A/N: Hey guys. Vires here. Yeah, I know… it's been forever. I truly apologise for my absence. I'll write at the end of this chapter. I'll explain everything. For now, enjoy!

The next three days consisted of a vigorous routine. Ash would systematically wake up, eat basically whatever he could get out of his bag, and start training. He hadn't actually thought about survival without James, but apparently James had thought ahead and stocked up his backpack without Ash knowing.

Ash sighed. 'I probably would have been a goner without him.'

And so his training began. The first day was basically trying to befriend Heracross. Snorunt grew on him like moss on rocks, un-detachable. Dratini wouldn't even acknowledge Ash's existence, so Ash had to let it go for now. He would get Dratini on his side eventually, but he knew that he took the Dragon Pokemon out of its natural environment and it wouldn't forgive him for capturing its friends so easily. Ash understood where it was coming from, but he wished that wasn't the case.

With Heracross though, it seemed as though the rough skinned bug type was happy. Maybe being around that NPC was boring beyond comprehension, and finally it was getting some action. However, Ash's kind demeanour seemed to win Heracross over, and with a little coaxing, and a lot of desperation, Ash won.

With his egg safely wrapped in warm clothing, Ash trained all of his Pokemon within an inch of their lives, in that happy go lucky way of his, throughout the time spent at the lake. Snorunt, though still childish, became a force to be reckoned with. Armed with a powerful "Powder Snow" and "Tackle", Ash cringed. It would be a while before Snorunt could actually battle for real. Meanwhile, Heracross was at the moment his strongest Pokemon. His Horn Attack did some real damage to Charmander, despite all the disadvantages, nearly knocking out Charmander in one go. Heracross' repertoire also consisted of Swords Dance, Body Slam and a powerful Brick Break.

But the one thing that surprised Ash the most was the dual transformation. Sometime on the second day, He got Charmander and Magikarp to battle one another. It was a brutal confrontation. Magikarp was consistently hammering Charmander like nothing else with tackle and dodging everything with splash. Charmander, on the other hand, was getting so infuriated that he missed one final time and started glowing. It seemed like a virus, something contagious within eyesight, because moments later Magikarp glowed white like powdered neon, growing huge before both of them emerged from their glowing cacoons, anew and ablaze.

Charmeleon and Gyarados. The salamander had grown a little bit, with rougher, darker skin and a fire burning brighter than ever. Magikarp, however, grew into a monster on land, growing nearly 30 times its size in length alone. Now a pure sea blue, with baring fangs and glowing red eyes, it almost seemed like the reincarnation of evil itself.

Ash, wide eyed and gobsmacked, couldn't speak. Both Pokemon looked at their new forms, proud and surprised. Finally gaining his bearings, Ash decided to continue the battle while he sat down to reassess what the hell just happened. Not only did their evolutions astonish him, it was the first time he had witnessed it with his own eyes.

He was fascinated.

Meanwhile, Gyarados and Charmeleon battled furiously, exchanging blows. The sinister serpent, while growing more powerful, grew more vulnerable to attacks, as its size changed the mechanics of the battle immensely. Charmeleon, while a little bigger, grew more ferocious in its attacks and more shifty in its evasions, turning the tables completely.

The battle ended up in a draw, with Charmeleon too tired to deal enough damage to injure the huge creature, and Gyarados too confused on how to even hit such a small target.

Despite their battle, the two Pokemon shared a bond now, as evolution brought them closer together, as comrades. They both smiled at one another, well, as much as a Gyarados can smile anyway, as Ash returned them both to their pokeballs.

By the end of the three days Ash looked proudly at his little entourage of creatures. Charmeleon had finally perfected Flamethrower, and even though Iron Tail was still a work in progress, it was coming along fine. Gyarados had gained Water Gun and Twister for its move set, which Ash was very happy about. It wasn't only that, but it had gained a massive power boost. Heracross was as badass as usual, and Snorunt was as pointless. Dratini and Bagon's egg, however, were both out of the picture for now, so it was a waiting game for Ash. He nodded.

'I've come pretty far as of yet. Six Pokemon, pretty much, and I haven't even defeated a gym yet!'

Quite satisfied, he didn't notice the shadow over his head, but he noticed the crash to the ground, and the form on the back of the huge shadow.

"Get on."

"You have a Flygon?!" Ash asked incredulously.
"Well… yeah." Said James in return, equally confused as to why he was confused.
"That's a rare and popular dragon type Pokemon from HOENN!"
"Yes, it is. And you should be more grateful, it got us to Pewter city in under an hour."
"It's not that I'm not grateful, it's just that I can't comprehend how you managed to get such an awesome Pokemon!"

James turned around, slightly amused, but more irritated.

"Stop."
"But…"
"Enough.

Ash looked at James, curious. He wasn't the same when he got back. He seemed distant.

"Is… something wrong?"

James closed his eyes and sighed. Something from his past had come back to haunt him and he didn't quite know what to do. The only thing keeping him here was Ash, and he didn't know why. He had to trust his instincts though, and he couldn't let anyone see this side of himself. He would say something he would regret.

"Its fine, I'm just a little annoyed at your incessant nagging. Please, make sure you're ready for tomorrow. Flint is going to be your first challenge."
"I'm versing a gym leader for my first battle?"
"What about Heracross?"
"Apart from that guy. He doesn't count since I stole his Pokemon."

James smiled. Maybe he'd made the right decision after all.

It was barely noon when Ash stepped up to the door to knock. The gym looked ominous, like it was a huge mountain that needed hiking to get to the other side. He supposed it was, really, considering it was an obstacle in his way to becoming… whatever he was going to be.

Swallowing, he rapped twice on the door, and waited. Seconds later, the door opened.

There stood Flint.

His red beanie covered most of his face, and a dark brown beard adorned his chin, making it hard to discern any features. Wearing khaki jeans and a sleeveless, yellow singlet, he looked tough. Despite his relative shortness, pronounced biceps and stature gave him a larger than life view.

"Who's this old man?" Ash said, curious.
"I'm someone who doesn't take kindly to being called old." Flint said, raising the beanie slightly, giving Ash his full attention.

"You seriously think you can beat Bro-… I mean my gym?"
"Easily, mister! I'm prepared!" Ash said, forming a fist.
"Well, don't cry when I beat you." Flint said, laughing monotonously.

Flint looked up to see who was behind him, only to see a finger to the lips. He understood what he meant, so quiet he shall be.

Standing on opposite sides of the arena, Ash and Flint stared each other down, waiting for the match to start. James sat down in the stands, watching and waiting.

"This might actually be a good battle."

The referee called the start of the match.

"Each Trainer will use two Pokemon only. The challenger will be the only trainer who can substitute... Let the match begin!"

"Let's do this," Flint said. "Go Rhyhorn!"
"Charmeleon, I choose you!"

Flint raised an eyebrow. He had already evolved his Pokemon. Impressive. But there is such a thing as Type Advantage.

"Rhyhorn, use Horn Attack!"

Ash watched as Rhyhorn slowly charged towards Charmeleon.

"Dodge it, Char-!" Ash said, gasping at the end. Rhyhorn had been faking its slow speed and pretty much appeared in front of the Fire type, its horn angled towards Chameleon's stomach. With a burst of energy, Rhyhorn smashed his horn into the other pokemon, sending it flying across the battle field. Crashing into a rock and splitting it in half, Charmeleon finally came to a stop, injured and not looking good.

"Are you ok?" Ash yelled, concern etched in his voice.
"Ch-Charr!" The salamander replied, grimacing but holding on.
"Alright, let's go on the offensive!" Ash yelled enthusiastically.

Charmeleon rushed into the middle of the battlefield again, where Rhyhorn was waiting.

"Rhyhorn, once more!" Flint yelled across the field.

The rock type launched off, not faking its speed this time, but Charmeleon was ready. It strafed to the side, and grabbed onto Rhyhorn leading horn, swinging onto its back. Rhyhorn, feeling the fire lizard on its back, tried to shake it off, but to no avail. Charmeleon had a firm grip, and was ready.

"Charmeleon… Iron Tail." Ash said, a smirk raising the corner of his mouth.

Letting go for an instant, Charmeleon shifted his weight so that he was just an inch above and in front of his opponent. Rhyhorn looked up, and in that moment, it knew this fight was over. Yelling out "Charr!" the salamander flipped in mid-air and crashed his glowing tail onto Rhyhorn's head, slamming it into the ground, forming a small crater.

Ash knew that no matter how powerful a pokemon is, the back of their head is a weak spot. Critical Hit.

"Rhyhorn is unable to battle, Charmeleon is the winner!"
"Charr!" Cried Charmeleon.
"YES! We did it!" Ash shouted, excited.

Flint nodded, impressed.

"Good work. I haven't been one shotted like that since Lance. Well, looks like I should stop underestimating you. The fight isn't over. Come out, Golem."

At the fling of his wrist, the pokeball went sailing into the arena, where it hit the ground with a dull thud. Suddenly, it burst open, and a massive form rose from the small ball, fading from a white glow to a huge rock. Brown limbs emerged from the boulder, and a small but distinct head rose from the top.

Ash swallowed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Charmeleon, do you want to keep battling?" He said nervously. At this point, no matter how powerful Iron Tail is, his pokemon is still at a disadvantage.

Charmeleon gave Ash a nod, never breaking eye contact with the other pokemon.

"Golem, Earthquake, and then Rollout." Flint said, crossing his arms.
"Charmeleon, jump, then Flamethrower!" Ash yelled.

"An earth type move followed by a powerful rock type move. This isn't looking good."

Charmeleon obeyed, jumping high into the air, dodging the Earthquake and firing a huge ball of flames towards where Golem was. What both Ash and the fiery lizard didn't expect was the flying rock and roll bursting through the inferno, smashing into the salamander and crashing and grinding it into the ground below.

"Charmeleon!" Ash screamed, exasperated, running over to his pokemon.
"Done." Flint said, closing his eyes and nodding as Golem rolled right on back to his side of the field.

Ash knelt beside his pokemon, and gasped. Charmeleon was battered and bruised, not to mention half of his body buried in a crater created from Rollout.

"Hey, talk to me…" Ash said, choking on his words, horrified at the aftermath.
"C-…Charr…" The pokemon grunted back, a small smile on its lips.
"You… You're ok… Thank god…" Ash whispered, a tear rolling down his face as he brought Charmeleon into an embrace.

"Charmeleon is unable to battle, Golem is the winner!"

Ash rose, pulling out a pokeball from his belt.

"Return." He said, his hat shadowing his eyes. "You did well."
"Are you ready for more, Ash?" Flint said, smiling.

Ash turned around and looked up, determined.

"The look in Charmeleon's eyes just now. The defeat. The feeling of loss. The disappointment in its eyes. I make a promise… right here. I promise to never let my pokemon feel that way ever again."

Over at the bandstand, James smiled. "He finally gets it."
"Go, Gyarados." Ash said, throwing the pokeball into the air.

With a mighty roar, Gyarados' entrance was nothing less than legendary. Golem, backing away slowly, as the water serpents Intimidate came into effect.

Flint gasped, and took a step back. "Oh… shi-"
"Gyarados, Water gun!" Ash yelled, tilting his hat backwards.

Golem, immobilized by the pure size of Gyarados took Water Gun square on, launching it back past Flint into the wall, making the entire building shudder. However, Golem was strong and snapped out of it.

"Grab Golem with your tail!"
"Golem, use roll out and finish this!"

Golem slammed into Gyarados, pushing it back momentarily, but it wasn't enough. The huge water type wrapped its huge, ship sinking tail around the rock type and stopped it spinning completely.

"Point blank!" Ash yelled, raising a fist into the air.

When Golem attempt to wriggle out, Gyarados smashed him with her tail into the ground and launched a Water Gun directly onto the rock types head, making Golem faint almost instantly. Flint and Ash could only stare at the brutality as Gyarados roared its victory.

"Golem is unable to battle, Gyarados is the winner, and the victory goes to the challenger, Ash!"

Ash's victory cry couldn't be heard over his Pokémon's.

"Here it is… The boulder badge." Flint said, extending his arm out towards Ash, the octagonal brooch resting in his open palm.

They were just outside of the gym, standing in the dim glow of late afternoon. After what had happened, Ash was silent. He reached out, grasped the badge and looked at it. He had won. Flint knelt down towards Ash, knowing what he was feeling.

"Look kid, this is barely the start of your journey. You'll experience losses and wins, Victories and defeats. You'll sometimes lose the battle, but remember, you're in it to win the war."

Ash looked up at Flint, who had removed his beanie. He was older then what he thought. His eyes showed both experience and wisdom, and as Flint smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes shrivelled up.

"I've been where you're at, kid. I know that feeling. I'll tell you something. I left my family behind to seek my fortune, and when I returned a failure, all they did was accept me back. It reminded me of what I was trying to do. I was doing what I could for my family, and even though I didn't succeed, they were still there for me."

"Just know what your objective is, and strive to achieve it. You are a pokemon trainer now."

Ash finally looked up completely, and smiled. Flint rose and scratched his head.

"I still can't believe you beat me though." He said, laughing.
"I'm going to become the very best. No-one will be able to stop me. You can count on it, Flint!" Ash said, smiling.
"Ash, we should get going." James shouted, waving his hand.
"Yep!" Ash replied, running in his direction.
"Seeya, kid. Good luck!" Flint yelled out after him, smiling.

He watched as they both faded into the distance, with a smile still plastered on his face.

Ash and James sat in Pewter City's Pokemon center, awaiting Nurse Joy to come and see them.

"You're battle was very good, Ash." James said offhand.
"Really?" Ash replied, a glint in his eyes."
"It would have been better if you'd have started with Gyarados."

Ash sweatdropped.

"There's no pleasing you is there?" Ash said, shaking his head.
"Oh, there is, but you're too young to know about that." James smirked back.
"Here are your pokemon, Ash!" Said Nurse Joy.

Ash got up, to see Charmeleon rushing at him. The pokemon jumped and crashed into Ash, shouting happily with small embers firing out its nose.

"ahaha, stop, pl-… AHAHA" Ash snickered, laughing uncontrollably. By the time Ash managed to calm Charmeleon down, he was singed from head to toe.

"Don't worry buddy, we won!" Ash said proudly.
"Charr!" The salamander cried back.
"Good work, both of you. Now isn't the time to relax though. I've got something I need to deal with, and you've got your next challenge." James said, flipping open his C-Gear.
"Yeah, no problem. When do you think you'll be back, James?"
"Probably 2 days, depending on what the job entails."

Ash smiled. On the road again. They both exited the Pokemon center and looked at each other.

"When I see you next, you'll tell me how you got a Flygon." Ash said, walking past James.
"Sure. And you'll tell me how you managed to defeat Flint with a fire type." James snorted back.

They both grinned and waved, going their separate ways once more. Ash tightened his grip on his badge, and looked ahead.

"One down… Seven more to go."

A/N Well, here I am again. I've been away for too long. Too much has passed me by. So here is the most recent chapter of Cinders.

I apologise for leaving without so much as a goodbye, but I am officially back and raring to go. HTV is back. "Cinders" are back. Sense Replicate is back.

It's going to be a good year. Hopefully, I can manage weekly uploads again.

Anyway, let me know what you think my leaving a review, just like old times.

If you DO review, you'll win a boulder badge!

Anyway, here's to Cinders! No more goodbyes. No more excuses.

Vires, out!