"My husband is crying tears of joy. Thank you for finally taking that freak down a peg."

"It took me two years to try a League again after I ran into that pig, and that was the Silver Conference. I might actually be able to come back to my home League now that you broke him."

"I feel the spark he snuffed out rekindling. I can only hope I can get that belly fat off Persian and try again someday."

"You rule Ash Ketchum!"

Those were just four of the messages that were being spoken from the Pokédex. All of them being from just the last few hours.

It wasn't that he wasn't used to getting messages in the aftermath of victories: he actually did get a few of them before this.

A few from scattered friends they had met while traveling: Brock had sent congratulations upon his first victory, as had Alish and Lt. Surge among others.

His mom sent them with both victories, as had Midori and Belladonna.

"Well, you might have just become the most popular Trainer at the League. All it took was beating a creep real good."

At Misty's observation he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I don't think I'm that popular."

"You are the most talked about competitor of this round of the tournament now. Previously that had been Koga, who is the favorite. He still is, even if we judge by social media you would probably now be third after Koga and Alexander Silph with Corey Gareth Oakton just a few votes behind you. Expect your inflated rank to return to a more reasonable level in a few rounds."

"Pika…." 'Yeah, really feeling the love Pokédex. '

As always, Pikachu did seem to miss the fact that the Pokédex couldn't understand him. Or just didn't care, one of the two.

There was the question if he was getting anything more than just positive messages. There were clearly Crusher fans who were up for shouting conspiracy theories in broad daylight while in public.

What they would do in private was not to be thought of lightly, though Ash didn't think the Pokédex wouldn't be able to handle them.

The possibility of the Pokédex retaliating was also a potential problem.

"Though if you want to keep up your good cheer or your ranking in the favorability polls, you will need to win your next match. It's early tomorrow, and it is on the Water Field."

At the Pokédex's update Misty looked at him with a smile.

"That sounds fun. You might actually get to battle some Pokémon that you don't see all that much. Think you might battle a Kingdra?"

He shrugged.

"I dunno. Either way, it should be a good battle. I enjoy most Pokémon battles, even when I lose."

He preferred winning, but he had no problem losing in a battle where there wasn't something off about the entire thing.

Such as how he had felt about the battle with Red back in Lavender, even now the loss bothered him more than his loss to Bruno despite him not wanting to punch Red in the face over it anymore.

When he got to battle Red in the tournament, he fully intended to even the score.

"Well I don't think you enjoyed the battle. Not if the data trends expectedly. Unless you happen to want to battle Joshua again."

With said statement attention Ash felt a jolt go through him, so sudden he could only look at Pikachu to make sure he wasn't shocking him for some reason.

So that cheater and sore loser had gotten lucky and managed to make it to the League. Even though Ash already had scored a victory against that jerk, his memories related to Joshua were less than pleasant, and he would have liked to never see him again.

He involuntarily clenched a fist, until he felt Misty's hand on his shoulder, which helped him relax. Somehow, even when he tried to contain those bursts of anger, she and the others would always catch on.

"Don't lose control," She said. "You're better than him, you know that?"

Of course he knew. Even though in their previous battle he wasn't fully focused, Ash was clearly superior in skill. Though Joshua didn't cheat before, most likely because Ash caught him off-guard and didn't even give him the chance to.

Still, it'd been a while since then, and if Ash had time to hone his skills, Joshua could have gotten better with his own tricks.

"Now I get what Iris meant with 'shiny' human," Misty said as she looked at Joshua's mugshot, letting out some giggles. "Sure, it does suit him."

The comment made Ash chuckle a bit too. He didn't bother to correct Iris on the right term for an albino person, as when they later talked about it, it helped lift his mood. Good thing, after a battle so tense and definitely not enjoyable at all.

"In any case, you should be thinking of a strategy," Misty added in a more serious tone. "You never know what cheaters might try to pull off given the chance."

"I'll come up with something," Ash assured.

"Come to think of it, Serena must be watching your matches right now," Misty continued. "I wonder, how will she feel if you kick that idiot's ass in the tournament?"

"Pikapika." 'I bet she's gonna be happy. It's the perfect chance to avenge her, for what happened at the camp.

Ash felt a little blush coming up to his cheeks at Pikachu's remark. When he glanced at Misty's face, he realized the redhead hadn't lost her good mood.

Curious, she didn't look jealous like at the Big P Ranch when she asked about Serena for the first time.

"Maybe… you should dedicate your victory to her or something," Misty suggested. "That'll help keep the anger in check, don't you think? Besides, you always do better when you fight for somebody else."

Ash raised an eyebrow, wondering if somehow Misty and Pikachu had synched their thoughts, before realizing that couldn't be the case.

Once the words sank in, though, he understood what Misty and Pikachu were trying to say. As much as he disliked Joshua, if he focused on something else, something positive, his performance in battle would drastically improve.

And winning that battle for Serena wasn't a bad idea at all.

"As much as I support the future Cerulean Gym Leader's hypothesis, such an emotional aspect would only amount, at most, a 50% of improvement," the Pokédex piped up. "I can help you prepare a strategy based on your previous encounter, and his performance so far in the tournament. I can also help calculate any possible scenarios of dirty tricks he might be able to pull off, should it come to…"

"That won't be necessary," Ash interrupted, smiling confidently.

No, of course it wouldn't be necessary. In fact, a plan was already forming in his head to put Joshua in his place. And should he try any dirty tricks, Ash was confident that his instinct and improvisation would help them pull through.

The next morning found Ash fiddling with a ball. It was early, and even with the early battle it was still just him and Iris up.

She was watching him with a thoughtful look.

"You got pretty aggressive in your last fight with him."

He idly nodded.

"I did. Doesn't happen that often."

"That does not mean you should take it lightly. You were not exactly hiding how you felt your battle with Pava went."

He grimly nodded, before holding the ball in his hand up to Iris.

"Yeah, that was just me trying to be too clever. Feels odd that I am going to try something clever again, but I think it will work out better. It's a different sort of clever, you know."

"No, I do not. I cannot say I recognize what is so special about that ball. It is a different type than usual, but that does not mean anything to me. I assume that it is a specific Pokémon."

"Yep, and I think she'll be helping me keep a cool head. It could backfire on me I'll admit, but if it does I won't have half my team be Tauros this time. Especially on the Water Field that would be kind of dumb."

"Yes, yes it would be."

He chuckled at that one.

…

He could almost smell half of the audience's coffee from here, or that could just be the coffee he was holding for a friend.

Said friend was lumbering towards him, a feeling of tired victory wafting off him just as strongly as the smell of coffee.

Said friend took the cup and began sipping it thankfully.

"Thanks, I needed that."

Elwood's demeanor changed after a few sips, becoming serious.

"I thought I saw Joshua taking the field from the opponent I just beat. How on earth did he get in?"

"Karma."

Elwood stared at him for the remark, looking rather confused in his perked up state. Pikachu elbowed him in the neck.

"Pikapi!" 'Ash, that is an inside joke. You might as well have just said he got in because of Zekrom and it would have made just as much sense!'

"Inside joke, my bad."

Elwood accepted that reason, before giving him a serious look.

"Beat the shit out of him."

"Gladly."

With that he walked past the rich kid, who resumed his coffee sipping as he stepped out into the full crowd of the Water Field.

Once his first battlefield in the League, now his third. Once more against an arrogant jerk.

Said arrogant jerk was shaking his head at him.

"How on earth did you possibly qualify? Truly the League standards have fallen. What can you expect when they let in over a thousand people this year?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth, except without dissing the actually qualified people here."

Well the many qualified people, and Samurai, who Ash had noticed getting past the second round of the League the other day.

"I'm going to enjoy beating you Ketchum! Wonder if little baguette is watching this?! That will make it all the sweeter when I destroy you!"

"Oh I hope she is, she didn't get to see me beat you the last time, and given what I understand of time zones I'm going to make her put the effort of staying up or recording this worth it."

"And the contestants are giving us all a good example of pre-battle trash talk! Now, to keep with the schedule we are going to interrupt it."

The announcer spoke up, cutting them off before they could get to the third round of trashing each other.

"Now I'm sure you've all grown tired of hearing this by now, but we have to say it for legal reasons! This is a three on three battle with full substitutions allowed! The winner is declared when three of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle, and there is no time limit!

"Begin!"

But where he was lost to his own thoughts, the referee was quick to keep the battle on track.

"This is going to be your end Ketchum! Go!"

"I choose you!"

His special choice for this battle was flung out, and as the Heal Ball and Joshua's regular ball burst open, it revealed a similar choice.

Joshua had sent out a Magneton, while he had sent out his own Pokémon.

Joshua was stunned to see it.

"Wait, you have that Pokémon, and you still carry that stupid rat on your shoulder? Are you actually that stupid Ketchum? Did Oak just curve your grades or something?"

Raichu flinched a bit at the harshness of Joshua, but she stood her ground as Ash shook his head.

"There is more to anyone's choices than just evolution levels. I mean if that was the case, why are you using a Magneton?"

An edge had creeped into his voice he hadn't expected, but he did manage to keep it in check. That was, after all, why he had chosen Raichu for this battle.

He needed to keep a lid on himself, and as he already did that around Raichu in general it would keep him from making a mistake in his anger.

It was also why Primeape was not on his team today.

The expression on Joshua's face made him unsure if he didn't like to see his hypocrisy pointed out, or he didn't know how to evolve Magneton.

Regardless of the reason, he started the battle.

"Supersonic!"

Magneton's body began to vibrate, and the resulting shaking sent a wave of sonic waves towards Raichu.

"Dodge it with Quick Attack and come at it from behind!"

Raichu nodded, her body glowing white as she leapt to a new floating platform to dodge the confusion attack.

She jumped between platforms as she bolted towards Magneton, who floated up higher in anticipation of the blow.

"I don't know why I'm even bothering. It's just a Quick Attack."

"Turn it into Brick Break!"

Joshua only had a moment to realize it wasn't 'just' a Quick Attack as Raichu arrived just below Magneton, and leapt upward with a white glow still around her, if dimming.

Her fist glowed white, and struck into Magneton from below.

The magnets were sent flying.

"An attack combination folks! With the speed enhancing the blow to that Brick Break, I'm doubting that it was just a super effective hit!"

Magneton floated back down, shaking a bit but still in the battle.

"Attacking with two moves…..!"

"Is perfectly legal. Now if I had Pikachu in there while doing it you might actually be right. However what happened was just something called strategy. Perhaps you heard of it?"

He cut off Joshua before he could give any crap about cheating or something very ironic coming from him.

"Thunderbolt!"

Both of them shouted the next move as both Electric-types shot out bolts of electricity. The two attacks slammed into each other, equal in power and cancelling each other out.

The resulting blast didn't blow Magneton back, but it did push Raichu an inch or two back.

"Push it into the water!"

At Joshua's command Magneton fired another Thunderbolt, which Raichu blocked with her own. Again the resulting blast didn't blow the heavier Magneton, but Raichu was pushed back a few inches.

A couple more because the blast was closer to her this time.

Magneton fired a third Thunderbolt, and this one could probably put Raichu right into the water.

Obviously, he wasn't going to let that happen.

"Dodge with Quick Attack and get in closer to Magneton!"

Raichu nodded and darted forward once again in streaks of white. The Thunderbolt blasted the spot she had been standing on, and as the two were closer this time Raichu was immediately in range.

"Don't let it hit you with that dumb combo again!"

Magneton swerved to the side, and as a result Raichu flew way up into the air instead of within contact range of Magneton.

"You can't beat my Magneton with dumb tricks! Seeing as Raichu can't use Fire-type attacks and you don't have any mud or earth to play in, that silly combo is the only way you could possibly hurt Magneton, and I've beaten it!"

"Raichu, use Dig on Magneton!"

Joshua stared at him in disbelief.

"Now I know you had a curve! You can't use Dig on this…."

In the air Raichu used the last of the speed to angle herself just above Magneton, and began spinning her tail like a drill.

The move slammed into Magneton and sent both Pokémon flying down into the concrete.

Magneton hit the concrete floats, and while the concrete did in fact not develop a hole in it the move did leave a serious set of cracks in it.

It also severely damaged Magneton, and as Raichu hopped off the magnets the Pokémon didn't move.

"Magneton is unable to battle!"

"Well folks, I wouldn't call that Dig, but it was super effective! With that Ash Ketchum is up by one! How does his opponent respond?!"

Joshua stared at him in silence.

"How does his opponent respond?!"

Joshua continued to stare at him.

"How does his opponent respond?!"

"Make your selection or be disqualified for mental collapse."

With both the announcer and referee getting on his case Joshua threw out a Pokéball, sending out an Arbok, which hissed at Raichu.

Her fur stuck up a bit, but she didn't dart off. Still, he was going to switch Raichu out.

He had a better Pokémon for this fight, and he'd like to keep Raichu active for the sake of his focus.

"Raichu, let's switch you out."

"Rai."

Raichu let out an agreeing chirp as he returned her into her Heal Ball.

"Pursuit!"

At Joshua's command Ash thought he was nuts. You couldn't do anything to a Pokémon that was being returned.

But that was indeed what happened, as Arbok shot out black lasers from its eyes that struck the red light of the returning Heal Ball.

The entire laser shimmered black, and the ball nearly rocketed out of his hand as if something had attacked it.

"Pika!?" 'Raichu! What just happened!?'

"It's not the most usual move, but Pursuit is able to damage a retreating Pokémon. It's normally a fairly weak Dark-type move, but the damage done to a retreating Pokémon is doubled. Though I can assure you that Raichu is not defeated."

The Pokédex's statement might have explained what had happened, but it didn't meant that he wasn't still shocked.

"Did you think I'd just let you play rings around me? Fuck no! I am not going to let you dance around me like some sort of fucking ballerina! Arbok's hardly the only Pokémon I have with Pursuit, and they will make you pay!"

Joshua was hissing a lot like Arbok.

"Does Pursuit work on U-Turn?"

"It does."

With that Pokédex confirmation Yanma was out.

"I choose you!"

So instead of Yanma replacing Raichu, he sent out Exeggutor, who landed on a non-cracked island with a thud.

"Use Sludge Bomb!"

Arbok horked up a sludge and spat it at Exeggutor, who teleported out of the way.

Exeggutor reappeared behind Arbok on a different platform, quite ready to strike.

"Strike it with Confusion!"

Exeggutor's eyes glowed blue, and Arbok was levitated from behind, and held in place by the blue light of Exeggutor's power.

"Don't let that overgrown weed beat you! Turn around and Sludge Bomb it in the face!"

Arbok struggled more, but despite some movement the snake wasn't able to turn around and fire a Sludge Bomb back towards Exeggutor.

The only way Arbok was going to get out of the psychic bind was if he told Exeggutor to let it out.

Unfortunately for Arbok, he didn't like winning just by keeping a Pokémon bound in Confusion.

"Throw Arbok up into the air and blast it with Psyshock!"

Exeggutor did as he commanded, and shortly after throwing Arbok into the air with one last psychic command Exeggutor fired the purple Psyshock stream.

Arbok twisted around in preparation to blast it with a Sludge Bomb, but the Psyshock hit first.

Arbok slammed into the water with a large splash, and as Arbok surfaced once more the Pokémon was also defeated.

"A combination of powerful Psychic moves did Arbok in!"

Joshua returned Arbok as he quietly reached for a new Pokéball.

Too quietly if anyone asked Ash.

"And with that the challenger from Pallet Town has taken a drastic lead. Can the last Pokémon change that, or are we looking at a new sweep to add to the rising star's dossier!?"

"Pikapi." 'I don't think dossier is the optimal word choice'.

Ash waved Pikachu off. Let the announcer use the word on his calendar if he wanted to so badly.

Also he wasn't exactly sure what a dossier was, even if he had heard the word before.

It might actually work, it might not. It was a minor detail anyway.

Speaking of minor details…

"Faaaa!"

It was a Fearow that was Joshua's last Pokémon, who stared down Exeggutor like he might stare down a lunch platter.

"Fearow can use Pursuit, I'm guessing?"

"Indeed."

The Pokédex answered his question curtly, and he looked to the predatory bird Pokémon.

"Well I'll keep you in then. Exeggutor use Sludge Bomb!"

"Dodge it!"

Fearow easily avoided the lob of sludge that Exeggutor shot, leaving the sludge to fall into the water harmlessly to all but the filtration system.

Fearow wheeled around, clearly aiming to come at Exeggutor from behind.

"Quick, use…"

"Aerial Ace!"

Fearow loudly cawed, before accelerating and flying around in a wide arc towards Exeggutor.

Said arc had it come rather close to him, and in fact it looked like Fearow was about to hit him!

Fearow cawed loudly once more, just yards away from him before vanishing and slamming into Exeggutor.

He could still feel the wind from Fearow ruffling his jacket, and Exeggutor was sent staggering back from the impact.

The only reason Exeggutor didn't fall over was a quick teleport back into the center of the platform, even as Fearow flew on.

The crowd was murmuring and muttering, and he didn't need to hear what they were saying to know exactly what the issue was.

"Hey, what was the big idea!? That could have hit me!"

"It didn't, you wuss. Fearow use Drill Peck!"

Fearow flew again towards Exeggutor, the buzzing of a spinning beak audible for all to see.

"Stop it with Grass Knot!"

Exeggutor stomped down, leading to the cracks in the platform from Raichu and Magneton flash green as light shot up and bound Fearow around the beak and slammed the bird down on the platform.

"Hey!"

"And after that questionable start to the match, Ketchum has turned the tables! Without its beak Fearow is going to struggle to do anything! Those stems don't look ready to give anytime soon! Perhaps he should just give up now…"

"Give up? Give up?! Give Up!? The hell are you talking about you shitty announcer!"

Joshua looked ready to foam at the mouth, yet despite that he wasn't glaring up at the announcer. He was still glaring right at Ash.

"I am not going to be denied by some boonie bastard! Fearow and I are going to tear all of his puny Pokémon apart starting with that overgrown weed! Fearow, Tailwind!"

Fearow, still struggling with the Grass Knot around its beak, flapped with its wings and created a draft of wind. It spun around a bit before blowing into him and Exeggutor.

"Now Aerial Ace! Make it a real shocker!"

Fearow stuck its wings out and began running forward, struggling against the grass bindings while doing so. However the wind momentum and Fearow were stronger than Grass Knot, and Fearow surged towards Exeggutor with the wind in its sails for magnified attack power.

Exeggutor did not need him to finish the dodge shout to teleport out of the way, and looked ready to teleport once the Aerial Ace tried the old 'disappear and reappear' trick.

He was ready to give the go ahead for a second dodging teleport, however he was distracted by Fearow still flying towards him.

The fake out of Aerial Ace on a Flying-type wasn't being ordered, and once more Fearow was coming in closer to him.

It was going to be another fake out, and he had to avoid flinching or freaking out to ensure he could get Exeggutor out in time.

If the attack hit, it would probably be a K.O.

Fearow continued to get closer and closer, and there was no sign of it pulling out.

He was starting to feel the air that Fearow was displacing approaching him, and he could hear Pikachu give off sparks.

What happened next was an automatic response, and Ash could only be glad in hindsight it was not anything more showy.

As if in slow motion, he could see Fearow's beak starting to get near his nose, and the nerves on the tip were starting to react to the approaching object.

He could also see Fearow tense, ready for the swerve around and strike Exeggutor with the last possible second.

The part of his brain that thought deeply about things would have recognized the logic of the tactic. Throwing him off at the last moment like that was the ideal way of doing what Joshua was doing.

That part of his brain would have shouted at Exeggutor to Teleport, but that wasn't the part of his brain that reacted.

That was instead the immediate action part, and it had him swing his fist around and punch Fearow in the side of the head.

Before he even fully registered the feeling of feathers and fragile bird bone against his fist Fearow was sent flying.

The entire stadium gasped in shock as Fearow was punched all the way to another platform, crashing with a crunch of a bone and a thump.

His pose coming to rest in the aftermath of one big swiping punch.

"The fuck was that! That is cheating!"

Joshua pointed at him, his eyes blazing in fury.

"This is a Pokémon battle, not a boxing match! You can't strike the opposing Pokémon yourself! Cheater!"

A fathomless rage boiled in the depths of his soul at Joshua's shout at him, and he was going to yell back at Joshua for that remark.

However the ref beat him to responding to Joshua, and Pikachu stuck his tail in his mouth and had him coughing on fur before he could say anything and interrupt the referee.

"Yes, it is true that a Pokémon League battle is a battle between Pokémon, and the Trainers are not to be involved. In that regard, Fearow is both unable to battle and disqualified! The winner of this battle, by knockouts and default, is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

The entire stadium was silent, with his silence enforced by Pikachu jamming his tail into his mouth.

The rest of the stadium was silent for the utter silence enforced by the steely words of the referee's words.

"The fuck!?"

Joshua's word was a borderline scream as the ref turned his steely gaze at him.

"Your Fearow was deliberately, and with practice, attempting to disrupt Ash Ketchum's commands by flying far too close. That is interference and deliberately risking harm to your opponent. Both are illegal actions in any League match. While the first one could have been an accident, the second was clearly an intentional action."

"Fearow didn't lay a feather on him, unlike Ketchum! Ketchum punched Fearow!"

"If I had a Fearow that close to my face with its beak, I'd punch it too. In fact Ketchum responding himself instead of his Pikachu was the more acceptable option. Given what you were doing was clearly visible even with the benefit of the doubt the first time and the fact that Ketchum had not used a third Pokémon in the match, it would not have disqualified him if Pikachu blasted Fearow on the second approach, though he would have a talk with the disciplinary committee after this match. Much like you will be right now."

Ash then only noticed the tops of two Jenny hats appearing behind Joshua. He hadn't noticed it.

"You are talking shit! I didn't cheat at all! It was that country bumpkin that did! He punched my Fearow! He used Dig without going into the ground! He got a Pokédex! What, did that mother of his show up in your place in her fancy clothes…."

He then had his mouth covered by a Jenny's glove as he was dragged, squirming and flailing, down from his podium.

"Well, that was an unusual match. My apologies to the upcoming contestants for the slight delay as we remove the former competitor, have his Fearow retrieved for healing, repair the minor concrete damage, and bring in a sub referee while the current one goes to handle the disciplinary hearing."

The announcer's words were followed by him spitting out Pikachu's tail, and feeling a bit ill from the hair that was now covering it.

Said hair glowed blue and was pulled off without much fanfare.

"Thanks Exeggutor."

"Tor!"

Exeggutor's tone made him wonder if Exeggutor was also thanking him for being the one to defeat Fearow.

Vaniville Town

Serena did not regret staying up to catch Ash's battle.

She made it a personal goal of hers to catch all of Ash's battles. She may be across the oceans from him, but she could support him that way.

It was even more imperative of her to do so when she recognized his opponent, and was more than happy to have stayed up to see him lose.

For Ash to have personally defeated his last Pokémon was an unexpected, but certainly poetic, end to Joshua.

There were issues of course, to her staying up for such a fight.

It wasn't the feeling of Ash being more aggressive than usual in that fight, as she could understand it. It was Joshua after all.

No, it was the splitting headache that was her body screaming at her to go to bed like an angry Espurr squeezing her brain as if to crush a walnut.

Yet she couldn't go to bed, for her mind was buzzing in more ways than just sleep deprivation.

And it wasn't just Shauna's rather cheeky observations about the fact that Ash had apparently been working out. That surprise addition since the Fuchsia tournament was something she had become quite gladly used to.

No, it was something a bit older than Ash's evolution into a hunk.

As she began to, uneasily, move up to her room in a daze, she named the issue buzzing in her head.

Ash had his dream, and he had taken a very clear and direct step towards it. Three rounds at the League may not a Pokémon Master make (and maybe if she got eight hours of sleep she'd be able to tell herself what in fact made someone a Pokémon Master), but it was clear and distinct progress.

Meanwhile here she was without an idea in the world of what she wanted to do, and so many ideas buzzing around angrily in her head about what she could do.

She could ride a Rhyhorn with only minimal bodily injury and somewhat tolerable bruising of her self-esteem, she could bake better than her mother and her cooking skills in general were quite excellent, she knew enough about Pokémon that she would hardly embarrass herself as a Trainer, she had done well enough in amateur plays she could attempt acting, she could dance decently, had an eye for fashionable clothing.

All things she could do with herself, but they didn't exactly all lend to each other. She was a jill of many talents, some innate and some created by a decade of falling on her face from a Rhyhorn.

She was a master of none of them, and she hadn't a clue which of them was her calling.

Ash had a single calling he had made his own, while she had half a dozen or so all shouting at her and drowning themselves out in an indistinguishable cacophony.

She stopped as she passed a mirror, and after a few embarrassing attempts to take hold of the railing on the stairs to prevent herself from slipping, she stared at her face.

Her tired, frizzy haired, confused face.

She stared at her reflection for a moment, seeing just what her insecurities looked when fully exposed by an hour closer to sunrise than the setting of the sun, and shook the reflection away with a determined eye shutting.

"No! You are thinking too much Serena! If you want to do something that is what you need to do. Do something!"

It was a dumb way of saying it, but for as tired as she was she might as well have spoken a profound and fundamental truth.

"Ash got where he is by just going out and doing it! He figured it out by living, not thinking! You've just got to do it too! Take a step, take a chance, make a change!"

She was sure she sang that in her exhausted delirium, but she honestly didn't care. Her mom wouldn't wake up at her current volume.

"I have that…that thing. Can't remember what it is right now, but it is in the kitchen, and I can go get a Starter Pokémon with it. I won't get any idea of what I'm doing unless I go and do it, so that's what I'll do. I already took the steps in getting it, just need to take it and see where it leaves me. Set it up for after the League, and then I'll set off!"

She opened her eyes back up, and her hair no longer looked like a rodent's nest, nor her face like a running pile of mud.

"Wow, making a decision about your life fixes your face better than midnight coffee. Confidence is really a part of being beautiful! But yeah, that's what I'm going to do! I can overthink again after I'm actually moving in some direction for a change!"

With that, she began walking up the stairs, swerving a bit in tiredness but otherwise feeling like there was something she was walking towards for a change, and it wasn't just her bed.

She was going to do something, and she'd figure things out for herself.

No more thinking of what to do, she'd just go start doing them and see where they landed.

If it was a place where baking sweets, riding dumb rocks with legs, and fashionable asymmetry worked together, all the better.

Had Fletchling been roused from her roost on the upper floor by Serena's motivating speech to her reflection, the bird might have noticed her hair turn black for a few moments as she shambled towards her bed.

Back to Kanto

For some, there was no better way to celebrate a victory than having a feast. Except maybe, having more friends to share the joy of victory with.

"More ice-cream!" Misty called out, raising her now empty bowl and spoon.

"Oof, I'm stuffed, no more for me. I give up, Misty, you win."

That was Aideen, one of the twin siblings who were friends with Ash, and when they ran into each other at the restaurant, the six of them decided to sit at the same table to celebrate all three making it to the fourth round.

Just for fun, the blonde decided to challenge Misty to see who was able to finish the ice-cream dessert first, and evidently lost.

"Hey girls, really, how can you eat that much and still remain so slim?" Aideen asked. "You have to tell me your secret!"

"There's no secret here," Misty replied as she shrugged. "We're just always working out and… well, I guess we share a pretty good metabolism."

"If this was an all-you-can-eat competition, we'd have lost badly already," Elwood, Aideen's brother, intervened. "In any case, Ash, I'm really glad you put that jerk in his place."

"Man, I wish I could have done it myself!" Aideen added. "The way your Raichu smashed his Magneton, first she went 'WHACK!' and then 'WHAM!' like this!" She punctuated the sound effects with punches to the air. "And really, I didn't know you could use Dig like that!"

"If you believed something impossible, you can always count on Ash to prove you wrong," Misty added, playfully elbowing him. "Isn't that right?"

"No kidding. But really, what capped this match off was you punching Fearow out." The blond girl suddenly shivered as she glanced at Ash. "I mean, a Trainer getting attacked in the middle of a League match? Man, that's just crazy!"

"Cheaters are cheaters, after all." Elwood folded his arms. "Those who don't believe in their own skills are quick to choose dirty tricks to win."

"So what you are saying, is that Joshua does not believe in his own skills?" Iris asked with interest.

"Why else would he try to cheat then?" Elwood replied. "Then again, unlike Ash here, I doubt he has any skill to begin with."

As Aideen and Elwood continued to shower Ash in praises, asking him how he came up with his ideas, Iris remained somewhat distracted. The restaurant was full of competitors and their companions, and she still didn't particularly enjoy the crowds.

Though spending her time among friends somewhat mitigated that sensation. And it was nice to see Ash had gotten good friends outside their circle too, like the blond siblings.

"… always full of surprises. Sometime you have to share some of your secrets with us, we need to—"

"Hey," Elwood suddenly interrupted his sister's unstoppable chatter. "Look who's over there."

Everybody glanced at where Elwood pointed, namely the entrance door in the opposite side.

Joshua had just passed through it. Those who saw him and evidently recognized him from the last match gave him some looks, some of contempt, others of mockery, and the occasional indifferent one. He didn't seem to care, though, as he just approached the counter to order something for himself.

"The nerve that idiot has, how dares he to show up here?" Aideen said with annoyance.

"Technically he's still within the twenty-four hours of free stuff, like the rest of the eliminated competitors," Elwood pointed. "If he wasn't such a jerk, I'd almost feel sorry for him. Almost."

Iris glanced at Elwood after his remark. Despite what Joshua had done, part of her did feel a tinge of pity for the Shiny human. After all, she knew how it felt to be stared at like a strange thing, or some sort of aberration. Even if in this case the glares from everyone towards Joshua were more justified.

Once he got his order in a couple of large bags, Joshua left as soon as he came, seemingly trying to avoid visual contact with everyone. Right thereafter, something in Iris prompted her to stand up from the table and follow the Shiny human outside.

Somehow, she felt she couldn't let him walk away before telling him a few things.

"Iris, where are you going?" Ash asked.

"Do not worry, Ash," she replied. "This will not take me too long."

And before any of them could ask any questions, the wild girl walked after the Shiny human. Hopefully he wouldn't mind if she took a few minutes of his time.

It was also as good excuse as any to get away from the large crowd, if only for a little while.

…

The Shiny human didn't take long before he realized he was being followed. He picked up the pace evidently trying to lose her, but she didn't let him out of her sight.

The others probably thought she was taking a strange attitude, wanting to talk to him. Understandable, since from what she'd seen of Joshua he clearly was a very unpleasant guy. But maybe that was the reason to make things clear, and maybe with that, push him a little to straighten himself out, if just a bit.

Finally, as they reached a relatively empty square, not too far from the Pokémon Center area, Joshua abruptly stopped.

"Alright, what the heck do you want?" He turned around with anger in his face. "Come to laugh at me, to rub in my face how your boyfriend got lucky?"

"Ash did not get lucky," Iris replied dryly. "His Pokémon beat yours with skill. And your Fearow would have lost the same way anyway, even without you trying to cheat."

"I wasn't the cheater there," Joshua scoffed at that. "Thanks to him I got kicked out of the cabin area. The Pokémon Center gave me a room for tonight because that dumbass left my Fearow with a pretty bad concussion. He's got a pretty good right hook, I'll give him that."

Iris couldn't help but feel a mixture of pity for Joshua's Fearow, and pride over him praising Ash's strength. After all, she had worked pretty hard on that, and she didn't intend to stop.

But any injuries Fearow had suffered were only Joshua's fault, so she wouldn't give him any sympathy on that. Especially not after he could have hurt Ash.

"Ash was only protecting himself. You lost because he was better than you, and because you cheated. That is all."

"Better than me? Hah!" Joshua scoffed at that, dropping his large bag for a moment and going up towards Iris to face her.

The dark-skinned girl noticed how he tried to stand up on tiptoes so as to put himself to her visual level. Why would he do that? Was he trying to intimidate her?

"Listen, Miss High Tower, if you're just here to remind me of what I already know, can it. I have enough by being banned from Pokémon League competitions for a whole year, and it's all his fault."

"That was not Ash's fault," Iris replied with the same dry tone. "It is only your own doing, because of your attempt to cheat."

"Why the hell everyone still continues to bring up that crap?!" He shouted in anger. "All that matters is winning, not how you do it! The rules were made to be broken, damn it!"

Iris did not understand his words. As far as she knew, the saying was that rules were made to be followed, not broken. If rules were made to be broken why bother making them in the first place? And even if she knew about breaking rules for a good cause, a competition like this would hardly amount to that.

"Do you know why Ash beat you before, and why he beat you now?" Before Joshua opened his mouth, Iris went ahead and answered for him. "No, it was not because he got lucky. Ash has been training non-stop to come this far. He has worked hard, shed blood, sweat and tears to grow stronger. I should know, because I have been with him almost all the way."

"Oh, don't tell me, you like your guys pretty strong?" Joshua sarcastically quipped. "So what if he's got more muscle than me, big deal. I can live with that, happy now?"

"That is right, Ash is much stronger than you. That was why he beat you the first time you two fought," Iris continued. "But that was not the only reason why you lost now. There is more to Ash than just being strong. That is not the only thing that makes him a better Trainer than you."

Saying those words caused Joshua to arch an eyebrow with interest. Now it looked like she had his attention and he seemed more willing to hear out what she had to say.

Good, then she could take the chance.

"Ash is very strong alright, but strength alone is not always enough to win. All of us, humans and Pokémon alike, have different abilities, and we need to develop them to improve ourselves. There is more to Ash than pure strength; he continues to hone each and every skill he and his Pokémon have. That is why he does not need to cheat to win."

"So what? He does his stuff his own way, I do mine my way. What's the problem?"

Recalling those words Elwood had spoken during their chat, she decided to make use of them. Hopefully he wouldn't mind, they seemed rather appropriate.

"The problem is, you do not believe in your own skills," Iris stated with a soft yet firm voice. "You cheat because you lack the strength and skill to win fairly.

"If you spent less time trying to find ways to fight dirty, and more trying to hone your own skills, maybe things would have gone differently for you today. You would have still lost to Ash, I have no doubt about that, but at least your loss would not have been this humiliating."

Joshua was left speechless. Despite the fact his demeanor was still angry, the wild girl saw in his eyes how her words seemed to have caused an effect on him, small as it was. The fact that he didn't seem to come back with anything gave her some hope.

But alas, it was not meant to be. He rolled his eyes, letting out a "tch" in contempt.

"Done talking already? If that's the case, I've got better stuff to do. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm hoping that moron Ritchie gets the chance to kick your boyfriend's ass later. That way, at least our city won't be so bad in this tournament."

And without further words, he grabbed his dropped bags and left, stomping furiously towards one of the nearby Pokémon Centers.

Iris shook her head disapprovingly. Clearly he was too prideful to admit that she was in the right. Of course, nobody liked to lose, or being told what they should be doing. The truth was always harsh for anybody who denied it.

Why was he so obsessed with winning, to the point of breaking the rules? There was no shame in losing against someone clearly superior, as long as you gave it your all. That was better than winning in a dishonorable way, as that would render a victory hollow.

That Shiny human had serious attitude problems. If he didn't correct them, he would always be a mediocre Trainer. Even if he didn't cross paths with Ash again, somebody would kick him down a peg sooner or later.

Not even the most cunning cheaters could get away with it forever. Sooner or later their alleged luck would run out.

Meanwhile

The Ice Field was currently melting, though it wasn't as much of a concern for the battlers as one might think.

Said melting was, after all, a result of the finishing blow given to the now defeated Jynx.

"Jynx is unable to battle! Magmar is the winner, and the match goes to Paul of Veilstone City!"

Paul nodded, satisfied with the victory as he returned Magmar before the melting ice could become a problem.

Even with the numbers of Trainers clogging up the League this year, he hadn't really had a battle against some idiot who had no place being here yet.

It was probably dumb luck, but he was thankful for it regardless. He did not want his victory to be the result of being the result of matching up against utter incompetents.

It would diminish his eventual victory's grandeur.

…

On the Rocky field two Pokémon stared each other down.

One was a Nidoking, who was panting heavily.

The other was a Hitmonlee, who was also panting heavily.

From his spot on the red corner Gary could only bite his lips nervously.

All of that work he put into training and it was still coming down to the bitter end like this.

'If you are expecting all of your victories to be perfect, prepare to be disappointed. You can always want a better win, but sometimes a win is a win. Many battles will come down to the wire, not because of your own skills but that of the opponent you face. All you can do in the end is believe that you will be victorious.'

Casey Snagem's words rang in his head for a moment, and Gary found the pressure he was putting down on his lips to ease up.

Believe.

Moments after he let off on his lips, the HItmonlee fell face first into the dirt.

"And the queen's poison gave the king's strength the edge! The winner is Gary Oak of Pallet Town!"

"Good job Nidoking. Good job everyone."

Nidoking nodded, before taking a knee himself and standing only by the strength of his arm.

The battle was his, but it was still a close affair.

…

On the Grass Field Alakazam's eyes flashed purple as a haze covered Incineroar, who growled back at the opponent without fear.

"Psychic!"

Incineroar growled even as the psychic power lifted him into the air.

"Miracle Eye has robbed Incineroar of a vaunted immunity to Psychic-type attacks! The red corner now has the green corner at her complete mercy! What will the green corner do?!"

"Flamethrower!"

Incineroar's belt flashed a bright orange before billowing flames out towards the Alakazam, who remained in place even as the flames blasted it.

"Squeeze that thing until it lets up!"

The blue glow around Incinerorar tightened and intensified even as the billowing of flames continued to engulf Alakazam.

"It's a stalemate folks! Who will give in and stop attacking first!"

Said stalemate continued for long, stretched out seconds. Alakazam glaring through the flames, a light blue glow in the eyes and spoons standing out in the orange inferno engulfing it, continuing the psychic assault on the now vulnerable Incineroar.

Incineroar starting to look a bit squashed from the intense pressure, yet relentless fire continued to billowing down at the troublesome Alakazam.

A flicker in the belt's glow and fire stream, a flicker in the blue light that dropped Incineroar down a bit towards the grassy field below like a jolt on a ride, those minor moments made both Trainers flinch in anticipation for the battle to turn one way or the other.

Smoke rose from the Grass Field now starting to go alight from the fire blasting down all around it.

A few more agonizing moments of flickering powers, and one finally did go out.

Incineroar dropped to the field, landing in a crouch after finally being released from the Psychic.

The Flamethrower had stopped firing as well, though as Incineroar was still standing it was for simple lack of a need for it than being unable to continue.

Alakazam was struggling to push itself back up, a singed body struggling with the physical effort.

"Alakazam! You can do it!"

Alakazam's Trainer encouragement was annoying.

"Throat Chop!"

He heard her gasp in shock as Incineroar pushed himself up and began walking towards the still struggling Alakazam, fist glowing purple.

Alakazam managed to hold an arm up and point a spoon at Incineroar, if with a lot of trembling, as Incineroar stood over it and ready to strike it down. The spoon wielding arm gave way, and it was time for the final blow to win it.

"Alakazam cannot continue the battle! The winner is Incineroar and the match goes to Cross!"

Incineroar stopped his attack upon the judge's call, and he could hear his opponent sigh in defeat, with a hint of relief evident in her voice despite her loss.

He just shook his head at the whole thing.

Why would someone ever be relieved to lose?

...

A new day meant a new tournament round, and the horribly early match against Joshua was already over well ahead of schedules. Only one more match to clear the preliminaries, and Ash would be set to compete at the Indigo Stadium.

Misty was pleased with how well Ash had performed so far, and she was always happy to help him do some warm-up before an important match. It was like those times he prepared for a match against a Gym Leader, except that now he was set for a match every day, and one defeat would mean the end of the competition for him.

That only made her even happier whenever Ash managed to pull through, though the fights so far had been somewhat easy.

The Dragonite hadn't been easy, and she suspected that Goodra had made the fight with the once undefeated 'Rookie Crusher' much easier as he started to have a mental breakdown over the now named taffy dragon.

At the same time, as they walked back to their bunk house for a break, she was worried because, once their training was done, Ash wasn't as upbeat and excited as usual. She'd seen that grim look in his face a few times, and she still didn't like it at all.

It wasn't over the frustration with Squirtle and Aura Sphere, that was for sure.

"Something on your mind?" she finally asked.

Ash raised the look and turned towards her. Even when he tried to smile, this time there was no point in denying it.

"That obvious?"

"Pikachu." The mouse nodded. Although she couldn't understand his language, the redhead was certain that the mouse had noticed himself and agreed with her.

"We've been traveling together long enough." She smiled at him, and then stood in front of him to get him to stop walking for a bit. "Let me guess, it's got something to do with earlier today?"

"A bit." Ash nodded. "Even if the Pokémon League staff say it was Joshua who cheated, I can't help but feel I went overboard, with that punch on his Fearow."

Misty stared at him, as he glanced at his clenched fist. The Trainer's face looked similar to that time after the Big P Pokémon Race: confused as to whether he'd done the right thing in using his powers, or in this case, the strength he'd gained from all that training.

But the redhead had the feeling there was something else. Some bad memories that could have been brought back from having that bird so up close.

"I don't know if I should say this, but… maybe you recalled that time? You know, when we first met."

"Now you mention it…" Ash opened his hand and stared at his palm for a moment, before clenching it into a fist once more. "I guess so. For a moment, I saw in that Fearow the same eyes that almost killed Pikachu and me that day. Maybe for a second… I felt I was giving payback for it."

"I think that's normal." Misty nodded. "Not everyone would forget an experience with a Pokémon like that. I should know."

Though at least, Ash's reaction wasn't, all things considered, as exaggerated. He wouldn't go into a frenzy over Bug-types or a Vileplume just because they were in the same room. She actually envied a little that self-control of his.

Ash however didn't seem quite convinced. He frowned and then sighed.

"You know, even now that I'm enjoying this workout to become stronger, or whether it is to protect myself or others, I really don't like the idea of hurting anybody," he confessed. "I don't know if it's because I'm not used to, but even those times I had to fight a Pokémon directly, it felt wrong to attack them. Just like now."

"Pika pikachu, Pikapi," Pikachu piped up.

"That's easy for you to say," Ash replied. "You fight all the time, and it's not like your life actually depends on it."

Pikachu gave his Trainer a strange look. For a moment, Misty thought the mouse managed to contort his face to almost-perfectly mimic Mewtwo's scowl, and then repeated it for Sabrina.

Where did he learn to do that?

"Barring those special cases," Ash pointed. "What I'm trying to say, I never imagined I'd have to punch out one of my opponent's Pokémon in a League match. To win that way… I don't know, that feels so wrong."

Misty shook her head. She hated to see Ash in that state, having those thoughts tormenting him. At the same time, she understood and appreciated that he really didn't want to hurt anybody. His kindness knew no bounds, and she loved that of him.

And he had a point: the Pokémon League was supposed to be a fair competition, and Ash wanted to see it that way. Sadly not everyone would share that view, with guys like the Rookie Crusher and Joshua around.

That crestfallen mood of his could hamper his performance in the next match, and she couldn't allow that. She had to do something to cheer him up.

"You know, we have an entire day and all your Pokémon are fed or healed or resting in some way or another. How about we do something in the meantime?"

"Something like what? We're done sparring for today, so…"

"No, I didn't mean training." She grabbed him by the wrist. "There are other ways to vent off the steam. Come on, follow me!"

Before he could protest, she almost dragged him. While he was caught off-guard at first, before he realized he was running along without putting up any resistance.

Misty didn't think Anabel and Iris would get mad at her for taking Ash just for a while. After all, they didn't set any specific hour to go back, neither did she say they wouldn't do something else than training together, right?

…

The Pokémon League's hype had opened a lot of business around the city. Many places other than the battlefields around the Indigo Stadium were overflowing with people, and even for those who weren't competing or weren't there for the food, there was a lot of interesting stuff to do.

In the past timeline, Ash hadn't bothered to check what else the Indigo League had to offer, beyond that little parade with giant Pokémon effigies (which admittedly didn't look too bad), and a few stands with knickknacks and toys that may or may not have been sold by Team Rocket in their rather masterful disguises. Misty had dragged him to a street full of stands with multiple games for the visitors to play and win souvenir prizes.

Not a bad way to get his mind off things, if he had to be honest.

It also was, despite the cheerful crowds and bustling activity around it, somehow less noisy than the other direction that Misty could have led him down, which had what Ash was pretty sure was a night club in it blaring strobe lighting and very loud music.

They had stopped in a stand with a target practice game. Three chances to throw baseballs at a target with point numbers, and depending on the score you could win a plush doll. Most of them were of different Pokémon, but there were also a few made in the image of famous Trainers.

And Misty only had eyes for a specific one.

"Come on, 600 points! That Lorelei plush has to be for me!"

The redhead's first throw hit the 150-point area. The second hit on 120-point. If she wanted to get the Lorelei doll she'd have to hit the very center of the target, worth 400. She took a deep breath and after focusing, she threw the last ball…

"200 points! Congratulations, that makes a total of 470!" the woman in charge of the stand merrily declared, handing her a Lapras plushy.

"Aw, shucks," Misty sighed. She then put the Lapras doll along with a few others from her failed attempts: Psyduck, Goldeen, Gyarados and Slowbro.

Such things would be joining the beds and cabinets in future secret bases no doubt.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Ash said with a little chuckle. "You've won a few already, and they're pretty cool too."

"Yeah, but I really want the Lorelei one," Misty turned towards the owner. "Can I have another try?"

Ash was feeling a bit of a guilty pleasure in seeing Misty try to get the doll she wanted. Maybe his old Indigo self would have indulged in that the whole day, and he would have enjoyed it.

But his current self, being more mature, felt a little urge to prove himself in front of her, and the idea made him smile. Pikachu seemed to read his mind, and gave him a thumbs up once he realized what he was trying to do.

"Wait, let me try it for you," Ash then stepped up. "That's the only Lorelei doll you have, isn't it?"

"It's the only one alright. And I can't let it go for less than 600 points."

"Okay, then you'll have them," Ash replied. "One try, three balls, right? That's all I need."

After paying the fee, the owner gave him the three baseballs, and he stretched his arm a bit.

"Here goes nothing."

The first ball hit directly on the 150-point zone. The second landed directly on the opposite side, summing up 300. So to win the doll they wanted, the third had to be a perfect bullseye.

"Watch this, Misty. The trick is to keep the eye on the target… and hold the ball by the stitches. Like this!"

He hadn't tried a fastball in a long time, but his pitcher touch hadn't dulled over time. The ball hit the bullseye, blaring up alarms and turning on some lights in the stand.

"We have a winner! 700 points right on, congratulations!" The owner grabbed the Lorelei doll and handed it over to Ash, who then handed it to Misty.

Or at least tried to, since she seemed a bit too shocked at how easily he'd just won it and it was only his reflexes that kept the Lorelei doll from hitting the dirt.

"Misty, are you alright?" He tried waving a hand in front of her.

Then all of a sudden, the redhead jumped him, holding onto him as she laughed like a little child before grabbing the Lorelei doll.

"That was awesome, Ash! I can't believe you did it on the first try! Thank you!"

"You're… welcome." He just chuckled as he starched the back of his neck, just a bit nervous. Then again, it wasn't like he felt uncomfortable at her gratitude display, and if she was happy, so was he.

"Pikapika." 'Not bad for your first date together.'

'Who told you this was a date?' Ash replied mentally.

Of course it wasn't. They were just having some fun as good friends, and he won a little prize in a fair game to give it to her… as a good friend. That didn't make it a date.

Even if he wouldn't actually mind if it was a real date.

…

After winning the Lorelei plush for Misty, they continued to visit one stand after another. There was the typical hammer and bell game to test your might. There was also another, with a machine set up to gauge your punches or kicks against a cushion. Ash had to hold back to avoid showing off too much, and yet he still got a rather high score (203 points over 137 from the bigger guy who tried it before him). He then explained he'd always had a strong right arm, which was technically true since his days in his school baseball team.

"Was that why you had such a good aim in the plush dolls stand?" Misty asked with interest.

"I guess so," he replied. "That way I'd never miss my captures with Pokéballs."

"Hmm, that sounds good. You should teach me sometime."

As they had walked and listened and played, Ash felt a bit of his 'I should be doing X instead' guilt wash away.

He was having fun, and training more would hit diminishing returns for the day eventually. Rest was just as important as getting in some practice with Gigalith.

It didn't just meant sleep or breathing time though, as he heard several fun operators and other challengers admit.

You needed time to relax and unwind, and that was what these games were for.

That was also what the bars were for, and the dance clubs, and other places that were not here and he wasn't up for going to right now.

Some were just illegal for him to go to, and none of them had Misty there. So there was no reason to go there at all.

After trying every stand, they came to the last one. It had a water tank full of Luvdisc swimming around, and the goal was to try and scoop one of them with a paper net before it broke with the water. Should they succeed, they could take it as a prize.

"Luvdisc, the rendezvous Pokémon. It's said these Pokémon are capable of bringing eternal happiness to couples in love, something that hasn't been scientifically proved. However, I'm more interested in seeing the Shiny Luvdisc specimen in this tank, and I request you guys try to catch it for me to analyze as soon as possible."

Indeed, the Pokédex was more interested in the one Shiny Luvdisc that stood out from the rest inside the tank. It was hard not to notice it, given it glimmered like solid gold.

"What's so special about it being Shiny?" Misty asked. "Though I admit they're pretty cute, I wouldn't mind taking one or two myself. Can I try?"

"Go ahead, lass," the owner replied.

After paying the fee, Misty tried to submerge the net to catch a Luvdisc, but they went into a little frenzy and swam away when they felt the movement. She tried again, but the water broke the net by a side, and when she tried it the third time, she almost caught one but the net broke off and she couldn't pull it out in time.

"Again," Misty requested, paying for another net.

"The key is to make quick moves so the net doesn't get drenched. That way it won't break off while you scoop the Luvdisc out of the water."

"I know what I'm doing," Misty quipped. "I was just practicing."

"Aim for the Shiny one."

Ash saw how Misty rolled her eyes. Still, she seemed to pay heed to the machine, as she then focused on the Shiny Luvdisc, if only for some fun and challenge.

Still, the Shiny one seemed too fast and slippery, so it was easier said than done. She tried to scoop it out twice but it slipped away, and when she tried it a third time, a pair of normal Luvdisc got in her way, right in the middle of kissing each other.

And somehow, she pulled them both together instead of the Shiny one.

"Well I'll be," the owner said. "Never thought you could scoop two of them at once."

"Try it again. We can't leave without the Shiny one," the Pokédex demanded.

"Sorry, left the rest of my money back at the cabin," Misty replied with a shrug.

"I can pay as many tries you want. You can't just leave it," the Pokédex insisted.

"Hey, that's my money you're offering there!" Ash protested.

"It'll be worth it. Besides, it won't be too hard for her, as she just proved. Also, as the one who handled your bills and expenses, I can certainly tell you that you are hardly in any financial concerns from this activity. You could spend the rest of the League trying it and still afford to feed all of yourselves without issue."

"I'll pass." The redhead pulled out a couple of empty Net Balls she was carrying along and cutting off the Pokédex before it could say anything about his finances that made him wonder too hard. "So then, I can take these two?"

"They're all yours, lass," The owner replied.

Misty smiled as she kneeled down to see them, while Ash tried to drown out the Pokédex's rants, having to place the machine in his pocket only for partial success.

"Hey there, cuties," She greeted with a big smile. "I'm Misty, nice to meet you both."

Both Luvdisc hopped happily, and then jumped at the redhead to kiss her on the cheeks. Misty giggled at the gesture and then tapped them with the Pokéballs to catch them. The Pokédex finally ceased its rants for a bit to register the captures, as the Net Balls were teleported to Oak's lab.

Ash was certain the Professor would be more pleased than the Pokédex was.

"Well, I think we've gone through the whole street," Misty said, watching the distance they had walked.

"Yeah, time surely flies," Ash checked the time in the Pokédex's digital clock. "I think we should get back now. Iris and Anabel are probably getting hungry, and I'm the meal ticket."

"We can drop these off when we get back to the cabin and then go get food," Misty said carrying the bags full of plush dolls and other stuff they'd won in the games. Some souvenirs wouldn't hurt.

"Hey… thanks."

Misty glanced at him, a bit surprised at his words. Ash looked at her again and continued.

"This was pretty fun. You know, never thought I'd say this, but it feels good to do something other than training or fighting during the League. I guess sometimes I need a change of pace."

"It's nothing," Misty smiled at him. "It's nice to see your spirits are back up."

Both of them glanced at each other, still smiling. Ash didn't recall keeping visual contact with her for so long, barring the time they said goodbye to each other for the first time. He still recalled how back then he tried to keep a smile to hide his sadness over parting ways with her.

And also, how he noticed Misty had beautiful eyes. They only made her smile even more radiant.

"Even though I am glad you two are entertained, I recommend that you return to the rest area," the Pokédex interrupted. "There is still time before my estimates suggest that Iris will get too hungry and do something stupid and reckless, but I don't think it'll do any good for you to get distracted in your little date."

"IT'S NOT A DATE!" Both teens yelled in unison. They glanced around, noticing how they attracted some looks from the passerby people, and then they glanced at each other, noticing how they had blushed.

"A boy and a girl, hanging out together in a street full of game stands during a festival, and even winning prizes for each other. If that's not a date, then I should update that word in my dictionary."

"Pikapika." 'I agree.

Right then, Ash wished to be swallowed by the earth. Why couldn't Anabel just teleport over now, ignore the consequences, and get them to dinner? The sooner the feeding frenzy began, the sooner he could shake off the embarrassment in the glorious aroma of food.

Especially considering that part of him didn't seem to disagree that his little escapade with Misty could be considered his very first date ever.

…

From a ways away she could listen in via their thoughts, and had been for a while.

They had been gone for a while, and Team Rocket hadn't done anything weird in a while so the possibility was certainly there. Plus Ash certainly could no longer claim he didn't have a track record of abductions by dangerous beings.

Nor did he, but that was besides the point.

The entire time she had been grinning, as their delay had not been because of Team Rocket or another abduction.

'It really was a date!'

Iris nodded, just as happy

"Not sure I would enjoy those things as much as Misty did, but it sounded wonderful. I wish Ash did not feel as guilty about defending himself as he did, but the shiny human did something good after all."

Fraxure chirped something, and Iris seemed to grow ponderous as she asked a question aloud to herself.

"What would I want in a 'date'?"

It was amazing sometimes just how much in the middle Iris had never considered, but it was a question she would have to figure out too.

Though she had the oddest feeling Ash and Misty hadn't considered an afternoon in festivities' as how their first date had been, even if they still weren't up for admitting it as a first date.

…

One stuffing of faces later had the group pass by a movie theater, and Anabel slow down her steps as she passed it.

A movie was certainly a possibility for a date. Perhaps if there was a title that seemed like Ash might like to see that she'd like, and she did hear someone tell a competitor that concessions were free, if not the tickets, for League competitors.

She then took a glance at the titles offered for anything that looked good.

Darkblood Reblooded

It came from Evil Science

The Lady with the Vileplumes

Ultra Punchers 3

Experiment 52

Saffron Sassafras Succotash

The Manhunter K

Kada-Kadabra Alakazam!

She resumed her usual pace with a quick double time to catch up.

The movie date was a bad idea. All of the titles hardly appealed to her, let alone Ash who she was pretty sure had some sort of bad memory associated with every title offered, and not in the mood for punch action-comedies.

That weird movie with the robots would have probably been better, and that was out of circulation by now.

Later

"Lycanroc, did you just use Thunder Punch!? I didn't even realize you could use that move!"

They were back in their cabin for the tournament, and Ash had gotten his fourth opponent's name and was currently studying him via match video for today's match on the Grass Field.

His name was Locke M. Hiraturemura, of Maroon Island in the Orange Islands. It wasn't an island he was familiar with, just as much as the Lycanroc he was using in the video was.

He had seen a Lycanroc before, and had heard they did evolve differently depending on light conditions, but he had expected something a bit less drastic a difference as a bipedal red canine.

He was sure the difference was more of an Espeon to Umbreon thing, not something so extreme.

Still he couldn't deny that the Lycanroc wasn't powerful. That Thunder Punch it had learned had just sealed Locke a come from behind victory against a Trainer with veteran experience at the League while Locke himself was a rookie.

The Lycanroc had taken down the Jolteon and Starmie that had taken out the first two Pokémon Locke had used, then defeated the Honchcrow that had been in reserve.

The Thunder Punch had been the move to seal the deal where Lycanroc's other moves (Stone Edge, Brick Break, Crunch, and Rock Climb) hadn't.

Ash had gotten the impression that the Lycanroc had been a Pokémon Locke had hoped to keep in reserve, like he with Serperior or Charizard.

Lycanroc had followed up on a defeated Leavanny and Dedenne, and while both made his heart hurt a little to see, it did raise a question.

Why did Locke have those Pokémon?

He had inquired the question to the Pokédex and to Pikachu, but Pikachu had been distracted by Psyduck 'demanding dirt' and he tuned it out.

He couldn't think if he was blushing like mad.

"Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon and the pre-evolved form of Lycanroc. As they develop and come closer to evolving, their disposition grows more violent and aggressive. Many Trainers find them too much to handle and abandon them."

He looked at the Pokédex with confusion.

"Yeah, that's neat to know and also kind of sad, but I'm not sure what that has anything to do with Locke."

People not being able to handle a Pokémon was sad on both ends. It was sad when Dawn struggled with Pachirisu, and Dawn was a better person for making up for her mistake and managing to work with Pachirisu.

If he ever got a Rockruff he'd certainly not release it for violence or aggression.

"One of the minor details that are revealed of the Pokémon used by a Trainer in the tournament are O.T numbers. This is a database for registering Pokémon captures and several other technical jargons you have no reason to care about if you aren't law enforcement. These are the O.T numbers of the Pokémon Locke has used so far."

The video of Locke and Lycanroc doing a victory hug was replaced with that of a data screen with two sets of information.

On the left was an image of Locke himself: a thin brunette with sun-kissed brown hair and a dress of jean shorts, sandals, and a thin shirt that made Ash think of a beach goer. Eight badges were also on that side: four on the top and four on the bottom. He recognized the Volcano, Soul, Thunder, Boulder, and Earth badges among three others he did not.

On the right was a listing of every Pokémon he had been seen with so far: three Pokémon in each of his battles.

He recognized some, but not all, of them. From upwards down their names were Mothim, Mincinno, Drednaw, Salandit (Gender male, noted as the opponent had tried Attract on it), Gurdurr, Talonflame, Leavanny, Dedenne, and Lycanroc.

None of them had the same O.T as another.

"If I may offer a theory based on this data, along with observation as I have been forbidden from getting data that is considered illegal for the tournament, I am going to offer the theory that all of the Pokémon Locke uses are the result of Wonder Trading, much like your Serperior was."

Serperior had explained in passing how she ended up in that Battle Club to him, and he must have mentioned it to the Pokédex at some point.

"Okay, why did he do that?"

Ash didn't like trading in general. Perhaps it was just one bad experience souring it for him forever, but he liked to think it was sort of rude to the Pokémon in question to go 'yeah, I'm giving you to this person, goodbye.'

Buizel had wanted to be traded, but that was hardly a frequent request.

Wonder Trading was worse, as there was no way to know who was on the other end. At least he knew what the sketchy Gentleman he traded with on the S.S Anne sounded like.

"If I might offer a theory, necessity. Or at least perceived. Are you familiar with Maroon Island? I'd be surprised if you were, so I'll just explain it. Maroon Island is an island whose human population is entirely the descendants of shipwrecked survivors washing ashore. The shipwrecks are a result of the local Gyarados population being notably aggressive even by their species standards, much like those Spearow."

He flinched at being reminded of the Spearow.

"Well if Locke left, surely they don't have to stay there."

"It eventually became their horrible little home and you generally like your home. Even if it is only famous for a lot of aggressive, if sub-par by their species standard, Gyarados and their abundant Magikarp that swim everywhere around the coast line. As the two are the only Pokémon around, Locke would have to start his journey with a Magikarp, and as Magikarp is Magikarp it stands to reason that capturing a ton and Wonder Trading was a valid option for him. Get something that can do things on land, and probably be controllable by an inexperienced Trainer. In further hypothesis, I am assuming the fact he doesn't seem to have any Kanto Pokémon registered to him so far a sign that he's had to focus on figuring out what his Pokémon acquisitions are and what they can do beyond further expansion. He doesn't even seem to have a full grasp of what his Pokémon can do."

"Who does? I mean if you had told me that Squirtle could learn Aura Sphere a while ago, I wouldn't have believed you. I had to check twice after I was told, and I like Squirtle. I can totally buy that a random kid who's never seen a Wooloo had no idea what it can do."

"'What's a Wooloo?' Locke has not demonstrated a Wooloo in his possession, nor have you ever seen one."

Both Pikachu and the Pokédex questioned his Pokémon choice, and he realized it was a bit random to just bring up.

"It's a Pokémon that was in this dream I had with this girl who I couldn't understand a while ago."

The room was quiet for a moment after he admitted it, and he was suddenly glad that the girls had stepped out for a bit of practice together.

"Fleshy thing, why can't you have normal dreams involving girls."

Once more, the room was silent.

"I am not dignifying that with a response."

"Pikapi." 'You did just did.'

The next day's morning found many strong battlers on the battlefield, whose names were not Ash Ketchum.

"Typhlosion!"

Dan shouted out to his starter as it took the watery slash attack to his right side.

The Kingler they were fighting against on the Ice Field had slid into them with Liquidation, and that attack had hurt.

He knew his partner well enough to tell that.

He also, however, knew his partner well enough to know that this was the time to strike back.

"Thunder Punch!"

From the left side came a sparking fist, which slammed into the watery extension of Kingler's pincers.

The electric sparks surged up the attack, and began to shock Kingler from afar.

The Liquidation fell apart, and the initiative was now his.

"No!"

"Oh yes! Kingler's fried, especially after this Flamethrower"

Typhlosion was quick to oblige, and his victory on the Ice Field was served with steamed sea food.

"Kingler is unable to battle!"

….

On the Water Field it wasn't even a contest.

"Toss it!"

Ariados obliged, and with a yank the webbing was pulled from the depths.

The Gyarados that had his been his opponent's final Pokémon was bound in inescapable silks. The jaw was shut tight, and as Ariados pulled Gyarados out of the water and into the air he could see his opponent stare at him in utter shock.

"Your Bug-type reeled in a Gyarados!"

Ariados crawled just ahead enough so the slammed Gyarados did not crush her when it slammed into the cement with a loud crash.

Ariados turned around, quite ready to strike at Gyarados again if it wasn't quite defeated yet.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! The winner is Koga!"

Such things, however, were unnecessary.

…

On the Grass Field the battlefield was engulfed in a haze.

The source was a Weezing, who was leaking out a Poison Gas attack to engulf its opponent.

As its opponent, Solidad was having none of it.

"Safeguard!"

Her Ninetales followed this up with a bellow, and the resulting green bubble that emerged out blocked the toxic smoke effortlessly.

"Psychic!"

Ninetales followed this up with a flash of psychic power, which slammed Weezing into the ground and stopped the gas production.

A few more bangs were hardly the most elegant way to win, but it did get the job done, especially when she wasn't up for hitting it with Fire-type attacks and risk igniting the gas.

"Weezing is unable to battle! The winners are Ninetales and Solidad!"

…

The next day's afternoon found Ash on the final battlefield of the preliminary rounds.

The Rock Battlefield was as it always was, and as it often was he was in the red corner.

The green corner had Locke in it, and Ash was happy to see that he didn't look utterly nervous or overly cocky.

It was nice to face such an opponent who just looked ready to win, and not as nervous as Pava or utterly arrogant and cocky like Joshua or the Crusher.

Of course he was always ready to win, and he intended to do so. Now, if the referee would say the words.

"This fourth round matchup of the Indigo Pokémon League will now begin! Each Trainer will have use of three Pokémon, and the winner will be decided when one side's Pokémon are unable to continue battling! There are no time limits! Begin!"

"Alright we don't plan on losing here! Hakamo-o go get 'em!"

"Butterfree, I choose you!"

Ash had been hoping that he might be seeing Pokémon he was familiar with up against him. He did have a few places under his belt after all.

The Pokémon that did appear, however, was not familiar. Instead a dragonic, upright reptile with very visible gray and yellow scales with some orange tint to them.

He'd like to ask who that Pokémon was before the battle got under way.

"Hakamo-o, the Scaly Pokémon and the evolved form of the dragon type Jangmo-o. Upon evolution it gains the fighting-type and battles with a combination of martial prowess and sound."

"Wait, he turned into a Fighting-type when he evolved?!"

The exclamation came from Locke himself, who sounded rather surprised.

Genuinely so.

"Hak!"

"…Well, that would explain why you learned Sky Uppercut."

"Begin!"

The referee cut off Locke, though he recovered quickly enough.

"Seeing as I just said it and let you know we have that move, might as well use it!"

Hakamo-o leapt off from a rock towards Butterfree, a glowing blue fist ready to strike his buddy.

Butterfree avoided the attack by fluttering higher in the air: air disrupted by the strike fluttering at the bottoms of Butterfree's wings.

Hakamo-o landed on another rock face, glaring up at Butterfree in annoyance.

"Blow that bug down with Screech!"

Hakamo-o began to rub its arms together, which increased in speed and intensity as a sonic blast was demonstrated without need of opening its mouth.

The sonic blast hit Butterfree before he could dodge it, and his bug began falling to the ground in a free fall.

"Let's see what Sky Uppercut will do now that it can't dodge!"

Hakamo-o was running towards the falling Butterfree with a glowing fist, his bug still stunned from the blast from Screech. However he could see Butterfree's mouth was still operable, even if the wings were unresponsive.

"Use String Shot to break your fall and catch Hakamo-o!"

He didn't quite shout that he was imagining something akin to Spinarak-Man, but Butterfree seemed to get the idea.

Several strands of silk were shot out, binding to the rocks in glittering white tendrils. The mat of webbing got thicker with each spray, and the uppermost layer caught Butterfree before he could hit the ground.

The bottom caught the arm Hakamo-o was using for Sky-Uppercut in the depths of sticky silk, and left the dragon struggling to pull it out.

"Hak!"

"Oh No!"

"Oh Yes!"

The announcer had a very different tone to Locke and his dragon.

"The Pallet Town breakout star recovered from that powerful Screech attack with a quite crafty String Shot! Hakamo-o is trapped and Butterfree has the breathing space to recover!"

Indeed Butterfree had restabilized himself and was once more in fight and staring down Hakamo-o, who was still stuck.

"Let's try and keep him in that silk! Butterfree, Psybeam!"

"Use Autotomize!"

Ash wasn't sure what the move that Locke had called was, but Butterfree fired the Psybeam regardless.

Hakamo-o was glowing red from said unknown move, and just before the Psybeam hit Hakamo-o slipped out of the silk and got out of the way.

Hakamo-o then jumped on top of the nearby rock, and Ash noticed that something still hung from the silk where the dragon had been trapped.

A large scale.

"Autotomize is a Steel-type move that allows the user to shed excess weight and move faster. It is akin to the move Rock Polish."

The Pokédex offered an unasked, but not unwelcome, explanation.

"Dragon Pulse, rapid fire!"

Said speed was put into use by Hakamo-o, who began jumping from rock to rock firing green spheres of Dragon Pulse.

Butterfree ducked in and out of each attack, but they were coming in fast and Ash doubted they'd stay that way forever.

He'd have to get momentum, and to do that he'd need an idea.

An idea he just so happened to have.

"Use Silver Wind to block those attacks, and get in close!"

Butterfree, having dodged another Dragon Pulse, obliged with a burst of dust-laden wind that slammed into two Dragon Pulses.

The wind detonated both of them, creating an explosion that engulfed the entire field and left Hakamo-o unable to see Butterfree.

Because of the position that Hakamo-o was in, Locke couldn't see the dragon either. But Ash could.

He could also see Butterfree, who had appeared behind Hakamo-o while the dragon was looking elsewhere.

"Psybeam!"

Hakamo-o swerved around at the sound of Locke's gasp, already with a claw glowing green with Dragon Claw.

This did not spare it from the Psybeam, which slammed the dragon into the stones of the battlefield.

"I've heard the saying about floating like a Butterfree, but this is the first time I've seen the Butterfree sting like a Beedrill! That's gotta hurt!"

Hakamo-o got out of the impact crater he had made in a stone, still up for battling.

"Dragon Claw!"

The green claws were back out as the dragon charged for Butterfree.

"Sleep Powder!"

Butterfree blew the green powder as a counter to said green claws, to which Hakamo-o charged right through without issue.

Fortunately for them, there was still a few seconds to make a different move in the face of the unexpected immunity.

"Quickly, use Acrobatics!"

Butterfree flared up blue as Hakamo-o got close.

The fifth moves of both Pokémon collided, and the first blow of blue stubby foot versus green claw came out in the favor of Hakamo-o, who got in a hit that swung Butterfree up.

However that in turn allowed Butterfree to get in a drop kick right into Hakamo-o, and several more quick blows with foot and wing.

Hakamo-o was sent splaying into the dirt, and Butterfree fluttered with visible damage, but otherwise the finer of the two for the battle.

"Hakamo-o is unable to battle! The winner is Butterfree!"

The crowd cheered wildly at the declaration as Locke returned the dragon with a thanks for its performance, before taking out a little book and scribbling something down.

"I hope you don't mind, it's just that I want to take down the typing on Hakamo-o I didn't know about earlier. Plus I want to confirm that its ability also covered Sleep Powder: I had only seen it on Stun Spore and Poison Powder so far."

"Oh, it's no problem! People let me listen to the Pokédex's entries on things without interrupting, it is only fair."

…

"What an incredible first set of bouts in this round four battle! Not just in the moves, but in the fact that the two battlers are getting along! Given Ketchum's last two opponents, that must be a nice change of pace."

"Oh, it certainly must be. A proper match with actual dignity and respect is what people come to the League for, not angry manchildren throwing tantrums."

Anabel hadn't expected to hear Professor Oak, so she jolted from her seat.

Misty and Iris did not mirror her in this, but they were just as surprised to see the old man as she was.

He was accompanied by Ash's mother and Gary, who she did not need to look at too closely to pick up that he had no memories of New Island.

"Hello! We managed to get out here too, even if it was a bit late! Oh, and don't worry about us getting in your ways or anything. Samuel was able to get hotel reservations!"

Delia's words were chipper, and the way she said it made her cheeks flush, and Misty's as well for that matter.

"…Don't say things that make me want to be the dork. I'm still getting used to the thought that he accomplishes things."

Gary's snark did not make their blushes go away. The two would clearly need to never be told of the very much a date yesterday.

"Did you only just get here?"

Iris's question was a much welcome shield from such things.

"We actually got here just in time to catch Gary's match. Sorry to miss the start of yours, but I haven't seen my grandson in ages and I wanted to catch up."

"But now we are all here to see my boy win his own fourth round battle!"

Said battle, in fact, was getting back underway.

…

"Mien!"

The second Pokémon was one Ash had seen before. So he didn't really need the Pokédex's description of it. It was provided anyway though, as such things were want to be done.

"Mienfoo the Martial Arts Pokémon! A Fighting-type who specializes in quick and precise blows versus pure raw power. They take a while to master their techniques and evolve."

Mienfoo entered a stance akin to a martial artist.

"Begin!"

Just in time for the battle to start anew.

"Butterfree, stay out of range and use Psybeam!"

Butterfree obliged with the command for laser vision, which fired down at Mienfoo.

Said Fighting type avoided the attack with an easy dodge, landing on top of a stone and staring at Butterfree intently.

"Mie!"

"Oh yeah, that is a male Buttefree! Use Attract!"

The Mienfoo winked, sending a storm of hearts up at Butterfree.

"Blow them away with Silver Wind!"

Butterfree did so, a notable increase in gusto for the act. The hearts were blown away before they could strike, though as they were ending Ash saw a purple sphere fire after them.

The last bits of Silver Wind blew into said sphere, but didn't affect the unknown attack as it came near Butterfree, and detonated into a shard of stones.

The attack struck Butterfree, and his bug was sent flying down.

He was fortunately able to catch his first capture without going out of bounds, but the battle was over.

"Butterfree is unable to battle!"

"And with that surprise Rock Tomb attack, the battle is tied one to one! Who will be our Pallet Town challenger's next Pokémon!?"

"Thank you Butterfree. You did great out there."

He returned Butterfree and stared at the Mienfoo.

He had never battled a Mienfoo before he got sent back in time, and he wasn't sure if he'd have faced one in Kalos. Maybe if there had been a Fighting-type Gym.

He had seen far more Mienshao battle than Mienfoo, and he wasn't the type to just assume that the fully evolved form told you all you needed to know.

With Pikachu in Misty's lap in the stands, he had five other Pokémon to choose from here.

He had a Tauros, but against Mienfoo that wouldn't go that well, nor would Pidgeot and that Rock Tomb.

Thinking over his other three Pokémon, the best one for this battle was clear.

"I choose you, Bulbasaur!"

With that call his peace maker entered the battle, and looking rather happy to be in battle for that matter.

"Begin!"

"Drain Punch!"

Mienfoo leapt down from her position on the rocks, a glowing green fist at the end of both of her arms.

"Dodge!"

Bulbasaur tensed as the quick little fighting type came in close, and as the last moment used his vines on the ground to fling him into the air.

Mienfoo ran right in between said vines, and right under Bulbasaur for a makeshift Body Slam right onto Mienfoo.

The blow was certainly felt by Mienfoo, though it didn't stop her from flinging off Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur took less of a hit from the fling than Mienfoo did, though he was a bit confused.

"Wait, that seemed a bit too easy, and not really some fancy technique. Shouldn't that have been harder?"

The Pokédex was, as always, quick to give an explanation.

"Mienfoo on average weigh nearly three times as much as the average Bulbasaur."

He looked at his squat grass-type, then at the lean fighting-type, then back again.

"I'd never have guessed that."

"Neither would I, but then again I never did weight Mienfoo."

Locke seemed be just as confused by that little factoid as he was. Mienfoo looked almost petulant at the observation.

"Bul." 'What can I say, my job keeps me fitter than actively battling. I have to run around all day just for Jigglypuff, let alone everyone else. '

"I'll scribble that down for reference later! Mienfoo, Rock Tomb!"

"Bulbasaur, cut it up with Razor Leaf!"

The purple orb shot from Mienfoo's sleeve, only to be cut up halfway to Bulbasaur by the sharp leaves of Razor Leaf. Stones were sent flying to the sides and left inert.

"Now High Jump Kick!"

Mienfoo flung herself through the remains of the attacks, knee bent for maximum power. The attack was moving too fast to easily avoid like the first attacks.

"Meet it head on with Return!"

Sadly more literally than he'd like, as Bulbasaur flared up the white aura of Return and met Mienfoo's knee with his head.

Return blunted the blow, but Bulbasaur was the only one who took damage as he was flung back while Mienfoo bounced back with more control.

"Now Drain Punch!"

Mienfoo's feet hit a rock pillar, and used them to rocket herself at Bulbasaur with two green hands.

Bulbasaur was still being blown back by the High Jump Kick, but he had managed to keep his underbelly safe from being struck.

His bulb was facing the oncoming Mienfoo, and that gave him an idea.

"Quickly, use Leech Seed!"

Bulbasaur quickly obeyed, and a large seed was fired right at Mienfoo. The seed managed to hit Mienfoo on one of her hands, and tangled itself around it quite nicely.

It also managed to tangle around Mienfoo's other arm, and the tied up Mienfoo was left to crash on the ground.

"That on-the-fly counter worked better than anyone could expect! Not only did Leech Seed manage to land, but it restrained both of Mienfoo's arms!"

Bulbasaur landed on the ground after High Jump Kick and stared at the handiwork on display.

"Bulba!" 'Just like one of those finger trap things the Professor uses as a party trick.'

Mienfoo flashed red as the draining seed continued to inflict damage, but he wasn't going to just win with that.

"Bulbasaur, use Solar Beam!"

Bulbasaur's bulb began to glow brightly as the sunlight began to manifest itself into the powerful grass-type technique.

Mienfoo stared at the attack and growled as she tried to stand up with her bound arms, but collapsed as she lost her balance.

Leech Seed had gotten her well and stuck.

"Quickly get out of there with…."

Locke's move call was interrupted by Bulbasaur, who blasted Mienfoo directly with the full power of Solar Beam.

…

As Mienfoo was returned Locke stared at him for a moment, before chuckling to himself.

"You know, I'd just like to get through one of these battles without revealing all three of my Pokémon. Feels like it is always a bit too close."

"Take it from a guy who tried to be clever with the three Pokémon: sometimes you need to think less about that and more about the now. Being clever just makes you at risk to falling to a Dragonite in the first round."

At his own response Locke chuckled again.

"Well, I guess that's the truth. Not like anyone knows what the Pokémon I have can do: I barely do and that's just by trial and error. Of course, I'm planning for this one to be a lot more trial than error."

With that he held up a final Pokéball.

"I'm sure you saw my last battle. Lycanroc's my ultimate sword, and this Pokémon's my ultimate shield. Go get 'em, Avalugg!"

With that the Pokéball was thrown high into the air, in which it exploded and formed a massive form in white energy.

The energy solidified as the Pokémon crashed down on the field: shattering stone spikes and shaking the entire stadium so hard Ash had to grip the handrails for a bit of extra balance.

Bulbasaur tripped, not quite being as stable.

The white light was finally gone, and revealed the Pokémon they were fighting last in all its glory.

"Ava!"

A massive Pokémon made entirely of ice, resembling a turtle Pokémon like Torkoal or Squirtle somewhat. It was flat on the top, if covered with cracks.

Bulbasaur took a few nervous steps from it as it stared him down.

"Avalugg, the Iceberg Pokémon. It evolves from Bergmite, and is a massive inhabitant of cold regions. It carries young Bergmite on its back, the sight of which inspired the creation of aircraft carriers. It was a form of execution in some cold regions in the past to be stepped on by one."

The massive Pokémon stared down Bulbasaur, who was still taking a few steps back from it.

"Begin!"

"Bulba." 'Ash, you do know how type matchups work, right?'

Yes, he did know that was an Ice-type. He didn't need to be told that directly: he could guess that the Pokémon made of ice, was called an Iceberg Pokémon, and have 'Ava' in its name was probably an ice-type.

He also knew that type match ups were a suggestion, not a hard rule.

"Ice-types are strong against Grass-types, but that doesn't mean your attacks won't damage it in turn Bulbasaur! Use Razor Leaf!"

Perhaps his command gave his old fighter a bit of a shot to the nerves, or perhaps he remembered that in a fight like that any damage or information he could give would be useful, but Bulbasaur fired the Razor Leaf into Avalugg without hesitation.

They struck Avalugg, and did not seem to do much as the giant block of ice made no effort to move.

"Ultimate shield! I don't call it that for no reason. This guy's the backbone of my team! Now Hail!"

Avalugg shimmered as a cloud began forming over the battlefield, from which barbs of ice began raining down.

When they struck Bulbasaur they made him wince, and he had a similar feeling on impact on his end.

It was shared by Locke, who seemed a bit more experienced in being hit by them.

When they hit Avalugg though they didn't cause him harm, but instead seemed to be absorbed into the great beast instead.

"That Avalugg has the ability Ice Body. It is going to be able to heal itself constantly with Hail. That is not good."

The Pokédex's summarization of what was going on was blunt, and he had to agree.

It would be bad if he let that go unhindered.

Razor Leaf was no good, and with the hail Solar Beam was a no go. That left one other move.

"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed to cancel out the healing that Ice Body is causing!"

Bulbasaur fired the seed from his bulb, sending it flying at the immobile Avalugg.

The hail struck at the seed a few times, but it did not slow the seed down or alter its course. It was going to hit Avalugg.

"Substitute!"

Avalugg roared as a white haze covered him, said haze being what the Leech Seed struck into.

The seed shot out web-like roots to try and latch itself, but failed and collapsed to the ground harmlessly.

Hail continued to be absorbed into Avalugg.

"And I hope Ash wasn't planning on residual damage: a Substitute barrier is now up and status won't do anything to it now! You'd have to beat the Substitute status away, and with Avalugg's defenses and that healing going on is going to be an uphill fight!"

He growled at this new wrinkle.

"There has got to be something I can do here. Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and tear off some rocks!"

Bulbasaur winced at a hail slam, but nonetheless obliged as he shot a pair of vines out of his bulb and wrapped them around the tops of two rocks.

With a squeeze the stone shattered and wrapped around the end of both vines were the pointy ends of two stones.

"Okay, you did that. Now what are you going to do?"

At Locke's question Ash grinned.

"I'm going to see if this works. Bulbasaur, batter Avalugg with those rocks!"

The vines swung forward, gaining more length for the smack.

Avalugg stared the rocks down, and seemed surprised by just how much they hurt when it was struck.

A massive amount of icy Pokémon staggered at the first blows given by the de facto Rock-type move, and in the second swing around the Substitute fizzled away, meaning the third time would leave actual damage.

"Blizzard!"

At least, if the third attack had hit.

From every crack in Avalugg's body, and his mouth, a frozen gust of wind shot out and slammed into Bulbasaur. The freezing wind blew Bulbasaur all the way up and into him, and he caught his chilled friend in his arms and flew all the way into the back rail.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle!"

…

"It was a pretty interesting way of turning around an unfavorable type and move match up, but Ketchum wasn't able to turn it into what he wanted. Avalugg is still out, and it is still healing in that blizzard! Does our Pallet Town competitor have it in him to turn it all around!?"

"Pikapi!"

Pikachu let out a frustrated call at not being on the team for this one, but Misty had no idea if that would have changed anything.

Could Pikachu take down something that big?

"Hopefully he realized how that thing's the ultimate shield."

Gary's comment drew her attention, and at her look the fellow Pallet-towner explained.

"Avalugg is indeed tough, but trust me I trained with one while I was out. It is an ultimate shield, but no shield is a defense against everything."

"Quite true. Tell me, what is the difference between a Blissey and a Skarmory?"

Professor Oak engaged in a tone of voice that made him sound like a teacher for the question.

"One is friendly and will assist you if injured, while the other one will carry you off if injured to be devoured?"

Iris gave an answer that did not seem to be what Professor Oak was looking for.

"Er, that is correct, but not in the way I was looking for."

…

There wasn't much time to think on who'd he send out: the longer he did the more that Avalugg would heal up.

With Butterfree and Bulbasaur defeated, that left four Pokémon he could use, and he was not seeing this as a fight for Pidgeot or Tauros.

That left two choices.

One was Serperior, who like Pidgeot was not the right fit for this match.

That left him only one choice. The Pokémon who'd win this battle.

"Squirtle! I choose you!"

With that call his last Pokémon appeared, who landed on an unbroken rock spike.

An ice shard plopped down on his head, and he winced.

"Squr." 'Ow.'

"Weather's going to be around for a while, we're just going to have to push through it. Squirtle, Water Gun!"

Squirtle ignored the next few ice shards and blasted at Avalugg: the water stream slamming into Avalugg's face.

The water blast did more than the Razor Leaf, though Avalugg was not pushed back or sent flying.

He noticed Locke wince at the blow, and Ash had a realization.

One thing he had learned at Oak's camp, and probably noticed in the field both pre and post time collapse, was that some Pokémon took different types of hits better.

Some mons could take a hundred Quick Attacks, but a single Thunderbolt messed them up badly, and vice versa.

Ash had no idea why that was, but it was just how things were.

Avalugg could take all the Razor Leaves without a care, but a Water Gun would cause problems for reasons other than how much Squirtle worked out compared to Bulbasaur.

"Now Water Pulse!"

Squirtle formed the sphere of water in one hand and flung it at Avalugg.

"Blizzard!"

However Avalugg was quick to respond with another frosty blast of wind, which engulfed the attack and froze it.

A frozen sphere of water smacked down into the stone floor like a bowling ball, while Squirtle was forced down from the rock spike.

He hid behind a rock to avoid a majority of the damage, but it was still time lost to Hail damage.

And to recovery from Ice Body.

"And trying to up the ante by Ketchum and Squirtle was met in kind! Avalugg might be a bit on the slow side, but no one can deny the power it is packing!"

"I didn't realize you could hide behind the rocks: let's fix that. Bulldoze!"

Avalugg's form seemed to shift in stance, moving to force weight all into the front of his body.

The result was a shake down of the entire field, shattering pillars of stone into piles of pebbles and rubble.

Squirtle avoided any damage once again bar for Hail with a quick jump, but there would be no hiding from the next Blizzard.

"Blizzard!"

Blizzard was also not a move that could be avoided with counter-shield.

"There has got to…Aura Sphere!"

Squirtle had a micro moment of surprise visible, before he held out both hands and formed the blue sphere in front of him that was, unlike Water Pulse, not made of water.

Also unlike Water Pulse, it exploded before being fired, creating a burst of energy in front of Squirtle.

The resulting displaced pocket of space blocked Blizzard from hitting Squirtle, and left Locke staring in dumbfounded disbelief.

"Wait, Aura Sphere!?"

"More like 'Aura Uncontrollable Detonation', but I'll take what I can get and use it to win. Squirtle, Water Gun!"

Water Gun flew faster than Aura Sphere, and once more Avalugg was struck square in the face.

Good damage was had, but it was probably not much gained between the healing that had taken place since the last solid hit.

Avoiding Bulldoze and Blizzard had given Avalugg plenty of time to recover.

"Bulldoze!"

Avalugg shifted his body weight again, and there was only one way to dodge it.

Midair, which Locke knew he'd do.

Meaning even as Squirtle jumped to avoid the oncoming ground shaking, that Locke had a plan he was going to implement.

He had only a moment to come up with a counter to a plan he had even less time to try and guess.

"Squirtle, propel yourself higher with Water Gun!"

"Blizzard!"

Squirtle blasted the ground with Water Gun just as the Blizzard was sent out in full.

The water blasted the ground and propelled Squirtle higher and forward towards Blizzard.

The cold winds of the Blizzard were nipping at Squirtle's toes and tail as he did so, but the damage was minimal even as Squirtle landed.

A place that he hadn't been aiming for.

"Oh my! Squirtle used his water propulsion to avoid the Blizzard, and landed right on top of Avalugg!"

Indeed, Squirtle was now right on top of Avalugg, whose face was the picture of alarm at having an unwelcome visitor on his back.

"Blizzard!"

Squirtle hopped in between the cracks on Avalugg's back as the next burst of icy wind shot out. While Squirtle was notably shivering, the blasts of icy wind did not strike Squirtle themselves.

As the wind faded away, Squirtle stood by with a shivering smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Squirt!" 'This is good, very good.'

Yes, yes it was.

Especially now that the Hail had started to clear up.

"Squirtle, use Aura Sphere!"

Squirtle's grin had warmed up as he bent over and formed the blue sphere right above Avalugg.

The attack exploded very soon after, sending a shockwave of damage right into Avalugg.

Even without typing, the reaction in Avalugg's face was what Ash would call super-effective!

"Do it again, and again, and again!"

"Avalugg use…use Hail! I need time to think!"

Avalugg did indeed bring up another hail storm and began recovering once more, just in time for the second and third Aura Spheres detonations.

"A hole has been found in Avalugg's powerful defenses, and Ash Ketchum is tearing the hole wide open! Hail doesn't seem to be healing Avalugg fast enough, or damaging Squirtle quickly enough."

"Blizzard….no Bull….no Sub…wait that will just tear you apart faster….Body Slam? No, wait, that won't work…"

Desperation and panic was overcoming Locke as he tried to find a solution to this problem.

"Jump!"

Eventually it was settled on a simple move, and Avalugg did in fact do it just as Squirtle finished a fifth Aura Sphere detonation.

It was not a high leap, but the result did throw Squirtle off balance and right onto an ice crack belly first.

"Quickly, use Blizzard!"

"Brine!"

Squirtle gargled up a blast of salty water just before the Blizzard went off.

The resulting blast of water blew Squirtle upwards, and sent Avalugg crashing down and out of balance.

The entire field shook once more, and as Squirtle managed a bit of a slippery landing on Avalugg's top the Avalugg did not rise back up.

"No….."

At Locke's quiet words there was a long silence in the stadium.

"Avalugg is unable to battle! The winner is Squirtle, and victory goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

Squirtle jumped off the top of downed Avalugg and began to run over to him, as the announcer gave the final words.

"David has bested Goliath! Ash Ketchum moves beyond the preliminary rounds with a stunning victory against astounding odds!"

…

When he had spotted that Professor Oak, his mother, and Gary had arrived to watch his fourth round, Ash had not expected that he'd end up talking to the latter.

But as it had turned out Professor Oak had found himself talking with a depressed, if perking up, Locke, and his mother had drawn in the girls for a conversation that was making all of his danger senses flare up.

He heard the word 'date' be said in a tone of exclamation that gave him flashbacks to Princess Day.

Thus he and Gary were talking, and it was not in a car as he left after a fourth round defeat.

"Well you managed to keep your word."

Gary simply said as he looked at his fellow Pallet Trainer in confusion.

"You mind clarifying what word you're talking about, I say a lot of things. Some of them dumb."

"Only some?"

He resisted the urge to bristle, even as he heard Pikachu start chuckling from atop of Misty's shoulders.

"Back on your birthday before all of this, you were all 'I'll get ahead of you Gary, just you wait'. Steps came up a few times, stuff like that. As odd as it is to say, you really did get ahead of me."

Gary looked away before he continued.

"I have no idea how you did it, and I've been trying to play catch up since who knows how far back. It feels like I have to work twice as hard to even still see you in the distance. Not just you, but those jerks Paul and Red. Is that what it was like for you before we left Pallet Town?"

While most of what Gary said was declared in a frustrated tone, the last part was that in a tone of empathy and realization.

It was an interesting thing to think about: the idea that Gary found himself in his own little version of what his time following him was like.

Just without Misty or Brock, or a car of cheerleaders provided by his great uncle.

"Sort of, but not quite the same. Also it really depends if we're talking when you were ten, or just about to leave. If it makes you feel better, we all work just as hard as you do. Sometimes we just get lucky, and others didn't."

Some people got a bit of a helping hand in a past journey of experience in 'what not to do' dropped in on them.

Even with the amount of work that he did require, that was still a huge help that made him seem like a prodigy.

Something that only two people seemed to have figured out wasn't true out of an entire region without psychic powers.

Both with a lot of experience, and one with his own experience in time travel. The other just obsessed with rookies and in the midst of a mental breakdown when it fully dawned on him.

Or perhaps just one and the Crusher was entirely a sore loser ranting excuses amidst a mental breakdown. He wasn't going to go track the guy down and figure it out.

He'd rather ignore the experience he had in what not to do and make Misty a carrots and peppers stir fry with concentrated bluk and tamato sauce.

"Well then hopefully I managed to train three times as hard in the months before this tournament. If that wasn't what three times as hard feels like, I don't know what does. I've got it if you still do, should we be able to put it to the test."

He nodded.

"Of course I do, I wouldn't lose it to anyone, not even you."

Gary laughed at his declaration.

"Glad to hear it."

…

Of course, to actually see if he'd get a chance to take the Pokéball half from Gary, he'd need to see who'd he be battling next after a day long break period.

Unlike the first time it was not decided by a random draw of Magikarp, but by a computer.

The roster of remaining Trainers was split into two sides on a set of monitors in front of him, and as each side was split up into two sets of distinct branches that all went towards a final destination, battles going forward being locked down to that of a fixed path.

It was different from what he had dealt with before, but he'd manage it. It was just a different format of doing things, no different from a double battle or a contest battle to a regular battle.

On the left, and going down were the following.

Tim vs Gary

Melissa vs Hugo

Paul vs Rachael

Septimus vs Jeanette

Pete vs Mike

Keith vs Tianna

Ceasar vs Solidad

Elwood vs Katrina

Sue-De vs Otoshi

Tad vs Bartholomew

Kaia vs Ash

Cross vs Marina

Fernando vs Dan

Ann Chovvy vs Jenkins

Miki vs Corey

Shiro vs Tom

The right read:

Koga vs 'Samurai'

Egan vs Manna

Marie vs Darren

Alex vs Mauve

Ritchie vs Luna

Fergus vs Jonwood

Aideen vs The G

Assunta vs Giant

Raymond vs Red

A.J vs Giselle

Mandi vs Kuro

Alexander vs Seijun

'Hiker' vs Zaps

Phil Ein vs Rojo

Chris vs Thads

Gregory vs Neesha

"Why are they all arranged like that?"

Iris was squinting at the bracket, and the blank spaces yet filled by a name. The Pokédex, however, was quick to explain.

"It's the paths of progression. To put it simply, each time a Trainer comes out victorious from a battle, their name moves forward in the listings. Take Ash's own name: should he defeat contestant Kaia he'd move into the bracket that is beyond and between their names, and his next opponent would be the victor in the match between Marina and Cross right below them."

Iris nodded, at least somewhat getting how the system would work. Anabel meanwhile had been scanning the entire thing quietly, and had a thoughtful look on her face.

'As it stands, I hope you weren't hoping for having every possible climactic battle possible this time Ash. For you to fight Gary or Paul they'd have to eliminate the other to meet you in the top four. Meanwhile Red and that Silph guy are on the entirely other end meaning you'd only face them if they also make the finals.'

That was a shame. Beating all four of them on the way to victory would have been sweet. In fact, several battles he'd have liked could only happen at the exclusions of others he'd like to fight.

A.J and Ritchie were also on the other side of the bracket, along with Koga of all people. On the side he was on the left bracket he only knew the names of Otoshi and Corey.

Unless Marina was the other water-type Trainer Misty fought that one time, but he'd have to see her face to be sure.

"Shame or no shame, I'm aiming to win regardless. It might have been nicer to win by beating each of them in a row, but a win is a win no matter how or against whom. I'm sure I'll fight at least one of them, and that is all that matters."

"Or you just jinxed it and you won't fight any of them."

Misty's comment led to all eyes being on her, which led her waving her arms in a flustered manner.

"Hey, someone had to jinx it, and I'd rather it be that you be jinxed to fight Jonwood and Ann Chovy and other people you don't know or have rivalries with than any other sort of jinx!"

"Thanks, I guess."

He really didn't have a better response to Misty's point than that.

'Who names their son Jonwood?'

It was more of a response than he had for that question at least.