I do not own pokemon.

This is a rewrite of the Alola league.

Ash sighed, deep in thought.

Following Kukoi's announcement that there would be an Alolan Pokemon League, he had initially been excited, but a sad feeling slowly began to show itself. Glancing at his pokemon, who were currently playing on the beach, he couldn't help but be reminded of his Unova team.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Ash knew that Unova had been the low point in his career as a trainer. During his earlier journeys, Ash had largely relied on Brock and to some extent, Misty, for help on his training and deciding movesets, as well as teams in important battles.

But after Sinnoh, Brock had left to become a pokemon doctor, and Ash was caught unprepared, leaving his Unova badly lacking.

Looking at his Alolan team, he could see parallels between his Unovan and Alolan teams. There was Meltan, who was the obvious Scraggy, being single-minded, inexperienced, and knowing few moves. There was Torracat, who, like Pignite, was obviously a natural battler, but not reached his full potential just yet. There was Rowlett, who like Snivy and Oshawott, had opted not to evolve, which was fine, but Rowlett was also not the most motivated battler, unlike the two Unova starters. Especially Oshawott He thought, smiling at the memories of the hot headed otter.

Worse, he realized, he had no true ace other than Pikachu in Alola. In Unova, at least, Krookadile had filled that role. Lycanroc and Torracat were both good battlers, but neither was ace material.

Alongside all that, he realized, he didn't have a full team, which was a luxury he had in Unova.

His thoughts were interrupted by Professor Kukoi calling his name. He looked up, and saw the eyes of his classmates and teacher on him. He glanced at his teacher, embarrassed. "Yes?"

Kukoi looked at him, concerned, but decided to ask later. "I was asking if we could watch the videos of your previous league battles."

Ash's classmates glanced up at this, seeming surprised. Ash nodded. "Sure." Kukoi nodded. "Thanks." He turned to the class. "Pay close attention to the battles, you might be able to learn something."

Sophocles raised his hand. "Have you seen any of Ash's league battles, Professor?" Kukoi chuckled, shaking his head. "No. I thought I'd see them for the first time along with you."

Kukoi turned off the lights, and began playing the first video, which Ash recognised immediately.

He sighed, embarrassed. He knew where this was going.

His classmates watched, fascinated, as Ash released his Squirtle, and Ritchie released Happy, his butterfree. He heard Lana gasp, without a doubt excited to see the water type.

He sighed as Squirtle went down, falling victim to Butterfree's sleep powder. He continued watching as the battle finally getting to the end, when he sent Charizard against Sparky.

He sighed, remembering how confident he had been. He forced himself to watch as Charizard grew board, and lay down.

Kukoi paused the video, looking at his students, who were all confused. "What happened there?" He asked. No one spoke, unsure of what to say. Finally, Ash spoke up.

"I was overconfident, and released Charizard, even though I knew he wouldn't listen to me." Kiawe glanced at him. "I didn't know you have a Charizard." Ash nodded. "He's one of my oldest pokemon, and now one of my strongest." Kukoi nodded.

The class got through all of Ash's league battles until Unova, which Ash was grateful for. He needed time before he saw his Unova performance again.

When class ended, all of his classmates were eagerly asking about the pokemon that they had seen battling. Mallow seemed especially interested in Bulbasaur, who she had met in Kanto, but would have never guessed that the grass type was so strong