Lavender Town in Sights

After running through all of Primeape's moves and checking on all the members of his team, the raven-haired trainer decided that it was time to end his training. He and Misty would be leaving for Lavender Town tomorrow and after that he would be heading for Sabrina.

If it were not for the fact that he had sixteen pokémon with him, he would have loved the opportunity to catch a ghost type, but he decided to make do with what he had. He had recalled all his pokémon for the day and there was also the fact that tomorrow was his birthday. How was he going to go on about that?

He looked at his Xtransceiver. It was a few minutes past seven. He heard a growl and turned to address its source.

"How's it going buddy?" he asked his oldest companion and undoubtedly his most powerful pokémon.

Blaze merely snorted at him and growled again.

"I don't worry too much," Ash said as he scratched the Charizard behind his horns.

Blaze made a more guttural growl as response to Ash's statement.

"I have fun… sometimes," Ash said as he crossed his arms. Blaze merely shook his head at his trainers antics as he got up from where he was laying. Without warning, he grabbed Ash by his jacket and took to the skies, eliciting a shriek from the raven-haired trainer.

Blaze chuckled as Ash fought against him desperately. It was only when Blaze looked at Ash that he stopped the struggle.

'What am I doing? This is Blaze… my best friend. He won't do anything to hurt me.'

He looked at Blaze and nodded as if silently telling the fire type "I trust you." That was before Blaze did something crazy. He let go of Ash, the boy cursing as he fell from at least a hundred feet.

Before he hit the ground however, Blaze caught him but not before laughing at how his trainer was screaming.

Ash looked at the fire type with a glare but the Charizard growled again.

"Yeah… you did catch me and I trust you, but I'd appreciate a heads up next time."

Blaze laughed before spewing a small stream of flames into the sky.

"Ash!" a voice said.

The young trainer turned around to see Misty and Janine walking towards him.

"Oh hey guys," Ash said.

Janine froze slightly at the sight of the massive Charizard. "Is he your starter?"

"Yes," Ash replied as he patted the fire type on the shoulder.

"I had a fun time at the Safari Zone," the orange-haired girl said as she held two pokéballs in her hand.

"Wow… you caught two pokémon."

"Yep… a Slowpoke and a Quagsire."

"That's nice," Ash said. "Though you'd have your hands full with Slowpoke."

"I know, but I'll have to if I am going to become a Gym leader someday."

"Wise choice," Ash said. "Well… I'm going to sleep now. Got a big day tomorrow and it just happens that my new training regime would begin tomorrow so…"

He turned around and began to walk back to the center with Blaze.

"I'll come soon… I'll only be a few minutes with Janine."

"Well…" Janine said trailing off

After waving goodbye to Janine and checking out of the center, Ash and Misty had begun their journey to Lavender town. They were taking the part closest to the sea in hopes that they would be able to get a good amount of training before Saffron City.

"Ash can we stop?" Misty asked.

"Okay… I'm getting pretty tired myself," Ash admitted. His face looked a bit worried. He checked his Xtransceiver, there was no signal. They had been on the road for about three hours now and they needed a break.

"I'll make breakfast," Ash said as he unzipped his bag.

Misty tossed her pokéballs into the air as she released all her pokémon. From the white light came Starmie, Gyarados, Seaking, Kabuto, Omanyte, Poliwrath, Politoed, Slowpoke and Quagsire.

Ash turned around as he made breakfast for them. Since he woke up that morning, there had been no signal on the Xtransceiver. He was actually expecting his mom to wake him up with a happy birthday song. The only one who was able to do something on this day, which woke him up with a traditional Waterflower's Birthday wakeup call.

He glanced at Misty who was busy training with her team, and then his Xtransceiver. She had wished him a happy birthday but it was not her wish that he wanted to hear. He tapped the screen and opened the notes section and began to type. He was going to start his training after breakfast and he would start with a new training regime that he hoped was going to be his final one.

In the next thirty minutes, breakfast was ready and Ash had released all of his pokémon to eat with he and Misty. After he was done with that, he chose a part of the clearing to begin his training.

He had broken down his pokémon into teams and had them work while he chose one pokémon for a one-on-one session.

"Alright Zorua, are you ready?"

The dark type yipped and scratched the ground with her forelegs indicating that she was ready and willing.

"I'm going to work you into the ground," Ash said as he ran through her moves in his mind. "Quick attack back to back."

Zorua once again barked as her body became outlined in white streaks. "Slam into that tree with all your might."

The dark type shot off at her maximum speed before slamming into the tree. A loud thud was heard that made Ash squeeze his face a bit.

"Zorua," he called out. Thankfully the dark type was okay and Ash let out a breath he did not know he held.

"Okay," the raven-haired trainer said as he scratched the dark type behind her ear. "You're strong enough physically, but I want to see how strong your extrasensory has gotten."

Zorua turned back to the tree and focused intently, trying to grasp what little psychic energy she could. Her eyes attained a blue glow as she sent a psychic force at the tree. The tree shook slightly from the psychic attack for some time, but that was it.

"Still needs a bit of work." If she could get extrasensory even more down, then it would be very useful in battle. Zorua usually fought trickster battles and his Zorua was pretty much an upfront trickster. "This will be your training for today, I want you to constantly use extrasensory on that tree until I give you the go ahead to stop."

Zorua tilted her head a bit as she was confused.

"I know it sounds… weird but it needs to be done in order for us to get stronger."

Zorua was hesitant, but she agreed and went on with it.

After giving his team their various orders, the raven-haired trainer found shade under a tree to run a little bit of assessment based on their growth so far. He looked at his Xtransceiver, still no signal.

"Exceed, what's going on?"

"I have no clue Master Ash. I lost all connection to the Pokémon League servers this morning."

"Anyways we're heading towards Saffron City where the headquarters of the Pokémon League Communication Service is located. We should be able to get some information there."

"Let's make some notes," Ash said to Exceed. Immediately, the Xtransceiver's screen switched to a holographic one.

"Listen to my voice," Ash said as he thought for some time. "Create document file: Zorua."

"Name: Zorua."

"Fighting style: Specializes in trickster battles with illusion as primary means all the while incorporating direct tactics in her ploy. Did you get that?"

"Yes and done."

"Good."

It took Ash roughly thirty minutes to create the basic files for each of his pokémon, and after that, he decided that it was time to check on them again.

"How's it going Volt?"

The electric type grunted. Ash had him working on thunderbolt as he felt that the attack did not pack as much power as he had wanted. There wasn't also much finesse behind the attack.

"So can I see it?"

Volt's antennae crackled with yellow electricity as he charged up thunderbolt. Ash seemed to notice how the electricity now… electrified the air around him. Volt grunted as he unleashed a more focused and powerful thunderbolt into the atmosphere, charring the ground beneath him from the sheer force of the attack.

The electric type turned back as he heard clapping. "Impressive work Volt. Thunderbolt is looking better than ever."

Volt smirked as he smashed his fists together. "Well keep working on it and your other electric moves. We will get on the road in about an hour or a little more."

Within the next hour, Ash was able to successfully complete his rounds on his pokémon and clean up their campsite. It did not take long for him and Misty to get on the road.

"Why are we leaving so early Ash?" Misty asked.

Currently both she, Ash and Zorua were trekking down the path towards Lavender town.

Ash was silent for some time as he contemplated what he was going to say.

"We're heading out early because I want to find out what caused the drop in signal. I have a hunch on who it might be, but I need to be sure."

"Is it Team Rocket?"

There was a moment of awkward silence between them before Ash decided to speak up.

"They happen to be my main suspects so yes."

Misty did not say anything, but rather she chose to enjoy the journey.

After almost a week's worth of trekking, camping and training, Ash and Misty had arrived in Lavender Town. The town was ominous at first glance, with the forever eerily looking Pokémon Tower the town's trademark and most popular tourist attraction.

"Finally," Misty said as the Pokémon Center came into view. She was obviously tired from the journey and needed to rest her back.

No one actually expected that the Pokémon Center's lobby will be packed full of trainers.

"What in the world-"Ash said as he and Misty opened the doors.

"What is going on here?" Misty asked as she was more surprised than ever.

"We should ask Nurse Joy what's going on," Ash said as he made his way through a couple of trainers.

"Nurse Joy," Ash called as he reached the counter where the ever friendly nurse was. "What's going on here? Why are there so many trainers?"

"Well there has been a loss of network since the past week as a result of a barrier that is preventing the signal from leaving Saffron City. Since then trainers who have wanted to battle Sabrina are currently staying here until the issue is resolved."

"That's terrible," Misty said. "Who would put up a barrier to prevent trainers from entering a city?"

"No one knows," Nurse Joy said as adjusted her cap. "I just hope the League can do something about this quick."

"Is there any way we could possibly get a room?" Ash asked.

"I'm sorry, we're currently booked and as such I won't be able to help you with that. Sorry."

"No need to apologize Nurse Joy," Ash said. "We will be able to get a room somewhere."

With that they both left the Pokémon Center looking for a place to spend the night.

"So where are we going to sleep Ash?"

"Hmm… How about a hotel? I haven't tried anything fancy since then the St. Anne."

"That's not a bad idea… except that hotels cost a lot of money. Wouldn't it be better if we just sleep at an inn, I don't even think that Lavender Town has that much of hotels."

"Let's see," Ash said as he began to look for the different inns before something caught his attention.

It was the signboard of a Pokémon Daycare.

"That's Mr. Fuji's Pokémon Daycare, I almost forgot about it."

"What are you saying Ash?"

"I'm saying that I know where we can get a place to sleep." As he said this, he began making his way for the building.

Reaching it he knocked and waited patiently for whoever was inside to open the door. The door creaked open to reveal an elderly man with a Pichu on his head.

"Yes, how may I help… hold on a minute. Well if it isn't Ash Ketchum."

"Good afternoon Mr. Fuji," Ash said with a grin.

"It's been too long. Come on in," the man said with a grin of his own.

"Thank you sir," Ash said as he entered the building.

"So… how have you been?" Fuji asked the raven-haired trainer.

"I've been fine Mr. Fuji."

"I assume this is your girlfriend, kids these days they grow up so fast."

"No it's nothing like that; we're just traveling together… geez."

Fuji laughed hard before regaining his composure. "So what brings you here?"

"Well we were passing through to Saffron City but when we got to the Pokémon Center and asked Nurse Joy what was happening, she said that Saffron was blocked out by a barrier."

Fuji's expression changed immediately as Ash said this.

"Mr. Fuji… what's going on?"

"Unfortunately I have no clue about that. This began about a week ago when suddenly all the signals were cut off from the entire Kanto region. Whoever is behind this must have had everything planned from the beginning up until now and that I must say is a clever thing to do."

"Until the League does something I am afraid we just have to wait." Mr. Fuji sighed as he said so. "Forget about all that, what can I offer you?"

"Well since you asked, can we spend some time here until all this blows over?"

"You're welcome to stay here," Mr. Fuji said as he turned to the back. "Make yourselves at home and if you need anything I'll be out back with the pokémon."

"Thanks Mr. Fuji," Ash said as the man left for the back.

"So… are you going to check on the barrier?" Misty asked.

"Yep. Just to see if I can break it."

"Only you would think that way Ash," Misty said as the raven-haired trainer walked out of the house.

With Ash…

It was still some time in the afternoon when Ash began his little journey. It was quite funny that both Saffron City and Lavender Town where very close to each other as opposed to the long distances between the other cities.

He tossed a pokéball and released Charizard once he reached the route to Saffron City. He gave the command as he got unto the back of the orange dragon. With a mighty flap, Charizard took off into the air, flying as fast as he could towards Saffron City. Ash had his aura sight activated to avoid slamming into the barrier in case it was invisible.

After about thirty minutes the barrier came into view.

"Set us down there," Ash said as he pointed to a spot on the ground. The orange dragon dove down for a soft landing, before crouching for Ash to get off.

Ash made his way to where the barrier was erected and looked at it closely. Blaze growled.

"I know. It's just that there's a theory in my head that I'd love to test." Blaze growled again.

"Well we can't take down the barrier if we don't know its nature." Blaze frowned slightly and made a rumbling noise before growling.

"Yes I said we. I have a hunch that Team Rocket is the one behind this." Blaze spat before baring his fangs. He'd love another go at them especially now that his power had increased.

"Well," Ash said as he tossed a friend ball into the air. The light from the ball materialized into Zorua who was slightly surprised at the setting.

"Zorua I need your help. I need you to walk from here to there."

The dark type pondered the strange command from her trainer but nevertheless, she obeyed and stepped forward. She walked until she couldn't go any further.

"So," Ash said as he increased his aura output until he could clearly see the colour coding of the shield. "I was right. This barrier is made of otherworldly energy."

"My thoughts exactly," a voice said.

"Huh?" Ash said as he turned around to a meet someone atop a Pidgeot. "Gare-bear."

"Ashy-boy," Gary said as he got off of the avian pokémon he was atop, before shaking his friend.

"Happy birthday Ash."

"Thanks Gary," Ash said with a smile. "How have you been?"

"Bad, given the fact that I lost to Sabrina," Gary said as he looked at Ash.

"I told you your cockiness would be your undoing," Ash said with a laugh. "So what happened?"

"Well after losing to Sabrina, I decided to head to Lavender town in order to catch a ghost type. And I did catch one, a Dusclops to be precise. I decided to spend a week training and when I tried coming back, this barrier had been erected."

"Who would want to set up this kind of a barrier?"

"I'm guessing Team Rocket and they're gonna pay… but first we need to at least figure out how to take it down."

Ash and Gary sat down on the ground as they tried to brainstorm on where the caster could be.

"Well for one, the barrier has to be strong to be able to prevent people from entering. I can think of two ways to bring down the barrier," Gary said as his eyes glowed pink with psychic energy.

"The first one is that we attack the barrier with moves that are superior to otherworldly energy. But for that to work we would need strong pokémon with exceptional stamina in order to overcome the power output of the caster. That seems unlikely because this incident is yet to be declared a national one."

"What's the second one?"

"The second would be to find the caster and knock his ass into next week."

"So that's what we're doing right?"

Gary nodded and tried to run over all the information in his head. "Hold on… if you were the caster of this barrier it would definitely take its toll on you. How would you revive if you had to hold this barrier day and night?"

"Well… you'll need to have backing from others to accomplish such a task."

"Exactly and if it was a device, electric pokémon would be acting up so it is definitely a ghost pokémon. But what kind of pokémon would have this kind of power."

"If it's Team Rocket, can't they just use that red device they used on the Porygon Z at the St. Anne?"

"That's genius Ash," Gary said as he thought of the possibilities. "Those devices allowed them to put those pokémon under their power and gave them serious firepower."

"Wait I have an idea," Ash said as he got up and walked up to the barrier.

"What are you planning on doing?" Gary asked as Ash stopped in front of the barrier.

The raven-haired teen just grinned as he flared with aura. "Dad said that all living beings are filled with aura and aura is the life force that connects all, pokémon are no exception. I think I should be able to sense the pokémon that's doing this."

"And you've done this before?"

"No."

"That's a foolish thing to say," Gary said.

"That's right. Fools do not die… and I am a fool."

"Only you will come up with such a foolish quote."

Ash extended his right hand to hold the barrier. The raven-haired felt his time slow down considerably until his hand made contact with the barrier. A scream erupted the air as he did this. His hand writhed in pain, but he could not pull it away.

"Ash!" Gary yelled as he saw his best friend convulse in pain. He tried pulling Ash away but the raven-haired trainer refused to budge as he poured his aura continuously, letting it flow from his hands to the barrier. Suddenly there was a calm as Ash pulled his hand back and collapsed.

"Ash," Gary said as he caught him and lowered him to the ground. "What happened?"

"The Pokémon Tower," Ash said as the glow left his eyes. He pushed himself to his feet. "There was a pokémon. It looked nothing like the ones I have seen. It was angry and it was definitely the one responsible for this barrier. It had a very sinister presence. We need to get there, now. Blaze."

The orange dragon got up and made his way to his trainer before crouching down before Ash. "Gary," Ash said as he got on his pseudo-dragon. "It's time to make Team Rocket pay once again."

"Yeah," Gary said as he got on Pidgeot's back and the both of them took off.

Few Minutes Later…

Ash and Gary had arrived at the Pokémon Center's Training Ground.

"We'd have to be very stealthy," Gary said. "We can't afford to carry all our pokémon… only the fast and the heavy hitters. Our elites if I am to be more precise."

"That means I'll be taking Blaze, Golduck, Blastoise, Scizor and Venusaur. I would also like to add Volt and Zorua to the mix."

Gary nodded. "Blast, Arcanine, Umbreon, Absol, Nidoking, Mach and Dusclops should do the trick just fine."

"Alright let's go."

Moments Later…

It didn't take long for both boys to arrive at the entrance to the Pokémon Tower. The tower as usual gave off an ominous and sinister aura.

"They just had to build the tower on the outskirts of the town," Ash muttered as they approached the tower.

"Well it is a graveyard for dead pokémon," Gary said as he felt Dusclop's friend ball shake slightly. He released the pokémon from its confines.

"Dusclops you're going to be our guide in this tower. Will you lend me your strength?" Dusclops' eye glowed as it nodded its head rather mysteriously.

"I think I'll be okay if Zorua was to accompany us… no offense."

"None taken," Gary said as he patted his head. "But why Zorua?"

"For one, she's a dark type and for the record she has an innate sense towards evil." As he gave this explanation, he released the little dark type from her friend ball.

Both boys opened the door to the tower, expecting to be immediately attacked by ghosts, but to their surprise none came.

"That's odd," Ash said as he saw the unusually empty hall. "I thought ghosts would be flooding this place."

"That's true," Gary said as Dusclops entered the place he once called home. He looked around and motioned towards the top. "The stairs then."

Ash's eyes glowed blue as he surveyed the top of the building. His eyes soon widened with horror. "I can see a total of ten people. Four of them are directly below the top floor. Two are below that and the remaining three are stationed below that. At the top there is a massive gathering of otherworldly energy."

"That's where we are headed. Hope you're ready for a battle?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Ash said as he and Gary ascended the stairs.

It didn't take long for them to reach the first set of Rockets. Immediately, Ash felt a friend ball vibrate. It was Blaze's.

"Damn those Rockets," Gary said as he looked at them. "This will be quick. Dusclops, put them to sleep."

The ghost's eye glowed red as he disappeared momentarily before reappearing in front of them. The glow of his eye deepened as it attained a mysterious swirl that trapped the Rocket grunts in a trance-like state. He merely gave the command before their bodies went limp like a noodle.

"That was easy," Ash said as he and Gary came outside.

"Yep," Gary said as his eyes glowed pink with psychic energy. "I'm just going to try probing their memories to see what they know." Gary placed his hands on their heads as he tried his best to see their recent memories. It took at least five minutes before Gary withdrew from them to sit on the ground. Beads of sweat flowed from his head after that little task. He had exerted a lot of his psychic power and he was really drained.

"They don't know anything," he said as he regained his strength.

"Then we'll just have to beat the rest and get the info from them… how hard can it be?"

Moments Later…

"We've beaten all ten grunts and not a single one of them has any information on what's going on in the top floor. The only thing they did was deliver food to someone named 006.

"We won't know anything if we just stand here," Ash said as he began to climb the stairs to the top floor. Gary followed soon after as he noticed the raven-haired trainer's movement.

Ash soon reached the door and tried pushing it, but it was locked and there was no way to enter.

"What's happening?"

"The door's locked," Ash said as his eyes flared to life with aura. "I'm going to break it down."

He began to focus his aura in between his palms, pooling it to create something reminiscent of an aura sphere. He tossed the sphere into the door causing it to break.

"Who's there?" a voice said, but Ash refused to give him the chance to further question the matter. He dashed forward and slammed an aura enhanced punch into his face, sending the man flying into a wall unconscious.

"That was easy enough," Gary said as he walked in and noticed the sight of the pokémon behind the barrier.

Ghostly energy flared from the pokémon that shook Ash and Gary to their knees. Zorua, despite being a dark type was clearly frightened by this ghost and Dusclops stood unmoving.

"You must be eager to die since you both came here," a voice said from the shadows.

From the shadows, a beautiful girl stepped forward. She had blond shoulder length hair and auburn eyes. She was dressed in the standard black Team Rocket uniform and wore a mask to cover her mouth.

"I'm guessing that you are 007," Gary said as he held Dusclops friend ball, ready to return the ghost type at the sign of trouble.

"I am indeed 007," she said as the otherworldly energy seemingly swirled around the room.

"I never thought that I would have to face youngsters. I thought the League was better than this."

"Both of us will be more than enough to take you out," Ash said as he grit his teeth.

"Don't be cocky Ash… that pokémon sure looks strong."

"That sounds funny coming from you… but I guess you are right."

"It seems you guys are in a hurry to die so I will give it to you. Team Rockets' goals shall never be foiled. The pressure in the room lifted immediately as she stood beside Spiritomb. "Let us paint the tower with their blood. Let me give you a brief history. In the runes of the Sinnoh region, there are ancient markings that tell of a pokémon that is formed from a hundred and eight souls of the deceased."

"The souls of the deceased that wander over a certain stone will be sucked in by it and once it reaches a hundred and eight, a Spiritomb is born. Another rune stated that only souls that were full of evil and misdeeds would be sucked into the keystone. This pokémon is probably one of the vilest ones you have ever known and your death will come."

"Ominous wind."

Spiritomb howled with a hollow voice as it brewed a gust of purple wind that seemed to shake the Pokémon Tower. Luckily Gary was prepared. In the blink of an eye, Blast was out of his friend ball and it generated the energy barrier to counter ominous wind. As the attack past, Gary was on the offensive.

"Hydro pump."

"Spite."

Spiritomb took the hydro pump attack and came out of it undamaged. It unleashed a massive hate energy that seemed to attack Blast. The turtle fell to his knees as he felt his power stolen from him and disperse into the air.

"Ha," 007 said with a laugh. "Telekinesis."

Psychic energy poured from Spiritomb as it lifted Blast from the ground.

"Flamethrower," Ash shouted as a massive jet of fire was shot at Spiritomb, but the ghost dodged it easily. He had released the orange dragon from his ball and he was ready for destruction.

"I must be really fierce," she said as she smiled. "Continuous shadow ball."

Almost instantly multiple balls of otherworldly energy were formed and launched at the duo of Blaze and Blast. Blaze had a fun time defending against the attack with his metal claw, but Blast was not faring well.

Gary tossed a friend ball as he released Umbreon who went on to attack with an iron tail.

"Will-o-wisp."

A bluish-white flame formed in front of Spiritomb as it sent it at Umbreon. Blaze quickly dashed in front of him and took the will-o-wisp attack with no effect.

Another ominous wind ripped through the air and slammed into Umbreon sending her flying.

"Hydro pump," both Gary and Ash yelled.

The hydro pump from both Blastoise seemingly fused as they slammed into Spiritomb. Blaze's hand crackled with yellow electricity as he gave a downward punch to Spiritomb.

Information Corner:

No Spiritomb is less than five hundred years of age. That's one of the conditions of the Odd Keystone. So as a result of that, Spiritomb are very strong and vicious. Their spirits have encountered a lot of pokémon. The first spirit to enter the keystone needs to be at least five hundred years for the invocation to be complete.

Spiritomb snarled a nasty one and an ominous wind slammed Blaze into the side of the room.

"Absol use night slash." Gary said as he tossed the friend ball releasing the Disaster Pokémon.

Absol shot off as her horn glowed with chaos energy. She made to slash Spiritomb, but her attack was cut short as she slammed into a foul play courtesy of Spiritomb. Her attack turned on her and she was sent flying.

Blastoise and Blast slammed into Spiritomb with a combined rapid spin attack, but it did not look like the Forbidden Pokémon took much damage from their attacks.

"Looks like your attacks aren't doing anything apart from wasting your strength. Shockwave."

Spiritomb's eyes red glow increased as its body crackled with electricity. A wave of lightning escaped its body and slammed into a majority of the pokémon. Blaze and Blast avoided it by using protect.

"That thing is strong," Gary said to Ash.

"We just have to keep on attacking until it gives… and I don't care how long it takes. Blaze use dragon dance and give 'em a taste of your flamethrower."

The fire type responded by performing a series of dance steps that pumped his body full of draconic energy. He felt his stomach burn as he released a stream of pure blue flames that slammed into Spiritomb and knocked it back.

007 grit her teeth as she saw what happened. "Shadow ball rapid fire." Small balls of otherworldly energy began to form in front of Spiritomb. In an instant it began to fire the balls as though they were bullets.

Ash and Gary could barely hold up as Blaze, Blast and Blastoise shielded the other pokémon. As the attack ended, Gary and Ash followed with a hydro pump attack.

"Psychic," 007 said with an evil smirk.

A glow of psychic energy surrounded the hydro pump attack as its course was redirected upwards. The attacks slammed into the ceiling and broke through, damaging it.

"Absol, flamethrower."

The dark type's mouth burned with flames as it unleashed a stream at Spiritomb. Ominous wind ripped through the air towards flamethrower, but Blaze tore through the flames and fought against ominous wind. The pseudo-dragon's hand took on a metallic sheen as it continuously slashed Spiritomb.

Blaze felt his body grow hotter as he unleashed a massive fire blast point-blank range. The attack exploded, with the force throwing Blaze backwards.

"Double Dark pulse."

Both Umbreon and Absol pooled their power together to create a combined attack that slammed into Spiritomb and knocked it back further. At this point, most of the floor and the sides of the building had been destroyed by the attacks that were thrown.

"Ominous wind. Destroy them."

A stronger and more powerful ripped through the air and slammed into each of the pokémon present and their trainers. Ash and Gary had to hold on tight to avoid been blown off of the roof.

"I have been playing with you guys for far too long." 007 said as she looked at both boys.

"Dark pulse." Spiritomb pooled its power into creating a dark pulse attack that wiped Absol and Umbreon from the tower and plummeting to the ground below.

"No!" Gary yelled as he recalled them to their balls.

"Shadow ball."

A singular ball of otherworldly energy slammed into the floor of the building, shaking it violently before dissipating.

"Dragon dance once more."

Blaze took to dancing once again as he increased his ability via the ancient dance of the dragons.

"Flare blitz."

Blaze took a deep breath before bathing himself in blue flames and flying at Spiritomb.

"Ominous wind."

"Thunderbolt."

Faster than Spiritomb could unleash ominous wind, Volt was released from his pokéball and he attacked with a massive thunderbolt that disoriented the ancient pokémon.

Volt quickly moved out of the way as Blaze barreled into Spiritomb in an explosion of energy. The force of the explosion was sufficient enough to knock everyone out of the tower. They were only saved from the fall thanks to their pokémon.

007 laughed as she landed alongside the Spiritomb. "Is that how you plan on taking me out?" she asked as she looked at Blaze who had injuries all over.

He growled as he ran to his trainer's aid. "I know buddy, but that's the way it's going to be."

"Shadow ball."

This time the shadow ball was bigger and it was also charged faster than normal.

"Shadow claw," a voice from nowhere said. There was a blur and the shadow ball was knocked back in an instance.

A tall pokémon was stood in front of Gary and Ash. Ash recognized it immediately as a Garchomp, but whose was it?

"Fancy seeing you here," a familiar voice said. Ash turned around to look at who had said such a thing.

"Cynthia?"

"If it isn't Ash Ketchum," she said as she greeted with a mock bow causing Ash to grin rather sheepishly. "I never expected to see you here in the midst of battle, but then again, the only other time I have seen you was in the midst of battle." Her eyes perked up slightly as she finally noticed Gary.

"You must be a friend of Ash's… Cynthia Shirona."

"Gary Oak," he replied nonchalantly.

"Why is this not a surprise to me?" she asked herself before turning to look at 007. "I hadn't expected the perpetrator to be Sonia of Team Rocket's XForce Squad."

"How do you know about that?" Sonia asked in surprise.

"The league has its ways," Cynthia replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Garchomp, let's end this."

Few minutes later…

Cynthia's Garchomp was currently standing over the fallen Spiritomb's keystone. Unfortunately, Sonia had managed to escape from her grasps, but at least they were able to stop the Spiritomb and the barrier was dispersed.

"That was a nice encounter," Cynthia said as she took out an ultra ball. She tossed it at the keystone and it was sucked in. the ultra ball dinged to signify a successful capture.

"Thanks a lot Cynthia," Ash said as he and Gary walked up to the blonde beauty.

Ash looked at her Garchomp. Honestly that pokémon was a powerhouse even amongst pseudo-legendries. The only pseudo-legends that could challenge Garchomp with an easier time were the Salamence and the Hydreigon lines. 'I would love to fight this monster someday, but not today.'

"So," Cynthia started as she placed Spiritomb's ultra ball away. "Are you guys heading to Saffron City?"

Ash nodded as he now turned to look at the Pokémon Tower. A majority of the building had been destroyed by the fight and some stray attacks here and there. Honestly, the top floor was completely destroyed down to the second topmost floor. The remaining floors were just scarred with the aftermath of battle.

"I have notified the League already, the officials should be here anytime soon," Cynthia said.

"That means we can go now?" Gary asked.

"You can't leave now, that is not until your reports and statements are taken… besides I am also headed in the direction of Saffron City so we can just travel together."

"I'm okay with that," Ash said as he turned to Gary who just shrugged.

A couple of minutes later…

The officials that the League sent arrived and took official recording of the crime scene. Gary's and Ash's reports were taken and luckily none of the grunts that they had taken out had died. However, they sustained multiple injuries that were mild or severe depending on their proximity to the battle ground.

The League had apprehended them and a report was filed to facilitate the reconstruction of the Pokémon Tower. After all was said and done, Ash, Gary, Cynthia and Misty began the journey to Saffron City.

The journey was less than half a day's walk and they were pretty close to it now.

"I have to ask," Ash said. "Apart from Garchomp what other pokémon do you have right now?"

"Well," Cynthia said as she stroked her chin. "I have Spiritomb whom I just captured; I have a Togekiss, a Milotic, a Roserade and a Lucario."

"Why a standard team of six?" Gary asked her.

"Well as a League winner I have a roster limit of twelve pokémon, but I decided to travel with this five pokémon. I occasionally swap pokémon from time to time."

"Did you say you have a Lucario?"

"Yes."

"Mind giving me some pointers?"

"You have a Lucario?"

"No… a Riolu."

"Well I am no expert in training the Riolu-line, but if I remember correctly, the most important thing to them is in training their aura senses. That is the only pointer I can give you. The rest must come naturally."

Couple Hours Later…

Ash, Gary, Musty and Cynthia had finally arrived at the most busy city in the entire Kanto region. Vehicles were just zooming by and by, people walking trying to beat the time set by the day.

"Well here we are," Cynthia said as she raised her hand dramatically. "Saffron City!"

Ash chuckled at her antics before smiling.

"My sixth badge," Gary said as he pumped his fist. "I'm going there and I am challenging her to a battle now."

"Why so soon?" Cynthia asked.

"As it is I am already behind time. I planned on challenging about a week ago but the barrier delayed me."

"Oh… what about you Ash and Misty?"

"I will challenge Sabrina tomorrow and Misty is not taking on the league, she's a gym leader," Ash said with a smile.

"In-training," Misty said as she cut in.

Cynthia merely smiled. "If that's the case then Gary can come with me. I want to see Sabrina and ask her about some things."

"That settles it then," Gary said as he cleared his throat. "Milady," he made a light bow and directed his hands towards the direction of the city.

"Oh my," Cynthia said as she used her mouth to cover her lips. "What a gentleman."

"Yeah right," Ash said with a snicker. "Tell that to Leaf."

Gary shrunk slightly at the mention of the name. "Damn you Ash," he said as Cynthia dragged him away.

The Next Day…

It turned out that it took about twelve hours to reset the network of the Kanto region after it was taken down by Spiritomb's barrier. After they had checked in at the Pokémon Center, he immediately began to receive messages wishing him a happy birthday and sending him gifts. He decided on opening them once the morning had come. The gifts where from his dad, his mom, and the professor, or so he thought. There was a final gift and that was from Serena.

The raven-haired trainer made sure to call everyone and thank them for their kind words despite the fact that they were coming late. The young trainer was also looking forward to his match against Sabrina and he was hell bent on achieving his sixth badge.

The time had come for his sixth badge and he was ready to reveal the gifts that were given to him. Misty had already gone somewhere to begin training and Ash had to admit that he admired her dedication.

He took out the Professor's gift. It was carefully wrapped and had the Professor's "S.O." initials at the top. He took off the top and looked inside.

"Oh my Arceus! These are…" inside the box were bottles of vitamins for pokémon. Zinc, Carbos, Protein… you name it. They were all there. Ash looked on the side and noticed a note. It read: To keep your pokémon healthy and to help them grow up big and strong. Keep on doing Pallet Town proud. Professor Oak.

Ash was simply joyed and was even more interested in opening all the other gifts.

He took his mom's gift and opened it. The gift revealed a sea incense.

Information Corner:

Alright, for this segment of information corner it will be the sea incense. Once this incense is lit, it releases an aroma that helps relax water types, going as far as boosting the power of said pokémon the longer they were exposed to it.

Such a thoughtful gift Ash imagined. After looking at his mom's gift and admiring it, he looked at his dad's gift that was oddly wrapped with clashing colours.

He took the gift and opened it. It revealed a bright yellow box with black stripes. On the corner was space for a plug to enter into it.

'Oh my Arceus! It's an Electrizer!'

Information Corner:

Okay, I guess it's time for you to know what an Electrizer is. An Electrizer is a device that is needed to evolve an Electabuzz into an Electivire. The Electrizer is stored with a high amount of electrical energy using highly advanced technology. Elements of ground pokémon were incorporated into its design to help keep the electricity inside the box. Once an Electabuzz is ready to evolve, they just plug their tail into the box and absorb all the electricity that amounts to about a million volts. This massive energy would now have to be circulated until it reaches every part of the body .

After clearly expressing his shock and gratitude for the gift that was given to him, Ash placed it in his storage compartment and took a look at Serena's gift. It was smaller than the rest, but something about it made Ash gleeful.

He opened the box to reveal a necklace. The necklace was of a gold colour scheme and it had the head of a Charizard at its tip. There was a note attached to the gift.

You've always loved Charizard so I decided to give you this.

With love, Serena.

Ash smiled as he placed the necklace on his neck. He smiled as he placed his friend balls on his belt and left to face Sabrina for his sixth gym badge.

In the Saffron City Gym…

Ash walked inside the gym with confidence upon his face. He walked up to the receptionist and leaned on the counter.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," she greeted back.

"I want to challenge the Gym leader for the Marsh badge."

She paused and looked at him closely before sighing. She was about to say something but there was a flash and a woman was standing near Ash. She had waste-length purple hair and eyes that seemed to hold knowledge, and she looked like she was in her mid-twenties.

"Mistress," the receptionist said in a mild shock. "This -"

"Ash Satoshi Ketchum," the woman said as she cut her off. "I have been expecting you."

"Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina," Ash said as he looked at her.

"You are here for a Gym battle I presume and something tells me that our match is going to be very surprising," she giggled slightly before taking on full composure. "Anyways I hope you are ready."

Ash nodded as the woman suddenly held him, and his world faded into darkness. The next second he found himself gasping for breath in a different location. It was as though his entire body had been warped inside out.

"Instant teleportation," a voice said and he looked up to see Sabrina standing beside him, and everything about her suggested that she was the one responsible for what had just happened to him.

"Where are we?" he asked as he regained himself.

"The gym floor for your gym battle."

He tried to move but felt a bit dizzy.

"I apologize," Sabrina began. "Psychic teleportation is a bit hard for the first timers but trust me you'll soon get the hang of it.

After a few more minutes to combat the dizziness, Ash made his way to his side of the field.

"I trust that we do not need any referees to proceed?"

Ash nodded as he took on a stance.

"If that is the case, Gym Leader has the first move," Sabrina said as she tossed a pokéball unto the field. The light from the pokéball condensed to reveal a Slowbro.

'So this is her sixth gym badge team… but why a Slowbro.'

"I assure you, this Slowbro is more than capable of handling your pokémon."

Ash smirked as he took a friend ball. "Then I hope it is ready for this." He tossed his own ball as white light shot forth from it before condensing into a huge pokémon that was slightly taller than Ash.

"I had expected that you'd start first with your Zorua," Sabrina said as she eyed the dragon/rock type.

"Don't underestimate Tyrunt," Ash said as he patted the rock type. "He is very strong."

"I expected as much. You have the first move," she said as she waved her hand.

"Alright," Ash said as he contemplated his best moves. Slowbro had a part water typing so that placed Tyrunt at a disadvantage, but he wasn't going to go out without a fight. "Earthquake."

Tyrunt stomped his foot as he sent a powerful tremor throughout the field, splitting the ground as it made its way towards Slowbro.

"Bounce with water pulse."

An orb of water was formed in front of Slowbro as his slammed it into the ground. The impact caused Slowbro to rebound into the air.

"Rock polish."

Tyrunt slammed both his hands together as a bright light just grazed his entire body as impurities fell off of his body.

"Shadow ball."

Slowbro placed both hands together as he formed an orb of otherworldly energy which he launched at Tyrunt.

"Bite."

Chaos energy immediately swirled around Tyrunt's mouth as he shot off and bit through the shadow ball, destroying it.

"Psychic in ten seconds."

Ash wondered why Sabrina had called such an odd attack, but in the next ten seconds it was made clear when Tyrunt attempted to strike Slowbro. A powerful psychic force slammed into him and knocked him to the ground.

Ash grit his teeth as a water pulse slammed into his rock type. "Dragon dance and rock polish."

Tyrunt got up as he began a series of dance steps that slowly begun to increase his power as he did so. After he finished the dragon dance, he slammed both hands together and a light sheen washed over him as he cleaned himself of more impurities.

"I might have failed to have notice it earlier," Sabrina said with her battle composure still in check. "That is a King's Species Pokémon… I will have to become even more serious in this fight."

"Stone edge."

Tyrunt slammed both hands on the ground as he erected blades of stone that circled him, forming a ring of defense that consisted of three layers. The first layer contained about eight stone spires, the second layer five stone spires and the third layer contained three stone spires.

"Rain dance."

Slowbro raised both hands as it begun to dance slowly as it invoke the rain, but before he could complete the dance, a stone spire slammed into him and sent him back.

"Unleash the barrage."

Multiple stone spires flew as they made their way at Slowbro, but the psychic type erected a protect to stop the barrage. Slowbro successfully defended against the assault but the last three stones slammed into him and knocked him back.

"Earthquake again."

Tyrunt stomped the ground hard as he caused it to rupture once again, but Slowbro evaded with the same tactic as the first time, but Ash was prepared for it.

"Earth power."

Tyrunt slammed the ground once more, but instead of causing it to rupture, the ground split slightly as it travelled before exploding directly below Slowbro and knocking it down.

Sabrina raised her eyebrow as she looked at Ash who was smirking.

"You might be wondering how you could not probe my mind for that thought."

"Yes I am quite interested as to how you were able to block me."

"It's a secret," Ash said with a grin as wide as a Lickitung's tongue was long. "Tyrunt give 'em another earthquake."

The rock and dragon type stomped his foot once again as an earth splitting earthquake tore through the gym floors again, but this time Sabrina was prepared.

"Disable."

Slowbro's eyes flashed with psychic energy before enveloping Tyrunt. The rock type found himself locked in place as he tried to break free from the hold.

"Surf."

In an instant, Slowbro summoned a powerful wave of water that slammed into Tyrunt and Ash. Ash was able to hold on thanks to the psychic barriers erected in front of him, but Tyrunt took the full brunt of the attack.

"Slack off."

Slowbro's lax expression became even more laxed as he tried to regain his lost health.

"Tyrunt!" Ash called out to the Royal Heir Pokémon who had just gotten up from the receiving end of that powerful attack. "Rock polish."

Tyrunt slammed both hands together as he cleaned himself of impurities. "Now after that Slowbro."

Tyrunt shot off, far faster than he was when the match started. He quickly closed the distance between he and Slowbro and awaited Ash's command, but Sabrina was prepared for this.

"Water pulse."

"Dark pulse."

Both attacks clashed midair and exploded with equal amount of force that rocked both Slowbro and Tyrunt, but the dragon was able to withstand it.

"Slowbro use water pulse now."

This time, Ash was shocked at the recovery speed of Slowbro as it launched another water pulse attack at Tyrunt. Ash knew that there was no way that Tyrunt could counter that attack without been on the receiving end so he had to use Tyrunt's trump card.

"Bide."

Tyrunt's body glowed red as he took on the brunt of the water pulse attack. He stood his ground as a follow up surf attack was issued by Sabrina. Tyrunt took the attack before glowing red once again and unleashing the energy.

"Hydro pump."

Slowbro unleashed a massive jet of precisely controlled water that countered Tyrunt's bide energy. There was a distortion in the air as both attacks clashed and fought before cancelling each other out and covering the arena in smoke and dust.

Sabrina's face was passive as she spoke. "From the look on your face, that was your trump card, am I right?"

Ash didn't say anything at first as he anticipated the smoke clearing. "Who said I needed a trump card to win battles. Tyrunt I know you can hear me. Track Slowbro and use bite."

Sabrina remained silent as she conveyed her thoughts to Slowbro.

Tyrunt crouched down as he picked up on Slowbro's scent. The rock and dragon type's mouth became coated in dark energy as it followed the scent of Slowbro. As soon as he got close, he slammed into a psychic barrier. Tyrunt continually bashed the barrier but to no avail.

The Royal Heir Pokémon focused more dark energy to his mouth as he tried biting the barrier. The bite attack soon increased and became a crunch attack. The smoke cleared to show Tyrunt tearing a hole through the barrier and grabbing Slowbro and biting down viciously on the psychic/water dual type.

Slowbro shrieked as the dark energy sipped into his body. He flared with psychic energy, but Tyrunt just ignored it and continued biting harder.

"Jump back and finish him."

Dark energy swirled in full mass in front of Tyrunt. He launched the powerful attack into a recovering Slowbro and the Hermit Crab Pokémon was sent flying.

Sabrina wordlessly returned her pokémon and another pokéball materialized from thin air. She tossed the ball and the white light condensed to reveal a tree-like pokémon that had what appeared to be three heads.

'An Exeggutor huh? This is going to be a tough one.'

Exeggutor accessed Tyrunt briefly before stomping the ground with one foot. Vines extended from its body as they shot forward at Tyrunt. The rock and dragon dual type was able to easily evade the assault of vines as he awaited Ash's command.

"Stone edge."

Tyrunt stomped the ground as he erected blades of stone to circle around him. Exeggutor responded by stomping his feet as leaves began to encircle Tyrunt's stone edge, slowly destroying them before slamming into Tyrunt.

"Tyrunt!" Ash called as the rock and dragon type was knocked to the ground.

Exeggutor stood still before all six eyes glowed with psychic energy. A powerful psychic attack slammed into Tyrunt and elicited a cry of pain.

Ash was surprised. Two powerful direct hits in that instant. It was as if…

"Do not ponder your thoughts," Sabrina said as she cut the raven-haired trainer off. "Exeggutor is far stronger than Slowbro was and he is more than capable of handling your Tyrunt."

Ash sweat dropped a bit at her tone. Sabrina was once again on the offensive as Exeggutor smashed Tyrunt into the ground with psychic energy and lashed out at him with vine whip.

Ash grit his teeth as Exeggutor assaulted Tyrunt. Despite the fact that Tyrunt was a King's Species pokémon and that he is supposed to be four times stronger than normal Tyrunt, he lacked the raw experience to turn the tide of the battle. That was an act of negligence on Ash's part and he was currently paying for it.

Exeggutor finally stopped the assault as Tyrunt slowly tried to get back up. Ash recalled him as he analysed the little he knew about Exeggutor. The fact that they had three heads allowed Exeggutor to use three different moves at a time without training. What more would a trained one do?

"Are you forfeiting Tyrunt?"

He nodded as he made to take another ball from his belt. He felt a pulse on his belt before diverting to the ball that emanated such a pulse. Sabrina frowned as Ash tossed the ball and released his Glaceon.

"I got the feeling that you'd want to battle."

Glaceon just responded by flicking her ears and turning to face Exeggutor. "Quick attack into shadow ball. Test its strength with iron tail."

Glaceon shot off as she left behind a trail of white. A shadow ball charged in front of her before she launched it at Exeggutor. Exeggutor countered with a psychic barrier that just held out against the shadow ball. Before Exeggutor could recover, Glaceon slammed into him with iron tail. The impact moved Exeggutor back by a few feet, and immediately Glaceon was back on Ash's side of the field.

'Alright… if this exchange was accurate, it stands to reason that Glaceon has more raw strength and speed than Exeggutor, and she was holding back… but I get a feeling that that is not all there is to Exeggutor.'

The Coconut Pokémon just continued staring at Ash until a command flowed into its three heads. A bright orb slowly began to form above the leaves it calls hair. Reaching a suitable size, the orb ascended into the sky and formed a miniature sun.

Ash looked at Sabrina. She really was deadly. She was intent on halving the power of Glaceon's moves. Ash was beginning to get the feeling that Exeggutor's ability was Chlorophyll.

Without warning, each of Exeggutor's three heads began to charge a bright orb in front of their mouth. The beam was launched without warning; Glaceon was only able to avoid two of the beams. The third one hit her square in the chest.

Glaceon stumbled slightly before getting up. Her icy fur was slightly singed by the heat of the solar beam attack.

"Ice beam on your tail and slip into quick attack."

Glaceon nodded as she froze her tail and shot off at her top speed which was slightly above that of Exeggutor induced by chlorophyll. She continually circled Exeggutor, but the Coconut pokémon didn't even bother turning to look at her. Glaceon's tail glowed a metallic sheen as she changed direction for Exeggutor. She leapt forward to deliver the strike, but Exeggutor side stepped and nailed her with a zen headbutt. Thanks to the training with Ash, she was able to launch a last minute shadow ball that struck Exeggutor's main face.

"Nice work girl," Ash said as Glaceon stood her ground from the zen headbutt assault.

Exeggutor wailed as multiple seeds escaped its mouth, moving as though they were bullets, all aimed at Glaceon.

"Ice beam."

In an instant, Glaceon charged up a powerful ice beam to freeze the incoming attack. She was able to hit each of the incoming seeds with amazing accuracy but she was dragged down by the boost in power from the sunny day granted to Exeggutor and the reduction in power on her part. She was forced to dodge as the bullet seed broke through her ice beam.

Exeggutor made a low grunt sound as it released two solar beams from two heads. Ash yelled for Glaceon to dodge in an instant, but for some reason the beams chased after Glaceon.

"What the?" Ash said as his gaze turned to Exeggutor. The middle head had its eyes glowing with psychic energy.

'I see… so that's how she's doing it.'

"Glaceon," Ash muttered to himself as she slipped into quick attack to avoid the attack. Exeggutor changed tactics as the both beams of light split directions. One tailed Glaceon while the other seemingly watched.

Ash wondered what the Psychic Mistress was doing as the other beam watched from up above. In an instant the beam above shot down and it became clear to Ash what was going to happen.

"Glaceon no!"

It seemed too late as the beam approached Glaceon from both sides. There was a loud and powerful explosion that covered the entire arena.

"Damn," Ash muttered. He knew for a fact that Glaceon won't be done in by such an attack, but it was going to cripple their chances of winning the battle. Especially with sunny day still active.

"It's not over yet," Sabrina said as she eyed the smoke.

A huff was heard from amidst the smoke as it started dying down slightly. Glaceon came out of the smoke as though she hadn't been on the receiving end of such a high tier move.

"What happened there?" Ash asked, relied in his eyes as he saw her. She barked as she explained what had happened to him. Apparently as the solar beams had neared her, she was able to quickly move aside with quick attack and take minimal damage from the explosion. "Awesome," Ash said as he had a ray of hope on his face.

Just then, the sunny day ended and Ash smiled. "Hail," he muttered.

The temperature on Glaceon's body plummeted as she sent an icy-blue orb into the air. The orb expanded before fading as it formed a miniature storm cloud. It didn't take long before hail begun to drop from it, pelting everywhere.

"You ready to finish this?" Ash asked Glaceon.

She made a bark sound as she recovered her stamina thanks to the hail. Ash smirked.

"Then I trust you'll handle it as best as you can."

Glaceon nodded as the hail increased and covered the entire arena with snow.

Some moments later…

The hail cleared to show Exeggutor down on the floor. Glaceon was stood atop him and she was panting very heavily with injuries all over her icy blue fur.

Ash was kind of shocked. Glaceon was in her territory and yet Exeggutor was still able to do this much of damage to her even while she was recovering with her ice body ability. Just how powerful was this Exeggutor Ash wondered to himself.

Just then, Glaceon fell down. Her eyes were open but she was clearly tired from the battle. Ash recalled her just as Sabrina recalled Exeggutor. Similarly, as he took his next friend ball from his belt, a pokéball materialized unto her hand. They tossed both at the same time and the lights condensed to reveal two pokémon.