Well this is veering off from my current pattern of POVs but I promised a friend that I would create a fic upon a specific theme that he set out. And this would be it, obviously. This also contains my first attempt at a true battle sequence so I hope I didn't do too badly with it. As an informative note this is in the same timeline as one of my other stories, "To Walk in the Shoes of Another." I don't think that I would call this an actual sequel but its close enough for the moment.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any of its related characters.

As the sun moved through its path high in the sky its light shone down upon the rolling hills and forests creating an enjoyable atmosphere for both human and Pokémon alike. The day so far has been quiet and serene as the summer season was just starting to come to an end. The only ones around that could break that silence was a small group situated near a large oak tree on the top of a hill. A soft wind rustled the leaves of the mighty tree as a young girl sat underneath. She was watching three others with great interest, while petting her companions that joined her in relaxing in the shade. A large yellow mouse dozed lazily in her lap and its long lightning bolt tipped tail slowly swept back and forth as the young girl continued to stroke the content Pokémon. On either side of her two feline shaped Pokémon were watching the other three humans with interest as well. They both had a trainer involved in the coming battle and wanted to know the outcome.

Standing out in front of them all were three humans; on one side a couple of kids, who would be celebrating their eleventh birthday in only a few months, they stood facing an older yet still energetic gentleman in his early thirties on the other side. The two kids looked quite determined as they each held one of their Pokéballs tightly in their hand. Many would say that these two took after their parents, and it was easy to see why people would say that. The girl took after her mother; she was slightly taller than her brother and sported long brown hair with dazzling deep sapphire blue eyes. But instead of her mother's style of hair when she was younger, it was styled more like it was nowadays; she let it flow down along her upper back as a few strands of it flew up in the wind. In contrast her brother took after his father in more than one way. His jet black hair was cut short to keep its uncontrollable nature under some form of management while his auburn eyes shone with his devotion to attain his own dream. Yet both siblings shared something that made their parents famous, the unfaltering determination to make sure that nothing got in between them and their final goal. Right now the obstacle that stood before them was the only thing that they have yet to be able to pass in their journeys, their father.

Ash Ketchum watched his two children as they prepared for their training battle with him. A golden-hued fox with nine beautiful tails sat by his side and cooed under his gentle touch as he smiled at his two oldest children seeing them ready to face him in battle once more. In the many years after he stopped traveling his appearance has stayed relatively the same, his hair was as messy as ever and he still held the spark of his youth while he was apart of a battle. As Ninetales stood at his right, his left hand was playing with one of his Pokéballs. It contained one of his most competent battlers, well known by many of his challengers.

"Alright you two I'm ready when you are. Let's see if you can do better this time around." Ash called out as he expanded his Pokéball. "We'll do a two-on-two battle as usual, my two Pokémon versus one from each of you. For my two this time I'll be using Ninetales and this one." As he finished up he tossed the Pokéball into the air and after a quick flash of light the two kids were then staring at a brown and white otter with what looked like a yellow inflatable tube hanging from its shoulders. The Sea Weasel Pokémon looked over towards its opponents and then back at his trainer. As he did Ninetales got up and joined her partner on the makeshift battlefield, ready to perform as she always has done. "Alex, Jake, you guys can send out your Pokémon at anytime now. We should try to make this a quick battle. If we take too long your mother will have supper ready before we can even get this underway."

Alex looked over at her brother to see him taking several slow deep breaths, needless to say even after all the practice battles that they've had with their father even now his reputation precedes him. Looking back onto her father's Pokémon his Floatzel and Ninetales were a great sight to behold, poised and ready to start the upcoming battle. Nodding to her brother the two siblings then tossed out their strongest Pokémon in hopes of finally being able to best their dad in at least one battle.

In a flash of light two more Pokémon appeared before the combatants. One an intimidating winged red dragon eager to fight, while the other looked more like a large gecko with a palm tree for a tail; unlike its cohort this one seemed far more relaxed as it took in its surroundings. These two Pokémon held an aura of power to them, but it wasn't just from the training they received from their trainers, they had the pedigrees for success before their eyes even opened.

Ash knew both of those Pokémon well. They were the offspring of his own Charizard and Sceptile, two of his most powerful. Every time he saw his kids using them it reminded him of his own past. Shaking his head he tried to clear his head of those thoughts, at this moment his full attention should be on the battle at hand.

"I'll let you have the first move." He called out to his two kids.

"We need to work together to beat Dad." Alex whispered to her brother. "He may have the advantage with far more experience than us, but he also has to control both Floatzel and Ninetales by himself. As long as we work together we should be able to take the lead and stick with it."

"Ya ya, I've heard this way too many times." Jake said as he just waved her off, obviously over the fact that he was up against his father again. "You always think too much in your battles. Just head straight into it and go with the flow of the battle."

"Man you are so frustrating. If you've already forgotten Dad is classified as an S-Class trainer. If we just run into battle without a plan it'll be a massacre. And I for one don't want to set our win/loss record at..."

"Sceptile lets start this off!"

"No Jake! We need a plan of attack!"

"You use your plan, I'll use my instincts. Just make sure that you keep Ninetales off my back. Leaf Blade on Floatzel, lets end this quickly!"

"Fine, guess we don't have a choice anymore. Charizard take to the skies, we'll give them a moving target to deal with."

The leaves on the Forest Pokémon's forearms grew and started to glow green as its large leg muscles coiled and launched its body forward with surprising speed. In contrast Alex's Charizard gave a short roar before spreading its powerful wings and climbed into the air to gain a vantage point over the entire battle.

As the two Pokémon carried out their trainer's orders Ash couldn't help but let a smile show on his face as he shook his head in disappointment. "Here we go again. Even in battle they can never see eye to eye, you would never guess that they were twins. They'll never beat me like this, at least not this early in their journey."

"Let's see how long they can last against us this time you guys." He said calmly. "Floatzel Aqua Jet straight at Sceptile, Ninetales line yourself up behind him and aim a Fire Blast at Charizard."

Like a well oiled machine the two Pokémon got into near perfect positioning before taking further action. Covering its body in a veil of water Floatzel took of in a spinning motion right at the oncoming Forest Pokémon. After getting a good bearing on where Charizard was Ninetales took a deep breath and unleashed a large five pointed blast of fire at the waiting Kanto starter.

"Jake, Dad is planning something, call off Sceptile!" Alex yelled at her brother before looking up at her own Pokémon. "Charizard knock that Fire Blast apart with Shadow Claw and send the rest back with Heat Wave!"

"You just worry about that Fire Blast, I can take this. Sceptile we'll match power with power, use Agility to increase the force of your Leaf Blade."

Up in the sky Charizard's claws started to give off a faint black aura as she prepared for the oncoming fireball. With a well timed strike the now pitch back claws tore the blast apart with great finesse, then in one smooth maneuver blew scorching hot air back at Ninetales. Gathering up the fragments of the dismembered Fire Blast the double attack sped back at Fox Pokémon. On the ground Sceptile was speeding up with every step as its Agility took effect, at times its legs looking only like a blur.

"We got him this time Sis; after Floatzel is taken down I'll help you with Ninetales." Jake said proudly to his sister.

"The battle's not over yet, just keep your mind where it's supposed to be!" She yelled back.

Having already predicted their moves Ash made sure his next hits would count. "Floatzel veer off to the right and toss a Water Pulse to intercept that Heat Wave, Ninetales Confuse Ray right at Sceptile."

Increasing the rotation of its attack Floatzel pulled away from the line that it, Sceptile, and Ninetales had made just before colliding with the oncoming Leaf Blades making the now speeding Sceptile staring straight into the glowing black eyes of Ninetales. As Sceptile looked into the hypnotizing eyes of the kitsune his vision started to grow blurry. As he prepared to take his final leap toward the fox the large gecko lost its balance and fell just about a meter away from his attacker.

Hitting the ground like a top Floatzel started to create an orb of water in front of itself and as soon as it was able get a good look at Charizard and the oncoming flames he shot the water straight for the flying dragon. Caught completely off guard, both of the kids' Pokémon took the full brunt of the attacks. But the Water Pulse wasn't able to halt the entire attack; while it did neutralize the flames and cool down the air that would have hit Floatzel the rest came crashing down on Ninetales and Sceptile, engulfing the beautiful Pokémon in a small inferno. Sceptile was lucky enough to take only a small portion of the attack but it still was enough to cause some major damage.

"Charizard! See I told you he was planning something." Alex yelled at her brother before looking back at her stunned partner.

"Again you think way too much when you battle Sis, while Floatzel may have been able to avoid your attack Ninetales took the entire thing and Sceptile should be just fine." Jake shot back with a large smile on his face. "We got him this time."

"Oh ya? Look again."

The smile on Jake's face dropped almost instantly as he looked back at the flames. Through the light of the fire one could barely make out two black glowing orbs. Seconds later several smaller black orbs started to appear throughout the small inferno.

"It's not over yet! Charizard use Dragon Breath! Try to aim for where Ninetales just was." Alex called up to her Pokémon, a hint of desperation starting to break though her voice.

"Dark Pulse, take it out of the sky." Ash said rather flatly.

"Looks like this is where it ends. They could have done so much better." He thought to himself. "Floatzel charge a Razor Wind, take out Sceptile."

Through the flames a wave of black circles came shooting out straight at the oncoming line of green fire, blowing away the flames surrounding the Fox Pokémon revealing it with many orbs of black fire hovering around its body. The Dragon Breath moved through the center of the pulse and dissipated as it went through.

"Jake do something, otherwise we're going to lose this!"

Snapping out of his temporary shock the young boy looked over at his slightly staggering Pokémon just as the now glowing fins on Floatzel signaled the near completion of its attack.

"Sceptile I know that you are confused but please try to stop that Razor Wind! Deflect it with your Leaf Blade!"

Slowly getting up onto its feet, Sceptile looked up at it its current attacker just at the Sea Weasel Pokémon launched its attack. In an instant two blades of came shooting out at the waiting gecko, the vacuum that created the visible blades shot though the air at a blistering speed. Yet to the Forest Pokémon there was more than just two sickle-shaped blades coming at him as he powered up his own blades yet again. It appeared as if there were nearly five of them approaching at him at that moment. Trying to focus on the oncoming attack didn't help at all, and the large Pokémon in the end just took a guess at which ones to block. If there was one other thing that Jake took after his father it was his dumb luck. Holding its Leaf Blades in front of itself, Sceptile was able to block both blades coming at him. Struggling slightly at the force of the powerful attack he was able to send them flying right into an intercept course with the Dark Pulse aimed at Charizard. The two powerful attacks met in a mid air explosion, blowing Charizard back and forcing it to land next to Sceptile who after recovering from his confused state took a few steps back to regroup closer to his trainer.

"See I told you we don't need a plan, we can beat him just like this." Jake told his sister as the dust kicked up by the explosion started to settle.

"That was just dumb luck, nothing more and nothing less." Alex said not looking over at him.

"Better to be lucky than good. Besides I bet that Dad never expected…"

"Flamethrower, catch the Will-o-Wisp as it goes. Floatzel, another Water Pulse."

From the dust a spout of flame burst forth as it swept through the pale grey mist right along side a large blue sphere of water. Multiple orbs of black fire spun around the outside of the flames as if caught in some gravitational pull. It was that move which made Ninetales famous in the many contests she was entered in; it was as beautiful as it was deadly.

While Ash was indeed surprised that his kids were able to survive the last attack he was in no way caught off guard. In his many years as a trainer he's learned a few general lessons: never take anything for granted, never underestimate your opponent, and always think ahead.

Unlike their father the kids weren't as prepared for the counterattack, one of the two wasn't even able to react in time but the other figured that something along those lines would be coming.

"Charizard quick use Overheat!"

It was a good reaction time but still not enough. The Overheat collided with the faster moving Water Pulse but it had no effect on Ninetales' attack as it sped through right at their Pokémon. The combo attack hit them both dead on.

"Charizard!"

"Sceptile!"

In the commotion of the aftermath all observers were waiting on edge for the results. Even though Ash knew what the outcome would be he signaled Ninetales to ready another Will-o-Wisp attack.

As the dust started to settle the outcome became clear. Charizard and Sceptile were barely standing, struggling and holding themselves up on all fours.

"Okay guys that's enough." Ash finally said as he returned Floatzel to his Pokéball. "Great battle today Floatzel, you can take a nice long rest." Looking back up as his kids Ash continued, "Nice try but you still don't have what you need to beat me."

"So we lost again." Jake said as he and his sister returned their respective Pokémon to their balls.

"And it's all your fault." Alex added.

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

"Jake it was your fault, Alex is the better trainer and you know it."

The three looked up to see the young girl walking towards them with three Pokémon in tow.

"Thank you Sarah." Alex said to her younger sister.

Unlike Alex and Jake their younger sister had just turned seven and has yet to receive her first Pokémon. She also was different from her older siblings in the fact that she didn't take after just one of her parents' looks. Her hair was as beautiful as her mother's but far darker, depending on the lighting it could seem to go anywhere from dark brown to nearly jet black. Her eyes on the other hand were unlike her sister's or even her mother's. Instead of the deep blue that they both had, her's were a far lighter shade. To Ash he always found himself comparing the two shades to a clear shallow sea and the depths of the great oceans.

Running in front of her the two feline Pokémon went to their trainers and started to try and comfort them over their recent loss. One was pink with a red crystal on its forehead and the other was as black as night with only a few glowing yellow rings in contrast to its dark fur. While Charizard and Sceptile may have been their strongest, these two were the Pokémon that the two siblings received as their beginner Pokémon. Like Charizard and Sceptile they had an edge over some of their competition, being the offspring of their mother and father's most trusted and powerful Pokémon.

"You two always team up against me." Jake said as he knelt down to pet Umbreon. "Dad why couldn't Sarah have been born a guy?"

"Hey!" Jake's little sister shot back. "That wasn't very nice. Daddy, Jake's picking on me again."

"Was not, come on Dad you have to agree with me on this one. How do you feel being constantly surrounded by girls? I mean they out number us three to two."

"Stop making excuses Jake, we only lost because you didn't know how to follow a plan." Alex said as she petted her own Espeon.

As Ash watched his three kids argue amongst themselves he knew what would be coming next. It happens almost like clockwork at times. "Three, two, one…"

"That doesn't matter, besides this battle doesn't count on our record." Jake said looking up at his father.

Ash gave a small sigh, "Here we go again."

"For one he was using Ninetales which is one of Mom's Pokémon."

"Good point Jake. And another thing, that was an actual battle. I should be training for the Grand Festival not the Hoenn League." Alex added in.

"Why does it seem like the only time that they can agree on something is when it's when they are trying to get out of a loss?"

"You both make good points." Ash started as he sat down. His three kids followed suit, two of them hoping to be able to get out of another tally on their loss record. "But ultimately, they would just be excuses. First of all, technically you are right Jake. Ninetales originally was your mother's Pokémon, but now we share her." He said as the Fox Pokémon lay beside him. "And besides, ever since she was a Vulpix she has always liked me better for some reason. Not to mention having the inability to walk." He added under his breath looking down at the fox that lounged next to him. "Now for your complaint Alex, I was actually battling under the contest battle rules and not league rules in that last battle."

"You mean I lost to you when you weren't even trying!" Jake blurted out.

"What do you mean not even trying?" Alex yelled back at her brother again. "Contests are just as hard if not harder than league battles! Ask Mom, she'll tell you."

"Because Mom's a coordinator like you, of course she'll agree."

"Alright you two that's enough." Ash said sternly, getting tired of their bickering. "No Jake, I was trying my best as I always do. It's just that in contest battles you have to be more mindful of how your attacks look and not just on how powerful they are. Besides it wasn't my fault that I beat you that quickly today. It was both of your faults. Alex, while you can create a great strategy out of thin air, you forgot one major thing about one of your opponents this time."

"Huh? I did?"

"Ninetales ability is called Flash Fire. Flames don't hurt her; in fact they only increase her power. So while that counterattack against Fire Blast was a nearly perfect example of how a coordinator should act, you also have to remember that it's not all just how things look."

At this Jake started to snicker at his sister's realization of her mistake.

"Don't think that you are out of this one as well Jake." Ash continued. "You on the other hand leapt straight into battle before considering the circumstances, as usual."

"It always works for me in my other battles."

"Well then those trainers need work as well. Gauging your opponent is an important skill to learn. Just because you were going after one Pokémon doesn't mean that you don't have to face the other one. Switching up the targets can confuse your opponent and give you an opportunity to act, as you have realized first hand."

Taking a deep breath Ash looked back at his kids. Jake and Alex were fairly silent as they petted their starting Pokémon. Sarah was listening intently on every word that her father made as Raichu once again was dozing lazily in her lap. "To put it simply, you need to think more like a league battler and you need to think more like a coordinator." Ash said, pointing to Alex and Jake respectively. "Each path has their own ways of viewing battling, if you can master both then you will be able to have an edge over your opponents and achieve an easier win. But most importantly of all you two need to learn how to work together, especially in double battles. If every aspect of your team is not in tandem with the rest of it, they only hurt each other in the end. Now come on, your mother probably has dinner waiting for us back home."

"I bet I can beat you all home!" Jake quickly said as he got up and started to run towards their house. "Come on Umbreon, the first back home is the first to eat!"

"Umbreon." The Moonlight Pokémon said as he raced after his trainer.

"Like we would ever let you beat us, we'll be the ones to get some of Mom's cooking first. Let's go Espeon!"

"Espi!" Alex's Pokémon called as she and her trainer ran to catch up with the ones who already left.

"Wait for me!" Sarah called out to them. "Raichu, should we show them who the real fastest are?"

"Rai, rai!"

As his kids raced off Ash stood up and brushed himself off, Ninetales still right next to him. Looking off over the plains he could only ask himself how he ever got to be this lucky. After many years of traveling he was finally able to build up the confidence to propose to his long time girlfriend. Though the idea of not being able to travel the world anymore just didn't feel right to him, Ash knew that settling down would be the best for both of them and what they hoped to be their future family. Going back to Scott, Ash accepted his offer to become a Frontier Brain. While Ash didn't know exactly what Scott had in mind for him to do, the result was far from what he expected. Instead of adding Ash into the number of Brains already in Kanto, Scott gave him the task of creating a Battle Frontier in the Hoenn region. While his fiancée was happy with the fact that she was returning to her place of birth it was a bittersweet move for Ash. But he knew that if this was the best way to provide for her and their future family then that's what he would do, even if it meant leaving his own homeland. Yet it made her happy to live there so in the end he had few regrets. It took a few years but he was finally able to get everything organized for the Hoenn Battle Frontier. All but one of the new Frontier Brains that Ash asked for accepted the position, which was better than he thought considering he had his doubts that two of them would want to join. While it took a lot of persuasion to get Paul to accept the position, his old friend and rival Gary Oak declined to stay in Pallet Town to take over his grandfather's position and start his own family with his then fiancée Dawn. Since its opening nearly half a decade ago the Hoenn Battle Frontier has flourished. Due to his position, Ash was able to buy a large tract of land outside of Lilycove City, the same city that he declared his love for and proposed to his best friend and now wife of 12 years, May Maple.

"Daddy are you coming?"

"Rai, rai!"

Snapping back to his senses Ash looked up to see his youngest daughter and first Pokémon waving at him.

"I'll be right there Sarah, you go on ahead." He called back.

"Kay! See you at home!" She said as she ran off with Raichu on her heals.

Taking another look at the natural beauty surrounding him, Ash looked down at the only one still left with him.

"Well, you ready to head back?"

"Ninetales." The kitsune nodded as she rubbed her head against his hand.

"Alright, let's go home."

And that would be the first chapter, hope everyone enjoyed it. Not sure when the next chapter will be out but I should have a faster update timeframe than my last one. Please review, I always love hearing my reader's comments.