gyarados was also smirking, which was rather terrifying. After a few seconds Gyarados flexed and broke out of the shroud of electricity.

...

Red and Pikachu looked on the entire thing, in abject horror.

"Pika?!"

Red eyed the Gyarados that somehow was defying the very law of nature, the law of being a Gyarados.

The fact that being electrocuted was their natural weakness. The sole reason human civilization outside of Unova could even live on the coast!

The nightmares of countless centuries was coming true before his very eyes.

"And what a shocker! Somehow, the Thunderbolt didn't have any effect on Gyarados!" The announcer sounded as surprised as Red was about it. "What will Red do now?"

Victory Odds: 10%

10%...

He hadn't had odds that low since his fight with Brock, following a critical hit from his Onix taking out his Charmander and then the unexpected use of Bide on his Pikachu.

But it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility yet.

"Use Quick Attack!"

...

The Quick Attack slammed right into Gyarados's head just as the last of the electricity petered off, causing Gyarados to recoil back.

Iron Tail was removed from its anchoring point, she'd have to be ready to call for it to be put back the moment Red declared another electric attack.

"Use Brick Break!" she heard Red call. At that, she grinned. She could counter that easily enough.

"Gyarados, Dragon Rage!"

...

Pikachu's fighting move collided with the green fire for a few moments, before it was overpowered and sent Pikachu crashing to the ground, slightly singed.

Pikachu shook it off, however, and stared down the monster once more.

The paths of victory….was now frankly giving him a headache. It was a little too trippy for him to focus on it. Instead, he'd have to try a more thoughtful approach to this.

Before, to block Thunderbolt, she had used Iron Tail. Would that happen again?

"Pikachu, Thunder Punch!"

"Pika!" Reaching across his body, Pikachu covered his right wrist with its left paw and thrust his right paw down towards the ground. This caused a yellow ball of electricity to form over said right limb. Extending his arm out, the punch sliced the field apart as Pikachu ran at the Gyarados at breakneck speed.

...

Hmmm, that was new.

Did that technique work as well to stop physical damage?

She had only seen it used on ranged ones, as they were by far the most common type of electric attack.

Thunder Punch could be potentially troublesome.

"Water Pulse!" Misty called as the giant blue orb formed in Gyarados's mouth, and was promptly lobbed right at the charging Pikachu like a blue star sent flying at a single warrior.

...

Screeching like a thousand birds, Pikachu slammed his fist right into the Water Pulse.

The attacks shattered, sending Pikachu flying back some more with water droplets scattering around the battlefield.

Clearly the only move that could get through was Quick Attack, but would that be able to stop Gyarados?

Victory odds: 8%

Whoever said, never tell me the odds, never had to be him. The odds never shut up with him.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack! Repeatedly!"

...

Dozens of white blur blurred by Gyarados, moving faster that the serpent could react. Striking again, and again, and again.

Misty was starting to find it rather annoying. She figured Gyarados did as well.

Best to vent this before someone had to replace their roof.

"Use Iron Tail and sweep Pikachu away!" Misty ordered.

With a loud roar, Gyarados's tail glowed white and swung a wide arc across the field.

"And it seems like the great beast has grown tired of being buzzed by Pikachu! Can Pikachu avoid being slapped away, because that tail is one hell of a flyswatter?!"

...

"Block it with Brick Break!" He'd have said Thunder Punch if the move was faster.

With a glowing fist Pikachu exited Quick Attack and hammered the glowing tail, with added power thanks to the momentum from Quick Attack, creating a burst of bright light.

However, Pikachu were not known as The Muscle Pokémon, the Pint-sized Victor Pokémon, or the Bruce Lee Pokémon. So, when hit by the tail of a gigantic sea serpent, Pikachu was sent flying to the ground, with a loud thump.

"Pi." Red figured that Pikachu had just said, ow.

...

"No, Pikachu!" Yellow called out from her seat. When the Pikachu with the Goomy sitting next to him poked his head out at her in confusion, she waved her cotton candy stick at him.

"Not you, Pikachu, that Pikachu." She blinked as she realized how that sounded. "You know, I'm starting to see why some people nickname."

"And that works for some people. Others think it's a bit presumptuous to give a living creature a name you thought up with. More than one person died because they named a prideful species something undignified, like Fred," Scott noted. "Anyway, I'm curious to see if Red can get around that girl's defenses. I can see how he could, but I have been doing this for a long time. Red likely doesn't have that same insight, at least not yet."

"Red can beat her." Yellow asserted with complete confidence, before taking a bite out of her large cotton candy chunk. She then noticed a bit of it was missing.

Pikachu promptly wiped his mouth clean on the side of a somewhat irritated looking Goomy, who flinched as he did so. Did Goomys not like cotton candy?

...

"Now, Water Pulse!" Got to keep up the pressure after all, Misty thought.

The giant blue orb formed in Gyarados's mouth, ready to fire and quite possibly win this.

After all, it was very big, and mice traditionally did not survive blue sun collisions unscathed.

...

The Water Pulse slowed down, freezing in place.

The crowd’s cheers were frozen in motion, silent as the night.

Even Pikachu was frozen in place, staring at the Water Pulse in defiance.

Only Red moved in this frozen world, his eyes glowing orange-brown.

It was rare that Red ever did this. Not in any previous battle had he needed to use this. Mostly he resorted to this to get out of tricky situations, particularly after he had been orphaned.

For Red was not an ordinary person. He had abilities that the average person did not.

And this was one of them: the ability to slow down time and see every possible move and the likelihood of him achieving victory from it, however it was he defined victory. Even without this activated, he could see 'victory odds' everywhere, from discussions to vending machine operation rates to the chances of him winning a game of cards.

Of course, this was a battle, not a card game. So, he'd focus on this battle first before even thinking of hitting Celadon.

"Pikachu, dodge with Quick Attack." He offered as he saw, too fast for him to really comprehend, all possible scenarios from such a move.

Victory Odds: 4%

Hmmm, not that then.

"Pikachu, use Brick Break"

Victory Odds: 2%

Red looked worried now. This power of his may allow him to see how things could go, to work out the probabilities of each move, but it was not infallible. It only worked with what he already knew, and what was at hand. This power did not let him figure out Gyarados's fourth move, nor could it comprehend anything he had not witnessed Misty do yet.

For example, if Misty was a normally overly offensive battler, but then suddenly began battling as if her Gyarados was a defensive Pokémon like Muk or Chansey, he wouldn't be able to take that into his Victory Sight.

Such weaknesses were problematic, especially when his odds were already low.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Punch."

Victory Odds: .25%

Not even one percent. Damn.

So, he needed to move faster. But that only left Thunderbolt...

That had already failed before though, would it work?

Well, he had the time to figure it out at least.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Suddenly, everything stared to become much clearer, as if the path to victory had suddenly become much clearer.

Victory odd: 74%?

Low, he hadn't had odds like that since his Charmeleon fought Lt. Surge's Raichu after he had lost his Weepinbell and Meowth to it, after Charmeleon had taken notable damage defeating Magneton. But after what he had been getting this entire battle, they looked perfect.

But why? What changed that made this actually work, assuming Gyarados did not have some unexpected backup move.

Unless...

Did that Iron Tail have something to do with it? Had that let Gyarados somehow escape damage from Thunderbolt?

Red wasn't sure how, why, or when that bizarre strategy had been made, or how it worked. However, it was the only way he could win, with acceptable allowances to unknown variables.

At the very least, this Misty girl was pretty smart, and pretty good. She was probably the toughest fight he had since Brock, in fact she was probably a better fight. Hell, this entire tournament had been filled with good opponents: that Alex kid had a pretty unique Kadabra, and that Iris girl had countered him pretty well despite her type problems. Who knows how that fight would have gone had he not let Clefairy go nuts?

But respect to her or not, he was going to win.

...

"Use Thunderbolt!"

Misty was caught off guard as the electric move was sent flying, just as Water Pulse was ready to be fired.

There was no time to change to Iron Tail. The only thing she could do was...

"Gyarados, fire Water Pulse to defend!"

Gyarados, with a muffled voice, roared and sent the attack flying, where it hit Thunderbolt moments from launch.

More than close enough for electricity to be conducted from a few loose particles of water.

"RRAAAGGGHHH!" Gyarados yelled as it was hit by its mortal weakness, electricity crackled across his scales and caused his muscles to spasm.

"No, Gyarados!"

"RAGAGGHHHH!" To those listening it sounded like the pained cry of a monster, but to Misty she heard what Gyarados was truly saying.

'Misty...the idea works, this was just bad timing. Don't blame yourself for this, I'll be fine...Ouch.'

Then Gyarados fell to the ground, slightly crisped and defeated.

"And Red bypasses the defenses of Gyarados, and wins it all! Victory goes to Red and Pikachu!"

...

As the crowds cheered Red on for winning, his Pikachu collapsed in a tired heap. Red walked over to his friend, and picked up the tired mouse. The mouse did not complain, this one time. He then walked over to his defeated opponent, with said opponent placing a concerned hand over her Gyarados.

"Thank you. You did wonderfully," she told the beast, before sensing Red behind her.

She aggressively turned his direction, only to notice an outstretched hand.

She took it in hand and shook it, recognizing the unspoken intent.

And with this, he only had one more opponent left to face.

Ash Ketchum.

...

Her head hung in defeat, Misty returned to find Ash, who was hand feeding Butterfree a palm-full of honey flavored Pokémon food.

"You did great Misty," he told her immediately as she returned, probably not getting up to greet her because his hands would be covered in sticky food crumbs.

"Yeah, well I still lost..."

Butterfree finished eating, signaled to Ash either verbally or by flying away, Misty couldn't tell. Ash then gestured to Squirtle, who Misty had not noticed until now, to spray clean his hands of the honey.

She then noticed Snivy, who was out of her ball and pretending not to be interested in what was going on. She didn't see Iris though, but who knew with her?

Wiping his now wet hands on the side of his jeans, he turned to her with an honest smile.

"Misty...you can't win every fight. It's impossible, unless you do spend your time ambushing new trainers with a Tyranitar or something." He sounded pretty sincere about it, as if he had lost before.

Perhaps it was in something else, baseball perhaps?

"No trainer can win every match he fights. It would be arrogant of me to assume that I won't lose to a Gym Leader sometime down the line, or go up against a bad matchup in a tournament or something," Ash continued, again sounding like he was well familiar with this concept. "That's not to say I won't try to avoid it, or give it my best even when I'm trying to defeat a Rhydon with a Caterpie." Butterfree gave him a look for that one. "You just have to learn something from it."

"Learn something..." Misty said out loud, thinking. It had been a while since she had lost, not that she had battled much since she 'left' home, so she was somewhat rusty on how to learn from losing.

"Like, how my technique for stopping electric attacks has a hole in it?"

Ash nodded, and Misty realized her frustration had ebbed away, and what remained seemed different.

She still felt it, but it felt...more like a drive to fix herself. To take what she found hadn't worked, and make it work. To be better, and stronger, and faster than before.

It felt...a lot better than frustration.

...

The prize for getting to the final round was a not so insignificant check.

Winning would earn him an even more not so insignificant check.

The fact his Pokédex could upload the deposit to his bank account was...another thing on his list of things the Pokédex did that worried him.

"Your opponent's choices of Pokémon for this fight are: the Electric-type Pikachu, the Fairy-type Clefairy, and the Fire-type Charmeleon," said device reminded him. "Your possible choices are the Grass-type Snivy, the Water-type Squirtle, and the Bug and Flying-type Butterfree."

...

The opponent was Ash Ketchum.

Red did not know much about Ash beyond what he had glimpsed in this tournament. His choice of qualification to the Pokémon League was unusual, and was worth noting for future trips to other leagues. However, despite his defeat of the Cerulean Gym for such a purpose, he clearly did possess skills.

His battle style was...beyond comprehension.

...

"Logically, you should use Squirtle. Squirtle has one good matchup, one even matchup, and one disadvantaged fight. Snivy meanwhile has two even matchups and one disadvantaged, and Butterfree possesses only a single even matchup and two disadvantaged matchups".

...

He was most likely to use Squirtle, a species he had experience battling. While the Brine attack could be a problem, Red felt he could manage regardless of his Pokémon.

...

"Yeah, that would make the most sense, which is why it would make the least amount of sense. He's expecting it, and because of that he's likely to use his Pikachu."

"Your logic...is surprisingly logical. I feel greatly disturbed." The Pokédex sounded like he had just heard Psyduck disprove Einstein's theories. "So, you'll use Snivy then?"

Ash placed a thoughtful hand on his chin. "The thing is, Red saw my fight with Solidad. He knows about Attract and Leaf Storm. I mean, the fact that Leaf Storm was being powered up was probably my biggest advantage against Solidad, and I wouldn't have that this time."

...

The Snivy was probably the biggest mystery to Red. Snivy was not a Pokémon he had encountered previously, and its strange ability to power itself up with Leaf Storm was something that would be a serious obstacle to overcome.

He may know about it, but the only way to stop it would be for him to defeat Snivy very quickly. Charmeleon's Fire Fang may be powerful, but its limited range was a potential flaw. And then there was Attract...

If Ash used Snivy for some reason, Red was not sure what he could do to stop it.

...

"So, a Pokémon who’s expected, and one who's a one trick Ponyta." The Pokédex sounded contemplative. "Clearly, you are going to have to decide if you want to go the safer but expected route, or the one that no one will see coming and will either make you a maverick, or a madman."

"Um, what's a Maverick?" Ash wondered, having not heard that word before, before taking on a determined look, one of sureness of self and call. "Hmmm...You know what, I think I'll use Butterfree."

...

Squirtle or Snivy, those were the only two possible options. Butterfree couldn't possibly be used: it would be like taking your Charmeleon to fight under the sea.

It was completely mad.

...

"Are you completely mad!?"

Ash ignored his Pokédex as he held up his Pokéball.

"The Pokémon may be healed after each round, but exhaustion and physical injuries take far longer to heal. His Pikachu fought a much harder fight than Butterfree did, so he's out, and Clefairy got cuts on its palms, so I don't think we'll be seeing Clefairy. Charmeleon is the only logical choice."

"Yes, yes it is. Thus you should us your Water-Type, like a normal person would."

"I talk to Pokémon and have an artificial intelligence in my pocket, I'm not normal," Ash pointed out, to which the Pokédex had no immediate response. "Anyway, it makes perfect sense. Butterfree can use String Shot to stop Fire Fang and Rock Tomb, and then use Sleep Powder!"

"...I still think this is madness, but hey it's not my job to ensure you win. Just don't lose so I can get additional data on his Charmeleon and Pikachu for the database. This tournament has allowed me to obtain several good samplings, and I'd like that to continue."

"Sure sure, whatever works for you".

...

LAST ROUND

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the final round! We've seen plenty of intense matches today, and this will be the most intense match of all! Ash or Red, who will win it all?"

"Gentlemen!" The announcer shouted to the determined grinner Ash and the seriously focused Red. "Choose your Pokémon, and begin!"

"Go!" Both trainers called as their chosen Pokémon were sent out.

"Meleon!" Red's choice of Pokémon roared with the ferocity of a blazing inferno.

"Free." Ash's choice spoke with the gentleness of an evening sunset.

...

Red...

Red just stared.

What?

Why?

How on...how did someone ever think of doing it?

It was completely mad! Even Pikachu looked gobsmacked at the call.

His victory odds were 100%. It was unreal.

"Use Rock Tomb," Red said blandly as the stones began to form around Charmeleon.

...

Odd, Red was looking at him like he was crazy.

But if he was thinking him crazy, it was all the easier for him to surprise him.

"Stop the rocks with String Shot!" Ash called as Butterfree spat string after string forth, even as the stones flew towards them.

Each string snagged a stone, and knocked them to the ground, binding them in silk and restraining them to the ground.

The attack was completely neutralized.

As Red looked shocked, Ash chuckled.

"I trained my Butterfree to take on Brock and his Rock Tomb attacks. I know exactly how to stop that move. Now, use Psybeam!"

...

The shock in Red's system from the negation of his attack was compounded when he saw his victory percentage.

?

Never before had that happened. He always got some sort of number, but the moment the fight with Ash actually started, the moment he could really start analyzing him, his power... Glitched. That was the only way to describe it, and trying to determine anything more was going to take far too long...

The direct hit from Psybeam did snap him out of it momentarily. Charmeleon took the attack well, but he'd rather not let it happen again as the fire type took a step back.

"Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage!"

...

"Psybeam!"

The two attacks collided with equal force as Red seemed to still be shock for being blocked the way he had been.

"Now, use Sleep Powder!" Ash decided to go for the obvious tactic as Butterfree began to release the spores.

...

Sleep Powder!

"Blow it away with Dragon Rage!" Red was starting to wish Charmeleon had a ranged fire attack, but this would have to do.

With billowing blue dragon flames, the powder was blown away, diluted, and utterly left sterile.

"Now, Silver Wind!"

Red's eyes went wide as Ash called for the attack to blow the remains of Dragon Rage right back into Charmeleon, who was pushed back by the flood of powder wind and old dragon fire.

...

"Hmm..." Scott wondered out loud as Yellow was standing up next to him, shouting for Red to win and kick Ash's butt.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu sounded like he was trying to out-cheer the girl. Goomy added a few cheers to the mix as well.

Ash and Red...

One trainer who was capable of thinking of unexpected yet effective means to victory, yet his Pokémon themselves were not the strongest nor the most durable.

The other who raised strong Pokémon and had effective plans, yet they lacked improvisation and focused on textbook tactics.

Both with so much potential, still ripening as he looked on.

Both of them...yes both of them could be possible challengers to the Battle Frontier one day. They would develop the skills and the strength to do so someday soon.

But not today, and probably not next week either. Maybe after a few Leagues though.

...

"Use Fire Fang!"

With flaming jaws, Charmeleon jumped on top of a restrained Rock Tomb and prepared to bite Butterfree.

"Use String Shot!" Ash called.

The resulting string burst sealed up Charmeleon's mouth, causing the flames to be snuffed out through lack of oxygen. Charmeleon still flew at Butterfree though, and unintentionally head-butted him in the chest.

Charmeleon barely managed to avoid flopping back on the ground though, while Butterfree was slightly hunched over.

"You okay Butterfree!?" Ash called.

"Free." Butterfree said with some regained muster. 'Yeah, I think so. Just...that hurt the exoskeleton a bit too much for my tastes.'

With a roar, Charmeleon broke through the restraints, showing they weren't done yet. However, the harsh cough that followed the roar suggested that Charmeleon did not handle eating its own Fire Fang all that well, support by the small puffs of smoke that drifted from his mouth.

"Silver Wind!"

...

Was he trying to power himself up with Silver Wind's potential effect?

"Duck." Red told Charmeleon, who complied and hit the ground, allowing the buggy wind to pass overhead without harm.

"Now, Shadow Claw!"

With a glowing purple claw, Charmeleon ran at the Bug-Type, before jumping right at him.

...

"Block with Silver Wind!" Ash called. Butterfree began to blow, but it didn't seem to stop the Fire-Type.

Ash then realized that probably would have gone better with Gust, just as the Shadow Claw impacted into Butterfree.

His first catch was sent plummeting to the ground.

...

Butterfree landed with a thump, just as Charmeleon landed far more gracefully.

This might be it, even if he couldn't see victory. Huh, was this was it was like to be a normal human?

Interesting...

"End this with Fire Fang!"

...

Butterfree was pushing himself back up as the Charmeleon began to charge right at him.

"Quickly, use Psybeam!" Ash ordered. With a nod, Butterfree did just that, and the attack hit home.

Right in Charmeleon's chest.

It looked like a critical hit.

...

Charmeleon was sent flying, before hitting the ground with a thump.

Just as Butterfree had managed to start pushing himself back up, so did Charmeleon. Both however, were trembling from the effort.

"And would you look at that! Both Pokémon have taken some major hits! Who's going to remain standing!?"

...

The slow push to stand continued, all the while the two opponents were staring each other down.

"You can do it Butterfree!" Ash encouraged, though he was gritting his teeth. He even felt a flash of, something, in his eyes.

Ash could, if he wished, use the power of his to give Butterfree a boost of strength. That would very likely ensure Butterfree survived this standoff. But...

If Ash did that, somehow he felt victory would be hollow. Just as he disliked how he lost to Ritchie because of Team Rocket's interference, he disliked how he won against Wattson all those...whatever it was ago. Had he beaten Cameron in Unova, he'd have disliked that win for him having an unfair advantage.

He believed in his Pokémon, and if he used his power to help them win all their fights, what message did that send?

He sensed Butterfree agreed with him, and he suspected that many of his Pokémon shared this view. They knew that Ash believed in their power, and didn't want any unfair advantages helping them.

They'd win with their strength, or fall by their lack of it.

...

"Charmeleon..." Red whispered. This fight, one that should have been an easy win, was now as precarious as a single muscle tendon.

Whosoever's muscle failed first, lost.

...

Some battles are decided by will power.

Others by who was battling the longest.

A few even by experience.

This battle was won by a simple factor not unlike any of those above.

Between the Butterfly, and the Lizard...who had the most upper body strength?

...

Charmeleon stood up, on shaky legs.

Butterfree seemed to be trying to push itself up, but it lacked the muscle mass to do so.

Now in the wild this was where the Charmeleon ate the Butterfree, or at least did a good Mortal Kombat style fatality.

However this was not the wild, and eating your opponents Pokémon was illegal.

There were rules, and time limit for a Pokemon to get back up before a call was made.

"Butterfree, use String Shot to pull yourself up!" Ash called for a potential ace in the hole. Butterfree struggled to raise his head up, tried to gurgle up some string...but only spat out a weak and limp string, like a dying engine.

Butterfree wasn't himself dying of course, but the message was clear.

"Butterfree is unable to battle! The winner is Red and his Charmeleon!"

"You've heard it here folks! After a long and intense fight with surprises everywhere, Red has managed to triumph over Ash Ketchum with barely an inch to spare!" To emphasize this point, Charmeleon fell right back down as the announcer said this, though Charmeleon was not out cold.

"Thank you, all fighters!" Tucker spoke up dramatically as Red and Ash walked up to both of their Pokémon. Red put a thankful hand on Charmeleon's shoulder and activated the Pokéball, while Butterfree was picked up in Ash's arms.

"You were impressive." Red spoke, catching Ash off guard. He seemed to be taking the loss well. "You were...much better than I thought you were after you choose Butterfree. You've raised it well."

"Thanks." Ash responded, internally bothered by the loss but not letting it show. "So...you aiming for the League as well?"

Red nodded.

"Guess I'll see you then."

Between two trainers who knew each other little, not much else more could be said.

"You're taking this rather well." Misty observed as the trio left Lavender Town as the sun began to set, west to Celadon.

Iris eyed him curiously about his lack of visible depression, to which Ash frowned.

"You can't cry every time you lose, especially a match that isn't important. I can take what I learned from that loss and use it to help Butterfree and my other Pokémon get stronger."

Of course, given how Butterfree did lose, fixing it wasn't as simple as teaching Buizel Ice Punch to counter Mr. Mime. It was a limitation that a Pokémon could never overcome: just as a surfing Rhydon could not avoid being weak to water attacks, Butterfree could not become as muscularly tough as a Machamp or something.

He worked with his Pokémon's strengths, he did not force them to remove all weakness like Paul, or push them beyond their limits. That would accomplish nothing.

In the Lavender Town Pokémon Center, Yellow had finished cheering his victory and had collapsed into a snoring heap, likely from a sugar high crash. His Pokémon had been healed, and they'd depart tomorrow morning.

Red, however, couldn't sleep. His mind was still on his battles...particularly with the last one with Ash.

The trainer who had made his chances of victory, become unintelligible. A first...and that was before Red had gazed upon him again with his power active.

He saw Ash...

And in him, Red saw what he could only describe as a never ending spring of power, like water bursting from the earth in an endless spring.

One that Ash clearly had tapped before...was he like him?

And if he was...why didn't he use it during their fight?

If he could naturally do it, it would be cheating, if one suggested using a Fire-type against a Bug-type was cheating. Or a Ghost against a Fighting-type.

As Red saw it, Ash could have won that fight...he himself had only won because Ash did not use it.

So was that fight a fight that he, Red, had won, or a fight Ash had merely lost?

Later in Kalos, aired later due to time difference in the aftermath of the defeat, a girl lay in her bed, saddened by her friend's defeat.

"Oh Ash..." she whispered to herself.

Closing her eyes to fall asleep, no one noticed her hair darken to black briefly, as if to mourning colors. (*)