pokemon Fighting Dreamers

Back in Alola

"We're about to continue, everyone! Ash's next battle is against Karen Yuzuki from Johto!" Dahlia said as the two trainers took their place in the battlefield, which was currently changed to a grassy one. "And the condition is..." The Frontier Brain spun her Roulette again, this time with it ending in a slot that had the Dynamax and the Z-Moves symbols crossed out. "No Dynamax and no Z-Moves!"

"Isn't that a shame?" Karen smiled moving her hair aside to showcase the Key Stone in her left earring.

"Hey, Korrina, Ash could really use that Key Stone right now." Flannery said calling her with her Rotom Phone.

"I know, ok? I'm trying my best here." Korrina answered with a Magnifying lass in hand. "What part of 'this could end up burning Ash's hand if I get it wrong' you didn't understand?"

"Well, Ash, when we met you told me you knew who I was, so I imagine you I specially in Dark-Type." Karen said. "I also suppose you think that just cause you defeated Lorelei you can take me as well, but you better don't get too confident... go on and try to entertain me, kid."

"Challenge accepted." Ash answered.

"Trainers, release your first Pokemon!" Kukui said.

"Let's go, Umbreon!"

"Scraggy, I choose you!"

"We'll be starting with the smols!" Dahlia said.

"SCRAGGY?!" Iris shouted surprising the rest of the champions and Elite Four. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, ASH KETCHUM?! THAT'S AN ELITE FOUR AND YOU'RE USING A LITERAL BABY!"

"Why are you suddenly so worried?" Diantha asked.

"It's... it's nothing." Iris sighed and looked for one of her Poke Balls to then release a Fraxure who quickly noticed Ash and Scraggy fighting in the battlefield.

"You can watch, but don't get so excited about it." Iris said. "Scraggy isn't going to last much."

"If both trainers are ready then the battle begins now!" Kukui said.

"Weather Ball!" Karen was the first to order and Umbreon summoned a translucid sphere that absorbed the bright sunlight of the day and turned into a fire sphere that he tossed at Scraggy.

"High Jump Kick!" Scraggy jumped in the air and avoided the fire ball to then aim the attack at Umbreon, but the eeveelution moved away just in time and avoided the kick, causing Scraggy to injure himself.

"Lash Out!" Umbreon jumped towards Scraggy with both its front paws taking the form of long black claws.

"Focus Blast!" Scraggy formed the orb between his hands and tossed it forward while Umbreon was still in the air, landing a clear hit and pushing him away again.

"Shadow Ball!" Karen ordered and Umbreon formed the ball in his mouth.

"Iron Head!" The orange part of Scraggy's head turned silver and he rushed towards Umbreon, who then tossed the Shadow Ball and managed to push back Scraggy again, but this shielded himself from most of the smage with the Iron Head.

"Lash Out again!" Umbreon ran towards Scraggy again and used his claws to slash him several times.

"Assurance!" After some more slashes, one of Scraggy's hands became surrounded in darkness and he used it to land a huge slap that pushed Umbreon back again.

"Weather Ball!" Umbreon once again used the fire-powered attack, but Scraggy pulled up his pants to cover himself and shielded from the attack, but the moment he pulled them down, Umbreon was already jumping over him with another Weather Ball that he manged to land the hit with close range.

"High Jump Kick!"

"Shadow Ball!"

Umbreon aimed the attack at Scraggy's face while he was jumping and caused him to miss his mark and crash onto the battlefield again.

"Zap Cannon!" The ring on Umbreon's forehead shot a massive electric blast and Scraggy tried to shield himself with his pants again, but the move was way too strong and ended up knocking him down in the battlefield, severely injured and barely able to stand up again.

"Fraxure!" The Pokemon shouted.

"What did I tell you?" Iris asked.

"Hmm... Scraggy, return for now." Ash said recalling him. "Totodile, I choose you!"

"You can do it, little guy!" Peonia cheered on.

"You're really bringing out a Water-type after just seeing that?" Karen asked. "My, they don't joke about you. Zap Cannon!"

"Hydro Cannon!" Ash shouted and Totodile took a huge breath before expelling a massive blast of water to the grass beneath him, sending himself flying up and avoiding the electric attack. "Superpower!" Totodile curled himself into a ball as he descended and his body was surrounded in red energy to then fall with great force on top of Umbreon.

"Lash Out!" Umbreon kicked Totodile out of him and began to use his claws to slash him.

"Metal Claw!" Totodile's claws were surrounded in silver and he began trading slashes with Umbreon, with both of them landing several hits, yet neither of them seemed to back down.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Ice Punch!" Totodile went for the punch while Umbreon was charging the move in his mouth causing a small explosion that stopped the Shadow Ball form forming, but Umbreon took the chance and bit down Totodile's arm, despite being affected by the frost, Umbreon began to swing Totodile from side to side smacking him onto the battlefield several times.

"Hydro Cannon!" Totodile expelled the stream of water all over Umbreon, but the Dark-Type refused to let go off his arm.

"Zap Cannon!" While still being showered by water, Umbreon charged the Electric attack and released it, electrocuting both of them and then creating a massive electric explosion that sent them both to opposite sides of the battlefield.

"Lash Out!"

"Superpower!"

Umbreon and Totodile rushed towards the other with their attacks ready, meeting in the middle of the battlefield, with Totodile landing a powered punch and sending Umbreon flying again, leaving it fainted once it hit the ground.

"Umbreon is unable to battle! Totodile is the winner!" Kukui said and Totodile started to dance again, but quickly stopped due to his injuries.

"Once again, despite a rough start, Ash gets the first win of the match!" Dahlia said.

"Let's see if it stays that way." Karen said recalling Umbreon. "Your turn, Honchkrow!"

"Hydro Cannon!"

"Brave Bird!" Honchkrow adjusted his fedora before taking flight and avoid the water attack, quickly descending as he was surrounded with a blue aura to then tackle down Totodile before take flight again.

"Ice Punch!"

"Thunder Wave!"

While Totodile jumped towards him, Honchkrow flapped his wings, releasing a yellow wind covered in sparks that hit Totodile, but he still managed to reach him and land the Ice Punch on one of his wings, making them both fall back to the ground. Honchkrow quickly stood up again and smacked his wing onto the battlefield to break the ice over it, while Totodile stood up with difficulty after being paralyzed by the Thunder Wave.

"Night Slash!" Honchkrow dashed towards Totodile while his wings became surrounded in darkness and landed a cross slash with them, knocking out Totodile.

"Totodile is unable to battle! Honchkrow is the winner!" Kukui said while Honchkrow put a wing over his chest and lowered his head while he was surrounded by a red aura.

"Heh, Honchkrow's Ability is Moxie." Karen said while Ash returned Totodile. "His attack gets boosted everytime he defeats a Pokemon so he likes to 'pay respect' to them."

"Well then, Weavile, I choose you!"

"Incinerate!"

"W-Whirpool!"

The second Weavile was out Honchkrow expelled a fire attack from his mouth, but Weavile reacted just as quickly as spun around summoning a whirlpool around him to shield himself.

"Thunder Wave!" Honchkrow once again flapped the yellow wind and with Weavile still using Whirpool, the electricity went right through and paralyzed him, but Weavile managed to toss the Whirpool at Honchkrow, with it still having a small bit of electricity, but not enough to paralyze him as well. "Incinerate!" Honchkrow once again expelled the fire attack, and due to the paralysis, Weavile was unable to dodge or react.

"Ice Beam!" Weavile shot the move from his mouth, but Honchkrow dodged it taking flight again.

"Night Slash!" Both Ash and Karen shouted, the Pokemon started slashing each other, both of them landing hits, but Weavile once again paralyzed and Honchkrow landed a huge slash that pushed him to a wall.

"Incinerate!"

"Whirpool!" Weavile once again shielded himself and spun like a top inside the Whirlpool to reach Honchkrow and hit him with it, knocking him to the ground again.

"Use Beat up!" Weavile crossed his claws and was surrounded by green energy, five orbs appeared around him and each of them shot a different attack at Honchkrow. Shock Wave, Razor leaf, Hydro Cannon, Focus Blast and Hyper Beam, with Weavile later joining them with his own Ice Beam. Honchkrow took flight again and avoided both the Razor Leaf and the Focus Blast, but both the Shock Wave and Ice Beam stopped him mid-air, making him receive the Hydro Cannon and the Hyper Beam directly, which knocked him down to the battlefield again, kicking up some dust.

"How about that? A double hit form Hydro-Cannon and Hyper Beam at the same time! Could Honchkrow withstand that?" After Dahlia asked that, Honchkrow flew out of the dust with a Brave Bird, tackling down Weavile to a wall, the bird then landed in front of him and smirked, tipping his fedora before dropping himself in the grass defeated.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle! Weavile is the winner!" Kukui said while Weavile stood up with difficulty still suffering form the paralysis.

"Hmp, looks like Honchkrow knew he was done for and decided to make the last hit count without minding the recoil." Karen said recalling him. "You're next, Mismagius!"

"Can you keep going, Weavile?" Ash asked and the weasel simply smirked. "Stubborn as always." Ash shook his head, knowing Weavile wouldn't let him return him.

"Mystical Fire!" Mismagius opened her mouth and released a stream of fire from it.

"Whirlpool!" Weavile once again tried to use the move to shield himself, but the paralysis stopped him and the fire attack surrounded him.

"Now Power Gem!" The three red gems on Mismagius' chest fired of three white rays, Weavile tried to counter them with Night Slash, but he could only counter one of the rays while the only two hit him from behind and knocked him out.

"Weavile is unable to battle! Mismagius is the winner!"

"Thanks a lot." Ash said recalling him. "Bayleef, I choose you!" Ash released the grass starter and this for once didn't jump over him, simply looking at her trainer to smile. "Let's do this, girl!"

"Mystical Fire!"

"Ancient Power!" Bayleef's eyes glowed blue and several rocks rose form the battlefield and then went flying towards Mismagius, blocking the fire and then cleanly hitting the ghost.

"Magical Leaf!" Bayleff swung around the leaf in her head, releasing several multicolored leaves that surrounded Mismagius into a tornado while damaging her.

"Mystical Fire!" Mismagius expelled the stream of fire again and burned the leaves around her, but Bayleef suddenly extended her vines towards Mismagius and wrapped them around her head, covering her mouth and face and then smacking the ghost around.

"Power Gem!" Despite not being able to see anything, Mismagius shot the three beams again, with two of them missing, but the other landing on Bayleef's back, the impact caused Bayleef to loose her vines just enough for Mismagius to open her mouth and use Mystical Fire on the vines, forcing Bayleef to retreat them. "Dark Pulse!"

"Solar Beam!" Bayleef gathered sunlight from the leaves in her neck and then fired the beam from her mouth, with her move breaking through the Dark Pulse and exploding onto Mismagius, knocking her down to the battlefield. "Do it again!"

"Mismagius, be kind, would you?" Karen asked and her Pokemon nodded as her eyes glowed purple, Bayleef then fired the Solar Beam and this landed a clean hit, knocking out the ghost.

"Mismagius is unable to battle! Bayleef is the winner!" Kukui said, but after that, Mismagius' eyes glowed purple again, with two purple swirls emerging form them and suddenly surrounding Bayleef, making her faint right in the spot.

"Bayleef!" Ash shouted. "You... Destiny Bond?"

"Guess I gotcha." Karen winked.

"I honestly saw that coming." Lance said.

"Yes, and now that means that the only Pokemon Ash has left is the Scraggy he used in the beginning." Diantha said.

"And I can already imagine what will be Karen's last Pokemon." Lorelei said.

"Let's end this, Houndoom!" Karen released her ace, who was wearing a black-and-white brace with a Houndoomite on his left shoulder. "Ashes to ashes... Dust to dust..." Karen once again showed the Key Stone in her earring and activated it, causing the Houndoomite to react to it. "You're gonna burn with the rest of us." She grinned and Houndoom fully Mega-Evolved, Ash then called his Scraggy out again, who got scared for a moment seeing his opponent, but quickly calmed himself and prepared for battle.

"Scraggy, you're all I have left." Ash told him. "Are you sure you want to fight him?"

"Cra...ggy!" He nodded stomping the ground.

"That's the spirit." Karen smiled.

"He really hasn't mattured one bit." Iris sighed.

"Fraxure!" The dragon kept cheering on his friend.

"Then let's play, Solar Beam!" Houndoom gathered sunlight between his horns and then fired off a giant green beam from it.

"High Jump Kick!" Scraggy jumping barely avoiding the attack and dove down with the kick, hitting Houndoom cleanly on his head.

"Snarl!" Houndoom howled and a black sphere of energy formed infront of him and then hurled itself onto Scraggy creating an explosion.

"Thunder Fang!" Houndoom jumped over Scraggy and bit him down by his releasing a discharge and then smacking him around as a chewing toy.

"Focus Blast!" While still being held, Scraggy managed to form the orb and toss it right onto Houndoom's face, who then tossed Scraggy up in the air and smacked him away with his tail.

"Inferno!" Houndoom opened his mouth and expelled a massive black flame that surrounded Scraggy, who tried to withstand the attack, but ended up dropping in the ground as Houndoom continued with the attack.

"Seems like that's it." Lance said.

"Told you all." Iris sighed as she stood up from her seat. "Let's get out of here, Fraxure, this was a waste of time." She said starting to walk away, but her Pokemon stood where he was. "Fraxure?"

"Frax..." The dragon looked at her and shook his head.

"Fine, we'll have it your way." Iris looked for his Poke Ball, but Fraxure suddenly jumped thought the glass window in the front of the VIP section.

"...I'm not paying for that." Goodshow said.

"These windows are of really low quality if he broke them so easily though." Clair said.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Iris shouted approaching the broken window.

"Hmmp, I think I know." Cynthia smiled, meanwhile Fraxure descended above the crowd with an Aerial Ace and landed next to Kukui in the referee spot.

"Uh, hello there?" Kukui said.

"Fraxure! Fraxure! FRAX!" He shouted and both Ash and Scraggy noticed him.

"Wait, is that Iris' Axew?" Ash asked.

"Gy..." The lizard smiled seeing him.

"FRAXURE!" He shouted again.

"Houn..." Houndoom stopped his attack wondering what was happening and Scraggy stood up again, panting and injured, but in fighting position while Fraxure kept cheering on him.

"Cute and all, but this is still a battle." Karen said. "Inferno!" Houndoom shot the stream of black fire again and Scraggy was surrounded by it, but he began to give steps towards Houndoom, walking thought the flames, Houndoom intensified his attack, to the point where his bone armor shined bright red due to heat he was emitting, Scraggy then started to run with a Focus Blast in hand as the flames still surrounded him, once his close enough, Scraggy tossed the Focus Blast to Houndoom's mouth, creating a fiery explosion, despite that, Houndoom was still standing, but he was now in front of an angry Scrafty.

"SCRAAAAAFTY!" He roared to the skies.

"Fraxure!" The Dragon kept cheering next to Kukui.

"Ah, yes, the classic 'character is close to death but is able to come back to life because of an inspirational shout from the audience' cliche." Dahlia said. "Who am I kidding?! Wreck her shit!"

"Scrafty..." Ash smiled scanning him.

'Scrafty, the Hoodlum Pokemon. While mostly known for having the temperament of an aggressive ruffian, this Pokémon takes very good care of its family, friends, and territory. Scrafty has forgotten High Jump Kick and Iron Head, replacing them with Outrage and Head Smash. His Ability is now Shed Skin, which will heal status conditions.' After the Rotom Phone ended his explanations, Scrafty was hit by a burn, but his skin illuminated for a brief moment and then shattered, with the lizard smiling after that.

"So that's Shed Skin." Ash said. "If it heals status then that means... Outrage! Go!" Scraggy put on his hood as his eyes glowed bright red, he then rushed to Houndoom as his body was outlined in red aura and began a barrage of punches and kicks.

"Thunder Fang!" Houndoom bit down one of Sracfty's arms and electrocuted him, but Scrafty quickly grabbed him by his neck with his other arm and tossed Houndoom away, but the dog managed to land on all-fours, Scrafty then became confused for a brief moment, but his Shed Skin activated again and quickly healed him.

"Snarl!" With another howl, Houndoom fired a far bigger dark orb towards the Lizard.

"Focus Blast!" Scrafty rose his hands in the air and the Focus Blast kept increasing in size, he then tossed it towards the Snarl and both moves cancelled each other out.

"Inferno!"

"Head Smash!" Scrafty took away his hood and became surrounded by a light brown aura he then shot himself at the fire and used his crest to break through it and ending landing a huge headbutt right on Houndoom's chest.

"Solar Beam!" Houndoom shot the attack form his horns again, Scrafty quickly pulled up his pants and shielded himself, but the attack still managed to push him back onto a wall.

"Focus Blast!"

"Hellfire!" Houndoom combined his Snarl with an Inferno and the attacks outpowered the Focus Blast and surrounded Scrafty, but the flames expanded and began to cover the whole grassy battlefield in flames. while Houndoom jumped inside them and used them to hide himself as he attacked Scrafty from various side.

"Outrage!" Ash shouted and Scrafty put on his hood again to start attacking Houndoom with kicks and punches again while Houndoom responded with Thunder Fangs and slashed with his claws, meanwhile both Ash and Karen could rarely see anything due to the increasing flames.

"Woop! is getting hot in here." Dahlia said. "Pfft, of course is hot, I'm here after all."

"We better do something about that." Kukui said and then looked at Fraxure. "Hey, buddy, can you help me dig a trench?" He asked and the dragon nodded to then start digging a trench around the battlefield. "Lucario, Dig! Empoleon, Hydro Pump!" Kukui released both Pokemon and the two helped Fraxure make a river trench that contained the flames inside the battlefield, the humidity eventually caused the fire to decrease and Scrafty and Mega-Houndoom could finally be seen again, both of them heavily injured, but still trading attacks back and forth. Houndoom then opened his mouth to use Inferno again, but Scrafty grabbed him shut using Assurance with both hands and tossed him to the ground. But Houndoom pushed him away with a Solar Beam and opened his mouth again releasing the Inferno, which Scrafty blocked with his pants, both Pokemon seemed tired and like they could collapse any second, but the two continued to stand up.

"Well, Karen, is this entertaining?" Ash asked.

"Indeed, but I'm afraid my patience is waning." Karen answered. "Let's end this big time! Activate Solar Power!" Houndoom howled to the skies and began absorbing energy from the sun as his whole body became surrounded in flames and his bone armor turned pitch black. "Solar Fang Strike!" She shouted and Houndoom ran towards Scrafty surrounded by the black flames.

"Head Smash!" Scrafty took his hoodie off again and ran shoot himself surrounded by the light brown energy, both attacks met in the middle of the still burning battlefield, creating a massive explosion of fire, dust and ashes.

Ash, Karen, Kukui and most people in the crowd had to cover their eyes and it took almost a minute for the dust to settle, Houndoom and Scrafty were both still standing, but the Johto Pokemon suddenly returned to his base form and dropped defeated in the burned ground.

"Houndoom is unable to battle! Scrafty is the winner and the victory goes to Ash!" Kukui shouted.

"WHO'S THE UNDERDOG NOW?! HA!" Dahlia shouted. "That the good shit, people! Next battle will be in 30 minutes, so get out of here and drink some water!"

"Great job, Scrafty!" Bea cheered on along the rest of the girlfriends.

"Fraxure!" With the battle ended, Fraxure ran to field and gave Scrafty a hug, he was then followed by Ash, while Iris finally came down as well and stood watching them from afar.

"Axew?" Ash smiled and the dragon ran to hug him as well. "Wow, look at you."

"That was the best battle I've had in my life." Karen said walking to them and returning her Houndoom. "Thanks a lot, Ash."

"I honestly thought we were lost for a moment." Ash admitted and Scrafty gave him a soft shoulder hit as he smiled. "Heh, sorry."

"Fraxure!" Iris shouted walking onto the battlefield. "What is wrong with you?! I gave you an order!"

"Hey, take it easy, Iris." Ash said. "He just wanted to cheer on his friend. In fact, I think it was because of that that we won."

"Exactly! Doesn't that count as cheating?!" Iris shouted.

"Nope, it doesn't." Karen answered. "Fraxure never interrupted the battle directly to help Scraggy, so they're good to go." She said and both Pokemon fist-bumped.

"Argh, that's it!" Iris returned Fraxure to his Poke Ball and then walked out of the battlefield.

"Hey, Iris, wait!" Ash called her as she entered one of the tunnels of the stadium and he followed her.

"Leave me alone!" Iris shouted, but Ash grabbed her wrist and caused her to stop.

"That's enough!" Ash said. "Listen, I know you and I had our discussions, but you've never been this hostile to me, what's the matter?"

"YOU are the matter!" Iris shouted. "How did someone like you even become champion?! They gave you, an imbecile, a moron who's always making a fool out of himself in front of a whole region, the champion title! And you still continue doing stupid things like you don't have any kind of responsibility! YOU'RE SUCH A KID!" Iris panted after all the shouting and Ash looked at her for a moment before taking her in a hug.

"Heh, I get it now." Ash smiled.

"You let me go this instant or I swear I-"

"I'm sorry I didn't notice it earlier." Ash interrupted her. "By the way you're talking... I suppose you've gotten a lot of pressure as the new Unova Champion, but don't worry, if someone is capable of handling such a title that's definitely you, I'm really proud of you, of what you achieved, I'm still processing how much it seems you've grown since we last met... and I didn't get the chance to tell you back in the mansion, but... I really missed you."

"I... I missed you too." Iris said answering the hug for a brief moment, only to softly push Ash afterwards. "Sorry by the way I've been acting, I'm just... I feel like I suddenly have the world in my shoulders and I'm not sure if I'm ready for it, and then they asked me to come here and see you and I... I guess I didn't want you to see my sensitive side or whatever they call it... I'm also proud of you, you have no idea."

"Thanks." Ash said before Iris gave him another hug.

"Uh... good luck with the rest of the battles." Iris sighed parting from him. "I hope they pick me to fight you." Iris looked at him for a moment, before leaving back to the VIP area, while Ash returned to his changing room.

Back in Wyndon.

"Hello, Ash. This is Roxanne Petra, from Rustboro, you remember me, right? Uh, sorry if my calls bother you, uh, I asked Flannery for your number the other day, listen, I know that up to this point our relationship has been strictly professional, you're a challenger, I'm a Gym Leader and that was it; and you're a champion now so you must be really busy, but..." Roxanne stopped for a moment as she struggled to continue. "O-Okay, here is the question... Would you like to-to go out on a date with me?"

"Eh, no." Lisia answered wearing a cap akin to Ash's, the two girls were sitting outside a cafe. Lisia was wearing her casual attire which consisted in a teal shirt, black jeans with suspenders and glasses. "Girl, you're a total disaster." She said taking off Ash's cap and putting her own green newsboy cap in her head.

"Okay, that's not helping." Roxanne sighed but then took her Rotom Phone. "Fine, here we go, for real this time... I... I'm just gonna tell him that... t-that I want him to paddle me."

"Wait, what?" Lisia asked.

"I CAN'T DO IT!" Roxanne shouted blushing and then tossed her Rotom Phone to the floor, but luckily he started floating himself and stopped mid-air right before the impact. "I can't do it, I swear I want to, but I can't."

"Listen, we're going to Alola tomorrow anyway." Lisia said. "You'll get the chance to talk with him personally, so just calm down and keep practicing."

"I guess you have a point." Roxanne sighed. "Thanks a lot for all the help you've been giving me these days, Lisia."

"Hey, it's fine, I'm honestly glad to at least have someone to talk to." Lisia answered. "Spending time with Uncle Steven tends to be pretty boring, specially since most of his friends are rocks... either way, you do remember what I told about Ash's love life, right?"

"O-Of course, what you mentioned about the other girlfriends..." Roxanne trailed off. "It's still a bit surprising, isn't it?"

"I guess, And by the way he was talking, it's almost for sure that he has even more now." Lisia said. "Maybe I shouldn't have told my spies to retreat so I could have the exact number, but well, I'm joining too."

"You seem so sure of the idea." Roxanne said.

"Because I am, once Ash gets to know me he'll see I'm just as good, if not better than the rest of his girls." Lisia smiled. "And just imagine how mad May is gonna be when I join, HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Somebody help me!" Chloe shouted while running past the Hoenn girls.

"...Chloe?" Roxanne asked and the Scizor, Frosmoth and Vikavolt chasing Chloe were the next to pass them by. "..."

.

"I'm not going to be able to outrun them, I need to call Ash before they get to me." Chloe took her Rotom Phone in hand again, but this was suddenly shot down by a Thunderbolt from Vikavolt which subsequently made the device explode and caused the Rotom inside it to escape away.

"N-No!" Chloe stuttered trying to pick back up the pieces of the device. "T-This can't, no, no, no..."

"Zor!" Scizor landed in front of Chloe, while Frosmoth and Vikavolt surrounded her, Chloe tried to keep running away, but the bugs eventually trapped her in an alley, Chloe's Eevee then jumped towards Scizor with an Iron Tail, but Scizor smacked her away with a Brick break and knocked her out in the street.

"Eevee!" Chloe kneeling in front of her injured Pokemon and taking her in her arms. "I... I'm so sorry I brought you into this." She said between tears as the Bug-Types surrounded her.

"Probopass, Rock Blast!" Roxanne shouted on top of her ace who sent forwards her Mini noses to attack the bugs repeatedly, eventually knocking out Frosmoth and Vikavolt.

"Hello there." Lisia talked behind Scizor alongside her Altaria who then attacked him with a Fire Blast and knocked him out.

"Chloe! Are you okay?" Roxanne asked helping her stand up.

"M-Miss Roxanne, thank you so much." Chloe stuttered.

"What happened? Who do these Pokemon belong to? Is someone following you?" Roxanne asked.

"I-I... I..."

"I think they went this way!" Lyla's voice was heard in the distance and Roxanne could see the fear in Chloe's eyes.

"You'll be safe with us, don't worry." Roxanne said to then help Chloe ride on her Probopass along with her, while Lisia rode in her Altaria and the two flew away, leaving the defeated Pokemon in the alley. Some moments later, the chasers arrived in the scene, retrieving their defeated Pokemon as they checked the place.

"Okay, one thing I'm sure of, Chloe didn't do this." Lyla said.

"Meaning that there must be more team members that helped her." Shunya added.

"That doesn't matter." Goh said grabbing the pieces of Chloe's Rotom Phone. "I'll take this with Tokio, maybe he can fix it or take some information."

"Oh, so you can call Horace by his nickname, but you can't do it with Chloe?" Lyla laughed. "And he looked soooo worried when you took that explosion from the Jigglypuff."

"Leave me alone." Goh said.

"Do you have any idea of where she could be hiding?" Shunya asked. "You know Chloe the best, is there any cave, hideout or anything that could give us clues?"

"Well, I'm not totally sure, but there's this place that..." Goh stopped talking as he thought for a moment. "No, forget it, she can't be that far, but we better split, we have to find her, one way or another.

Back in Alola.

"And now for the third battle of this challenge Ash will have to fight against Juan Adán Galano de Costa Brava Cortez, representing the Hoenn Region!" Dahlia explained as the two trainers walked to the battlefield through the tunnel.

"I suppose they made you Elite Four to replace Phoebe, right?" Ash asked.

"Correct, though I wasn't the only new addition, Drake retired recently and he was replaced by one of his trainees, Michelle."

"Michelle, huh? Yeah, I remember meeting her once." Ash said. "And who's the Sootopolis Gym Leader now?"

"That would be none other than Katie." Juan answered. "I asked Wallace if he wanted the position again, but he told me he's too busy with contests to be a Gym Leader anymore. And although I would have preferred someone with a bit more grace, Katie honestly proved herself; and I'm quite sure she'll be watching our fight as well, after all, she has mentioned you more than once."

"I see..."

"And now the roulette spins!" Dahlia shouted and the roulette ended in a slot with a droplet of water. "Looks like we're going for an aquatic battlefield!" She said as the battlefield changed again, this time turning into a pool with several platforms on it.

"This isn't funny anymore." Ash said.

"Now, don't let that bring you down, you did beat me in my Gym with this kind of battlefield before." Juan said.

"I sure did." Ash sighed but then smiled. "Let's do this."

"Trainers, release your first Pokémon!" Kukui said once they were in their spots.

"Grookey, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed and called out the starter, who stood in one of the platforms with his stick in hand.

"Then I'll go with... Kecleon!" Juan's Pokémon also landed in a platform, however, the zigzagging stripe that goes in his belly was white instead of the usual red.

"What is it gonna be now?" Ash asked.

"If both trainers are ready then the battle begins now!" Kukui shouted.

"Hammer Arm!" Ash ordered and Grookey jumped from his platform, placing his stick back in his head as both his arms were surrounded in red energy.

"Aerial Ace!" Juan answered, Kecleon's sprite suddenly went from white to a light blue and he jumped towards Grookey, the attacks met and Grookey was able to push Kecleon down again, but he quickly stood up, apparently not taking too much damage.

"Fire Blast!" Kecleon's stripe changed to an orange color as he expelled the attack, Grookey jumped into the pool to avoid the attack and then emerged from behind Kecleon, smacking him with a Branch Poke and sending him flying, but again the hit didn't do much.

"That stripe... wait, he's changing types?" Ash asked.

"So you figured it out, rather quickly." Juan said. "Yes, he's changing types, Kecleon's Ability is Protean, I tend to use him first in my battles as a way to take by surprise those who try to outsmart me with Type Advantages."

"So like Cinderace's Libero." Ash and Bea said at the same time.

"Hmmp, Grassy Surge!" Ash said and Grookey smacked his staff onto the platform and a green shockwave surrounded the battlefield, every platform turned into a small Grassy Terrain and several lily pads formed on the surface of the water. "Now Mega Kick!" Grookey used his stick as a vault pole and sent himself towards Kecleon, landing a strong kick and making him fall onto the water, but Kecleon quickly jumped out of it and stood on top of one of the lily pads.

"Branch Poke!" Grookey jumped between the lily pads as his stick elongated into a staff.

"Aqua Tail!" Kecleon's stripe turned blue and he uncurled his tail as it became surrounded in water and used it to block Grookey's attack and the two began trading hits.

"Grassy Glide!" Grookey made a quick slide surrounded in green energy and kicking Kecleon in his stomach, sending him flying into another platform while Grookey was still in a lily pad.

"Thunderbolt!" Kecleon's stripe turned yellow and he released a discharge onto the pool, with the electricity conducting through the water and the lily pads quickly reaching Grookey. "Fire Blast!"

"Block it with your staff!" Grookey spun his staff around and attempted to disperse the fire, but this pushed him out of the lily pad and onto the electrified water, but Grookey's staff suddenly elongated futher than before, becoming large enough to hit the bottom of the pool and raise Grookey quite some meters in the air.

"Uh..."

"Aerial Ace!" Kecleon started gliding and aimed at Grookey who was still on top of his staff.

"Grookey! Get out of there!" Ash told him and Grookey placed both hands in the staff, but this became even taller and took Grookey up to the point he was above the whole stadium, the height was eventually too much for Kecleon and he fell down again, but not without using the Aerial Ace to cut the long staff in half and make Grookey fall down as well.

"Use the staff as a platform and go for a Grassy Glide!" Grookey nodded and grabbed the upper half of the stick that was cut, placing his feet on it and then pushing himself out at high speed surounded by green energy towards the still falling Kecleon.

"Fire Blast!"

"Hammer Arm!" Grookey put both arms in front of him to block the fire and once he was out of it he prepared to use the attack on Kecleon, but the lizard quickly wrapped his tail around Grookey's feet, so once he landed the Hammer Arm both of them were pushed ever harder to the battlefield, breaking through one of the platforms with both of them ending up floating and defeated.

"Both Grookey and Kecleon are unable to battle! This match is a tie!" Kukui said while both trainers recalled their Pokemon.

"Fine then, my next choice is... Huntail!" Juan exclaimed as the eel came out with a laugh.

"Linoone, I choose you!" Ash released the Normal-Type in one of the platforms.

"Shock Wave on the water!" Linnone's stripes turned yellow and five arrow-shaped lightnings dove into the water electrifying it.

"Use Bounce!" Huntail jumped out of the water before the electricty could hit him and then landed onto the platform where Linoone was and smacked him with his tail, the attack was almost enough to push Linoone onto the water, but he quickly jumped from the edge and landed into another of the platforms.

"Ice Beam!" Linoone shot the move from his mouth, but Huntail jumped away and avoided it.

"Now use Clamp!" Huntail let out a roar and the water of the battlefield suddenly illuminated and several giant open clams appeared on the pool, with Huntail landing in one of them and protecting himself from the electrified water.

"Extreme Speed!" Still wanting to avoid the water, Linoone took the first step into one of the clams, but this suddenly closed itself onto him and trapped him inside.

"Ah, ah, ah." Juan smiled. "Sorry, but those clamps will close onto anyone but Huntail."

"Grass Knot!" Ash shouted and Several vines rose from platforms that were still covered by Grookey's Grassy Surge and then forced open the clam just enough to let Linoone out of it. Linoone then landed in another platform and the vines reached out to Huntail, wrapping around him and strangling him. "Shock Wave!" Linoone made the move again and the lightnings hit the trapped Huntail directly.

"Ice Fang!" Huntail bit down the vines and froze them solid to then use his tail to break them and set himself free, falling onto one of the clams again. "Scald!" Huntail opened his mouth shooting a stream of steaming water.

"Extreme Speed!" Linoone took a fast dash and avoided the water jumping between platforms and tackling down Huntail several times.

"Bounce!" Huntail smacked Linoone with his tail and pushed him onto another clam, getting the badger trapped inside it again, but he quickly used Grass Knot to open the clam and set himself free again.

"Use Ice Beam on the clams!" Linoone did as told and once he touched the clams with his move these closed shut as he froze them solid.

"Ice Fang!"

"Extreme Speed!"

Huntail jumped over Linoone and tried to bite him down, but he quickly dashed and heabutted him on the chin, pushing him away to then continue to freeze the clams.

"Now Grass Knot again! Use the clams!" The vines rose again and wrapped around the frozen clams tossing them as projectiles towards Huntail.

"Scald!" Huntail tried to use the hot water to melt down the ice, but he didn't have enough time and the frozen clams all fell on top of him.

"Extreme Speed!" Linoone broke through the ice and tackled down huntail, knocking him out completely.

"Huntail is unable to battle! Linnone is the winner!"

"Very well..." Juan recalled the fainted Huntail. "You're next, Crawdaunt!"

"Extreme Speed!"

"Night Slash!" Crawdaunt's pincers turned into two dark blades and he used them to block the Extreme Speed and then push Linoone away. "Now Swift!" The star on Crawdaunt's head illuminated and fired off a bright yellow beam, Linoone used Extreme Speed and jumped between platforms to avoid it, but the beam followed him until it finally hit him and caused an explosion, making him falll onto the water, but luckily this wasn't electrified anymore and Linoone jumped out of it to then land on a lily pad.

"Aqua Jet! Cut their space!" Crawdaunt's body became surrounded in water and he shoot himself like a rocket towards Linoone.

"Extreme Speed!" Linoone quickly avoided the hit, but Crawdaunt kept going and broke through the lily pad, he then rose from the water again and kept repeating the move until there were no lily pads left and then he landed in a platform in front of were Linoone was.

"Extreme Speed!"

"Crabhammer!" Crawdaunt's pincers became surrounded in swirling water and made a quick double jab on Linoone and pushed him back onto a platform. "Aqua Jet!" Crawdaunt dove down and slammed onto Linoone breaking through the platform and defeating the Normal-Type.

"Linoone is unable to battle! Crawdaunt is the winner!"

"Well, Ash, I think I've got an idea." Juan said. "You remember our Gym battle, right? We're both now down to 2 and 2, so I say we do an inverse of that fight."

"I think that's a good idea." Ash nodded returning Linoone and then pulling out two Poke Balls. "Kingler! Coalossal, I choose you!" Ash released Kingler in the water while Coalossal stood in one of the platforms, although he almost fell into the water and then looked at Ash with a worried look. "Don't worry, we got this!"

"My turn then. Walrein!" Juan called out the walrus which stood next to Crawdaunt.

"Looks like we'll end this with a double battle!" Dahlia said.

"Oh, I know about this." Flannery said. "Ash's Gym battle against Juan started with a double match and continued with a single battle."

"So now they're doing the opposite." Bea said.

"Walrein, use Surf!" The walrus roared and summoned a wave behind him, while Crawdaunt jumped on top of it and Kingler dove down to the pool to avoid it, Coalossal stood his ground in the platform and received the hit, his body was then surrounded by steam and his eyes turned red and he roared as his Ability Steam Engine activated. Meanwhile Crawdaunt met with Kingler in the water.

"Crabhammer!" They both shouted and their Pokemon started to hit each other with their pincers.

"Ice Ball on Coalossal!" Walrein opened his mouth and formed and ice sphere in front of ihimto then shoot it at Coalossal, but with his Ability activated, Coalossal made a huge jump and avoided the hit to then land in another platform.

"Coal Cannon!" The coal mountain on Coalossal's back erupted and then fell down like meteors damaging Walrein, who then dove down in the water to avoid them.

"Super Fang!" Walrein came out of the water to bite Coalossal, but at the same moment, Kingler grabbed Crawdaunt with his larger pincer and tossed him towards the Walrus, making him miss the mark and causing both of them to fall onto the water.

"Tar Shot!" Coalossal expelled a black sticky substance over both of Juan's Pokemon,restraining the moves of both of them. "Now Fire Blast!" Coalossal attacked again and now both Pokemon were surrounded in flames.

"Walrein, Surf!" The walrus summoned another wave from behind hem and washed themselves away

"Kingler, Wide Guard!" Kingler put himself in front of Coalossal and raised his bigger pincer, summoning a set of translucent barriers to protect them, the shields blocked the water, but then Walrein and Crawdaunt were set free from the tar and attacked both a Super Fang and a Night Slash, with both hits breaking the barrier and knocking Coalossal onto the water.

"Heavy Slam!" Walrein dove into the water outlined in silver energy and tackled down Coalossal several times as the Galar Pokemon kept sinking down and eventually hit the bottom of the pool, meanwhile back in the surface, Kingler and Crawdaunt were again attacking each other with Crabhammers.

"Swift!"

"Hyper Beam!"

Crawdaunt shot the attack from his star and Kingler did his from his bigger pincer, quickly outpowering Crawdaunt and pushing him away. "Now go and help Coalossal!" Kingler nodded and was about to dive down, but Walrein suddenly emerged from the water again and began attacking Kingler with a Super Fang, while Crawdaunt attacked him with Night Slashes from behind.

"Alright then, while they're distracted with Kingler, I should give this a try." Ash activated his new Dynamax Band and a red shockwave came out of it. "Coalossal, Gigantamax!" He shouted, but Kingler was the one to be surrounded by red energy. "Huh?" The crab started to grow in size and both Crawdaunt and Walrein dove into the water again, Kingler's legs and arms turned longer and spikier and a big beard of foaming bubbles formed around his mouth.

"COOKIE COOKIE!" Kingler roared.

"Would you look at that!" Dahlia shouted.

"Hmmp, now that I think about it, I didn't check if this stadium could hold a Dynamax fight." Kukui said taking a few steps back.

"This is the first time I see a G-Max Kingler in person." Peonia said.

"Go, Kingler!" Nessa and Lana shouted.

"Uh, sure." Ash looked his Rotom Phone for a moment to look for the moves, meanwhile Kingler dove his bigger pincer onto the pool and picked up Coalossal, leaving him on top of his head.

"Let's play big then." Juan smirked showing a Dynamax Band under his sleeve, he then recalled Walrein and his Poke Ball grew in size before he tossed it up and the now giant Walrein took place in front of Kingler, while Crawdaunt flew up with an Aqua Jet and landed on top of his head.

"Max Steelspike!" Juan ordered and Walrein roared, summoning several metal spikes that rose from the ground and hit Kingler.

"Hmmp, Coalossal, Fire Blast!" Ash answered and Coalossal attacked still from top of Kingler's head, with the stream hitting Walrein on his face, albeit without it doing much.

"Max Hailstorm!" Walrein roared again and several giant chuncks of ice went flying from his mouth to hit Kingler, who shielded himself with his bigger pincer, while Coalossal also protected himself from the ice with his Fire Blast.

"Hang in there..." Ash said.

"Max Geyser!" Walrein opened is mouth again, this time releasing a giant stream of water that caused an explosion upon contact, the attack made Kingler stumble, bu he managed to stay up, the same for Coalossal, who was stll on top of his partner's head, meanwhile Walrein descendd back to normal size and Crawdaunt landed on a platform next to her as it begn to rain due to the Max Geyser.

"Looks like Ash was just letting waste the Dynamax, but the damage is done!" Dahlia said.

"Ice Ball and Swift!" Aim for the legs!" Juan ordered and his Pokemon did as told, making Kingler stumble a bit, Coalossal tried to help by using Coal Cannon, but he was now way too wet to use the attack.

"Now's our chance! Kingler, Max Flutterby!" Kingler's eyes glowed green as giant orbs of green energy appeared in front of him, the orbs then bursted and released a swarm of green butterfly-shaped masses of energy that flew down and exploded on contact against Juan's Pokemon. "Max Strike!" Kingler rose his bigger pincer as it was surrounded by white light and then brought it down with force towards their foes.

"You have to dodge!" Juan shouted and Crawdaunt took flight with an Aqua Jet again, while Walrein dove down onto the water, but the pincer kept going down and hit Walrein crashing him onto the bottom of the pool and knocking him out, however, the impact caused a huge hole and the water of the battlefield started to drain down on it, leaving the whole place empty in less than a minute.

"Yup, we weren't ready for that." Kukui said looking at the hole. "Walrein is unable to battle!" He exclaimed, while Crawdaunt kept flying up with his Aqua Jet, going towards Coalossal who was still on top of Kingler's head.

"Scorching Sands!"

"Crabhammer!"

Coalossal spun around surrounded in hot sand, but Crawdaunt broke through it and knocked Coalossal out of Kingler's head, Kingler tried to catch him as he fell, but Crawdaunt kept hitting Coalossal with Aqua Jet from different directions, causing Kingler to miss him every time and finally let Coalossal fell roughly onto the now empty pool and fainted after the impact.

"Coalossal is unable to battle!" Kukui shouted as Ash recalled him.

"Aqua Jet!" Crawdaunt took flight towards Kingler again.

"G-max Foam Burst!" Kingler took a deep breath and expelled a giant stream of bubbles towards Crawdaunt, the attack heavily damaged, but Crawdaunt kept flying through and landed a huge hit on Kingler's forehead, pushing him back, it seemed like he was about to fall on top of the crowd, but the Giganatmax effect passed just in time and Kingler returned to his normal size, nailing his pincer into one the walls to stop his fall and then jumping on the empty pool while Crawdaunt landed in front of him with his Aqua Jet, although the lobster seemed to have been burned by the bubbles.

"Night Slash!"

"Fury Cutter!" Kingler's pincer turned into a long green blade of energy and both Pokemon slashed through each other, the two stood still for a moment, but Crawdaunt then dropped defeated and ended the battle.

"Crawdaunt is unable to battle! Kingler is the winner and the victory goes to Ash!" Kukui shouted as the stadium cheered on.

"Great job, Ash." May said in the stands clapping alongside Zoey.

"Guess he isn't champion for nothing." Zoey replied and she looked around in the crowd. "I suppose that's the family." Zoey said recognizing Skyla and seeing how she was alongside a group of girls that were talking with each other.

"He's got even more now..." May trailed off. "Flannery, you bi-"

"Hey, easy there, they all look happy honestly." Zoey said.

"You seriously don't think that what he is doing is wrong?!" May shouted.

"I'm more jealous of Ash than anything." Zoey said.

"I won't let it end like this." May said taking a picture of the group with her Rotom Phone. "I'm gonna get my happy ending."

"Not even Juan could stop him." Phoebe said in the stands next to Caitlin and Shauntal.

"You have to admit Ash has quite the talent." Caitlin said.

"Come on, Phoebe, if you hate him so much then why did you come with us to see the fights?" Shauntal asked.

"...You'll see soon." Phoebe answered looking at Acerola from afar.

"And that was crazy, gentlemen!" Dahlia shouted. "We're going for another 30 minute break and then-"

"Uh, excuse me, Miss." Kukui interrupted her. "I'm gonna need youu Microphone for a second."

"Sure!" Dahlia said.

"Alright, everyone, listen, as you all know Alola still isn't used to this kind of events." Kukui started talking. "The battlefields recieved way more damage than we calculated, so we'll have to continue this tomorrow while we fix everything and calibrate some things, so see you there."

"Oh, well, you heard him." Dahlia took the microphone again. "For now return to your homes, hold your families close and wait."

"That sounded very menacing." The other announcer said.

"Whatever, tomorrow we'll start with Bertha's battle, see you there!" Dahlia smiled.

"Very well, Ash, you are the winner." Juan said as they both left the battlefield. "You still have an impressive skill, but you're still lacking elegance."

"Well, thanks I guess." Ash answered.

"One more thing before we go our separate ways." Juan said handing over a small box to Ash. "This is a gift from Drake, once he heard I was coming for this, he asked me to give it to you if you defeated me."

"From Drake?" Ash asked opening the box. "A Dragon Scale." He said recognizing the object.

"Indeed, use it wisely, is all he said." Juan said before walking away as Ash left to the changing room again.

.

"Look like he's been up to the task so far." Goodshow said as Juan got back in the VIP room. "Great job, you three."

"It was pretty fun." Lorelei said.

"Nothing like almost burning down a whole stadium." Karen added.

"Definitely one of the best climaxes of any battle I've had." Juan added.

"That means that I'll get my turn to fight him tomorrow." Bertha replied.

"And then there's me." Marshall said.

"And me, of course." Drasna said. "After seeing the show I'm really excited, I even brought a very special Pokemon here, I wasn't intending to use it in battle, but I think he'll give the battle quite some spice."

"Then we'll pick the champion to fight him tomorrow as well." Goodshow said. "For now, let's get back to the hotel."

"Are you okay, Iris?" Clair asked her. "You've been a little silent since the situation with your Fraxure."

"Uh, y-y-yes, I'm fine." Iris stuttered. "It's just- I-I had a discussion with Ash, that's all, you know, he's such a kid."

"Hmm..." Clair simply stared at her.

"Once again, Ash surprasses the expectations." Lance said. "It'll surely be an interesting match-up if I go against him."

"Yeah, and the fact that he has so many different Pokemon makes him quite unpredictable." Diantha replied. "I'd like to fight him too, but Gardevoir really wants a rematch with his Greninja and I know Ash doesn't have it with him, so it'd feel kinda empty without him."

"What do you think, Cynthia?" Lance asked.

"Well, it'll be fun, that's the one thing I can say for sure." Cynthia answered. "You guys go to the hotel without me, I'd like to do something first."

"What exactly?" Cynthia asked.

"Nothing, just... something private." Cynthia said leaving the room.

.

"See ya tomorrow, brother!" Elaine waved at him as she left the stadium alongside Mina.

"Thanks again for coming, sis!" Ash waved back at her, while he was next to the girls. "Fine, I say we all return home for now se we c-"

"Ash!" Cynthia shouted running to him. "Ok, the battles are over for today, I have nothing else to do, can we please just talk now?!"

"Sure! I mean, the gir-"

"No! Please! I know your girls are an important part in this, but this moment has to be just you and me." Cynthia said looking at the girls. "Please promise me that none of you are going to interrupt me, okay?" She asked and the other girls simply nodded. "Great, here it goes, Ash-" Cynthia was instead interrupted by a golden shine that appeared behind her, she turned around and saw a giant golden ring that then opened a portal from where Hoopa came out.

"Hey there, Ashkan!" Hoopa greeted him.

"...I don't know why I even try." Cynthia sighed.

"Hoopa! You again?" Ash asked. "Don't tell me you're bringing me some Legendary Pokemon to help me fight an evil organization again."

"Maybe next time." Hoopa laughed. "But nope, I brought you something better today, your future wives!"

"Uh?" Ash asked.

"Hey! I never said you could introduce us like that!" Meray shouted crossing the portal, but stumbling with the lower part of the ring and ending up falling face-first onto the ground. "I'm okay." She muttered while Kimia crossed the portal wearing a metallic red backpack and then helped Meray stand back up.

"Ehem, greetings, Ash ketchum." Kimia said walking to him. "And... group of ladies, for those who don't know, my name is Kimia Mécarede, I'm the heiress of the Azoth Kingdom, in the region of Kalos, and I present myself here per Ash's request."

"The what now?" Gloria asked.

"She's the princess that Ash called." Mallow said.

"I thought a princess would dress prettier than that." Lana said.

"Yeah, she kinda looks like she came form a post-apocaliptic movie." Nessa said.

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" Kimia asked to Meray who simply shrugged shoulders.

"Girls, show some respect. This is a real princess that we have here." Acerola said. "Uh, please forgive them, your highness, they didn't mean it. It's an honor to meet you too, my name is Acerola, I, uh, I'm something of a princess myself."

"Princess of what?" Kimia asked.

"Uh... of my boyfriend." Acerola said getting Ash to blush.

"...Well, I guess that counts." Kimia said.

"And who are you? Her maid?" Lillie asked at Meray.

"Oh, I'm Meray, Meray Bohémie, just a friend of hers."

"And I'm Hoopa!" The Mythical exclaimed. "Just... Hoopa, heh."

"I'm also a friend of Ash too, we got into quite the trouble regarding this little guy." Meray said pinching Hoopa's cheeks. "But we solved it just fine."

"H-Hey, that hurts!" Hoopa complained.

"I know I accepted your request when you called me, but like I said, they'll crown me soon and I had plenty of work to do." Kimia said. "Not to mention the kingdom was in the middle of a festival, so I couldn't exactly leave, but then I remembered my friend Meray was visiting the kingdom and I asked her if Hoopa could lend me a hand.

"And well, Hoopa agreed with a little request." Meray said.

"The price, per his demand, was 25 of the best donuts in Azoth." Kimia added. "And I happily complied."

"And they were delicious!" Hoopa said.

"We actually arrived here before the first battle." Meray added. "But after hearing all the context we thought it would have been unfair to interrupt, so we decided to wait until it was all done."

"And I must say, your battle skills only grow more and more impressive." Kimia said.

"Wait, if you were already in Alola, then why did you just come through another portal?" Peonia asked.

"Kimia wanted to have a dramatic entrance." Meray said.

"I though it'd look cool." Kimia said. "Now, to what we came for, which one of you is Lillie?"

"Oh, that would be me." She said taking a step forward to princess.

"I suppose Ash explained you why he asked for my help." Kimia said.

"Of course." Lillie nodded and pulled out a Cherish Ball from where she released her Magearna.

"How interesting." Kimia said pulling out a Dream Ball and releasing her Magearna as well.

"So you captured her?" Ash asked.

"Indeed, Volcanion has been out for missions recently so he let Magearna in my care; And he also asked me to capture her just for extra safety." Kimia answered, meanwhile the two Magearna looked at each other and began mirroring their moves touching the other.

"Why are they of different colors though?" Lana asked.

"I suppose it's just a shiny." Mallow said.

"But which one is the shiny then?" Acerola asked.

"I think that instead of a shiny, they're simply different designs, Magearna is artificial after all." Kimia answered. "So Ash explained me that your Magearna seemed to react to your lost father's Z-Ring and started to track him down."

"Correct, but after several months we had no luck at all." Lillie answered.

"Allow me to me check something." Kimia approached Lillie's Magearna and pressed the inner circle in her chest, with it opening and showing a shining core. "Yes, she has a Soul-Heart." Kimia said before closing Lillie's Magearna again. "It looks exactly like the one mine has, so yours is definitely authentic, you're saying your father found her in an antique shop?"

"Uh, yeah, that's what we know at least." Lillie answered.

"Incredible, I was completely sure that my Magearna was unique, but now it turns out that Nikola made more models, who knows if there could be more Magearna out there."

"But even then, how did she end in an Antique Shop in Alola of all things?" Meray asked.

"Maybe if I fix her, we could get an answer to that." Kimia said.

"Fix her?" Lillie asked. "That means you can also help Magearna track my father?"

"I can't say for sure, but I'll do my best to help you." Kimia answered. "It does look like your Magearna was reset while she was inactive so maybe if I give her her memories back she would also function as intended, which would include that tracker."

"Thanks a lot for coming all the way here just for this, Kimia." Ash said.

"Hey, it's nothing, it was the least I could do after you helped my Kingdom." Kimia replied. "I just need a clear place where I can get to analyze her better and I'll get to work."

"You can come with us then." Lillie said. "Ash's mansion has plenty of space."

"Yeah, Korrina even set up a mini-lab while working in Ash's Key Stone, maybe you could use some of the things she brought." Flannery said.

"Wait, Ash's mansion?" Kimia asked.

"Fine then, you girls take Kimia and Meray with you." Ash said. "I'll stay with Cynthia for a while."

"Are... you sure?" Cynthia asked, Ash then smiled and held one of her hands as he started to walk away with her.

"Uh... what just happened?" Meray asked.

"We'll explain on the way." Lillie said.

"So you have nine girlfriends now." Cynthia said, with both Ash and her sitting in a bench looking at the sea.

"Yup, and I guess that'd make you quite the milestone." Ash replied making her blush. "I would have never believed if someone had told me I'd be having 10 girlfriends in a month or so."

"Yeah, quite the crazy thing to think about." Cynthia said. "And even though I don't quite mind... I still suppose it'll be a little awkward for you to date someone 10 years older than you."

"Cynthia, please, I've been managing 9 girlfriends AND other 'honorary members', I think I can stand a little age gap."

"Yeah, but it's not a 'little' age gap, it's a whole decade, Ash, I mean, Nessa's your oldest girlfriend and she's only 5 years older than you, adding 5 more it's bit of a jump and... well, I guess at the end of the day I'll always be Miss Cynthia to you."

"But I don't think that's a bad thing." Ash said. "Because I like 'Miss Cynthia'."

"Even then... I wish I had been born closer to your age." Cynthia replied.

"But I'm happy you didn't." Ash answered surprising her. "I'm honestly glad I was born later than you."

"And why is that?"

"Well, I have no doubt that you were truly amazing and pretty when you were around my age, you must have been a total knockout." Ash said. "But that Cynthia could never hold a candle to the Cynthia you are now, to your experience and wisdom. I'm glad we met when we did, because I fell in love with the person who you are now."

"You really aren't even giving all that a second thought?" A blushing Cynthia smiled. "So, that's a yes?"

"It's a yes indeed." Ash replied and Cynthia softly put their foreheads together. "Sorry for all the backdowns so far."

"It's fine, but are you totally sure that no one is gonna interrupt us?" Cynthia asked. "Boyfriend?"

"Not this time." Ash held her cheeks and the two met with a lip kiss, while Cynthia started to massage his chest. "Uh, Cynthia?"

"Easy there, I'll just make the most of it while I have you for myself, you know, before starting with all the sharing." She answered before starting to kiss him again while pressing her body against his.

"Congratulations, Cynthia." Diantha said watching the scene from afar. "...But 10th, huh?"