However far Otoshi had gotten the last time, he doubted it was the Top Sixteen. He didn’t remember seeing him or A.J the last time.

It was, however, nice to finally have that long-awaited rematch with him one timeline later. Last time their paths had crossed Misty had defeated him at the Battle Dome. This time it was his turn to beat him.

“You are the companion of Misty from Cerulean City, correct?”

He nodded at the question from the Marowak trainer after they had shaken hands in the middle of the battlefield as the match began. The crowd’s cheering was almost electric in energy at this point, and he was wondering if Pikachu was getting a lot of static in his fur up with Anabel and the others.

“That tournament was an eye opener for me. It reminded me just how far I truly still had to go, and gave me the keys I’d need to get there. Though from what I can see you were also guided by the tournament.”

Otoshi’s eyes had darted down to his rings, in particular where the key stone was. Did Otoshi think he had Mega Evolution?

He had two Mega Stones but not the Pokémon to use them. Did that mean Otoshi could use Mega Evolution?

He and Otoshi were already going to their stands for the battle and the referee was doing his thing.

“Welcome to the third match of the Indigo Conference’s Top Sixteen! This battle will be a full six on six battle with full range of substitutions and no time limits! The battle will start on a grass battlefield but will change once one trainer loses three Pokémon! Otoshi will go first!”

And indeed he did, as he sent out a Great Ball, which burst open to reveal a large mass of vines that crashed down on his end of the field. The writhing vines were blue and tipped red, revealing their owner clear as day.

“The green trainer starts with a Tangrowth! How will the red trainer counter?!”

With a bit of an odd choice, but he had done well enough with greener Pokémon in leagues. Plus, he had heard about this one’s interests in training himself and such effort should be recognized.

“I choose you, Golbat!” (*)

The blue bat was his first Pokémon for the day, and the bat seemed happy to be here. Also a bit surprised at just how many people were around, but the thicker-haired bat relaxed after a moment’s surprise and steeled himself for battle. Otoshi himself was a bit surprised to see Golbat, though seemingly not because Ash had not used it yet.

“A Golbat? I must admit my surprise. From everything I have heard and seen of you I’d have expected a Crobat. Regardless, that just makes it easier for me. Tangrowth, Shock Wave!”

The ends of Tangrowth’s red-tipped vines sparked and fired the blue electric blast in a crackling, hissing beam. Golbat avoided it with a quick swerve down before flying in towards Tangrowth.

Tangrowth continued to fire the electrical blast but Golbat kept avoiding the attack and got closer and closer for a direct attack.

“Repel it with a Power Whip!”

The blasting force of Shock Wave was let off and the arms were swung whip-like instead. Golbat avoided the attack with a diving sweep and was now nearly on Tangrowth.

“Wing Attack!”

The glowing wings were slammed into Tangrowth from down low, sending the great vine monster stumbling about. It nearly fell, but it righted itself back up before such an opening could be made.

“Supersonic!”

However, there were other opportunities for less solid strikes. Golbat’s mouth was wide open and from the depths of it came a sonic frequency right into Tangrowth. The confusing soundwave hit and Tangrowth’s balance was once again lost. It tottered and lurched, unbalanced by the confusion status.

Now was his chance.

“Go in for another Wing Attack!”

Golbat sped right into the tottering behemoth, a glowing wing slamming into Tangrowth and causing it to fall right onto the ground. The slam was hard but Tangrowth was still filled with energy. It was just that energy was mostly in having every tentacle that made up its body convulse in writhing random patterns.

“Golbat is too fast for Tangrowth to keep up with! Ash and Golbat continue to bring in powerful attacks and Tangrowth can’t stop them! What will Otoshi do in response!?”

“Return!”

Otoshi returned Tangrowth as part of the response. As Tangrowth returned he noticed something: an extra glow beyond that of the Pokéball as it was turned back into energy and into the Pokéball. He gave a tap to his Pokédex in pocket, and he didn’t even need to take it out to get an answer.

“You noticed that? Good eye. That, my human carrier, is the ability Regenerator. Some Tangela and Tangrowth are able to restore much more of their energy and vitality while being returned to their Pokéballs than the average Pokémon can. It is likely it recovered from more than just the confusion status from the battle with Golbat.”

Golbat didn’t seem to be bothered by such a possible negation of his efforts, though it was also possible he simply didn’t hear the Pokédex.

“Go!”

Otoshi’s substitution came out and the Pokémon out was a Politoed. The green water-type had come from a Nest Ball and landed on the field with a plop.

“Otoshi substitutes Tangrowth for Politoed!”

“Politoed, the Frog Pokémon. This Pokémon is a split evolution of Poliwhirl. A Politoed’s cries are said to compel the will of its pre-evolutions and summon rain. Different cries are known to be terrifying to the unprepared.”

Terrifying?

He looked at the green water-type, who wasn’t clapping like Misty’s would be at any situation. However, it wasn’t terrifying either. It wasn’t a Gyarados or something.

“Hyper Voice!”

Though terrifying cries might’ve been covered by Hyper Voice.

“Block it with Supersonic!”

Both screech attacks collided in the midst of the field, the bellows of frog and bat at equal force for a moment. However Hyper Voice pushed through in the end, though Golbat was able to avoid the blow with a quick dive out of the way.

Golbat then flew low to the ground towards the Politoed, who watched the approach carefully before blaring another Hyper Voice.

Golbat swerved into the air to avoid the blast, which followed him as Politoed continued the sonic strike in pursuit of Golbat.

“Double Team!”

The maneuver filled the air with dozens of bats, one of which was promptly shredded by Hyper Voice. Politoed stopped to breathe as the duplicate swarm flew down towards the fully re-voiced toad.

“Rain Dance, then Bubblebeam!”

Politoed reared its head back and let out a bellow. This bellow caused the sky above to darken and cloud over, and rain began to fall. Every rain droplet fell right towards a bat, but only one of them got wet. The bubbles went for that bat, and hit home as Golbat was sent spinning towards the ground.

“Golbat!”

“Otoshi weaponized Rain Dance to spot the real Golbat! That was one clean hit, folks!”

He returned Golbat before the bat hit the ground. He held the ball close as he watched Politoed, the Pokémon completely fine with the raindrops landing on it.

“Your debut isn’t over yet. Trust me; you’ll have your moment yet.”

“Ash Ketchum has substituted his own first Pokémon as well! Who will take Golbat’s place and possibly turn this all around?!”

The Heal Ball in his hand was ready to go, and he sent it out. While he had decided to use two Pokémon that were a bit of a gut instinct call more than anything really substantial in Golbat and Farfetch’d, he made sure to go with a solid core to back them up. And in the rain there was no more solid a Pokémon than Goodra.

Said dragon landed in the rain and immediately let out a happy cry.

“His second Pokémon is Goodra!”

“Thunder!”

Goodra’s raised arm sparked before shooting the electricity right into the very rain that Politoed had offered. Politoed didn’t move which made it seem like it had some sort of defensive move…

“Dig!”

And it did, as Politoed dug into the earth just as the lightning came down. The dampened field made the task of digging a bit harder from what he could see, but Politoed was still underground before the Thunder dropped.

The Thunder hit right on the hole, and he doubted that it was anywhere near hitting Politoed. However, the sound of sparking electricity and pained frog did ring out from the hole and Politoed broke out of the earth a bit away looking like it had taken some damage.

“Politoed how were you…the rain water! It went down in the hole as well!”

That was convenient. Time to press that convenience!

“Dragon Pulse!”

“Hyper Voice!”

The two blasts clashed mid-field and of the two attacks Dragon Pulse was the one gaining ground before both broke off. It was just off from bursting through and striking Politoed, but Goodra had Politoed outmatched.

“Return!”

Goodra was now the only Pokémon on the field, and his dragon was a bit confused by that.

“Dra?” ‘That was a bit early. The battle hadn’t really even gotten underway yet.’

“This is a battle filled with strategy! Otoshi is going for a new one in the face of Ash’s powerful Dragon-type!”

The new strategy was the old strategy in fact, as Tangrowth was back on the field. As the Pokédex had implied, it looked nearly completely fresh as a result of Regenerator.

“Tickle!”

Two of Tangrowth’s tendrils shot towards Goodra, who moved to escape the grasp but failed before being bound by them. From the ends both tendrils moved towards Goodra’s armpits and…

“DRAH HAH DRAH HA!”

Goodra began laughing himself silly and laughs emanated from the audience as well. Also a bit of confusion as to what the purpose of tickling Goodra could possibly be. Fortunately for the curious, there was the announcer.

“Tickle may seem funny and harmless, but in the hands of a Pokémon it is a terrifying technique that weakens an opponent in their attack and defensive powers! This is surely the opening to a devastating assault!”

It was, and the first choice to get out of it was to return Goodra and continue the game of musical Pokémon. It was a safe and effective choice, and in theme with the battle so far. It was also, however, not the only choice.

“Sludge Wave!”

Goodra, still laughing as the Tickle continued, began to leak the corrosive sludge. It was not really being properly aimed, as Goodra was in spasms from the ticking and a good amount of it just landed on the grass and was diluted in the rain.

Plenty, however, still got onto Tangrowth’s arms. This led to it letting go of Goodra and to shout in pain at the toxins covering its tendrils.

“Gahh, forgot about that attack!”

“Dragon Pulse!”

Goodra needed a moment to catch his breath and stop laughing but as Tangrowth was still in shock from the Sludge Wave the moment was more than affordable and the attack flew right into Tangrowth.

The blast knocked Tangrowth over, a clean hit. Tangrowth wasn’t defeated, but the damage was adding up and they just had to keep…

“Return!”

Otoshi did not give them that chance as he returned Tangrowth and once again activated Regenerator. It was probably not going to fully heal Tangrowth all damage but it was going to regain a good amount.

Otoshi tossed a Great Ball out, which burst into a Pokémon that was of yet unseen in this match up. With snapping grey pincers and a hard brown body, the third Pokémon was Pinsir.

“And Otoshi continues this game of playing for the advantage with Pinsir!”

Tickle was still in effect so Goodra was going to be more vulnerable than he would usually be. It would be a good idea to swap him out quickly. He looked at Goodra to see if there was any objection and he was surprised to see what he saw in his eyes.

His dragon’s eyes were awash with terror and fear, and his body was quivering in fear. Much as fear had been evident in their battle with Janine’s Ariados. The same fear, but for more than just one Bug-type?

“Return.”

He could almost see Goodra’s relief as his body was energized and returned to the Heal Ball.

“And this game of advantage continues as Ash also switches his Pokémon! Will we also see Ash’s third Pokémon!?”

Not quite yet.

He sent out again his first Pokémon in that match, with Golbat returning to the field. Pinsir snapped both barbed pincers in a display of fearlessness at the arrival of Golbat, and Otoshi had a grin he could just barely make out. The Rain Dance was starting to clear away, but it still muddled things a bit.

“Supersonic!”

Golbat blasted Pinsir with the confusing sonic waves, though he didn’t see any change to either of their composures in the now nearly clear battlefield. They had some way of countering it.

“Double Team!”

That way was replacing Pinsir with a duplicate that simply was shredded by Golbat’s sonic waves. The remaining duplicates were now surrounding Golbat in a ring and they lacked the rain to reveal their natures.

“Now Rock Tomb!”

Every Pinsir on the field, regardless of being real or false, formed a single large stone over their heads. The stones had a faint blue glow, and were lobbed upwards at Golbat in a full barrage.

“Golbat is getting attacked from all sides at once, but only one of them is the real attack! Can Golbat find the real one and avoid a major dose of damage!”

“Golbat, block Rock Tomb with Counter Shield!”

Golbat’s Counter Shield was something that was different from the other ones he had gotten to work with Pikachu, Ambipom, and Squirtle. Instead of a ranged attack Golbat began spinning with Steel Wing active. The result was a spinning outward defense that could shred attacks. It was not quite a solution against ranged attacks like Flamethrower, but against something like Rock Tomb it was quite effective.

The spinning steel deflector collided with the real Rock Tomb and shredded it. As a result, hundreds of stone shards rained down from Golbat and began pelting all the Pinsir. Most of them vanished in contact with a stone fragment, but one was pelted by a couple in the head and winced.

“Wing Attack!”

Golbat ceased spinning and flew down towards the momentarily stunned Pinsir with the super-effective attack. The stunning was not going to hold out of course, so a counter-attack was likely.

“X-Scissor!”

Indeed, Pinsir was readying a defense. However, he had his own way of breaking it before they hit it.

“Use Supersonic and then Wing Attack!”

Wing Attack petered out for a moment as Golbat turned to a diving shriek. The soundwaves flew faster than Golbat and got Pinsir first. Pinsir’s eyes widened and the bug’s pupils began an erratic dance. X-Scissor faded away just as Golbat got close with a reignited Wing Attack.

The speed behind it was never lost, so even interrupting the move didn’t weaken it as Golbat slammed into Pinsir with Wing Attack and sent the bug flying away.

“What!?”

“It seemed like Otoshi had the answers to typing with his Rock Tomb, but it turns out that Ash had his own counters to everything Pinsir could throw at it! Is there any way out of this but another swap out!?"

Golbat had continued flying even after first contact and had flown around to meet the flying Pinsir as it continued to careen away. Wing Attack was in play once again and a second Wing Attack hit home. This sent Pinsir flying in the opposite direction and the Bug-type landed face-down. After several moments of non-movement, the call was made.

“Pinsir is unable to battle!”

The cheers of the crowd went wild with ecstatic cheers at the first victory of the day, and on top of his own enthusiasm the happiness was electric.

“Great job, Golbat!”

Golbat spun around and grinned at him before turning back towards Otoshi, who had a ball in hand and determination in his eyes.

“That was an impressive turn around. I thought I had you there. However, this battle is far from over. Go!”

With that came his fourth Pokémon: instead of a return of Tangrowth or Politoed the Pokémon that was sent out was a Dodrio. He thought that Otoshi had used a Doduo so that was likely its evolution.

“Return, Golbat!”

As Golbat returned to the ball a blast of energy hit the stream midway. The ball in his hand lurched, sent flying out of his hand and clattered against the railing. He stared at the ball in shock as a word of recognition slipped from his lips.

“Pursuit.”

“Pursuit has knocked out Golbat!”

The crowd’s cheers were mixed with confusion, all while Dodrio scratched at the grassy field in anticipation for an upcoming fight.

“For those not in the know, Pursuit is an attack that does double the damage against a Pokémon returning to its Pokéball! Golbat was knocked out by the decision to give it a rest! Ash is still changing Pokémon, but this is now a tied match!”

He picked up the dislodged ball and apologized to it. Pursuit was not a move he really thought much of, and it was starting to get annoying. He’d have to take out Dodrio if he wanted to have a proper battle without that attack going off.

Goodra could work for the battle, but there was an option who would be even better.

“Gigalith, I choose you!”

The Safari Ball flew into the air and burst open, and his Rock-type made her debut at the league with a thundering crash onto the field below.

“Who’s that Pokémon?”

At Otoshi’s question he smiled.

“Oh it’s a Gigalith. She’s a Rock-type from the Unova region, and apparently a couple of other regions as well. She’s really strong and heavy.”

Gigalith stomped her legs in anticipation of the battle ahead and not at the comment about her being heavy. That wasn’t really something that would bother her when pointed out.

“Ash Ketchum’s third Pokémon is a Gigalith! Can Otoshi handle this surprise threat his opponent had kept in reserve until now?!”

“Agility!”

Dodrio let out a harsh call as it flapped its wings rapidly. A red aura surrounded the bird, showing the increase in speed that was the point of using Agility.

“Iron Defense!”

Gigalith slammed her legs into the ground and shimmered a metallic gray.

“The most famous attributes of the Flying and Rock types are their speed and defense. Both trainers are boosting their Pokémon’s attributes and is this going to be a contest between the two?”

“Rock Blast!”

The ranged rock barrage began with the crystals on Gigalith flashing white and firing five separate bursts of stone. Dodrio avoided each of them with ease, the attacks sending up plumes of dirt and grass with each impact. With each dodge Dodrio was also getting closer to Gigalith.

“Jump Kick when you get nice and close to it! Gigalith can’t hope to dodge you there!”

“Use Return!”

The white that had formerly just been on Gigalith’s crystals in brief flashes now covered her entire body in white. Dodrio had gotten quite close as Gigalith lunged at her with the gentle nudging of a speeding train.

Dodrio avoided said attack that landed on the ground in a great explosion of wet soil and grass stems before coming around from behind and kicking Gigalith with a glowing talon.

Gigalith was pushed forward and dug a rut in the earth in her wake.

“Gigalith, are you okay!?”

She turned around to face Dodrio and Ash, shaking her body off as she did. She grunted in sure reply.

“Gig.” ‘That hurt, but I can handle it. That bird’s just faster, not stronger.’

He nodded in appreciation.

“Alright, now use Rock Polish!”

Gigalith’s body shimmered orange from her crystals to her stone. She grinned at Dodrio who looked on rather unperturbed.

There was a similar look on Otoshi at the sight of their own speed boosting move.

“If you want to outspeed my Dodrio with a rock, you are going to need more than that. Dodrio, get in close for another Jump Kick!”

Dodrio charged in and he focused in on the swerving bird. Gigalith was also watching its movements.

“Rock Polish again!”

As the Rock Polish's glow faded, Otoshi remained confident. Dodrio lunged closer with nary a worry, back in range as it launched itself skyward with the flying kick.

“Dodge it!”

He called for the dodge just as Dodrio had tensed up for the jump. Dodrio lunged at them just as Gigalith sped to the side with a speed that, while nothing on Pikachu’s level, was more agile than he’d expect in a rock type.

Dodrio let out a stunned cry before crashing into the earth below.

“Dodrio!”

“And Dodrio takes a tumble! Folks, the move Jump Kick hurts when it hits, but it hurts even more when it doesn't. For the move's user, that is. All the recoil and none of the damage to the opponent!”

Dodrio was returning to its two feet after the harsh blow but the bird was trembling. The Jump Kick left a mark on it, and it was going to be vulnerable.

“Use Return!”

“Protect!”

Gigalith lunged at the stunned bird with the white aura of Return, but a green dome had formed around the still cringing bird and stopped Gigalith before she could slam into the three-headed bird.

Said three heads were glaring at Gigalith, who stomped her front legs back in a show of strength.

“Gig.” ‘You’ve hurt yourself more with Jump Kick than you’ve hurt me.’

Dodrio, now fully stable on its legs, hissed at Gigalith.

“We’ll have to break through your defenses another way. Dodrio, use Toxic!”

Dodrio opened all three of its beaks wide, and he could see the hint of purple in the depths of each beak. Before he could even see the purple he could smell a sweet, noxious scent. His nostrils flared from contact with the odor.

“Earthquake!”

Gigalith slammed her legs into the field, releasing a powerful shockwave that shook everything around it and, while it inflicted no damage, still made Dodrio lose its balance. The beaks closed before any poison sludge could be spat out.

In the stadium he could hear many fans wondering aloud what just happened.

“Earthquake is a Ground-type move and Dodrio is a Flying-type.”

“How did that work?”

“I mean I guess it can’t really fly. I guess being on the ground still means shockwaves can affect it, right?”

“Now before Dodrio can recover, use Rock Blast!”

“Dodrio, get out of there!”

Dodrio was quick on its feet to get back up and start getting away from Gigalith, and in many battles it would have gotten away. However, this was no regular battle.

Two Rock Polishes were enough to get Gigalith right in Dodrio’s face before there was a moment to move, and the Rock Blasts hit right on point.

Dodrio was sent flying and when the bird crashed on the ground it was a quick call.

“Dodrio is unable to battle!”

The crowd cheered in excitement as Gigalith slammed her limbs in the ground enthusiastically.

“Dodrio battled a Rock-type in a battle of agility, and amazingly it lost! A faster bird is nothing against a fast Rock that’s become tougher at the same time! Can Otoshi get past a Pokémon that’s faster and tougher or is he going to end the first half of the battle on the back foot?!”

Otoshi, who had returned Dodrio and thanked it for a good battle, looked at Gigalith with a ponderous expression.

“Tangrowth go!”

Otoshi’s answer to the question the announcer had posed was the Tangrowth that had battled Golbat and Goodra earlier, and as had been suggested by the Pokédex it had indeed healed up considerably. The Regenerator ability had clearly done its job.

“Gigal!” ‘How long was this guy out if he’s looking that fresh? Well, who cares, I can take him!’

So Tangrowth was a guy? Well good to know, now he just had to figure out what Otoshi’s plan was.

“Rock Blast! Keep your distance and get ready to dodge any vine he might try to snag you with!”

“Stop it in its tracks Tangrowth!”

The gems on Gigalith’s body lit up white as the projectile attack was let loose. Tangrowth extended and spread out the arm tendrils on his body and started striking the rocks as they came. The space where the attacks were colliding was soon awash in white and green dust. A green dust that was seeping out of Tangrowth’s vines as they struck the Rock Blasts.

His eyes widened in horror as he realized there was only one thing that the green dust could be.

“Get back Gigalith! Quickly before…”

Before Tangrowth could use all of its vines to blow the combined dust cloud at her in a mixture of dust and Sleep Powder, which the Grass-type did as soon as Ash caught what Otoshi’s plan was.

Gigalith darted away but the cloud was sweeping across the field and wouldn’t stop.

“Try to block it with Rock Blast!”

Gigalith did, firing rounds of stones into the cloud. They tore a clear path through the dust and even managed to hit Tangrowth. He hadn’t even thought of that in the moment.

However, while it was enough of a blow for Tangrowth to take a knee it wasn’t enough to fully block the powder as the dust hit Gigalith, and in a loud thump his Rock-type fell to the ground and started snoring.

“Gigalith’s train of destruction has finally been put to a halt! All of that power can’t do them any good in dream land!”

“Power Whip!”

An extended vine swung from the standing Tangrowth to slap Gigalith, and honestly it didn’t do more than nudge her. But she still wasn’t waking up.

There was a school of thought to keeping Gigalith out until she woke up. She had powered herself up a ton and could take a few hits in the meantime. However, that was also kind of a terrible thing to do when you had a choice in the matter.

“Gigalith, return!”

As his field was cleared Tangrowth bobbled around idly, watching him for his next move as did Otoshi. Looking at Tangrowth one thing was clear.

Tangrowth had to go down, and quickly. If Otoshi could keep healing and putting his Pokémon to sleep things would quickly spiral out of control. There was one way to take him out quickly, and if Tangrowth was a different type he’d have sent Goodra, using Rain Dance and Hydration to make sure there was no way for it to do anything. But he needed a surer one hit knockout.

“Tauros, I choose you!”

So he went with a different option.

As his fourth Pokémon landed on the field and let out a loud bellow that sent the crowd into a cheering uproar Otoshi narrowly looked over the cow. He could just make out Otoshi muttering a few words about Miltank and Bouffalant. They were both similar to Tauros, but there were differences. Something about sap too, which was odd.

“Shock Wave!”

Otoshi was trying an electric attack to start the battle off, but Ash could work with it.

“Double Team!”

As the blue electrical steam shot at his bull dozens of dupes sprung up all over the field. The attack went through one harmlessly as the mirage herd charged towards Tangrowth with such a thundering roar one would understandably mistake it for real.

“Poison Jab on all of them!”

Tangrowth split its arms up into dozens of individual vines, all of which had glowing purple tips. The vines shot outwards in a barrage of blows coming for every Tauros on the field both authentic and duplicated.

“Stop charging and use Rock Slide to pin the vines down!”

One Tauros among the charging hoard stopped running and slammed his hooves into the earth. Dozens of large stones appeared from the sky moments later, raining down on the extended vines as they jabbed into duplicates harmlessly. They pinned vine after vine down, and what vines weren’t pinned had to deal with large obstructions in their stretching path.

As the crowd burst into a further cheering uproar at the sight Otoshi growled.

“Curse Sap Sipper. If only I knew what ability that Tauros had.”

It clicked for Ash what had happened. Otoshi likely knew that Bouffalant, a Pokémon a lot like Tauros, had the Sap Sipper ability. Miltank having the ability was something he didn’t know, but that was a second Pokémon that was a lot like Tauros with the ability.

But Tauros did not have Sap Sipper. The Tauros he had right here had the Anger Point ability and the rest of his herd had either Anger Point, Intimidate, or Sheer Force. It was a mistake on Otoshi’s part, and one he was going to take full advantage of.

“Alright, Tauros, just like we practiced!”

“Broo!” ‘Hey, it’s easy for me. I don’t have to do the poses like Squirtle and Charizard. Hope you still remember how to do it.’

He did.

Tauros’s affirmation of readiness was followed by making the poses he had practiced with every Pokémon he could use them with so far: a diagonal arm movement before slamming his fists down on his chest in a Z-shape. Orange light sprung up as a result and flew into Tauros, exploding into a massive burst of power.

The aura of power built around Tauros in a massive halo of spiking energy, a central core of golden force glowing around Tauros as the outer shell of white energy shattered the field beneath him.

Tauros charged right at the pinned Tangrowth who was stuck by rocks and kept from using Sleep Powder as a defense by a misunderstanding of abilities. Faster than any Giga Impact and with more power to boot. Everything under Tauros as the power of the Z-move launched him forward shattered and broke and furrowed, and Tauros was only getting faster and stronger with every passing second.

“Let’s end this with all of our power at once Tauros! Breakneck Blitz, go!”

“The what?!”

The attack that the very stunned Otoshi didn’t understand struck Tangrowth right square in the center with a massively powered head smash, shattering several of Rock Slide’s stones in the process that had escaped destruction in the initial charge and sending the Grass-type flying. While Tauros, panting a bit after the attack, landed just at the edge of the arena lines Tangrowth was slammed into the edge of the arena and hung stuck in the concrete.

“Tangrowth is unable to battle!”

The crowd exploded into cheers and questions at what they just witnessed. No one was silent.

“What on earth was that just now?!”

“Who cares, it was so awesome!”

“Did he have to pose like that, or did he just do it to be more awesome? Because it kind of didn’t really do it if you asked me.”

“Was that some new type of Giga Impact developed somewhere?”

“Folks, if you are wondering what that was just now it is what is called a Z-move! It originates from the Alola Region and is a super-charged attack that a trainer can perform once per battle! Ash Ketchum identified a Pokémon to remove with surgical precision and did so with plenty of power to spare! Otoshi can at least take that into the intermission that he forced out a trump card as he goes into the next round with three Pokémon to Ash’s five!”

Otoshi returned Tangrowth with a thank you and an apology before looking at them both as he got down from his platform and petted Tauros for a job well done.

He could just see Otoshi doing so from the corner of his eye, and heard what he mumbled to himself just a bit more clearly.

“If that was his ace in his pocket, then I’ve just won this match.”

Which was a bit worrying, but he could think things over during the break.

…

He had taken a quick walk into the entry way he had come from to get a drink and stretch a bit. He wasn’t expecting to see someone else there.

“A quick word, Ash Ketchum.”

It was the ref, who had followed him in.

“League rules prohibit the use of healing items or tactics between matches. Please refrain from releasing your Gigalith to let her wake up during the intermission.”

With that quick word the ref returned to the stands and he was alone again.

“Well, that’s a bummer, but I guess it makes sense there’s a rule like that.”

Even if he wouldn’t have taken advantage of it anyway, that situation made things harder for him. Gigalith was more or less not able to battle unless she survived getting hit with attacks for a while and he really did not like that tactic unless he was in a situation where he had no choice.

He was essentially going into the next round four Pokémon to three, and unless the Pokémon Otoshi was using between Politoed and Marowak was a Caterpie, he wasn’t sure he could bring out Gigalith. A Caterpie wouldn’t be able to hurt her while she was sleeping. Marowak and Politoed could.

‘I doubt that he’s going to use a Caterpie, but you should still have this match the way it's going.’

He was startled out of his thoughts by Anabel’s voice, who was in fact in front of him with Iris.

“You were going to be here for a while, so we came down.”

Battles weren’t usually that long. He had never really looked at the clock of a battle but he felt like an hour was longer than he’d ever been in a battle for.

“Pikapi.” ‘Ash, you know they just want to see you, right?’

Oh….

The wisdom from atop of Iris’s shoulder was followed by Anabel floating him over a drink. He thanked her as he took a long sip. He was thinking he'd just get water, but this was better.

It was a bottle of Psycho Soda, and the girls had each one of a different flavor. There was a vending machine nearby, so they probably got them there.

The three proceeded to chug them down, and Ash left a sip of his for Pikachu, who shook his head after tasting the carbonated drink, but seemed to enjoy it too.

'You're doing great, Ash,' said Anabel. 'Keep this up and you'll win this match in no time.'

"Hey, we shouldn't get too ahead, I still have three Pokémon to beat," Ash replied. "Besides, he forced me to use my first Z-Move in the tournament."

"At this point that seemed inevitable," said Iris. "Your opponents grow stronger with each round after all."

'It was the best call in my opinion. That Tangrowth was way too strong to beat otherwise,' Anabel agreed. 'Besides, nobody knows you still have three more crystals, nor which Pokémon can use them.'

That was true, though Breakneck Blitz was his only Z-Move accessible for several of his Pokémon. The other three crystals were only usable by a specific Pokémon each (Butterfree, Pikachu and Charizard) which severely limited his options. He felt that perhaps Goodra could use Gigavolt Havoc, but they hadn't practiced for it yet.

Even so, it was nice they believed in him this way, especially with how much they'd helped him train during these months. Compared to his first league in the old timeline, he hadn't slacked off or gotten cocky enough to rely entirely on his beginner's luck.

"On another topic," Iris continued, "Anabel and I wanted to ask if you would like to do something with us after the battle?"

"Something like…" The boy didn't finish his question. At this point he saw a pattern forming and upon giving Pikachu a look, the mouse nodded with a smirk.

Yep, it was definitely that.

'There are a few parks nearby where we could have a picnic. Iris mentioned she'd like to get away from crowds for a bit, and I could actually use some quiet too. If that's okay for you, of course."

He recalled Anabel had suggested it during their previous date. Sure, he thought it was a neat idea, though he didn't expect it'd come back so soon. Of course, he had no objections, except maybe…

Before he said anything, Anabel caught wind of his thought, and extended the Monodex she carried.

'Don't worry. I already told Misty, and she said we can go without her, if she hasn't gotten out of her tournament by then.'

"Okay, that solves a problem." Ash nodded and shrugged. "What about the food then?"

Both girls exchanged glances and giggled slightly.

'Your mom went ahead and made some snacks today. Said we could take them if we wanted. If we need something more, Iris said she could get some berries for us, since the trees are in season.'

"I will make sure Emolga does not eat them."

Ash chuckled at the remark, though aside from that, there was no reason to refuse. A picnic meal with Iris and Anabel sounded a good way to celebrate after the battle.

In fact, why was he looking for reasons to refuse? Was it really too hard to accept dates with his female companions, even if he admittedly had a nice time with them?

Better not spin it around too much. Things were already complicated enough as they were.

"Okay then. I'll try and finish the battle as soon as possible so we can go."

"Do not rush it just for us," the wild girl replied. "As much as we want to have that picnic date with you, we also want you to win this match, and the League."

'Win this one for us, will you?' Anabel winked at him. 'Consider the picnic your prize.'

Ash chuckled nervously, but nodded. Truth be told, the prospect of having a picnic to celebrate surely added additional motivation to win the match. His performance always ramped up when he knew his friends and family rooted for him, but an additional reward definitely didn't hurt.

Still, confident as he was, he knew he shouldn't let his guard down. Especially as he suspected that Otoshi, like him, had his own ace in the whole, waiting to be revealed.

…

“Welcome back, folks! The arena has switched out to a rock battlefield and the battle is back on! Otoshi is on the backfoot with three Pokémon to Ash Ketchum’s five, but with Gigalith taking a snooze it might not be as dire as it looks for him. What strategies has Otoshi taken to try and turn this around?”

“Go!” Otoshi declared as he sent out his first Pokémon of the second round, which was the Politoed his opponent had already used.

Would he go with Tauros or Goodra, or would he use one of the other two he had on him who were not asleep?

“Goodra, I choose you!”

He decided to go for the rematch.

“Ash Ketchum is betting on continuing their earlier battle! It went well for him the first time, and he’s clearly hoping to keep that momentum going!”

“Use Dig!” Otoshi began the battle by having Politoed dig into the earth. Without rain it wouldn’t be possible for Thunder to break through. Goodra looked around for any sign of the toad’s return.

“Goodra, I’m not sure we can really avoid this attack so use Bide to send it right back!” Goodra nodded to his request as he glowed. The glow intensified as Politoed emerged from below the earth and uppercut Goodra in the chin. The dragon took a few steps to regain his footing while Politoed hopped back out of range.

“Use Rain Dance!” Otoshi made the surprising call to have Politoed bellow and return the storm clouds. Why would he make Thunder easier?

“Bide!” Ash called for the explosion to go off as Goodra blew the white beam at Politoed, who was told to use Bubblebeam to deflect it. Bubblebeam was boosted by Rain Dance and blew the Bide apart without much issue, but that couldn’t be all Otoshi was going for.

“Goodra, use Thunder!” What was Otoshi’s strategy? He could find out by attacking. Goodra held his arm aloft, sparking as the electricity shot up into the sky above. The thunder slammed down from the darkened clouds and hit Politoed with the gentleness of a smiting. One rather well fried toad was left in the aftermath.

“Politoed is unable to battle!”

The crowds cheered as Goodra looked at him in confusion.

“Goo?” ‘That’s it? That seemed too easy.’

He agreed with a silent nod as Otoshi returned the green Water-type with an apologetic look. It was, however, not because of a mistake made.

“You did your part, Politoed, now we just need to make it work. Now go!”

With that Otoshi sent his fifth Pokémon out, an Electivire.

“Electa!”

“And Otoshi’s fifth Pokémon is an Electivire! Is he going to fight thunder with thunder?!”

“Didn’t he have an Electabuzz earlier in the tournament?”

“It must have evolved at some point.”

“How do you evolve an Electabuzz? I’ve been trying to evolve mine for a year and I’m running out of stones and Rattata.”

So loudly talked the audience.

“Electabuzz and Electivire are the Electric and Thunderbolt Pokémon. Pure Electric types. Electabuzz consumes electricity while Electivire generates it. Electabuzz are both perpetrators and scapegoats of blackouts while entrepreneurs, community advocates, and the power hungry had made millions and wielded political power on Electivire powering entire cities with electrical power throughout history.” The Pokédex gave him a lowdown on the Pokémon at present and that the audience had mentioned.

“Begin!”

“Alright, Electivire, use Discharge!” Otoshi ordered as the large yellow and black Pokémon formed an electric aura all around itself before blasting it off in all directions. The electricity shot into the sky, smashed rocks, and flew at Goodra in jagged waves.

“Block it with Sludge Wave!” Goodra rose the sludge wall in front of himself and it took the electric attack for him: the wall of sludge sparking but otherwise not harming anything. The air smelled of ozone though, and looking up at the Rain Dance clouds he saw them sparking with accumulated electricity.

“Ice Punch!”

The Electivire charged forward, a fist glistening with cold. He didn’t see the Electivire use its cable tails to try and bind Goodra before striking, but it did seem like that evolution was fairly recent. Perhaps they didn’t learn that trick yet.

“Return!” He pulled Goodra back, having the electric type punch the empty air Goodra had been in. He put the Heal Ball back on his belt and pulled a Park Ball instead.

He just had a feeling…

“Yanma, I choose you!”

And his fifth Pokémon was revealed, buzzing over Electivire to an air of genuine confusion to all watching.

“Ash Ketchum’s fifth Pokémon is Yanma, a Pokémon weak to both electricity and ice! I wonder what strategy he might be going for?!”

Ash wasn’t sure either, but he had a gut feeling to see through.

“Discharge!”

“Use Detect!”

Yanma’s eyes flashed green as the electric arcs flew at him, allowing him to swerve out of the way of the electricity no matter where it flew. The electricity again burned rocks, and it again went into the still pouring Rain Dance clouds. They rumbled and both he and Yanma looked up at them at once.

“...I don’t know what that is for, and we don’t want to find out. Yanma, to the sky!”

Yanma, his body flashing green with Speed Boost, flew up as Otoshi narrowed his eyes at the bug.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, and we won’t let you pull it off. Swift!”

Electivire crossed its arms and quickly un-crossed them like two swords, releasing dozens of stars to follow Yanma into the air. The stars followed Yanma, no matter how he swerved.

Yanma’s wings flashed green with another speed boost as he got near the clouds.

“Yanma, destroy the clouds!”

“Destroy... the... clouds?” Otoshi questioned.

“How on earth does Ash Ketchum think… quickly, deploy the sound blocking Kadabras!”

The announcer’s urgent shout came just as Yanma stopped ascending just below the clouds and beat his wings hard, releasing a massive barrage of shock waves of displaced air and motion. Above him clouds began to tear apart like ripping cotton balls or cotton candy while below the Swift stars were blown back and detonated by the same shockwaves.

A pink barrier flashed between the stadium and the spectators to block the attack, while in the stadium the referee nearly lost his balance and his own hat was blown off. He picked it back up as Otoshi and Electivire stared at the now clearing skies.

“That was….”

“Ash Ketchum has altered the weather with a bug, folks! That wasn’t even a move, but the pure destructive powers of a Yanma!”

“Yan.” Yanma nodded in affirmation, though he could tell Yanma wanted to win this the way he preferred to: melee combat.

“Quick Attack!”

Yanma was all too happy to dive straight down at Electivire, a white and green missile aimed right down at the large electric type.

“Discharge!” Otoshi let out the volley of electricity tendrils up towards Yanma, but his bug danced around them in a swift display of aerial maneuvers and slammed right into Electivire’s head, forcing the Electivire to the ground before speeding around the field for another attack to come.

Yanma sped at Electivire, who glared before starting up another Ice Punch.

“Feint Attack!”

Yanma vanished just before Electivire could punch him, reappearing past his guard and bashing Electivire right into a waiting rock and shattering it. Yanma sped by, flashing green again, as Electivire got back up woozily.

“.... There is only one option... Electric Terrain!” Otoshi ordered as Electivire nodded, slamming his mostly unused tails into the ground and sending a surge of electricity into it. The entire field glowed yellow and sparked, even as one more Quick Attack slammed into Electivire and ‘yanked its plugs’, sending it into another rock and breaking the stone.

Yanma landed on a third, intact, rock, buzzing his wings as the referee made his call.

“Electivire is unable to battle!”

The crowd cheered as Otoshi returned Electivire.

“Ash Ketchum is now in a decisive lead! Even with a sleeping Gigalith not counted he has four Pokémon to the one in Otoshi’s corner! Ash has broken a hole right through Otoshi’s team and has exploited it ruthlessly! What can Otoshi do to start a comeback!?”

“Ruthless? That’s… not me, right?”

Yanma buzzed a response he couldn’t quite understand. He’d done a lot with Yanma, but he was still far from understanding the Bug type like he could Goodra.

“You’ve proven a rather formidable opponent. I had suspected I would need to use my trump card, but to need it as badly as I do now… I am not giving up.”

“Yeah! Never give up, never stop trying! Just because a comeback will be hard doesn’t mean you can’t do it. I won’t make it easy for you!”

Otoshi grinned.

“I’d hope you wouldn’t. Marowak, it is time!”

And Otoshi sent out his final Pokémon, the Ground-type that had beaten Bulbasaur and lost to Pikachu. The bone user held his club at the ready, seemingly ready to throw it at Yanma. Yanma buzzed back, ready to take the bet about being hit with a bone.

Then Marowak slammed the bone down into the Electric Terrain, and the field exploded into a blinding flash.

“Rrrrrr…” He couldn’t see what just happened and his eyes burned from the sudden flash.

“Yan…” Yanma was in a similar boat. He could hear Yanma taking off into the air, ready to avoid a potential attack while blinded.

He slowly opened his eyes back up, and found the field a bit different. The Electric Terrain was gone. Yanma was still airborne and not hit, while Marowak….

“Marowak has…. I don’t know what happened to it….!?”

Marowak was covered in a golden armor, glittering almost like sparking electricity. Every part of Marowak’s body was this gold, and everyone in the stadium was utterly confused at what they were seeing.

“Thunder Armor?!” He, however, had something of an idea of what this possibly was. It looked just like what Pikachu and Swellow had done against Tate and Liza. A bit more sparkly maybe but….it was Thunder Armor. What...what else could it be!?

…

Pikachu and the others couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“What the fuck!?” The Monodex spoke for Anabel, who was just as confused as everyone else, just not swearing. There was plenty of that from the rest of the audience.

Iris was staring at Marowak, unable to put into words what she was seeing. It was something utterly alien to her, like nothing else in the world.

He had a bit of a better idea of what it was than they do, but only just. He and Swellow had done it once...and never again. And they had tried it a few times. It had just gotten them in the Pokémon Center for their troubles.

A real pity, as it would have been really awesome if they had figured it out again to use against Paul. They had stopped trying in Unova, as while Staraptor was up for trying it out, Unfezant was much less game. Maybe in Kalos Fletchling would have been up for experimenting…

But regardless of their attempts, whatever that was didn’t bode well for Ash.

…

“Thunder Armor? That’s a pretty good name, but it has one already. It’s called Break Evolution, and it is as strong as any Mega Evolution. Let me show you, as it looks like my Electivire’s earlier setup wasn’t for nothing.”

Marowak adjusted his club as if to hit a baseball. Yanma, fully recovered from the blinding light, instinctively flew higher to avoid any throwing.

“For we have some excess power we can use to deal with an annoyance. Now!”

And Marowak swiped with his club. Not an attack, just a slash of the air with the weapon. A giant arc of electricity flew from said swipe in a growing wave attack and hit Yanma before he could get away.

Yanma crashed down in a toasted heap as Marowak ‘sheathed’ his bone.

“Yanma is unable to battle!”

“While it sounds like that was just a one off attack, taking out a hyper-boosted Yanma with just a sword swipe is hardly a waste of such a move! Is this the start of Otoshi’s comeback!?”

“Yanma, return.” He brought his fifth Pokémon back, giving him an apology for not shouting ‘Detect’ or something. He was a little stunned to see Thunder Armor/Break Evolution again.

“Alright... Goodra, I choose you!”

He sent his Dragon back out to face this new threat. Resisting electric attacks had to help just a little, right?

“Bone Club!”

“Dragon Pulse!”

Marowak sped at Goodra, who blew the draconic winds right at Marowak. The Ground-type cleaved the attack apart in a single swipe before slamming his bone in a second swing into Goodra, who was sent flying into a rock and breaking it, adding to the ever increasing rock wrecking of the day.

Goodra rose from the blow, wobbly but standing.

“Dra…” ‘What is…’

“Goodra, this guy’s going to be tough, but I believe in you guys and I know we can beat him if we all work together! Now use Sludge Wave!”

Goodra summoned the sludge and sent it in a great wave at Marowak, who was unmoved by the approaching tide.

“Use Iron Head!”

Marowak’s head flashed a steel sheen as the ground-type charged in head first, pushing through the sludge field without a care.

“Does this….’Break Evolution’ stop Marowak from worrying about the secondary effect of Sludge Wave?!” the announcer asked, mirroring Ash’s own question.

“Goodra, quick, use Thunder on the sludge!”

Goodra raised his hand up, shooting a spark into the sky.

“If you think that this has changed… the sludge?” Otoshi caught the actual target mid-way through his question before the lighting hit the sludge, which was rising up and down like waves, detonating it and blowing Marowak off course. Interestingly, the Thunder had been going at Marowak when a rising sludge crest got hit and was detonated.

Marowak tumbled along the field before getting back on his two feet, glaring at Goodra who eyed the enhanced Pokémon warily.

“And Ash Ketchum successfully damages the Ground-type with an electric move. That’s… well, that’s this battle at this point.”

“That won’t work again a second time.” Otoshi told him, and he had to agree. It looked like it only worked because the Thunder hit part of the attack on the way to Marowak via Lightning Rod. Goodra would not get that lucky again.

And he doubted that Bide would last long enough to hit… unless he got creative.

“Goodra, use Dragon Pulse and then Bide!”

“Marowak, use Bone Club again!”

The same thing happened again, as Marowak used one swing to break apart Dragon Pulse, then a second to strike Goodra, who was blown again into the fourth shattered large rock of that part of the battle alone.

Goodra, glowing heavy with Bide’s accumulated force, barely stood back up.

“Rock Tomb!”

Marowak swung the bone to strike a stone that formed in front of Marowak, the white outlined stone flashing before turning into dozens more rocks. At a high velocity they struck Goodra, knocking him down and making the Bide glow pop out of existence.

“Goodra is unable to battle!”

The crowd cheered at the growing upset as Marowak, again, ‘sheathed’ his bone.

“Goodra, return for a good rest. That last idea of mine sucked, it’s not your fault.” He apologized as he returned Goodra, as he really was feeling like he was against a wall here.

Golbat, Yanma, and Goodra were down, and Gigalith was still out from Sleep Powder. That left Tauros and Farfetch’d.

“Tauros, I choose you!”

A non-golden Marowak was why he brought Farfetch’d. Farfetch’d would probably be thrilled to battle a golden Marowak. But not now.

Tauros landed on the field, stomping the ground and snorting in eagerness for battle.

“Ash’s Tauros returns! The snorting bull has clearly recovered from the powerful Z-Move, but does it have the horsepower to turn this around for Ash? Or does Otoshi’s comeback have no breaks!?”

“Tauros, let's win this battle like your last one!” He told Tauros as his bull reared his head back and summoned the rocks of a Rock Slide attack right over Marowak. Ideally they’d pin Marowak down and let him take a Fissure and fall.

Ideally being key.

“Deflect those rocks!”

Marowak wasn’t pinned down like Dragonite by the stones. Instead with swings of its bone the rocks were deflected, shattered, or flung up into other rocks. The attack was completely negated, but the white streak of fissure was flying unnoticed by Marowak. Maybe…

“You’ll have to fight us at close range no matter… Marowak get out of the way!”

Otoshi had noticed the Fissure while Marowak hadn’t, and the empowered Marowak leapt to the side and avoided the Fissure entirely. Well, that was their quick win….

“Bonemerang!”

“Use Double Team!”

Tauros flickered and the golden bone took out a dupe instead of about two dozen Tauros now staring down Marowak. Marowak eyed them all cautiously, the bone flinging through another duplicate and returning to the powerful Pokémon.

“Let’s try it in reverse! Fissure!”

Each Tauros duplicate slammed their feet into the ground, and the streak of devastating power flew at Marowak disguised among many harmless replicas.

Marowak flung the bone at one Tauros, the one who had some dust kicked up. The bone hit, but only after the real Tauros had raised his head up and bellowed.

The strike stung Tauros hard, and Marowak avoided the real Fissure, but Marowak did not avoid the barrage of stone from the sky that crashed down on top of him and pinned the ground-type. However, the stones were already starting to shake.

“Double Edge!”

The stadium shook as Tauros thundered at the downed Marowak. Tauros ran faster than Fissure moved, and this would hopefully him before Marowak got out. Marowak, while able to throw the rocks off, still got a charging Tauros head on, and it was not a love tackle. As a result, Marowak was slammed across the field, not hitting any rocks but requiring the use of his bone to slow him down before he hit a wall.

“Broo….” ‘He took that blow too well.’ Tauros didn’t look like the recoil stung too hard, but it was worth checking either way.

“Let’s keep up the pressure! Double Team!”

Tauros nodded as the field was filled with duplicate Tauros once more. Marowak reflexively cut down the two duplicates that appeared behind him, turning back to see a dozen more Tauros charging.

“Listen for the sound of the real one’s hooves!” Otoshi recommended as Marowak nodded and remained still for a second, before throwing a Bonemerang. Two dupes were sliced through before slamming into the real Tauros, who stumbled back and glared at Marowak as the bone flew back into his grip.

“Double Team again!”

Tauros nodded before creating his own faux-herd once more, with Marowak again slicing two close by duplicates without hesitation.

“Rock Slide!”

A sheer downpour of rocks crashed down towards Marowak, who promptly began cutting rocks apart. Most of them were fake and were slashed apart without any struggle, but the real stones were a bit harder to cut and required Marowak to continue to slash apart or he’d take damage.

“Giga Impact!”

The rocks were still falling as every Tauros ran forward, slowly engulfed in a storm of sheer power that made Tauros almost glow. Marowak had only just finished off the rest of the rocks before Tauros slammed into Marowak at full power, sending the ground type flying into a standing stone and shattering it, and then into another that also shattered.

Tauros was out of the attack now, panting hard and staring in the dust wake that the blow had left as the crowds murmured and muttered to themselves.

“Is that it?”

“Did Ash Ketchum stop the comeback?”

“It was a good try….”

*TWACK!*

All talk was cut off by a golden bone flinging out of the dust and striking Tauros right in the head. His bull teetered for a moment before collapsing, the bone returning through the dust to a still standing, if now battered, Marowak, who once more ‘sheathed’ his bone.

“Tauros is unable to battle!”

Cheers broke out in the crowd at Marowak still being in the battle.

“And Otoshi’s comeback isn’t over yet! Tauros battled harder than Yanma and Goodra, but it still wasn’t enough!? Hopefully Ash has a powerful sixth Pokémon or his hopes will lie with just a sleeping Gigalith!”

“Tauros, take a good rest.”

With Tauros back in his Safari Ball he took out his only unrevealed Pokémon.

“This is it! Come on out!” He threw the ball into the air, which opened midair as Marowak tensed, ready to face anything that would come out. Marowak was completely still and unfazed when Farfetch’d appeared in full, an attitude that was not shared by those around him.

“Your last Pokémon… is a Farfetch’d... with three leeks?” Otoshi sounded like he was expecting something else, probably Charizard, or anything else but the answer currently facing him.

“And the final Pokémon Ash Ketchum reveals is a Farfetch’d… with three leeks. That is legal… but a little strange.” The announcer admitted over a confused murmuring crowd.

Farfetch’d’s beak, visible even from behind as it were, burst into a massive grin at the sight of Marowak, with his Flying-type tensing all his leeks in anticipation.

“Don’t underestimate that Marowak!” He warned Farfetch’d.

“Marowak, that Farfetch’d is strong if it is in a Top Sixteen match. Be ready for anything!” Otoshi gave his own warning as Marowak slowly nodded, warily watching Farfetch’d for anything unexpected.

“Razor Leaf!”

“Thunder Punch!”

Farfetch’d’s Razor Leaf caused each of Farfetch’d’s leeks to sharpen in a way that was a lot like Leaf Blade but he was assured by the Pokédex was not Leaf Blade (as Farfetch’d Leaf Blade looked different) while Marowak’s free fist flashed a more intense gold as both weapon using Pokémon charged at the other.

Marowak was faster, moving to punch Farfetch’d, but the fist was blocked by one leek as two others, one in the beak and the other in the other wing, swung at Marowak. Marowak blocked the other arm with his bone, but the beak leek struck Marowak in the helmet. Despite the blow to the head the two continued their clash before both forced the other back, giving the two of them space to make their next moves.

“Two can play that game. If you want to fight with more than one weapon we can as well. Marowak, Iron Head! Use your head and your club!”

Marowak had the briefest of flashes of ‘huh I could do that’ before his helmet flashed a solid metallic white and he charged again.

Farfetch’d countered the attack as before: one leek in wing held off the club while the one in beak held off Iron Head. Marowak used its free hand to hold back the other wing-held leek and the two Pokémon were at a stalemate.

“Fist! Bone! Head! Leek! Four weapons are clashing at once with no end!”

“Five!”

“Er, no, four. I counted….” The announcer was confused at his declaration.

“Farfetch’d, use Peck!”

Farfetch’d beak, holding the leek that was angled to hold off the Iron Head, flashed white before expanding. It stabbed right into Marowak, setting off sparks as the additional attack continued to dig into Marowak.

“Okay… it is five!”

The two eventually forced each other back and got some space again, Farfetch’d’s beak retracting into its regular shape and size again.

“Those are some powerful leeks. But how durable is the bird that holds them?” Otoshi wondered aloud as Farfetch’d smirked back at him. “Marowak, we’ll win when we break through Farfetch’d’s guard! Rock Tomb!”

Marowak lobbed the stone barrage from his bone at Farfetch’d, the rocks expanding in size and speeding towards Farfetch’d.

“Farfetch’d, Marowak is going to try and catch you off guard!” It was his own Rock Slide trick from the last round. Farfetch’d’s leeks flashed white as he used his two wing-wielded ones to slice the Rock Tomb apart, the stone splitting and falling to the ground before he whipped around and blocked a bone smack with the mouth leek.

The two weapons clashed for a moment, Marowak gaining a bit of dominance in the clash, before Farfetch’d swung his other leeks. Marowak avoided taking a dual blow and got distance from Farfetch'd. This time, however, that would not be completely safe for Marowak.

“Air Slash!”

First with the left wing leek and then the right Farfetch’d slashed the air, sending a massive wind slice towards Marowak. Marowak avoided the first but got hit by the second, being pushed back a few inches and having his gold-covered feet dig into the dirt.

The two weapon wielders soon charged right back into the fray, their weapons clashing in great clangs and slashes. These bouts constantly shifted in balance, the leeks and bone strikes dominating at different points in a close exchange of blows from both parties.

As he watched the confrontation of the two weapon users, he was trying to find the best moment to strike. Otoshi had made it clear they would try to overpower them until they could break their guard, and while the triple-leek style gave Farfetch'd a slight tactical advantage against Marowak's single bone, the latter made up for it with the raw power from his golden armor.

What if they tried to disarm him? No, even without the bone, he still had his head or electrified punches. But maybe…

"Razor Leaf!"

Farfetch'd swung both of his wing leeks, tossing out one barrage of sharp leaves after another towards his foe.

"Deflect them and charge forward!"

In response, Marowak put his bone forward, and started spinning it like a marching baton. He couldn't help but wonder if at some point Otoshi and Giselle had exchanged notes or something, as he recalled the latter's Cubone doing a similar thing in their first encounter.

Regardless, the spinning repelled the Razor Leaves as Marowak ran forward, trying to get in melee range. As he loomed over his opponent, he raised his bone high.

"Bone Club!"

"Block it!"

Farfetch'd intercepted the energized bone doing a crossed guard, with both wing leeks. Before Ash had the chance to order a Peck to break the hold, Otoshi went ahead and called for a Thunder Punch. The electrified fist hit the wild duck's stomach, knocking the air out of him and throwing him off balance, long enough to get a back swing with the bone.

"It's our chance, Marowak!" Otoshi exclaimed. "Trap him with Rock Tomb!"

Marowak twirled his bone and stabbed it on the ground, summoning around Farfetch'd several large boulders, which closed in as if to form a cage. They were coming from everywhere, and there didn't seem to be any possible way to escape.

There was only one thing to do. If it worked once, it'd hopefully work twice.

"Spin and throw Razor Leaf!"

Farfetch'd's three leeks flashed green, and while still having room, he spun on himself extending them outwards. As the rocks came in closer to trap him, a whirl of sharp leaves cut them into pieces.

After spinning, Farfetch'd was a little dizzy, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

"That was close, folks! Farfetch'd just avoided a supereffective attack just like Golbat before him! Well, you know how the saying goes: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

"Awesome, you've just created your own Counter-Shield version!" He gave him a thumbs up.

Farfetch'd replied with the same gesture, and Ash could even see him smirk even holding the leek with his beak, before he faced back to their foes. Both Otoshi and Marowak shared identical expressions, a mixture of respect for them, and frustration over the fact they still refused to go down.

"We need to end this bout soon, Marowak! Bone Club!"

"Farfetch'd, counter with Slash!"

Farfetch'd's leeks flashed white, extending until they became short swords. The wild duck and the bone sentinel ran at each other, clashing on the center of the battlefield and engaging in another duel with their weapons.

Marowak opened with a high downwards strike, which Farfetch'd parried holding his right leek with reverse grip. He immediately followed with a left swing, but Marowak foresaw it and stepped away, delivering a back swing to the head. Farfetch'd twisted his neck to intercept it with his beak leek, but it wasn't enough, forcing him to use the other two in order to match the strength and push his foe away.

However, Marowak charged once more, trying to strike low at Farfetch'd's legs. The latter jumped over and with a somersault got behind, trying to use his wing leeks to slash him in the back. Marowak managed to turn, using his bone to block the leek-swords, before ramming him away with the head.

"Bonemerang!"

Marowak took even more distance with a jump backwards, before throwing his bone to fly in an arch towards Farfetch'd.

Right then Ash had a flash of inspiration: it was a short window, but they could probably take it.

"Jump and show everyone your Slash!!"

Back when they were training for the League, he would often see Farfetch'd practicing some moves by himself at Oak's ranch. There was one time he spotted the duck using Slash, and he raised both his wing leeks up high, temporarily merging them into a single longsword for a downward strike, which slashed a large boulder in half.

And now, he was about to do the same to Marowak, whose bone was flying away, unable to be used for protection.

"Crouch and use Iron Head!"

Right before the longsword made contact, Marowak's head gave off the metallic flash as he kneeled, seeking to absorb the impact as much as possible. Despite the defense, the combined-leek slash left him visibly stunned, but they couldn't capitalize on it for long as the flying bone came back, striking Farfetch'd from behind.

Marowak shook his head and immediately went to pick it up, getting on guard once more as Farfetch'd jumped back to his feet as well.

"A boomerang always returns, and this time's no exception! Right on time to save Marowak from an attack that could have been very painful!"

He punched his palm in frustration; that one was close. He was sure Farfetch'd would have won that clash had the bone not returned.

Both weapon-using Pokémon were visibly tired, if he’d have to guess Farfetch’d had taken more damage in this battle but not only had his own bird delivered several harsh hits, Goodra and Tauros had also given Marowak several hard blows.

On the other hand, he had no way to know whether Break Evolution had a time limit or something else that would restrict its use, and a victory by endurance didn't seem like a choice here. His gut told him they'd lose if they tried that.

If they could deprive Marowak of his bone, if only for a little while, they could capitalize on it. Problem was, Marowak would only separate from it when using Bonemerang, thus…

"We'd have to catch it in midair."

He felt a smile forming in his lips, as the idea formed in his head. How did he not think of it before? Marowak wasn't the only one who could throw his weapon, after all.

"Marowak, use Rock Tomb!"

"Jump over it and use Razor Leaf!"

Marowak struck the ground with his bone again, summoning the stone pillars around Farfetch'd. The bird jumped over them to gain altitude, while swinging his leeks to fire a barrage of sharp leaves. Marowak for his part deflected them again with his bone, though some managed to get through and graze him before he could stop them.

"Air Slash!"

This time, Farfetch'd launched one wind blade from each leek, trying to keep Marowak at long range. The Ground-type dodged the first two and struck the third with his bone, trying to shorten the distance between them, but Farfetch'd just hopped away from him, while still swinging his leeks firing the blades non-stop.

The pursuit continued for a while, and each time Marowak gained on him, Farfetch'd either pulled back or circled around before launching another Air Slash blade. He'd sometimes land a few hits when Marowak lowered his guard.

"You can't escape forever!" Otoshi exclaimed, seemingly tired of this Meowth and Rattata game. "Marowak, use Bonemerang!"

And that was exactly what they hoped for. "Farfetch'd, use Feint against the bone!"

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, probably due to how (no pun intended) farfetched the order sounded. Nevertheless, right when Marowak threw his bone, Farfetch'd followed suit with one of his wing leeks. Both weapons spun across the air, arching in opposite directions until they clanked against each other in midair, falling on opposite sidelines of the battlefield.

He only had one second to notice the shocked expression shared by both Otoshi and Marowak, as he knew they had to attack right then. "Razor Leaf barrage, go!"

Without missing a beat, Farfetch'd pulled his beak leek to wield it with the other wing, swinging it along with the other to launch one barrage after another of Razor Leaves. This time, the shock prevented Marowak and Otoshi to mount a defense, and the latter took the attacks head on, suffering several cuts before being able to cover himself and pull back to diminish damage.

"That was unusual, folks! But Ash Ketchum and his Farfetch'd manage to leave Marowak disarmed, and now he doesn't have anything to defend with! Of course, with this battle ‘unusual’ is a constant!"

"We may be disarmed, but not defenseless!" Otoshi shouted back. "Marowak, Iron Head!"

The bone sentinel leaned his head forward, powering it up with metal to shield himself from the Razor Leaf barrage, and charged forward at his foe. Farfetch'd barely managed to put his two remaining leeks in a cross guard to protect himself, though he was still pushed backwards by the ram, crashing against one of the Rock Tomb pillars on the field.

"Thunder Punch!"

"Slash!"

Marowak charged both fists, crackling with powerful electric sparks, which Farfetch'd intercepted with his leek-swords. Even without his bone Marowak could still deliver good punches, and only thanks to his leeks' longer reach did the bird stay out of range from the sparks, ducking and pulling back whenever a Thunder Punch got too close.

At one point, Marowak managed to land a left hook that knocked Farfetch'd to the side, and he took the chance to run towards his fallen bone.

"Stop him with Feint, then Razor Leaf!"

They knew better than to waste the chance, and Farfetch'd tossed another leek. It smacked Marowak's head, stunning him and stopping him on his tracks, and with the other leek Farfetch'd launched another sharp leaf barrage at his foe's back.

"Fire Air Slash at the bone, and knock it away!"

As Marowak barely recovered from the last attack, the leek's glow switched from green to white, and the duck delivered a vertical slash, sending out a wind blade right at the bone, exploding on the ground and knocking it away from its owner. He then ran in-between Marowak and his weapon, picking up one of his own fallen leeks in the process.

"Marowak…"

"Fetch'd, far, far…"

"Maro!"

"Fetch'd!"

"I don't know what those Pokémon are saying right now, but if I had to guess, I'd say Marowak's demanding Farfetch'd to step aside, and the latter refuses! What do you think, folks?"

Ash shared the same opinion, judging by the gestures they made. He couldn't hear Farfetch'd's thoughts yet, and except for Goodra's case, he wasn't sure how long that would take for the Pokémon he didn't catch back in the old timeline. Nevertheless, spending time with his Pokémon, if only a little, allowed him to understand them better, even if it wasn't in exact words.

That was how he'd come to understand Pikachu and the others, even before the reality reset, and he was sure he'd do so with Farfetch'd. All that said, they were on the same page at that moment: they couldn't let Marowak recover his bone.

"If he won't step aside, we'll have to remove him," Otoshi said. "Marowak, Iron Head!"

Marowak once again charged with his metallic head at Farfetch'd. This time the duck managed to endure the charge a little more, maybe because his foe didn't have as much momentum as before, and he could push him back enough to take distance and keep attacking.

"Razor Leaf!"

And did they keep attacking alright. Farfetch'd fired another Razor Leaf barrage, this time at point-blank range, forcing Marowak to shield himself behind his skull helmet and arms. By the way he endured the cuts, Ash couldn't help but wonder how much protection that golden armor offered against type effectiveness.

But from the look of things, damage was starting to show its effects. They just had to keep up the assault this way and…

"Marowak, break through with Thunder Punch!"

Otoshi's order seemed to awaken something in Marowak, who charged his right fist with electricity and pushed it forward, running through the cutting leaves and ignoring the damage, much to both Ash's and Farfetch'd's shock. More so to the latter, who took an uppercut that knocked him upwards, taking him out of the way and leaving a free pass for Marowak to retrieve his bone.

"Stop him, don't let him take it!" Ash called.

Farfetch'd was about to attack again, but his action was interrupted by a seizure, accompanied by sparks. There was another collective gasp from the crowd.

"Oh no, folks! Ketchum's Farfetch'd seems to have gotten more than he bargained for with that Thunder Punch! This could be crucial for the bout, and maybe the match itself!"

Ash clenched his fists and teeth. He hated to admit it, but the announcer wasn't wrong. If Farfetch'd ended up falling now, they'd lose the match unless Gigalith by some miracle woke up after taking the first blow. And he wasn't feeling like pushing his luck that far.

"Farfetch'd, we're almost there! Just hang on a little more! You can do this, I know you can!"

Farfetch'd turned to see him, and nodded with determination, before facing his foe once more. The latter had already picked up his bone back, and seemed more than willing to use it with everything he had.

"Hurry, Marowak, Bone Club!"

"Slash!"

Both Pokémon once more locked themselves in a close-range duel, clashing their weapons against each other. While the battle seemed even, it was clear both were reaching their limits, drawing strength from where they didn't have just to keep going, driven only by their willpower.

When Farfetch'd suffered another jolt of paralysis, Marowak managed to smack him with a backhand swing, sending him a few feet away, but the wild duck refused to fall and managed to land on his feet with a backflip, extending both leeks.

"Rock Tomb!"

"You know what to do!"

Marowak once more tried to trap Farfetch'd in a stone cage, and the latter used his own Counter-Shield version to prevent it. Ash sighed in relief; the paralysis didn't act up to interrupt their move, and evidently Marowak was pouring the last bits of strength in those last attacks.

Marowak's golden armor was starting to flicker, like he was reaching his limits. Ash wasn't sure how, but his instinct told him this was the moment to end the bout, and the match with it.

"Farfetch'd, use Slash like before!" Ash called.

"Bone Club and Thunder Punch together!" Otoshi countered.

Fighting against the paralysis, Farfetch'd extended his two leeks over his head to merge them together, forming a longsword. Meanwhile, Marowak wielded his bone with his right hand while his left fist sparked with electricity. Both exchanged defiant glares, before running at each other.

"This could be the decider, folks! Who's gonna win?"

The commentator didn't even finish his question, and the two enemy Pokémon clashed with each other. Ash could only see a white flash, from the horizontal slash Farfetch'd did with his longsword, before separating it back in two normal leeks one second later.

Silence had taken over the whole stadium, and both Pokémon stood motionless, with their backs at each other. A few seconds later, Farfetch'd gave off sparks from a paralysis seizure, and fell to his knees, having to use one of his leeks for support to avoid slumping down.

"Farfetch'd!" Ash called.

"Now, Marowak! Finish him!" Otoshi exclaimed triumphantly.

However, when Marowak turned around and raised his bone to finish his foe, the golden energy flickered once more, and with an electric crackling like a TV suffering static, it dispelled completely, leaving Marowak back on his normal state.

And most evidently, he had a huge cut in the abdominal zone, probably from that last Slash. A few seconds passed, and unable to finish his attack, Marowak fell backwards on the ground.

"Marowak is unable to battle! As the trainer Ash Ketchum still has two Pokémon left, he wins the match and moves on to the next round!"

The tension that formed after that last clash left as fast as it came, while Marowak's icon on the board turned off, and he was announced as the winner. He took a while to assimilate it, so much so he wasn't paying attention to the MC, and simply sighed in relief, before running towards the field with a few berries in hand for Farfetch'd.

As he healed his bird for the short term, Ash saw Otoshi do the same with Marowak, before they walked at him. It was then Ash noticed they'd gone to pick up Farfetch'd's third leek.

"I believe this belongs to you," Otoshi said, offering it.

"Thanks." Ash accepted it and returned it to its proper owner, who held it with his bill as usual. He didn't think the duck would find it funny to lose it after winning the match. "That was a great battle. It's our first time battling something like this. You guys were awesome, really."

"So were you," Otoshi replied. "Your Farfetch'd really impressed me. I see those three leeks aren't just for show, and he knows how to use them. Did you teach him that combat style?"

"Haha, would you believe me that I didn't?" Ash scratched the back of his head. "When I caught him he had already figured it out. Honestly I don't know how or where he learned it, but if it works for him, it works for me too."

Ash wasn't the type to look a gifted Rapidash on the mouth. He saw no need to ask Farfetch'd where that three-leek style came from; all he was concerned about would be honing and improving it, and today that hard work had paid off.

"Well, maybe we could learn from that," Otoshi said. "After all, historically samurais did carry two swords. What do you say, Marowak? Do you want to try learning two-bone, or maybe three-bone style?"

Marowak snorted something, and judging by his expression Ash assumed he was saying "You gotta be kidding me". After a few chuckles, Otoshi offered him a hand.

"You were a worthy opponent, Ash Ketchum. One I look forward to facing again. I hope our paths cross again in the future, when Marowak and I are much stronger."

"We'll be looking forward to that too." Ash accepted the handshake. "Farfetch'd and I will be stronger then too, right?"

Farfetch'd nodded, and in the middle of the crowd's cheering, the bird approached his opponent, extending one of his wing leeks. Marowak gave him a confused stare, but then nodded and raised his bone, crossing it in what seemed to be a ceremonial weapon salute of sorts.

Ash figured that was their way to say "Until we meet again". It seemed they would be looking forward to an eventual rematch.

"It's been an impressive match, ladies and gentlemen! Ash Ketchum moves forward to the next round, but we must not ignore Otoshi and Marowak's efforts! Break Evolution is nothing to sneeze at, and it's certainly earned them a place among the Top 16!"

After a close victory like that, Ash felt he could be proud of himself, for several reasons. Not only he'd won a very hard and close match, but he could also say he'd surpassed himself from the old timeline.

Not just because he'd gone past his Top 16 from his first competition, but because he'd done so with real effort. No beginner's luck, no loafing around like he was on vacation. He'd done everything in his power to get here, and that only gave him additional drive to keep going, all the way to the grand finals if possible. He might even get that Gary Indigo match that didn’t happen the last time if he beat Solidad.

But for now there was only one thing in his mind, and it was the reward awaiting him, to celebrate this victory.

….

Anabel had messaged him the place and he made his way there as soon as he got detangled from the post battle requirements of healing and reporters wanting to talk with him and such. It was a park that was on the outer edge of the Indigo Plateau, on the edge of where the nearby woods and mountains began to dominate over houses and facilities.

He could imagine a lot of people who were born and raised in Indigo starting their journeys here.

It didn’t take him too long to spot the two, who had set up a large blanket underneath a few trees. True to Iris’s word there was also a large pile of berries she had hunted down, of which their Pokémon (Fraxure, Excadrill, Gible, Alakazam, and Espeon) were each having one. Emolga had two while Pikachu looked like he had just given up trying to quell her bad habits and was chewing an Aspear berry dejectedly, though he perked up the moment he saw him.

“Pikapi!” ‘Finally you’re here for your date!’

“Ash!” Iris greeted happily.

Things were a quick array of getting seated, letting his own team out to enjoy themselves after a hard fought battle, and other little things. He kicked his shoes off, feeling the fresh air on his sock-clad feet.

‘Don’t be shy about taking them off.’ Anabel told him, and only then did he notice the two of them were also barefoot. He reached to pull his socks off at that.

“Oh sorry.”

“Why apologize? You have no reason to look at our feet.”

And he did not. He had things he found attractive in them and their feet were not one of them.

‘Your mother made plenty of sandwiches. Take your pick.’

“Or of the berries.”

He took a bite of a large Sitrus that Iris had procured as he started looking through the dozens of sandwiches that had been packed:

“Huh, this sandwich looks a bit different from my mom’s.” He noted a sandwich that looked to be cut differently. His mom cut hers vertically, while that one was sliced diagonally.

‘Oh...I actually did these ones.’ Anabel admitted as he took it in hand. ‘It… might taste a little differently.’

“You made it with the same stuff.” He took a bite, and he did notice a difference. The spread of the fruit spread was different, a bit thinner, and with a bit more butter. It was a noticeable difference, and one that definitely had an effect.

“Mmmmmm.”

Anabel smiled. It did taste different, but it wasn’t bad.

“I asked about the possibility of using that curry cookbook we won for this, but apparently curry is not a picnic food.” Iris admitted as she finished off a bunch of Cherri berries.

“That would have been nice, but maybe we can try it out sometime. I might remember some cooking lessons.” He suggested as Iris smiled.

“Well that’s more than I know how to do.”

It was all small talk and smiles for a bit after that, with silly and sweet moments following.

…

“Eat Eat Eat Eat!” He and Iris chanted as Emolga went after a personal record of hers.

…

'Open wide… please. I’m not entirely sure I'll do this right…'

Doing it right in this scenario was him, lying face up on Anabel's lap, having berries fed to him. Doing it wrong would probably result in choking.

He had to admit the warm feeling of Anabel's lap was more relaxing than the feeding.

…

Iris and Fraxure offered some berries to a mob of Pinsir that had shown up, surprisingly defusing the situation of large Bug-types swarming their picnic without violence. Farfetch’d was a bit disappointed at the lack of carnage though.

…

“Is it better if I put them in your mouth from up high so they drop down into your mouth, or closer? A hand over your face might be a little weird….”

‘I think I’d choke easier from that high.’ Anabel, whose head was now on his lap, requested a lower drop place for his feeding of her.

…

Eventually the food was emptied and just before he could start helping pack up they heard some metal screeching sounds, along with cheerful cries. It seemed they weren't the only ones to pick that park to relax that day.

A couple of kids, probably around eight or ten in age, accompanied by a teenage girl who looked about the same age as the three of them, possibly their older sister, had taken turns to play in a set of swings not too far from there. The kids cried out "Higher, faster!" as the eldest sister pushed them.

'Well, that's something I hadn't seen in a while,' Anabel commented. ‘Also how did we miss them all this time? Guess good food and company does that to you.’

"Same here," he replied. "I hadn't played on a swing since… I was eight, I guess."

Since he was eight, both in this timeline and the previous one. Before time became too screwy at least.

In contrast to himself and Anabel, he noticed how Iris looked at the playground with a mix of curiosity and confusion. He already knew that look; she'd always have it whenever she ran into something she didn't understand or hadn't seen before. She was probably wondering what they were doing now.

A minute or so later, the kids and their sister left, so Ash got a little idea.

"Hey, wanna try it?" He elbowed the wild girl to get her attention. "Swinging is pretty fun."

"Swinging? Is it like vine swinging?"

"Er… sort of." Ash recalled that time he tried vine-swinging himself, only to crash face first against a tree. "I guess you probably know how to do it then."

"I have never used one of those things."

Ash gave Anabel a look, as if trying to say "Little help with this?", to which she happily nodded.

'It's actually very simple. Come on, it'll be fun.'

The set had only two swings, so they'd have to take turns. Anabel stepped aside so he and Iris could go first. Before anything, he made sure they could hold both their weights, and stood on one of them.

"Ha, I always wanted to try it this way," he commented. "Mom never let me when I was a kid; said it was too dangerous."

'Well, she's not here, and we won't tell.' Anabel winked at him.

Ash chuckled, and immediately started swinging to show Iris how it was done. The dark-skinned girl stared at him for a bit before hopping onto the other, imitating him.

Doing this brought him memories of those simple pleasures of his childhood. Fond memories all over, but being able to share it with the girls… it only made it all the more special for him.

There were so many things he wanted to share with them. Also with Misty, and with Serena…

Then, all of a sudden, he felt the urge to show off in front of them. He wanted to impress them.

"Hey, check this out! Whooph!"

And with a huge boost, he jumped off the swing, flying a good few feet through the air. For a moment, he almost felt like time stopped and he was floating in the air, like Anabel had him float with her powers.

But that wasn't the case, and he did a perfect three-point landing a good distance ahead, in front of the astonished looks of Iris and Anabel. The latter smiled and started clapping.

"Haha, how's that?! Iris, see if you can leap further than me!"

Iris seemed to take the challenge, and started swinging harder. She seemed ready to jump at any second…

… but she didn't. Instead, she swung so hard, she ended up doing the full turn, leaving him and Anabel completely stunned. She herself seemed quite surprised at what she'd done, as she stopped.

'Wow, Iris… that wasn't bad at all.'

"Awesome."

The dark-skinned girl looked at herself, then at Anabel, then at Ash, and let out a small giggle. "You were right. This is very funny. Can I do it again?"

'Sure, but turn the chains back first,' Anabel said. 'And, guess it's my turn now, isn't it? Let's see if I can jump as far as you, Ash.'

"Careful, no floating with psychic powers, okay?"

Anabel pouted a little at his comment, but she sat and then started swinging too. They'd spend a little more time at it, taking turns whenever one jumped off leaving it free for the other.

Of all the ways a date could end… well, he supposed someone could have guessed this over Moltres attacks, but not him.

‘Ash, a question. A serious one.’

Both him and Anabel were sitting side by side on the swings, Iris hanging around Anabel’s swing.

“Sure, anything.” He readily agreed.

‘Do you think that… we could… do more stuff like this going ahead. But maybe more... officially?’

“Officially?” He wasn’t sure what Anabel meant by that. In the corner of his eye he could see Pikachu perk up in interest, but that couldn’t mean...

Anabel blushed a bit.

‘By that I mean…’

“Ash, we would like to be your girlfriends.”

Iris cut right to the chase, and if he had been swinging hard on the swing right now he’d probably have fallen right off and onto his face.

He tried to say… something, but nothing seemed to come out. His throat felt as stunned as he was. Iris just... she wanted… did Anabel…

Anabel was blushing hard, but steeled herself quicker and nodded.

‘I was going to say the same thing, but I… I was trying to psych myself up to it. But yes, Ash, we would all like to be with you.’

“Me... but why…..” He managed to croak out past his shock. Pikachu had darted over to his side and while he looked quite happy with what was going on he didn’t say anything.

“Because you are the one we all love.”

‘Because you are kind and caring to us and all those around you.’

“Because you are physically attractive and in peak health while also being a likeable person.”

‘Because you always try to make us happy and we make you happy and we want to keep doing that.’

“Because going on dates with a person means you want to be in a relationship with them.”

“I mean that’s true… but you said all… like…”

“Me and Anabel yes, and Misty as well.” Iris confirmed.

‘Technically she just said she loved you…’ Anabel admitted.

“If Ash asks her, there is no reason she would say no. What reason would she have?” Iris argued in an un-argumentative tone as she stepped up to him and grabbed his wrists tightly. “Am I doing this right?”

‘His hands. You want to hold his hands, not his wrists.’

Iris lowered her hold to match the correction, smiling at him with the faintest of blushes. Which for Iris was probably akin to his and Anabel’s Charmeleon-red ones.

“Ash, we all love you, and I know you love us. We should be happy together, there is no reason not to be.” There was a gentleness to Iris’s bluntness. “Most people have to choose, but you do not have to. You can make us all happy, all four of us.”

“Can I?” He honestly asked.

‘You saved the day last night, don’t doubt yourself.’ Anabel assured him. ‘It is a little sudden I guess….’

“Really? Four straight dates and everything before that and it is sudden?” Iris sounded genuinely surprised.

‘Some people see things less clearly than others. And he does have a few things on his mind with the whole ‘biggest tournament of my life’ and all.’ Anabel stood up from her swing and put her hand over Iris’s and thus atop his own indirectly.

“You do not think you know what to do? Well we don’t either. We want to see where this goes together.” Iris said, and while Iris was always blunt this was different. It was an honesty, a wish, something pure and raw. Iris...Iris really wanted this.

“Can… can I think it over? Like give me a day to sleep on it….” Ash couldn’t answer anything but that. He just... he just…he needed time to digest this.

‘Take as much time as you need, Ash. I… get it. It’s a lot to take in. Do what you need to do, we’ll understand.’

He hoped anyone would understand what would happen next. Because he… he honestly didn’t know what to do or say.