Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter one 

Ash watches Harrison celebrate his win with his Blaziken, picking up Pikachu and moving to join Charizard on the battlefield. Ash holds his starter to his chest and strokes the fire dragon on his back, waiting for his pokémon to look at him.  

Charizard groans awake and turns to face his trainer, with regret in his eyes. Ash smiles in sympathy with pokémons feelings. “We still have a lot to learn, right, buddy?” He says, looking to his pokémon. 

Pikachu and Charizard share a look and turn to their trainer with determination in their eyes in unison. “Pika-pi!” “Zard!” They agree.

Ash laughs, shaking his head fondly. He returns Charizard after one more pat and steadies Pikachu on his shoulder once he stands up. Ash turns to face the waiting Harrison, who smiles at the younger trainer. 

“That was an amazing battle! You almost had me there at the end!” Harrison says when he sees that he has Ash’s attention.  

Ash nods in agreement with a bright smile on his face. He holds his hand out for a handshake and congratulates Harrison. “You have trained your pokémon to be awesome. I hope we can battle again, one day. I want you to see my pokémon at their best as well!”  

Harrison looks at this young up-and-coming trainer and knows he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Ignoring the hand, Harrison hugs the kid, being careful of Pikachu on his shoulder as well. “We will meet again and make that battle happen. Take care of yourself, alright, Ash?” Harrison pulls back to maintain eye contact with the shocked boy and pokémon.  

“You will go on to do amazing things. I can feel it... right here.” Harrison points to his chest while speaking, and the duo are confused but are uplifted by the comforting words. They share an excited smile with each other before turning back to Harrison. 

“Absolutely! You just watch!” Ash exclaims and punches his fist forward for a fist bump from Harrison.  

Harrison laughs at his excitement, nodding and returning the fist bump. “I look forward to it!”  

The crowd cheers loudly at the display of sportsmanship from the two trainers, and they both look around in shock at the loud clapping. Ash laughs and holds Harrison's arm up for the crowd to cheer louder for the winner.  

Harrison is shocked by the actions of the other trainer but laughs with Ash as well and begins waving to the crowd as they both walk off the battlefield together, the cheers following them into the tunnel. 

“That shocked me. I wasn’t expecting them to still be watching us at all. There were still battles going on.” Harrison remarks, rubbing the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed at the attention.  

Ash shrugs casually, scratching Pikachu on the cheek idly. “You’ve watched other battles, right?” Harrison nods, confused at the question. “Of course.”  

Ash nods and continues to his point. “Well, everyone likes it when there are no hard feelings between the opponents at the end of the battle, right? Regardless of who wins, everyone watching can see that both parties enjoyed the battle with no regrets. We’ve just shown them that that was what happened for us.” 

Harrison looks at the kid next to him with an impressed expression before nodding in agreement with his statement. “You’re right, Ash. Those are always the best battles, too.” Ash smiles in acknowledgement at Harrison, and they continue towards the healing stations, Harrison thinking about strategies for his battle and Ash deep in thought about what he will be doing next. 

Both trainers hand their Pokémon over to the Nurse Joy on duty before sitting down to wait for them to finish healing their Pokémon. The TV above the front desk was announcing the last battle of this round and showing the trainers for the next round.  

Harrison looks up to see his opponent and hums in thought. “Jon Dickson...”  

Ash looks up at his mumbling and follows his line of sight to the TV. “Hmm... Do you know what pokémon he has used so far?” Ash asks Harrison, and he shakes his head in denial, standing and walking over to the computers. Ash follows along with him, keeping an ear out for their names to be called from the desk. 

Harrison is searching for the trainer's name on the computer and clicking through the information listed on his profile.  

Ash watches the older trainer with interest, taking in the new information about the other trainer. Harrison pulls out a notebook and begins writing down the opponents' pokémon, strategies and which pokémon he will use against Jon. 

“Do you have any other pokémon you could use?” Ash questions the other, and Harrison hums in acknowledgement. “I do, but I want to continue using this team.” Harrison answers, and Ash hums in thought. 

“Ash Ketchum!” Nurse Joy calls, and Ash turns to the desk. Nurse Joy is looking at the pair, holding a tray of pokéball and Pikachu standing on the desk waiting. “Your pokémon are fully healed, you can collect them now.” She continues, and Ash nods, moving closer to collect them.  

Once he is close enough, Pikachu jumps onto his shoulder and nuzzles his cheek in affection. “Cha!” Ash laughs at his starter's excitement, patting him on the head in response and picking up his pokéball, nodding to Joy in thanks before returning to Harrison's side. 

“What type of strategies are you thinking of using?” Ash asks as he pulls one of the other chairs closer to Harrison, sitting down next to him as the older boy looks over him. 

As the pair of trainers sit, talking about Harrison's next battle, Misty and Brock join them and watch the relaxed interaction with wonder. The two gym leaders exchange a surprised look, not expecting this outcome after their heated battle just 15 minutes ago.  

They both check on their companion to see how he's faring with his loss. Still, while he seems slightly preoccupied with his thoughts during the conversation, they know he is in good spirits by the speed at which the pair of trainers are speaking with each other. 

The pair doesn’t even notice that Nurse Joy has finished with Harrison's pokémon as well, and Misty goes over to the lady to grab them from her for the trainer. Brock sits next to the preoccupied pair and joins them once he understands what they are talking about. Misty places Harrison's pokéball down in the trainer's arms and shocks the group out of their discussion for good.  

Harrison looks to the girl, to the pokéball and back before his thoughts catch up. He thanks the girl profusely and stands up, waving to the group. “I’m going to check in on my pokémon and try out my thoughts for the next battle. Wish me luck!”  

“Good luck!” The trio all call out to him, watching him walk out to the practice field before looking back at each other.  

“How are you feeling, Ash? It was a really close match.” Misty says, and Brock nods to the girl's words, watching the younger boy's face. They both see the disappointment on his face, before it gets overtaken by the thoughtful look again. 

“What are you thinking so hard about, Ash?” Brock presses and Ash sighs, looking to Pikachu, who tilts his head in confusion back at his trainer. 

“It was a really close match... My pokémon all did their best and followed my instructions to the letter as well... Harrison is, of course, powerful as well. This battle has shown me that we still have a lot to learn about the world of pokémon.” Ash explains. 

“Of course, you still have a lot to learn. This is only your second proper tournament you have entered, but don’t disregard the hard work you and your team have put in already.” Brock states, shocked by Ash’s thoughts. 

“Yeah! You have time between now and your next journey to learn more.” Misty agrees and continues to say.  

Ash looks at his friends in bafflement as he answers. 

“I know that, I was going to ask Prof. Oak to give me some lessons when I got back to Palet town. It will be a few months of training before we move on to the next region.” Ash states to the others' relief, Pikachu gets a fired-up expression on his face while listening to his trainer's plans.  

“That’s good that you have a plan. Do you know which region you want to go to for the next journey?” Brock praises before probing for more information, Misty looks to Ash for his answer. 

“Hmm... How do you feel about the Hoenn region, buddy?” Ash asks Pikachu sitting in his lap, and Pikachu tilts his head in consideration, before nodding in agreement. “Pi!” Pikachu cheers, and the group laughs at his answer.  

The group stands up and heads to the practice field outside, where they see Harrison engrossed in his practice. They leave him alone and go to the open side, Ash pulling out his team and releasing them onto the field.  

“Hey, guys!” Ash calls to his team, but most of them are disappointed with themselves about the loss and only mutter in response. Charizard looks at the others with a confused face before sending a Flamethrower at his trainer in greeting. Ash chuckles at his friend's unique greeting before focusing on his team properly. 

“I’m not going to ask why you are all so down. I already know and understand how you feel. I’m sorry to have let you all down once more, but this just means we will have to work harder from now on!” Ash announced to the crowd, and they all looked up in surprise at their trainers' words.  

Charizard, Pikachu and Tauros all look understanding at Ash’s statement, knowing it to be true but also knowing that they were all too weak still. 

“Bay! Bayleef bay leef bayleef!” Bayleef defends Ash fiercely, even from his own words. No! You did nothing wrong! Totodile and Heracross both nod in agreement with her words. Even Snorlax appears frustrated rather than drowsy or asleep. 

Ash is heartened by their trust in him, but he knows that this is a growing moment for all of them. “There is a lot we have all learnt from this loss. When we get back to Palet town, we will be having a training camp for the coming months in preparation for the Hoenn region!” Ash announces, and his team all finally look spirited at his words. 

They all cheer in response and jump on top of the boy to celebrate. Ash laughs at their excitement and lets them have their fun for a moment.  

“I have one more announcement for you guys before you can rest.” Ash informed the pokémon, and they all quietened down for him to speak.  

Ash looks at them all before maintaining eye contact with Tauros.  

Tauros tilts his head at the intensity of his stare. 

“Tauros. This decision is a very difficult one to make, but I feel it was needed for the others to grow. I’m thinking of trading your herd.” Tauros’ eyes widen in shock before he sighs in understanding, while the rest of the group looks between the pair in shock. 

“They aren’t being utilised to their best ability, and I know they don’t get to see much action as there are too many of them for me to rotate through the party effectively. I will make sure they all go to reliable trainers, and we will keep in touch with them all the time as well.” Ash hurries to explain and reassure his friend, and Tauros huffs at his fretting before moving to put his head in his lap in comfort.  

Tauros has been expecting this to come about since they had all been caught. There are too many in his herd for Ash, and they all knew they wouldn’t be used as much as he was, but they were happy with their trainer, who loves them anyway. 

Ash looks at his pokémon in shock at how easily he accepted it, but he pets it on the head in comfort anyway. “We have to make sure they are all the strongest they can be, before they go, right? We’ll spend the first month of training preparing them for anything coming their way.” Ash reassures the group, and they all surround their trainer to comfort each other. 

When Ash notices that all of his team is asleep, he returns them to their pokéballs to rest. He stands to go back inside the Pokémon Centre with Brock and Misty silently following.  

“Have you called home yet?” Misty asked quietly, keeping in mind the sleeping mouse in Ash’s arms. 

“I haven’t. I should do that now. Can you hold Pikachu?” Ash answers, holding out his partner, and Misty gently takes the mouse from his arms, moving to sit on one of the sofas with Brock following.  

Ash makes his way back to the computers and puts in his house's number first. The line rings out, and Ash hums in thought before putting in Prof. Oak’s number instead. The call is answered in four rings, and Prof. Oak greets. “Hello! This is Professor Oak’s lab. Who is this?”  

“It’s Ash.” Ash answers, and the call is quickly switched to a video call. Prof. Oak appears on the screen, accompanied by Delia, who is holding Bulbasaur and Squirtle in her arms. “Hey, Ash! We were beginning to get worried when you hadn’t called. How are you doing?” Prof. Oak asks. 

“Hey, Ashy! I’m so proud of you! You made it to the top 8! That is amazing!” Delia praises her son after the professor speaks. Ash smiles at his Mother in thanks before looking back to the professor. “Hey, Mum! Hey, Prof. Oak! Thank you! We are all a bit disappointed, but Harrison was strong, and he really showed us what we need to work on.” Ash answers back to them both, and they both look to the boy in surprise at his mature answer. 

“Yes, the boy was powerful, and the match was very close as well. It is always hard to lose, but it is the best motivation for growth as well. It is a hard lesson for anyone to learn, but I am relieved that you have taken it so maturely.” Prof. Oak monologues and the two Ketchums share indulgent looks at the man's antics. 

“Yeah... Prof., would you be able to teach me more about being a trainer during the break between now and the Hoenn tournament? Mum, would you be able to teach me to cook for my pokémon as well? I can’t keep relying on Brock for it all; they are my pokémon, and I need to be able to care for them myself.” Ash requests, and the adults are shocked once again by the boy's words, but are quick to agree. 

“Of course!” Delia answers cheerfully. 

“It would be my pleasure to help, Ash.” Prof. Oak smiles at the boy in pride. “Delia has been taking care of your finances for you, as well. That should be something you learn about as well.” Prof. Oak looks to Delia in confirmation, and she nods in agreement. 

“Finances?” Ash blinks in confusion, and they both laugh at his expression. 

“Yes. Finances. You have won numerous competitions and battles, and you receive compensation from them at the end. Why do you think you have to scan your pokédex at the beginning and the end of the events?” Prof. Oak asks, a little exasperated with the boy. “You can check it on your pokédex.” 

Ash looks to the man sheepishly. “Well, there can’t be much, right?” Ash pulls out his Dex and nearly chokes at the amount listed. How is there that much? Ash looks to the screen with horror on his face. 

“Well, you enter a lot of competitions, have won the Orange Island challenge, and you have been helping me with my papers with all the new information you get on your journey.” Prof. Oak answers the expression, and Ash sighs at the information. 

“What should I be doing with it?” Ash asks, slightly overwhelmed with the new information. 

Delia laughs at his distress, and Ash shoots her a betrayed look. She smiles at her son fondly before she answers. “There are some gadgets that you should buy you leave for Hoenn, like an extranciever from the Unova region and a dexnav from Hoenn, but I can explain more later.” Ash sighs in relief at the instructions before looking back at Prof. Oak with a serious expression. 

They both straighten at his look.  

“Can you look for trades for the Tauros herd? All except the leader.” Prof. Oak and Delia both flinch in shock at his request.  

Bulbasaur and Squirtle shout at the turn of events and share looks of confusion. 

“What brought this on, Ash?” Prof. Oak quickly asks for more information. 

Ash sighs, his shoulders slumping with the weight of his decision. “I know that they are all happy to be my pokémon, but they aren’t being used to their best potential, and I know they will be amazing pokémon for any trainer to have on their team. I won't be able to push them enough with just myself.” 

Prof. Oak watches this trainer once again make the hard choice with his pokémons best interests in mind. His chest fills with pride, and he looks to Delia to see her with the same look on her face. “I understand. I’ll make sure they are all trustworthy people for the trades. I’m proud of you, Ash.” Prof. Oak reassures the boy, and Ash smiles in relief at the man. 

“Can you set them for a month from now? I want to spend time with them and train them for their next adventure before they go.” Ash asks, and Prof. Oak nods in agreement. “Alright! That is everything. We should be back in two to three days. We’ll be hanging around until the end of the competition. See you soon!” Ash waves, and they wish him goodbye as well. 

Ash sighs in relief, stretching his arms above his head, before heading back to the others. He looks back at his pokédex and the money in his account, sighing again. Brock and Misty turn to the boy at the uncommon sound coming from him. “What’s the sigh for?” Brock asks, and Misty hands the boy, Pikachu, waiting for his reply.  

Ash hands Brock his pokédex in answer, and Misty looks over Brock's shoulder in confusion. “What’s wrong with it? I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” Ash looks at the girl in confusion. “The amount of money? Why didn’t you tell me about the payments if you knew about them?” Ash urges. 

Brock shrugs at his question. “We thought you knew about it. You never acted any differently, and we were sent allowance from you throughout the whole journey to help with buying supplies.” Ash is shocked, but Misty and Brock share a look before humming in unison. “Although that should’ve told us it wasn’t you managing it. Too orderly. Definitely, Ms Delia.” Misty comments with a snarky grin on her face, and Ash sputters at the teasing, Brock laughing at them. 

“We should head to sleep, it’s been a long day. I’m sure we are all exhausted.” Brock suggested, and the pair both nodded in agreement with him, standing up to go to their room to sleep. 

~*~ 

The trio is on its way back to Palet town after the tournament, and they have been discussing training and grooming tips for Ash to try with his pokémon in the coming months. 

“You should teach your pokémon a larger variety of moves. You usually stick to damaging attacks, but you don’t realise how handy it is to use status moves.” Brock suggests just as they get to route 1. Ash hums in thought. 

“I thought there was a limit to how many moves a pokémon could learn...” Ash trails off at the horrified looks from his friends. “Check Pikachu’s move set on your pokédex! It shows there what moves they have ever learnt and can use.” Misty demands, and Ash is quick to comply. 

Pikachu 

The electric mouse pokémon 

This Pokémon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up. 

Ability: Static 

Move set: 

Tackle, Tail Whip, Thunder Shock, Growl, Quick Attack, Charm, Thunder Wave, Agility, Thunderbolt and Thunder. 

Egg move: Volt Tackle. 

This move has not been unlocked yet. 

“Whoa! Buddy, you are so...” Ash can’t think of how to describe this situation. Pikachu puffs his chest in pride at the amazement in his trainer's eyes. 

“Your Pikachu is great, but there are still a lot of other moves he can learn to be truly amazing.” Misty continues after seeing Ash lost for words. Brock holds his hand out for Ash’s pokédex, and Ash happily hands it over to him. Brock clicks a few buttons, then hands it back. “Read. This is all the moves he can learn.” 

Ash and Pikachu both descend on the Dex to look at their options. That is how they continue on their way to the Ketchum residence. Ash is checking through all his pokémons move sets and listing them all down, Misty is listening and interjecting with her opinion, and Brock is writing everything down. 

Misty pulls them both to a stop so they don’t walk right past the house and leads them to the door, knocking and walking in straight after. “We’re back, Ms Delia!” Misty calls to the house, and Delia comes into the hallway to meet them at the front door. 

“Welcome home, everyone!” Delia rushes to give them all hugs, and they all sink into the comfort before she pulls away and guides them into the living room. “Sit! Sit! You all have to be so tired!” She flits through the three of them, and they all smile reassuringly at the woman. Delia scratches Pikachu between the ears, and he positively melts at the attention.  

By the time she is finished, Pikachu is fast asleep. They all laugh at the mouse and take a moment to rest on the couch, while Delia goes into the kitchen for food and drinks for them all. She sets the sandwiches on the coffee table in front of them and comes back with four glasses and a jug of orange juice. 

They all thank the woman and dig in once. Delia laughs at their eagerness and begins questioning them on their journey. They spend the afternoon together before going to the lab to see Ash’s other pokémon. 

They all walk into the lab and find Prof. Oak checking on Cyndaquil’s condition. They immediately greet the man. “Hey, Prof., we’re back in town!” Ash greets the man, and Prof. Oak looks up to greet them as well, Cyndaquil happily waiting to finish his check-up. “Welcome back! Let me just finish with Cyndaquil, and we can move outside.” Everyone nods in agreement and looks around the lab, looking for something interesting to pass the time.  

Misty notices Tracey sketching the pokémon outside and moves to speak with him for a bit. Everyone follows behind the girl and sits watching the boy make his drawings, asking about his work so far. Tracey happily hands the group his spare sketch book, and they go through all the new pictures, while Tracey explains the stories behind them. 

Prof. Oak joins the group, Cyndaquil jumps on Ash, and they all move out to the farm to find the other pokémon. Ash releases his party, and at the sound of his pokémon roaring as they come out of their pokéball, all of his pokémon are racing towards the group and stampeding them, with the other people waiting a respectable distance away, so they don’t get caught up in the chaos. 

Once they have settled down on the ground in one big pile of pokémon, Ash explains the situation to them. “Hey, everyone. This is serious, okay?” Looking around and seeing them all nod in assent, with a few giving him understanding looks, Ash begins his speech. 

“I will be trading the Tauros herd, but only in a month. We will all spend that time becoming stronger, and I am making sure you all get as much experience with me as you can, to make up for lost time and let you all be as prepared as possible.” Ash finishes with a sad smile on his face while looking at all of the Tauros. 

They all bellow in response, knowing their trainer made this choice for them. They look back at their trainer with determination in their eyes, for their new adventure may take them away from their family. Still, they were all going to make the best of all their new trials. They were also excited about this new training Ash was talking about. 

Ash smiles blindingly back at his family and pulls out his pokédex to review the moves they'll be working on to add to their arsenal. They all listened to their trainer talk with rapt attention and resolve to master all the new moves to make their trainer proud one last time before they leave. 

The other people let out their pokémon to mingle with each other. At the same time, Ash excitedly explains his training schedule to them. He stops abruptly when an idea comes to mind. Ash turns to look at the Prof. “Prof! Do you have any idea how Pidgeot is doing?” All of his pokémon turn to stare at the professor as they hear Ash’s question, waiting for his response. 

Prof. Oak looks over the group before answering. “She seems to be training the other Pidgey and Pidgeotto to keep control of the Spearow and Fearow flock.” Prof. Oak smiles at the young trainer’s relief from his report. 

“Do you think she is ready to come back now?” Ash asks with a hopeful glint in his eyes, and the silence in the clearing is so profound that it's as if a pin has dropped, waiting for Prof. Oak's response. “I think the only way to know would be for you to visit her to find out.” Prof. Oak gives such a non-answer that everyone groans at his words while Prof. Oak grins, enjoying their fluctuating emotions. 

“Well, since you won’t give me a straight answer, let's make a trip to Route 1, right guys?” Ash stands up, and all his Pokémon follow behind him, along with the others. Prof. Oak and Delia murmured behind the herd of pokémon walking through the town, their faces set in determined expressions.  

The townspeople all move out of the way of the group, smiling indulgently at the Ketchum boy and all his pokémonn who help them with their problems. They call out a greeting to the group before moving on with their lives, used to all of their shenanigans. 

When they reach route 1, everyone looks to the skies for a sign of either a Spearow or a Pidgey and manages to spot a massive Pidgeot efficiently handling five Spearow. They watch the fight with interest, and once they notice it winding down, they approach the bird when she lands. As they get closer, Ash’s face brightens, and he starts running towards the bird, calling out to it so she can notice and not attack him.  

“Pidgeot!!” Noticing the same thing as their trainer, they all follow along quickly, excited to meet one of their oldest friends again or for the first time.  

Pidgeot looks over with a glare in her eyes before realising who exactly is running at her, and she races to meet them all halfway and swoops down to land on all of her friends in her excitement. The others in their group all watch them end up in a dog pile once more, watching them with fondness coming off of them in droves. 

Before they all get carried away, Pidgeots flock join them, immediately taking a defensive position, thinking their leader is under attack. Once Pidgeot notices, she gets between the groups, tells the flock to stand down, and introduces them to her family. The flock immediately calmed down and looked to the group with interest on their faces as well. 

“How have you been doing, Pidgeot? You looked amazing when you went against the Spearow before!” Ash exclaims, and Pidgeot fluffs up at the compliment from her trainer, to the amusement of the crowd. “Pi-Pidgeot! Pidgeot pi geot Pi-Pidgeot.” As you saw, I have a handle on the Spearow flock now.  

Ash and his pokémon all nod in agreement, looking over at the downed Spearow with pride. “So... Does that mean...?” Ash trails off, watching Pidgeot nod and turn back to the flock to announce she will be going back to her family, now that they are all strong enough to protect themselves from future enemies. 

She points to one of the Pidgeots at the back of the flock and declares it the next leader, to the concession of the others in the flock. They all fly off together, and Pidgeot turns back to Ash with a satisfied expression on its face.  

“This is amazing! It’s so great you are back now!” Ash cheers and hugs the big bird tight in celebration, to the cheers of his other pokémon. Pidgeot folds her large wings around her young trainer and preens his hair in answer. Ash laughs at the affection, nostalgia making the action even sweeter, before pulling back from the hug to begin making their way back to the lab for a more in-depth conversation. 

~*~ 

Pidgeot POV. 

On the way back to the lab, they caught up with Pidgeot on the changes she's going through. She is sad to have only a month left with the Tauros herd after returning, knowing they'll soon be doing amazing things with their new trainers.  

We have a lot of lost time to make up for. I will make sure you are all whipped into proper shape before you leave! Pidgeot grins sharply at the Tauros herd, and the Tauros all snort in agreement, excited to fight against her.  

Bring it on! We’ve been waiting for a chance to fight! One of the Tauros answers for the group, and they all run straight for the lab, uncaring of the other people they are stampeding past. Noctowl shakes his head at their behaviour and follows after them to keep them out of trouble.  

Pidgeot chuckles at their excitement before moving to join Ash at the front of the group of pokémon. 

So? How did the Johto League go? Pidgeot asks while side-eyeing her trainer and his partner. Ash’s smile dims slightly at the reminder, but he is still smiling, so she takes that as a good sign.  

“We got to the Top 8 this time, we lost to Harrison. He is from Hoenn, and he has pokémon we have never seen before on his team. Even with that advantage, it was a very close match. We can rewatch it so you can see what it was like, and we can learn from it as well. We did manage to beat Gary, though!” 

Pidgeot lets out a happy trill at the last comment, but is overall proud of their accomplishments, even if they know their trainer and family are all disappointed to lose again. I’m proud of you, Ash! We hadn’t managed to beat Gary yet. How did he take it? Ash smiles at her words and hums in thought of his rival's reaction to losing. 

Pikachu is the one who answers the question, though. He took it surprisingly well, all things considered. Very calm. Pidgeot warbles in shock but nods in recognition of the other boy's growth. 

It seems this tournament was beneficial for growth, both for us and for others. Pidgeot looks to Ash to see his reaction, and all she sees is satisfaction at their new road ahead. Well, let us hurry before the herd breaks the lab when they get impatient with our slow pace. She shoots into the sky before either of them can react and heads straight for the lab with Charizard and Heracross following close behind. 

3rd Person POV. 

The rest of the group speeds up their pace to get to the lab faster as well. When they arrive at the lab, they find the Tauros have knocked down part of the fence since their return, and Gary is surveying the damage with a bemused expression. Hearing all the noise, he turns to see the group racing towards him and quickly moves out of the way of impact. 

When the group all fall over each other once they get to their clearing, they hear a snickering coming from behind them and find that Gary had followed them into the pasture. “I should’ve known it was you guys, destroying things and making a ruckus.” Ash scratches the back of his head, sheepishly at his words.  

“We had to get here quickly, or who knew what Tauros were going to do while they waited for us. We’ll fix the fence for you, Prof.” Ash answers, finishing by looking over Gary’s shoulder to the older man. Prof. Oak waves him off, knowing it would be put back together by the end of the day. Ash turns back to his rival and asks. “When did you get here, Gary?” Gary shrugs while shoving his hands in his pockets, appearing very casual in a way he hasn’t been in years. 

“Just this afternoon. I wanted to speak with Gramps here about some stuff.” Gary pointed to Sam and waited for the older man to respond. Prof. Oak raises his brows in surprise but motions him to follow him back to his lab for their chat, leaving the others in their clearing to their own devices. 

The group all share confused glances before shrugging it off and focusing on their pokémon instead. “Let’s search for all the moves you can learn and find out where to start for training, alright? We have just a month to make you all incredibly powerful. Let’s work extra hard!” Ash announces, and they all surround the boy and his pokédex to research. In contrast, the others leave their pokémon in the clearing before making their way back to the Ketchum residence. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Two 

3RD Person POV: One Month Later 

They have spent the last month practising like their lives depended on it, and it is finally the day of the trade. The mood is sombre in the pasture between all of Ash’s pokémon as they get ready to say goodbye to their family members. 

They all pile on top of each other with Ash in the middle to make the most of the time they have left together. Prof. Oak comes out of the lab to get them started with the trades, and Ash looks up to the man, sighing and patting the bodies closest to him. “We’ve gotta get this party started, guys.”  

They all grumble but slowly stand up so that Ash can return his Tauros, saying his last words to them before handing them over to Prof. Oak and Tracey, who is helping him take them into the lab.  

Watching them both walk into the lab, the others all group up for comfort, piling on top of each other. Ash is overcome with emotion, crying uncontrollably over his failure to care for his Tauros properly. 

When Prof. Oak and Tracey came back out with his pokéballs, Ash had calmed down with Tauros’ head in his lap and Charizard letting him rest on his body. They all look to the pair approaching, interested to find out who their new family members are. 

“I contacted the other regional professors to see if they had any trainers that would want a Tauros, and they connected me with their normal gym leaders and other trainers they trusted to make your trades. Even then, I called them to make sure they would be the perfect fit for Tauros. I tried my best to add more variety to your team as well. Would you like to meet them all?” Prof. Oak begins to explain his process for the trades, and Ash appears grateful for the effort he put into finding suitable homes for his family. 

“Let’s start the introduction, please!” Ash stood up from his pile of pokémon and moved closer to Prof. Oak. 

“Unova’s normal gym leader, Lenora, traded two Tauros for a Joltik and a Litwick for her team and her son’s team. Joltik is a Bug/Electric pokémon, and Litwick is a Fire/Ghost type. One other shocking piece of information about this Litwick is that he is shiny like your Noctowl.” Prof. Oak pointed to his Noctowl before releasing the two pokémon.  

“Your pokédex is updated with the National Dex, so you will be able to scan any new pokémon you come across in the wild. Find out more about your pokémon.” Prof. Oak explains, and Ash nods, before scanning his new pokémon. 

“Nice to meet you two. I’m Ash. I hope you will get along with the rest of the family.” Ash introduces himself to them both, while Joltik and Litwick look around at the other pokémon surrounding the group. They nod to Ash and move to join the other pokémon. Litwick went to Cyndaquil to introduce himself, while Joltik crawled to Heracross as the only other bug type. 

Ash smiles at their interaction with his pokémon before turning back to Prof. Oak for the next trade. 

“Whitney also got in contact with me to trade for one of your Tauros. She gave you a Miltank in exchange.” Prof. Oak states and releases Miltank to introduce herself to the others as well. She meanders over to Tauros and Snorlax first. 

“A few of the ranches needed some helping hands around their farms, and you got quite a few trades from them all. You have an Eevee family consisting of an Espeon, a Sylveon, and a baby Eevee. Espeon is a pure Psychic type, and Sylveon is a pure Fairy type, which was discovered in the Kalos region.” The professor releases them as well, and they move as a group over to Bulbasaur and Squirtle first. 

“The Galar region also made a trade, and you got a Galarian Ponyta, which is a regional variant and a Psychic type instead of a Fire type like the Kanto variant.” He releases the Ponyta, and he gets spooked by the large group of pokémon surrounding him.  

Ponyta kicks out at the other pokémon, and Ash moves to intercept the scared pokémon to calm him down. “Everyone, back away from him! Ponyta! You need to calm down. No one here will attack you!” Ash calls out, and everyone is quick to back away. Ponyta, noticing the newly acquired space, looks around him in confusion. Ash calls the Ponyta’s attention back to him and moves closer to him slowly, while introducing himself. 

“I know you are confused. My name is Ash Ketchum. You have recently been traded to me in exchange for a Tauros. You are in the Kanto region and have joined me and my family to become a Pokémon Master.” Ash calmly speaks to the frazzled Ponyta and holds his fist out to let the Ponyta scent him before trying to touch him at all. 

Ponyta sniffs the boy's hand and pushes his snout into it, giving him permission to pet him. “Thank you, Ponyta. I think we will get along well.” Ash leans his head against the others and strokes the horse's mane in appreciation. “Why don’t you go and introduce yourself to the others?” Ash pulls back and motions towards the crowd of pokémon watching the interaction between the pair of them. 

Ponyta looks to Ash, nervous, but he slowly approaches Bayleef first. Bayleef waited for him to get to her instead of crowding him. Ash waits until Ponyta has gotten more comfortable with his grass starter before turning back to Prof. Oak. 

“You also got a Cottonee, Mareep, Absol and Scyther from many different farms and ranches. Cottonee is a dual Fairy/Grass type, Mareep is another Electric type, Absol is a Dark type, and Scyther is a dual Flying/Bug type.” He releases them, and they all mingle with the other pokémon. 

“All of the others are from different trainers. There is a Mawile, Solosis, Houndour, Sneasel, Mienfoo, Surskit, Nidoran male, a shiny Alolan Vulpix, Trapinch, Gastly, shiny Swablu, Scatterbug, Snom, Shuckle, Wattrel, Ralts, an Aron and a Froakie. That is another 2 Fairy types, 2 Dark types, 4 Bug types, 2 Water types, a Ground type, 2 Rock types, 3 Ice types, 2 future Dragon types, 2 Poison types, 2 Psychic types and a Fighting type.” Prof. Oak lists, and Ash’s head fills with too much new information, so he waits for the professor to release them to find out which is which. 

After going through all the new pokémon, Ash lets all of his pokémon mingle for a while before catching all of their attention. 

“All of my older pokémon already know what the schedule will be, but I figure I should explain for the newbies. I am Ash Ketchum. I am your new trainer. We just recently went through the Johto league and finished in the Top 8. We, as a group, decided we were going to have a training camp to prepare for the Hoenn region before we began our journey.” Ash began his speech, and all the new pokémon looked to the older pokémon with admiration on their faces. 

“You will be trying your hardest to catch up with their power. They will all help with your training as well. If you need anything specific, just come straight to me, and I will make sure to help you to the best of my ability. I will be working with Prof. Oak to improve my knowledge so I can help you all better. There are a few typings here that I have never encountered before, but I will make sure to learn quickly. I’ll take care of you, so I hope you will afford me the same courtesy as well.” Ash bows to the group, and they all cheer in answer to his speech. 

~*~  

For the last month and a half, all of Ash’s pokémon have been training new moves, learning how to use all of their senses, developing Ash’s latest strategies and strengthening their natural abilities as well. Many of the new bug types have evolved, as they are known to, and so have Solosis, Houndour, Ralts, Mareep, Nidoran, Swablu, Gastly and Ponyta. 

They have all spent the time getting used to their new bodies as well as the power boost. Pikachu and Bulbasaur are currently watching over the group's training session, as Ash has gone to the Celadon department store to pick up new items that will help some of the others evolve or for grooming.  

Totodile and Cyndaquil are currently battling for their final push to evolve; they had been expecting to evolve earlier, but they haven’t managed it yet. They are both getting very frustrated with how long this has been taking. They are both using all the new moves they have been learning and are slowly getting tired. 

As they unleash their most powerful attacks at each other, Ash walks up to the clearing, finally back from his shopping trip, to see an enormous explosion of steam and bright lights taking over the battlefield. 

Finally! Took you both long enough! Congratulations! Pikachu calls to the pair of pokémon, lying on the ground, too exhausted to move. Ash rushes over, pulling his bag off and grabbing out a couple of Hyper Potions to heal them both. “You both worked really hard on this! Let me heal you both, and you can rest first before getting used to your bodies, alright?”  

Ash asked as he sprayed the bottle over their bodies and rubbed it in, both of them sighing in relief at the gentle motions from their trainer. Ash grabs them off the ground and moves them over to the shade next to Bayleef for her to watch over them while they rest.  

Ash calls the others over to him for more exciting news. “Guys, I just got back from the department store and I have some very exciting items for some of you!” Everyone cheers, and Ash calls out to Eevee first. “Eevee, if you will come closer?” Ash motions the young pokémon closer, and he rushes to stand in front of his trainer.  

“You knew you wanted to be Glaceon since you joined, right? Do you think you are ready for this next step?” Ash asks while holding an ice stone in his hands. Eevee nods in acceptance with his tail wagging in excitement. “Alright! Here you go.” Ash places the stone in front of Eevee, Espeon, and Sylveon, who join Ash to watch their son evolve. 

Eevee looks between his parents and his trainer before touching the stone with his front paw, his body glowing brightly before he evolves into Glaceon. He jumps around in excitement before jumping onto Ash to lick his face in thanks. Ash laughs and pets him on the back before Sylveon grabs her son with her ribbons to pull him closer to her, Espeon rubbing against Glaceon’s side in his congratulations. 

They all move back into the group, and Ash calls out to Scyther while pulling out his metal coat. “Scyther, do you feel like you are ready to evolve?” Scyther flew into the middle of the group, nodding her head in agreement. “Wait, follow me. We have to have a mock trade for you to evolve.” Ash realises that when Scyther grabs the metal coat, nothing happens. 

Scyther and Ash move into the lab for a few minutes before Ash comes back out with a single pokéball in his hand. Ash releases the newly evolved Scisor to show the group, and they all celebrate her evolution.  

“The last evolution using an item today will be Sneasel! And we are just in time for it to be nightfall as well!” Ash exclaims excitedly, looking over at the sky as the sunset begins. Ash places the razor claw in front of Sneasel, and she takes hold of it, waiting for the transition to take over. Everyone watches Sneasel glow, and they all witness her becoming a Weavile. 

“Haunter, would it be alright to wait until tomorrow for your mock trade?” Ash asks the ghost quietly, and Haunter nods with a large grin on his face. Ash strokes him on the head in appreciation of his patience, before looking to the other pokémon celebrating in the clearing.  

Prof. Oak walks closer to Ash and informs him that he will have a visitor tomorrow. “Who is it?” Ash questions, but Prof. Oak won’t answer, only grinning at him in answer. Ash narrows his eyes at the man, wondering who this person is for him to keep it such a secret. 

Ash shares a look with Haunter about his cryptic behaviour before moving to join the others in celebration.  

Ash checks in with all the newly evolved pokémon and walks them through their stretches and exercises to do for the next 2 weeks to ensure they are comfortable with their bodies before he heads home for more lessons with his Mum. Pikachu and Froakie jump on his shoulders, and Vulpix follows along with him while the others head back to the lab for their dinner. 

When the four of them get home, Froakie goes straight to the living room to meditate. They found that it is essential for those of the Froakie line to be more in tune with their bodies than other pokémon, as evidenced by a research paper on a ninja village in the Kalos region that uses Greninja as their partners. Ash showed the paper to Froakie, and he has been meditating religiously whenever he has free time.  

Froakie was a very impatient pokémon when he was first introduced, needing to be stronger, and Charizard noticed that he was walking a very slippery slope, just like he did when he evolved into a Charizard.  

He pulled Froakie aside and shared his story, explaining that wanting to be stronger is always a good thing, but to remember that the others in the family are there to help you when you feel stuck. You can come to any of the others for help or go straight to Ash to talk about the training schedule. 

Froakie had a more specialised training schedule made for himself, while still joining in with the others' training as well. 

Ash, Pikachu and Vulpix all make their way into the kitchen to find Delia pulling out ingredients for the next cooking lesson. As they all watch the woman, her shadow moves slightly, and Haunter jumps out to scare her, but she barely reacts to the sudden jump scare at all.  

“Hello, Haunter. Will you be joining us for this lesson? If yes, can you put this on the counter, please?” Delia asks, holding up a tray of berries and Haunter snickers as he takes the tray from her, floating over to the counter and placing them gently on the counter.  

Ash and Pikachu smile at the interaction before going to wash their hands and joining Mum at the counter, where she is talking to Vulpix and Haunter about the different berries they will be using. 

“What are we going to be making today, Mum?” Ash asks as Pikachu jumps off his shoulder onto the counter, ready to listen to every instruction from the woman. Delia excitedly explains that they will be making a curry base for both humans and pokémon, and which toppings to add for different purposes and taste buds. 

They put different toppings on the separate bowls of curry for all the different types of pokémon in the house at the moment. While Ash is finishing up with the curry, Delia is going to get Froakie from the couch to eat some of the food. Delia walks back into the kitchen with Froakie on her shoulder, and Froakie goes to wash his hands before eating from the only bowl left. 

All of the pokémon share their food with each other to see if they like any other type of toppings, Ash and Delia watching them with satisfied expressions.  

Ash has officially graduated from Delia’s kitchen.  

They all move to the living room after washing their plates, Delia walking him through how to use the DexNav and xTranciever that recently came in the mail. “These are so high-tech! It wasn’t that long ago that we could only speak at pokecentres, now you can call me from anywhere with reception. It’s amazing!” Delia marvels at the wonder of technology while reading the manuals. 

Ash laughs at how old-fashioned she is, clicking through all the functions on the DexNav's screen. “Oh! Mum, do you have any idea who will be visiting me tomorrow? Prof. Oak mentioned them but didn’t tell me who they were.” Ash looks to his Mother in question, and Delia shakes her head in denial when she meets her son’s eyes. 

“No, he hasn’t told me about a visitor, so they must be going to the lab and not to the house.” Delia answers, fiddling with the xTranciever’s interfaces to power them on. Ash sighs despondently at her answer, watching Pikachu and Vulpix tackling each other with Haunter jumping out of their shadows every now and then. 

“I guess it will be a surprise tomorrow...” 

~*~ 

The next morning, the four of them eat breakfast before heading over to the lab. “Are you excited to evolve, Haunter?” Ash says to the air in front of him, and Haunter phases into the space there with a nod before disappearing again. “That’s good. Did your body hurt when you evolved the first time, or did you just get bigger?” Haunter looks thoughtful in his shadow before shrugging at his question. 

“I guess we will find out, anyway, right?” Ash finishes his questions, and Haunter snickers at his crestfallen expression. They enter the lab and head to the trade machine. Ash returns Haunter, places his ball into the machine, and starts it up to mock trade Haunter. When he picks up the ball again and releases the ghost, he is now a Gengar.  

“How do you feel?” Ash asks as he lifts Gengar's arms gently to check for any pain or discomfort. Gengar smiles widely and dances around the lab to show he isn’t in any pain. “Well, you are basically made up of miasma, right? I wonder how many ghosts actually feel pain from evolution... I guess that means you are testing out your power and getting used to how big your body is now.” Ash instructs Gengar, and he gives a thumbs-up back to his trainer before disappearing through the floor to join the others in the pastures for training. 

Ash looks to Pikachu and Vulpix, motioning them to go outside as well. “While I am waiting for my visitor, let’s watch the others train, yeah?” Both pokémon nod, running out the door with Ash following close behind. Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Bayleef, Squirtle, Charizard, and Pidgeot are teaching their respective types their signature moves. 

Bulbasaur and Bayleef are sharing their expertise on status moves, weather control, and healing moves, respectively. They are moving through all the groups for the day to ensure everyone has these options. 

Pidgeot is teaching all flying types to manoeuvre through the sky as easily as breathing, before training their speed, wing strength, and flying moves last. 

The fighting types engage in combat with pure martial arts. Ash watches but doesn’t join for now. He has been having them train him along with their own training. He needs to know how to defend himself and his pokémon, too. Maybe he can get Froakie to teach him to jump through trees like ninjas do as well... For another time. 

Pikachu is thrilled to finally teach other electric-type pokémon his signature moves, along with the normal-type pokémon.  

They truly are the most versatile type; they can learn so many moves. 

Espeon and Sylveon are the forerunners for the psychic and fairy types, respectively, and they have taken all of the others in their typings under their wing to mentor them. Espeon has been relaying all of their training sessions to Ash to ensure he's aware of everything they've learned. 

Dark types are notoriously difficult to control, but they have all been obedient while Ash is watching over their training, and Absol keeps them in line for their respective training sessions when Ash is absent. When they started their training, Ash had them compete against each other to find out who was the strongest, and Absol had beaten the other dark types soundly.  

They might need to make the competition a regular event. Just to make sure there isn’t any infighting. However, they all listen to the older members of the team, which maintains the hierarchy. 

The others are doing a mismatch of all of the lessons, as there aren’t enough in their typings to do group training. They go to Ash for their moves and go to any pokémon that knows how to use the move when they need more help.  

They are all working really well together, and Ash is so proud of them all. Ash hears wings beating and looks up, expecting it to be Pidgeot's lessons, but is surprised to see a Dragonite approaching the clearing and aiming right for Ash.  

Pikachu and Charizard are the first to notice the incoming pokémon and rush to Ash to protect their trainer from the possible enemy. The others see their movements and quickly follow their lead, standing ready for a fight. Charizard, seeing Ash protected by the others, shoots into the sky with Pidgeot following in a brown blur.  

They meet the dragon in the middle of the sky and encircle the pokémon, forcing them to stop their approach. Charizard roars warningly at them while Pidgeot screeches protectively. They both halt their vocal warnings when they see a person holding onto the back of the Dragonite.  

“Wait! I have an appointment with Ash! Prof. Oak was supposed to have informed him yesterday about it!” The man calls out, and Charizard moves closer to get a better look at the man, sharing a shocked look with Pidgeot. They nod to the man, and all three of them begin descending to the agitated group of pokémon in the clearing. 

“Everyone! Calm down. This is my visitor! Go back to training and we will be talking right here, in clear view of you all, if you don’t trust Lance, okay?” Ash reassures the defensive pokémon, and they all slowly move back to their spots again, but keep both trainers in their eyeline. Pikachu stays with Ash, waiting for Lance to land with his escort. 

Charizard and Pidgeot land and move to rub their heads on their trainer, sending the man one last glare before going back to their groups for more training. Lance jumps off his Dragonite's back and smiles at the young trainer. “You’ve got some well-trained pokémon. Nearly gave me a heart attack.” Lance laughs good-naturedly and Ash smiles indulgently at his pokémon, nodding to Lance in agreement. 

“I do. They are the best pokémon in the world.” All his pokémon puff up in pride at their trainer's sincere compliment, making it obvious they are all still listening to their conversation. Pikachu glares at them to get back to training, and they all comply with the mouse's silent demand without a second thought. 

Lance watches the interaction between Ash’s pokémon with impressed surprise. ‘He really has trained all of his pokémon masterfully... He has only been a trainer for 2 and a half years, but they feel like a team that one of my Elite would have.’ Lance stands awestruck before this whole group. Before looking back at the boy he had come to speak to. 

“Did Prof. Oak tell you why I wanted to talk to you?” Lance asks, and Ash shakes his head in denial. 

“Nope. Didn’t even tell me it was going to be you coming.” Ash answers, and Lance sighs, sending a glare at the lab.  

“That old man... whatever...” Lance sighs once more and sits down under the tree, leaning on Dragonite’s side and motioning for Ash to join him. Ash complies and waits for Lance to begin speaking. 

“I came to ask you for a favour while you are travelling through the Hoenn region,” Ash looks interested in what a champion would need a nobody trainer's help with. “I know you probably don’t want anything to do with them, but would you be willing to keep an eye out for any Team Rocket movement while you are there?” Ash nods easily to the request, and Lance sighs with relief. 

“You probably know this, but Giovanni has gone into hiding from the Kanto and Johto regions, but I know they have branches spread out in the other regions. You would be able to inconspicuously travel and relay any information you find straight to me, if you find any.” Lance continues to explain, and Ash cups his chin between his thumb and forefinger in thought. 

“You are asking me because you know I already have experience with Team Rocket?” Lance nods in agreement with his words. 

“Do you know about the Team Rocket trio that have followed me from the start of my journey? They are bizarre guys and have a talking Meowth?” Ash continues questioning, and Lance looks at him, confused. 

“What group is this?” Lance asks, and Ash and Pikachu both grimace at having to explain the whole situation. 

“I’ll give you a short overview of the situation. They have been trying to steal Pikachu since we blew up the Poké Centre in Viridian City the first day of our journey and haven’t stopped since. They are relatively harmless compared to other Rocket grunts, though. So, I’m not too bothered by the fact they are following me.” Ash explains, and Lance gets a look of understanding on his face. 

“If you need the reports, Prof. Oak keeps them in his filing cabinet. You can ask him for them.” Ash points to the lab, and Lance follows his finger, nodding in resignation at having to read a lot of reports in the coming days. 

“I’ll leave you with my number for you to contact me.” Lance pulls out his business card and hands it to the boy before asking. “Do you think your trio would know anything about Giovanni’s movements?” Ash looks to the distance in thought before shrugging. 

“I know that they are funded by him and they are able to contact him, but I don’t think they are important to Giovanni to be told any of those plans.” Pikachu nods in agreement, and Lance sighs in dismay, nodding at his words before moving on. 

“I want to inform you that you will be getting a visit from Head Ranger Ron to tell you about being an honorary ranger for protecting Larvitar and also the Lapras pod in the Orange Islands. I have a feeling that he would like to make it official, though.” Lance announces. 

Ash and Pikachu whip their heads at the champion in confusion. “Ranger?” “Chu-pi?” Lance nods affirmatively, and Ash continues, still confused. “Why?”  

Lance tilts his head at the question. “This way, you can have protection and still be able to do everything you have been doing, in an official capacity and be able to work with Officer Jenny’s as well.” Lance explains the obvious, but Ash still seems to be confused and growing increasingly worried. 

“What are you so worried about, Ash?” Lance queries, confused by his reaction to this news.  

“I don’t know how to be a Ranger. What if I just get in other people’s way?” Ash asks with big innocent eyes, and Lance looks at the boy in shock, confused that that's what he is worried about. Lance stands up and motions for Ash to follow him. “Scales, why don’t you mingle with the others while I explain this to Ash?” Lance tells his starter, and she nods, watching them leave before turning to meet the heavy looks of the other pokémon head-on, not flinching. 

Where is he taking our trainer? Charizard immediately asks, watching the pair walk to the lab, glad that Pikachu is staying with Ash.

Turning back to the Dragonite with distrustful eyes, the Dragonite answers his question in a concise statement. 

Your trainer is going to be offered a Ranger position, and Lance is explaining what the job entails. Ash was panicking about his qualifications for the job. Still, Lance will ensure that Ash sees the merit in accepting the job. She finishes explaining, and they all look stunned by the information. 

Does that mean we won’t be able to travel? Lower-ranked Rangers are stuck in precincts, right? Bulbasaur presses the dragon, and everyone looks to her with pleading expressions. None of them wants to give up on their quest to be a Pokémon Master with Ash. 

Scales smiles at their expressions and shakes her head. No, Lance won’t let the Rangers restrict Ash. He will recommend that they make him a Probationary Ace Ranger, which will allow him to travel while gaining the experience to become an official Ace Ranger, if he accepts the offer, of course. 

They all sigh in relief before looking at each other in excitement for the recognition their trainer is finally getting for all his good deeds. Some of them back off to continue their training, while others move to the shade to meditate. Meanwhile, Charizard and Altaria close in on Scales, looking like they are stalking her.  

Scales tilts her head in question at their attention, and Charizard pushes the fluffy pokémon forward to ask the question they both want to ask. Altaria glares at the large lizard in annoyance before turning back to Scales with a smirk on her beak.  

Charizard doesn’t see it, but Scales definitely does. She raises a brow at her expression, and Altaria snickers quietly in response.

Charizard wanted to know if you could teach him to use more dragon-type moves. He's too shy to ask you himself, so I am doing it for him.

Charizard pauses and slowly turns to face the fluffy creature in betrayed confusion.

Altaria keeps her attention on Scales, and she can see the amusement in her eyes as Altaria embarrasses the older Pokémon. 

Scales covers her mouth with her paw, but everyone can see she is holding back her laugh, which just makes Altaria smirk wider.  

Charizard glances between the two females, his face twisted in an embarrassed scowl, before unleashing a Flamethrower at Altaria. Altaria manages to dodge the attack, flying away from the raging lizard as he yells profanity at her, and then bursts out laughing. 

Scales follows them into the sky, chuckling at their behaviour and beginning to instruct them both to learn the moves while they are fighting each other. 

The others watch them fighting, shaking their heads in amusement before ignoring them to continue practising.

By the time the dragons return to the ground, they are satisfied with their lesson and know they will be able to teach the moves to the younger members. Charizard is much calmer and playfully swats at Altaria with his tail before moving to lie down under the tree that the others are using to meditate. 

The others have moved on to weather control moves and learning how to set them up discreetly. While they are playing with the weather in the clearing, Ash and Lance walk out of the lab. Ash looks much more confident than when he stepped inside.

They both sit down with Charizard and the meditating pokémon to have a moment's rest, while watching Scales mingle with Ash’s pokémon. 

When it gets to lunch time, Lance announces that they have leave to get back to work. “If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to give me a call. Good luck on your next adventure, I’ll be watching you.” Lance smiles encouragingly at the young boy, and Ash smiles back at the man, watching him climb onto his Dragonite before flying away. 

“What did you think about them? Pretty cool, right?” Ash asks the group, and they all talk over each other to tell Ash about how cool they are and the funny prank Altaria played on Charizard. Charizard grumbles from behind Ash but doesn’t say anything else. 

For the rest of the day, Ash watches Bayleef and Espeon teach the whole group healing and status effect applications. Ash suggests that they have a battle to show how they would use them in a simulation. 

Bayleef and Espeon agree, and everyone moves back to give them the clearing for the fight. They move to opposite sides and wait for Ash to give them the go-ahead to start.  

“Ready? Start!” Ash lifts his arm to the sky and brings it down to allow both of the pokémon to start. 

Bayleef immediately shoots Seed Bombs at Espeon at the call and begins setting up her battlefield of dangerous mines that Bulbasaur had taught her. Leech Seeds, Bullet Seeds covered in Poison Powder, Stun Spore and Sleep Powder, Grass Knots hidden in a Grassy Terrain while releasing Sweet Scent to lower Espeons' evasiveness and setting up a Sunny Day as well. She then protects herself from long-distance attacks by setting up a Light Screen and a Reflect.  

When she is finished, she fires Solar Beams at Espeon to try and do some damage early, watching the psychic type jumping around the clearing across from her wearily. 

Espeon dodged the first attacks before beginning his own setup, knowing that Bayleef won’t allow him to attack her from up close so early in the fight. He starts by using Calm Mind to up his stats, sending a Swift attack at Bayleef, but seeing they hit her for very little damage, he uses Tidy Up, which clears the battlefield of Bayleef's minefield, giving him the chance to close the distance with a Fire Fang, shocked by the damage he took. 

Bayleef, seeing him clear the field, added a Spikey shield to deal some return damage to him. After getting hit with the Fire Fang, she pushes Espeon back with a Leaf Storm and sets up the Grass Knots and Leech Seeds once again. 

Espeon jumps back from the Leaf Storm and burrows underground with Dig, moving to attack Bayleef, who hasn’t moved yet. When the Leaf Storm dissipates, Bayleef notices that Espeon is nowhere to be found and uses Stomping Tantrum to impede his use of Dig, forcing him to the surface again. 

Espeon jumps out of the ground and fires a Psychic at Bayleef immediately upon resurfacing. Bayleef is expecting an attack and takes it while shooting Bullet Seeds covered in Poison Powder at him in response. 

Espeon gets hit as well and doesn’t expect to get poisoned, but has a solution for it anyway. He lands on the ground and immediately uses Psycho Shift to return the poison to Bayleef, healing himself in the same move.  

Bayleef takes damage from poison, confused, as she looks over at Espeon, wondering why he is fine. She doesn't understand what she did, but she knows her move was used against her, so she needs to counterattack. 

Bayleef uses Trailblaze to close the distance and up her speed before using Body Slam on Espeon to try and paralyse him. Still, she doesn’t get the status effect, and Espeon fires back with a Future Sight now that Bayleef has closed the distance between them. 

Bayleef jumps back from Espeon and knows she needs to pull out the big guns. Bayleef sets up Sunny Day and Grassy Terrain again, before concentrating on using Frenzy Plant. She hasn’t managed to use it yet, but she knows she just needs a little push. 

Espeon feels dread as he sees the setup Bayleef is making, but since Bayleef hasn’t attacked yet, he knows she is going for her last attack. Espeon uses Calm Mind again to boost his stats and attacks with Psyshock, but sees that Bayleef doesn’t let the attack distract her.  

He sends a barrage of Shadow Balls at Bayleef, and just before they hit, Bayleef begins glowing, and the ground begins rumbling and shaking as well. Espeon watches the evolution in fascination and sees the roots breaking the ground, knowing he has lost this match. 

When Meganium stops glowing, she focuses solely on Espeon and sends her attack, but just before it hits, Ash calls the end of the battle. Everyone watches with bated breath and awe on their faces at the roots stopping just inches from Espeon's face at their trainer's call, and they begin retreating back into the ground.  

Once they have all disappeared, Espeon and Meganium have both dropped to the ground in exhaustion. The audience cheers at the spectacular battle and talks amongst each other while Ash, Sylveon and Glaceon approach the two downed pokémon. 

Ash picks up Espeon and takes him to rest under a tree, leaning against his mate's side, before moving to grab Meganium with Rapidash’s help to lift her up and take her to the shade as well. Meganium and Espeon both lift their heads to look at their trainer, waiting for his assessment of their battle. 

Ash smiles proudly at them both, stroking their heads in appreciation. “That was a spectacular battle. You both have gotten so strong! You really showed the young pokémon that you mean business with your teachings. Well done.” Both pokémon share satisfied smiles with each other at his words before turning back to Ash when he continues speaking. 

“Meganium, you will be resting your body for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, you will be getting used to the new growth and power you just gained from evolving. Espeon, you will be resting too, but can you help teach the moves you used today to the others? The other psychic types want to be able to use Psycho Shift as well.” Ash instructs before looking at Espeon for his answer. 

Espeon nods in agreement, leaning more against Sylveon's side, and sends a message to everyone in the family. If you want to learn more about the moves used during our battle, come join us under the tree, and we will explain them to you.  

Ash smiles and moves away from the group before he can get bowled over by the younger pokémon running over to join them under the tree. Ash watches as they ask questions without listening to Espeon's explanation. Sylveon gets them all to calm down and listen before walking off to join Pikachu, Charizard, and Bulbasaur, who are sitting around and chatting with each other.