I am Ash

**Brock's POV:**

In the regional tournament of Sinnoh, a Gliscor stored dark energy in its fangs and bit a Dusknoir, weakening it.

My substitute brother had been acting very…

Out of character lately.

Two weeks ago, when the tournament started, he became quiet, as if he were afraid to speak. At first, I thought he was scared of the tournament, but it seems to be something else.

Then he started training like crazy with six Pokémon: Heracross, Glalie, Infernape, Swellow, Sceptile, and Pikachu. I haven't seen much of him since then.

But if we talk about battles, that's where he's changed the most.

"Dusknoir is unable to battle, Gliscor wins! That means the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, 3-0!"

"Ash is acting strange," I told Dawn. "Have you noticed?"

Where once Ash would have been celebrating, hugging his Gliscor—which, by the way, had just learned Crunch—now he was just standing still, not even congratulating his Pokémon.

My companion, who had been celebrating Ash's victory, paused for a moment to respond.

"Huh? Well, he has been acting strange lately… But he just crushed Nando and now Conway! Maybe it's just nerves."

I hoped she was right.

"If you say so."

I looked at my friend again. I couldn't help but feel proud of him.

After all the lessons and advice I gave him when he was still a novice in Kanto, thinking that he'd at least finish among the top 8 in the tournament.

'I trained him well.'

I just hope this uneasiness he's feeling lately goes away.

---

**Ash's POV:**

Great, one less rival. Paul, Tobias, and a random guy are left.

I was really nervous. I changed the canon by bringing Gliscor instead of Gible.

I don't know what the original Ash was thinking, but I don't feel safe bringing a baby Pokémon to the Pokémon League.

So I decided to use Noctowl, Gliscor, and Donphan.

I taught Gliscor Toxic for Shuckle and Crunch for Dusknoir. My remaining two Pokémon would take care of Lickilicky.

And that's how it went, another flawless victory that, in Ash's way, would have been almost a defeat.

Next up is Paul.

I should be fine with the Pokémon Ash originally used. Plus, I remember in the anime, Paul gave me an advantage by letting me defeat his first two Pokémon or something like that.

"AFTER AN ASTOUNDING DISPLAY OF POWER, ASH DEFEATS CONWAY AND ADVANCES TO THE FOURTH ROUND," the announcer started speaking. "Beatriz, do you have any comments on this match?"

Hmm, I don't remember there being more than one commentator in the anime.

"That's right, Philip. So far, there are many young talents, but I'd highlight three, aside from the mysterious trainer with the Darkrai."

Now that I think about it, in the anime, Ash didn't seem to care about the Darkrai trainer until he had to battle him.

"Oh, and who are these three young trainers?"

"The audience has probably already noticed. Aside from Tobias, only three competitors haven't lost any Pokémon in the three rounds we've seen. I'm talking about Jake, with his powerful Fire-type Pokémon that have burned through the competition, and also Paul and Ash, who, while their attacks aren't as flashy, have won their battles purely with strategy."

Hmm, Jake, who was a non-canon or filler character, I guess. The reason for those 'flashy attacks' is that his Ninetales is his best Pokémon. Later, that Pokémon will be too exhausted to be used well in the subsequent rounds. This isn't a video game, Pokémon get tired here.

"WE NOW HAVE THE TOP 8. WE WILL RANDOMLY SELECT THE MATCHUPS FOR THE FOURTH ROUND, THE QUARTERFINALS, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW."

I looked at the screen without much interest. I didn't want to be here; I wanted to be at home, relaxing with my family. No matter how many waifus this world has, I preferred my home.

I woke up in this world two weeks ago, right before entering this tournament. At first, the first thing I thought of doing was running and asking for help, thinking I had been kidnapped. But then memories came flooding in: I was Ash Ketchum in the Sinnoh League.

Little by little, I started gaining memories that weren't mine. I could feel myself merging with the boy I now inhabited.

That led to another question: Am I in Ash's corpse? Where is Ash?

And why don't I remember the Pokémon movies? Let me explain: I didn't see Mewtwo in any of my memories, but I did see Delia Ketchum, my Pokémon rivals like Gary Oak, but I didn't see the evil teams like Team Rocket, Magma, or Aqua.

The only 'villains' I met during the journey were Jessie and James.

According to my memories, this Ash didn't save the world. He just traveled through four regions. So I'm in an AU (Alternate Universe).

---

"AND THERE IT IS! THE BATTLE FORMAT WILL CHANGE TO FULL 6v6 BATTLES, WHICH MEANS THE SINNOH LEAGUE TOURNAMENT IS HEATING UP!"

I looked at the screen to see Ash vs. Paul.

Looks like this won't change; I'll face Tobias in the next round.

Although I'm not excited to live here in a stolen body, I remember how much that Deus Ex Machina called Tobias annoyed me at the time.

Although I wasn't sure I could beat Tobias in the first place, what the hell will he have on his team?

To find out, I'll have to defeat Paul.

---

**Dawn's POV:**

Okay, now that I'm paying attention, Ash has changed, and not just in battles.

He doesn't seem like himself. It gave me chills to see him eating so calmly.

We were currently having dinner after the battles, where Ash should be more tired, so I expected an excited Ash eating like a Munchlax.

However, this Ash didn't smile when he saw the food; he just grabbed the utensils.

"Dawn, dear, can you pass me the ketchup?"

I blinked, surprised. Dear? That's weird. Ash would never say that. Is he trying to flirt? Has he noticed me?

"Uh, sure."

I handed him the ketchup, and from that moment on, things got even creepier.

Ash picked up a knife and fork!

"Ash, are you okay?" Brock asked.

Yes, ask him! That's not Ash!

The person in question looked concerned. "Yes?"

"You won today, but you don't seem happy. You also saw Paul after finding out you'd face him in the quarterfinals, and you didn't pay much attention."

Ash nodded calmly, and at this point, even Piplup and Pikachu were staring at Ash.

"You're not mad at us, are you?"

"No! I just thought I should be more serious. I was thinking that I won't become a Pokémon Master at the rate I'm going, and it worries me." Ash looked down. "There are probably others who have more reasons to think I'm mad. I haven't called Max and May, Misty, or even my mom. I'd like to be more serious." Ash looked off into the distance, as if he was struggling to remember.

So, is he regretful? That sounds like Ash.

"Piplup," my Pokémon cheered and approached Ash.

How cute.

A few seconds later, he launched a Bubble Beam at him.

Ash was thrown against the wall, surprising everyone.

"Piplup! No!"

Piplup ignored me and prepared to attack Ash again, but was stopped by a yellow mouse.

"Pikachu."

"Piplup, Piplup."

Ash, slightly hurt, got up, angry.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Piplu," my Pokémon looked rather threatening for a small penguin.

"Ash, wait, Piplup, calm down! He's our friend," I said, worried.

Piplup kept examining Ash, as if he were an alien.

The crowd watching us didn't help.

"It's okay, I'm fine. Pikachu, let's go train." Ash left calmly. Again, weird, because the Ash I knew would've yelled more at the penguin.

"Pika…" The electric mouse gave Piplup a look, making sure he wouldn't try anything funny until his trainer had left the room.

"Piplup, return." To my surprise and embarrassment, Piplup refused to return to his Pokéball and started talking with Pikachu.

They kept talking, who knows about what, until Pikachu saw Ash leaving the crowd that was watching us.

Pikachu followed his trainer.

---

**Ash's POV:**

"THE FIRST ROUND OF THE QUARTERFINALS IN THE SINNOH LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON LILY OF THE VALLEY ISLAND IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! LET'S SEE ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED MATCHES, ASH VS PAUL!"

'I was almost discovered yesterday,' I thought as a mechanism lifted me and brought me to the battlefield from underground. 'At least Pikachu is with me.'

"REPRESENTING KANTO, WE HAVE ASH FROM PALLET TOWN, FACING PAUL FROM VEILSTONE CITY. THE TENSION IS PALPABLE."

Here we go. I know Paul will start with Aggron—I saw it in an AMV, and we practiced for this.

"Aggron, ready for battle!"

"Infernape, you're up!"

Infernape will win with just one move against the steel type.

One new thing about this world is that your Pokémon has to use two moves before it can be switched out.

So, Aggron is screwed.

"Aggron, use Metal Sound."

Without a word, Infernape used Fire Blitz followed by Mach Punch.

Just like we practiced in the forest. Infernape learned Fire Blitz, and I specifically trained this combo for Aggron.

The result was more than satisfying.

Infernape's Fire Blitz broke through Aggron's Metal Sound, hitting him directly.

To my surprise, Aggron withstood the fire attack but couldn't handle the fighting-type move to the face.

A Mach Punch landed squarely on Aggron's face, sending him crashing into a rock, which shattered on impact with the Pokémon.

"Aggron is unable to battle! Paul has 5 Pokémon left."

The crowd erupted in applause, while Paul looked on in surprise.

"Surprised by my Infernape?" I glanced at the proud primate. "Infernape, don't get overconfident."

"Infer!"

"Mmm," Paul closed his eyes, probably to avoid showing any nervousness.

"Go, Gastrodon!" Paul sent out his giant slug, and I had no desire to see my monkey lose due to a type disadvantage.

"Infernape, return!"

"And Ash is switching to his second Pokémon, leaving Paul at an even greater disadvantage. Can he turn this around?"

Who should I pick? Not Torterra—he has Ice Beam, which hits 4x harder. With that logic, Gliscor and Staraptor are also out. Pikachu? Definitely not, since Gastrodon is immune to Electric-type attacks.

The only option is Buizel.

"Go, Buizel!"

"Gastrodon, use Ice Beam!"

Once again, knowing exactly what would happen, I didn't give any commands and let my Pokémon handle it.

Within seconds, Buizel launched himself at the Ice Beam with Aqua Jet, turning into an icy missile and damaging the slug.

"Body Slam!"

Just like in the anime, Buizel used Ice Punch, wearing down Paul's Pokémon.

Paul seemed frustrated. "You got lucky picking Infernape with the type advantage over Aggron, but this ends now."

Ignoring his comment, I spoke.

"I have the same team as last time, so don't worry. Start battling seriously."

Paul's frustration faded, replaced by a determined look.

"Drapion, finish this!"

"DRAPION VS. BUIZEL! ASH ONLY HAS TWO SWITCHES LEFT!"

Oh yeah, in this universe, you can only switch Pokémon three times. No unlimited switches.

Whatever. We'll beat Paul.

And Tobias will pay for being a hacker.

x-x-x-x-x-xx-x--x

That's it! What do you think so far?