A/N: After a bit of a longer wait than usual, here is Kanto 12! Thanks for being patient. PM me if you find any typos. Enjoy!

Kanto 12: Essence

"I see..." drawled Sabrina, running her dainty fingers through her hair. "It sounds to me like Celadon has treated you well thus far."

"I definitely don't have any complaints," replied Ash as he scratched the fur behind Growlithe's ears.

He paused, showing her a playful smile, "Although, it hasn't been as exciting as my time in Saffron."

"Shut up, Ash Ketchum," Sabrina joked with a pretend glare. "You didn't exactly catch Saffron at the best time."

"Fair enough," said Ash with a shrug. "Anyways, did you just call to check up on me, or are you going to fill me in on what's going on with the Game Corner?"

"The Game Corner is one of two things that I need to discuss with you," answered Sabrina monotonously. "I also would like to talk about a vision that I had earlier this morning."

"What was it about?" asked Ash, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what I was hoping you could tell me," articulated Sabrina, letting out a sigh. "While I was doing my morning mediation, an image of you and a ninetails came to me."

Ash's eyes immediately widened as he recalled his experience with the mysterious Willow. Somehow, he had completely forgotten to fill his friends in on what had happened. This must have been destiny's way of reminding him.

"Dammit," cursed Ash under his breath, frustrated that he had failed to tell Sabrina about Willow when they talked on the phone the other day, "It completely slipped my mind. While I was on my way to Celadon, something really interesting happened."

"Elaborate please," replied Sabrina—her eyes squinted in a curious manner.

For the next several minutes, Ash proceeded to share with Sabrina what had happened when he met Willow. From the conversation concerning his destiny to the talk about Willow's friend and the abomination; he told her everything…

"Ash Ketchum…" groaned Sabrina as soon as Ash was finished. "How in the world did it take you this long to tell me about something this important? You should have called me the second the ninetails left your presence."

"Honestly, Sabrina, I have no idea," replied Ash with a dejected facial expression. "As soon as Team Rocket showed up, and I found out about the Game Corner, I just forgot about it. I guess I was too busing focusing on the problems at hand to think about the future."

He paused, looking at her with sincere eyes, "I'm sorry."

She let out another sigh as she used her thumb and index finger to massage her forehead.

"It's okay…" Sabrina responded, moving her hand from her forehead to her chin, "most of what the ninetails told you has to do with your own journey, so this event doesn't change too much in regard to how we approach things."

Ash breathed a small sigh of relief. For a second, he was worried that Sabrina was going to reach through his xtransceiver and wring his neck.

"As a matter of fact," continued Sabrina, "knowing that the pokemon of Kanto are aware of what's happening is reassuring. It means that we're not alone."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," said Sabrina, "going off of what you told me, it sounds to me like Willow is some sort of representative of a great force in Kanto. I'm assuming that this friend she mentioned is very influential when it comes to our region."

"I guess that would make sense," said Ash, "I mean, Willow did tell me that she herself oversaw a large portion of the vulpix in Kanto. And judging by her insane level of strength, it was apparent that she wasn't a normal wild pokemon."

"Exactly," replied Sabrina. "Pokemon have a way of protecting our region, too. Destiny's agents aren't bound by species. They're just as big a part of what's going on as we are."

"I never said they weren't," retorted Ash, flaring his nostrils.

"Anyways," said Sabrina as she looked at him with a blank expression. "If there's one thing that has changed because of your meeting with Willow, it's that we need to remain idle until this friend of hers shows itself to us."

"I agree," said Ash with a nod. "We're just going to have to be patient and see how things unfold."

They continued to talk about Ash's experience with Willow for a little bit longer before Sabrina changed the subject, "So, let me fill you in on what's going to happen at the Game Corner."

"I'm all ears."

"Well, after our conversation a couple of days ago, I talked to Kent Barringer and filled him in on what was going on in Celadon," explained Sabrina. "He immediately got in contact with one of the other first-class ACE trainers."

"And?" queried Ash.

"According to Kent, he should be arriving in Celadon any day now."

"Oh, okay," replied Ash with interested eyes. "Do you know anything about him?"

"I do," answered Sabrina. "Just like Kent, I battled him when he was a rookie."

She paused, "As a matter of fact, they took on Kanto's gym circuit the same year."

"Really?" questioned Ash. "Wouldn't that mean they're the same age? I remember you mentioning that Kent was a rookie when he battled you, too."

"Yes," replied Sabrina, "they're the same age. That year was a promising one for young rookie trainers."

"So, I'm assuming he's good, then?" asked Ash as he readjusted his cap.

"If you're referring to his skill as a pokemon trainer," replied Sabrina, "then, yes, he's good. You can't become a first-class ACE trainer unless you are."

"Yeah, you're right," said Ash as images of Kent's monstrously strong pokemon flooded his mind. "He must be pretty amazing if he's the same rank as Kent."

"Well, for what it's worth, he beat Kent in the conference that year," informed Sabrina. "I'm not quite sure how much he's grown since, but I would guess that in terms of strength, they are relatively close to each other."

"Wow…" muttered Ash, dumbfounded, "what's his name?"

"Andrew Gerdes," replied Sabrina. "His name is Andrew Gerdes."

"Hmm…" murmured Ash, "I've never heard of him."

"Well, that's to be expected," said Sabrina with a blank countenance. "It's been seven years since he participated in the Indigo League, and he chose the life of an ACE trainer. It doesn't matter how strong he is, he's become a tool of the League. Something like fame cannot breach the ACE Corps…at least, not amongst the general public."

"Gotcha'," answered Ash as he thought about some of the sacrifices that ACE trainers had to make in order to remain shrouded in mystery.

"Anyhow," said Sabrina, "I would appreciate it if you would steer clear of the area surrounding the Game Corner for the next couple of days. Even I don't know exactly when Andrew Gerdes will make his move. For all I know, he could be in Celadon as we speak."

"I already told you," retorted Ash, irritated, "I'm not going to get involved this time."

"Ash Ketchum…" Sabrina uttered with intense, skeptical eyes.

"What do you want from me?" asked Ash, making a sour face. "I gave you my word. Would it make you feel better if I signed something?"

"Yeah, actually, it would."

"You're absurd," snorted Ash with a furrowed brow.

A small smirk formed on Sabrina's face, "Given the fact that I have to go to such lengths to keep you in check, I think that it's more appropriate to say that you're the absurd one."

Ash took a moment to reflect. If you were to tell him before he left on his journey that he would have the kind of relationship with Sabrina Marvil in which they would exchange elvish banter, he'd say you were crazy.

"Fair enough, Sabrina," said Ash, shaking his head in an amused manner, "although I think it's safe to say that we're both absurd."

"That may be the wisest thing you've ever said," answered the gym leader, retaining her impish smirk…

Ash and Sabrina continued to joke around with each other for about another fifteen minutes before proceeding to wrap up their conversation.

"Anyways, Sabrina," said Ash, "I should probably get going. The Worthingtons are giving me a ride to the Celadon Gym early in the morning, so I want to get a good night's rest."

"Understandable," replied Sabrina, "I'll let you go, then. Good luck in your gym battle tomorrow, Ash Ketchum. Annihilate Erika Mori."

"I'll do my best," promised Ash.

He paused as something crossed his mind, "Hey, Sabrina, before we hang up, can I ask a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Can you pass the message that Willow gave me to the others?" asked Ash. "It's probably best that they hear it sooner rather than later, and I'm going to be really busy tomorrow."

"I can do that, Ash Ketchum," replied Sabrina, "although I do think that you should give them each a call soon, especially that idiot Bill Montgomery. He sees you as family. I'm sure he would like to hear from you."

She paused, "Besides, it's essential that he sends you that copy of the prophecy. You need to start looking into that. If it's true, you need to know as soon as possible. Remaining ignorant in regard to something like this is just foolish."

"I know…" drawled Ash, "I'll make sure that I reach out to Bill and everyone else before I leave Celadon."

"Good," responded Sabrina, showing Ash another faint smile, which she seemed to be doing a lot more frequently as of late, "Farewell, then, Ash Ketchum."

"Bye, Sabrina…I'll talk to you soon."

"Click."

XXX

"What's that smell?" asked Ash in a curious manner as he got out of the back of Ruphus' inordinate, silver, luxury car.

"Perfume," replied Skylar as she too hopped out of the high-priced vehicle, "that smell is perfume."

"Celadon's southwestern district is littered with all kinds of different perfume and other scent related shops," added Ruphus. "It's a bit much for my taste, but the ladies seem to love it."

Ruphus was right. The second that they got out of the car, both Skylar and Ellen entered a state of bliss. It was obvious that they enjoyed the tantalizing fragrances that all of the different shops were giving off.

To be completely honest, Ash didn't mind it either. The many pheromones were strong, but they were soothing at the same time. He felt like his nose was being spoiled in a way that it never had been before.

If they weren't right outside the Celadon Gym, and he didn't feel the need to keep his puppy pokemon a secret from Erika, Ash would let Growlithe out of his pokeball. That way, he could enjoy it too.

With Growlithe's extraordinary sense of smell, he would probably like Celadon's southwestern district more than any of them. Either that or his nose would be too sensitive to handle it, which Ash didn't think would be the case.

Growlithe's nose only responded poorly to an abundance of emotions or foul smells. Something that smelt as alluring as their current whereabouts didn't tend to do anything other than put Growlithe into a state of ecstasy…

As Ash's nose began to adapt to the enticing aromas that occupied the southwestern district, he was able to use his eyes to take in the scenery around him. Other than the gym, there were a few things that caught his attention.

The landscape and architecture were completely different than every other part of Celadon he had been to.

It still had a contemporary look to it, but the buildings were a lot smaller, and everything felt way more mellow and cozy. Rather than coming off as a massive metropolis, Celadon's southwestern district made Ash feel like he was in the middle of a modest, but flourishing, town. If he were to compare it to any of the other cities he had been to, Ash would say that it reminded him of Viridian.

The streets were active enough to be welcoming and entertaining, but they weren't congested to the point that Ash felt like he was on the verge of being swallowed up. All of the visible spots that weren't occupied by some kind of man-made structure were embellished with beautiful, lush greenery. There were multiple intersecting boulevards that were lined up and down with gorgeous flowers and trees.

On just about every street corner there were outdoor markets, which primarily focused on selling perfume just like the indoor shops. However, Ash also noticed outdoor establishments that sold food and other products. In regard to its abundance of outdoor marketplaces, his mind was brought back to the streets of Cerulean.

Overall, it seemed like a nice part of the city. If Ash had to pick a place to spend a significant amount of time at in Celadon, it would probably be the southwestern district. He had more of an affinity towards quiet communities, such as this one, rather than the bustling northern districts.

However, as appealing as the scenery around the gym was, it didn't really hold a candle to the main attraction. As he stared ahead at the structure in front of him, one thing came to his mind: This was definitely the venue of a grass-type gym leader.

The Celadon Gym could be best described as an industrial-sized greenhouse. It was dome shaped, voluminous, and its external roof and walls were completely made up of a semi-transparent material that encased a world of luscious plant-life. From Ash's current vantage point, he figured that it was made out of tempered glass that slightly blurred what was inside.

"This is the Celadon Gym," said Ruphus, gesturing towards the expansive building. "Inside of it, we'll find Erika."

"It's a lot bigger than I would have thought," replied Ash as he surveyed the entirety of the greenhouse, "and way more suited for grass-types."

"Well, not only is it a gym," inserted Ellen, "but it is one of the largest greenhouses in all of Kanto. The Mori family has been growing various plants here for over fifty years."

"Fifty years…" muttered Ash, surprised, "but it doesn't look that old."

"They take good care of it," answered Ruphus matter-of-factly. "Besides, it's a gym, so the League makes sure that it has state-of-the-art equipment and that it is regularly remodeled and up-to-date."

"Gotcha'" responded Ash as they continued to approach the gym. "Do you guys come down here a lot?"

"Eh, I don't," said Ruphus, shaking his head. "This kind of stuff doesn't really appeal to me."

He paused, "The girls do, though."

Ruphus' answer surprised Ash. Given his less masculine appearance, Ash would have guessed that he'd have more of an interest in Celadon's southwestern district. Then again, although Ruphus' appearance leaned towards eccentric, his personality was rather straightforward. Most of the Worthingtons' offbeat behavior came from Ellen, who was by far the most whimsical of the bunch.

"Oh, really?" queried Ash, shifting his attention to Skylar and Ellen.

"Mhmm…" murmured Skylar, "Mom and I do a lot of shopping down here."

"Yeah," added Ellen with a massive grin, "it's the best place for natural cosmetics, and you can't find perfume like this anywhere else in Celadon."

"I see," replied Ash as they severed more distance between themselves and the gym.

The closer they got, the more excited Ash became. The site of his fourth gym battle was way more fascinating than he had previously imagined. He could hardly wait to find out what was waiting for him inside.

As they reached the front entrance, Ash took a deep breath. He was nervous. Pretty soon, he would be taking part in his first match against a gym leader that wasn't bound by a handicap. This battle wouldn't be like the rest; this one was for real. The Rainbow Badge wouldn't be easy to obtain.

"Everything alright, Ash?" asked Skylar as Ruphus pulled open the single, glass door that served as the only public entrance.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said the ten-year-old boy, trying his best not to display his nerves.

"Good," said Skylar with a smile, "let's go in, then."

Burying his nerves in the process, Ash followed the Worthingtons through the doorway to the Celadon Gym. Despite the fact that he had gotten a decent look at what he would be walking into beforehand because of the glass walls, he couldn't help but be amazed by his new surroundings.

From the outside, although the glass was semi-transparent, the glare from the sun and the density of the glass had significantly obscured what was inside of the structure. Now that he was on the inside, he was able to clearly see the contents of the magnificent greenhouse.

Everywhere he looked was ripe vegetation. It didn't matter what it was, it was lavish and perfectly groomed. Flowers, trees, moss, bushes, vegetables, fruits—all types of plants could be found in the Celadon Gym, and they were all beautiful. The moment he entered the gym, Ash felt like he was Adam, and he had finally returned to the Garden of Eden.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"Whoa…" drawled Ash, "this is…"

"Incredible," finished Skylar with a big smile. "Isn't it just incredible?"

Ash simply nodded his head, unable to think of a better way to describe it.

Not only was there an unbelievable variety of plants scattered amongst the artificial ecosystem, but Ash also saw several people tending to the plants as well as grass-type pokemon – such as oddish, gloom, tangela, bellsprout, weepinbell, victreebel, exeggcute and exeggutor – that likely belonged to the gym.

In the center of the large, open greenhouse was another small structure. It was diminutive compared to the dome that it dwelled within and had the appearance of a cottage. Judging by the direction that Ruphus was leading them, Ash had a feeling that the cottage was their present destination.

As they approached the tiny structure, Ash noticed the gym's battlefield for the first time. It was directly behind the cottage, surrounded by a plethora of bushes and flowers. At first, Ash was shocked that it had taken him so long to notice it, but the way that it was designed made it blend in with the greenery around it.

Ash couldn't be sure because he wasn't in direct contact with it, but from his current positioning, it looked like the battlefield itself was made out of dark, rich soil. And the boundaries consisted of embedded brick and dried clay tile…

All of a sudden, his attention was drawn away from the battlefield when the door to the cottage abruptly swung open. A girl around his age stormed out, clearly infuriated.

"A loser like you has no right to tell me how to raise my pokemon!" yelled the angry brunette as she shoved a small, multi-colored trinket in her pocket.

"Who are you calling a loser!?" retorted another girl, who looked like she was in her early teens. "If I wasn't forced to use my League registered team, I would have wiped the floor with you, rookie! Come back sometime and battle my real team! Then we'll see who the loser is!"

Ash watched as the brunette glared back at the teenager before ultimately choosing to ignore her. She then continued her angry charge out of gym, all the while cursing under her breath. While she was passing by them, there was a moment in which Ash thought that she glanced at him with eyes of recognition, but he figured he was just seeing things.

He'd never seen the girl before. And if he had, he didn't remember her. More than likely, she was just acknowledging his presence.

"What was that about?" Ruphus asked the black haired teenager, who was still standing in the doorway as they walked up to the cottage.

For a moment, she blinked at Ruphus with a confused expression, noticing him for the first time. However, it didn't take long for her to calm herself down and answer him appropriately.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Worthington," greeted the girl with a soft voice and a cute smile, completely altering her disposition. "Don't worry about that. It was nothing…just a small disagreement amongst trainers."

She paused, "What brings you to the Celadon Gym?"

It was apparent to Ash that she was attempting to redirect the beginning of the conversation. If he were in her shoes, he would try and do the same.

"A friend of mine would like to challenge you to a gym battle," said Ruphus, choosing not to pursue the reason behind the confrontation and gesturing towards Ash.

For the first time, the girl revealed as Erika looked at Ash with curious eyes prior to briefly surveying Ellen and Skylar.

Now that Ash knew who she was, and the bizarre scene that they had just witnessed was over, he took a good look at Celadon's gym leader. Right away, Ash could tell that she was pretty. But, she was attractive in a way that was a lot different than some of the other beautiful girls that he had met throughout his journey.

Erika's appearance leaned more towards being exquisite and cultivated rather than purely physically attractive. Granted, her fine features were drop-dead gorgeous, but it went beyond just that. The entire way she carried herself was enchanting.

Her face was fine and delicate. She wore a light amount of makeup that made her skin look flawless. Erika's eyes were a light, serene brown, and her jet-black hair was straight and went down to about the middle of her slender neck. Giving her hair a little extra bounce was an intricately designed, light red headband with detailed, white leaves etched into it.

Erika's entire body was covered by a beautiful, golden yukata. It made her look like a traditional Japanese princess, from a time long, long ago, who was gracing this era with her presence. Other than her face, the only other part of her body that showed was her delicate arms and hands. Her petite feet were covered by plain white socks, and she wore nicely made wooden clogs that looked as uncomfortable as they were graceful.

"Hmm…you must be an interesting trainer if you're being accompanied by three Worthingtons," said Erika as she planted her eyes on solely Ash. "What's your name?"

"My name's Ash Ketchum," answered the dark-haired boy as he respectfully held his hand out to her. "It's nice to meet you, Erika."

Ash had to admit, he was a little worried that Erika would recognize his name and kick him out of the gym for meddling in Celadon's affairs. However, he quickly realized that he was just being paranoid.

There was no way that Erika knew about his involvement in what was about to take place at the Game Corner. Sabrina hadn't given his name to anyone, and he doubted that Officer Jenny had contacted her about how he had stopped the Rockets. After all, she wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Erika.

Besides, Ash didn't even know if Erika was aware of the upcoming operation, yet. The League would have to let her know eventually, but there was no telling when that would be.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ketchum," said Erika, disregarding his hand before gently grasping both sides of her yukata and performing a curtsy.

Once she was finished, she stepped aside and used one of her hands to gesture towards the inside of the cottage, "Would you please step inside? Before we battle, you must check-in."

"Sure thing," replied Ash with a nod before walking inside of the cottage.

Behind him, Ash heard Erika exchange a few words with Ellen and Skylar before she and the three Worthingtons followed him inside.

The inside of the cottage wasn't too far off from what Ash expected. There was a desk situated directly in front of the back wall. Another pretty girl that appeared to be about a year older than him sat behind it. She smiled at them the second that they walked through the door, causing Ash's cheeks to turn red.

The rest of the entry room was furnished with some comfortable looking couches and adorned with luxuriant décor. There was even a large, flat screen TV that was situated on a well-made, wooden TV stand. It was evident that the Mori family had put a lot of effort into making the cottage comfortable for those that had to wait for a gym battle.

"Follow me," said Erika, stepping in front and leading them over to what Ash assumed to be the check-in desk.

"Millie, I have another challenger," stated Erika in the direction of the girl behind the desk. "His name is Ash Ketchum. As you can see, he is a friend of the Worthington family."

"Hello, Mr. Ketchum," said Millie, giving him a quick wave.

Before Ash had a chance to respond, she shifted her line of sight over to Skylar, "Hey, Skylar, it's been a long time; nice to see you."

"Nice to see you, too, Millie," replied Skylar, flashing a smile of her own.

"You know each other?" questioned Ash, glancing back and forth between the two girls that looked roughly the same age.

"Yup," answered Skylar, "we've been friends for a long time."

"Ever since we were little," added Millie proudly.

"Gotcha'" replied Ash, electing not to dig any deeper.

Right now, he just wanted to battle Erika. If it was important, he was sure that he would find out more about Skylar and Millie's friendship later.

"Anyways, Millie," said Erika, reacquiring everyone's attention, "there wasn't any damage done to the battlefield during the last match. So, depending on Ash's skill-level, I wouldn't be opposed to accepting his challenge right away."

She paused as she glanced back at him, "Is that alright with you, Ash?"

"The sooner the better," replied Ash with a nod.

"Good," answered Erika as she pointed at the computer on Millie's desk, "well, then, if you wouldn't mind, could you hand my sister your pokedex? It'll record into our system that you've been here. The League has been trying to pay more attention to the number of challengers each gym is getting."

Both of Ash's eyebrows lifted when Erika mentioned that Millie was her sister. After taking another look, he probably should have figured it out on his own. They did resemble each other quite a bit. Millie looked like a younger version of Erika. The only distinct difference, other than their age, was that Millie's glossy, jet-black hair was much, much longer.

"Is something wrong?" asked Erika curiously.

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong," replied Ash as he reached into his back pocket to retrieve his pokedex. "I just didn't realize until now that the two of you are sisters."

"Ah, yes, Millie is my dear little sister," said Erika with an oversized grin. "She's the youngest of the Mori girls."

"The youngest?" queried Ash. "How many is there?"

"There are four of us," inserted Millie, "Erika's the oldest."

"Where are the other two?" asked Ash, unable to suppress his curiosity.

"They're traveling through the Hoenn region right now," replied Erika, rolling her eyes. "Those two could care less about what goes on here at the gym. They left on a journey the day that they turned ten and have only visited a few times since."

"Big sis Freya and big sis Harper definitely march to a different beat," added Millie as Ash finally handed over his pokedex, "but that's what makes them so cool."

"They must be twins," stated Ash, putting the pieces together.

"As identical as they come," said Erika with a small smile, "not even our parents can tell them apart."

"It must be cool having a set of twin sisters," answered Ash. "I don't have any brothers or sisters, but I've always wanted at least one. Is it fun having two that look the exact same?"

"Well…" drawled Erika, "at the very least, it's interesting."

She paused as she turned her attention back over to her little sister, "Anyhow, are you done yet, Millie?"

"Yeah," replied the youngest of the Mori girls as she removed the device from the pokedex dock that was attached to the computer and handed it back to Ash, "the match has been accounted for."

"Erika, may I ask why the League is paying such close attention to the number of challengers each gym is getting?" asked Ruphus, speaking up. "They typically only care about the number of badges each gym gives out, right?"

"I'm not supposed to say anything," answered Erika hesitantly, "but since it's you, Mr. Worthington, I'll make an exception."

Ash listened attentively. Whatever the reason was, he was sure it was intriguing.

"The League is keeping a closer eye on the gyms because of Koga," explained Erika, "if you haven't heard, he's been a little ruthless as of late."

"I remember hearing something about that," said Ash, "however, I don't exactly see why the League would need to check gym attendance because of it."

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you," responded Erika with a sigh, "but the problem is that Koga has gotten really bad. No one has won his badge. He's cheated the League registered system. And supposedly, over the last month, his gym has gotten even less challengers than both Giovanni and Blaine."

She paused, "I shouldn't even have to explain how ridiculous that is especially given the fact that he's the gym leader of a major city."

"Wow, even Blaine?" asked Ash, surprised, "but I've heard rumors that his gym doesn't even exist anymore."

"He couldn't be a gym leader if his gym didn't exist," retorted Erika with a sarcastic undertone, "it's just really hard to find…"

"But, that's beside the point," continued Erika. "The reason that the League is paying such close attention to gym statistics is because they're trying to build a case against Koga. If things continue as they are, Fuchsia is in danger of an economic crash. I don't want to go too deep into the details, but each Kanto city relies heavily on tourism and because of Koga's brutality, trainers have avoided Fuchsia altogether."

"The only real place of interest in Fuchsia right now is the Safari Zone," said Erika, "and that actually costs the League more money to keep running than it makes."

"I see," said Ruphus, "does this mean that Koga is in danger of losing his position as a gym leader?"

"It's a possibility," answered Erika with a shrug, "but I don't know for sure. All I know is that the League isn't happy with him."

After listening to what Erika just said, Ash had a feeling that she had no idea that the League was sending a first-class ACE trainer to take out the Game Corner. If she knew, she would be less concerned about Koga, and more concerned about her own jurisdiction.

"Whatever the case may be, the League will respond how they see fit," said Erika. "There isn't much else to it."

She paused, "What do you say we put an end to this political discussion and have a battle?"

Although Ash was interested in what they were talking about, he had to admit, he was ready to battle Erika.

"Sounds good to me," replied Ash, "like I said earlier, the sooner the better."

"Alright, then," answered Erika, looking Ash in the eyes. "Before we can do anything, I have to ask, how many badges do you have?"

"Three," said Ash as he swung his backpack in front of him in order to retrieve his badge case. "Do I need to show them to you?"

"Don't worry about it," replied Erika with a smile. "I trust you."

She paused as Ash fixed his backpack, "This will be your first gym battle without any restrictions. You're aware of this, right?"

"Of course," retorted Ash with a smirk. "I'm prepared to take on whatever you choose to throw at me."

"Good," said Erika, reciprocating Ash's smirk. "Since I'm not required to use my League registered team, I can battle you immediately."

Ash looked at her in a confused manner.

"My last opponent only had two badges before battling me," explained Erika. "She knocked out both of my League registered pokemon. So, if you would have had less than three badges, you would have had to wait here for a while until I healed my pokemon."

"Gotcha'," answered Ash with a nod.

Subsequently, Erika shifted her attention over to her sister.

"Millie, could you be a doll and round up some of the exeggutor for me?" asked the pretty-faced gym leader. "I have a feeling it's going to be one of those kinds of battles."

"Exeggutor?" questioned Skylar. "You're taking on Ash with a team of exeggutor?"

Erika and Millie couldn't help but giggle.

"Although my sister does have an exeggutor that she uses in battle," responded Millie, "these exeggutor are mostly only used to put psychic barriers over the battlefield."

"The Celadon Gym is also their home," added Erika before glaring at Millie. "You make it sound like they're merely tools…"

"I think they know what I mean," retorted Millie, annoyed.

"Eh, whatever," answered Erika, realizing that they were on the verge of bickering in front of guests.

She then placed her focus back on Ash, looking at him with a unique fire in her eyes, "Let's not waste any more time."

Ash gave her a quick nod. Judging by the shift in demeanor and even the scene that they had walked in on right before meeting Erika, he had a feeling that her personality took a unique turn when she battled.

Erika was a lot different than he would have thought. After having a few conversations with other people about her, he had been under the impression that she was a stuck up girl that had stumbled into the role of being a gym leader. He hadn't even battled her yet, and he could tell that there was a lot more to her than what people thought.

Ash was snapped out of his rumination as Erika casually walked past them, making her way towards the cottage door.

Excitement stirred within Ash as he realized that it was finally time to let loose.

"Follow me, Ash."

XXX

While trekking through the thick soil in order to get to his designated trainer box, Ash felt like he had stepped into an oversized planter rather than a battlefield. He could see why Erika had chosen to design her gym's battlefield the way she had. The rich soil was a great environment for all kinds of grass-type techniques—Ingrain immediately came to Ash's mind.

Still, he couldn't help but feel like it was a bit much.

"What do you think!?" asked Erika, from across the battlefield, as Ash stepped onto the tile based trainer box.

"Well, it's perfect for grass-types!" yelled Ash while trying his best to shake the soil off of his shoes.

"Exactly!" replied Erika. "This soil is full of nutrients. It is the perfect terrain for grass pokemon."

"I bet!" exclaimed Ash, humoring Erika as she gloated about her gym's most important feature.

As he took a deep breath to prepare himself for what was to come, he saw Ruphus, Ellen and Skylar standing off to the side, waiting with anticipation for the action to begin.

It was nice to know that he had friends there to watch his battle, but at the same time, he felt like it added to the preexistent pressure that already came with the fact that this was his first gym battle since acquiring three badges.

He also couldn't help but think that it was the perfect opportunity to show them that he was truly worthy of training Eevee. They would get a chance to see what the silver fox had to look forward to with him as her trainer. The Worthingtons were about to see his friends at full strength.

"The rules will be a little different now that you have more than three badges!" shouted Erika, recapturing Ash's attention, "so let me explain them to you before we begin!"

She paused, "First of all, this will be a four-on-four battle as opposed to a two-on-two!"

Ash nodded. He'd been expecting a four-on-four, so that wasn't a surprise.

"In addition," continued Erika, "although I am not allowed to return a pokemon once they have been released, you may switch pokemon freely and as many times as you would like!"

She smirked, "I suggest you take advantage of this rule! While facing a superior opponent, match-ups are everything."

Ash couldn't help but snicker under his breath. He was right; Erika definitely had a different air to her when it came to battling. A superior opponent; talk about arrogance. He'd make her eat those words.

"I'll keep that in mind!" retorted Ash vigorously.

"The rest is just like any other battle!" yelled Erika, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had just riled Ash up.

She paused, glancing around as if she was searching for something, "Millie should be—"

"I'm right here!" replied the youngest of the Mori sisters, causing Ash to turn his head in the direction that her voice was coming from.

Walking up behind the Worthingtons was Millie, who was accompanied by four bulky exeggutor. Each one of their three heads portrayed a different facial expression, and the green foliage extending out of the top of their trunk-like bodies had all four of them standing at least six-feet tall.

Ash didn't know too much about exeggutor; the exeggcute line wasn't a breed that he was particularly interested in. However, he knew enough about them to understand that they were difficult to train and required a strict trainer that was willing and capable of managing their triad of personalities.

Given the fact that the Celadon Gym had four well-behaved exeggutor, who weren't even a part of the gym leader's team, it was clear to Ash just how talented Erika and her gym trainers were when it came to handling grass-types. He couldn't wait to find out what kind of grass pokemon Erika would call upon in their upcoming battle.

As Ash visualized in his head his four pokemon of choice going up against whatever Erika threw at him, he witnessed each exeggutor casually position themselves on one of the four sides of the battlefield.

Subsequently, all four of the exeggutors' six eyes emanated a bright pink light as they initiated the process of raising a large protective barrier over where the match would be taking place.

As the exeggutors' psychic energy gradually came together, forming a bright pink, rectangular shaped barrier that encompassed the entirety of the battlefield and extended vertically all the way to the greenhouse's ceiling, Ash couldn't help but be reminded of the handful of kadabra that raised the psychic barrier over the SS Anne's state-of-the-art arena.

To be completely honest, Ash was more impressed by the barrier that the four exeggutor had conjured up rather than what the kadabra on the SS Anne had materialized. The fact that they had been able to create such an airy barrier in such a short amount of time was remarkable.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Ash as he stared up at the towering barrier.

"Isn't it!?" shouted Erika from the opposite side of the battlefield.

She paused, "It's a combination of Light Screen, Psychic and Reflect—configured so that elemental techniques can't permeate through either side. It doesn't nullify physical attacks, and people and pokemom can freely move in and out without taking any damage."

"Wow…" drawled Ash, "that's quite the combination move. Does it have a name!?"

"Nope!" shouted Erika, shaking her head. "We don't really see the point in naming it since the exeggutor can't use it on their own, and it's really only useful for this purpose."

That makes sense!" replied Ash.

Now that the barrier was up, and they were both situated in their respective trainer boxes, Erika shot Ash a look that signified that it was time to start the battle.

"Alright, Ash, are you ready to do this!?" howled Erika.

"Oh, I'm ready!" answered Ash, eyes ablaze.

"You won't stand a chance if you're not!" retorted Erika.

She paused, "The first move is on you! The battle starts when both of us release our first pokemon!"

"Is there no referee!?" shouted Ash, raising an eyebrow.

"They're not required for gym battles where the challenger has more than three badges!" stated Erika. "I' m more than capable of judging this match on my own!"

"Gotcha'!" howled Ash as he thought of the fact that Sabrina had illegally chosen not to have a referee during their League registered match...

For the next several seconds, it was quiet as Erika waited for Ash to release his first pokemom. Before he arrived at the gym, he already knew who he was going to start off with. He'd heat things up right away with one of his fire-types: Charmeleon.

While Ash reached for Charmeleon's pokeball, he was suddenly halted by a female voice calling out his name. He shifted his line of sight in the direction that the voice was coming from and was surprised to find Skylar, passing through the barrier before sprinting over to his side.

"What's going on!?" shouted Erika, confused.

"Sorry, Erika!" apologized Skylar, quickly turning around and bowing in an awkward manner at the teenaged gym leader. "I just have to ask Ash something real quick!"

"Um, alri—" managed Erika before Skylar turned back around and faced Ash, cutting her off.

"Can I have Eevee's pokeball?"

"Huh, why?" questioned Ash, interested in hearing Skylar's intentions.

"I think that it will be good for the two of you if she sees this battle," replied Skylar without hesitation. "Although you defeated Eevee and won her allegiance fair and square, she's going to take a little bit of time to warm up to you. I think if she witnesses this gym battle firsthand and sees what she has to look forward to, she'll end up listening better when you start training together."

She paused, lowering her voice down to a whisper, "When it comes to Eevee, respect means a lot. She probably respects you already because you defeated her, but I think she may admire you even more if she watches you defeat Erika."

"But, I haven't even let her out since she officially joined my team," answered Ash. "I was planning on doing that when I had the time to sit down and talk to her. I don't want to confuse her, you know?"

"Don't worry about that," said Skylar with a smile. "I've known Eevee for a lot longer than you have. I can take care of whatever is going on inside of her head. Just trust me, and focus on beating Erika."

She held out her hand, waiting anxiously for Ash to give it to her.

He let out a deep sigh as he detached Eevee's pokeball from his belt.

"Fine," responded Ash, placing it in her hand, "but I'm blaming you if I lose, and she changes her mind about me."

"But, you're not going to lose, are you?" said Skylar, followed by a wink, as she slowly started to back away in the direction of her parents and Millie, who had joined them at some point.

"I'm not planning on it," he replied with a confident smile.

"That's what I thought," answered Skylar as she waved playfully in his direction before phasing back through to the other side of the barrier. "Good luck, Ash!"

"Thanks!" exclaimed the dark-haired boy as he focused his attention back on Erika.

A few seconds later, he noticed a flash of bright light being unleashed from the outer edge of his peripherals. Skylar sure didn't waste anytime in letting Eevee out.

"Okay, Ash, no more distractions!" howled Erika as she pulled a shrunken pokeball out of one of the loose sleeves on her yukata, causing Ash to raise an eyebrow. "My patience is running thin!"

"I understand!" retorted Ash, detaching Charmeleon's pokeball from his trainer belt. "There won't be anymore distractions; I'm ready!"

He drew a relaxing breath through his nose as he enlarged his lizard pokemon's pokeball.

Erika responded by mirroring Ash and enlarging the red and white orb in her grasp.

Choosing not to delay the inevitable any longer, Ash clenched Charmeleon's pokeball tightly in his hand before launching it into the center of the battlefield.

In immediate succession, before Charmeleon's pokeball had snapped open, Ash saw Erika's pokeball leave her hand as she casually tossed it into the air.

The next few seconds consisted of a bright array of twinkling white light as both trainers' first choices materialized onto the battlefield.

When the light from the pokeball Ash had thrown dissipated, the form of a crimson scaled reptile stood in its stead. Upon release, Charmeleon beat his chest with one of his claws and spewed out a quick, intimidating burst of flames from his nostrils, signifying that he was ready for battle.

The outburst of energy from Erika's pokeball lasted a little bit longer, but once it had faded, a strange ball of blue vines appeared on Erika's side of the field. Ash immediately recognized the outlandish pokemon as a tangela: an extremely rare grass-type that was indigenous to southwestern Kanto.

Other than Tangela's surplus of thick, blue, twisted and snarled vines, the only other parts of its body that were visible were its two big goofy looking white eyes – that each had a minute black speck for a pupil – and its pair of red boot-like feet.

"That's a good looking Charmeleon!" shouted Erika from across the battlefield as both pokemon stared at each other. "However, if you think that type-advantage alone will win you this match, you're fooling yourself!"

Ash ignored her comment. He'd let the battle speak for itself. There was no need to engage in pointless banter. Besides, he didn't need her to tell him that type-advantage in and of itself wouldn't ensure a victory; he wasn't that narrow minded. Type-advantage certainly helped, but this battle would come down to a lot more than something as rudimentary as that.

"Charmeleon, start things off with Ember!"

Obeying his trainer's command, Charmeleon spit out a lone, condensed fireball. It jetted in the direction of its target at a tremendous speed, whistling and hissing as it pierced through the air.

Ever since he evolved, Charmeleon's velocity with Ember and Dragon Rage had increased to a level that he never would have been capable of as a charmander. It was impressive to say the least. However, he would have to be a little more creative if he wanted to hit a gym leader's pokemon, especially with a move that it was weary of.

It's not like Tangela had too many options when it came to dealing with a move like Ember, which it was so vulnerable to. Unless it knew Protect or some other neutral nullification technique, blocking it wasn't an option. It was either find a way to intercept it or dodge.

Right before the Ember was about to make contact with it, the tangela emitted a strange gargling noise that was incomparable to anything Ash had ever heard before, and it precipitously threw its body out of the way.

As soon as it cleared the Ember, Tangela unleashed what looked like a chain of twisting and intersecting vines downward that submerged into the soil, stopping it from tumbling awkwardly across the battlefield.

In the moment, Ash wasn't sure whether Erika's tangela was using Vine Whip or Ingrain to stabilize itself. Whatever the case may be, it was unorthodox, and he now knew that it had a way to move across the field in a nimble and elusive manner.

"Tangela, use Vine whip to strike!" shouted Erika as the outlandish grass-type came to a standstill.

While keeping some of its, now elongated, vine-like appendages firmly rooted in the soil, Tangela distended another group of vines in the direction of Charmeleon. They started off soaring through the air like a bundle of casted fishing lines. However, it didn't take long for their malicious intent to be revealed, abruptly hurtling at Charmeleon like a bunch of menacing whips.

"Burn them!" commanded Ash without a hint of hesitation.

He'd had Charmeleon spar with Ivysaur enough to know that he wouldn't be able to dodge them in time from this distance. On top of that, Tangela's numerous amounts of vines far outnumbered Ivysaur's trusty duo, giving it a much greater chance at landing a direct hit.

Smoothly and efficiently, Charmeleon shot out a barrage of flames that intercepted all of Tangela's impending vines. As expected, they were scorched to nothing in less than a second, leaving Charmeleon untouched.

Ash smiled, clearly amused. The battle's first exchange was free of damage; he couldn't see that lasting for very much longer.

His eyes widened when Tangela shook its body, covering itself in a bright purple powder that came from somewhere beneath its multitude of vines. It didn't take him more than a second to decipher that the grass-type had coated itself in a thin layer of Poison Powder.

"You can't let it touch you with its vines!" bellowed Ash as the tangela once again prepared to lash out with Vine Whip.

Truth be told, the poison would likely reach Charmeleon even if its vines got close, but Ash didn't want to make his friend overthink things too much. Ash knew ahead of time that Erika was bound to use moves that left status effects. This battle would just as much be about avoiding status effects and enduring them once they'd been inflicted, as much as it was about dealing damage to the opponent.

Listening to Ash's warning, Charmeleon darted out of the way while torching any vines that got too close with Ember. The second he made it through Tangela's first Vine Whip/Poison Powder assault, the tiny, albeit powerful, grass-type shook out some more Poison Powder before trying to lash at him again.

"Keep at it, Charmeleon!" Ash encouraged his friend as he repeatedly dodged and intercepted vine after vine with Ember.

While Charmeleon was busy avoiding Tangela's relentless assailment, Ash did whatever he could to think of a counterattack. He had a couple of ideas in mind, but in order to make any of them a reality, he had to wait for an opening that they could take advantage of.

"When it shakes for more poison, hit it with as many Embers as you can!" commanded Ash, "In the meantime, continue to dodge the best that you can! I have an idea!"

For the next several seconds, Ash watched as Charmeleon desperately tried to maneuver around Tangela's poisonous vines. Somehow, he managed to outlast its assault, but as soon as he thought that Tangela was about to shake out some more poison, Erika switched things up by giving her grass-type a new command.

"Tangela, use Growth followed by Bind!" yelled the gym leader, raising her hand in an authoritative manner.

Following Erika's orders, Tangela withdrew the vines that it had been attacking Charmeleon with while pumping its body with whatever natural chemicals it needed in order to raise its attack power.

Ash wasn't too familiar with the move Growth, but usually status moves that boosted a pokemon's physical attributes took a second to stabilize. Just as he had been planning on taking advantage of the time that Tangela took to douse its vines in Poison Powder, he would use this as an opening.

"Don't wait for it!" ordered Ash with excitement in his voice. "Charge it, and hit it with an Ember barrage!"

Huffing and puffing on account of the tremendous amount of energy he had exerted while dodging Tangela's multiple attempts at Vine Whip, Charmeleon dug his reptilian feet into the ground and loaded his mouth with blazing hot flames before taking off toward Tangela.

He kept his flames idle in his maw for a brief moment as he forced up as much of his internal flame as he could. When he finally let them go, it was apparent that Charmeleon had put a lot into them by the way that the temperature within the barrier drastically increased.

As the flames closed in on Tangela, Ash crossed his fingers and hoped that they would hit. Just when he thought that the grass-type was too preoccupied with Growth to do something about Charmeleon's incoming attack, Tangela once again attempted to throw itself out of the way by using the vines that it had buried in the soil as leverage.

There was a loud, aberrant shriek as the first of the Embers collided with Tangela, burning part of the vines that directly shielded its body. Even though it sounded and looked bad, Ash wasn't too concerned about the Tangela's general well-being. It was still a ways away from being defeated. Moreover, Tangela were known for rapidly regenerating their vines.

After all, there was a reason why scientists had yet to find out what was hidden underneath a tangela's vines. Under ordinary circumstances, they grew at an extraordinary pace. When stimulated by pain, anxiety or adrenaline, they grew almost ten times as fast with a significant increase in abundance.

Unfortunately, after being hit by the first Ember, Tangela managed to use its rooted vines to swing itself out of the way of the rest of them.

A couple of Tangela's entrenched vines were hit by the Ember barrage, causing them to set ablaze and disintegrate in an instant. However, other than the ones that had been burned when the first Ember hit, the rest of the vines that were in direct contact with its body were unharmed.

That was okay, though. Charmeleon was the first to deal noteworthy damage in the fight, giving Ash a considerable boost when it came to his confidence. The momentum was his. At least…that's what he thought.

Ash was abruptly reminded of Erika's second order, Bind, when Tangela overcame the damage it had received from Charmeleon's Ember, unleashing a plethora of interwoven vines that covered an expansive amount of space surrounding the fire lizard. The vines abruptly came together, forming what looked like an oversized, blue lasso.

"Get out of there!" screamed Ash at the top of his lungs as Tangela swiftly attempted to sever the space in-between its vines to trap Charmeleon.

His plea was to no avail. Charmeleon tried to do whatever he could to get out of the way of Tangela's Bind. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to go. Tangela completely encompassed him in its vines. The fire lizard let out a painful gasp as he was caught by the bizarre grass-type's Bind.

"Dammit," cursed Ash under his breath while Tangela gradually squeezed Charmeleon tighter and tighter.

"Try and burn the vines!" yelled Ash frantically as he racked his brain in attempt to think of a way to get Charmeleon free from its clutches.

Just as Charmeleon was about to unleash Ember, Tangela separated some of the vines that it had been using to secure the fire lizard and wrapped them around Charmeleon's jaw, sealing it shut. At this point, it was beyond obvious that Tangela had plenty of experience battling against fire-types and that it was a much more formidable foe than he had originally anticipated.

If he didn't think of something soon, he would have no choice but to return Charmeleon in order to rescue him from this situation. He had the luxury of returning his pokemon whenever he felt like it, and right now, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take advantage of that.

"Use Growth again!" commanded Erika.

Her plan didn't surprise Ash. While Tangela had Charmeleon under control, Erika planned on boosting her strength as much as possible. It was a simple strategy; however, in a situation such as this one, it was a good one.

It proved to Ash that Erika wasn't just thinking about the match-up between Charmeleon and Tangela. If she was concerned about Charmeleon, she would be more urgent when it came to finishing him off. No, she was using their present predicament as an opportunity to power up Tangela for the rest of the battle.

On top of the fact that Tangela was using Growth, Ash noticed while watching the grass-type enhance its strength that the vines attached to the ground would, every so often, pulse with a bright, green glow. This let him know that Tangela had in fact been using Ingrain ever since the beginning of the battle, which meant that it was in a position to have its health constantly rejuvenated.

Simply put, if he didn't do something soon, he was screwed.

"Tangela, Constrict and Mega Drain!" bellowed Erika with a large grin on her face.

Ash watched with wide eyes as Tangela's vines squeezed Charmeleon's body even tighter while glowing the same bright green as its Ingrain. As Ash witnessed Charmeleon's energy gradually drain from his body, he shook his head and raised his pokeball in preparation to return him.

If he let this go on for too much longer, Charmeleon would fall unconscious due to a combination of lack of air and stamina. It was better that he pulled him out now, so that he could battle again later. Normally, Ash would be against battling in such a conservative manner, but this was a gym battle, and it was fairly obvious that Erika was a lot better than he thought she would be.

"Charmeleon retur—"

Right when he was about to press down the button to return Charmeleon, he stopped when something unexpected occurred. Tangela's Bind/Constrict/Mega Drain combination came to a sudden halt as smoke started to sputter out from underneath it. There were no visible signs of Charmeleon using Ember, which was his only fire-type technique at the moment, so Ash would be lying if he said that he wasn't confused.

His confusion only increased when Tangela's grasp on Charmeleon began to loosen, allowing the fire lizard to use Ember to burn through the vines that had been binding his maw. It was at that moment that Charmeleon let out a passionate roar that was unlike anything his trainer had ever heard from him.

Maybe it was because Ash was still used to the little charmander that overexerted itself in order to make up for its lack of strength, but he was genuinely surprised by the harsh cry that Charmeleon emitted as Tangela's vines had no choice but to bit by bit disenthrall.

"What is going o—" managed Ash to himself before his attention was snatched away by the sight of Charmeleon's tail flame, suddenly erupting like an exploding volcano.

Ash smirked.

No wonder the vines were receding.

No wonder Charmeleon's entire disposition had changed.

No wonder the tide of the battle had completely reversed.

The fire lizard had been temporarily consumed by his internal flame. Due to being gradually pushed to his limits in such an important battle, Charmeleon had subconsciously activated his ability: Blaze.

Blaze was an ability that was essentially the fire-type equivalent to Wartortle's Torrent. Just like how Ash's water-type had been pushed into a state where his water based moves became nearly twice as strong as they had been before, Charmeleon's internal flame had granted him with the power to overwhelm his opponent before falling unconscious.

Pokemon abilities had the tendency to manifest differently for every individual specimen, but it looked as though Charmeleon had a rather straight forward Blaze. His entire body had been ignited in what looked like a thin layer of flames, which is what had caused Tangela's vines to gradually retreat, and his tail flame was about three times as big as it normally was.

It was as if Charmeleon had been possessed by fire itself as the last of the vines that entrapped his body disintegrated and turned to ash.

Ash quickly suppressed his astonishment, realizing that it was now or never. Blaze wasn't something that Charmeleon would be able to keep up for too much longer. He needed to strike now before the opportunity slipped through his fingers.

"Dragon Rage/Ember combo!" howled Ash, crossing his fingers that Charmeleon hadn't lost himself amidst his internal flame.

Charmeleon responded by letting out a massive burst of purple and orange flames at Tangela. The grass-type quickly used its ingrained vines to swing out of the way of the devastating attack, realizing that it couldn't endure it. However, while fleeing from the powerful technique, it didn't realize that Charmeleon was actually aiming for its buried vines.

"Damn!" cursed Erika from across the arena as Tangela's Ingrain was burned into nothingness within the blink of an eye. "Tangela, you've got to avoid its flames until Blaze runs out!"

"Not happening!" retorted Ash. " Charmeleon, Smokescreen, chain it with Ember/Dragon Rage!"

Obeying Ash, Charmeleon coughed up a thick cloud of black smoke that covered and obscured the space around himself and Tangela. Within the black fog, a bright purple and orange glow illuminated, making itself the only thing visible within Charmeleon's Smokescreen.

Next thing Ash knew, he heard an ear-shattering shriek that caused him to cringe with discomfort. It wasn't all that hard to figure out what had happened. And as the Smokescreen slowly dissipated, it became more and more apparent. Laying face down, unconscious and charred was Tangela, who was unable to endure Charmeleon's enhanced flames.

Charmeleon stood shakily over the grass-type's burnt body, which was rapidly reproducing vines, although it was unconscious. A smile breached the fire lizard's face as Erika returned Tangela, and Charmeleon looked back at his trainer, clearly looking to get praised.

"That was awesome Char—"

Ash was cut-off as Charmeleon's Blaze abruptly stopped, and his previously weary eyes went completely white. Right before Charmeleon fell to the ground, Ash returned him.

"That was awesome, buddy," praised Ash to Charmeleon's pokeball. "I couldn't have asked for a better battle from you."

"I've got to say, I wasn't expecting that!" exclaimed Erika from across the battlefield as she enlarged her second pokeball. "That one turned in your favor quickly!"

"It was still a draw, though!" yelled Ash, "and I had the type-advantage!"

"We already established that type-advantage isn't everything!"

She paused, "Anyway, let's get the next round started! I can't wait to find out what you've got up your sleeve this time!"

Ash couldn't help but internally chuckle. Ironically enough, it was Erika that held her pokeballs in her sleeve...

While contemplating where he got his awful sense of humor from, Ash reattached Charmeleon's pokeball and unclipped Ivysaur's.

He'd be matching Erika with a grass-type of his own this time…

Right before he tossed Ivysaur's pokeball onto the battlefield, Ash glanced off to the side, interested to find out whether or not Eevee was enjoying herself.

Through the semi-translucent barrier, Ash was able to easily make out Skylar, Ruphus, Ellen and Millie, who were all attentively waiting for Ash and Erika's next move. Standing right in-between Skylar and Millie was Eevee. Ash couldn't see her facial expression from his current position, but it looked as though she was glued into what was going on.

"Good," Ash mindlessly whispered to himself.

Thus far, it appeared as if Skylar was right when she said that it would be beneficial for Eevee to witness the battle…

Ash's eyes were drawn back to the battleground when he heard the sound of a pokeball release and saw a bright, white flash in his peripherals. In wake of the flash was a drooling gloom, which didn't surprise Ash. Much like Sabrina's obsession with the abra line, Erika was well known for her love of the oddish family.

He had been expecting at least one to be amongst the team that she was using.

"Focus on the battle!" shouted Erika with an edgy intonation. "Your friends can wait until we are finished!"

Ash gulped. Erika sure could be scary when she wanted to be.

"You're right!" replied Ash, throwing Ivysaur's pokeball onto his side of the battlefield. "It won't happen again!"

Right as Ash finished his sentence, Ivysaur's pokeball snapped open, unleashing a blast of white light. When it faded, Ivysaur stood proud and ready for battle.

"…Y-y-you have an Ivysaur, too!?" stammered Erika as she stared in awe at the severely rare grass-type.

"Too?" questioned Ash, just loud enough so that Erika could hear him. "Do you have an Ivysaur?"

"No, but I've always wanted one!" blustered Erika as she ogled at Ash's friend. "I've been trying to convince Professor Oak to give me a bulbasaur for the last couple of years – since he's the only issuer that is authorized to give them out – but he's either not had any or chosen to give the bulbasaur he's had to someone else! It's the worst!"

She paused as a devilish smirk formed across her face, "I'll trade you for it…"

Ash shook his head definitively as he watched Ivysaur look back at him in a confused manner.

"Not interested!" retorted Ash, slightly offended. "Ivysaur is one of my closest friends! I wouldn't trade him for anything!"

Erika let out a disappointed sigh.

"I figured as much…" she groaned, barely loud enough for Ash to hear. "Well, I guess I should just be happy that I got to see another one!"

"...That's the second time you've mentioned another Ivysaur," said Ash, squinting his eyes in a way that portrayed curiosity, "if you don't have one, who does!?"

Erika's disposition turned sour as she answered, "That little brat that I battled right before you had one! Until today, the only member of the bulbasaur line that I've seen is my mother's venusaur…and it's been a while since I last saw her! But, all of a sudden, I've seen two Ivysaur in the last hour! What are the chances of—"

She clenched her fists, "And you're both from Pallet Town! What the hell!? I'm going to murder Professor Oak! Even though I'm a gym leader, he's denied me a bulbasaur multiple times, but two rookie trainers from the same year! Dammit!"

"Wait a second!" exclaimed Ash, utterly surprised. "Did you just say that the girl you were arguing with was from Pallet Town!?"

He paused, "and she has an ivysuar!?"

"You don't know her?" questioned Erika. "Well, that's weird. I figured you'd both know each other since you're rookies from a small town…no wonder you didn't say anything to each other."

"She must have been the other trainer from Pallet," whispered Ash to himself, putting the pieces together.

"What did you say!?" asked Erika, oblivious to the fact that Ash had been talking to himself.

"Nothing," retorted Ash.

"Alright, then," answered Erika. "If you want to talk about this more after the battle, I have no problem doing that! However, we should get things going again! Our pokemon are getting antsy!"

Erika was right. It was obvious that Ivysaur and Erika's gloom were getting irritated by the fact that they had been talking like this in the middle of a gym battle.

Ivysaur was practically leering at his trainer, whereas the gloom was impatiently folding its arms and tapping its foot. Judging by its mannerisms, Ash had a feeling that the gloom Erika had let out had an interesting personality compared to most members of its species.

"Okay!" exclaimed Ash. "Who makes the first move!?"

"How about we just pick things back up on the count of three!?" replied Erika.

"Works for me!"

"Alright, then!" shouted Erika, taking a dramatic pause before continuing.

"One…"

"Two…"

"And three!"

"Ivysaur, use Sunny Day!" bellowed Ash, starting things off by commanding Ivysaur to use the TM move that he had mastered during their time in the White Room.

Following Ash's command, Ivysaur's bud glowed with an extremely bright, orange light before firing straight up into the air. Even though he had seen it multiple times in the White Room over the past couple of days, he had to cover his eyes with his elbow in order to protect himself from temporary blindness.

Now, Ivysaur's Sunny Day was far from a level where it could stabilize into an ersatz sun that could last for a whole entire battle. But, the ephemeral blast of sunlight would work wonders in a battle like this, where they were in a structure that didn't completely block the sun out from the battlefield.

The Celadon Gym's glass roof filtered in enough sunlight that Ivysaur could activate Chlorophyll without Sunny Day. Sunny Day would just enhance that sunlight to a point where it would start out being just as strong as it would have been if they were outdoors.

As the light from the Sunny Day rained down on Ivysaur and Gloom, Ash smiled as his grass-type's bud sparkled while absorbing and converting the sunlight into a natural steroid. With every second that passed by, he could see Ivysaur's leg muscles pulse with more and more energy.

"Acid!" yelled Erika.

Ash's line of sight went from Ivysaur to Gloom as Erika gave the weed pokemon its first command.

"Get ready to dodge!" warned Ash as the drool that was leaking from Gloom's mouth changed from white to a bright orange that looked like vomit.

Ivysaur let out a deep grunt, letting Ash know that he was ready.

The next thing Ash knew, foul smelling orange liquid was being flung across the arena as Ivysaur easily evaded it with the speed that he had attained from Chlorophyll. As soon as the Acid hit the ground, it ate away at the soil, causing Ash to cringe.

Granted, Gloom's Acid wouldn't have the same effect on Ivysaur as it had on the soil. All pokemon had strong enough bodies to endure most corrosive elements. If they didn't, there would be no way to defend against pokemon that relied heavily on decaying poisons such as the grimer and koffing lines.

"Keep it up, Gloom, let's find out just how fast this ivysaur is!"

Obeying its trainer, Gloom spat a speedy barrage of Acid at Ivysaur, trying to assess what kind of agility it was dealing with. The long-ranged assault lasted a couple of minutes as Gloom couldn't make direct contact with Ivysaur. Every so often, one of Gloom's acidic globs managed to indirectly splash Ivysaur, but all it did was leave small burns.

Any damage that Ivysaur took from Gloom, he managed to deal back. While Gloom desperately attempted to land a direct hit with Acid, Ivysaur countered with Razor Leaf. Most of the time, Gloom would intercept the blade-like leaves with Acid, but Ivysaur had still dealt more damage to Gloom than it had to him.

"It's faster than I thought!" exclaimed Erika before calling out to her pokemon. "Gloom, Sweet Scent, now!"

Gloom stopped its assault with Acid before shaking its entire body from side to side. As the round, brown petals on top of its head jiggled back and forth, a pink powder was released into the air.

Even if Erika didn't announced the move beforehand, Ash would have recognized it on account of the fact that he and Ivysaur had been working on mastering Sweet Scent themselves.

Right when the pink powder diffused into the air, it permeated Ash's nostrils, causing a massive grin to take over his formerly serious face. Sweet Scent definitely lived up to its name. There were few things that Ash had smelt that compared to the aroma of Sweet Scent, including the tantalizing smells that existed on behalf of the many perfume shops in Celadon's southwestern district.

Unfortunately, Sweet Scent didn't have the same effect on Ivysaur as it did on him. Ash clenched his fists in frustration as Ivysaur's disposition became less alert, and his movements were less crisp and more sluggish. Since Ivysaur had been in control of the battle because of the speed that accompanied Chlorophyll, Erika was trying to fix the problem by using Sweet Scent to slow him down.

"Don't be discouraged!" shouted Ash, realizing that although Ivysaur's movements had dulled, he was still faster than Gloom. "Use, Take Down!"

Trusting his trainer, Ivysaur tried his best to ignore the fact that his speed had significantly diminished and bounded toward Gloom, who had a mischievous look on its face.

Just by paying attention to its mannerisms, Ash could tell that Erika's gloom was comfortable in battle. Besides, Ash knew it was an experienced gloom the moment it was released because it didn't give off a terrible odor.

It was a well-known fact that Gloom only emitted their famous stench when they felt as if they were in danger. Since Gloom didn't smell – at least as far as Ash could tell – that told him that it didn't find battle as being dangerous, which could mean one of two things. Either it was a complete dunce, or it had enough battle experience to know that the situation wasn't truly alarming.

…Ash figured Gloom's case to be the latter.

In any case, it didn't take very long to find out the reason behind Gloom's fiendish smirk. Just as Ivysaur was about to use Take Down to recklessly tackle it, Gloom lowered its head and expelled a condensed cloud of yellow dust.

The yellow dust, which was without a doubt Stun Spore, connected with Ivysaur. Due to its nature as a status effect technique, it didn't give Gloom an immediate advantage. The weed pokemon was barreled over by Ivysaur's strong, stout body, causing it to cry out in pain.

On account of the recoil from Take Down, Ivysaur let out a small whimper of his own. However, Ash wasn't too concerned. Ivysaur was tough enough to endure the punishing side-effect of Take Down. What he was actually worried about was the Stun Spore that the saurian had been hit with. Hopefully, it didn't cause any paralysis issues as the battle went on.

Ash's thoughts were interrupted as both pokemon slowly stood up. With just a glance, he could tell that they were in pain, although he'd say that Gloom was the worse for wear.

"Leech Seed!" shouted Ash, realizing that it would be smart to hit Gloom while it was still shaken.

Ivysaur immediately shot a precipitous battery of parasitic seeds at Gloom, who had no choice but to take them. Unlike Ivysaur, Gloom wasn't used to tough, physical battle. The damage that it had acquired from getting hit by Ivysaur's Take Down was a lot heavier than what his grass-type had gotten from the recoil.

As the Leech Seeds buried themselves within Gloom's body, Ash's eyes lit up. It didn't have that much energy left. If he wanted to win this match-up, now was the time to strike.

"Ivysaur, Sleep Powder!" commanded Ash with fire in his eyes.

Just as Ash's excitement hit a boiling point, Ivysaur froze. He cursed under his breath as it took him no time at all to figure out what had happened. Stun Spore had temporarily incapacitated him. Right when Ivysaur was about to finish Gloom off, the status effect had rendered him immobile.

"Now's our chance!" exclaimed Erika. "Gloom, use Mega Drain!"

All of a sudden, Gloom sprinted the short distance between Ivysaur and itself before wrapping its arms around Ivysaur's side. On account of the fact that Gloom didn't have vines like Ivysaur or the tangela that Ash had battled earlier, it had to rely on using its own limbs in order to perform Mega Drain, which required physical contact.

Ash stared ahead in shock as Gloom's rudimentary hands glowed a bright green while being pressed up against Ivysaur's body. His friend's strength gradually drained away from his body, and Gloom seemed to be getting healthier as it stole and absorbed Ivysaur's energy.

Ash desperately racked his brain in attempt to come up with a way to counter against Gloom's Mega Drain, but unfortunately he couldn't think of anything that didn't involve Ivysaur moving. At this point, the battle's outcome was entirely up to his friend. Despite the fact that he was having the energy stolen from his body, he needed to find the willpower to fight through the paralysis.

Just when Ash started to debate in his head whether or not it would be a good idea to return Ivysaur, he noticed it. Leaking from the first layer of Ivysaur's bud was a bright blue powder. Due to the fact that Erika was on the opposite side of the battlefield, she couldn't see it, and it looked as if Gloom hadn't noticed it yet either.

A smile stretched across Ash's face as the powder fell upon Gloom. By the time the weed Pokemon noticed, it was already too late. Within a fraction of a second, Gloom went from draining Ivysaur's energy to breathing in soil after falling face first into the ground.

"What just happened!?" yelled Erika, astonished. "Gloom was just—"

"Sleep Powder!" answered Ash, "Ivysaur wasn't as defenseless as you may have thought!"

Ash thought he heard a curse word fly out of Erika's mouth, but he was too focused on what was about to happen next to care.

"Can you move!?" Ash questioned the saurian from across the battlefield.

Ivysaur answered him by releasing his vines and wrapping them around Gloom's motionless body.

"I'll take that as a yes!" blurted Ash as the fire reignited in his eyes. "Don't let this opportunity go to waste! Finish it while it's asleep!"

"Gloom, wake up!" begged Erika in a voice of desperation.

Listening to his trainer, Ivysaur lifted Gloom in the air while elongating his vines as far as he could. As Ash looked up and saw Gloom suspended in the air, he couldn't help but frown.

…This was going to hurt.

While letting out a loud grunt, Ivysaur abruptly swung his vines toward the ground in preparation to slam Gloom. About halfway through Gloom's descent, it was enveloped in a radiant ray of red light, signifying that it was being returned.

Given the fact that gym leaders couldn't freely return their pokemon during a gym battle, it was apparent that Erika had forfeited Gloom for the rest of the match, which didn't surprise Ash. If he were in Erika's shoes, he would have done the same thing.

Ivysaur had defeated Gloom the moment that it and its trainer failed to notice Ivysaur's Sleep Powder. There was no need to let Gloom take any more damage, especially since she still had two pokemon left.

After Ivysaur's vines receded back into their natural holsters, Ash watched in concern as he froze once again. This time, it was for a much shorter period of time—only a few seconds. Still, a few seconds was long enough for Ash to question whether or not Ivysaur could continue.

"Can you keep going!?" queried Ash. "If there's any doubt in your mind, let me know!"

Ivysaur turned around and nodded definitively. He didn't have that much energy left; that much was clear. But, he wanted to keep battling. Back in Saffron, he had kept fighting under worse conditions than this. Compared to the exhaustion he had felt while battling against Team Rocket, this was nothing.

"Gotcha'!" replied Ash, reciprocating Ivysaur's nod, "but I won't hesitate to pull you out if I think you're putting yourself in danger!"

Ivysaur answered by gingerly turning around and facing Erika.

"You've got quite the pokemon there!" exclaimed Erika as she placed Gloom's pokeball back into her sleeve. "I thought I had it cornered, and here I am having to decide which pokemon to use next! For your first real gym battle, you're a lot better than I thought you'd be!"

She paused as she looked at Ash with an enhanced sense of confidence, "Maybe it's time I got serious!"

Ash's heartbeat hastened, and he unconsciously flipped his hat backwards. He didn't know what Erika was about to release, but as she drew her next pokeball out of her sleeve something was different about her. It was as if she had finally decided that he was worthy of seeing what she was truly capable of.

Ash anxiously clenched Ivysaur's pokeball in his hand while Erika enlarged her pokeball.

The second half of the battle was about to begin.

As Erika lofted her pokeball into the air, Ash couldn't help but contemplate his next course of action. Whatever was about to be released was likely stronger than Erika's first two battlers, and Ivysaur was already on his last leg. The most logical thing to do would be to try and inflict a status effect. If he could manage at least that much, he would be satisfied.

Be that as it may, Erika was a grass-type gym leader whose specialty was status moves. Ash had a feeling that she knew exactly what he wanted to do. Thus, it wasn't going to be easy.

When the light from the release vanished, Ash shook his head in amusement. Of course, right when his friend had managed to squeeze by with a narrow victory against Gloom, Erika would send out an even more experienced looking vileplume.

Ash had only seen a couple other vileplume throughout his journey, and just by looking at Erika's he could tell that they all paled in comparison. Its dark blue body stood just a little bit shorter than Ash, and although its rudimentary hands and feet were short, they were much bulkier than the average vileplume's extremities.

The vileplume's red beady eyes stared ahead at Ivysaur with a look of intrigue, and it showed him a mischievous smile that wasn't all that different from the expression that Gloom had given them.

To be expected, the fully evolved grass-type's most noteworthy feature was the massive, red flower that was growing out of the top of its head. It was by far the largest flower that Ash had ever seen, which worried him.

It was common knowledge that you could tell how strong a vileplume was by the size of their flower. Since the flower atop the specimen in front of him was gargantuan, there wasn't a doubt in Ash's mind that it was powerful.

"Be ready, Ivysaur!" shouted Ash, understanding that he needed to be patient against the flower pokemon. "That vileplume is strong!"

Unlike his battle against Gloom, Ivysaur wasn't in a position where he could physically overpower the grass-type. Vileplume weren't physically feeble pokemon; evolution granted them a much stronger and sturdier body compared to its previous forms. As a matter of fact, in terms of brute strength, Erika's vileplume more than likely surpassed Ivysaur.

"Meet Vileplume!" shouted Erika, gesturing in the direction of the flower pokemon. "The fact that you've been able to draw him out is an accomplishment in and of itself! He's one of my strongest pokemon! I hope that I'm not overestimating you! If I am…good luck!"

She paused as she focused her eyes on Vileplume, "Finish that Ivysaur! It's taken a lot of damage, so it should be a cinch!"

Wasting no time, Vileplume started things off by lowering its head and spewing out an absurd amount of orange acid from the center of its flower. Looking back on his battle against Gloom, Vileplume's Acid smelt way more pungent, and there was a lot more of it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Vileplume's Acid was on a whole different level.

As soon as the Acid left Vileplume's flower, Ivysaur was already dodging. He could tell that the saurian was exhausted just by watching his movements, which were all over the place because of his tiredness. If Vileplume wanted to, it could get away with using Acid until Ivysaur could no longer keep up, or he was incapacitated because of the Stun Spore.

However, Ash had a feeling that wasn't its objective. Every once in a while, it would peek up at Ivysaur with an eager expression as if it were waiting for an opportunity to finish it off in a more interesting way.

After about a minute of Ivysaur avoiding what seemed like hundreds of globs of acid, Vileplume made its move. With a flippant look on its face, the flower pokemon charged a sphere of green energy in its hands before launching it in Ivysaur's direction. Ash didn't recognize the move, but he could only imagine the kind of damage it would do if it hit.

"Dodge!" shouted Ash frantically as he tried to think of a way to counter.

Fortunately, just as the green orb was about to hit, Ivysaur managed to dart out of the way. Ash did a fist pump, celebrating his grass-type's stellar dodge; however, his mood quickly changed when he noticed that Vileplume was on the move.

As Vileplume bounded toward Ivysaur at a speed Ash didn't think was possible for its species, it loaded another energy sphere in its hands. Once the distance between the two pokemon had been covered, the flower pokemon lunged forward with the intention of burying it into Ivysaur's side.

For a split-second, Ash's instincts wanted him to have Ivysaur dodge, but judging by how close Vileplume had gotten, it would have been useless. There was no way that Ivysaur could get away in his current condition. The only thing he could do was try and go down fighting.

"Poison Powd—"

It was too late. Right before Ivysaur was about to get hit, the Stun Spore parlayed him yet again. All Ivysaur could do was stand there as Vileplume's energy ball crashed into his side. On account of the paralysis, he couldn't even cry out in pain as the momentum of the attack sent him hurtling across the soil to the other side of the battlefield.

When Ivysaur finally came to a stop, it was as plain as day that he was unconscious. His eyes were blank, and he was laying in a position that didn't look particularly comfortable. As Ash raised Ivysaur's pokeball to return him, he couldn't help but feel guilty. He should have pulled Ivysaur out before the battle even started.

Even if Ivysaur disagreed, he wasn't in good enough condition to go up against a pokemon like Vileplume. His grass-type probably could have done something if it was a weaker opponent, but he should have done a better job of reading the situation.

"Ivysaur, return," said Ash to no one in particular, returning the saurian to his capture device.

After placing Ivysaur's pokeball back on his belt, Ash unclipped Growlithe's red and white sphere and enlarged it. Before the battle had even started, he had decided that he would save Pidgeotto for last. So, it wasn't a lengthy decision.

"The battle will continue as soon as you release your next pokemon!" announced Erika.

He answered her by launching Growlithe's pokeball into the middle of the battlefield. They had done enough talking throughout the match. He didn't plan on conversing with Erika again until the battle was over.

When Growlithe's pokeball opened, and the light from the release died out, Growlithe stood confidently in the center of the arena. With his razor-like teeth bared, the puppy pokemon looked like he was more than ready to take on Vileplume.

Vileplume glared back at Growlithe with its beady, red eyes. It was apparent that the fully evolved grass pokemon wasn't intimidated by the fire-type whatsoever.

"Hmm…A second fire-type?" queried Erika, cocking her head. "This should be fun!"

"That vileplume is really strong!" warned Ash, causing Growlithe to glance back at him for a split-second. "Take advantage of your typing, but don't underestimate it because it's a grass-type!"

Growlithe let out a confirmatory grunt before focusing his eyes back on Vileplume.

They stared at each other intensely for a couple of seconds before Growlithe made the first move. In a heartbeat, he eliminated the distance between himself and Vileplume, using his untouchable speed to throw Vileplume off balance. Before the grass-type could react, he loaded his maw with fire before unleashing a salvo of fire balls.

One connected, causing the flower pokemon to let out a high-pitched shriek. However, it quickly shook it off and dodged while forming a new expression on its face. Up to this point, Vileplume's demeanor had been arrogant and impish. Now, it was looking at Growlithe with possessed eyes. It reminded him of the bloodthirsty look that Pidgeotto got when he was in a tough battle.

"Here we go!" shouted Ash as he watched the angry grass-type lower its head and expel a flurry of yellow powder at Growlithe. "Dodge!"

Obeying his trainer, Growlithe once again took off in a sprint, easily avoiding Vileplume's Stun Spore barrage. While strafing around the grass-type, appearing as an orange and black blur to the naked eye, Growlithe fired Several Embers in attempt to deal more damage to Vileplume.

The flower pokemon quickly proved that the initial Ember it had been hit by was a case of being caught off guard. Despite Growlithe's overwhelming speed and expeditious firing rate, Vileplume either danced around every Ember that threatened to connect or intercepted them with Acid.

It was an amazing display, but Ash couldn't help but wonder how long the grass-type would be able to keep it up. Although it was unusually agile for its species, it was still a vileplume. Eventually, it would run out of stamina.

Growlithe was a different story, though. It would be foolish for Ash to think that he could keep this pace up forever, but there was no doubt in Ash's mind that he could outlast Vileplume. Be that as it may, Ash doubted that it would be that kind of battle. He was counting on Erika to make a specific move that would help him take control of the current matchup.

"Slow it down with Sweet Scent!" yelled Erika, realizing that Growlithe's natural quickness was problematic.

Ash smirked. He knew they would use Sweet Scent once they experienced Growlithe's speed.

Good...he couldn't have asked for a better scenario. Erika was about to fall into his trap.

"High Velocity Flame Wheel!" bellowed Ash. "You know what to do!"

As Vileplume spat a burst of pink powder out of the core of its flower, Growlithe lunged forward in the direction of Vileplume while igniting himself in an armor of flames. He started off somersaulting at his normal speed, but that changed when he suddenly shifted gears, moving at a rate that was almost three times as fast as an average Flame Wheel.

Completely stunned, Vileplume could do nothing but take Growlithe's extremely fast Flame Wheel head on. It cried out in pain as it was barreled over. The combination of Growlithe's flames and the collision did even more damage than Ash had expected.

After running over Vileplume with Flame Wheel, Growlithe had no choice but to expel his flames.

Growlithe's enhanced Flame Wheel was a move that utilized a tremendous amount of energy. It combined Quick Attack – which Ash had managed to easily teach Growlithe during his trip to Celadon – and Flame Wheel, which were two high energy attacks. When used individually, they didn't drain too much of Growlithe's stamina. However, when combined, they took a lot out of him.

Even when Growlithe was at full strength, he could only use it once without exhausting his body to the point that he could no longer battle. It was a chancy combination move that they had experimented with throughout the last couple of weeks, but it wasn't until their time in the White Room that he had decided it was suitable for battle.

Under ordinary circumstances, he wouldn't risk it, but this battle was a little different. Even with his type advantage, Growlithe stood no chance at overpowering Vileplume. In terms of pure power, Vileplume was way stronger than him, which meant that he would have to rely on his speed and wits to win.

Although High Velocity Flame Wheel was a powerful move that dealt a lot of damage, it's primary purpose was to nullify Sweet Scent. By enveloping himself in flames and rotating his body at an otherworldly speed, Growlithe was able to completely repel and burn away Vileplume's Sweet Scent.

An ordinary Flame Wheel did a pretty good job of protecting Growlithe from Sweet Scent, but it couldn't burn up enough of the powder to where it had zero effect.

This one was different. The flames moved at such a speed that they completely isolated Growlithe from Sweet Scent's potent particles. Against status moves such as Sweet Scent, it had the same effect as Protect while also being able to deal a significant amount of damage.

"What!?" shouted Erika in a confused manner as her scorched Vileplume struggled back up to its feet. "Why didn't it work!?"

Ash shrugged as a big grin formed on his face. Like he'd tell her what had happened.

If Vileplume used Sweet Scent now, Growlithe was done for. After using the new technique, his body was weakened significantly. Right now, he was probably only half as fast as he had been before. For that reason, Ash would keep the specifics involving High Velocity Flame Wheel to himself.

Hopefully, nullifying Sweet Scent once would cause Erika to hesitate when it came to using it again. If she fell for his bluff then It was possible for Growlithe to finish Vileplume off on his own. If not, despite the damage that Vileplume had already accumulated, Ash didn't like Growlithe's chances.

…Vileplume was that strong.

"Moonlight!" yelled Erika, grabbing Ash's attention.

His eyes widened as her command resonated in his ears.

"Crap, Growlithe, hit it with Ember!" blustered Ash. "Don't let it use that move!"

Sensing the urgency in his trainer's voice, Growlithe shot out a quick burst of flames in Vileplume's direction. They weren't strong enough to do any significant damage, but that wasn't what he was aiming for. Growlithe was trying to take Vileplume's attention away from itself, forcing it to cease its attempt at using Moonlight.

To both Ash and Growlithe's displeasure, it didn't work.

Having already raised both of its hands in the air, the flower pokemon's entire body was enshrouded in a pink aura. Vileplume didn't have enough time to dodge the Embers, so they collided with the grass-type head on.

The Embers did damage, but compared to the injuries that Vileplume had just healed with Moonlight, it didn't really matter. Moonlight was a fairy-type technique that Ash had been looking to teach Clefairy for a while now, so he had done a lot of research on it. Essentially, it was a mystical status move that healed the user's injuries depending on the state of the weather.

He couldn't remember every detail, but he was pretty sure that if the conditions were sunny, the user was able to erase a substantial amount of the damage it had sustained before using the technique. Since Ivysaur's Sunny Day had yet to dissolve, Vileplume had likely healed at least half of the damage that Growlithe's High Velocity Flame Wheel had done.

"Based off of your reaction, I'm assuming you're familiar with Moonlight!" stated Erika. "If so, I'm sure you understand what just happened! Too bad! The way that your growlithe handled Vileplume was impressive!"

She paused, "Don't be discouraged, though! I'm sure you have a few more tricks up your sleeve!"

Ash clenched his fist. He liked Erika, but she sure knew how to get in her opponent's head.

He wished he could say that he had another idea in mind when it came to taking back control of the battle, but that would be a lie. All he could do was have Growlithe finish out the battle as best as he could before leaving the rest to Pidgeotto.

…Hopefully, Erika didn't plan on using another monster as her fourth choice.

All of a sudden, Ash's eyes were drawn back to Growlithe when the fire-type used Quick Attack to charge Vileplume. The slightly charred grass-type responded by digging its feet into the ground and holding out its hands as if it were planning to catch Growlithe. An image of Gloom's Mega Drain immediately popped into Ash's head as the fully evolved grass-type's hands glowed green just like its pre-evolved form.

"Don't let it grab you, Growlithe!" bellowed Ash as the puppy pokemon got within striking distance of the powerful grass-type. "It's trying to use—"

Growlithe briskly darted to the right. The moment before Growlithe made his move, Vileplume reached for him and whiffed, likely thinking the fire-type was going to attack head on. As Vileplume stumbled with a surprised look on its face, Growlithe planted his paws into the ground, coming to a complete stop before unexpectedly lunging at Vileplume's side.

While leaping towards Vileplume, Growlithe's maw exploded with flames. At first, Ash thought that the puppy pokemon was about to use Bite/Ember combo, but then he saw something that caught his eye. Amidst the flames that were overflowing from Growlithe's mouth was a shining white light.

It was a subtle difference that most people would have never noticed; however, due to the countless amount of hours that Ash had spent with Growlithe honing the combination technique, he saw it. Growlithe's Bite/Ember combo had finally evolved. The white light in his maw signified that his teeth in and of themselves had ignited.

Bite/Ember combo was no more. In the midst of the heated gym battle, Growlithe had finally learned Fire Fang.

The scream that Vileplume disembogued as Growlithe sunk his scalding hot teeth into Vileplume's side made Ash want to cover his ears. He couldn't even imagine how painful Growlithe's newly learnt Fire Fang was for a grass-type. If he thought about it too much, it made him sick.

It was moments like this that often got to him…pokemon battles could be brutal. There was no use in sugarcoating it. The mightier pokemon got, the more damage they dealt. When both participants were strong, the aftermath of those powers clashing tended to be eye opening.

This was one of those moments.

As Growlithe's blistering jaws burned away at Vileplume's highly flammable flesh, Ash cringed. However, at the same time, he couldn't help but conflictingly raise his fist in support of his friend. His starter was growing stronger right in front of his eyes. In order to help the team attain victory, he was surpassing his limits.

"Fight through the pain!" yelled Erika with desperation in her intonation, "You're not gonna be able to shake it off! Get your hands on it, and use Giga Drain!"

Ash raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed. The fact that Erika was able to think logically in a situation like this was extraordinary.

Exceeding limitations of its own, Vileplume reached down and grabbed Growlithe's body with its green, glowing hands. Ash noticed his friend's body jerk as Vileplume used Giga Drain – in spite of the pain from Fire Fang – to absorb Growlithe's energy.

Due to the fact that Growlithe was already low on energy after using High Velocity Flame Wheel, Ash thought about ordering him to stop his Fire Fang and try to escape Vileplume's clutches. But, he decided not to.

He hadn't been expecting Growlithe to be able to deal this kind of damage once Erika's flower pokemon used Moonlight. Right now, Growlithe was doing everything he could to take Vileplume down. If he stopped his Fire Fang now, there was no guarantee that he would be able to land another move that could help the team win.

Just when Ash assumed that they would both stay where they were until one of them passed out, he watched with intrigue as Growlithe wrapped his forepaws around the base of Vileplume's flower and pushed off of the ground with his posterior paws, elongating his body while keeping his flaming maw buried in Vileplume's sizzling flesh.

"What is he—"

Ash's eyes enlarged and a smirk creeped across his face as he realized what his friend was trying to do.

"Do it, Growlithe!"

With the voice of his trainer driving him to go beyond his limits, Growlithe used his front legs to tightly secure Vileplume before using his hind legs to plunge both of them backwards. On account of his tenacious fighting spirit, at the moment that Growlithe used Reversal, his body tapped into its latent potential, unleashing an incredible surge of power.

Flinging the fully evolved grass-type over his head in a suplex-like motion, Growlithe let out a clamorous roar as he smashed his opponent's head into the soil. Right when Vileplume's head brutally clashed with the ground, Ash witnessed its red eyes jolt prior to going completely blank. Apparently, the cushion that it got from the colossal flower on its head wasn't enough to protect it from unconsciousness.

Even though Vileplume had lost consciousness, Ash was too worried about Growlithe to celebrate. Because he had performed Reversal from a grappling position, he wasn't able to gain the momentum necessary to shield himself from the impact. As a result, Growlithe was now sprawled out on the ground next to Vileplume in a near identical state.

"Great battle, buddy," said Ash in a soft voice as he returned his best friend. "That was unbelievable."

He paused as he gazed down at his friend's pokeball in awe, "Get some rest. I'll take you to the Pokemon Center as soon as this battle's over."

After shrinking Growlithe's pokeball and securing it on his belt, he looked up at Erika, who was speaking to Vileplume's pokeball in a similar manner. Even though they had just been involved in a heated battle, it was pleasant to see another trainer care for her pokemon the same way that he did.

Testing your limits while growing closer as a team was what it was all about, after all. Taking the time to congratulate your friends every time they competed was as important as the battle itself. At least, that's how he had always viewed it. He had experienced enough over the past couple of months to know that no two trainers saw things the exact same way.

"It's been a while since Vileplume lost like that!" yelled Erika while Ash reached for Pidgeotto's pokeball and enlarged it. "You're a good trainer, Ash! I should have gone all out against you from the start!"

A large grin stretched across her pretty face, "That was really fun!"

"Thanks!" replied Ash, clenching his avian's pokeball. "But, it's not over yet! What do you say we finish this!?"

She responded by pulling her last pokeball out from the depths of her sleeve.

"I'm ready whenever you are!"

This time, instead of waiting for a count, Ash took the initiative by being the first to toss his pokeball into the open. Erika was right behind him, though, lofting her pokeball onto her side of the battlefield. The two red and white spheres snapped open in succession, unleashing an efflux of blazing light.

The first to emerge from the refulgent illumination was Pidgeotto. With two heavy thrusts of his wings, he was rocketing high above the battlefield. He let out a discordant, ear-splitting squawk when he saw the roof and realized that he was indoors. Ash shook his head in an amused manner. His avian was so predictable.

Ash's line of sight was suddenly ripped back down to ground-level as the remainder of the light from the releases faded, and Erika's last pokemon was revealed.

Standing assuredly on the opposite side of the arena was a pokemon that Ash had heard a lot about, but had never actually seen in person. Erika's final choice was the fully evolved form of one of Kanto's current starters: Meganium.

The first thing that Ash noticed was that it was a lot cooler looking in person than it was in text books or his pokedex.

Its pale green, sauropod-like body was extremely unique in comparison to some of the other grass-types that he had seen, and its bright, yellow eyes were beautiful and perfectly matched the color of the two stamen-like protrusions that sprouted out from above its nose. It had a gorgeous pink flower with a central yellow pattern and white tips around its long neck, and the small tail that protruded from its posterior was rather cute in his opinion.

Overall, it looked a lot more appealing to him now than when he was originally debating what kind of starter he wanted. It would be interesting to find out what kind of battler it was. Given the fact that Erika had saved it for last, he figured that it was a powerful specimen.

"This should be—"

Ash was cut off, and his attention was once again drawn to his pidgeotto when the massive avian decided to make a sudden landing directly in front of him. He proceeded to puff out his chest while flapping both of his wings aggressively in the direction of the meganium, causing Ash to subconsciously raise both of his eyebrows.

Normally, in an official battle, Pidgeotto wouldn't take the time to examine his opponent before engaging in combat. When it came to his savage friend, this kind of behavior could mean two things. Either he could tell that the pokemon he was about to battle was a worthy opponent, or he was trying to show off.

Given the circumstances, Ash could see it being both. But, he had a feeling that it was more of the former rather than the latter. His bloodthirsty friend was a pretty good judge of strength; if Ash could tell that Erika's meganium was powerful then so could Pidgeotto.

"If you win this, we win the gym battle!" shouted Ash, stating the stakes.

He paused, "I'm counting on you!"

Pidgeotto let out another loud squawk. There wasn't a doubt in Ash's mind that he was up for the challenge.

"A-are you sure that's not a pidgeot!?" stammered Erika, speaking up for the first time since both of their last choices had been revealed.

She had a look of pure shock on her face as she pointed at Pidgeotto with a shaky finger.

"Nope!" retorted Ash, amused. "He's definitely a pidgeotto."

The gym leader blinked several times as if she were trying to force her sight back into reality. Ash simply shook his head; it was apparent that she had never seen a pokemon with the king's nature before.

All of a sudden, she took both of her hands and slapped her cheeks simultaneously in attempt to wake herself up from her stupor.

"Whatever, it may be an impressive specimen, but it's nothing Meganium can't handle!" shouted Erika with a hint of pride in her voice.

"We'll see—"

He was interrupted by Pidgeotto, who responded to Erika's comment with yet another cacophonous outcry.

"Quite the feisty one!" exclaimed Erika with wide eyes. "Meganium, show it that size means nothing compared to experience!"

Obeying its trainer's command, Meganium disembogued a ferocious roar before expelling a flurry of razor-sharp leaves – out from somewhere under its flower – toward Pidgeotto. The avian wasted no time distinguishing the technique. Having had plenty of practice dodging Razor Leaf while sparring with Ivysaur, Pidgeotto exploded off of the ground, easily avoiding Meganium's long-ranged assault.

Meganium responded by firing another group of blade-like leaves at Pidgeotto. This time, they cut through the air at a speed that looked to be nearly twice as fast as before, telling Ash that Meganium was skilled at altering the velocity of its Razor Leaf.

Pidgeotto dodged again, though, moving through the air at a decently fast speed. It wasn't his top speed, and it was nowhere close to comparing to what he was capable of while using Agility. Nevertheless, the fact that Meganium had Pidgeotto meticulously weaving through the air so early on in the battle was a bit concerning, especially since the fully evolved grass-type had only used one move.

As the second barrage of razor leaves bypassed Pidgeotto without making contact, Ash watched with anticipation as his flying-type shackled his wings and descended into a dive.

At first, he gradually built up speed as he neared Meganium. However, a few seconds before impact, his speed hastened tremendously, and he spread his wings in order to level out parallel to the ground. A smirk formed on Ash's face as Pidgeotto phased into Quick Attack with the intention of flying through the space that Meganium currently occupied.

Ash's eyes widened when Meganium suddenly lowered its head and emitted a flash of auroral blue and purple light out of the two anther tipped stamen on its head.

At first glance, Ash thought that it was some sort of energy based attack. However, as the light solidified into a circular shaped barrier, and he witnessed Pidgeotto merely push back Meganium, only inflicting a fraction of the damage that Quick Attack should have dealt, he realized what had happened.

Meganium had used Reflect.

Having stopped Pidgeotto's progress, Meganium shook off the greatly diminished Quick Attack before waving its petals in order to cast out a condensed cloud of purple powder. At such a short distance, there was no way for Pidgeotto to dodge. The Poison Powder permeated through the back side of the Reflect prior to collapsing on Pidgeotto.

"Dammit!" cursed Ash aloud, realizing that Meganium had just baited them into a costly trap. "Pidgeotto, get out of there!"

Letting out an annoyed cry, Pidgeotto stuck out his talons and dragged them through the soil, creating space between himself and the drifting grass-type. He proceeded to thrust his wings in the direction of Meganium, throwing a malicious Gust before flapping both of his wings downward and shooting up into the sky.

A mist of Poison Powder descended from above, falling from Pidgeotto's body down to the middle of the battlefield. Ash crossed his fingers that his friend had managed to get rid of the powder before ingesting its toxins, but that was just wishful thinking. There was no way that he hadn't been poisoned after being exposed to that much Poison Powder.

There was no time to process the fact that Pidgeotto had been poisoned as a quartet of

Razor Leaves flew through the air toward Pidgeotto at an expeditious rate. This time the dangerous projectiles moved even faster than the last time, causing Pidgeotto's eyes to widen the second they entered his field of vision.

He was clipped in the wing by one, resulting in an angry squawk before he used Quick Attack to avoid the others. At this point, it was obvious that Meganium was a quick thinking battler. By putting pressure on Pidgeotto with nonstop attacks, it had taken control of the battle.

"Twister!" yelled Ash, wanting to take the offensive.

With a barbarous look on his face, Pidgeotto filtered draconic energy from the atmosphere and infused it into a medium-sized twister. As it charged within one of the avian's wings, Meganium calmly and wisely used the opportunity to unleash a plethora of leaves that were coated with pink, purple and blue energy.

Ash instantly recognized the technique that Meganium was using as Magical Leaf: a long ranged grass-type attack with small traces of psychic energy. The leaves psychic properties made it so that they were sharper than ordinary leaves – although not as sharp as Razor Leaf – and never missed unless they were forcibly intercepted.

As Pidgeotto launched the Twister at Meganium, it managed to suck up a few of the altered leaves; however, the majority of them managed to get through. While the flying-type was partially struck by Meganium's attack, the fully evolved sauropod wasn't able to escape Twister's vacuum-like wind current.

Both pokemon let out cries of pain as they took damage from each others' attacks. Ash watched with concern as Pidgeotto grimaced a little more than he expected, and he noticed a weary look in his avian's eye that he hadn't picked up on earlier. If he wasn't sure that Pidgeotto was poisoned before, he definitely was now, which meant that they would need to find a way to finish off Meganium soon.

Eventually the poison would get to Pidgeotto. The moment his friend had gotten poisoned, the battle had become just as much about beating time as it was about defeating Erika and her Meganium.

"Pidgeotto, get it off-balance with Whirlwind!" shouted Ash as an idea formed in his head.

The bird pokemon quickly conjured two non-draconic twisters – one in each wing – before launching them both at Meganium. As they landed on the soil and rapidly approached the relatively slow sauropod, it managed to avoid one twister before being sent tumbling backward by the other one.

The Whirlwind didn't have enough power to actually hurt Meganium, but it didn't matter. In order to accomplish what he wanted to, sending Meganium's balance into disarray was more than enough.

"Agility and then Sand Attack!"

Like a breakneck jet, Pidgeotto descended toward Meganium. It almost looked as though he had teleported a couple of times along the way, leaving after-images in the places that he appeared. In a single swooping motion, he dug both of his talons into the ground before scooping up two hefty piles of soil and propelling them at Meganium's face.

Although they didn't practice Sand Attack very often, Pidgeotto accurately threw the soil right into Meganium's eyes, causing it to let out an angry and aggravated roar. While the grass-type was busy excessively blinking in order to recover its vision, Pidgeotto sprung into action. He didn't need Ash to tell him that he had just created an opportunity that he had to take advantage of.

Within the blink of an eye, Pidgeotto used Agility to ascend back into the air. Once he put enough distance between himself and Meganium, he spread both of his wings and formulated two Twisters.

As what sounded like a freight train howled above him, Ash brought his eyes down to ground level in order to check on Meganium. To be expected, after getting hit by such a well placed Sand Attack, the herb pokemon was still desperately trying to get the dirt out of its eyes.

Ash's heart started to race when he focused his line of sight back on Pidgeotto just in time to witness him thrust both of his wings downward, catapulting the Twin Tempest at Meganium.

"Meganium, watch out!" shouted Erika with a hint of fear in her voice.

While continuing to attempt to shake the soil out of its eyes, Meganium tried to leap out of the way. Unfortunately for the grass-type, the pull from the avian's duel twisters was too powerful to escape. While letting out a cry of frustration, Meganium was yanked into the converging purple whirlwinds, unable to do anything about it.

"Nice job, Pidgeotto!" praised Ash, although it was unlikely that he could be heard over the blustering tornado.

The Twin Tempest lasted for roughly a quarter of a minute before fizzling out into nothingness. Once it had ended, Ash was shocked to find Meganium still standing—not because the grass-type was weak, but because not very many pokemon were able to endure it without being knocked out.

Despite the fact that its legs were wobbling, and it looked like it had injuries all over its body, Ash could tell that it wasn't out for the count. He also saw that the powerful twisters had removed the soil from the sauropod's eyes, which was the only negative result of the attack.

After seeing Meganium's condition, Ash looked up at Pidgeotto, who was visibly exhausted. With every second that went by, Ash could tell that the poison was doing more and more damage. It was even more evident now that the avian had used Twin Tempest; powerful techniques tended to accelerate the after-effects of a finely concocted Poison Powder.

"Synthesis!" commanded Erika, making Ash's stomach drop.

"You can't let it use that move!" bellowed Ash frantically.

It was clear by his confused facial expression that Pidgeotto didn't know what Synthesis was, but he phased into Agility nonetheless, making a break to stop Meganium from using the healing technique.

As Ash nervously bit the inside of his mouth, his eyes suddenly widened when Pidgeotto stopped halfway, grimacing on account of the toxins that were attacking his insides. At the same time, Erika's grass-type's entire body shined bright green as some of its injuries recovered.

Synthesis was another healing technique in which its effectiveness was highly dependent on the weather. And just like Gloom's Moonlight, it worked better when the conditions were sunny making it the second move that Erika called out in order to take advantage of Ivysaur's leftover Sunny Day…

"Gust!" commanded Ash, unwilling to handover the momentum to Erika without a fight.

One after the other, Pidgeotto used both of his wings to launch multiple bursts of wind at Meganium. The herb pokemon responded by lowering its head, planting its feet in the ground, and emitting a bright pink ray of light out of its anthers. The light formed into a rectangular shaped barrier that only covered its anterior. However, the partial Light Screen covered enough of its body to protect it from Pidgeotto's repetitive Gusts.

As the fully evolved grass-type was gradually pushed back on account of Pidgeotto's assault, it looked up at the flying-type as if it was waiting for something. By the time Ash figured out what it was, it was too late. When Pidgeotto suddenly froze again because of the pain caused by the poison, Ash cursed under his breath for not figuring it out earlier.

"Petal Dance!"

Using the poison's internal strike as an opportunity to take complete control of the match, Meganium began to move its feet, slowly walking in a small circle. As it did its independent waltz, what looked like hundreds of small, pink petals fell from underneath the large flower around its neck.

A light breeze enveloped Meganium, picking up the pink petals and circling them around its body. For a second, Ash foolishly thought that it was Pidgeotto's doing because of the nature of the unnatural current of wind. But, he was quickly reminded of the command that Erika had shouted when Meganium's eyes went into a blank, white, trance-like state.

This was Petal Dance: an incredibly strong and risky grass-type attack. Ash wasn't too sure about the specifics; Ivysaur couldn't learn it, so he hadn't really looked that far into it.

However, he was aware that its effects were a double-edged sword. It was capable of dealing an absurd amount of damage, but it involved the user putting itself into a hypnotic state that could last up to a couple of minutes. And once Petal Dance was over, the pokemon that relied on its power would be severely confused.

The fact that Erika had commanded Meganium to use Petal Dance meant that she planned to end things here. This was her final pokemon's finishing move. If Pidgeotto got hit by this, it would be over.

"Fight the poison!" cried Ash. "Dodge it when it comes!"

The wind surrounding Meganium gradually got faster and faster until it appeared as though the fully evolved sauropod was being concealed within a revolving barrier. Every once in a while, Ash was able to catch a glimpse of Meganium's vacant eyes within the few gaps in the blended petals.

Suddenly, Ash unconsciously jerked back as the petals broke from their revolution, striking at Pidgeotto like a faceless arbok.

"Move!"

Just as the Petal Dance was about to connect, Pidgeotto mustered up the energy to beat his wings, sending himself soaring to the other side of the arena. He managed to outmaneuver the horde of petals once, but Ash knew that it wouldn't be that easy.

"Watch out!" screamed Ash as the streak of pink made a rapid u-turn before proceeding to chase after the avian like a homing missile. "It's behind—"

Ash's jaw dropped and his voice stopped when the poison struck Pidgeotto again, causing him to abruptly stop in midair and hock up what looked like purple and black phlegm.

"Shi—"

There was an ear-shattering screech and an intense crash that occurred at the moment of impact. Ash's stomach sunk and his eyes enllarged as he watched it happen. As Pidgeotto was engulfed by the raging river of petals, there was a moment of disbelief before all hope was lost.

It was over…he had lost.

Ash's eyes remained focused above him as the petals lost their focus, mindlessly spiraling throughout the air and bouncing off of the exeggutors' barrier whenever they tried to escape the battle's domain. A few seconds went by as Ash tried to wrap his mind around his defeat before realization struck.

Where was Pidgeotto? Why hadn't his body fallen?"

He started to panic as images of Pidgeotto being battered by knifelike petals appeared in his head.

What was going on?

...Could he be stuck?

"I think it's fair to assume that this battle is over!?" shouted Erika from across the battlefield.

Ash ignored her while he surveyed what was beginning to a feel like a living entity above him. He searched for any sign of Pidgeotto. If he wasn't on the ground, he had to be in there somewhere, right?

Just when Ash was on the verge of desperately and aimlessly trying to return Pidgeotto, he saw something. In the middle of the pink storm was an explosion of argent light.

At first, it was expansive and formless, tricking Ash into thinking that it was indicating the end of Petal Dance's cycle. However, when it constricted and took the form of a titanic, amplifying, winged creature, Ash nearly dropped Pidgeotto's pokeball.

Evolution…?

Could it be?

Once the figure had finished growing and glowing, leaving a gargantuan black silhouette amongst the petals, Ash watched in awe as the being he assumed to be his avian shackled his wings for a short moment before casting them outward in a dynamic fashion. All of the petals surrounding his friend were expelled, being sent flying in every direction.

For a split-second Ash saw the form of a bird at least twice the size of Pidgeotto. Its lengthy, gold and red crest flowed throughout the air like an opulent ribbon, catching his immediate attention. Right when it occurred to him that his friend was no longer a pidgeotto, but a pidgeot, he was gone, vanishing by means of and Agility that far surpassed what he was capable of in his previous form.

He reappeared once for a sliver of a moment – somewhere between his previous position and Meganium's entranced form – before unexpectedly arriving directly in front of Meganium. All the while, Ash witnessed out of his peripherals that the previously scattered petals, from Petal dance, were racing to reassemble.

As the piercing, pink foliage converged towards its master and the newly evolved pidgeot at a frightening rate, Ash stared ahead anxiously and curiously when the monstrous bird winded back one of its wings before ruthlessly using it to hit Meganium across the head.

Getting hit by what seemed to be Wing Attack – a hard-hitting physical attack that used a pokemon's wings to powerfully strike the opponent – Meganium was sent tumbling across the soil.

At the same time, either because of the attack or the fact that a considerable amount of time had passed since Meganium first used the technique, the petals abruptly came to a stop and dropped to the ground before fading into nothingness.

After striking the sauropod with a technique that it had learnt during evolution, which was a phenomenon that rarely occurred, Pidgeot used Quick Attack to briskly reach Meganium. It was no longer under the trance of Petal Dance. However, it was extremely confused, sporadically switching between struggling to its feet and smashing its head into the ground.

While the grass-type helplessly wrestled with itself on the ground, Pidgeot landed behind it before holding both of its wings out in front of himself, parallel to one another. Forming within its wings was what started out a small, condensed, purple Twister. Then, Pidgeot rapidly spread its wings as far as possible, causing the minute Twister to grow exponentially.

Hissing like a thousand steam kettles, the Twister continued to grow until it was as tall as the avian's oversized body and as broad as his ample wingspan. Over the grating sound of the Twister, Ash could barely hear Erika, who was crying out to Meganium, begging it to come to its senses and move out of the way.

Ash also thought he heard a plethora of outcries coming from outside of the barrier. Up until now, he had almost forgotten about his friends that were watching the battle. Hopefully, after this last move, Eevee would be more than convinced by his ability as a trainer, and the Worthingtons would be even more confident that the silver kit would be in good hands.

"Finish it!" cried Ash at the top of his lungs.

Pidgeot let out a prideful squawk that gave Ash goosebumps before throwing his wings downward, dropping the overpowered Twister on top of Meganium. There was a loud gasp when the tempest hit. If there was a cry, Ash couldn't hear it amidst the impact of the attack.

He was forced to cover his eyes as soil spurted in every which direction—indiscriminate towards who or what it hit. It wasn't until the aftermath of the attack cleared out that he realized the battle was truly over.

Standing over Meganium's unconscious body, flapping his wings and puffing out his chest, was the newly evolved Pidgeot. He let out a triumphant squawk while staring down at his prey. A smile crept across Ash's face at that moment. He was happy to see that Pidgeot hadn't changed after evolving.

"Great job, Pidgeot!" exclaimed Ash as he sprinted out to meet him in the middle of the battlefield. "You did it!"

The monstrous beast looked back at his trainer with an enthralled expression before lightly flapping his wings and lowering his head so that Ash could pet him. He could see it in his eyes that he was emotional. After all, becoming a powerful Pidgeot was his dream.

While Ash reached up to stroke Pidgeot's plumage, he realized just how big the fully evolved flying-type was. Even when he leant over, Ash had to get up on his toes to reach his face. He wasn't the best at estimating height, but Pidgeot likely stood at least ten feet tall. If it weren't for their history together, Ash would be terrified, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly intimidated.

Other than his overwhelming size and gorgeous crest, Ash noticed that his tail feathers were now completely red and that his beak and talons had gotten a lot sharper. The black feathers around its eyes now went all the way down to his neck rather than stopping just passed his eyes, and Pidgeot's eyes looked a little more focused and dignified.

"You look incredible…" drawled Ash. "Do you feel a lot stronger?"

Pidgeot nodded his head while disemboguing a joyous chirp. This was the happiest Ash had ever seen him outside of battle. It melted his heart to see the savage, sadistic pidgeotto he had found in one of Viridian Forest's trees excited about what he had become. It made Ash feel a certain level of fulfillment that he had never experienced before.

One of his friends had reached their final evolution. It was just another milestone that at one point felt so far away that they had at long last achieved. It was an indescribable feeling.

"Whoa…" muttered Erika as she walked over to Ash. "The closer you get, the more you realize just how much of a giant it is."

It was while Erika made her way over to him that he noticed that she had already returned her fallen Meganium. Her line of sight was stuck on Pidgeot as she appeared to be trying to get a grasp over his existence.

"I know, right?" said Ash. "I knew he would be enormous once he evolved. I mean, it's not like he was average sized when he was a pidgeotto. But, still…this is crazy."

"Crazy," retorted Erika, "crazy doesn't even come close to doing it justice. I've seen my fair share of pidgeot, and it's rare that they're more than five feet tall."

She paused as she pointed at Pidgeot with a nervous finger, "Yours is at least ten feet tall! I've never seen anything like it!"

"Yeah, he's special," answered Ash with a smile.

"You can say that again," inserted Ruphus as he, the rest of the Worthingtons, and Eevee walked over to him and Erika. "Quite the match, Ash. All of your pokemon were impressive, not just Pidgeot, although I was rather blown away by his size. Like Erika said, I've never seen anything like it."

"Thanks," replied Ash, "that means a lot. And Pidgeot's size is due to a rare genetic mutation called the king's nature. I'd rather not take the time to explain all of the details, but essentially he's a giant compared to most of his species.

He paused as he looked back at his friend, "Although that part is kind of self-explanatory."

"The king's nature…" replied Ruphus, raising an eyebrow, "that sounds famil—"

"Oh my God, Ash, that was an unbelievable battle!" blurted Skylar, placing Eevee's pokeball in Ash's hands and interrupting her father. "I was so nervous!"

She glanced down at the silver fox that was looking up at Ash in a contemplative manner, "So was Eevee! You definitely impressed her!"

Ash didn't know Eevee well enough to even attempt to guess what she was thinking, but Ash had a feeling that she was trying to figure out what to do with herself. This was the first time that they had interacted since before their battle, and it was obvious that she felt awkward. He was her trainer now after all, which would take some getting used to.

He folded his arms and smiled while looking at Eevee with a soft expression.

"So, what do you think?" he asked. "Are you happy with your decision?"

Eevee nodded hesitantly as she slowly walked a little closer to Ash. Her personality seemed to differ a lot from what he had seen the first few times he had met her. Oddly enough, she was acting kind of shy.

Ash crouched down, looking at Eevee as amicably as possible, "Don't push yourself. I know it will take a little while to get used to having me as a trainer. How to act around each other doesn't always come naturally. We'll figure it out. As long as you hang in there with me and follow my lead when it comes to training, everything else will work its way into place."

Eevee responded by wagging her bushy tail and letting out an agreeable yap.

"Well, wasn't that just darling!?" uttered Ellen as she reached down to wrap Eevee and Ash up in a three way hug.

"Oh, no you don't," said Ruphus with an amused smile as he swiftly grabbed his wife by the waist and pulled her close to him. "This is their moment. The last thing they want is one of your deathly hugs."

She pouted as she folded her arms and looked away from him.

"I was in control that time! You're such a fun sucker, Ruphus!"

Ash forced himself not to laugh as he witnessed Ruphus dramatically roll his eyes without his wife noticing.

"So, I'm guessing you just got this stunning little eevee?" questioned Erika while Ash stood up from his crouched over position.

"Yup," replied Ash before giving a quick little summary of the circumstances involving how he became Eevee's trainer.

"I see…" drawled Erika as she pivoted her glance between Pidgeot and Eevee, "so you have an Ivysaur, a king's something or other pidgeot and a silver eevee. You're quite the lucky one, aren't you?"

"You could say that," answered Ash sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "It would be a lie to say that I caught them all with skill alone."

"No need to be bashful," said Erika with a cheery smile. "Great trainers don't become great trainers without a little bit of luck. There's nothing wrong with that."

She paused as she shifted her line of sight over to her sister, Millie, who had joined them in the middle of the battlefield while Ash was explaining to Erika how he got Eevee, "Millie, could you give Ash his prize?"

"Of course," she answered before reaching into the sleeve of her yukata, just like her older sister, and pulling out a tiny multi-colored trinket.

It was shaped like a flower with eight different colored petals emerging from its silver core. Celadon Gym's badge was by far the prettiest one that he had earned thus far.

"On behalf of your victory at the Celadon Gym," said Erika she took the badge out of her sisters hand, "I hereby reward you with the Rainbow Badge."

She flashed him an earnest smile before gently placing the badge in Ash's outstretched hands, "You gave me a wonderful battle, Ash. I look forward to seeing how you fare at the conference."

"Thanks, Erika," replied Ash gratefully as he examined his new badge for a bit before sticking it in his jacket pocket.

He'd put it in his badge case later. He still had a few questions he wanted to ask Erika before he and his friends left. She had promised him that she would tell him more about the other trainer from Pallet after the match. Moreover, there was something else that he had been dying to know ever since the beginning of the battle.

"Hey, Erika..." said Ash in a way that suggested that he had something he wanted to get off of his chest.

"Yes."

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Where exactly do you keep your pokeballs?" he asked in an oblivious manner. "You kept reaching into your sleeve, but that doesn't exactly make sense. Do you have clips in there or something?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

He nodded; it must have been some kind of top secret technology.

Catching him off guard, Erika leant over and whispered something in his ear.

The second he heard what she had to say, his face lit up as red as a the top half of a pokeball.

"Oh…"

XXX

"How much longer do you plan on staying in Celadon?" asked Skylar as the two of them waited in one of the Pokemon Center's lounges for his friends to get healed.

"I was planning on leaving tomorrow," said Ash, "but we ended up staying at the gym a lot longer than I thought we would."

He paused as he let out a light chuckle, "I never would have guessed that I'd have so much to talk about with Erika. She's a lot different than people make her out to be."

"Yeah," replied Skylar, "her reputation has taken a hit because of some of the decisions she's made, but she's a really nice person, and a lot better at battling than people think. She's still young, but I think that she will become a gym leader that people look up to eventually."

"I can see that," answered Ash. "Anyways, I still have some stuff that I've got to get done before I leave, so I probably won't leave for Fuchsia until the day after tomorrow."

"What do you have to do?"

"Err…make some calls, check out Celadon's southeastern district, and let my pokemon rest a bit before our next big trip."

"Gotcha'," chirped Skylar. "Have you thought about how you're going to get to Fuchsia?"

"What do you mean?" queried the dark-haired boy. "I usually just walk…"

"That might be a bit of a problem, though," said the pretty girl in a curious manner. "You do know that in between Routes 16 and 18 is the Cycling Road, right?"

"Cycling Road…" drawled Ash, confused, "I've never heard of it."

"You're kidding me," she retorted, clearly surprised. "How have you never heard of the Cycling Road? It's extremely famous! Like, everybody knows about it!"

"Everybody except me…I guess," said Ash, leaning back in his chair. "What is it?"

"It's an incredibly long bridge that you can only access if you have a bicycle," replied Skylar. "I've never actually been on it myself, but I've heard that it's really cool. A lot of trainers hangout on it, so it's a great place to go if you're looking for battles."

"How long is it?"

"I think it takes most people a couple of days to cross," answered Skylar, "but that's just what I've heard."

"Gotcha'," replied Ash, nodding his head. "Well, I don't have a bike, and money is kind of an issue right now, so I guess I'll just have to find another way to Fuchsia."

"I can ask my parents if they wouldn't mind lending you some money to buy one," offered the pretty blonde. "I wish I could lend you mine, but it's broken."

She paused as she let out a cute giggle, "Besides, it's pink, and I have a feeling you don't want to cross Cycling Road with a pink bike."

"Yeah, I'll pass," answered Ash. "Your parents have already done enough for me. I'd rather not ask them to buy me a bike. What are the options for people that don't have a bike?"

"There's a ferry service that takes a water route from Route 16 straight to Fuchsia," said Skylar. "That's what most people that don't take Cycling Road do."

"I'll do that, then."

"It's not a horrible idea," replied Skylar. "The only drawback is that its about a week long trip. The ferries aren't exactly high-quality. It's not like the ones that take people to and from the Cinnabar or the Seafoam Islands."

"A week!?" queried Ash. "Are the ferries big enough for me to train on?"

She looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"It's a ferry…not the SS Anne."

Ash gulped as horrid memories of fear and death invaded his mind. She would use the SS Anne as an example.

"Ash, what's wrong?" asked Skylar, concerned. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I-it's fine," stammered Ash. "I mean, I'm fine."

He paused as he thought up a lie, not wanting to discuss his experience involving the sunken ship, "I just can't afford to ride a ferry for that long without being able to train. I'm going to need to train as much as possible if I want to beat Koga, especially after hearing what everyone's been saying about him."

"Well, I don't know, then," retorted Skylar. "If you can't walk there, and you can't take a ferry, what else is th—"

She stopped mid-sentence as Ash looked at her with an elated expression.

"Pidgeot, he finally evolve!" blurted Ash.

"And?" questioned Skylar.

"Well, even though he was big enough as a pidgeotto, I wasn't able to ride him for too long because it was hard for me to go bareback. But, now that he's a pidgeot, I can buy him a saddle. Problem solved; I'll just take Pidgeot to Fuchsia."

"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Skylar.

Her expression went from excited to serious in the blink of an eye.

"What's wrong?" asked Ash.

"Didn't you spend all of your money on TMs? You're faced with the same problem as buying a bike? Getting a saddle that's big enough for your pidgeot won't be cheap."

"Dammit…" cursed Ash, realizing that she was right.

They sat there for a moment in silence, trying to think of a way to make it work without having to borrow money from Skylar's parents, when Ash's xtranceiver started to ring.

"Ring…"

"Ring…"

"Who is it?" asked Skylar.

Ash looked down at the screen in a curious manner. It read: Bill Montgomery.

"I'm going to take this," said Ash as he stood up out of his chair. "It might take a little bit. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Skylar responded, understanding that it must be important.

"Ring…"

After making sure that Skylar wasn't offended that he was taking a call in the middle of their conversation, Ash walked over to the far corner of the lobby, putting enough distance between himself and the next closest person so that he wouldn't be overheard.

Once he found a spot that was to his liking, he received the call.

"Click."

"Hey, Bill!" exclaimed Ash as a close-up of his friend's fresh face appeared on screen.

"Ash, my friend, how goes it!?" exclaimed Bill.

His expression was priceless. It looked as if he was on the edge of his seat, and the level of excitement he was giving off was overwhelming. It was as if he had spent the last couple of weeks waiting to make this call.

"I'm good," replied Ash with a smile. "I'm glad you called. I was going to wait until tomorrow to call you, but this is fine."

"Yeah, Sabrina called me and told me that you would be calling soon," explained Bill. "She also filled me in on your encounter with the bloody ninetails—freaking nuts if I say so myself. Anyways, I was going to wait until you called, but I got too excited! I had to find out how you were doing! And well…there's some other stuff, but your wellbeing comes first!"

"Thanks," answered Ash, "like I said, I've been good. My time in Celadon had been great. I just got done at Erika's gym, and now I'm waiting for my pokemon to get healed up."

"I take it you won?" questioned Bill, knowing the answer.

"It was close, but I managed. If Pidgeotto wouldn't have evolved at the end, I would have lost," replied Ash, getting an interested look from Bill. "Anyways, what's the other stuff that you mentioned? What do you have to talk to me about?"

"Pidgeotto evolved!" cheered Bill, unable to contain himself. "I'm calling at the perfect time, then. Destiny really likes you, you know?"

"Huh?"

"Ever since I got back from Saffron, I've been working on a saddle for Pidgeot. Well, I guess he was a pidgeotto at the time, but now it's Pidgeot. When I saw Pidgeotto, I mean Pidgeot in Saffron, I figured he'd evolve soon."

"Wait, so you're saying that you made Pidgeot a saddle?" asked Ash for clarification purposes.

Bill wasn't always the easiest person to understand.

"Yeah," replied the pokemon researcher, "we had a conversation back in Saffron about you needing a saddle, so I figured I'd use some of my free time to make one."

He paused, "I made one for Dragonite, too! They came out rather nicely if I say so myself. Pidgeotto's, I mean Pidgeot's, should fit. I made it adjustable since I didn't know his exact size. How big is he by the way? I reckon he's at least ten feet—"

"Bill," interrupted Ash, elated, "have I ever told you that you're an awesome friend! I was just having a conversation about needing a saddle but not having the money; it's like you read my mind! You're a godsend!"

"A godsend, eh?" queried Bill with a smile. "An awesome friend and a bloody godsend. You're too kind, my friend."

For a second, Ash thought that Bill was going to tear up, but he didn't. There was a bit of a glimmer in his eyes and knowing his friend's track record for crying over any comment involving their friendship, Ash wouldn't have been surprised. However, one way or another, Bill kept his emotions in check.

"Ash, you're in the lobby right now, right?"

"Yeah," answered Ash with curious eyes. "Why?"

"Go find an available PC," said Bill matter-of-factly.

"A PC?" questioned Ash, "I've never used one of the Pokemon Center's PCs. What do you want me to do with it?"

"Just go find one," retorted Bill. "I registered you to use the PC system for transporting items. You haven't had to use the PC, since I terminated your carry limit. But, it would be wise for you to learn how to use it anyway. It's a rather important tool for pokemon trainers."

"Oh, gotcha'," said Ash, understanding where Bill was coming from. "Give me a second to go find one."

"Yuppers."

Ash pressed the mute button on his xtranceiver before walking over to Skylar to let her know what was going on. After giving a brief summary that lasted less than a minute and listening to Skylar give him a hard time over how lucky he was, Ash made his way over to the small, open computer lab that was directly to the right of the lobby's front desk.

Out of the eight PCs in the lobby only two were being used, so Ash didn't have a problem finding one. Due to the spacious nature of Celadon's pokemon center, it didn't surprise him that it was easy to find an available computer. As a matter of fact, there was a full-fledged computer lab in the Recreational Wing that you could go to if you planned on utilizing a PC extensively. These PCs were primarily for quick usage.

Once Ash had settled into the stationary chair in front of the PC of his choosing, he pressed the mute button for a second time, allowing Bill to hear his voice.

"Alright," said Ash, catching his friend's attention, "I'm at a PC."

"Good," answered Bill. "Now, the PC itself should already be on, so what I want you to do is press the small little button in the bottom right hand corner of the monitor."

Listening to his friend, Ash pressed the button as described in Bill's directions. The screen on the black, flat-screen monitor lit up, revealing the PCs desktop. On the desktop were several icons scattered about a pink, digital wallpaper. Ash wasn't too familiar with computers, so he didn't recognize most of them. But, he was able to identify the universal symbol for internet and a couple others.

"What do I do now?" asked Ash.

"You can see the desktop, right?" questioned Bill, making sure that Ash was following him.

"Yeah."

"Alrighty, then," muttered Bill. "Do you see a pokeball icon somewhere on the screen?"

It was on the top left corner of the screen, in-between an image of a pokedex and the internet browser icon.

"I see it."

"Use the mouse to select it, double-click, and wait for it to load," explained Bill.

Ash did as he was told, dragging the small, black device – which corresponded to a little, moveable pointer icon on the screen – over the pokeball before double-clicking the button on the left side of the mouse. He may not have had too much experience with computers, but he knew enough to understand that the left button was used for selecting while the right opened up a tab full of options.

After double-clicking the pokeball icon, there was a short loading period before a new screen popped up. The new screen had five primary options: Deposit Pokemon, Withdraw Pokemon, Deposit Items, Withdraw Items, Log Out. In the top left corner of the screen was a little bubble that read, Please insert pokedex into dock before selecting an option.

"Once it loads, look for the pokedex dock and put yours in it. It should be somewhere on the desk next to the monitor."

"Found it," said Ash, who had taken his pokedex out of his jacket pocket while he was listening to Bill explain what he had already found out on his own.

Ash inserted the pokedex into the dock, making sure to put it in correctly. As soon as the pokedex was connected, the information in the bubble on the top left corner of the screen was replaced with his name and Trainer ID number.

"Okay, I plugged my pokedex in…what do I do now?"

"Click on Withdraw Items," said Bill. "After it takes you to a new screen, there should be two options. Click Item A and Item B; it should place them both in a box that will pop up."

"Done and done," said Ash as he clicked on the two available options.

In subsequence, a small box appeared in the bottom right corner. Right above it were the words Check Out, whereas inside of it items A and B were listed.

"So, if one of these items is the saddle, what's the other?"

"The copy of The Prophecy of the Chosen One," replied Bill matter-of-factly. "It took me a while to track it down; my libraries a bloody mess."

He paused, "I read through a lot of it last night; some curious stuff in there. If you are the Chosen One, you've got quite the road ahead of you. Your journey will be nutty as hell. It's rather exciting actually."

"Your sending me the prophecy, too!" blurted Ash, surprised. "Dang, Bill, you're on a roll today."

"Damn right I am," snorted the researcher with a look of accomplishment on his face. "I'm Bill bloody Montgomery. There's nothing I'm not willing to do to help out a friend."

He paused, "That might be a bit of an exaggeration. I can think of a few things that I wouldn't do to help out a friend, but most of those are entirely inappropriate or just flat out unethi—"

"Okay, okay, stop!" interjected Ash before his friend got too carried away. "You really need to learn how to keep thoughts like that to yourself."

There was a long break in conversation as Bill seemed to be contemplating Ash's suggestion.

"…why?"

Ash shook his head in an amused manner. What was he thinking? Of course, Bill couldn't wrap his head around the concept of having a filter.

"Anyways," said Ash, trying to get back on topic, "I've selected both of them, and they're in the 'Check Out' box. I'm assuming I click on the 'Withdraw' icon underneath it."

"That's correct," replied Bill, "but before you do, locate the transporter pad. There should be one somewhere close to the PCs. If not, go ask Nurse Joy. It may be set up somewhere behind the front desk."

Ash surveyed the open computer lab in attempt to find what Bill was describing. He settled his eyes on a decent-sized table that was set up next to the farthest PC to his left. Resting on top of the table was a bulky, heavy-duty printer and what looked like an oversized digital scale.

"Does it look like a weight scale?"

"Yeah, but it should have a clear, gel-like surface."

"Do you want me to get up and check?" asked Ash.

"Eh, it doesn't really matter," answered Bill. "Just keep an eye on it. If it is the transporter pad, your items will appear on top of it after you click on 'Withdraw'. I just wanted you to find it if it was out in the open. You don't want some bloody cock-up to swipe your stuff. If that's not it, it's in a secure place behind the counter."

"Gotcha'."

He dragged the mouse so that the cursor was on Withdraw before looking into his xtranceiver for Bill's approval.

"Go ahead," muttered the curly-haired researcher.

Double-clicking on the tab, Ash waited with anticipation. As a new window opened on the screen that had a revolving pokeball in the center of it, acting as the loading icon, and underneath it read, Withdrawing, in bold, white print.

His line of sight shifted from the PC's screen to what he assumed to be the transporter pad as a flash of white light, sounding and looking like a pokeball release, was emitted from the surface of the machine. At that moment, Ash stood up from his chair, ignoring Bill's curious chirping in the background.

He made his way over to the machine. By the time he got to it, the flash of light had ceased, and two depository cases sat atop the platform.

"I should be looking at two depository cases, right?" asked Ash into his xtranceiver as he stood over the transporter pad.

"Yup, the system gives you the option of using depository cases for items that are too big for a transporter pad. I probably could have gotten away with depositing the book without a depository case, but I thought I'd save myself the trouble just in case the Pokemon Center had a small transporter pad."

"Oh, okay," Ash responded as he picked up both of the depository cases and examined them, "did you have to use two?"

"Technically, no," replied Bill, "but those aren't my depository cases. They're the systems. And if you use the system's depository cases, every item has to be placed in a different one so that it can account for the number of items."

"Huh?" questioned Ash. "That doesn't make sense."

"Actually, it does," retorted Bill, "but there's no need for you to strain your brain trying to figure it out."

"Err…okay," snorted Ash. "What do I do with them after I retrieve the saddle and the prophecy. They belong to the system, so I can't keep them, right?"

"It's a pretty simple process," said Bill. "I'll explain it to you after you get the items out."

Ash proceeded to go through the process of withdrawing the saddle and prophecy from the two depository cases.

The prophecy came out first, having been released by the bright blue light that was emitted from one of the depository cases. Ash didn't bother opening it up, but he did take a moment to look over its exterior.

It was a thick book with plenty of pages; however, he'd read through textbooks bigger than it when he was studying for the Trainer Qualification Exam. The front and back cover were made out of worn, black leather, and scattered about on both sides were strange golden characters.

Out of all of the book's external features, the golden characters were definitely what stood out to him the most. Each one of them was distinctive, and they looked symbolic and ancient. At the same time, Ash couldn't help but feel like there was more to them than a simple translated meaning. It was as if they were alive, ready to leap off of the book at any moment.

"What do these characters mean?" Ash asked Bill curiously.

"They're insignia of the Unknown—a legendary power that is said to exist everywhere in our world," answered Bill, scratching his head. "At least, that's what I've been told. My specialty isn't ancient legends and prophecies. You'd have to ask an expert."

"Oh, okay…" drawled Ash, clearly confused.

"Whatever, I'll look through it later," he continued as he took off his backpack and put the book inside. "Anyways, let's take a look at this saddle. I'm excited to see what it looks like."

"I'm excited to see your reaction!" exclaimed Bill with a massive grin on his face. "I think you'll love it!"

Nodding his head, Ash released the saddle from the confines of the depository case. As it came into view, his eyes instantly widened and his jaw dropped. He was speechless; it was remarkable.

"Wow…Bill, I don't know what to say."

"There's no need to say anything," he answered with a smile. "Friends help friends out. That's all there is to it."

"I know," stammered Ash, "but this…well, it's amazing."

The saddle that Bill had put together for Pidgeot was absolutely incredible. Its base was dark green in color, made out of what looked like polished dragon scales. As a matter of fact, they almost looked like they could belong to—

"Are those Dragonite's scales?" asked Ash with a look of realization on his face.

"Yup," said Bill with closed eyes and a nod, "I got the idea while I was working on Dragonite's saddle. You wouldn't believe the amount of loose scales that guy has. He grows them at a bloody ridiculous rate. And when you factor in his size, the quantity is out of this world. I figured that if I polished the scales until they were silky smooth and welded them together, it would make a good, protective skirt to go underneath the saddle's seat."

"Awesome…" drawled Ash.

At this point, he was getting stares from several people in the lobby. Well, technically it was the saddle that was drawing the attention, but still…a bunch of people were looking at him, including Skylar, who had been paying close attention to him ever since he retrieved the depository cases from the transporter pad.

"What's the seat made out of?" asked Ash, wanting Bill to explain it to him as fast as possible so that he could store it in one of his depository cases. The interested gazes of the lobby's onlookers were starting to bother him.

"The seat is made out of mamoswine fur," informed Bill with a wink, causing Ash's eyebrows to rise. "We had a couple of rugs made out of different species' fur at the lighthouse. Apparently, my grandfather had a thing for collecting pokemon hides."

Ash grimaced, "Sounds like quite the hobby."

"Yeah…" muttered Bill, noticing the strain in Ash's voice, "I called my dad about that. He claims that gramps got the hides from already deceased pokemon, but who knows. He wasn't exactly a tender hearted man."

The ten-year-old boy gulped. Bill's grandfather and Robert's dad didn't sound like them at all…

"Anyway," said Bill, attempting to get back on topic, "it was just rolled up in a closet collecting dust. It doesn't matter how we got it; that hide will be way more useful protecting you from the grind of riding Pidgeot than it was at the lighthouse."

He paused, "Go ahead and feel it."

All Ash needed to do was look at the seat on his new saddle to know that it was comfortable, but he listened to Bill, bending down and running his fingers through the brown and white fur that was thickly layered in the center of a bed of dragon scales.

"Bloody soft, right?"

"Whoa, I never would have guessed that mamoswine fur was this cushiony," he said, impressed by the hide's consistency and texture.

"I know, right!?" blurted Bill. "You'd think it would be way more course!"

Ash couldn't help but smile. He could see in Bill's eyes how much he loved talking about stuff like this. Even though he could be a bit ridiculous and melodramatic at times, Bill really was a good person. If he treated others the way he treated Ash maybe people would have a better opinion of his personality.

After checking out the seat, Ash took off his backpack and searched for the depository case that he wanted to put it in. Once he found it, he went through the various steps necessary in order to properly deposit the saddle before turning his attention back to his xtransceiver.

"We'll talk about the saddle in more detail the day after tomorrow," said Ash. "I'm going to need your help in order to figure out how to put it on Pidgeot."

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

He made a face that clearly portrayed curiosity, "Are you getting some reactions?"

"Yeah," replied Ash. "Too many actually…it's a little much."

"Positive or negative?"

"They seemed mostly positive," answered Ash, interested as to why Bill was asking.

"Hmm…I see," murmured Bill in a contemplative manner, "and you definitely like it, right? You're not just humoring me?"

"I like it a lot, Bill," retorted Ash. "Why are you being so self-conscious?"

"It's nothing like that. I'm just gathering data. Depending on how your saddle holds up, I'm thinking about starting a new company. Good saddles are hard to come by you know. I think I may be onto something."

Ash blinked a couple of times before letting out a sigh. Bill was unpredictably predictable.

"Follow your heart, Bill."

Tears welled up in Bill's eyes that caused the dark-haired boy to sweat drop, "Are you crying?"

"N-n-no," stammered the overdramatic researcher, "I just got something in my eye!"

"Something in your eye, really?" queried Ash, amused. "Is that the best lie you could come up with?"

"Ahhh, nothing gets passed you, Ash!" cried Bill. "It was just…that was some of the best advice I've ever gotten.

"Follow your heart, Bill," he repeated to himself in a theatrical manner while closing his eyes and holding both of his hands out in front of his as if he was surrendering to something. "That was so bloody inspirational!"

In attempt to break his friend free from his downward spiral of outrageousness, Ash held the PC system's two empty depository cases in front of his xtransceiver so that Bill could see them.

"Hey, Bill, I don't mean to interrupt, but could you explain to me what I do with these now?"

"Oh, yeah, no problem," replied Bill, snapping out of his trance of extremely dramatic behavior as fast as he entered it in the first place. "Just place them back on the transporter pad, go back to the PC you were using earlier, and double-click 'Deposit Items'."

Unsurprised by his ability to easily divert his friend's point of focus, Ash followed Bill's rather simple instructions and returned the depository cases to their rightful place.

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Bill, realizing that they had accomplished what they needed to.

"I'm pretty hungry, so I think I'll get a quick bite to eat before winding down for the day. It's been a long one."

"Understandable," replied the researcher, "I'll let you go then. I should probably get back to working on Dragonite's saddle anyway. I promised him that it would be finished before we go flying tonight."

"Gotcha'," said Ash with a smile. "Good luck with the saddle. Remember, I'll be calling you in a couple of days so that you can explain to me how to put on Pidgeot's saddle."

"I'll be waiting, my friend," responded Bill, reciprocating Ash's grin.

"Thanks for everything, Bill. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Ash. Enjoy the remainder of your time in Celadon."

"Click."

The screen on Ash's xtransceiver displayed that the call had ended before fading to black. Now that he was done talking to Bill, he made his way back over to Skylar.

"Thanks for being patient," said Ash with a slightly guilty face.

He couldn't help but feel bad. Even though his conversation with Bill was essential for his journey, he was in the middle of hanging out with Skylar, who had been adamant about spending time with him before he left Celadon. Hopefully, she wasn't upset.

"No problem," chirped Skylar with glimmering eyes, catching Ash off guard. "I saw the saddle. It was gorgeous!"

"I know, right!?" answered Ash, relieved. "Bill may be a goofball, but he's a miracle worker when it comes to stuff like this."

"I see that. You're lucky to have someone like that as a friend."

Ash nodded, flashing Skylar a smile.

"Anyways," said Skylar, "while you were talking to Bill, I checked to see how your pokemon were doing. Nurse Joy told me that she'd have them back to you in about a half-hour."

"Really?" queried Ash. "That soon?"

"Yeah, although the battle was tough, apparently there weren't any significant injuries. I'm guessing they'll still need to rest for a couple of days, but I reckon you don't need me to tell you that."

"I know," answered Ash politely. "They won't be doing anything for at least two days. And even after that, their training will be light until I'm sure that they have recovered enough."

He paused as he stood up out of his seat, "For now, why don't we go get something to eat at one of the cafeterias? I'm starving, and by the time we finish eating, my friends should be good to go."

"Sounds good," murmured Skylar. "Can I make a request, though?"

"What is it?" asked Ash curiously.

"Can we go to Cafeteria B? My parents went to go eat at Cafeteria A, and I'm kind of enjoying this time away from them. They've been a little overbearing ever since the incident."

She let out a sigh, "Especially my mom."

"Yeah, of course," answered Ash with a grin. "We haven't gotten to spend much time one-on-one anyway, and I'm having fun talking to you. I really like your parents, but this is nice. Even if it's just thirty minutes, I'd like to be alone with you for a little bit longer."

"Uh…y-yeah," stammered Skylar as her face all of a sudden turned bright red.

"Awesome," replied Ash obliviously. "I wonder what's for dinner? The cafeterias have been putting out some great stuff the last couple of days. Mac and Cheese sounds great right now…maybe a tofu burger. Gahh, I'm so hungry!"

He paused as he realized that Skylar still hadn't gotten up out of her seat, "Is something wrong?"

"N-nope!" managed Skylar, abruptly leaping out of her chair.

Her face was still as red as a hot coal.

"Are you sure?" asked Ash pointing at her face. "You look a little red. Do you have a fever or something?"

"I feel fine!" exclaimed Skylar, getting even redder.

She folded her arms and stormed off in the direction of Cafeteria B, "Let's go, Ash!"

"Okay…" drawled, needing to jog a short-distance in order to catch up.

Girls sure were strange sometimes.

XXX

After spending the day making phone calls and exploring Celadon's mostly residential southeastern district with Skylar, Ash found himself sitting across from her at a small noodle shop, not too far from the Pokemon Center.

Despite the fact that he didn't have any money, Skylar had insisted on buying him dinner, since it was his last night in Celadon. He attempted to be polite by ordering the cheapest item on the menu, but Skylar saw through him in a heartbeat, unwilling to settle for anything less than one of the restaurant's pricier ramen dishes.

It was delicious, but Ash couldn't help but feel guilty while eating it. Having to mooch off of friends wasn't something he was used to. Until Celadon, he had been smart with his money. Sure, he had been given a plethora of gifts from people throughout his journey; however, being unable to buy his own meal was something that he hadn't experienced until now.

It sucked. Regardless of the fact that he had a Silph Co. Platinum Card, he wouldn't let this happen again. Purchasing helpful TMs wasn't an excuse. He couldn't be doing things like this. There were just too many instances where he needed actual money, especially when he was in a city like Celadon.

"Did you have fun today?" asked Skylar, breaking him free from his rumination.

"I did," replied Ash with a smile. "It was peaceful. There wasn't as much to do in comparison to the other districts, but the scenery was nice. It was a great way to cap off my time here."

"I understand where you're coming from," said Skylar. "It's a quiet part of the city. I don't find myself down there often, but when I do, it's refreshing."

Ash nodded, agreeing with her.

His time today with Skylar really had been nice. For the most part, they hadn't been entirely alone. Eevee spent a lot of the day on the outside with them, which was necessary. Not only did Skylar want to spend time with her silver coated friend, but it was beneficial for Ash and Eevee's relationship to have someone that knew the kit so well acting as a mediator.

With that in mind, it's not like Ash and Eevee's relationship had started out on uneven ground. But, Skylar was able to help navigate them through the awkwardness of getting to know each other. By the time Eevee was ready to go back inside of her pokeball, Ash was rather confident that their partnership would be a good one.

There were parts of her personality that would definitely be interesting to deal with during training; he'd known that before, but it was becoming more and more evident as time went on. Be that as it may, Ash was excited. He couldn't wait to get her out of the city where he could truly get to know her without any distractions.

Speaking of getting out of the city, Ash couldn't wait to set out for Fuchsia. It was time. He could feel it in his bones. He was itching to enter into the next phase of his journey. Disregarding the Game Corner, he had seen all there was to see in Celadon. When it came to the city itself, there was nothing left for him to do.

He planned on setting out early in the morning. The Worthingtons would see him off. Ash told them that it wasn't necessary, but that wasn't how they felt, which made him happy. For the past week, the Worthingtons had been great to him; almost to the point where they felt like extended family.

He wanted to spend as much time as possible with them until he left. After all, there was no telling when he would see them again. He didn't plan on coming back to Celadon any time soon—at least until the situation with the Game Corner had been taken care of, and the aftermath of whatever epic battle took place had been resolved.

Ruphus had offered to drive him to the city's western exit, which was where he'd chosen to depart from. When he had decided that he would fly with Pidgeot to Fuchsia, he had originally imagined taking off from anywhere in the city. But, he had changed his mind when he realized how debilitating being dirt poor was.

He wouldn't make any money unless he battled against trainers, and he likely wouldn't find any soaring through the skies. So, instead of flying the whole way, he had decided to travel through Route 16 on foot before flying over the Cycling Road to Route 18, which he would also trek the old fashioned way.

Not only did this give him an opportunity to make some money, but it also offered him more time to prepare for Koga. If he left things how they were now, he wouldn't be ready to take on the poison-type expert. Erika had been difficult enough. According to more than one source, the overzealous Koga hadn't even lost a match using his League-registered team. What kind of stupidly powerful pokemon would Koga unleash on someone like him, who had more than three badges?

Ash had to admit, he was nervous to find out—

"Jeez…" drawled Skylar, catching Ash's attention, "that's his fifth bowl."

"Huh?" queried the dark-haired boy, confused as to what she was talking about.

"The guy at the bar," whispered the pretty blonde. "He came in at the same time as us, and he's already eaten five bowls of ramen."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've been paying attention," she smiled as a look of amusement breached her facial expression. "Look at the bartender's face. He's blown away."

She paused, "I think he just ordered another one."

"How's that even possible?" asked Ash. "It's not like the bowls are small…I could barely finish one."

It might have come off as slightly bizarre that they were paying such close attention to the random stranger stuffing his face at the bar, but since he was the only other customer in the shop, it was kind of hard not to notice. He may have slipped passed Ash's radar before on account of his busy mind, but now that Skylar had pointed him out, it was impossible to ignore him.

He didn't know what was more amazing; the fact that he was on the verge of devouring six bowls of ramen or that he could accomplish such a feat while looking the way that he did. If someone were to present him with the fact that there was a man capable of eating six humongous bowls of noodles, Ash would answer with, how fat is he?

However, as far as he could tell, this person was in extraordinary shape. It was hard to gauge his height because he was sitting down, but Ash estimated he was pretty close to six-feet tall. His physique was lean and toned; all it took was one glance to tell that he was athletic.

In terms of appearance, he was a fairly good looking guy with dark-brown eyes and long brown hair that cascaded down to his shoulders. He wore a fashionable black suede jacket over a navy blue t-shirt, and grey tapered pants that looked extremely pricey. If Ash were to guess, he'd say that he was in his late teens, possibly early twenties.

There were very few times that he diverted his attention from the noodles in front of him, but when he did, his mannerisms portrayed that he was a rather happy-go-lucky guy, having fun interacting with the bartender.

It wasn't until the man got up and walked in the direction of the restroom that Ash realized he was a pokemon trainer. The backside of his belt had been covered by the back of his jacket and the bar seat, but now that he was moving around, Ash could see the plethora of assorted pokeballs attached to his trainer belt.

On account of the quantity and variety of capture devices docked onto his belt, it was obvious that he wasn't an average trainer. He saw pokeballs, great balls, ultra balls and even a few other capture devices that he didn't recognize.

Since ultra balls weren't allotted to the general public, Ash had all the proof he needed to conclude that he was someone of importance. Taking into account that the man had at least a dozen visible pokeballs on his person, it was clear that – just like Ash – his carry limit had been nullified, likely meaning that he was a proven trainer with a good reputation from the League.

As the man vanished behind the bathroom door, Ash turned to Skylar, "Did you see the pokeballs around his belt?"

"Yeah," replied Skylar, "what about them?"

"Well, he had ultra balls," said Ash, pointing out one of the things that stood out to him the most. "You can't get ultra balls unless your a big deal."

Of course, Ash had gotten ultra balls of his own from coming in third in the SS Anne tournament, but that was a special event sponsored by Robert Montgomery. Under normal circumstances, you would have to be someone that the League deemed suitable to use such a powerful capture device, typically a high-ranking official; even then, there was talk concerning Robert's unwillingness to distribute them in high quantity to the League.

Simply put, they weren't something that even a great trainer could get their hands on unless they had some noteworthy connections within the League.

…Who in the world was this guy?

"I see…" drawled Skylar with a curious look on your face, "he sounds interesting. Why don't you talk to him?"

Skylar had a good point. If Ash wanted to know who he was, the best thing he could do was introduce himself. He wasn't the best when it came to striking up conversations with strangers, but he had gotten better as of late. It's not like it would be too weird. Other than Skylar, he was the only other person in the shop after all.

Just as Ash made the decision to try and talk to the intriguing man, he stumbled out of the bathroom. He was gingerly grabbing his stomach, muttering something about indigestion when he abruptly and awkwardly locked eyes with Ash.

On impulse, Ash wanted to look away as if he had just been caught checking out a pretty girl, but he stopped himself, understanding that he would only be making things more awkward.

"Hey, kid?" said the man, catching Ash off guard.

Like an idiot, Ash pointed to himself, acting as if there was a possibility that he wasn't the one being talked to, "Me?"

"Yeah, you," he retorted before shuffling over to Ash and Skylar's table.

"W-what is it?" stammered Ash—thrown off by the man's brisk approach.

There was a moment of silence as the man looked back and forth between both Ash and Skylar with a contemplative expression.

He cleared his throat before shifting his focus on solely Ash. His eyes were as fierce as a gyarados right before battle.

With an assertive tone of voice, the man looked deep within Ash's soul and asked, "Are you on a date?"

Ash just about fell out of his chair; he couldn't believe the words that just came out of the man's mouth.

"N-no!" blurted Ash, glancing at a bright red Skylar. "We're just friends!"

Skylar didn't say anything, turning redder and redder with every second that went by.

"Really?" asked the man in a sly manner. "That's not what the lady's face says."

"S-s-skylar?" managed Ash.

She looked down at the table, unable to make eye contact with him

"Kid, kid, kid," he repeated, shaking his head disappointedly, "don't let your inexperience mess with the girl's head. Be a man; acknowledge her feelings…"

"What the hell are you—"

All of a sudden, Skylar lifted her head, giving the man a look that said, say one more word, and I'll kill you.

"Ah, I see," he replied with a frown, "it's one of those situations…"

Without permission, he pulled a chair from one of the tables next to them and sat down. Ash noticed him glance down at the pokeballs around his waste, "So, you're a pokemon trainer, eh?"

Ash nodded.

"Do you travel with this girl?" the brown eyed man asked as he gestured his head toward Skylar.

"Nope," said Ash, "we only became friends recently…why?"

Ignoring Ash, he turned his attention to Skylar. "Better tell him before he leaves. There's a lot of pretty girls out there; it would be a shame if you missed out. Of course, if you traveled with him, you could prevent something like that from happening. But, you can't do that in Celadon….that is, unless you—"

"I get it! I get it!" yelled Skylar, leaping out of her chair. "Can you please just stop!?

"Hey, now, little lady, I was just helping you out…" he replied, raising his hands in the air like he was about to be arrested.

At this point, Ash had a feeling that he understood what they were talking about. He wasn't the best at understanding girls, but in this situation, he didn't have to be. It was being spelt out for him.

Thanks to the man sitting next to him, Ash now knew that Skylar had a crush on him. However, at least for now, it was obvious that she was trying to keep it a secret from him. He'd never been in a situation like this before, so he didn't know what to do. That's when something deep within him shouted, change the subject!

"You're a pokemon trainer, too," stated Ash nonsensically. "What's your name?"

"Andrew," said the man with a smirk.

It was apparent that he knew what Ash was doing, but luckily he went along with it anyway, "What about you?"

"Ash Ketchum."

As soon as Ash said his name, the man's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Ash Ketchum, eh?" he queried. "You're that rookie that Kent's been raving about; the one that found out about what's been going on in Celadon and helped rescue Robert Montgomery. I was hoping I'd run into you."

It was then that it finally clicked, and he remembered the name of the first-class ACE trainer that had been sent to Celadon to take care of the Game Corner: Andrew Gerdes. Ash was sitting next to the man that was said to be on par or even stronger than Kent Barringer.

He looked across the table at Skylar, who seemed to still be in a daze regarding their previous topic of discussion. Nevertheless, he didn't want her to hear anything that she had no business knowing, especially since she had been hurt by Team Rocket. He didn't think Andrew was dumb enough to bring it up in front of her, but then again, he seemed to have a rather laid back personality.

Who knew what he would do in this situation?

"Yeah, that's me," said Ash, "and you must be Andrew Gerdes of the ACE Corps."

"As I suspected, you've heard of me," he replied.

His expression turned from carefree to serious in an instant, "Must be Sabrina; rumor has it she's quite fond of you."

He paused, "Anyways, would you mind stepping outside with me for a moment? I have a few things that I'd like to discuss with you. We can do it right here, but I have a feeling that the little lady's in the dark..."

Once again, Ash glanced over at Skylar. She looked at him with an expression that portrayed that she understood. Ash had a feeling that she knew more than he thought she did. At the very least, she had her suspicions.

"Yeah, no problem," replied Ash before standing out of his chair and shifting his attention back to the pretty blonde, "I'll be right back. This shouldn't take long.

Skylar nodded while Andrew stood up out of his chair as well.

Don't worry," the ACE trainer said with a quirky smile, "We'll make it quick. I'll have your boyfriend back to you in no time."

"B-b-boyfriend," spluttered Skylar, turning red once again.

Ash's face flared up as well.

This guy was something else…

XXX

"That girl in there's the one you rescued from those shitty Rocket grunts, isn't it?" questioned Andrew, initiating the conversation.

"You know about that," replied Ash, adjusting his jacket.

It was starting to get cold, evidence that winter was just around the corner.

"Sabrina told me when she called to follow up," he said with a nod and a funny facial expression. "First time I'd seen her face since I was ten…damn, she's fine."

Ash ignored the bit about Sabrina's looks before asking a question of his own.

"How long have you been in Celadon?"

"Since yesterday," he replied with a shrug. "Just long enough to visit the Police Department and do some recon on the Game Corner."

"You talked to Officer Jenny?"

"Briefly," answered Andrew. "I spent most of my time chatting with those grunts that you defeated. Those assholes were stubborn, but I got what I needed from 'em."

"What's that?"

He smirked, "The exact location of the hideout inside of the Game Corner. I figured I wouldn't waste my time snooping around for something I could get from those shit heads."

"What was the recon you did at the Game Corner, then?"

He laughed, "I guess recon isn't the right word. I actually spent the day gambling. That place is a blast, you know."

Ash couldn't help but laugh, "You spent the day gambling in the enemy's base?"

"Damn right I did! One of the perks about being an ACE trainer is that almost no one knows your identity. I'd have to be an idiot not to take advantage of something like that. Besides, by the end of tomorrow that place will be up in flames. It's infested to the core with Rockets. No use in trying to preserve anything."

"It's happening tomorrow?"

"Yup, there's nothing left for me to do here but destroy that bastard Petral. You know that slimy little shit walks around the Game Corner like he's God's greatest gift to earth. I can't wait to show him what a real badass is like."

If those words came from anyone else, Ash would say that they were cocky. But, there was something about Andrew Gerdes that made him feel like he could trust every word that came out of his mouth. His confidence was through the roof, but every word of it was believable. Ash had only known him for a short while, but there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would crush the Game Corner. Despite his quirky personality, his presence was that impressive.

"Where are the rest of your men?" asked Ash curiously.

"Eh, most of them are back at headquarters," stated Andrew, "the rest are on other assignments."

Ash's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.

"You don't mean—"

"It's just me," he interrupted with a massive smile.

"J-just you?"

"Yup, just this guy," Andrew replied, using his thumb to point toward himself.

"…How are—"

"Don't worry, kid, missions like this are my specialty. When it comes to situations like this, my men would just get in the way."

Ash was speechless.

…Was this really okay?

"Anyways, before I forget, there's a specific question that I really want to ask you."

"U-um, yeah?" stuttered Ash, still at a loss for words.

"Are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?"

He crouched down to Ash's level, so he could look him directly in the eyes. "Is Executive Ariana really as sexy as they say she is?"

Ash buried his face in his palm, "You've gotta' be kidding me?"

XXX

After talking with Andrew Gerdes, walking back to the Pokemon Center, saying goodbye to Skylar for the day – who was still a bit flustered about what had happened back at the noodle shop – and taking a nice hot shower, Ash lay underneath the covers of his bed as Growlithe and Eevee played on the ground beside him.

He couldn't help but smile. Ever since Eevee had watched Growlithe battle against Erika's vileplume, the two new teammates had gotten along splendidly. Eevee seemed to admire Growlithe as the leader of the team, and his puppy pokemon was doing a good job of treating her with respect and kindness.

"Alright, you two, it's time for bed," said Ash, catching both of their attention.

Obeying his best friend, Growlithe hopped up onto the foot of the bed, snuggling up against his leg.

Eevee, however, looked at him with a confused expression. It was obvious that she was unsure of what she was supposed to do.

"You can either sleep in your pokeball," explained Ash as he pointed at the worn pokeball on the nightstand to his right, "or you can sleep in the bed with Growlithe and I."

He paused, "Lately it's just been Growlithe. But you're pretty small, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Eevee flashed him an aggravated facial expression, undoubtedly a result of Ash calling her small, before leaping up onto the bed and finding a spot next to Ash that was to her liking. Ash took that as a rather straightforward way of saying that she wanted to stay outside of her pokeball.

Now that everyone was comfortable, Ash reached over and flipped the switch at the base of the lamp on the nightstand. He felt Haunter's presence in the room intensify as he left his shadow and submerged into the darkness, ready to take away tonight's nightmares.

Not too long after the lights were out, Ash could hear the sound of Growlithe's gentle snoring. It was a sound that he had gotten accustomed to over the past three months. Ash wasn't even sure if he could sleep without it anymore; there was just something about it that was comforting to him.

On the other hand, due to the way that she was tossing and turning, seemingly having a difficult time getting comfortable, Ash could tell that Eevee was struggling to get to sleep. There was no way for him to know the exact reason, but if he had to guess, he'd say that it was because this was her first real night with him, where she wasn't inside of her pokeball.

It would take at least a little bit of time for her to get used to this new life. Ash knew it, and she knew it. She would get used to it; Eevee was tough. She wouldn't let something like this eat away at her sleep for too long. This was her decision after all. She wanted this.

Be that as it may, just because she needed to get used to being with Ash and his other pokemon, didn't mean that she was the only one with work to do. This new relationship worked both ways. And if Eevee was going to be smoothly integrated into the team, it would require Ash and everyone else's help as well.

With that in mind, he reached over to Eevee and used his fingers to scratch behind her soft ears. At first, she slightly resisted, surprised by Ash's actions. But, after the initial response from Ash's touch, she settled down, eventually falling asleep while he pet her.

Once Eevee was asleep, Ash couldn't help smile as he reflected on his time in Celadon. It really had been a fun time and a great change of pace in comparison to Saffron, but he couldn't wait for tomorrow. He felt nothing but excitement when he thought about venturing to Fuchsia. With every new city came brand-new challenges, and the journey to get there was always enjoyable.

By this time tomorrow, he would be camping under the stars...

He couldn't wait.

XXX

"Good luck, Ash," said Ruphus as they stood in front of Celadon's western gate. "You've got our numbers, so feel free to call anytim—"

"Bye, hon!" interrupted Ellen, expectedly wrapping him up in one of her suffocating hugs.

"H-h-help..."managed Ash before Skylar finally managed to pull her tearful mother off of him.

Growlithe let out a series of barks, making sure his departure wasn't overlooked. He had grown fond of the Worthington family as well. It was only natural that he was treated the same way as Ash, right?

"How could we forget saying goodbye to you, Growlithe!?" blurted Ellen as she caught him within her devastating clutches.

"Be careful what you wish for…" muttered Ash under his breath before Skylar softly grabbed him by the wrist, catching his attention.

"Th-thanks for everything you've done for me, Ash," stammered Skylar, slightly blushing. "I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"D-don't mention it," replied Ash, cheeks heating up. "I'd do it again in a heart beat."

"I know you would, th-that's what I like the most about you. You're a hero down to your very core."

"I don't know about that," muttered Ash, closing his eyes and scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

His eyes all of a sudden snapped open when he felt a soft, warm sensation on his cheek. It was Skylar. For a moment, her lips were pressed up against his cheek.

It was a k-k-kiss. As Skylar quickly pulled away, clearly embarrassed, Ash brought his fingers up to his cheek, subconsciously placing them on the spot that Skylar had touched with her lips.

Ash watched in astonishment as she briskly looked over her shoulder to see if her parents had noticed. Fortunately, Ruphus was too preoccupied trying to pry his wife off of Growlithe to notice.

"I-I know it was probably made obvious yesterday, but I l-l-l-like you, Ash."

At this point her face was as red as Charmeleon when he was swallowed by blaze.

"I-I-I—"

He was interrupted by Skylar as she pressed her index finger up against his lips.

"You don't need to answer me now," she said with a smile, "I just needed to tell you my feelings before you left. It was my way of making sure that you don't forget about me."

"I wouldn't have—you didn't have to—"

"I wanted to," said Skylar before showing him the cutest smile he had ever seen in his life.

All of a sudden, they were interrupted when Growlithe loped back to Ash's side. He was breathing heavily—an obvious sign that he had been excessively squeezed by Ellen.

"Ash, before you leave," started Ruphus as he and a guilty Ellen walked back up to them, "there's someone that I have to see."

Ash didn't have to think twice to know who Ruphus was referring to. He had been waiting for this moment. It was inevitable.

Unclipping Eevee's pokeball from his belt, Ash gave him a nod before releasing the silver kit. When the flash of white light faded, she looked around at her surroundings. She glanced up at Ash first before settling her eyes on Ruphus.

She knew what this was. This was it.

"Eevee," said Ruphus as he squatted down to her level, "I know we've had our differences, but I really am going to miss you. You're a good girl."

He reached out and patted her on the head, "Good luck out there, and don't forget to treat your new trainer with respect. I expect to hear nothing but good things from Ash next time we talk."

Ash couldn't help but feel a little guilty as he watched tears well up in Eevee's eyes. Was he coming between them?

At that moment, Ruphus looked up at him and nodded. There was a big smile on his face. It immediately reassured him that he was doing the right thing.

This was their decision. This was what was best for everybody.

Once the moment between Eevee and her previous trainer was over. Skylar and Ellen said their goodbyes. Eevee didn't seem to care about parting with Ellen, doing everything she could to avoid her embrace. However, Skylar was a different story. As far as Ash could tell, saying bye to Skylar was just as hard as saying bye to Ruphus

They were friends, and Skylar had done more for Eevee than anyone else. It was only natural that parting would be hard.

Nevertheless, they got through it. They had to.

In the moments after Eevee's farewells, there was one last round of goodbyes for good measure before Ash looked down at Growlithe and Eevee.

"Alright, guys, let's go."

As he started to slowly walk backwards through the gate, he noticed that Eevee wasn't moving. It wasn't surprising. The other side of the gate was the starting point of a new adventure for her. She was bound to be apprehensive.

While glancing back at Ruphus, Skylar and Ellen, who were staring at him with anticipative eyes, Ash made his way back over to Eevee before crouching down like he'd seen Ruphus do just moments prior.

He looked in her eyes softly before patting her on the head.

"Don't worry…this may be goodbye for now, but we'll come back someday. Just because you've got a new home with me doesn't mean that the old one disappears. They're part of your family…which means they're part of mine."

He looked up, locking eyes with Skylar, "We'll be back. I promise."

"...There's no way we'd forget Celadon..."

XXX

To be continued…

XXX

A/N: I want to thank you once again for being patient. March was super busy for me, so it was a struggle to maintain my writing pace. I'm happy I got Celadon finished for you, though. Kanto 13 will likely start off with a couple week timeskip. I'm leaning towards picking things up in Fuchsia and leaving a lot of what happens during his trip over a mystery. This won't be a permanent scenario between cities. I just want to try it once to see how it works. I know you guys love the traveling aspect, so I'll get back to it after the Fuchsia arc. Anyhow, don't forget to favorite, follow and review as well as check my profile!

Thanks for reading!

Much love, vincentgrey21.