Hello everyone! This is a quick fic I'm toying with, a Unova league rewrite. I'm working on this as I work on my real project, Pokemon Legendary Adventures! I encourage everyone to check out that story as well, as it may be updated more consistently and is going to be much longer.

The premise is simple. The Kanto festival is held early this year, and Ash and Co run into it just a couple months before the league. The festival brings back plenty of fond memories, and sets Ash on a new path. This story will not include N, as it takes place earlier. This is a simply an AU look at what might happen if Ash approached the Unova league a little differently. The very beginning will be similar to the Charizard episode of Unova, but will quickly diverge.

"So what's Charizard up to now?" Iris gushed.

"I must confess, I am surprised to hear you wouldn't still be traveling with such a reliable companion," Cilan added.

Ash chuckled awkwardly. "See thing is, right now Charizard is off training in a place called the Charicific Valley." Even as he spoke the words, a familiar warmth flared through him. He leaned back slightly in the booth he and his companions sat in. They had all taken a much needed break from the festivities of the Kanto Festival, and he'd just finished regaling them with the story of how he'd met Charizard.

"Charicific Valley?" Iris asked, her voice tinted with confusion.

Ash resisted the sudden urge to call Iris a kid. It was odd, he reflected, realizing how much he knew about Kanto and several other regions. It was easy to forget that Iris and Cilan only really knew about Unova.

He fondly explained what Charicific Valley was, and how Charizard had come to train there. Just remembering how he'd left Charizard brought a lump to his throat. It had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done. But even now, looking back, he understood it had been the best. Back then, he simply didn't have the experience necessary to train Charizard and bring out his full potential.

"But Charizard came back to help me lots of times!" Ash continued, grinning as he recalled everything he'd gone through. He began explaining everything they'd overcome together. The Battle Frontier in particular brought a smile to his face. Charizard had brought down an Articuno. A Legendary Pokemon. That memory was a particularly warm one. "Charizard's always been there for me," Ash continued. He glanced out the window, briefly losing himself in the memories. "I tell you, it would be really great to see Charizard again," Ash murmured. Even as he spoke the words, an idea began to form in his mind.

"That would be so cool if we could all meet him!" Iris said loudly.

"I agree," Cilan commented. "Your Charizard already creates a spicy aroma in my mind's eye."

Ash mostly ignored Cilan's comment. Most of the things the gym leader said didn't really make sense to him. Besides, he was distracted by the idea that had begun to shape in his mind. "And you all will get to meet him!" Ash declared.

xXx

"Okay, all set!" Ash called, clutching the pokeball in his hand. It hadn't been hard to decide to send Unfezant to the Professor. He knew she would appreciate the chance to play with his other bird friends he'd made over the years, such as Swellow and Staraptor. He glanced down briefly at the ball in his hand, reveling in its familiar warmth. The ball bore faint nicks and scratches from his time traveling.

"Would you hurry it up already?" Iris said, bouncing up and down, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Me too," Cilan agreed. "I'm tingling all over!"

Ash ignored Cilan's odd word choice once more. He was too focused on seeing his friend again. He took a deep breath and tossed the pokeball. It arced through the air then opened, spilling a familiar white light out. The light quickly formed the familiar silhouette of a Charizard - no, his Charizard.

In a flash of light, Charizard emerged on the Pokemon Center battlefield, threw back his head, and roared. Shockwaves of pure energy rippled through the air, whipping everyone's clothes and sending dust flying. Finally, he stopped, grinning.

"Charizard!" Ash shouted happily. "It's so good to see you!"

Charizard responded in typical turn, bathing his face in a stream of flames. Ash cringed, then laughed, patting his friend's side. "That's Charizard for you," he said, chuckling.

Charizard rumbled in agreement. Pikachu gave an excited cry, leaping onto the shoulder of his old friend. Charizard gave him a greeting, then flashed a 'thumbs up' to everyone else.

Ash chuckled again and held out his fist. Charizard bumped it with a fist of his own and gave a cheerful growl.

"Amazing," Iris breathed. Since he had emerged, she had not taken her eyes off Charizard. She quickly grabbed her four pokeballs and released her team. "Come on out and meet Charizard!" she shouted. Her team materialized around her; first Emolga, then Excadrill, and finally, Dragonite.

Almost instantly, a crackling tension filled the air. Charizard's demeanor shifted instantly, his eyes taking on a dangerous gleam.

Somehow, Ash didn't need to look to know what his friend was staring at. Dragonite. The powerhouse of Iris' odd little team, and a nearly unrightfully strong pokemon she had somehow befriended. He recalled how easily Dragonite had swept through the Junior Cup tournament, defeating almost every opponent with a single blow, tanking multiple ultra-effective hits and displaying immense power. It had taken the evolution of his own Krookodile to take it down.

Iris stared in surprise at her Dragonite, awed by its shift in attitude.

Ash, however, felt unfazed. A slow grin crept across his face. He didn't need to speak the language of pokemon to know what Charizard was thinking. His friend's spirit for battle had been ignited. He thought he heard Cilan make a comment, but he was so focused he didn't hear it. "We should have a battle!" Ash declared.

A small cry of surprise slipped from Iris and her jaw dropped slightly. Ash thought he saw her pale briefly, but he wasn't sure. "Battle?" she asked.

"Sure," Ash said, a familiar confidence returning to him. "If they want to fight, the best way to settle it is with a battle!"

An eager grin began to form on Iris' face. "Whaddya say Dragonite?" she asked, turning to her partner. "How bout we show those two how we do it in the Unova region?"

Dragonite answered with a bold roar.

Ash couldn't help but notice Charizard seemed unfazed by the display. "Let's go!" Ash said, clenching his fist eagerly.

A minute later, Ash stood across from Iris, on one end of the battlefield. Charizard and Dragonite stood in front of their respective trainers, staring each other down. He quickly scanned Charizard with his Pokedex and updated himself on his new moves. Flamethrower, Wing Attack, Dragon Pulse, Seismic Toss. "Awesome! You've been training hard, huh buddy?"

Charizard growled and nodded, glancing back at his trainer with a proud grin.

"Are you ready, Iris?"

"Oh yeah!" She called back. "I'll go first. Dragonite, Flamethrower! Full Strength!"

Ash grinned. Nothing like a good power matchup. "Charizard, you use Flamethrower too."

Dragonite and Charizard both reared back, launching matching blasts of fire at each other. The two streams of fire collided and a brief struggle ensued. Then the attacks exploded in a blaze of embers and wind, casting up a cloud of smoke.

When it cleared, both pokemon stood, unharmed. Iris smirked triumphantly. "Not bad, huh?" she said. Dragonite huffed and grinned, proud of its power.

Ash grinned back. "Not bad!" he called. But not enough he thought. He could tell Charizard hadn't needed to go all out to match Dragonite. After all, while Iris had used a 'full power' Flamethrower, Charizard had simply used a powerful blast. Not full strength. "Now, up in the air!" He could feel his blood boiling with excitement, and he felt his old energy returning. He'd fought together with Charizard so much...

Charizard launched himself high into the air with a single flap of its wings.

"You too, Dragonite," Iris called. Iris had hardly finished speaking before Dragonite launched itself into air after Charizard.

The two ensued in a brief aerial chase, dipping and swooping artfully through the air. At first, it seemed Dragonite had gained the advantage. It displayed impressive maneuverability, seemingly matching Charizard at every turn.

"Thunder Punch!" Iris shouted.

"Wing Attack!" Ash responded.

The two dragons danced around each other midair. The roles reversed, Dragonite chasing desperately after Charizard. Dragonite's claw began to crackle with electricity, and it swung wildly up at its opponent. In a sudden surge of speed, Charizard shot further ahead, its wings glowing white with energy, then spun midair and struck Dragonite. The force of the blows sent both Pokemon spiraling backwards.

Ash grinned as he stared up, unsurprised to see Charizard recover first. Dragonite caught itself a second later, panting slightly. "Now, Dragon Pulse!" he called. He'd been waiting to test out Charizard's new move. A blazing beam of purple energy erupted from Charizard's jaws.

Dragonite's eyes widened. "Dragon Rush!" Iris shouted quickly. Blue aura cloaked it, taking on the form of a dragon. It surged forward, towards the Dragon Pulse, colliding with the attack and pressing against it. Slowly, inch by inch, it began to force the beam of energy back. Then, as it was just yards from Charizard, Charizard opened its jaws even wider, increasing the power of the blast.

Energy and smoke exploded outwards, briefly hiding the two combatants. Then a figure shot from the smoke, shooting towards the earth. Ash grinned when he saw the figure was Dragonite.

"Dragonite, no!" Iris screamed. Moments before smashing into the ground, Dragonite flared its wings, catching itself. It huffed, panting more as it glared angrily upwards. From his place high in the sky, Charizard glared down triumphantly at Dragonite. Ash could see his friend was winded, but far from spent.

"Ice Beam!" Iris called.

"Flamethrower," Ash responded confidently.

The crackling beams of icy energy shot up at Charizard and were swiftly met by Charizard's Flamethrower. The resulting collision created a burst of steam in the center.

"Now, Thunder Punch," Iris called. Dragonite surrounded its claws in a cloak of electricity and shot into the cloud of steam. "

"Meet that with Wing Attack." Charizard's wings took on a white glow and he shot into the mist as well. The first clash of the two moves dispersed the steam, revealing the two pokemon locked in intense, close-quarters combat. They matched Wing Attack against Thunder Punch, blow for blow. Then, Charizard swept sideways. Dragonite's Thunder Punch missed, and Charizard seized the opportunity. He swung his glowing wing straight into Dragonite's face, sending it shooting towards the ground. It smashed into the earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Dragonite!" Iris shrieked, her voice bordering on whiny. Dragonite slowly stood up from the crater that had formed on the ground from its impact. Numerous small cuts and scrapes covered its body and its breath came in heaves, but the fire in its eyes hadn't died.

Ash grinned. The battle was nearly over. He had to admit, Dragonite's sheer power was impressive. But he had utter faith in Charizard. He'd been training for so long, and he could not only match Dragonite's power, but he held more stamina.

"We can still win this, Dragonite. Let's finish this with Dragon Rush!" Dragonite grinned and narrowed his eyes further. Blue draconic energy cloaked his body. He launched himself up at Charizard in a burst of speed.

"Up!" Charizard shot higher into the air, Dragonite close in pursuit.

Thanks to Charizard's greater speed, he managed to put some distance between him and Dragonite.

Ash couldn't help but shout his next attack. "Let's finish this! Seismic Toss!" He didn't even have to see Chrizard to know he would be wearing a devious grin.

In a skillful aerial display, Charizard came to a near full stop midair, swept sideways, and let Dragonite pass by him. Dragonite's cloak of energy faded and it paused several feet above Charizard, stunned that its attack failed. In a blur of motion, Charizard shot upwards, disappeared, then reappeared behind Dragonite. He locked his claws around Dragonite, who growled in shock, then launched himself even higher into the sky.

"Oh no!" Iris cried. Her eyes were clouded with fear and surprise.

The two pokemon faded from view for a second, but Ash knew what was happening.

Charizard twisted midair, aiming himself straight at the ground, then shot downwards in a blur of speed. They rocketed towards the ground like a comet, a mere blur of orange and gold.

"No!" Iris screamed.

Then, mere yards from the ground, Charizard flipped himself and hurled Dragonite straight into the ground. The ground exploded, dust flew, and energy surged outwards. Ash threw his arm in front of his eyes to shield them as wind whipped around him.

As everything settled, he looked across at the battlefield. Charizard had landed, breathing hard, though far from spent. He smirked down at Dragonite, who lay in a huge crater, its body limp and unconscious.

Silence fell for a moment. Then Charizard threw his head back and roared in triumph. "You did it!" Ash cheered, charging across the field. "That was awesome, buddy," he said. As he stared up at his Charizard, memories flooded over him. He'd accomplished so much together, with all his pokemon friends. But now the league was fast approaching, and he realized how lax he'd become about training. Something began to stir deep inside him. Like a fire awakening. He'd been content to relax and take it easy while he'd been in Unova. But he couldn't, simply couldn't keep doing that. Not after he'd come so far, experienced so much. He owed it to his pokemon to win the upcoming Vertress Conference. He wanted to win. And he this time, he would.

So what does everyone think? I would love to hear your comments on how everything is going. Like I said, this is really just a side project for me. It would mean the world to me if you also checked out my real story, featuring my cool OC. If you go to my profile, its called 'Pokemon Legendary Adventures'. There's even some really neat art for it coming soon.

That said, did you enjoyed the completed battle between Charizard and Dragonite? I was always annoyed by how they ended it like that... obviously Charizard would have won though. He was way strong and more experienced. Dragonite was just a super OP pokemon they handed to Iris, who did nothing to earn it. I really hate BW anime...