IT'S ALIVE! Yes, I didn't give up on this thing, not by a long shot.

However, I've had to rewrite this chapter a grand total of 6 times. Twice I rewrote it completely, twice again I changed the structure of the chapter and twice more I lost the progress I made because the other computer I'm using to write on has issues.

So, here's the final product, after close to three years (yikes) of me working on it. I hope you'll enjoy it.

The Wheel of Fate is turning. Let us see what this Shift in the Continuum has wrought.

First Revolution: Part 3

Ash and his friends were chatting as they ate at a private booth inside a nearby restaurant. Having a Champion with you had its advantages and they were thankful for the peace and the space that had been cleared to allow their pokemon to be out. The small and medium sized ones were just a couple of feet away and the bigger ones, such as Charizard and Garchomp, had the whole terrace on the balcony for themselves.

"So." Ash said after he satisfied his stomach. "What's wrong with Pikachu, exactly?" he asked Cynthia.

Brock's eyebrows rose. This was news to him. "What do you mean something is wrong?" he asked.

Cynthia glanced at the Pewter native. "I'm surprised you don't know about it, Brock, but then again it's not exactly common knowledge." she said before addressing the entire group. "There is an affliction that sometimes happen to electric type pokemons known as 'electric flu'. It is caused by their body becoming overcharged with electricity and makes them extremely powerful, for a time. Think of it a bit like overclocking an electronic device. Incidentally, this also causes them to be in need for an outlet for all that energy, which often leads them to shock both people and other pokemon around them."

Brock nodded. "Pikachu has had a few cases of that, yes, but it was nothing dramatic." he said. "Well, nothing more than usual, at any rate." He added to himself.

Cynthia nodded back. "It is not something that is life-threatening. But this phenomenon was witnessed with pokemons that usually were very powerful for their evolutionary stage and that didn't want to evolve or had trouble to." she continued before looking right at Ash. "In the first case, the pokemon often ended up evolving despite its wishes in order for their organism to handle the power."

Ash and Pikachu paled at those words and the trainer gulped. "Is-is there anything we can do to stop that?"

To their relief, Cynthia nodded "Thankfully, there exists an item that is created from used Thunderstones that Pikachu can use, and which will help him regulate the flow of electricity for him. It is called a Light Ball."

Five heads, three humans and two pokemons, tilted curiously as one jaw dropped.

"A-a Light Ball?!" Brock exclaimed in disbelief before seeing the questioning looks of Ash, Barry and Dawn, along with Pikachu and Piplup. "It's an extremely expensive item that is said to hold the power of natural lightning. They say that only five of them are made for every hundred Thunderstones or so, though." he explained.

Ash blinked. "Huh. That kind of sounds like the Lightning Treasure." he said, remembering the three orbs he had gone through hell to place in the altar during the Chosen One debacle.

Cynthia nodded, having heard the tale from him. "It might be possible that it was originally a Light Ball that became infused with Zapdos' power. So far, we know that Light Balls can be created both artificially and naturally. In the latter case, the Thunderstone will sometimes simply turn into a Light Ball after use. In the first, a process is used to fuse used Thunderstones together and attempt to recreate the phenomenon, but the success rate is very low. Of course," she added. "natural Light Balls are much better than artificial ones. Pikachu would be able to keep the extra power of the electric flu without the inconveniences, as it would regulate the flow of power inside him better."

For a moment, silence ensued.

"So... we need to give Pikachu one of those, or he'll evolve accidentally?" Dawn summed up.

The Sinnoh Champion nodded. "Most trainers can't afford them, so they try to make their pokemon evolve the fastest way possible. In Pikachu's case, from what I understand, he would end up creating the same components of a Thunderstone inside his electric sacs, thus making him evolve. Pikachu has already been afflicted a few times already, so the next one might be the one we DON'T want to happen." she said as she crossed her arms. "I can probably acquire a Light Ball if I call in a few favors. It will take several days, but it is doable."

Ash immediately shook his head. "I could never ask that of you, Cynthia. We'll find another way, I'm sure."

The two locked eyes for a moment, a silent conversation passing between them, before the blond nodded. "Very well, Ash. If you're certain of it." she relented, both happy because it was noble of him to refuse, and yet sad because he wouldn't let her do this for him.

The group continued to chatter for some time. Then, Ash looked at the clock and stood up.

"I'd better go see Tobias at the pokemon center before it's too late." he said to his friends as he went outside the restaurant.

It was a short walk in the silent and chilly air of the night to the pokemon center, but Ash appreciated it. It cleared his mind from all thoughts about Pikachu accidentally evolving against his will.

When he entered the pokemon center, he was quite surprised to find it completely empty save for the Nurse Joy at the reception. She looked up as she heard him and smiled. She had been kind enough earlier to allow him to use the center's private booth call to avoid the press and fans while speaking to his mother and Professor Oak.

"Good evening Mister Ketchum. What can I help you with?" she said.

"Could you direct me where Tobias is? He told me he would be here." he replied.

She nodded, the Eterna trainer had told her he would expecting Ash later on. "He's in room thirty-eight. Third corridor on your left."

Ash thanked her and climbed the stairs to the upper level, making his way to room thirty-eight before knocking.

The door opened slightly to reveal Tobias' face. "Ash, I've been expecting you." he said as he opened the door wider. "Come in."

The raven-haired trainer nodded and entered, Tobias closing the door behind him. The room was quite small, as expected, with only a bed, a table with two chairs and small fridge for furniture. There was also a tv screen in one of the upper corners.

"Sit down, if you'd like." Tobias said as he went to the fridge. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Ash nodded. "Although I'm not staying long, a glass of water would be apreciated." he answered.

The Eterna native shrugged. "Suit yourself." he replied as he took a beer and filled a plastic glass with water before he sat down in front of Ash. His trademark cape-like coat was resting on the bed and the raven-haired trainer found it a bit disturbing to see his opponent without it.

Tobias took a sip before he started to talk. "So. About Pikachu."

Ash waved a hand. "Cynthia already explained the situation to me. If I don't get Pikachu a Light Ball he could evolve the next time he's afflicted with the electric flu, I know." he said.

The older man blinked. "Cynthia? As in the Sinnoh Champion?" The Pallet native nodded and he chuckled. "And here I thought you had surprised me enough for the day. I guess I was wrong."

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it kind of just happened."

"I'll take your word for it." Tobias replied as the raven-haired trainer took a sip of his glass. "Though I will admit it is a surprise to see you going after women older than you." he added, and Ash spat his drink as his face turned red instantly.

"W-WHAT?!" he sputtered. "I-it's not like that! We're friends, that's all!"

Tobias raised an eyebrow, a teasing grin on his face. "Your reaction suggests otherwise." he said as Ash continued to fumble around his words. "But I did not call you here to discuss your possible love life." he took another sip. "You know your Pikachu's condition. What do you intend to do?" he asked seriously.

Ash's features schooled, though his cheeks were still tinted red, and he looked down at the table. "I don't really know." he shrugged. "Light Balls are hard to find and very expensive, but I'm sure we'll find a way to prevent it from happening. Professor Oak should be able to help, so I'm quite confident it will turn out alright."

Tobias gazed at him for a few seconds. "Do you know how Light Balls are created?" at the raven-haired trainer's nod, he continued. "There is something else that you should know about. People think that natural Light Balls are created randomly when a Thunderstone is used. However, that isn't the case."

Ash frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Tobias leaned back in his chair before answering. "The Thunderstones that become Light Balls are... special. They do not come from the minerals absorbing the ambient static electricity of the earth or the occasional lightning strike. No, those Thunderstones are created by an electric attack coming from a Legendary Pokemon. Yes," he added at seeing Ash's gob smacked look, "it's a bit hard to believe. But when you think about it, it makes sense that only something unusual would produce a Light Ball."

Ash took a few seconds to regain his ability to speak. "But how do you know about this?" he asked.

Tobias stood up and went to his traveling bag to search inside it. "I know," he said as he came back to the table, "because my Raikou accidentally created a Thunderstone and it turned into THIS."

In Tobias' hand was a yellow orb that, Ash knew without doubt, was a Light Ball.

For several seconds, the raven-haired trainer looked between the item and Tobias before it clicked in his mind and he raised a hand in protest. "No. I cannot accept this."

The older man chuckled. "I told you, Ash. It was my Raikou that created it. If I wanted to, I could make it create dozens of Thunderstones and then turn them into Light Balls. This," he tapped the yellow orb, "is of no value to me. Consider it a reward from me in advance for winning the conference and defeating me." he said as he slid the Light Ball in front of a flabbergasted Ash.

The young man looked apprehensively at the rare item, as if it would bite him. "I feel bad about this." he muttered.

"Don't be." Tobias told him. "I don't need it and neither do my pokemon. And, I can assure you, money isn't a problem for me."

Ash took the Light Ball gingerly, still looking at it with a frown. "That doesn't exactly make it easier to accept." he grumbled.

The Eterna native sighed slightly. "I won't force you to take it, Ash. If you don't want it, it's your choice." then, his eyes widened slightly as he raised a finger. "Tell you what: how about I entrust it to you for the time being until you get one on your own? You can give it back to me the next time we battle."

Ash blinked once before his face lit up with a huge smile. "Now THAT, I can accept." he said, earning a raised eyebrow from his fellow trainer at the complete one-eighty change in attitude as he pocketed the Light Ball and rose to his feet. "I'll make sure to give it back in one piece."

"You do that." Tobias chuckled as he opened the door to the young trainer.

As he went out, one thought passed in Ash's mind.

"Tobias." he said, grabbing the man's attention as he was about to close the door. "Can I ask you a question?"

Tobias looked at him for a couple of seconds before nodding.

"How did you get your pokemon?" the raven-haired trainer asked. "You would think that someone with a full team of legendaries would have at least grabbed the attention of the medias, if not the League."

The man sighed. "I knew you would ask that." he said before looking in the hallway. Seeing nobody beside them, he gestured Ash to come closer. "But I won't talk about it here. I'll meet you at Vermilion Harbor, a month from now. Then I'll tell you."

Ash frowned again but nodded before he left the pokemon center. Tobias was certainly nothing if not mysterious. With a gaze at the star-lit sky, the young man pulled the Light Ball out of his pocket and stared at it. With the low amount of light around, he could see the sparks dancing inside the sphere.

"Just like the Lightning Treasure, indeed." He hummed internally

Putting the item back into his jacket's pocket, Ash made his way back to the restaurant where his friends were.

"Ash! That was quick." Dawn said as she saw him.

He shrugged. "There wasn't much to say. Although it was quite a... surprising and interesting conversation."

"What do you mean?" Brock frowned. Cynthia simply cocked an eyebrow and crossed her legs and her arms under her chest, gazing at him with a curious look.

Ash looked around and, satisfied from seeing no one watching them, took out the Light Ball and laid it on the table.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence as all the trainers gazed at the rare object with shocked expressions.

"Is that really...?" Dawn pointed at it.

Ash nodded. "I didn't expect it either."

Barry just shook his head, still staring at the Light Ball. "You've got to be kidding me."

Slowly, almost reverently, Cynthia picked it in one hand and brought it close to her face. Carefully, she examined it, turning it around to inspect the item for anything that might stand out of place. "This is probably one of the most potent Light Balls I've ever seen." she breathed out. "There doesn't seem to be a single impurity in it. It's as if I'm holding a jewel made of crystallized electricity." her eyes turned to Ash. "Tobias gave this to you?"

He nodded again. "Although I said I didn't want it. But he said, to quote his words, 'I don't need it, and neither do my pokemon'. So, I told him I would find one by myself and give this one back to him the next time we battle."

"That's just like you, Ash." Brock commented with a chuckle. "But would I be wrong in assuming there is more to this?"

The raven-haired trainer nodded. "Yes, but not here. Tobias trusted me with that secret and I won't speak of it here, where walls might have ears."

"Then let me pay the bill and we'll be on our way." Cynthia said as she stood up. "I, for one, am quite curious about what truly happened. But first." she beckoned Pikachu closer and held the Light Ball out to him. "Here you go. Take it."

Cautiously, Pikachu took the item from Cynthia with his paws, holding it in front of him for a moment. Then, before anyone could do anything, he put it in his mouth and swallowed it.

"...Was Pikachu supposed to that?" Dawn asked uncertainly.

Cynthia and Brock nodded. "Some items that pokemon use in battle must be stored inside their body to work properly." The champion explained, much to Ash and Barry's relief, who were about to freak out. "That's the case with Life Orbs, for example. Although I dislike the mere concept of that particular item, its usefulness makes it one of the very sought items by trainers who don't care much for their pokemon."

Ash knelt in front of his partner. "Feeling alright, buddy?"

"Pika!" The electric mouse cheered in response before quickly jumping upon his trainer's shoulder and nuzzling against his cheek.

"Better than before, even? That Light Ball must really be something special." he chuckled, scratching his pokemon behind his ears.

In short order, they recalled their pokemon as Cynthia paid the bill and they left the restaurant for the hotel all of them beside the Champion were sleeping at. Once they were in the room Ash shared with Dawn and Brock, the raven-haired trainer told them the secret behind the natural creation of Light Balls, which shocked everyone.

"Why didn't we think of it sooner?" Cynthia asked rhetorically, a hand on her chin. "It's obvious, in hindsight, that there must be something more than a simple energy reaction between the stone and the pokemon."

"There are a lot of things we still don't know about pokemon, especially legendaries." Brock commented. "This is but one of them."

"I understand why you wanted to keep this private, Ash." Dawn said with a worried frown. "If this became common knowledge, people would try to hunt and capture legendary pokemon to create more of those special stones for their own benefit."

Ash nodded. He himself had a lot of experience with poachers and hunters who would make legendary pokemon their targets. The world didn't need more reasons for those kinds of people to appear.

"I will have to report this to the League." Cynthia declared and raised a hand to stall any protests. "This kind of information is something that needs to be controlled tightly. It will also allow us to watch for more suspicious activities regarding smuggling. If we even suspect that there is use of a captured legendary pokemon involved, we'll be able to respond much faster than we do as it is."

"I trust you with this, Cynthia. I think you know better than I do what should be done with this information." Ash said before anyone else could speak. "If you say this is the right course of action, then you'll have no objection from me."

The blonde-haired woman smiled at him. "Thank you, Ash."

There was a moment of silence before Barry groaned as he scratched the back of his head. "All of this stuff is way too complicated for me. Whatever, I'm trusting you guys. So, I'm sure I don't have to worry."

"It's your call, Ash. If you're fine with this, then I am as well." Brock said, with Dawn nodding in agreement.

Ash smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Alright! Enough about this!" Barry exclaimed before pointing at the raven-haired trainer. "Ash! The finals are in two days! You've gotta prepare yourself! If you lose after winning against Tobias, I'm going to sue you!"

Everyone laughed at that, the serious atmosphere that seemed to have settled disappearing in an instant.

"Don't worry, I know that my pokemon won't let me down. Just as I won't let you and them down either." Ash replied as held a clenched a fist in front of him. "I promised my Sinnoh team that we would win together, and I intend to keep that promise."

Barry blinked. "Wait, you're not gonna use that powerhouse team you had today?"

Ash shook his head. "It would be disrespectful to my Sinnoh pokemon if I did. Besides," he grinned. "I should give my opponent a chance, don't you think?"

"True, true." The blonde young man nodded, arms crossed, and eyes closed. "Can't have things being too easy. And I'm sure that Charizard of yours would make the guy surrender on the spot if you sent it out."

That prompted another laugh from everyone in the room.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! After all those fierce fights we have witnessed in the past few weeks, it is time that the Lily of the Valley Conference hits its climax! In but a few minutes we will call upon the two trainers who have won their way to the finals into the stadium!"

Ash tuned out the words of the announcer. His mind was focused on his pokemon, his team, standing in front of him.

Infernape, Buizel, Torterra, Gabite, Gliscor, Staraptor and Pikachu. Although Pikachu wouldn't be participating in this final round as Ash didn't want to risk having him battle when his partner still hadn't gotten a handle on his power after taking the Light Ball.

Even after two days of adjusting, Pikachu would still shock him by accident if he wasn't careful. And those weren't the shocks that Ash was used to, having become used to his partner sometimes shocking him lightly when sleeping. No, those were more like a Thundershock attack.

Still, his team of usually cheerful and laid-back friends were unusually quiet and serious. But, then again, they knew what was at stake here. Ash's older pokemon had removed the biggest obstacle and now it was up to his Sinnoh companions to take up the torch and prove they had what it takes to take their trainer to the summit.

"This is it guys." He began, looking each of them in the eyes. "This is the last stretch. And I know we're all ready for this. We've trained as much as we could the last couple of days and I have no doubt that we can win this."

The Pallet Town trainer took a deep breath. "So let's give it our all. And, whatever happens," he put an arm forward, hand open and palm down. "No regrets. Let's go."

One by one, each of his pokemon put one of their appendages on his hand, giving quiet grunts of approval.

"Now, please welcome our finalists!

On the Green Side, a veteran trainer who has been attempting to win the Sinnoh League for the past two years! Alex Crowe of Jubilife City!

On the Red Side, the trainer who has triumphed against all odds in his last match! The crowd favorite who has been a trainer for almost six years now! Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

As both Ash, sans Pikachu, who had gone to join his friends in the public stands, and Alex entered the battlefield, the crowd roared.

Unbeknownst to Ash, Pikachu didn't go to join Brock, Barry and Dawn but headed straight for the VIP lounge, causing a couple of curious from the three, along with Piplup and other spectators. In a few jumps, Pikachu quickly climbed into the booth, much to Cynthia's and Goodshow's surprise before jumping on the lap of the blond Champion.

Cynthia blinked a couple times before she chuckled softly. "Hello there, Pikachu." She greeted the electric mouse and she started to pet his head, much to his delight.

Goodshow's eyes went back and forth between Ash's starter and the Sinnoh Champion for several moments before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Now, let's see what battlefield we shall have today!" The announcer spoke, bringing everyone's attention back to the battlefield. The arena opened, and a rocky terrain rose up. "And it's Rock! What kind of battle will we witness today, folks? I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see it!"

Ash breathed deeply as he gazed at his opponent. Alex, a man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties with neck length spiky brown hair and green eyes, wearing an attire composed of a red blazer with a deep blue undershirt coupled with black pants and shoes, returned the stare without flinching. The raven-haired trainer smirked, it was good to see that there would be no hesitation on either side today.

Back in Pallet Town and across the regions, Ash's mother, grandfather figure, pokemon, friends, rivals and many more who knew the young man on screen settled down, ready to watch the oncoming fight.

"The battle between contestant Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and contestant Alex Crowe of Jubilife City will now take place." The referee said, looking between the two trainers. "You may use six pokemon. Substitutions are allowed freely. Once one side has only three pokemon left, there will be a time-out for a battlefield change. Any questions?" Hearing none, he raised his flags. "Trainers, reveal your pokemon!"

"Buizel, I choose you!" "Vespiquen, let's go!"

Both pokemons materialized on the field, Buizel with paws crossed as always and Vespiquen with a loud buzz. Instantly, Ash felt the Beehive Pokemon's pressure ability settle on the field.

"It has been determined that Alex has the first move! Begin!"

"Power Gem!" Alex called. Vespiquen's crown jewel glowed for a second before a bright red beam shot out at Buizel.

"Dodge it with Aqua Jet!" Ash countered and Buizel was quick to surround itself with water before dashing to the side, successfully evading the oncoming attack. "Now use Swift while circling her!"

From Buizel's water coated form, a dozen stars shot at Vespiquen as it continued to fly around the Beehive Pokemon.

"Defend Order!" Alex reacted and Vespiquen let out a loud buzz before a myriad of mini-Combees flew from her honeycomb-like cells to form a shield around her, preventing the stars from reaching their target. "Follow up with Attack Order!" Vespiquen's eyes lit up and changed the tone of her buzzing. In response, the mini-Combies stopped swircling around her and adopted a circle formation around her body before firing tiny beams of multicolored light at Buizel.

"Block it with Water Pulse!" Ash shouted. Buizel formed a sphere of water in its hands before throwing it at the beams. The two attacks collided, but Ash knew that the Attack Order would break through in few seconds. "Quick! Close in with Agility and use Ice Punch!"

With a shout, Buizel blurred across the field just as the Water Pulse broke apart, reappearing behind Vespiquen before jumping into the air with one its paw drawn back and glowing a pale blue.

"Behind you!" Alex tried to warn his pokemon but it was too late and the Ice Punch impacted the Beehive Pokemon, sending it crashing to the ground. "Come on! Get up and use Air Slash!"

Vespiquen was quick to get back in the air and cross her arms, which glowed before she swiped them in front of her, releasing the energy in the form of several saw-like bladed discs aimed at Buizel.

"Sonic Boom, back to back!" Ash called out and Buizel spun around, sending crescent shaped shock waves at the incoming attacks. But with Pressure in effect, he wasn't fast enough and two of the Air Slashes hit him, making him grunt as he endured the attack.

"Alright! Now, Infestation!" Alex capitalized on the situation and Vespiquen sent her mini-Combees once more to attack Buizel, making the Sea Weasel Pokemon cry out in pain.

"Buizel!" Ash called urgently. "Use Aqua Jet and spin to get them off you!" Buizel did just that, coating himself with water once more before spinning, sending his attackers away. "Now, keep that momentum and use Spinning Water Pulse!"

With a shout, Buizel created another sphere of water in his paws before sending it straight at Vespiquen with the Aqua Jet coating it.

"Attack Order!" Ash's opponent countered and the mini-Combees assumed their circle formation again before firing their beams. But, much to his and the crowd's surprise, they bounced off the spinning water and the attack connected with Vespiquen, sending her reeling.

"Finish it! Water Gun!" Ash shouted and Buizel fire a blast of water at the Beehive pokemon, sending it crashing into one of the battlefield's bigger rock.

When the dust cleared, Vespiquen was on the ground, knocked out.

"Vespiquen is unable to battle! This round goes to Buizel!"

The crowd roared.

"What an explosive start, ladies and gentlemen! What a spectacular first round for these finals! Ash takes the lead with his trademark brilliant use of his pokemon's moves! But this is just beginning!"

"You did a great job, Buizel! Take a rest." Ash praised his pokemon as he recalled it, just as Alex did his Vespiqueen.

"Trainers, send out your next pokemon."

"Staraptor, I choose you!" Ash threw his pokeball and the Predator Pokemon materialized on the field with sharp cry.

"Come on out, Magnezone!" Alex called out his next pokemon, and the Magnet Area Pokemon appeared in a series of electronic sounds.

Ash frowned. That wouldn't be an easy match. Still, he had faith in Staraptor and Staraptor had faith in him. There was no doubt in his mind that they could do this.

"Staraptor Versus Magnezone. Begin!"

"Thunderbolt!" Alex wasted no time in calling the first attack and Magnezone fired a bolt of electricity at Ash's pokemon.

"Dodge it!" The raven-haired trainer shouted and Staraptor evaded the super-effective attack by executing a barrel-roll. "Use Wing Attack!"

With a cry, Staraptor dived at Magnezone, his wings glowing white.

"Meet it with Gyro Ball!" Alex countered.

The Magnet Area Pokemon began spinning at high speed as Staraptor neared it. The moment they clashed, the Predator Pokemon was batted away by the attack with a cry of pain.

"Staraptor!" Ash called out in worry.

"Now use Thunder Wave!" the Jubilife trainer followed up.

The Pallet Town native could only watch as the rings of electricity slammed into his pokemon, sending it crashing to the ground. As the dust cleared, he was Staraptor struggling to get up, arcs of electricity coursing across his form. "Come on, Staraptor! You can do it!" He cheered his pokemon.

With a cry of effort, Staraptor took to the air once more, much to his relief.

Still, this wasn't good. With the paralysis, it was only a matter of time before Staraptor got it with a Thunderbolt. And getting some hits at close range were going to be hard with that Gyro Ball. Nevertheless, he had to try!

"Alright, Staraptor! Let's take advantage of that Thunder Wave! Use Facade!" He shouted.

Staraptor became covered in an orange aura and shot at his opponent once more.

"Use Gyro Ball again!"

Magnezone started to spin once more, and that's when the epiphany hit Ash.

"Staraptor! Get above Magnezone!" Not questioning his trainer for even an instant, Staraptor canceled Facade and flied up right above the still spinning Magnezone. "Now dive down and spin while using Brave Bird!"

With a cry, the Predator Pokemon became shrouded in blue flames before diving straight at his target as he began to spin. The drill-like Brave Bird hit the Gyro Ball and, for a moment, it looked like the two attacks would even out. Then, Magnezone's rotation faltered and it was pushed into the ground by Staraptor as the attack detonated.

Out of the smoke emerged a battered Staraptor, the backlash from Brave Bird and his previous injuries showing. A few seconds after him, Magnezone slowly floated out of the crater their clash had created.

"Alright, Magnezone! Finish that bird with Flash Cannon!" Alex shouted.

"Double Team!" Ash called.

Magnezone started to charge its attack just as Staraptor divided itself into multiple copies and it looked around confusedly, not knowing which one to target.

"Find the real one with Lock On!" Magnezone's antenna started moving around as it emitted bips and boops before its eyes locked onto the real Staraptor. "Zap Cannon!"

Magnezone's red pupil lit up for a moment before it released a massive beam of electricity straight at Staraptor.

"Staraptor! Use Final Gambit!" Ash shouted desperately.

With a cry, Staraptor veered around the attack, not caring as it did a u turn and continued to head for him. His form lit up with pale blue energy before a ghostly double of the same color shot out from him at Magnezone just as the Zap Cannon hit him. A split second later, Final Gambit connected with its target and both pokemons were engulfed in an explosion.

When, smoke cleared, both were out cold.

"Staraptor and Magnezone are unable to battle! This round is a draw!"

"And here it is again! Ash shows us once more that even an overwhelming type advantage can be overcome! To face an electric/steel type with a Flying type pokemon and making it a draw... That is nothing short of amazing!"

"You did amazing out there, Staraptor. I'm proud of you." Ash praised his fallen pokemon as he recalled it.

"Sorry, Magnezone. We'll do better next time." Alex said as he recalled his own.

"Trainers, reveal your next pokemon!"

Both locked their gaze onto their opponent, one hand clutching their next pokeball.

"Torterra, I choose you!" "Lopunny, I'm counting on you!"

The Continent Pokemon materialized with a roar, his eyes locking onto the form of the Normal type.

"Torterra Versus Lopunny! Begin!"

"Alright, Torterra! Let's start this up with Energy Ball!" Ash called and Torterra was quick to fire a sphere of grass energy at Lopunny.

"Mirror Coat!" Alex countered.

Lopunny's form shimmered as it became coated with a glowing reflective sheen and she crossed her arms as the Energy Ball smashed into her. A moment, later, the attack was flung back at Torterra with twice the speed and power.

"Crap! Use Protect!" Ash shouted, knowing that because of his pokemon's dual type, the Energy Ball could cause serious damage.

The green shield shimmered in front of Torterra, the attack exploding harmlessly against it.

"Close in and use Ice Punch!"

Lopunny dashed out from the smokescreen, one of her paw glowing pale blue and punched Torterra in the face, making him cry out in pain from the quadruple effective attack.

"Damn! Use Rock Climb!" Ash called. Torterra righted himself and slammed his front paws onto the ground. With a rumble, the rocks under the Rabbit pokemon rose high before Torterra proceeded to run up the side of the protuberance, his claws glowing and aimed at Lopunny.

"Use it to your advantage! Jump Kick!"

The Rabbit Pokemon did just that, taking advantage of the high ground it provided her and jumped to meet Torterra, spinning into a roundhouse kick. Gravity worked in her favor, adding more speed and weight to her attack and she sent the Continent Pokemon crashing back down.

"This isn't working." Ash bit his lip as he took his friend's pokeball. "Return, Torterra!" he recalled his pokemon. "You'll get your chance again, my friend. Rest, for now."

"A wise move on Ash's part here. What is he going to do against Lopunny's assault?"

"Buizel, she's all yours!"

"Bui-bui Bui!" The Sea Weasel materialized, clearly ready for more. Locking eyes with Lopunny, he smirked as she made 'come at me' motion, accepting the challenge for what it was.

"Quick Attack!" "Aqua Jet!"

Buizel coated himself in water as Lopunny's form gained a white glow and the two charged at each other. Again, and again, the two clashed, leaving trails of water and white energy as they zoomed around the battlefield at high speeds.

"And it looks like the two are evenly matched! Which will be the first to falter?"

"Lopunny, Thunder Punch!" "Buizel, Ice Punch!"

The Normal type's paw sparked with electricity as the Sea Weasel's glowed a pale blue and, with a cry of their names, the two collided once more. This time, however, Lopunny proved to be stronger and her attack overpowered her opponent's, sending it flying away crying out in pain.

"Buizel!" Ash shouted. "Come one, buddy! We're not done yet!" he cheered his pokemon on. With a grunt, Buizel stood up, glaring at Lopunny. "Alright! Use Water Pulse!"

The sphere of water gathered in Buizel's paws and he slammed it into the ground, creating a wave that went straight for Lopunny.

"Use Mirror Coat!" Alex countered and Lopunny's form shimmered again as she crossed her arms.

"Now! Ice Aqua Jet and use the Water Pulse to propel yourself at her!"

"What?!" Alex exclaimed.

Buizel shot out with Aqua Jet once more, but this time, one could clearly see the glow of Ice Punch inside the water shortly before the water surrounding Buizel turned to Ice. The Sea Weasel Pokemon dived into the wave of his Water Pulse, which made his speed increase again thanks to his Swift Swim ability, before slamming into Lopunny in a tremendous impact that sent the Rabbit Pokemon crashing into the arena's wall.

"Lopunny, no!" the green-eyed trainer shouted in worry. "Damn it! I knew Ash had some pretty unorthodox strategies, but this is something else!"

From the dust cloud, Lopunny emerged walking, clearly bruised by the twice enhanced move, dusting herself before she narrowed her eyes at Buizel. The water type simply grinned at her as he crossed his arms.

"Lopunny, can you still go on?" Alex asked his pokemon, who simply nodded, her gaze never leaving her opponent. "Alright, then! Use Work Up!"

Lopunny settled into a stance reminiscing of a Muay Thai user's and started bouncing on her feet. Her body glowed red as the move granted her additional power.

"We mustn't let her power up too much, Buizel! Use Water Pulse!" Ash quickly called.

The Water type quickly formed another sphere of water between his paws before he sent it straight at Lopunny.

"Focus Blast!"

Lopunny also brought her paws together and created a sphere of yellow fighting energy that was easily twice the Water Pulse's size before she threw it. The Focus Blast blasted the water type attack apart before it collided with Buizel before he could do anything but cross his arms, resulting in an explosion.

"And Focus Blast hits! Is this end for Buizel?!"

As the smoke, cleared, it revealed Buizel, still standing but clearly in bad shape, with burn marks all over his body.

"Buizel! Are you okay?!" Ash shouted in worry. The Sea Weseal uncrossed his arms to give him a shaky thumb's up before turning back to his opponent, who was already preparing another Focus Blast. "This is it, buddy. Let's give it everything we've got!"

"Go, Lopunny! Finish this!" Alex ordered and Lopunny threw her attack.

"Water Gun, full power!" Ash countered and Buizel shot a torrent of water at the oncoming attack.

For a moment, the water held the sphere of energy at bay, but Buizel faltered and it started to push back.

"Come on, Buizel! I know you can do it!"

Buizel's eyes narrowed in determination and he cried out, redoubling the amount of power of his Water Gun. Then, his form glowed white, illuminating the stadium.

"What?! Could this be-!"

Buizel's shape started to change, becoming bigger and a moment later, the light faded to reveal...

"Floatzel!" The newly evolved pokemon barked before intensifying his attack again, sending the Focus Blast off course and into the sky.

"Amazing, you evolved! And was that Hydro Pump?!" Ash cheered.

"Flo!" The Sea Weasel barked affirmatively.

"I can't believe my eyes, folks! Ash's Buizel evolved and managed to overpower Lopunny's Focus Blast! Will that be enough for the Pallet Town Trainer to turn the tables on Alex?"

"Let's find out!" Ash grinned. "Sonic Boom!"

In response, Floatzel mimicked his trainer's grin as his arm flippers glowed and he swung them, sending out four blasts of crescent shaped energy at Lopunny.

"That's not Sonic Boom! That's Razor Wind!" Alex spluttered. "Dodge it, Lopunny!" The Rabbit Pokemon weaved nimbly around the attacks, suffering naught but a glancing hit from the last one, before she dashed for Floatzel. "Jump Kick!"

Lopunny spun into a roundhouse kick as she jumped at her opponent, but Ash was ready.

"Let's try something new, buddy! Aqua Tail!"

Floatzel jumped to meet Lopunny and his tails became engulfed in a spiral of water before he spun. The two attacks clashed, none seeming to be able to prevail over the other, but Floatzel used his momentum to use Lopunny's leg as a platform and jumped again. Then, he spun downward and slammed his tails onto the Rabbit Pokemon's head, sending her crashing to the ground.

Lopunny slowly got up to her knees as Floatzel landed. The two locked eyes for a moment, before the normal-type nodded in respect and slumped down, unconscious, and Floatzel crossed his arms with a triumphant expression on his face...

"Lopunny is unable to battle! This round goes to-"

…before collapsing himself, knocked out.

"Flo- errrr... Both pokemons are unable to battle! This round is a draw!"

Ash shook his head ruefully as the crowd laughed and he recalled Floatzel. "That's just like you." he muttered under his breath as he took out his next pokeball.

"Now that Alex has lost three pokemon, the battlefield will change!" The rocky terrain was pulled down, and the same grassy terrain from Ash's match with Tobias appeared.

"Trainers, reveal your next pokemon!"

"Gabite, I choose you!" "Toxicroak, come on out!"

The Dragon-Ground type and Poison-Fighting type pokemon materialized on the field and gazed at one another, each trying to find a weakness on the other's part.

"Gabite Versus Toxicroak! Begin!"

"Sandstorm!" Ash called.

Gabite roared and twister of sand surrounded his body for a moment before expending to the whole battlefield.

"Darn." Alex cursed. "We have to make him come to us, Toxicroak! Use Taunt!"

The Toxic Mouth pokemon croaked something loudly and an angry roar from Gabite answered the Taunt before the medium sized dragon rushed at the object of his anger, heedless of his trainer's shouts, with claws glowing green and poised to strike.

"Dodge and use Poison Jab!" The brown haired Jubilife trainer commanded and Toxicroak nimbly evaded Gabite's Dual Chop before retaliating, the claws on the back of his hand glowing a sick purple as he jabbed his opponent, sending the dragon/ground type skidding back.

"If you want full offense, then that's what you'll get!" Ash shouted. "Gabite, use Dragon Rage!"

The Cave pokemon roared again before firing a blast of blue energy at Toxicroak.

"Stop it with Mud Bomb!"

Toxicroak opened his mouth and fired an orb of brown mud at the incoming attack. The moment they met, Ash called his next move

"Now! Dash through and use Aerial Ace!"

Gabite's body glowed white and he lundged forward as the Dragon Rage and Mud Bomb exploded, making use of the smokescreen to close in on Toxicroak unnoticed. But before he could connect, Toxicroak's eyes widened and he jumped aside, dodging Gabite. Not to be deterred, the Dragon-Ground type pokemon twisted and kicked off, slamming into his opponent and making Toxicroak cry out in pain at the super-effective attack.

Ash blinked, confused as to how Toxicroak had dodged the first attack before he remembered that one of the Toxic Mouth pokemon's abilities was Anticipation, which allowed it to have a minor version of Detect when it came to super-effective moves against it.

"But Aerial Ace IS quite famous for the fact that it's near impossible to dodge, so it's no surprise that, while the initial assault failed, the next one connected." He mused internally

"Come on, Toxicroak! Use Revenge!" Alex shouted.

With a shout, the Poison-Fighting type's body became engulfed in an orange aura before it before it burst outward, hitting Gabite and sending him flying in the opposite direction of Toxicroak.

"Dragon Pulse!"

Righting himself in the air, Gabite fired a huge burst of dragon shaped energy at the still airborne poison type, who could do nothing but brace itself as the attack impacted him and exploded.

Both pokemon landed on either side of the battlefield, panting slightly but ready for the next command from their trainers. At that moment, the sandstorm subsided.

"What a fast-paced battle, folks! Gabite and Toxicroak are sure giving their all to win!"

"Cross Chop, Toxicroak!"

"Meet it with Dual Chop, Gabite!"

As Toxicroak charged, arms crossed and glowing white, Gabite did the same, claws enveloped in green energy and they clashed, both struggling to overpower the other.

"Get back and use Sand Tomb!" Ash called.

With a shout, Gabite disengaged his opponent and waved his arm forward. Sand burst in a tornado under Toxicroak, making him cry out from the super effective attack.

"Again!"

"No you don't! Sucker Punch!" Alex shouted.

Toxicroak seemed to teleport in front of Gabite and punched him with a fist encased with dark energy, sending the dragon type reeling.

"Finish this! Poison Jabs!"

Both of the Poison Mouth pokemon's stingers glowed purple before he proceeded to jab repeatedly at Gabite, making him cry out in pain.

"You must push him back, buddy!" Ash cheered his pokemon on. "Use Sand Twister!"

With a roar, the Cave pokemon spun rapidly and a tornado of sand exploded around him, forcing Toxicroak to back away. When it stopped, it was to reveal a heavily panting Gabite, his purple glowing body signaling Ash that his friend had been poisoned.

The raven-haired trainer wanted to recall him, but he was sure that Toxicroak knew Pursuit. It was a common tactic with hit and run Poison types such as the Toxic Mouth pokemon to poison their opponent and wait for the trainer to recall their poisoned pokemon only to use Pursuit. And judging by Gabite's state, he was certain that it would be the end of him.

Which meant that he had only one option left to prevent this from become a battle of attrition. The question was: had Alex taught his Toxicroak Protect?

"We'll know soon enough!"

"This is it, Gabite! Let's give it everything we've got!" He called, and his friend answered with a roar of agreement. "Draco Meteor!"

Gabite charged energy inside his maw before shooting it toward the sky. The sphere soared high, before it exploded at its apex into multiple smaller spheres that started to rain down on the battlefield.

"And here it is! The Draco Meteor that makes Ash's Gabite such a threat! And to think it learned it while it was still a Gible!"

Alex looked at the meteor rain for a second, before smiled. "Too bad, Ash! Toxicroak, use Protect!"

The Poison-Fighting type pointed his arms upwards and the green shield materialized above it, letting the meteors splash harmlessly on it.

"Now, Gabite!"

From the ground under Toxicroak, the Cave pokemon burst out, hitting the Poison Mouth Pokemon without being blocked by the shield and sent his opponent upward.

"A diversion?!" Alex shouted disbelievingly. Only Ash would have the idea of using such a powerful move as Draco Meteor as a distraction.

"And we're not done yet! Dragon Pulse! FULL POWER!" Ash ordered.

With a mighty roar, Gabite fired a burst of dragon shaped energy noticeably larger than the last one straight at the airborne Toxicroak. The explosion that ensued forced both trainers to shield their face and close their eyes.

When the dust cleared, it was to reveal a knocked out Toxicroak and an exhausted, but triumphant, Gabite.

"Toxicroak is unable to battle! This round goes to Gabite!"

The Dragon type roared victoriously as the crowd and Ash cheered.

"Awesome! You did a marvelous job, Gabite! Take a good rest!" the raven-haired trainer praised as he recalled his pokemon, knowing that it was best for Gabite to save his energy.

"You did great, Toxicroak. Thank you." Alex solemnly recalled his fallen pokemon.

"Trainers, reveal your next pokemon!"

"Torterra, I choose you!"

"You're up, Mamoswine!"

Both pokemon materialized on the field with a heavy thump and patiently gazed at their adversary. For a moment, all was silent. Then,

"Sandstorm!" "Hail!"

At once, sand and snow raged on either side of the battlefield.

"You won't take control of the weather again, Ash! Blizzard!" Alex shouted.

Mamoswine roared and the snowstorm intensified, overpowering Torterra's sandstorm and hitting him. The Continent Pokemon cried out as he couldn't sustain his move anymore and hail started to fall.

"Guess that was too much to hope for." Ash muttered. "No matter! Let's go, Torterra! Energy Ball!"

The Grass-Ground type was quick to fire a green ball of nature energy at the Twin Tusks pokemon.

"Ancient Power." Rocks appeared around Mamoswine and intercepted the energy ball halfway. "Now Icicle Crash!"

With a roar, the Ice-Ground type opened her mouth to let out a chilly wind. In no time, the wind condensed into icicles that started to rain upon Torterra.

"Crap! Torterra, Withdraw!" Ash shouted.

Torterra retreated into his shell as the first icicle hit and endured the onslaught for a long moment before coming out again, wincing in pain at the twice super-effective attack. But Ash knew his friend had lots of stamina.

"Let's get up close then! Rock Climb!"

Torterra slammed one of his paws into the ground and it rose bellow Mamoswine before the Grass-Ground type rapidly climbed to collide with his opponent. However, much to everyone's surprise, Mamoswine only grunted but did not move from her position.

"Bad move, Ash. Use Ice Fang!"

Mamoswine opened her mouth, fangs of ice appearing on it before she bit hard on Torterra's neck, making the Continent pokemon roar in pain.

Ash, recognizing the dire situation he was in, made a snap decision. "Earthquake!"

Gritting his teeth, Torterra slammed his front paws on the ground and the platform shook before it collapsed. In surprise, Mamoswine relinquished her grasp on Torterra and Ash wasted no time capitalizing on that.

"Now! Wood Hammer!"

The tree on Torterra's shell glowed green and, from one of its branches, green energy extended into the form of a log as the Continent Pokemon spun and slammed it onto Mamoswine, sending her crashing down. A couple of seconds later, Torterra touched down, looking worse for wear and Ash couldn't help but curse under his breath.

Since his first evolution, Torterra had lost much of the speed that had been his strong point as a Turtwig. People didn't exactly expect a Turtwig to move as if they had quick attack and with such maneuverability. As a Grotle -and later a Torterra- though, his body had become too bulky, too cumbersome for these types of movement.

However, let it be said that Ash was nothing but adaptable to any situation.

"Alright buddy, this obviously not going so well for us so we're going to need to switch things up." The raven-haired trained told his friend, as he watched Mamoswine stand up. "Let's try something new! Grass Knot!"

Torterra's eyes glowed green and energy vines suddenly burst from the ground under Mamoswine, tying around the ankles of her four legs. Before she could do anything, the vines twisted and tripped her down onto her side.

"Now keep her there and use Energy Ball!"

Eyes still glowing and narrowed in focus, Torterra opened his mouth and shot a sphere of grass energy at Mamoswine.

"As if! Use Stone Edge to counter and get rid of those vines!" Alex shouted.

With a roar, Mamoswine slammed left paw on the ground and blue glowing rocks errupted from the ground in a circle around her, shredding the vines and blocking the energy ball from connecting.

"Follow up with Blizzard!"

The Twin Tusk pokemon took a deep breath before releasing it as a hurricane of freezing wind, snow and ice at Torterra. The Continent pokemon could only widen his eyes before the Blizzard enveloped him completely.

"Torterra!" Ash cried out as he held an arm in front of his face to shield himself.

Several seconds later, the wind receded to reveal a half frozen Torterra slumped on the ground with swirls for eyes.

"Torterra is unable to battle! This round goes to Mamoswine!" The referee announced with a wave of his flag.

"And that's it! It looked for a moment as if Torterra had managed to turn the tables on his opponent but Mamoswine was simply unyielding! Quite an end to this battle of endurance, folks!" the commentator declared.

"You did your best, buddy. Get some rest." Ash said softly as he recalled his fallen pokemon. At the same time, he was considering his options. Although Gabite wasn't knocked out, he knew that the poison would knock the Dragon type quickly, especially with the hail that was still going on. Only Infernape and Gliscor were still at full strength.

Alex, on the other hand, still had Mamoswine, who looked ready to go another round, as well as one other pokemon. Pretty even odds but the Pallet Town trainer knew better than to underestimate his opponent. Sending Gliscor against Mamoswine would be a gamble at this point but Infernape was Ash's ace in this fight and risking him against Mamoswine when he didn't know Alex's last pokemon was, perhaps, even more of a gamble.

"Decisions, decisions..."

"Trainer, reveal your next pokemon."

Trusting his instincts honed by countless battles, Ash snatched a pokeball from his belt and threw it onto the field. In a burst of light, Infernape appeared on the field with a battle cry, locking eyes with Mamoswine.

"And Ash decided to send out Infernape. We've all seen what kind of power this one is capable to display before in the quarter finals against contestant Paul's Electivire. How will he fare against Mamoswine?"

"Let's find out." Alex said, "Earthquake!"

Mamoswine reared beofre slamming her front paws on the ground, creating shockwaves across the field.

"Jump and use Flamethrower!" Ash ordered and Infernape wasted no time, his powerful legs propelling him high in the air out of danger before he unleashed a torrent of flames down on Mamoswine.

"Stone Edge!" Alex shot back and, with one more slam of the Twin Tusk pokemon's front paws, a row of blue glowing rocks erupted from the field in front of her to shield against the flames.

"Break through with Flame Wheel!"

With a cry, Infernape started to spin as he fell, his form becoming cloaking in flame and gravity adding to his rotation speed before he slammed into the wall of already heated stone and, with a cracking sound, the Stone Edge broke apart.

"Now follow up with Mach Punch!" Ash pressed his offensive.

Coming to a stop right in front of Mamoswine, Infernape cocked a fist back, focusing his power into his arm and making it glow light blue, before giving the Twin Tusks pokemon a high-speed haymaker into the left side of her face.

Stumbling from the impact of the super-effective move, Mamoswine shook her head before narrowing her eyes at the Flame pokemon, who responded with a smirk.

At that moment, the hail stopped.

"Let's show that monkey that it's going take more than just a few punches to take us down, girl!" Alex responded to the wordless challenge. "Ancient Power!"

Once again, Mamoswine stomped the ground and purple glowing rocks rose from the ground before shooting toward Infernape.

"User Brick Break to get rid of these, Infernape!" Ash countered. This time, Infernape's fist glowed white before he proceeded to karate chop all the rocks flying at him. "Now use Low Kick!"

"Earth Power!"

Before Infernape could reach his opponent, the earth below him cracked and glowed gold, forcing him to dive to the side to avoid the golden power erupting from the earth.

"He's wide open! Use Take Down!" The brown haired Jubilife trainer shouted.

For the first time since she had appeared on the field, Mamoswine moved. Her body became surrounded by an orange aura and she crashed into Infernape with speed that belied her bulky frame and all the strength that you would expect from it, sending the fire monkey crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the field.

"What an impact! Even a pokemon as strong as Ash's Infernate would not come unscathed from this!"

Ash smile. "Mach Fire Punch."

From the smoke, Infernape burst toward Mamoswine, fast enough to leave a trail of blueish energy in his wake, before punching his opponent right between the eyes with a burning fist, making the Twin Tusks pokemon reel from the blow.

"Flamethrower!" "Blizzard!"

Ice and fire battled between the two pokemon as they unleashed their attacks but type advantage and the fact that Infernate was slightly faster on the draw tipped the scales in the Flame pokemon's favor and Mamoswine cried out in pain as the stream of flames engulfed her.

The Ice-Ground type emerged from the flames singed and clearly having suffered damage but still standing strong and ready for more.

Ash's smile widened into a grin. "Now that's what I'm talking about! You've clearly trained her to a whole another level."

A matching grin appeared on Alex's face. "She's my starter, Ash. And we won't go down just because you've managed to land a few hits."

"Then we'll just have to hit you until you go down!" Ash responded, clenching a fist in front of him. "Fire Spin!"

"Stone Edge!"

The vortex of fire met the erupting rocks without doing much, allowing the attack to continue toward Infernape unopposed.

"Quick, use Dig!" Ash shouted.

Stopping his Fire Spin, Infernape quickly dived into the ground just as the Stone Edge was about to reach him and out sight.

"Bad move Ash! Earthquake!"

Mamoswine roared and reared to stomp the ground.

But Ash had predicted that. "Mach Punch!"

Infernate burst from the ground bellow Mamoswine before slamming his glowing fist into her. The Twin Tusk pokemon, left balancing on her hind legs fell on her side from the impact.

"Quick, use Mud Slap!" Alex shouted, trying to prevent Ash from capitalizing on the situation.

From her precarious position, Mamoswine, fired a barrage of mud projectiles at Infernape, one of which hit the Flame pokemon in the face, blinding him.

"You got him! Now Earth Power!"

Rising, Mamoswine slammed her front paw onto the ground once more, making glowing cracks appear below Infernape.

"Get away from here, Infernape! Jump!"

Not doubting his trainer for even a moment, Infernape jumped to avoid the attack, causing the golden pillars of energy to miss him by a split second.

"This time we've got you! Ancient Power!"

With another slam of Mamoswine's paw, rocks rose into the air before flying toward Infernape, hitting him and sending him crashing back into the ground.

"Infernape! Are you okay ?!" Ash called out as his pokemon stood up from the ground. His friend replied with an affirmative cry before wiping the mud from his face. "Alright, let's kick things up a notch then! Use Fire Blast!"

"Hey, that's a new move!" Dawn exclaimed from the stands.

Brock nodded "He must have trained Infernape to use it during the last two days."

Taking a deep breath, Infernape released a burst of 大 shaped flames toward Mamoswine.

"Counter it with Mud Bomb!" Alex shouted and Mamoswine opened her mouth to spit out a huge sphere of mud that collided with the Fire Blast, resulting in a ball of caked mud that crashed into the dust once it hit the ground.

"Follow up with Close Combat!"

Dashing through the dust cloud, Infernape burst toward Mamoswine, eyes glowing red and began to dish out a barrage of lightning fast punches and kicks at his opponent, who did her best to withstand the onslaught.

"You must throw him off, Mamoswine!" Alex urged his pokemon. "Use Thrash!"

Mamoswine opened her eyes and roared before starting to thrash around, her tusks becoming instruments of destruction as they went against Infernape's strikes. Eventually, after another clash of fist against tusk, both pokemon separated, with Infernape looking slightly winded and Mamoswine shaking her head as the confusion after effect of Thrash set in.

"Calm down, girl." Alex said calmly. "Listen to my voice and only my voice."

For a moment, the Twin Tusks pokemon stilled as her trainer continued to talk to her, then her eyes cleared and focused on Infernape before she roared once more. The Fire-Fighting type responded with his own battle cry, waiting for his trainer's next order.

Ash was starting to wonder if he would ever manage to take out Mamoswine. The Ice-Ground type was one of the most enduring pokemon he had ever faced and Infernape's stamina would reach its limit eventually.

"Take a rest for now, Infernape." he said as he pointed his pokeball toward his friend. "I have a feeling I'll need you again before this match is over." With a thumb's up and a nod of respect at his opponent, the fire monkey returned to his pokeball.

"And it seems Ash has decided to switch Infernape out! This Mamoswine is clearly tougher than most of the pokemon we've seen so far. What remains to be seen is if Ash made the correct choice in this situation."

"Red trainer, reveal your final pokemon." The referee raised his flag.

Ash threw his last pokeball. "Gliscor, I choose you!"

With a flash of light, the Fang Scorpion pokemon, appeared, mouth stretched in a wide and eager grin as he took flight in front of his trainer.

"Mamoswine Versus Gliscor! Begin!"

"Blizzard!" Alex ordered.

Now, Ash knew that although Gliscor was pretty much immune to ground type attacks due to being part Flying type, he was twice vulnerable to ice attacks because of his dual typing. This made Alex's opening move predictable.

"And I have just the idea to counter it."

"Use Sand Tomb and Swords Dance!" he ordered.

With a cry, Gliscor began to spin rapidly, creating a vortex of sand around him. Normally, this wouldn't have been enough to fend off a powerful move such as Blizzard, but the rotation speed that Swords Dance added to Sand Tomb created a true maelstrom of sand that completely kept away the freezing wind from even touching Gliscor.

In a sense, this was a variation of of the Counter Shield Ash had created during his journey, but one where he had taken inspiration from the way Bugsy's Scyther used Swords Dance to counter fire type moves.

"And Ash shows us yet again his brilliant tactics, stopping that Blizzard there. What will be our competitors' next moves?"

And then, the sand tornado started to move toward Mamoswine, like a giant spinning top.

Alex's eyes widened. "Use Ancient Power to break through it!"

With a slam of the Twin Tusks pokemon's paw, rocks rose from the ground and flew at the advancing Sand Tomb.

"Now! Acrobatics!" Ash shouted.

As suddenly as the sand vortex had formed, it stopped and Gliscor burst from it toward Mamoswine, the Fang Scorpion pokemon's form shining red from the attack boost provided by Swords Dance and enveloped in light blue energy as he darted between the flying rocks and slammed into Mamoswine at high speed.

With a pained grunt, the Twin Tusks pokemon took a step back from the strength of the impact, clearly not having expected the speed and power she had been hit with.

"Follow up with Fire Fang!"

Gripping his opponent's fur tightly with his claws, Gliscor opened his maw, flames licking at his teeth, and savagely bit Mamoswine, causing her to wince a bit more.

A couple of seconds later, Gliscor jumped from his opponent's back to fly to Ash's side, working his jaw with a strange expression on his face.

The raven-haired trainer raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter, buddy?"

Gliscor looked at Mamoswine, then back at his trainer, making chewing motions and noises.

"Something about Mamoswine's skin?" Ash asked his pokemon, who nodded.

With a frown, Ash quickly reviewed what he knew about Mamoswine's species and the kind of special abilities it could have. Then it clicked. The way Mamoswine managed to somewhat shrug of most of Infernape's fire attacks and Gliscor's reaction to biting her reminded him of one of his own pokemon, Snorlax.

"It's Thick Fat, isn't it?" He asked his opponent rhetorically. "That's why Mamoswine is holding out so well despite the many fire attacks she endured so far."

Alex smiled. "Took you some time to figure it out, Ash. True, it's not a common ability for the Mamoswine evolutionary line, but my partner here, " the green eyed trainer gestured to his pokemon, "descends from a herd who has lived in the frozen mountains of Snowpoint for centuries. It's only natural that they'd develop a more than average resistance to the cold, which in turn transitioned to heat. Also, she and I trained hard to bring that ability to level it is now."

"I can see that. Infernape's flamethrower is one of the most powerful amongst my pokemon and yet she endured it without much trouble. " Ash replied. "But that doesn't mean we won't be able to take her down anyway! Earthquake!"

With a flip, Gliscor slammed his tail onto the ground, sending tremors across the battlefield toward Mamoswine.

"We'll face you head on! And we won't lose!" Alex replied in kind "Use Earthquake too!"

With a roar, Mamoswine slammed her front paws down, creating tremors of her own.

"Earthquake versus Earthquake! I think the whole arena is trembling! What will happen?!"

With deafening cracking sound, the middle of the battlefield suddenly shattered, coming apart in uneven slabs and spines of stone from the result of the two attacks colliding.

"Mud Bomb artillery!" the Jubilife trainer called. "Let's rain hell upon this flying scorpion!"

From her side of the battlefield, Mamoswine spat a barrage of mud balls into the air above, angled in a way that they fell directly upon Gliscor's position.

"Evade with Quick Attack then use Poison Jab!" Ash countered.

With a white glow, Gliscor dashed across the field, nimbly dodging the raining mud balls as he flew toward Mamoswine.

"We've got you right where we want! Ice Beam!" Alex shouted.

Mamoswine's eyes, which had been tracking Gliscor's movement narrowed before she opened her mouth to let out a trio of blue bolts that slammed right into Gliscor's path as he dodged another mud ball.

The Fang Scorpion pokemon cried out as the twice super-effective attack sent him crashing to the ground, his right wing frozen solid.

"A direct hit from Mamoswine's Ice Beam. And it looks like Gliscor's mobility has just been severely reduced!"

Ash winced, he had to act swiftly before Alex ordered another Ice Beam or Gliscor was finished. "Come on, Glicor! Use Fire Fang to unfreeze your wing!"

Quickly, Gliscor sat up and bit gently on his frozen wing, his maw engulfed in flames. As quick as it had formed, the ice started to melt.

But Alex wasn't one to let the opportunity slip. "I won't let you, Ash! Use Icicle Crash!"

With a deep breath, the Twin Tusks pokemon exhaled a shroud of icy wind above Gliscor that took the shape of icicles, which started to fall upon the still grounded Flying-Ground type.

"Knock them back with Metal Claw!" Ash countered.

With a determined grunt, Gliscor stood and his claws gained a steel like shine as he batted aside the raining icicles.

"Use Take Down while he can't move!" the brown-haired trainer ordered.

Once again, Mamoswine moved with speed that belied her bulky frame, bulldozing through her own attack, which only did insignificant damage thanks to her Thick Fat ability, and charging straight for Gliscor.

"Let's give it everything we've got, Gliscor!" Ash shouted as he clenched a fist in front of him. "Use Giga Impact!"

Batting aside one last icicle, Gliscor turned to face Mamoswine charging form and cloaked his body with white and purple and purple energy before flying straight at Mamoswine, the two meeting in a clash of strength that shook the battlefield.

However, Gliscor's previous Sword Dance proved to be the decisive factor once again as the Fang Scorpion pokemon started to push his opponent back.

Alex smirked. "Sorry, Ash. But that won't be enough. Use Giga Impact too!"

With a roar, Mamoswine's body also became engulfed in white and purple energy as she pushed back Gliscor and overpowered him, sending the Flying-Ground type barreling into the arena wall.

"What a clash this was! Is this the end for Gliscor?"

As the dust settled, it revealed Ash's pokemon groaning as he detached himself from the wall with a wince before slowly flying back to his trainer.

"Great job enduring that one, buddy." Ash praised his pokemon with a smile. Nonetheless, he knew that Gliscor was nearing his limit. "You still up for more?"

Gliscor looked back at his trainer for moment, before grinning and sticking his tongue out with a wink.

Ash's mirrored his pokemon's grin as he turned back to Alex and Mamoswine. "That's right. We're not done yet."

"I'm impressed he's not knocked out yet." Alex said, gazing at Gliscor with a respectful look in his eyes. "You've clearly trained all of your pokemon well, Ash."

"As you have yours." The Pallet trainer returned the compliment. "But enough chatting, let's get back to our battle! Stone Edge!"

With a cry, two circles of flying stones appeared around Gliscor before flying toward Mamoswine.

"Agreed!" Alex shouted. "Icicle Spear!"

Mamoswine opened her mouth and fired a barrage of ice javelins which met Gliscor's Stone Edge, canceling each other out.

"I think we both agree that one more hit will be too much, Gliscor. So, we must be faster than before! Use Rock Polish!"

Gliscor's entire body began to shine, signaling the increase in speed from the move.

"We must block his movements, Mamoswine! Use Blizzard!" Alex ordered.

With yet another deep breath, a torrent of snow and ice spewed forth from the Twin Tusks pokemon, heading straight for Gliscor.

"Break through with X-Scissor!"

Flying toward his opponent, Gliscor crossed his arms in front of him, both of them glowing white just as the wall of icy wind was about to hit him. However, the wind generated by the Fang Scorpion pokemon's speed along with the power of his attack allowed him to cut right through the Blizzard before slashing his arms across Mamoswine's face in a cross pattern, maker her wince.

"Quickly, Mamoswine, use Ice Fang!" Alex called, intending to trap Gliscor.

Mamoswine opened her mouth as a fanged maw made of ice formed around it, ready to bite Gliscor.

"Dive and use Sky Uppercut!" Ash countered.

Not wasting a moment to heed his trainer's order, Gliscor dived, using Mamoswine's own bulky frame against her to dodge the attack before flying back up while delivering a super-effective uppercut with his claw, slamming Mamoswine's jaw shut and sending stumbling back a couple of steps.

"Damn!" Alex cursed, seeing that Gliscor's now enhanced speed made him harder to hit than before.

Coupled with the previous Swords Dance, it would only be a matter of time before Mamoswine's impressive Stamina ran out. That, and the diversity of moves Ash had taught his pokemon made it hard to predict what he would do.

"We must press the attack, Gliscor!" Ash shouted. "Use Acrobatics!"

Gliscor cried out affirmatively and started to dash around Mamoswine at high speed, hitting her from all sides.

"An amazing offense on Ash's part! Mamoswine can't seem to do anything!"

"Get him off you with Stone Edge!" Alex shouted desperately.

With a grunt, Mamoswine slammed her front right paw onto the ground, making an entire circle of blue glowing blades of stone to erupt from the ground, protecting her from further harm as Gliscor was forced to fly away to avoid the attack.

Alex sighed in relief. He knew that had been a close one. And judging from the way Mamoswine was panting, he knew that she was nearing her limit.

"One last trick then." He muttered. "Mamoswine, use Mist!"

With yet another exhale from the Twin Tusk pokemon, mist shrouded the battlefield, rending impossible for anyone to see the position of both pokemon.

"An interesting move from Alex's part. But with both pokemon unable to see each other, what will happen now?"

"Use Odor Sleuth to locate Gliscor." The Jubilife trainer said in a low tone that he knew his pokemon would hear.

A few seconds later, he heard a grunt from Mamoswine, telling him she could smell her opponent's location.

Ash didn't know what his fellow finalist was up to, but he was loathe to attack blindly. And trying to disperse the Mist would only give away Gliscor's position for Mamoswine. "Get ready for anything, Gliscor." He told his pokemon.

Just as he said that, however, he heard Alex say something he didn't catch and a barrage of flying stones, courtesy of Mamoswine's Ancient Power, flew from the Mist toward Gliscor.

"Protect yourself with Steel Wing!"

Gliscor quickly brought his wings in front of him as they gained a metallic shine and the attack crashed into him. As much as the Steel type of the move had managed to reduce the damage, Gliscor still winced.

"Damn it, they know where we are!" The raven-haired trainer bit his lip. He hadn't seen the attack until it was almost too late to respond and knew that, for all his speed, Gliscor's reflexes wouldn't have been fast enough to dodge that one. He had to find a way to get Mamoswine's location, and quickly.

Suddenly, and idea popped into his head. "Let's try something else, buddy. Use Screech!"

Gliscor grinned before he let out an ear shattering screech, distorting the air and the Mist itself. Until it seemed to encounter a solid mass inside the Mist.

"There she is! Use Acrobatics!"

"Crap!" Alex cursed, he hadn't expected Ash to find a way to counter the Mist so quickly. "Use Stone Edge!"

As the circle of stone blades rose around Mamoswine again, forcing Gliscor to abort his attack, Ash knew he had to end this before it became an endless circle.

"Fly above it and come down with Giga Impact!" He called.

With Mamoswine's position now revealed, Gliscor flew up and above the circle of stone blades before his body became engulfed in white and purple energy as he dived back down, aiming for the center of the circle where he knew the Twin Tusk pokemon was.

"This is it, Mamoswine! Use Hyper Beam!" Alex shouted.

Rearing on her hind legs and using the Stone Edge to support her body as she angled herself to face upward, Mamoswine opened her mouth before firing a powerful purple white and purple beam at the descending Gliscor.

The two attacks collided with enough force to make the air waver. However, Gliscor's boosted speed and power, along with gravity working in his favor, overpowered Mamoswine's Hyper Beam after a few seconds of struggle and he slammed into Mamoswine with a tremendous impact that should the entire battlefield.

And as the dust, and the Mist, dispelled, the result of this was clear for all to see.

Gliscor was flying slightly above ground, hovering in front of a slumped down Mamoswine who was visibly trying he best to get up, but couldn't.

A few moments later, Alex walked onto the field and laid a hand on his trusted partner and starter. "You've done all you could, girl. I'm proud of you for carrying us this far. Rest, now, leave the rest to our last friend."

With one last look toward her trainer, Mamoswine closed he eyes and allowed herself to fall on her side. Alex turned to the referee and nodded.

"Mamoswine is unable to battle! This round goes to Gliscor!"

"And that's it! After taking on three pokemon by herself, knocking one out and nearly doing the same for another, making Ash struggle the entire way up to this point, Mamoswine is down, folks! And yet, it seemed like she still had some fight left in her. What an enduring pokemon she is! A big round of applause for her, if you would!"

And the crowd happily obliged, praising the tenacity of the Ice-Ground type and her dedication to her trainer, which seemed to make the Twin Tusk pokemon feel better despite having been defeated.

Even Gliscor himself tried to clap in respect for his opponent, although he didn't have much success clapping with two pincers.

With a smile, Alex returned his pokemon, turning to face Ash. "It's been a long time since Mamoswine was brought down without the use of poison or other status effects, Ash. I thank you, for fighting her head on the entire way."

Ash rubbed his nose sheepishly. "You're welcome, Alex. Using status effects isn't something I rely on for my battles. Makes them feel not as fun, you know."

The green-eyed trainer's smile widened. "Indeed. I guess that also explains why you didn't use Guillotine during this entire time."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, this kind of moves are a last resort that I keep for crisis situations. Certainly not something I would use during a tournament."

"And I commend you for it." Alex replied as he walked back to his box on the other side of the field. "Now, shall we resume our battle?" he asked as he took his last pokeball.

"Yeah." Ash grinned as he clenched his fists in anticipation. "Let's!"

"Green trainer, reveal your final pokemon!"

"Everyone is counting on you." Alex muttered, closing his eyes for a moment before snapping them open as he threw the ball onto the field. "Let's finish this, Magmortar!"

The moment the pokeball opened, everyone in the stands felt the temperature rise by several degrees at least when the Blast pokemon appeared.

As for Ash, a bead of sweat that had nothing to do with the heat he could feel from the pokemon standing across the field started to run down his throat.

That Magmortar, he could tell just by looking at him, it was powerful.

If he had to make a guess, its firepower was probably a match for Charizard's. It suddenly explained much more about how she was able to tank fire attacks, even with her Thick Fat ability.

"As you've probably guessed, Magmortar is one of my most powerful pokemon." Alex said in the silence that followed. "I hope you're ready, Ash, because…"

"Magmortar versus Gliscor! Begin!"

"We're about to turn up the heat! Flamethrower!"

Magmortar raised one of his arms, his claws disappearing the reveal the barrel of a glowing canon that spewed a torrent of flames at Gliscor.

"Dodge and use Acrobatics!"

With a cry, Gliscor flew up above the attack before diving straight at Magmortar, his body glowing blue. Just as he was about to slam into Magmortar, however.

"Lava Plume!"

With a roar, Magmortar slammed his hands into the ground, creating an explosion of lava, flame and smoke that engulfed both him and Gliscor.

"Gliscor!" Ash shouted, worried about his friend. He had already been damaged a lot because of Mamoswine and the Lava Plume was powerful enough that he was worried it could create lasting damage.

As the smoke dissipated, revealing a slightly scorched and unconscious but otherwise unharmed Fang Scorpion pokemon, Alex called out to his fellow finalist. "Don't worry, Ash. Magmortar and I knew Gliscor was already nearing his limit, so he held back."

The Pallet trainer exhaled in relief, his respect for the elder trainer rising a notch. "Thanks, Alex." He said as pulled out his pokeball. "Gliscor, return. You did a good job, buddy."

And he had. Even though Torterra and Infernape had taken off probably half of Mamoswine's stamina between them, he had finished the job after taking two hits that should have outright knocked him out of the fight.

"Red trainer, send out your next pokemon."

Ash knew he still had both Infernape and Gabite left but Gabite was poisoned and would probably also be knocked out in one hit. So, really, there was only one choice.

"In the end, it's up to you. I choose you, Infernape!"

With a battle cry, the Flame pokemon materialized for the second time on the field.

For a moment, all was still. Both Infernape and Magmortar gazed at each other, knowing that the outcome of the match would be decided between them. The temperature rose another notch.

"Infernape versus Magmortar! Begin!"

""Flamethrower!"" came the call from both trainers.

Magmortar's canon arm and Infernape's mouth spewed out a torrent of flames each, both attacks meeting halfway and pushing against each other.

"One more time!" Alex shouted and Magmortar second arm canon joined the first to produce a second Flamethrower which joined the first and overpowered Infernape's own attack.

"Dodge it with Dig!"

Infernape quickly close his mouth and dove into the ground, avoiding the massive gout of flame by the barest margin, emerging once the danger had passed.

"Now that the traditional exchange of Flamethrowers between Fire types is over, how about we get serious?" Alex raised an eyebrow at Ash.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." The raven-haired trainer replied. "Let's go, Infernape! Mach Punch!"

No time to question my moves!

In a flash, Infernape appeared in front of Magmortar before punching him in the face with a glowing fist, making his stumble back.

"Thunderbolt!" Alex shouted and, this time, Magmortar's canon discharged a huge bolt of lightning that hit Infernape, who grunted from the shock but didn't flinch. He had endured much worse than that at the end of Paul's Elictivire, after all.

I'll stick to the Path that I choose

"You're gonna have to try a little harder than that! Brick Break!" Ash called. Infernape reared his arm above his head as it glowed white and brought it down in a Karate chop.

"Catch it with Fire Punch!" Alex countered. Magmortar's forearm became engulfed in flames as he brought it up against Infernape's Brick Break, holding the Fighting move at bay. "Now Confuse Ray!"

Me and my friends are gonna do it right

Magmortar's eyes glowed as he locked gazes with Infernape. The Flame pokemon blinked then reared back, looking dazed and unaware of his surroundings.

"Follow up with Fire Blast!" the Jubilife trainer ordered and, before Ash could call out for Infernape to snap out of it, the Blast pokemon bought both canon arms forward to fire a gigantic 大 shaped blast of flames at his foe, who couldn't do anything but take the hit.

You'll never see us run away from a fight!

"We're not done yet! Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted. The attack from Magmortar having cleared Infernape's confusion, the Fire-Fighting type dashed at his opponent, fur singed and a snarl on his face. His hands and feet glowing white as he delivered a hammer kick onto Magmortar's head, before following up with a punch to his fellow Fire-type's belly, lifting him slightly off the ground.

To be the Master is my dream

"Use Pyschic! Throw him off you!" Alex called. He knew that to win, he had to create and maintain distance with Infernape.

Magmortar's eyes glowed once more as Infernape's form became outline by a pink aura and he was lifted off the ground before being thrown back into a wall. "Now use Flamethrower!" Canceling Psychic, Magmortar fired another stream of flame at the fire monkey.

All I've got to do is BELIEVE! (I BELIEVE)

"Come on, Infernape!" Ash encouraged his pokemon as he rose. "Break through this with Flame Wheel!"

With a cry, Infernape jumped as he began to spin forward, his form becoming cloaked in equally spinning flames as he charged at Magmortar's, meeting the Flamethrower head on. To most of the audience's surprise, the Flamethrower only slowed Infernape's advance slightly, and they were even more shocked as the Flamethrower actually made the Flame Wheel only bigger as more and more fire was added to it.

Ash, however, wasn't surprised. He remembered having used this during the tag battle with Dawn against Khoury and Lyra to great effect.

I've got a chance to win

"Stop, Magmortar!" Alex shouted, his eyes widening at the size of the Flame Wheel. He had to use another method of stopping Infernape. " Use earthquake!"

With a grunt, Magmortar canceled his attack before slamming his arms onto the ground, creating tremors across the battlefield in hopes of stopping Infernape's rotation.

"Now!" Ash called out to his pokemon. "Jump and use Overheat!"

Before the tremors could reach him, Infernape stopped his spinning and roared before spewing a massive white blast of fire at Magmortar, adding to it the flames his previous move had collected.

I'm on my way to Victory (POKEMON!)

"Oh crap!" Alex cursed at the gargantuan attack heading straight for his pokemon. "Use Protect!"

Magmortar snapped his arms forward, the green shield form around his form as the flames reach him, splitting harmlessly against the move.

However, the fire had only just began to fade when the ground under Magmortar's feet erupted and Infernape came out of his Dig move to uppercut the Blast pokemon.

"Arceus dammit!" Alex grimaced. He had again fallen for the same trick just as he had with Gabite's Draco Meteor earlier. "I can't afford this kind of mistakes! Not now!"

I can be the Champion if I just BELIEVE!

"And Infernate takes advantage of that massive Overheat to sneak up on Magmortar with a Dig attack! Ingenious!"

"Lava Plume!" Alex called out quickly and Magmortar's slammed his arms on the ground once more, creating an explosion of flame, lava and smoke. Infernape was blown away and only managed to right himself in the air to avoid slamming into the ground as he gazed across the battlefield right into his opponent's eyes.

The two pokemon looked worse for wear. Infernape's fur was almost completely singed and he was breathing fast, the previous damage inflicted by Mamoswine showing its long-term effects. Magmortar had many bruises on his face and body from the blows Infernape had managed to get in. However, both still looked ready for more despite the many powerful attacks they had used so far.

I'm on a Master Quest

"Mach Punch!" Ash shouted.

"Thunder Punch!" Alex replied in kind.

Both pokemon charged as Magmortar's forearm became engulfed in electricity and slammed against the light blue glowing punch of Infernape, the Flame pokemon wincing slightly as the electric shock traveled through his arm.

"Flamethrower, point blank range!" Alex ordered and Magmortar angled his arm to as to blast Infernape in the face with a torrent of flames, making the Fire-Fighting type stumble back

"Close Combat!" Ash shouted and Infernape dashed in again, eyes glowing red as he unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches onto Magmortar

I want the whole World to see! (I BELIEVE)

"Use Heat Wave to push him off!" Alex shouted, and a blast of searing hot air exploded from Magmortar's body, pushing Infernape back. "Follow with Hyper Beam!"

Both of the Blast Pokemon's arm canons lined up at Infernape before releasing a massive white and purple beam of energy that engulfed the Fire-Fighting type before exploding.

"A direct hit from a very powerful Hyper Beam! Is that it for Infernape?"

I'm gonna be the Very Best

As if to answer, a roar came from the smoke as a pillar of fire rose into the sky and Infernape appeared into view. The flames on his head had turned white hot and his body was glowing red as his eyes narrowed at Magmortar.

"And Infernape's has activated his Blaze ability! Get ready, folks! This battle is about to go on another level!"

"Alright!" Ash cheered.

"Oh, sweet Arceus…" Alex muttered, gulping as felt the massive increase in power Infernape had obtained. "On the other hand-!" "Even if he's gotten more powerful, that only means he's approaching the limit! We only need to hit him a couple of times and he's done! Let's do this, Magmortar!"

With a roar of his own, Magmortar sighted his opponent with his arm canons.

As all I've got to do is BELIEVE in me!

"Fire Blast!" Alex shouted and a huge 大 shaped gout of flames was fired from Magmortar's canons straight at Infernape.

"Flame Wheel!" Ash countered.

Infernape let out another battle cry as he spun, cloaking himself in white flames as he charged at the Fire Blast, dispersing the attack through the sheer power of his own as he slammed into Magmortar.

"Lava Plume!"

Another explosion rocked the battlefield as both pokemon separated again, breathing hard.

I BELIEVE!

"This is it Ash! The next one will be the last. Are you ready?"

"Come, Alex! With our strongest, we will beat your strongest!"

"Magmortar! Hyper Beam! MAXIMUM OUTPUT!"

"Infernape! Flare Blitz! FULL POWER!"

The Flame and Blast pokemon let out a determined cry as they unleashed their moves. The massive white and purple beam met the descending form of Infernape shrouded in blue flames in a final clash of power.

"Come on, Infernape! You can do it!"

"Don't let up, Magmortar!"

Both pokemon's cries turned into roars as they increased the energy output of their attacks, causing the whole arena to shake and most people to shade their eyes from the light of the battle between the two powerful pokemon using equally powerful moves.

""GOOOOOOOOOOO!""

POKEMON!

All had to avert their eyes as the clash came to an end, the resulting explosion creating the greatest tremors felt across the arena yet.

"What a tremendous finish to this battle! Now, the question is, who is left standing?! Is it Infernape?! Is it Magmortar?! Could it be a draw?!"

As the dust and smoke settled, all held their breath, waiting to see which pokemon had come out on top. Slowly, two forms came in view. Magmortar was still holding his firing position and Infernape was down on one knee, visibly struggling to stay conscious.

And then, Magmortar's arms slowly lowered at his sides before he fell to the side, unconscious.

For a moment, silence reigned in the arena. The referee blinked once, twice, then raised his flag.

"Magmortar is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"

The crowd roared but Ash didn't hear it, nor did he hear the commentator announce his victory as winner of the Conference. In fact, he didn't even react as, a few moments later, Pikachu jumped into the arena and ran toward him before jumping on his shoulder while chattering happily.

He had done it.

He had finally, after close to eight years of journey through various regions, thirty-two League badges plus four from Orange Islands, four Pokemon League tournaments, one Battle Frontier and one Orange Islands challenge, won a Pokemon League.

It was only when Pikachu shocked him back to reality that it sunk in, and he looked around before his gaze settled on the exhausted but widely grinning face of Infernape who gave him a thumb's up.

"WE DID IT!" He cried out in joy as he ran and hugged the Flame pokemon tightly, even as his pokeballs opened from their own accord and the rest of his pokemon, despite their exhausted condition joined in.

With a slightly sad yet satisfied smile, Alex sighed softly as he returned his fallen pokemon. He and his pokemon had given all they had in this battle and he could only bow to the younger trainer's talent and ingenious strategic mind for defeating him.

Slowly, he approached Ash, his smile becoming amused at watching the newly crowned winner of the Conference being swarmed from all sides by his team. Around them, the crowd continued to clap and cheer.

"Congratulations, Ash." He praised the Pallet Town trainer. "You earned this victory."

Ash turned to face his fellow finalist, a huge smile on his face. "Thanks Alex. That was an awesome battle!"

"Indeed."

Both turned to face Charles Goodshow as he and Cynthia made their way toward them. "I must say, it has been a while since we've had a Conference with so many awe-inspiring battles. I thank you, both of you, for giving the Sinnoh League the grand finale it deserved."

"As do I." Cynthia added. "And although every battle ends in defeat for one side, and victory for the other, believe me when I say you are trainers worthy of challenging the Elite Four of any region." She said as she gazed at Alex and Ash in turn with a smile. "Well done, both of you."

Both Alex and Ash smiled back, the later returning his team, then turned back as Goodshow walked to a League official, taking something they couldn't see from the man's hands before making his way back to the group as the stadium slowly quieted down.

Walking past Cynthia, who raised a curious eyebrow at the Pokemon League President, Goodshow faced Alex with a smile on his face as he presented a winged golden medal with an A carved into it, making both the brown-haired trainer's and the Champion's eyes widen.

Ash blinked, wondering why they looked so surprised even as he heard people in the audience gasp.

"On behalf of the Pokemon League," Goodshow spoke clearly, his voice sounding across the stadium. "I name you, Alex Crowe of Jubilife City, Ace Trainer." He finished as he pinned the medal to Alex's blazer above his heart, even as the trainer's jaw dropped in disbelief and Ash's eyes widened in realization. "Congratulations, young man." He said as he stepped back and clapped his hands, promoting the audience to follow.

Shocked as he was, it took Alex a moment to regain his composure before he stood straighter, eyes shining as he crossed his right arm over his chest, fist closed just below the medal in a salute. "You honor me, sir. Thank you."

Goodshow gave pleased nod and hum as both Ash and Cynthia clapped along with the audience.

Becoming an Ace Trainer was, after all, one of the highest rank within the League below those of Master, Champion, Elite and Leader. It meant that you were recognized as a field expert in pokemon matters, able to deal with crises and disasters that most trainers wouldn't be able to.

Typically, Ace Trainers candidates would go through a severe screening and testing to process to make sure only the best of the best would become part of the ranks inside the League. However, there were several exceptions to the rule, such as this one where a trainer showing exceptional battle and mental prowess would have his candidature submitted for review by one of the higher ranked officials.

The fact that Alex had been awarded that badge of honor by Charles Goodshow himself meant that the League had been keeping a close eye on him and his progress for some time and the League President had decided that he was worthy of it.

Ash himself hadn't become an Ace Trainer, although he had been approached by both them and the Pokemon Rangers, because he still wished to travel across the regions and gym circuits in pursuit of his dream. Becoming an Ace Trainer meant you had a full-time job under the League and Ash wasn't quite ready for his life to become business first, adventure second. Never mind the fact that he had dealt with world-ending events no trainer his age should have had to.

Of course, he wasn't aware that he was considered an Ace Trainer and a Ranger in all but name by the League, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Goodshow then turned to face the public. "I invite you all to come back this evening for the trophy award ceremony and the Conference closure! But, in the meantime, please give our two finalists one last round of applause for the incredible battle they showed today!"

And applaud they did. People rose from their seats as they clapped their hands and cheered for the two trainers, Ash easily spotting Brock, Dawn and Barry thanks to Piplup's extravagant outfit as he and Alex waved back to the public.

Finally, both trainers turned to each other and, with a smile on their faces, shook hands.

"I'm not dreaming, am I? This is real."

"Yes, Ash. For the umpteenth time, you won. You are the winner of the Lilly of the Valley Conference." Barry droned from his seat across the Pallet Town trainer as they waited for Ash's pokemon to be healed.

"Sorry, Barry. It's just- it feels so unreal." To say that Ash had been on cloud nine since he had exited the stadium would be an understatement and the young man couldn't help but feel as if all of this was some kind of waking dream that would just simply evaporate when he wasn't looking.

The blond nodded absently. "I get ya. I do. I really do. But if you say that one more time, I'm going to sue you. For real." He deadpanned at the older trainer.

That finally broke Ash out of his daze as he couldn't help but burst into laughter, Pikachu just blinking at his partner's behavior from his perch on Ash's hat as his trainer's entire frame shook.

Gradually, Ash calmed down as he looked around. "By the way, where are Brock and Dawn? I could've sworn they were here just a moment ago."

"Aaaaash…" Barry said exasperatedly. "They left almost fifteen minutes ago. Brock wanted to buy fresh groceries for dinner and Dawn volunteered to help him."

"Oh" Ash blinked. "Sorry, I must've been really spaced out."

"You don't say."

And with that, Ash zoned out again, until a shout of "Ash Ketchum!" from the counter rang out inside the Pokemon Center and he quickly went to take back his pokemon from the Nurse Joy, who offered him a short "Congratulations." with a smile as he thanked her.

As he and Barry exited the Pokemon Center, Ash couldn't help but look for Cynthia, accustomed as he had become to her presence during the past two weeks, until he remembered that she was busy preparing the end ceremony with Mister Goodshow.

The ceremony in which she would gift him the trophy for winning the Sinnoh Conference. It still baffled him, somewhat.

He vaguely recalled having talked to his mother and Professor Oak briefly through the phone booth, though it had been more Delia crying tears of joy as she told him how proud she was between sobs while Oak valiantly attempting to calm down the emotional woman as he congratulated Ash on his victory, asking him to keep them posted as to when he would come back to Pallet Town so that they could all celebrate together.

*SNAP!*

Ash blinked as Barry snapped his fingers in front of his eyes with a flat look on his face and the raven-haired trainer chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head with a guilty expression.

As they both sat down on the grass and released their pokemon, Ash recognized further ahead the spot where he had talked with Paul and, later on, Cynthia during that night, three days ago, and he smiled.

He owed both his rival and the Sinnoh Champion a lot for their words. Otherwise, he didn't doubt that he would have ended up as top four and, while it would have been the highest he had even attained before, Ash knew himself well enough to know that he would have been quite bitter if he had lost so close to the goal.

And yet, now that he had attained that goal, he wondered what was next. Should he train to challenge the Elite Four, as was his right as winner of the Conference? Or would he simply go back to Pallet Town and rest for a while before heading for yet another region?

If he was honest with himself, he had no idea.

A tap on his cheek from Pikachu's paw bought his attention back to the present as he followed his partner's stare to see Dawn, Piplup and Brock making their way toward him and Barry, arms full of plastic bags filled with what Ash knew was their future dinner.

"Finally back with us?" Dawn asked with a teasing smile. "You were pretty out of it, you know?"

Ash chuckled. "Oh, believe me I know. I think Barry is about fed up with me, with the number of times he had to bring me back from daydreaming." He said as he gestured to the blond, who was currently busy polishing his Skarmory's wings while looking for anything that might have gotten stuck between the metal plates of the Armor Bird pokemon.

Barry had taken his lessons from Ash and Brock about pokemon care very seriously, and it showed in the way his gaze was completely focused on his pokemon, with serious expression that looked strangely out of place on his face. It was in moments like this that Ash could clearly see the resemblance between Palmer and his son.

"Sorry to cut this short," Brock broke his musing. "but I have to get started on the preparation now if we don't want to wait too long after the ceremony to eat." The Pewter City breeder said as he adjusted his grip on the bags with a grin. "That celebration feast isn't going to cook itself, you know."

"Need any help?" Ash asked.

Brock shook his head. "Nah, Dawn and I have everything covered, Ash. And don't forget: you must present yourself to the stadium half an hour before the ceremony starts. That means you have a bit under two hours left."

The raven-haired trainer nodded. "I think I'll get some rest. Else, I'll be too distracted or nervous." He replied.

"You do that." Dawn pipped up. And with that, the blue-haired coordinator and squinty eyed breeder walked away to the Pokemon Center.

Ash watched his big brother and little sister figures walk into the building before smiling as he closed his eyes and laid down on the grass, Pikachu moving up from his lap onto his chest before curling into a ball.

Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, lulled by the soft breeze and the sounds of his pokemon around him.

As Cynthia walked the path to the Pokemon Center, she let out a little sigh of relief. She had never been one for long procedures or preparations for social events and was glad that everything was set up for the award ceremony.

Although, she couldn't help but smile at the idea of presenting the trophy to Ash. She had seen how the raven-haired trainer had reacted when it had finally sunk in that he had won the finals of the Lilly of the Valley Conference and she couldn't wait to see what kind of face he would make once the trophy would be in his hands.

Why, she could already picture him, jaw dropped in awe before stretching into a full blown smile as he lifted the trophy above his head for all the crowd to see with Pikachu right on his shoulder.

Her smile widened. "Yes, that sounds about right."

Now, she was on her way to meet up with said trainer before they had to return to the stadium, when she came upon a peculiar sight.

"Is that-? It is!" She marveled as she drew closer.

Laying on the ground, fast asleep, was Ash. His hat had come halfway off, revealing the rather unruly raven black hair to the world and she couldn't help but chuckle softly at the way they seemed to have a will of their own once freed from their prison.

But what truly made her smile was the sight of Ash's pokemon cuddling their trainer.

Pikachu was curled on his chest, looking perfectly content as it rose and feel in time with his breathing. Ash had told her this was a habit Pikachu had taken to after he had died stopping Mew and Mewtwo all those years ago. The electric mouse had needed the re-assurance of Ash's beating heart and breathing for quite some time after that event and it was still something he did to this day.

Staraptor was seating between his legs, beak resting on the young man's lower right leg, while Torterra's bulky frame was on his trainer's left flank, the Continent pokemon's head resting on the thigh on the same side. Both pokemon had opened an eye at her approach, still vigilant in their rest, but relaxed once they recognized her.

Next were the newly evolved Floatzel and Gabite, the former resting on his back in the crook of Ash's right arm, dozing off with his arms crossed and head on the Pallet trainer's shoulder while the later had carefully positioned himself below the Water type, resting his head on his arms as he faced away from Ash.

Lastly were Gliscor, who had draped himself over Ash's left arm, unconsciously chewing on the sleeve of his jacket, and Infernape, who was sprawled between the Fang Scorpion and Continent pokemon, his head resting against Ash's side.

All in all, it made for very heartwarming and peaceful scene that she was loathe to disturb.

"Perhaps…" she checked her watch. "Yes, a few more minutes won't hurt."

Careful not to the disturb the sleeping raven-haired trainer and his pokemon, the Champion knelt down beside Ash's head, taking care not to fold her coat under her knees, a soft smile on her lips.

It was a rare thing, she knew, for Ash to simply lay down and take naps like this. He was always so full of energy, continuously moving around or doing something, mainly due to the fact that he was kind of always expecting something to happen at any time during his journey.

(Elsewhere, a certain trio composed of two humans and one cat pokemon sneezed suddenly as they continued selling their recordings of the semi-finals and finals.)

Almost absently, Cynthia reached over to scratch Pikachu behind the ears, the electric type letting out a soft "Kaaa…" as he leaned into her touch and she closed her eyes with a content smile.

It reminded her of the moments she would spend with her sister, both simply reading on the couch or cuddling in bed as she told her sister of her adventures exploring mysterious ruins.

A soft gasp broke her from her trance and she turned her head to find Dawn looking at her, then down to Ash with wide eyes, a hand in front of her slightly opened mouth.

Feeling heat rise to her cheeks, Cynthia swiftly put a finger on her lips and the blue-haired girl nodded her head rapidly a couple of times, eyes sparkling, before waving to the Champion as she went back to the Pokemon Center.

With a soundless sigh, the blond woman turned her gaze west, where she could see the sun starting to disappear over the horizon.

It was time.

X

Dawn nearly rushed back to the kitchen where she and Brock had spent the past hours preparing their meal for tonight, giggling all the way and earning a raised eyebrow from the Pewter native.

"So, was he gone already?" he asked her.

Her giggle turned into a laugh. "Oh, no. In fact, he's still sleeping rather soundly." She replied before breaking into a cheshire grin. "But don't worry, Brock. He's in good hands."

Brock's second eyebrow joined its twin on his forehead, but he didn't comment. After all, he had an inkling he knew what Dawn was hinting at.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, the breeder turned back to his vegetables and resumed his chopping.

"Yes. If it's who I think it is, he's definitely in good hands."

X

"Ash… Wake up…"

Ash groaned mutely as his eyes opened slowly.

The first thing that greeted him was the orange tinted sky, telling him that he had been asleep for a while. On his chest, he could feel Pikachu stretching but he also knew from the various weights on his arms, sides and legs that his pokemon had joined him on his nap session.

Blinking, the second thing he noticed was the strands of blond hair on the right side of his peripheral vision. Turning his head, he discovered Cynthia smiling softly down at him as she knelt by the side of his head.

"Did you sleep well?"

He blinked again, his mouth suddenly dry. "Yeah." He croaked, licking his lips. "I guess it's time to go?"

She nodded.

Angling his head to look at his pokemon, he saw that Pikachu yawning as he sat up. Floatzel, Infernape, Gabite and Gliscor were still asleep but Torterra and Staraptor were awake and looking at him curiously.

With a chuckle, he started to shake his arms. "Come on, guys. We've gotta go."

Pikachu gave a short "Chu!" as he jumped from his trainer's chest to Cynthia's lap, then climbed up to her shoulder, eliciting a surprised glance from both her and Ash as the electric mouse turned around to sit on his new perch.

Staraptor and Torterra quickly rose, the Continent pokemon moving to nudge Gliscor awake as the Fang Scorpion pokemon continued to snore into Ash's sleeve, while Floatzel and Gabite were pecked awake by the Flying-Normal type, sitting up with a start before they glared at the avian pokemon. Infernape's eyes had opened as soon as Torterra had taken a step, the fire type blinking groggily before he yawned as he sat up and started rubbing his eyes.

Sitting up too, once Gliscor has detached himself from his arm, Ash returned his friends one by one before stretching as he rose to his feet.

Once done, he turned back to Cynthia. "Thanks for the wake-up call. I think I would've slept past the ceremony otherwise." He said as he looked around. "Where are the others?"

"Dawn are still in the Center, as is Brock, I think." She answered, absently petting Pikachu. "I have no idea where Barry might have gone, however."

"I'm sure he's fine." Ash said as Pikachu jumped from Cynthia's shoulder to his. "Shall we?" he asked with a smile.

She smiled in return. "Yes. Let's."

Together, they walked back to the stadium, keeping a comfortable silence between them.

And if their hands happened to brush together a few times on the way, neither made any visible reaction to it.

For all the time it took preparing it, the ceremony was over pretty quickly. Goodshow made a short speech about the Conference, thanking all the trainers that had joined and fought before congratulating Ash for winning as Cynthia presented the trophy to him and he raised it above his head for the crowd to see. What followed was everyone watching the fireworks before turning their gaze to the altar holding the Sacred Flame of Moltres as it slowly faded, signifying the end of the Lilly of the Valley Conference for good until next year.

Now, we found Ash and company back in their spot near the Pokemon Center as they celebrated the Pallet Town trainer's victory. Everyone and their pokemon was happily munching on the delicious food prepared by Brock and Dawn, even as the breeder continued watching over three pots and a couple of frying pans as he made the most gargantuan meal he had ever done in a long time aside from cooking for his own family back in Pewter City.

Ash himself felt like he was on a sugar high. It had finally sunk in that he had well and truly won, that this wasn't a dream, and it showed. His friends didn't know how long it would take until he would crash down from it, but they felt that the raven-haired young man was entitled to such behavior, cheering and laughing with all the pokemon.

"How long do you think that's going to last?" Dawn asked, an amused smile on her face as she sipped her juice, watching as her brother figure playfully tackled Gliscor and they wrestled for a sandwich, only managing to break the treat in two.

"I'd say a couple of hours before it starts to simmer down." Barry replied as he placed four empty plates on the table, eyeing Ash's antics as he did. The blond was on waiter duty, regularly bringing new servings of the various dishes to the twenty-eight pokemon sitting around in various groups and bringing back empty plates for Brock to fill.

Brock himself and Cynthia were standing beside them, the Champion content to watch her pokemon mingle with her friends'. The breeder was busy stirring one of his pots, his eyes alternating between Ash and the food as it cooked.

After a moment, he spoke. "It's only natural. After all these years, this is the first big step Ash has taken on the true road to his dream." He paused, looking at the curious expressions on the three's faces before gazing back at the raven-haired trainer with a slight frown on his fac. "Ash has been a trainer for eight years now. Many trainers start their journey with the same dream as him, but only a handful of them stay true to it, never mind achieve it. After a couple of years, most of them find another calling or goal to pursue. Some end up quitting battling altogether." The eldest of the group turned back to them. "And while Ash has always possessed the will and determination to chase his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master, there have been times where it was very hard for him."

He gave a somewhat sad smile at the surprised looks from them. "Surprising, isn't it.?"

"I must say that I have trouble imaging Ash giving up his dream." Cynthia said, voicing their thoughts as she crossed her arms under her bust. "It sounds like the antithesis of what he is."

"Trust me, there have been some tough moments." Brock replied, absently shaking the content of a frying pan, making the food flip.

"Ash… has always been a rising star among his peers. Sure, he started as a bit of a naïve fool, but that spirit of his was what distinguished him from the others. It made him able to go above and beyond any obstacle or limitation. To stand back up every time he was bought down.

"And yet, behind that same spirit lies a lot of insecurities about himself." Here, Brock's face grew somewhat grim. "The first time I saw it was back in his first Conference at the Indigo League. I think you know what I'm talking about?"

Both women nodded while Barry looked confused. "You mean when Charizard didn't listen to him and he got disqualified, right?" Dawn asked rhetorically, and Barry's eyes widened in astonishment, even as he kept quiet.

The breeder nodded. "Yeah, that's the one." He paused, looking down into his pot. "I can't even begin to describe how utterly devastated Ash had been at the time. If he had simply lost the battle, that would have been fine. It was his first Conference, it wouldn't have been surprising for him to loose against a more experienced trainer with better strategies or with stronger pokemon.

"But to be disqualified because his own pokemon didn't listen to him and refused to fight? That shook him. Badly. Misty and I… we could see it. It made Ash question himself as a trainer, made him wonder if he was worthy of the tittle. We managed to somewhat convince him that this was only due to him being young and inexperienced, that he would get better in no time. And so, we went off to Johto."

Pausing yet again, he took a sip of his preparation, nodding to himself as he went on. "While still a new trainer by standards, the results of Ash's first year traveling the Kanto region showed. He struggled much less with a lot of aspects of his journey. He won the Orange Islands Challenge, going all the way to defeat Drake himself, got Charizard to listen to him and even defeated his rival Gary in the Silver Conference! Though he didn't win the Johto League, I dare say that he was satisfied with his progress up to this point."

Rummaging through his supplies, he pulled out a bag of already chopped and cleaned vegetables that he emptied into the pot. "Our trio separated after that, deciding to pursue our own goal our separate ways. Misty wanted to take charge of the Cerulean Gym, and she has proved herself to be a good Gym Leader since. I obtained my breeder license in the time it took Ash to make his way to Hoenn and we met there by chance. Thus, we travelled together once again, this time alongside May Mapple and her younger brother Max."

Brock hummed as he stirred the pot. "I think that this journey, along with the Battle Frontier, is the one that made Ash mature the most. Partly due to him teaching May and Max, but also because he started coming onto himself rather than defer to me or anyone else. However… then came his defeat in the Ever Grande Conference at the hands of Morrison Masamune, one of his rivals and a trainer that had started his journey that very same year." There, Brock's face turned into a heavy frown. "Ash started asking if he was missing something, or if he simply wasn't good enough to win a Conference. His victory at the Battle Frontier, while a great achievement, felt a bit… hollow after that. Even though he learned much during that time.

"But the greatest shock came after that. He discovered upon his return in Pallet Town that Gary had given up on their dream, on their rivalry, to follow in his grandfather's footsteps." The breeder shook his head sadly. "While I know Ash is happy that Gary found his true calling… it hurt him, to know that the one who went after the same goal as he was from the start, whom he competed against to achieve it, whom he knew would always be there to challenge him on that road, chose to give up."

The Pewter native gazed at his honorary brother, who was now having an arm wresting contest with Infernape, with Cynthia's Lucario acting as a referee. "I think that, by that point, Ash started to wonder if anyone beside himself still believed in his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master. Delia -his mother, Misty, Professor Oak and I did what we could to cheer him up, but it didn't work very well despite our efforts. It was only when Delia suggested that he head here, to Sinnoh, that Ash started to go back to his old self."

Brock stopped stirring so that he could face his audience, the three of them standing there, enraptured by his retelling of Ash's life. "And I thank you, all of you alongside Paul. You succeeded in rekindling the embers of his fighting spirit to new heights and, for that, I will forever be grateful." He told them, although his face shifted a bit so that he was looking at Cynthia in particular for a moment, causing her to blink in surprise.

The Champion, coordinator and trainer shared a look before the blue-haired girl gazed at Ash with a worried expression. "Was it really that bad?" she asked in a low tone.

"Perhaps not on the outside." Brock conceded. "But for me, who has known Ash since he gained his first badge, and the others close to him, it was obvious that Ash as a trainer was slowly dying inside." He said, looking at said trainer currently cheering on as Barry's Empoleon and Dawn's Piplup were having some kind of dance-off. "But when I look at him now, I don't think I would change what happened in any way. It's because of all these things that Ash became who he is today. And with such a victory under his belt, I'd say he is well on his way to make his dream become a reality."

A soft smile graced Cynthia's face, replacing the serious and worried expression she had before. "It is your own experiences, both the good and the bad, along with the lessons you learn from them that shape you into the person you are." She sipped her drink. "When two lives meet, something is born. I don't think that saying has even been truer for anyone than Ash"

Brock laughed at that. "Yes, he does tend to give that kind of feeling, doesn't he? I very much doubt anyone else would have such unique adventures during their journey. Everywhere he goes, something happens that he just ends up becoming involved in. Even though I'm expecting it, I'm always surprised when it happens."

"I think I've had more strange things happen to me during my time around Ash than in my entire life. " Dawn chimed in.

"I've only spent a few days with you guys and, boy, those were the least boring days ever." Barry smirked.

"Sinnoh was so peaceful before he decided to come along." Cynthia added with an exaggerated sigh

"It's not my fault trouble seems to always find me. But I resigned myself to it after the whole Chosen One thing happened." Ash's voice joined the conversation and the four turned to see the raven-haired young man walking to them, a stack of empty plates in his arms. "I don't exactly do 'normal' at this point." He shrugged as he laid the stack of plates on the table.

Brock nodded sagely. "Truer words have never been spoken. And I still can't believe you managed to hide most of the deadly situations you got in from your mother."

Ash grimaced a bit at that. "That's because, luckily for me, she doesn't watch the TV much. And I think Mimey covered for me a few times too." His head lowered as he looked at his feet. "I don't think she would ever let me out of her sight if she knew even half of what happens around me. And don't even get me started on the fact that every Absol we meet is terrified of me."

Cynthis blinked at that before she offered a teasing smile. "Truly? Are you that much of a walking disaster, Ash?"

The Pallet Town native gave her a flat look, although his lips were twitching. "It's not like I do it on purpose, you know. And I STILL think my life is some sort of cosmic joke orchestrated by Arceus."

(In the Hall of Origins, a certain God of Pokemon sneezed)

"Perhaps, but then again you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?" Brock replied with a knowing smile.

"Of course not." Ash answered without hesitation.

"May you live in interesting times, indeed." Cynthia said as she raised her glass toward Ash.

"More than interesting, I'd say." Barry chimed in, doing the same.

"Extraordinary is more like it." Dawn agreed, copying the gesture.

With a laugh, Ash took up his own glass of juice, and raised it too. "To adventures, friends and pokemon."

"To dreams!" Dawn grinned.

"To awesome battles!" Barry shouted.

"To the future." Brock added.

"And to you, Ash Ketchum." Cynthia finished the round with a smile directed at the raven-haired trainer.

""""CHEERS!""""

And that's it. 45 pages, 25 of them being the finals of the Sinnoh Conference, a total of 20+K words and nearly three years to achieve this result. I hope it was worth the wait.

Do not expect such huge chapters in the future though. I'll go back to my usual format between 5 to 10K words in hopes of achieving faster updates.

As always, reviews are appreciated, and I accept everything beside baseless flaming. There are a few different takes on canon stuff here as well as me creating a couple of theories, as you've no doubt noticed, so don't hesitate to give me some feedback on that.

This is MidnightFenrir, author of "Wheel of Fate", signing out.