Team Rocket's Attack

It was a beautiful day and they were all outside waiting for the second stage preliminaries to kick off. Soon Diane arrived and she apologized for her lateness in coming. She took her spot and called the names of the first trainers. It was Ash and a girl named Alexis

Ash and Alexis took their spots on the battlefield. Alexis was the one on the red side. She released a Flareon and a Vaporeon. Ash countered by sending Butterfree and Beedrill. Diane gave the signal for the battlefield to begin. Alexis went in with an all out attack against. Ash just gave Butterfree and Beedrill orders to avoid and strike quickly alternating between each other. Alexis was able to land some hits here and there. Ash was able to draw out the battlefield and take out Alexis in the end, by poisoning both her pokémon and attacking them with venoshock, securing his place in the quarterfinals.

Next was Gary. He had defeated his opponent quickly using Growlithe and Kadabra. His strategy was to have Growlithe attack while Kadabra flanked him, protecting him from attacks while also doing damage of her own. In the end, Gary had won with a powerful fire blast that took out their opponents Magneton, and a psychic blast that knocked out her Arbok.

The next match was between Leaf and a guy. He looked to be a bit older than ten, suggesting that he was eleven or so. His name was Daniel and he was in the red corner. He released a Wigglytuff and an Azumarill. Leaf countered by sending out Fearow and Pinsir to face them. Not long into the match and Leaf had already placed Daniel on the defensive. She assaulted his pokémon by having Fearow use aerial ace, steel wing and drill run, while Pinsir assaulted them with fighting moves like vital throw, revenge and seismic toss. Her relentless assault made a way as Fearow simultaneously slammed into Azumarill and Wigglytuff. Leaf had ended up winning her match.

The fourth match was between James of the Team Rocket trio and Paul. He and Jessie had also made the St. Anne. Ash, Gary and Leaf were a bit surprised to see them, but they were glad that they made it. But sadly enough, James was facing Paul. Ash had doubts that Paul would go easy because Ash knew him. Paul was a pure battler. Diane gave the signal and James released a Meowth and an Arcanine. Paul countered with Sandslash and Fearow. Paul started the match fairly neutral, before sending in Sandslash against Arcanine and Fearow against Meowth. Sandslash knocked out Arcanine with a stone edge and Earth power. Both he and Fearow turned towards Meowth and assaulted the normal type. Meowth put up quite a fight and was able to knock out Fearow with an iron tail to the beak. Driving her head into the deck. The celebration was short-lived. Sandslash gave Meowth a powerful brick break to the head before burying him with rock tomb. James happily returned Meowth as he thanked Paul for the match. Paul acknowledged James as a good battler. He also thanked James for the battle as they both left the field shaking hands.

The fifth match pitted Misty against Jessie of the Team Rocket trio. Both ladies were hell bent on winning. Misty was in the red side and she released both her Poliwhirl. Jessie released her Fearow and a Beedrill. Diane gave them the signal and they both began. Misty ordered both her Poliwhirl to get in close to Beedrill and Fearow. Understanding what Misty was planning, Jessie ordered her pokémon to keep them away. The battlefield drawled on for long with Misty trying to get close to Jessie and Jessie pushing Misty away. Misty got tired and ordered the Male Poliwhirl to launch the female at Beedrill. She nailed Beedrill with an ice punch, while the Male ran to her aid with protect. The female Poliwhirl took out Beedrill with an icy wind attack. After defeating Beedrill, Misty had them attack Fearow with ice beam which allowed her to win the match and earn her a place in the quarterfinals.

The sixth match was between Serena and a girl, Persephone. Persephone was on the red side and wasted no time releasing a Pikachu and a Golbat. Serena countered by releasing Clefable and Charmeleon. As soon as Diane gave the signal to begin the battle, Pikachu and Golbat shot off, and began to flank Clefable and Charmeleon. It didn't take long before Pikachu launched a thunderbolt at them. Charmeleon had used protect to prevent the electric attack reaching them. The battle went on with Serena on the defensive most of the time. Charmeleon was able to knock out Golbat with a thunder punch and flamethrower. At the same time, Pikachu had taken out Clefable with an iron tail. They were now both down to one pokémon each. The battle continued with Persephone taking the lead. In the midst of battle, Charmeleon managed to activate her blaze ability due to the fact that she was already very weak. Using Blaze, Charmeleon was able to take out Pikachu with Flare blitz.

The seventh match was between Dawn and a Rich guy. She had defeated his team with a Bunneary and a Piloswine.

The eight match was between Trip and a girl. Their battle had gone on for long, but he had taken her out with his Throh and Sawk.

After the final match for the day, they had each gone to heal their pokémon. They gathered at the pool by the back deck to discuss and trade stories. The quarterfinals was going to be between Ash, Gary, Leaf, Paul, Misty, Serena, Dawn and Trip. One way or another, there was a hundred percent chance that they would face each other tomorrow. It was just a matter of who was facing who.

The Next Day

The day for both the quarterfinals and semifinals had arrived and it was going to be a blast. Diane arrived and made her announcement before introducing the quarterfinalists. She called out the names for the first match of the day. It was between Gary and Serena.

Gary was the one on the red side and as such, he had the first pick. He released Krabby from its ball and Serena responded by sending out Pancham. After checking with both trainers, Diane gave the signal to begin. Gary quickly went on the offensive with Krabby while Serena countered the attacks with Pancham. The battle only took a few minutes with both pokémon knocking each other out with brick break from Krabby and thunder punch from Pancham. Serena recalled Pancham as she sent out Charmeleon. Gary responded by releasing Mach. Serena started off with a metal claw and Gary countered by having Mach use steel wing. Both attacks cancelled each other out and they went at it. They clashed until Charmeleon was able to score a surprise flamethrower and follow up with thunder punch. Gary wasn't worried in the slightest as he began ordering Mach to use quick attack continuously and then air slash. The attacks clashed into Charmeleon dealing major damage, and the fact that she had fought the previous day did not help at all. Mach ended up finishing that battle by knocking out Charmeleon with sky attack. Serena silently recalled Charmeleon as she released her last hope, Delphox. Gary returned Mach as he sent in Graveler to counter Delphox. The battle began with Delphox using future sight and Graveler using rollout. Delphox went on the offensive, giving Graveler no chance to get close while also launching powerful attacks like heat wave and flamethrower, but Gary was smart. He was biding his time by ordering Graveler to use Rock polish about six times. He smirked as Graveler went in with a rollout and then hit Delphox with a double hammer arm. He assaulted her with rollout before ending the match with earth power. Serena could not believe her eyes at how quickly the tables had turned. She thanked Gary for the battle as both of them left the field while the crowd cheered wildly for the lovely battle.

The next match was between Ash and Misty. Both trainers took their spots as Ash reminisced on their first battle. Misty was also thinking about that battle, but unlike that time, she was determined to beat Ash today. Diane just commentated as Misty released her first pokémon, her male Poliwhirl. Ash smirked at her as he released Eevee. The normal type faced the Poliwhirl, ready to take it out. It didn't take long for Eevee's speed to outmaneuver Poliwhirl, and with a powerful iron attack and a nasty shadow ball, Poliwhirl was knocked out. Misty responded by releasing Gyarados and scaring the crowd. Gyarados roared as she came out, using intimidate to lower Eevee's attack power. On Misty's command, Gyarados used earthquake to shake the entire field. It did not take up to two minutes before Eevee was knocked out. Gyarados' eyes glowed red as her moxie boost took over. Ash's next choice was his Scizor. Scizor shot off as his hidden ability activated upon entering battle. He collided with Gyarados avoiding all her tries to use ice fang, before being caught in a twister. The twister was stronger thanks to Gyarados' moxie boost after defeating Eevee. Nevertheless, Scizor knocked her out with flash cannon. The flash cannon was no where near perfect, but it was enough, and Gyarados was out cold. Seeing as she was in trouble, Misty released her Starmie. Starmie fought Scizor valiantly, using psychic to stop the dual type most of the time. But, it was all in vain as both Scizor and Starmie took each other out. Since Ash still had one pokémon yet that had not battled, he was declared winner. Misty had definitely put up a fight against him. If Gyarados was just a tad bit stronger, he would have use his third pokémon. Ash thanked her for the battle as they leave the feet for the next battle to take place.

The third match was between Paul and Leaf. Paul was well aware of Leaf's brutal style and made sure he was prepared to face her. Leaf smirked as she took her place. Paul was on the red side and she was going to enjoy their match. Paul released his Fearow and Leaf countered by releasing her Fearow. As the elder Fearow spotted the former it gave the Fearow equivalent of a smile. The younger shrieked loudly, challenging the elder one, but this time it was not a duel but the real deal. As soon as Diane gave the signal for the battle to begin, both Fearow took to the skies, turning the match into one in the air, with their trainers giving commands from the ground. About ten minutes into the match, Leaf's Fearow fell down after taking a nasty steel wing from Paul's. She was clearly knocked out. Leaf only smirked as she released Cloyster to face Fearow. It took a while before Cloyster took it out with a well placed ice beam to the chest. Cloyster had taken Fearow out, but not without suffering a level of damage too. Paul recalled Fearow and sent in Sandslash. Using speed not expected from a Sandslash, it outclassed Cloyster who was slower and weaker than normal due to his battle with Fearow. Sandslash ended up taking out Cloyster with metal claw, and the only major damage he took was a hydro pump and an ice beam attack. Leaf recalled Cloyster before hurling a friend ball into the air. The light condensed and it revealed her Venusaur, Saur. Saur roared as it saw Sandslash and quickly took him out with a power whip and a leaf storm attack. Everyone, especially Paul was shocked at the speed of the knockout. Paul frowned silently as he let loose his next pokémon, Grotle. As they started to battle, Grotle was quickly outclassed by Venusaur until a white light burst from Grotle as it grew bigger and grew a tree on its back. It had evolved into Torterra. The newly evolved Torterra turned the tables around with her fresh power from her evolution. Torterra made use of the new ground move, earthquake and her unlocked egg moves, earth power and seed bomb, she knocked out Saur. Paul was happy for two reasons, his Torterra had evolved and he was in the semifinals.

The last match was between Trip and Dawn. Trip had won that match after a power tussle. He had used three pokémon he called Mienfoo, Gurdurr and Zangoose. Dawn had used Buizel, Piloswine and Prinplup.

Diane gave them a one hour break to prepare for the semifinals between Ash, Gary, Paul and Trip. During the break, they had healed their pokémon at the St. Anne Pokémon the break, they all went back up to the deck for the semifinals. The first match was drawn between Ash and Gary.

Ash and Gary stood facing each other with Gary on the red side. Gary and Ash exchanged looks, as they both tossed a friend ball in the air. Gary released Growlithe just before Ash released Volt. Diane gave the signal for the battle to begin and the boys went at it. Growlithe and Volt were both fighting with their all, each trying to secure a spot for their trainers in the finals. Volt was weaker than Growlithe in terms of raw strength, but he was able to keep up and land some damaging hits on Growlithe and even paralyze him. Volt ended up knocking Growlithe out with thunder, but Growlithe had really done a number on him. Gary silently returned Growlithe and tossed a friend ball into the air and what came out really shocked Ash. Out of Gary's friend ball came an Absol. He revealed that he had caught Absol in Diglett's Cave. Ash didn't say anything as he ordered Volt to use thunderbolt. The battle with Absol wasn't that long as she knocked out Volt with a powerful megahorn. Ash smirked as he recalled Volt with thanks. He enlarged a friend ball and tossed it into the air, releasing a Golduck. His Psyduck had evolved the previous night. Golduck jumped up and down as it assessed Absol. They resumed the battle and Ash was thankful that he had taught Golduck brick break and focus blast. Though they were nowhere perfect, it was enough to deal damage to the surprisingly powerful Absol. Ash was surprised that it even knew shockwave and it had hit Golduck with it three times, along with other attacks. Ash had even tried freezing the field but she melted it with flamethrower. The battle was long, but both pokémon knocked each other out with zen headbutt and brick break. Ash and Gary looked a bit surprised at the outcome of the match. They were both down to their last pokémon. They both enlarged a friend ball at the same time and tossed it unto the field. The devices released a burst of light and they condensed into a Blastoise on Gary's dude, and an Ivysaur on Ash's side. The final battle was now and Gary opened with ice beam. Ivysaur avoided the attack and they began trading back and forth. Thanks to the protect TM he had bought in Celadon, Ivysaur had a protection from ice type moves to a degree, but it didn't mean that Gary did not have the same move. Hitting Blast was not easy. Ash, quick on his feet ordered a sunny day from Ivysaur. The move weakened water and ice pokémon and their moves, while it strengthened fire and grass pokémon and their moves. Ivysaur's ability, chlorophyll kicked in as the sun intensified, increasing his speed. He was able to nail Blast with a surprise power whip and leaf storm. The assault made Gary curse why he didn't get the rain dance TM. In the end, Ivysaur poisoned Blast and landed a power whip to the head before sunny day ended. Ash smiled, because he just had to wear out Blast and then the match was his. Gary ordered a rapid blizzard. Ash quickly ordered Ivysaur to place his power whip like a shield in front of him. The power whip reduced the damage of the blizzard, but Ivysaur still took a deal of damage. Poison kicked in and dropped Blast to one knee. Ceasing the opportunity, Ivysaur used magical leaf. Blast blocked it with protect, but poison kicked in and he ended up getting knocked out by razor leaf. Gary silently returned his starter while Ash stood dumbfounded for a minute. The crowd soon burst into cheers at the amazing battle they just witnessed. Ash was beyond happy. He had secured his spot in the finals. He hugged Ivysaur as he celebrated. He thanked Gary for the awesome battle as they left the field for the battle between Paul and Trip.

Paul and Trip stood facing each other as they assessed each other. Paul was the red battler and he already had a pokéball in his hand. He enlarged it and released his Electabuzz. Electabuzz came out with antennas sparking wildly. He was ready to rumble. Trip responded by releasing Gurdurr. Diane gave the signal for them to begin battle. Electabuzz went into a frenzy as it came at Gurdurr, but Gurdurr did not give him the slightest chance. It evaded Electabuzz's attack while also using bulk up. After two bulk ups, he was hit with a powerful thunderbolt from Electabuzz. Trip did not seemed worried at all as a stone edge flew into Electabuzz. They both clashed with various punch based moves, especially thunder punch, but Gurdurr would come out on top thanks to its iron fist ability. Getting tired of the clash, Paul ordered an iron tail which slammed into Gurdurr's steel bar. Surprisingly enough, Electabuzz used a thunderbolt to further drive back Gurdurr. Gurdurr responded with a Mach punch, followed by a power-up punch, raising his attack and sending Electabuzz to the ground. Electabuzz got up as his fist sparked up and one froze. Using quick attack, he slammed both fists into Gurdurr and sent it tumbling. Just before Paul could order a substitute, Gurdurr used stone edge to hit Electabuzz, and as he landed, he used force palm, before knocking it out with focus punch. Paul returned Electabuzz and put away his pokéball. He needed the big guns now, he hurled a pokéball and out came his Torterra. Standing at a colossal seven feet. It didn't take more than two minutes for Gurdurr to be out cold. Trip returned him and sent in Throh, hoping that it would match Torterra. Throh was able to match Torterra in terms of strength. Both pokémon went at it for a couple of minutes, before they both ended up knocking each other out. Both Paul and Trip gritted their teeth as this was the decisive moment in the battle. Trip enlarged a pokéball and out of it came his Sawk in a front flip. It took a fighting stance in front of Trip and waited for Paul. Paul too enlarged his pokéball. It was now or never as he released his Infernape. Infernape eyed Sawk as he took on a fighting stance. Trip was surprised that Paul had a fighting type, but he knew how to counter it because he was an expert. The battle started with both Sawk and Infernape launching at each other. They got into a frenzy first with long-range moves like flamethrower and fire blast from Infernape and focus blast and stone edge from Sawk. After that, they went in close and nailed each other with various punch based moves. Paul ordered a close range flamethrower that slammed into Sawk and sent him flying. Trip retaliated with a rock slide, but Infernape dodged them, and was sent into Sawk's Stone edge. Sawk began to use bulk up to boost his attack and defense, and after three of these, he was hit with a thunder punch from Infernape. Sawk flipped in the air, but was hit with a blaze kick from Infernape and was sent to the ground. Infernape landed but was hit with a quick attack powered zen headbutt from Sawk. The super-effective enhanced move slammed into Infernape and sent him to the ground. Infernape was hit with stone edge and then earthquake. Trip thought it was over until Infernape's flame burned hotter and brighter as his eyes glowed red. He launched himself at Sawk and nailed him with a thunder punch. He didn't stop as he kept in the thunder punch assault with both hands, before blasting Sawk with flamethrower. Sawk would have been knocked out if not for bulk up. As Paul ordered a flare blitz, Sawk used bulk up, before using stone edge to slow down Infernape but to no avail. As Infernape closed in, Trip ordered Sawk to jump before driving Infernape's head using the momentum of flare blitz, into the ground. With a final more powerful earthquake, Infernape was out. And there it was, Trip had taken Paul out and the finals would be between him and Ash.

The Next Day

Ash and Trip were on the battle field, facing each other. Trip was on the red side, so he had the first move. He enlarged the pokéball in his hands as he tossed it. "You're up, Mienfoo."

"You too, Volt."

Both Mienfoo and Volt were now standing face-to-face on the field, patiently waiting for Diane to signal the start of the match. Diane gave the signal after hyping the battle for about twenty minutes.

"Mienfoo use pound."

"Volt, tackle."

Both attacks clashed neither side giving an inch until they broke up.

"Volt, get back in with thunderbolt."

"Mienfoo, double team and then swift."

As Volt sparked up to deal the damaging move to Mienfoo, the fighting type created a bunch of copies, and all of them began to use swift. The thunderbolt struck one of the copies while swift struck Volt.

"Vital throw."

Mienfoo stopped its swift assault as it ran to pick up Volt. Seeing the incoming Mienfoo, Volt rammed a fire punch into her face, halting her, before sending her flying with dynamic punch. The attack had left Mienfoo confused.

"Volt, thunder punch."

"Mienfoo snap out of it!"

The thunder punch from Volt found its mark on Mienfoo's gut as she was launched and landed just in front of the psychic barriers. Thankfully for Trip, that had snapped her out of confusion.

"Fire punch, let's go."

"Counter dual chop."

Both attacks clashed in an explosion of flame and draconic energy, pushing both pokémon back.

"Brick break."

Mienfoo's hand glowed as she ran at Volt with the intent of slamming him.

"Thunderbolt."

Volt sparked as a bolt of electricity danced from its antenna and slammed into Mienfoo's incoming form, sending the fighting type flying into the psychic barriers. Also, thanks to the fact that Mienfoo was at a type disadvantage to the barriers, it repelled her.

"Swift."

Volt launched numerous golden stars at Mienfoo. They slammed into her, before she was able to recover.

"Mienfoo, rock slide."

Mienfoo slammed her hands on the ground as rocks fell from the sky. Volt's hand glowed white as he used karate chop to destroy the falling rocks. Mienfoo got angry and slammed the deck with her hands, causing the rocks to circle around her, before launching them at Volt.

"Volt, thunderspeed. Avoid the rocks."

Volt's hand sparked as he accelerated himself towards Mienfoo, swerving to avoid the stone edge attack as he did so. He didn't stop as he used quick attack to boost himself and slam into Mienfoo. The fighting type elicited a cry of pain as she was once again repelled by the psychic barriers.

"Thunder."

Volt's antenna sparked as it spread throughout his entire body. He was sparking with yellow lightning as he let loose a powerful thunder attack that slammed into Mienfoo, knocking her out.

"Mienfoo. You did good," Trip said as he returned her and took another pokéball from his belt. Out of the pokéball came his Gurdurr. Gurdurr slammed his steel bar on the ground as he flexed his muscles.

"Elekid vs Gurdurr begin."

"Sky launch."

Volt's hands sparked as he slammed them into the deck with enough force to send him into the air. He already knew what Ash wanted and immediately followed up with swift, sending many numerous golden stars at Gurdurr. Gurdurr countered by slamming his steel bar vertically in front of him as he erected a green barrier that protected against the swift attack.

"Fire punch," Trip ordered as the swift assault ended. Gurdurr's hand soon caught ablaze as he ran at Volt. Volt countered with a fire punch. Both attacks collided, but as soon as they clashed, Gurdurr's pushed Volt back in an explosion of flames. "Force palm." Gurdurr gave the air a forceful palm, sending fighting energy shaped like a palm at Volt.

The attack slammed into Volt as he just righted himself midair. Volt was met with the psychic barrier as he collided into it. Things were starting to shape up for Trip. "Thunderspeed. Circle it," Ash suddenly called out. Volt revved as he began to circle Gurdurr. After a couple seconds of circling, he moved in with a thunder punch. Gurdurr countered with his own thunder punch, but Volt swerved with amazing speed as he punched Gurdurr in the jaw, sending him into the air.

Gurdurr twisted himself in the air so that his head was were his feet were. He hurled his steel bar at Volt, resulting in a direct hit, just as lightning arcs danced over his body. He was paralyzed from thunder punch. As he landed, he shot off at Volt's staggering body, landing a fire punch and an ice punch, before picking up his steel bar and slamming it into Volt, sending the electric type rocketing towards the barriers.

"Sky launch on the barriers."

Volt turned to face the barriers head on as he slammed electrified hands into the barrier. The result was a force that was so great it shook the deck slightly as Volt was sent rocketing back towards Gurdurr. "Thunder!" Ash yelled as Volt approached. Trip ordered Gurdurr to move, but sparks danced over his body. He couldn't move and thus took on the full powered thunder move from a shiny Elekid. The thunder attack sent Gurdurr into the psychic barriers before he was repelled very strongly. "Finish him up. Thunderbolt." Volt's antenna sparked as he sent a bolt of electricity at it at Gurdurr's fallen body, electrocuting it to oblivion. The outcome was clear. Gurdurr was out and Ash was leading two-nil.

Volt landed as he fell to one knee, barely holding himself up, but it was definitely clear that he could still go on. Trip took a third pokéball as he released a furry pokémon. Its fur was white all over with traces of magenta on the left ear, both arms, across its left cheek and by the right chest area. It also had large claws and had spikes running along it's back and looked a lot feral. It was a Zangoose. Zangoose brandished his claws as he growled at Volt.

"Zangoose vs Volt begin."

"Metal claw until he drops.'

Zangoose growled as his claws attained a metallic sheen. He ran at Volt and began slashing at him with no remorse. He continued this assault until Volt was knocked out. Ash silently returned Volt as he took the next pokéball from his belt. He tossed it unto the field as he released Scizor. He intended to take Zangoose out quickly.

"Scizor vs Zangoose begin."

"Metal claw."

"Metal claw."

Both Scizor's and Zangoose' hands attained metallic Sheen's as they both had at it. They continued the attack with neither one of them landing a solid hit on the other. "Fire punch." Zangoose blocked Scizor's incoming hand as his hand caught ablaze. He punched Scizor in the gut, landing a super-effective hit, and sending Scizor back a couple of feet.

"Ice punch."

"Vacuum wave."

Vacuum wave eradicated ice punch before slamming into Zangoose. Zangoose elicited a cry of pain as the attack hit his arm.

"Focus punch."

"Agility and nail him with aerial ace."

Zangoose' hand glowed a whitish blue as he thrust it at Scizor. Scizor slipped into agility, and after circling Zangoose once, he slammed into him with aerial ace. The move took Zangoose by surprise.

"Zangoose. Thunder punch."

Zangoose' hand sparked with yellow lightning as he thrust it at Scizor's before he could pull back from using aerial ace. Scizor reeled back from the attack due to its very super-effective nature.

"Scizor!"

"Focus punch."

The whitish blue punch move slammed into Scizor and sent him into the air. Scizor fell to the ground shortly after with a large thud.

"Shockwave."

Zangoose brandished his claws as he formed an orb of electricity and released a thin bolt of lightning that raced towards Scizor's fallen body. "Quick pursuit." Scizor quickly shot off with a white outline around him. He glowed with dark energy as he nailed Zangoose from behind, sending it reeling back from the impact.

"Steel wing."

Scizor's wings attained a metallic sheen as he raced towards Zangoose and slamming it into the psychic barriers. Scizor slowly got up as he looked at his fallen foe. Trip smirked as he ordered a flamethrower from Zangoose. Zangoose' mouth was filled with flames as he let loose a torrent of flames at Scizor. The flamethrower attack sent Scizor flying with a very powerful force. He continued in the air until he collided with the ground and was sent skidding.

Scizor struggled to his feet after that point-blank, very super-effective attack. Zangoose got up as he used sword dance to boost his attack power. Zangoose slammed his hands on the deck due to orders from Trip. Soon, rocks fell from the sky as they chased after a running Scizor. Soon some rocks slammed into Scizor and knocked him down. Zangoose slammed his hand once more as the rocks all converged at Scizor and buried him with rocks. After Zangoose removed the rocks, it was clear to everyone that Scizor was knocked out.

Ash recalled Scizor as he watched Zangoose. It was obviously very fast as it kept up with agility enhanced and quick attack Scizor. It was also very strong, especially now after that attack boost with swords dance. It didn't even show signs of exhaustion after knocking out one of Ash's strongest pokémon. Zangoose was tough, but he had someone who could take him on. He hurled a friend ball into the air as he released Ivysaur. Ivysaur came out of his friend ball with a light growl as he eyed Zangoose.

"Zangoose vs Ivysaur begin."

"Hone claws."

Zangoose brandished his claws as he raised his attack and accuracy.

"Vine whip."

Ivysaur growled as vines leapt from his bulb towards Zangoose. "Night slash." Zangoose' claws attained a purple hue as dark energy coated it. Zangoose slashed at the incoming vines but he was knocked down. Ivysaur had changed the attack to a power whip at the last moment. He slammed Zangoose once more for good measure. Zangoose struggled. To even stagger to his feet from the impact of two power whips.

"Sunny day."

Ivysaur growled as he shot a glowing red orb into the sky as he increased the intensity of the sun. Trip didn't have an idea on what Ash was planning, but he had other plans in mind. "Flamethrower," he ordered Zangoose. The normal type's mouth filled with flames as he spewed towards Ivysaur.

"Solar beam." Ivysaur charged a yellow white orb just above his bulb. He let it loose as it zipped across the field. It tore through the incoming flamethrower before slamming into Zangoose and knocking the Cat Ferret Pokemon out. Thanks to sunny day, both the power and the speed of solar beam were increased. Zangoose couldn't bare it and gave in to unconsciousness.

Ash had taken the lead of three-to-two. Trip recalled Zangoose after thanking him. He took the next pokéball he had and hurled it. Light burst forth from it as a bulky red pokémon materialised. It wore a white judo gi and a black belt. It had three fingers and huge black eyes and a funny looking nose. It was Throh.

The Judo pokémon came out with all eagerness to battle.

"Ivysaur vs Throh begin."

"Petal dance."

Ivysaur growled as it released dozens of petals, all twirling, towards Throh. Throh casually held up his hands as he blocked the petal dance with protect. As the attack ended, he dropped the emerald shield, but was surprised to see Ivysaur ram him with skull bash. Throh skidded to a stop before giving Ivysaur an ice punch.

Ivysaur winced from the super-effective move slamming into him. The move wasn't all that damaging because sunny day was still in effect and Ivysaur landed on the other side of the field, where he stood facing Throh.

"Zen headbutt."

Throh's head was aligned with a pink glow as he ran at Ivysaur. Ivysaur held his ground as he shot razor sharp leaves at Throh. The leaves hit their mark and succeeded in slowing down but not stopping Throh. Ivysaur braced himself as Throh slammed into him and knocked him into the air.

"Vine whip," Ash ordered quickly.

"Catch it." Throh caught the incoming vines, but Ash had a counter for that. Ivysaur shot razor sharp leaves at Throh, dealing some amount of damage. Irritated by the razor leaf attack, Throh pulled Ivysaur towards him with his left hand as his right hand got ablaze fiercely, thanks to sunny day.

"Skull bash."

As a last minute effort, Ivysaur slammed into Throh's fire punch head first. Most of skull bash's impact was absorbed by fire punch and vice-versa. Ivysaur was launched backwards by the move while Throh's right hand was heavily damaged as his back hit the ground.

"Ivysaur/ Throh!" Both trainers called.

Ash watched as Ivysaur slowly got to his feet. Sunny day was just about over, and Ivysaur would be slower than he was now. He had to act fast. He ordered a sludge bomb and the attack slammed into a now standing Throh, and knocked him over. The purple glow that Ash was waiting for appeared. Throh was poisoned. He was happy Beedrill had taught Ivysaur the move. But, there was just one problem. If Throh had the ability Guts, it was going to be a real drag.

Throh got up and shot a focus blast on Trip's command. The attack was faster than it should be and it slammed into Ivysaur. The attack also looked a lot more powerful. Ash's worst fear concerning the battle had just manifested. Throh had the ability Guts.

He was snapped out of his train of thought by Trip. "Earthquake." He watched as Throh jumped into the air and was about slamming the ground. He quickly ordered Ivysaur to use Vine whip to send himself into the air. Ash sighed deeply as Ivysaur did that and avoided the earthquake. Throh slammed into the deck with a powerful force. The impact shook the entire deck and both Ash and Trip struggled to balance themselves. Throh slammed his hands on the ground, causing rocks to fall on Ivysaur.

"Rock tomb, bury it."

"Leaf storm."

Poison kicked in as Throh slammed his hands on the deck, sending rocks at Ivysaur. Leaves erupted from Ivysaur's bulb, destroying all rocks and slamming into Throh. This gave Ivysaur time to stand and regain his bearings. Both pokémon were panting heavily. They collided once again, before pulling back to their trainer's side. The next attack was going to be the deciding factor.

"Tale down/ Zen headbutt!" Both trainers yelled. Ivysaur crouched down as he poured power to his legs. He shot off with all his might and strength as both he and Zangoose' heads clashed. The clash caused a shockwave that was felt by both Trip and Ash. An explosion occurred as a result of both pokémon trying to overpower each other. As the smoke cleared, they could all see that both pokémon were knocked out.

Both Ash and Trip recalled the fallen bodies of Ivysaur and Throh respectively. Both Ash and Trip held brand new pokéballs in their hands as they hurled them unto the field. Out of Ash's friend ball came Wartortle. The water type landed on the field and shot a water gun into the air while bringing out black sunglasses from inside his shell. Out of Trip's pokéball came a blue pokémon. It wore a white karate gi and black belt. It had three fingers, a funny looking nose and huge eyes. It was similar to Throh. It was a Sawk.

"Sawk vs Wartortle begin."

"Bulk up and quick attack."

Sawk flexed his muscles as he glowed red. He raised his attack and defense, before shooting off while outlined in a white streak. "Wartortle, aura sphere." Wartortle cupped his hands as he separated them, while forming a glowing blue sphere, before launching it at Sawk's incoming form.

"Sawk, focus punch."

Sawk's hand glowed a blue-white as he punched right through aura sphere. He continued until he slammed into Wartortle. Wartortle was knocked into the air, but he righted himself as he froze Sawk's leg with ice beam. After freezing his leg, he came back with rapid spin. He slammed into Sawk and broke him out of his frozen prison. Sawk and landed on the ground and skidded slightly to a stop.

"Water pulse."

"Focus blast."

Wartortle formed a sphere of water and launched it at the incoming focus blast. Focus blast tore through water pulse, causing it to explode in a burst of water. Wartortle dodged the focus blast, but was hit with zen headbutt, courtesy of Sawk.

"Brick break."

Sawk's hand attained a red glow as he charged Wartortle. "Withdraw." Wartortle took to his shell just as Sawk's hand hit his shell. The impact sent the shell flying, with Wartortle inside. Wartortle emerged as his shell stopped flying.

"Wartortle charge him."

Wartortle ran at Sawk knowing well what Ash had in mind. "Focus punch." Sawk's hand glowed a blue white as he ran at Wartortle's incoming form. "Aqua Spin." Wartortle became shrouded in water while he continued running. He tucked himself into his shell and the aqua jet enshrouded his entire shell. He continued spinning as he slammed into Sawk's focus punch. The aqua spin easily broke focus punch and slammed into Sawk, sending him into the psychic barriers.

As Wartortle landed back on the ground, he fell to one knee, breathing heavily. Ash sighed. The move still took quite a toll on Wartortle after it was used. That was a major drawback. His attention was diverted from Wartortle to Sawk who was staggering to his feet. The fighting type had recovered pretty quickly. It was strong and that was a pain for Ash. Wartortle needed time to recover before he could resume battle. It was just like how hyper beam was for pokémon who used it the first time.

"Quick punch."

Sawk shot off, outlined in a white glow with his hands sparking furiously as he neared Wartortle. He slammed his fist into Wartortle's face as he sent the water type rocketing into the psychic barriers. Wartortle slumped down from the barriers, before staggering to his feet. The speed and power of the thunder punch was utterly devastating.

"Earthquake."

"Dodge it."

Sawk jumped up and came down with a quake like that of Throh, but Wartortle was able to avoid it by jumping up. "Water gun." Wartortle shot a jet of water at the still earthquake using Sawk. The water gun slammed into his face and stunned him for some seconds.

"Focus punch."

Sawk got back up with a blue white hand as he ran at Wartortle. "Focus punch." Wartortle also used focus punch as he charged an incoming Sawk. Their fists collided as they both fought for dominance. In the end, neither of them won as they pulled back. They were evenly matched in terms of strength.

"Aura sphere."

"Focus blast."

Both fighting moves collided mid-flight in an explosion of battle energy. The explosion created a huge smoke cloud that covered the entire field. Ash and Trip could hear fighting sounds coming from the smoke cloud. After it cleared, both Wartortle and Sawk were breathing heavily. Wartortle growled at Sawk and the fighting type responded by stomping his foot.

"Ice beam."

Wartortle reared his head back as he released an arc of icy energy at Sawk. The fighting type responded by releasing a focus blast. The focus blast met with the ice beam and tore through it while making its way towards Wartortle. "Focus punch. Send it back." Wartortle's hand glowed blue white as he punched at the incoming focus blast in a way that sent it back at Sawk.

"Focus punch." Sawk's hand also glowed a blue white as he destroyed the focus blast attack with it. Both pokémon have fierce battle cries as they charged each other. Everyone on the deck watched in anticipation, anxious about what would happen next. Both Wartortle's and Sawk's fists collided at the center of the field. A shockwave rippled throughout the entire field, before an explosion occurred. The huge cloud of smoke soon cleared and both pokémon were knocked out by their collision. Ash and Trip both returned Wartortle and Sawk respectively.

Ash took Golduck's friend ball from his belt as he hurled it up and down. He was leading five-to-four, but something occurred to him. If Trip used fighting type pokémon, then his starter would probably be a fighting type or one with fighting attributes. Trip was from Unova, so that meant... 'Oh no,' Ash thought as Trip hurled his pokéball unto the battlefield. White light burst from it and condensed into a pokémon about five feet and four inches in height. It had a general red and black colour scheme with long black eyebrows and a wrestling look. But what really gave it a unique look was the large flaming beard it possessed. It was an Emboar. Emboar landed on the deck with a fierce roar as it eyed the Golduck that came out of Ash's friend ball. Despite not having the ability intimidate, Golduck felt intimidated by the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon.

"Say hello to Emboar, thr strongest pokémon I have and my starter."

Ash looked at the huge Pokemon in front of him. It stood taller than Golduck with only a couple of inches.

"Trip is down to his last pokémon, but it appears to be a monstrosity. How will Ash cope with this?" Diane said as the crowd burst with cheers. "Golduck vs Emboar begin."

"Water pulse."

"Destroy it. Arm thrust."

Emboar burst the water pulse with just a single hit of arm thrust. As he did that, he made his way towards Golduck.

"Sunny day."

Emboar shot a glowing red orb into the sky, increasing the intensity of the sun. Ash was in a tight spot. Golduck went on the offensive with a brick break. Emboar met it with his own brick break. The two moves clashed and Golduck was quickly overpowered and driven to the ground. "Heavy slam."

Emboar jumped up and came down on Golduck with his full might, shaking the deck to an extent. "Confusion." Before Golduck could use the attack, Emboar had already jumped up before coming down with a powerful earthquake. The attack was stronger than that of Sawk and Throh. It really did a number on Golduck.

Emboar gave Golduck some space, letting him stagger to his feet. Emboar charged a yellow white orb in his mouth before shooting it as a beam at Golduck. Golduck held up his hands to block the beam, but it crashed into him and sent him into the psychic barriers. Golduck fell face first on the ground. Emboar slowly made his way toward him. Golduck held up his head. His vision was blurry and he could barely hear Ash shouting his name and yelling words of encouragement. Emboar just trotted over to him slowly like a predator stalking its prey. Golduck could not bear to lose without landing a single hit. As a final attempt, he sent a future sight attack. The last thing he saw was flames. Emboar unleashed a torrent of flames at Golduck, knocking him out.

Ash recalled him. He held Golduck's friend ball and could feel the water type's sadness. He put away the friend ball as he took his final friend ball. He twisted his cap backwards as he hurled the friend ball at the field. Out of the friend ball burst forth Blaze. He took to the skies as he spat a torrent of flames at the sky. He descended moments after and growled at Emboar. Emboar responded by roaring a challenge at Blaze.

"And here you have it folks. We are now down to the final battle of the St. Anne Tournament. It is now a battle between the starters of these young trainers. Who will win it all. Ash or Trip?" The entire deck erupted in cheers as every single person on the St. Anne was hyped for the battle. Even those in their rooms were watching it on their Television.

"Emboar vs Charizard begin."

"Flamethrower."

"Flamethrower."

Torrents of flame erupted from the mouths of both fire types. Both flamethrowers clashed at the center of the field. They looked to be evenly matched as both pokémon cut off the attack. Evenly matched? Blaze scoffed. He hadn't even shown his true power. He was snapped out of his train of thought by a flame burst that hit his face. He turned towards Emboar with a growl.

"Dragon pulse."

"Shadow ball."

Blaze shot an emerald sphere of draconic energy from his mouth while Emboar shot a black sphere of otherworldly energy. Both spheres collided, before exploding, and kicking up smoke. Blaze shot himself inside the smoke, before emerging from the other side, barrelling into Emboar with aerial ace. Emboar groaned at the super-effective attack, but gave Blaze a thunder punch. Blaze reeled back slightly at the super-effective move. He pulled back as Ash gave the order for iron tail. Blaze's tail attained a metallic sheen as he sent it at Emboar. Trip countered with iron head. It was a stalemate before Blaze sent Emboar back.

"Fire blast."

"Fire blast."

Both attacks clashed and exploded. Flames flew everywhere and didn't even affect either of them in the slightest. "Air cutter." Blaze flapped his wings as razor sharp air impacted Emboar, sending the fire type reeling back.

"Dragon dance."

"Bulk up."

Blaze began to perform a series of dance pattern as he raised his attack and his speed. Similarly, Emboar flexed his muscles as he raised his attack and defense.

"Thunder punch."

"Flamethrower."

Blaze's hand sparked with yellow lightning as he charged Emboar. The fighting type spewed a torrent of flames, but Blaze flew right in. A Charizard does not avoid the flames of another pokémon. He burst out as Emboar stopped the flames and punched him hard. Emboar reeled back from the impact at the now stronger and faster Charizard.

As Blaze pulled back, Emboar slammed his hands on the ground as rocks fell from the sky. He slammed his hands once again as he used stone edge, causing them to circle around him. "Using rock slide to get stone edge. Not bad. Ready metal claw."

Blaze nodded as both claws attained a metallic sheen. Just then, Emboar launched the attack. Blaze sliced every single rock that got near him, and soon they were all destroyed. "Flame charge."

Emboar soon became shrouded in flames as he ran at Blaze who had now landed on the ground. Blaze had readied a fire punch and was waiting patiently for Emboar. "Focus fire." Emboar's hand caught ablaze and one could see a blue white glow underneath. Blaze and Emboar clashed fists with each other, but the force at which Blaze was sent back was shocking. Ash wondered what that technique was.

"Focus fire. A combination of focus punch and fire punch," Trip said, sensing his curiosity. "Not bad huh?"

"Yeah. Now let me show you my combo move. Reinforced pulse."

Blaze shot off at Emboar as he formed a fire ball with a dragon pulse inside it. He flew with great speeds before slamming the attack into Emboar's belly. Emboar was lifted five feet into the air by the force and speed of the attack. Emboar hit the ground hard while Blaze just took back to the air. Just then a powerful psychic blast slammed into Emboar. It was the future sight attack that Golduck had sent.

Ash smiled as the attack slammed into Emboar, but he knew it won't be enough. The fire type had amazing defense.

"Flamethrower."

"Flamethrower."

Both fire types shot another round of flames at each other, resulting in a stalemate once again. Their flamethrowers exploded and covered the entire field in smoke. From inside the smoke, Ash and Trip could hear sounds of fighting and various battle cries. As the smoke cleared, both pokémon were grappling each other. "Heavy slam." Emboar pulled back as he jumped up to deliver the powerful attack. Blaze instinctively shot a flame thrower at the incoming body. Flamethrower hit Emboar, bit didn't do much as he slammed into Blaze, but the power was greatly reduced. "Smokescreen, pull back."

Blaze spewed a thick cloud of smoke from his mouth as it covered the entire field. As the smoke cleared, Blaze was back with Ash and Emboar was in front of Trip. "Aerial ace." Blaze shot off as he blurred out of existence before slamming into Emboar with aerial ace. He was paid back with a thunder punch right to the face. Both pokémon withstood the respective attacks as they panted heavily.

"Dragon rush."

"Focus punch."

Blaze crouched down and narrowed his eyes as he was enveloped in draconic energy, just as Emboar's hand had attained a blue white glow. They both charged each other, with Emboar using flame charge. Dragon rush and focus punch clashed on the battlefield and exploded in a burst of battle and draconic energy. As the smoke cleared, both Blaze and Emboar were battered and bruised, barely able to stand up.

Suddenly, both Blaze's tail flame and Emboar's beard flame flared up with blue flame. Both their eyes glowed pure red. Blaze had kicked in. They both stood to their feet as they stared each other down, ready to end the battle with one final move their trainers knew all too well.

"Blaze/Emboar."

"Flare BLITZ!"

Both Blaze and Emboar became completely writhed and enshrouded in flames. They both charged each other head on. Flare blitz was a common decisive factor in the strength of fire types. Most of their bouts were settled by the all powerful fire move. Just like how water types settled bouts with hydro pump.

Blaze and Emboar met at the center of the field in a massive collision that sent a shockwave that was felt throughout the deck. The psychic barriers flared at the huge explosion of flames. If it had been one, two or three Alakazam, the barrier would have broke. Thankfully it was six. Flames writhed throughout the entire field, before slowly dying down, but smoke was still left.

"Blaze/Emboar!" Both trainers called out and heard two distinct cries. The smoke cleared and both pokémon were stood facing each other, with burn marks all over their bodies. They were breathing heavily and Ash wasn't even sure that either of them could fight. Blaze growled at Emboar and the fighting type responded by roaring, before falling face first into the ground. The true fire type had been decided and it was not him. Blaze placed a foot on his opponents body before spitting a huge torrent of flames with huge hints of blue in it. He had almost graduated to the next stage of power. Ash blinked twice as Trip recalled Emboar. He had won. He had won. The entire St. Anne erupted in cheers as Ash ran to embrace Blaze. He dove at the Charizard as both of them fell to the ground.

"We did it buddy. I knew we could."

They celebrated some more with Blaze spitting flames into the air. The fire type had done well. As soon as the Alakazam dropped the psychic barriers, all his friends ran to celebrate with him, congratulating him on his win.

After much celebration and healing their pokémon, the group went to prepare for the Award Ceremony that evening. Ash was in his room and he had already worn his tux. He had only ten minutes till the ceremony started. After addressing them, he recalled all of them, except for Emerald. With that done, he locked his door and made his way to the Dining Hall. He met all of his friends there, and they were all seated at one table. Captain Jones soon came and did some introductions and thanked all those present, and not forgetting to thank Arceus for a successful tournament. He then proceeded to call out the awards.

"Without further ado, the first four of the top eight, Leaf Green, Serena Sycamore, Dawn Hikari and Misty Waterflower, should please come up and claim their rewards. I believe it was twenty full restores and four TM vouchers."

The crowd clapped as the quartet went to claim their prizes, before coming back to their seats.

"Now, would Gary Oak, Paul Shinji, Trip and Ash Ketchum please come up here."

The boys got up as the crowd erupted in an even louder cheer and a greater applause. Ash still had Emerald on his neck. As they reached the podium, they were given the same prize as the girls, but on the table by their side were seven ultraballs, each containing a rare pokémon. Four ladies came out back holding their gifts. To Gary they gave five great balls. To Paul they gave eight great balls. To Trip they gave four ultraballs and a box containing one of every evolutionary item. To Ash they gave four ultraballs and a ticket with direct entry to the Indigo League.

"And now," Captain Jones started. "Will these young men now pick one of the pokémon on this table."

Gary stepped forward to the table and picked an ultra ball. He pressed the release button and out of it came a grey green pokémon with a red, diamond-shaped underbelly and two smaller black diamonds in both sides. It had a singular long horn on top of its head. It was a Larvitar. The rock type took in his surroundings as the entire hall was filled with gasps. They all watched as Gary worked his magic and convinced Larvitar to come with him. A pokémon that could grow to become a pseudo-legendary.

A pseudo-legendary was a type of pokémon that had exactly three evolutionary stages. They were highly powerful and possessed enough power to be able to naturally take on some of the lesser legendaries like Celebi, and the legendary dogs. They were not considered pseudo-legendary until they reached the final stage of their evolution though. So for them to tap into the power, they must reach that final stage. They were a couple of pseudo-legendaries around the world. Kanto had the Dratini-line, that evolved into the powerful Dragon Pokémon, Dragonite, a dragon and flying dual type. Johto had the Larvitar-line that evolved into the powerful Armor Pokémon, Tyranitar, a rock and dark dual type. Hoenn had the Bagon-line that evolved into the powerful Dragon Pokémon, Salamence, a dragon and flying dual type, and also the Beldum-line that evolved into the powerful Iron Leg Pokémon, Metagross, a psychic and steel dual type. Sinnoh had the Gible-line that evolved into the powerful Mach Pokémon, Garchomp, a dual dragon and ground type. Unova had the Deino-line that evolved into the Brutal Pokémon, Hydreigon, a dual dark and dragon type. Kalos had the Goomy-line that evolved into the powerful Dragon Pokémon, Goodra, a pure dragon type. Alola had the Jangmo-o-line that evolved into the powerful Scaly Pokémon, Kommo-o, a dual dragon and fighting type.

Gary was happy that he had a pseudo-legendary in his team now, at least a potential pseudo-legendary.

Paul stepped forward as he chose an ultra ball. He released the pokémon inside and out came a blue pokémon with a red underbelly. It had short arms and legs and a huge mouth. It had a large dorsal fin, similar to that of a shark. It was a Gible. This was the starter evolution of Sinnoh's pseudo-legendary, Garchomp. He held the little dragon type as he picked it up and began sweet talking it.

At that time, Trip had walked up to the table and had chosen an ultra ball. He released the pokémon inside from its confines. He was expecting a small pokémon, but was surprised to see a pokémon that was three feet taller than him. It looked like a kangaroo with tough hide. It had a pouch with a baby inside. It was brown with a lighter shade on its underbelly. It was a Kangaskhan and he was in luck because they loved kids. He took Kangaskhan to a corner and began talking to her.

Ash decided it was his turn and walked over to the table and chose an ultra ball. He released the pokémon and was surprised to be tackled by a surprisingly hyperactive black pokémon. It had hints of red on the black tuft of fur on its head and its feet. It had huge blue eyes and large black ears, with a crest of fur similar to that of Eevee. It was a Zorua. It was a powerful dark type that involved into the powerful Illusion Fox, Zoroark. They were both capable of casting easily believable illusions.

Ash, Trip, Paul and Gary made their way back to their seats after that. While the Captain was still talking, they were chatting at their table.

"Well, scan them," Leaf said ever eagerly. "Yeah." The other girls said.

"Okay," Gary said as he pointed his pokédex at Larvitar. "Don't be scared Larvitar. It's just going to tell me a little bit about you." That seemed to ease Larvitar as it accepted. "Pokédex scan."

"Scanning... Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokémon. Born underground, it eats its way through dirt to the surface where its parents are. It doesn't deal well with the bright light it finds there.

"This Larvitar is male and knows the moves bite, leer, sandstorm, chip away and screech. It knows the egg moves ancient power, stealth rock, iron tail and iron head. It has the ability guts and the hidden ability sand veil."

"You really are strong Larvitar," Gary said. Larvitar just puffed up his chest in pride.

Paul brought out his pokédex and did the same to Gible.

"Gible, the Land Shark Pokémon. It reacts to anything that moves; flies right at it and bites it. Sometimes it injures itself, but it doesn't care too much.

"This Gible is female and knows the moves tackle, sandstorm, dragon rage, sand attack, and take down. It knows the egg moves outrage, mud shot, sand tomb and metal claw. It has the ability sand veil and the hidden ability rough skin."

"Kangaskhan, the Parent Pokémon. Kangaskhan protects its child by keeping it in its pouch. It has zero forgiveness for those who harm its child and will beat them down.

"This Kangaskhan knows the move comet punch, leer, bite, double edge, fake out, tail whip, drain punch and aqua tail. It knows the egg moves focus punch, hammer arm and crush claw. It has the ability early bird and the hidden ability inner focus."

"Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon. This pokémon has a cowardly disposition, so when it's not around friends, it always staya transformed as something else.

"This Zorua is female and knows the moves leer, fury swipes, scratch, pursuit, foul play and bounce. It knows the egg moves sucker punch and dark pulse. It has the ability Illusion."

They all registered the pokéballs under them and watched as they teleported over to their respective labs. Just then, the lights went out, and a loud manly scream was heard throughout the Hall, followed by a thud. Then the lights came on. Theres, standing on the podium was a man. He wore a black suit and had green hair. On his left pocket, he had the symbol of Team Rocket. There, lying on the floor was Captain Jones. Was he dead? Had that man killed him?

"Greetings to you all from Team Rocket." The entire hall was silent as they listened to him. "My name is Proton and I am Team Rocket's commander. I'm going to be very clear with my words. Team Rocket has taken over this ship. Your communications are down and you're all asked to cooperate. My associates Executive Archer, Executive Petrel and Executive Pierce, and I are in need of rare pokémon for Team Rocket's purposes. What better place to look than a ship full of trainers. Team Rocket grunts are going to come in through these doors. Cooperate with them and give them your pokémon, or you'll suffer the same fate as the captain. And also, you have thirty minutes or so, because after that, the St. Anne would be no more than smithereens." After saying this, he laughed very sadistically into the mic and left.

There was silence in the hall for about ten seconds, and then total chaos. People ran as the grunts trooped in, frisking everyone for their pokémon.

"I'm not letting them have my pokémon," Ash declared.

"What do we do?" Dawn asked.

"We get our things from our rooms and fight any Rocket that stands in our way," Gary said as he released Graveler.

They all agreed and had their pokémon out as they went to get their things. "We meet at the pool people. Move out."

They went to their rooms to get anything they left back there. They had encountered Rockets along the way, but they were no match. Ten minutes later and they had assembled at the pool.

"Alright. We're all here," Trip said.

"You don't think Team Rocket would blow up the St. Anne. I mean, they're petty criminals who steal pokémon, right? I mean. What would give them the confidence to take on an entire ship. Aren't they scared of the League," Misty asked.

"It's exactly that. The Master and Champion are both in Alola right now. Lorelei is back in the Orange Islands. Bruno is in Kalos and Agatha would be at the Pokémon Tower. As for Koga I'm not sure, but that should be it. From what I've heard about the Executives, they are pretty crazy and don't show their face for petty reasons. And-" Ash started but was cut short.

"Well, well, well. What do I have here? Just the guy I wanted. Ash Satoshi Ketchum."

They looked up to see Proton with a wide grin on his face.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Well," Proton said as he tossed a pokéball up and down. "My higher-up instructed me to ask if you or the rest of you," he said pointing at Gary, Paul and Trip. "Would like to join Team Rocket. We've seen your skills and we like that. What'd you say?"

"Pass," Gary said while spitting.

"Hmm?"

"I'll never join the likes of you. I know all about your evil doings and crazy experiments on pokémon. I have no interest," Paul said.

"Me neither," Trip said.

"Both me and Gary have had an encounter with Team Rocket in the past. We were almost killed at such a young age. I'd never join an organization that doesn't care about what people feel, and even annihilate them for no reason," Ash said.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah," the girls responded on behalf of the boys.

"Well. Then I'm afraid I'll have to kill you."

They all flinched as Proton's tone turned cold and icy. He tossed the pokéball as he released a pokémon. It had four wings and was purple all over. It was a Crobat.

"You honestly think you can take on all of us with a Crobat?" Leaf asked.

"Yes I do," Proton responded quite confidently.

"What did they say?" A man asked as he dropped from the sky. It was Petrel. Soon enough, Archer and Pierce also came down.

"Pierce, they all said no."

"They did. Then I have no use for them. Kill them and liberate their pokémon. They'll make wonderful specimens." During this time interval, the boys were able to convince the girls to join a life boat and live quickly. They agreed rather involuntarily, but they had no choice. They won't be able to fight while protecting each other.

"So which one of them is the brat that spoilt our Mt. Moon expedition?" Petrel asked.

Proton just pointed at Ash as his Crobat eyed him.

"That's a dead kid," Pierce announced. "Mt. Moon is the best place to find mega stones in Kanto. You have no idea what you've just done kid. And you just refused my offer. And from what I heard, you liberated all the Ditto our grunts caught. You delayed the Boss's , you've not done anything insane, so we'll let you live of you handover your pokémon to us."

"Never," Ash said. "I'm standing my ground."

"Archer," Pierce called. "Tell the young man what we do to opposition."

Archer stepped forward as he held a guy by his throat. He lifted him as he strangled him. The man struggled as he felt his life slip away until... His entire body went limp. Archer let him fall from the height that they were unto the deck below, lifeless.

Ash and the others looked a bit frightened at the sight of that. They each held up a pokéball as they struggled to stay perfectly level for the battle ahead.

Pierce smirked. "I'm a man of my word. So you guys are ready to face us. Don't think that just because you're kids, we won't kill you. You're gonna die." As he said this, he released an Absol. Petrel released a Sableye and Archer released a Liepard.

"Final chance," Pierce announced. "Give us your pokémon and walk away with your life."

Ash gritted his teeth as he released Scizor. Gary released Growlithe. Paul released Sandslash and Trip released Gurdurr.

"I take that as a no. Too bad. You four would have made perfect Rockets. Leave the Ash kid to me. He's my feast. And to think you want to actually take us on with one pokémon each."

Pierce's Absol leapt into the air as it landed in front of Ash. Its eyes were blood red and it looked like it was in no mood for laughter. "Absol. Kill him." Absol's eyes narrowed as he lunged at Ash. Scizor got in between them as he held up his hands and took the bite for Ash. With the others, they had already gotten into similar fights.

Ash watched in horror as a flamethrower hit Scizor point-blank. He freaked out slightly as he released Ivysaur and Wartortle to assist.

"Ivysaur razor leaf. Wartortle water gun. Keep it at bay."

Both pokémon launched their respective attacks at Absol who casually erected a barrier that blocked all attacks. As their attacks died, Absol used feint attack to casually slam all of them.

"Scizor metal claw. Ivysaur Vine whip."

Scizor's claws attained a metallic sheen as he moved in at Absol. Ivysaur summoned vines from its bulb as it made to catch Absol.

The dark type retaliated with a fierce blizzard attack that slammed into both of them. Wartortle had used protect to secure Ash and himself, but the same couldn't be said for Scizor and Ivysaur. They were staggering to their feet from the super-effective move hitting them. "Wartortle aqua spin."

Wartortle used the powerful combination move as he made his way at Absol. Absol charged Wartortle with a scythe covered in dark, purple energy. It darted under Wartortle, before slamming the night slash into his underbelly. As Wartortle was sent flying from the impact, Scizor slammed into Absol with aerial ace.

"Power whip."

Absol took the full power whip to its head as it was driven through the deck. Absol became outlined in dark energy as it slammed into Ivysaur with payback. The impact knocked Ivysaur into Ash and sent him to the ground. Ash recalled Ivysaur just in time to see Wartortle slam into Absol with iron tail.

Absol's scythe sparked up as it sent a thunderbolt at them. Scizor swerved to avoid the attack while Wartortle used protect. Even with the protect, the thunderbolt pushed Wartortle backwards.

A ring of dark energy formed in Absol's mouth as it shot it at Scizor, knocking him out. Ash grit his teeth as he returned Scizor and sent out Blaze alongside Golduck.

"Flamethrower and double water gun."

Blaze's maw burst with flames as he sent it at Absol while Wartortle and Golduck used water gun. Using amazing speed, Absol darted past the attacks and slammed an iron tail into Golduck. Golduck staggered back at the force of the attack. Blaze crouched as he shot off with a dragon rush. Absol met him head on with giga impact and sent Blaze into the pool. Ash looked to his side to see that Blastoise, Emboar and Infernape were knocked down.

"Brick break."

Golduck's hand glowed orange as he ran at Absol. "Rapid spin." Wartortle attacked Absol with the spin attack, but was swatted away with an iron tail, letting Golduck's brick break to find a place on Absol's head. Despite been super-effective, it didn't look like it had done much damage. Absol's scythe sparked as a powerful thunderbolt lifted Golduck into the air, before slamming him down. "Flamethrower."

Blaze burst out of the pool as he sent a stream of flames that hit Absol in the face. The dark type fought back with its own flamethrower, and pushed Blaze's slowly back. A water gun from nowhere ripped through the air and slammed into Absol. Blaze intensified flamethrower as he pushed Absol back.

Absol ran at Wartortle with amazing speed, easily avoiding Blaze's flamethrower and Wartortle's water pulse. It slammed into the water type with a throat chop. Blaze angered at been ignored by the dark type zipped across the pool as he slammed into the dark type with a thunder punch. The impact cause Absol to yelp. Golduck appeared at its back and delivered a powerful cross chop that sent it to the ground. Ash's celebration was short-lived as Absol got up and knocked Golduck out with a devastating thunder attack. Ash couldn't even comprehend when Wartortle landed in front of him with cut marks on his hands and a broken shell.

"What the?"

Blaze shot a flamethrower at the blur that was Absol who was boosting its speed with agility. Pierce suddenly jerked his head upwards at the sound of planes. The ship was been approached by black planes bearing the Rocket logo.

"It's time," Pierce said as he returned Absol and released a large pokémon. It had black and blue scales and its hands were heads. All in all it had three heads and crazy looking wings. It was a Hydreigon. Arguably the most powerful if the pseudo-legendaries, but very hard to tame. It roared violently, shaking the air as it spat a flamethrower from the lead head at Ash and Blaze. Blaze got in front of Ash, but some part of the attack burned Ash's foot. He flinched slightly but he knew he would heal thanks to his aura. Pierce got on top of it.

"Get off the ship. It's time."

The boys watched as Petrel returned Sableye and released a large vulture-like pokémon. It had huge black wings and a surprisingly loud shriek which it used just now. It was a Mandibuzz. Archer returned Liepard as he released a large bird with blue black feathers on its body. It had a strong beak and white crown. Its wings were highlighted with a red hue. It was a Braviary. Proton had returned Crobat as he released a pokémon with blue feathers and a large white crest. Atop its head, the feathers seemed to form a hat of some sort. It was a Honchkrow.

After getting atop them, they took to the skies, above the ship as they watched it.

"Why'd they pull back?" Paul asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is isn't going to be pretty," Ash said.

They looked up as the planes opened up to reveal a pokémon with a rubber toy-like appearance. Beside the pokémon was a grunt and they seemed to all be waiting for something. Soon, an orange red star could be seen from one of the planes. As it got closer, they could see that it was not a star but a freaking hyper beam attack.

"Run!" Gary yelled.

They were able to escape just in time. Just where they stood, the hyper beam had struck cleanly and made its way down to the bottom of the ship. The ship shook at the impact and soon enough, more hyper beams rained down. They were all struggling to not get hit by the attack, bit it was harder than expected.

"Argh.." Ash yelled as a steel bar fell in him. Much of the top deck had been destroyed and if they stayed any longer, they too will be gone.

They all helped pull Ash out from under the bar as they contemplated what to do.

"We need to get out of here before the St. Anne takes us with it," Trip said.

"Yeah but-"

Gary was cut off by the sound of structure collapsing. The area where they are began to give way. They got up as they struggled to get to higher ground. They began running as the deck collapsed behind them. They managed to make it in time and were able to catch a breather.

Ash watched as The Executives climbed higher and wondered if they were leaving.

"Is it over?" Paul asked.

Ash watched in horror as all the planes had that orange red glow. The worst was yet to come. He watched as hyper beams rained down on the St. Anne.

"We have to fly away," Ash said as he saw more of the ship collapse. He quickly got on Blaze as the Charizard became aloft. Gary released Pidgeotto and immediately got on top of her.

"Calm down girl," he said to her as he saw her worried expression. "I'm not injured, I promise."

Paul returned the rest of his pokémon and released Fearow. He quickly got on the flying type's back. Trip was apparently in possession of a Heracross and was currently riding him. They ascended a couple of feet in the air as they watched hyper beams rained down upon the St. Anne and anything near it.

Ash activated his aura sight as he watched what was shooting those hyper beams. He identified the pokémon to be Porygon-Z and from what he saw in their aura system, they were been controlled. His best bet was by the glowing red chips atop their heads. They countered dozen upon dozens of hyper beams that tore through the huge vessel that was the St. Anne. Team Rocket was not bluffing.

Pidgeotto suddenly shrieked as she ducked under a hyper beam. A couple of Porygon-Z had noticed them and was now giving chase.

"Fly!" Paul yelled as their pokémon took off at high speeds. Avoiding hyper beams as they did so. They raced away from the scene as they watched the pokémon tailing them. Blaze and the rest suddenly jerked as they avoided three incoming hyper beams frim in front. Their trainers turned to see three Porygon-Z approaching them from in front.

"Faster!" Ash yelled. The pokémon shot off, all the while avoiding hyper beams. Ash heard Gary call up ahead, and looked up to see Proton's Crobat coming in front. It too shot at them with hyper beam. "Descend," Paul called out.

All four pokémon descended towards the water, all the while still dodging hyper beams. This continued for long. A hyper beam narrowly missed Ash and Blaze. Ash decided to released Eevee and have her use shadow ball atop Blaze's back. Due to the fact that they were moving, they had no defense so he released her. As the normal type came out, she was a little bit surprised at the change in scenery. She turned to Ash.

"I'll explain later. Right now, I need you to take out those pokémon with your shadow ball."

Eevee nodded as she began launching the ghostly attack while Blaze flew. Ash celebrated slightly when it nailed Crobat in the chest. The move hardly did damage and only served to further irritate the poison type. It sped up towards them as it fired hyper beams.

"Need a little help," Ash called out. Trip released Mienfoo atop of Heracross and ordered her to use focus blast on the Porygon-Z. Mienfoo nodded as she began to fire the powerful fighting move. It took about ten of these to even take out one of those things.

Ash felt adrenaline rush through his entire body. His heart pumped blood faster throughout his body. The cold of the night would have sipped in through his skin, but thanks to Blaze's warmth and tail flame, it was all good.

They were chased back towards the burning St. Anne and Ash was surprised that the Porygon-Z weren't tired. Sooner or later they had to be. Ash smirked again as a shadow ball hit Crobat right before it launched hyper beam, causing it to explode. Ash realized that Blaze was getting tired and returned Eevee. He turned his body forward and yelled as a hyper beam nailed Blaze from the front. He blasted the assailant with flamethrower but it couldn't make up for the damaged wing that he just had. Seeing what was about to happen, Gary released Blastoise and had him catch Ash as he returned Blaze.

Ash flinched as he felt his body impact the water. It was icy cold and Ash knew that if he spent much time in here, he would catch a cold or even frost bite. He held unto Blast, not even trying to let go as the water type swam its fastest.

This exchange had slowed them down and they were pelted with hyper beams from the sky. All of them fell into the water as they returned their pokémon. After that shower if hyper beams, their pokémon were just too damaged to fly. They all hung unto Blast as he dove underwater and swam away.