A Wonderful Journey

A.N:Hope you enjoy!

It was a big search, for there were two groups trying to find each other. One group included Alexia and Dawn, as they were trying to find Ash so that Pikachu could reunite with him.

The other group was Ash and Brock, as the two of them were using Ash's newly caught Starly to see if they could find the two rookie Trainers from Twinleaf Town and reunite with Pikachu.

Meanwhile, with Ash's group...

The two friends were running together before they caught sight of Starly stopping before he chirped down to them.

"Hear that, Brock?"Ash asked.

"Starly spotted something."Brock said before they took notice of an Electric Type move creating disturbance not too far from where they were. A flock of wild Starly flew away, all flying to try and escape from it.

"Check it out!"Ash said in shock.

"That's some Electric attack."Brock stated, causing Ash to realize on who it could be.

"Pikachu!"

"Are you sure it's Pikachu?"Tracey asked.

"Yeah, it could a different Electric Pokémon."Theodore said.

"The problem is that there's only one Electric Type that can be found around where they are and is Shinx, and it's unlikely you would find one as powerful as the Electric Pokémon that launched that powerful attack."Alexia explained.

Ash and Brock immediately rushed over to where the Electric attack could be seen, it turns out that it wasn't Pikachu... But an Elekid with the same Trainer that had watched Ash catch Starly earlier on. He seemed to be targeting the wild Starly as he let Elekid unleashing his attacks to stun them all. When the damage was done, he took out a Pokéball before aiming for a specific one.

"Now! Go, Pokéball!"

The ball hit a nearby Starly... but instead of capturing it, the ball was repelled as Starly already had a Trainer.

"What happen?"Michael asked.

"This is what happens when you try to catch a Pokémon that already has a trainer."Alexia answered.

"Starly! Over here!"Ash called out as Starly flew down, revealing the Trainer to be Ash, causing the boy to turn and give him a small glare for the interference.

"I'll thank you and your Starly to stay out of my way."The boy say harshly to Ash, who smile sheepishly.

Everyone frowned.

"That was rude."Ginny said.

"I didn't know anybody was here but us, really."Ash said before Brock joined them.

"It must've been his Elekid that launched the Electric attack."Brock said.

"Anyway. I've got a question for you, have you seen two girls with a Pikachu around here?"Ash asked.

"No."The boy said as he glance at Ash's Starly.

"You really think that Starly is good enough?"

"What kind of question is that?"Alicia asked.

The sudden question bewildered Ash a little as Starly tilt its head in confusion before the boy explained.

"I've watched you catch it, don't you think that you would be a lot better off if you caught the best one around?"The boy asked, causing Ash to form a glare.

"How would you even know which one is the best?"Harry asked.

"You can tell which one's the strongest?"

"Of course, look."The boy smirked before he threw three Pokéballs in the air, and all three of them were Starly.

"Why did he catch three of them? Wouldn't just one be enough?"Neville asked.

"You will soon know."Ash said.

"You have three of them!?"Ash asked in disbelief as the three Starly flew down and landed in front of their Trainer, who took out a Pokédex to give a scan.

"You must know that you can scan Pokémon that you catch with your Pokédex, to check out what moves it can use, that's what I do. I figure if you do that from the beginning, it can save you from grief on the long run."

"If you can do that then why didn't you do it too?"Seamus asked Alexia.

Alexia shrugged."I don't really care about finding out the best Pokémon, since any Pokémon with the right training can become the best."

"Same."Ash nodded.

When the scanning was complete, he took a look to see which one of the three was stronger.

"Okay, let's check it out... Aerial Ace... And the big winner is."

As he said that, he called back the three Starly before putting on of the Pokéballs away. The other two, he just stared at with disappointment on his face.

"Take a hike, I don't need you."The boy said harshly before he threw the Pokéballs in the air. The two sent out had came with blue light, indicating that they were released by their Trainer.

"That's sure a weird way to treat Pokémon."Ash said, walking over with Brock and his Pokémon by his side.

"Hey, the only attacks those two knew were Tackle and Sand Attack. So they wouldn't be much use anyway."The boy snorted, igniting a small flame in Ash as his glare didn't falter.

"Well, know what I think? Any Pokémon can be strong when you train them."Ash retorted. This, however, earned him a small smirk, irritating him even further.

Alexia nodded."Like I had say any Pokémon can be strong with the right training."

"What are you laughing about?"

"You'll find out, so... wanna battle?"The boy challenged him, which Ash immediately took.

"Sure! Let's do it!"Ash said with confidence in mind, until...

"We'll use three Pokémon."The boy said, alarming Ash.

"Three-on-three is the best way to see what type the Trainer is gonna use for their Pokémon and to see how their balance is."The boy explained, Ash frown.

"I don't... But, I've only got two."Ash said sadly, with Aipom and Starly giving frowns as they gave soft cries to slowly agree with what he was saying. But the boy wasn't impressed as he scoffed with the fewer number Ash had.

"You've gotta be kidding. Talk about pathetic."The boy grunted harshly before turning way and looked to his Elekid.

Everyone frowned.

"Is it just me or that boy remind me a bit of Malfoy."Blaise said.

"Nope."

Draco glared at them, how dare they compared him to a Mudblood!

"Elekid, let's get going."

With nothing else to say, the boy and Elekid began to walk away, leaving Ash to growl, for he knew he could've accepted the challenge if his partner was with him.

"Argh... Man, I wish Pikachu was here..."Ash growled to himself. And just when things couldn't get even more suprising, he turned to see a big Electric attack not too far from where they were.

"Ash! Did you hear that, too?"Brock asked, earning a nod from Ash, for he knew what it was.

"That's a Volt Tackle!"Ash exclaimed before he and Brock began to rush over with Starly and Aipom following. But as they ran, they didn't realize the boy heard what they were saying as he stopped.

"That's a Volt Tackle, huh?"The boy said quietly.

Meanwhile...

Alexia and Dawn were standing in front of a giant orange robot as they could hear laughter coming from inside it, making it clear that it was the morons from before.

"Why do they have a giant robot!"Dean exclaimed.

Ash shrugged."That's pretty tame compared to alot of their elaborate plan to steal Pikachu."

Pikachu, Alexia and Gardevoir sigh at the truth of that statement.

"Wow! That zap kinda tickled a little bit."Meowth chuckled.

"But, that's as far as you're going to get with the new toy of yours!"Jessie said triumphantly.

"Get a load of our new 'Super Sinnoh Slinger Mark 1A'! Not only it'll be able to withstand and deflect any attack that you can fling in our way, but being solar-powered, it fights global warming and makes us lunch!"James added.

"What does lunch have to do with anything?"

"Wobbufet!"

"..."Alexia deadpanned, what does lunch have to do with all of this?

"Hold on! Why do you want Pikachu so bad!?"Dawn demanded.

"When it comes to pinching powerful Pokémon, that Pikachu is the proverbial pièce de résistance."Jessie said.

"We've been in Pika-pursuit since you've been alive."Meowth pointed out like he was boasting.

"That makes no sense, since they've only been after Pikachu for 4 years at this point."Ash said.

"Pika. Pika pi."

"And not on of you or your pathetic teen twerpy types are going to drive a wedge between Team Rocket and our potential posse of Pokémon pros!"James said with a stern look.

"Wobbufet!"

"Mime, mime!"

"You know, you morons aren't making any sense with your babbling."Alexia said still with a deadpanned expression.

"She's not wrong."Justin said.

"Yeah? Well, too bad, twerp! We win hands down! How's this grab ya!"As he spoke, the robots' arms were shot toward them, though it was clear that they were aiming for Pikachu. Alexia quickly glanced at Dawn, who nodded.

"Piplup! Quick, use Bubble Beam!"

"Kirlia, Vulpix, Eevee! Use Psybeam, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball!"

They launched their attacks to stun the arms, it did push it back a little... but to their horror the arm deflect their attacks as they grabbed Pikachu by the arm and lifted him up.

Everyone gasped.

"How could any of these attacks have done anything!?"Many exclaimed.

"Oh no! Pikachu!"Alexia exclaimed as Pikachu tried to shock the robot with Thunderbolt, only for nothing to happen.

"Three points!"Meowth exclaimed.

"And Team Rocket wins it!"Jessie said.

"With a Pikachu pass play!"James added.

Alexia narrowed her eyes."Kirlia Teleport, get Pikachu out of there!" Kirlia nodded as she teleport right on top on the arm and immediately teleport back with Pikachu with her, leaving Team Rocket completely shocked.

Everyone laughed.

"Look at their face!"

"Did they forgot that Kirlia can Teleport?"Hermione wondered.

"They didn't see that coming."James said.

"WHAT!?"They shouted.

"Hey! That's cheating!"James yelled.

Alexia snorted."That's rich coming from you."

Team Rocket narrowed their eyes as the robots' arms were shot towards Alexia and Dawn again, but they were prepared.

"Quick guys attack them with everything you got!"Alexia exclaimed, as Piplup, Kirlia, Vulpix, Eevee and Pikachu all launched their attack against the robots, when suddenly...

"Aipom, Swift! Starly, Whirlwind!"

A call caught their attention before two Pokémon rushed in and launched their attacks! All their attacks combined as it collided with the robot, there was static going on, indicating that the robot was malfunctioning... as the robot was starting to have a few explosions done...

Everyone gasped.

"Get down!"Brock exclaimed before they all ducked down to avoid being caught by the explosion's impact. Smoke clouded the area as they could see no signs of the robot anymore... As for Team Rocket... they were sent flying into the air by their toy's explosion, having annoyed looks on their faces.

The witches and wizards are left gaping at the screen, seeing Team Rocket barely being hurt from that explosion.

"We didn't even get to have an encore!"Jessie exclaimed.

"Yeah, weren't we supposed to leave our watchers wanting more!?"James added.

"You go tell that to our writer!"Meowth snapped.

Everyone looked confused.

"What the bloody hell are they talking about?"Ron asked.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime! Mime! Mime!"

"We're blasting off again!"They exclaimed before they were no longer in their sight.

Pikachu spot the two boys that just joined as he took off toward one of them.

"Pika pi!"

"Pikachu! You're okay!"

The two embraced each other happily, ecstatic that they finally reunited with one another. Ash's other two Pokémon, Aipom and Starly went over to greet Pikachu.

Everyone smiled at their reunion.

"Right, you haven't met yet. I want you to meet Starly, who's my very first Pokémon buddy from Sinnoh, and who helped me find you."Ash explained to Pikachu.

"Starly!"

"Pika pi!"Pikachu greeted him back in a friendly manner.

By the time the introduction was done, Alexia and Dawn came over, with smiles on their faces.

"Pikachu, we did it!"Dawn exclaimed with Piplup giving his cry of content.

"I did tell you we would find him."Alexia smiled at Pikachu.

"Thank you so much, for saving my Pikachu."Ash thanked them, with a grateful expression on his face. "My name's Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and it's really great to meet you both!"

Alexia blinked... before pointing a finger at him"AAH! I know you! I've seen some of your battles in the Johto League and the Hoenn League!"

Everyone chuckled as Alexia blushed.

"You seemed so shocked."Ginny giggles.

"Well, I didn't expect to be recognize."Ash said.

Ash blushes at being recognized as he scratches the back of his head. Brock chuckles before introducing himself.

"Hi, I'm Brock."Brock said.

"Hi, guys! My name is Dawn. And this is my partner, Piplup!"Dawn introduced herself before Piplup made his own introduction with a proud look.

"Hi, I'm Alexia and this is my partner, Kirlia along with my team Eevee and Vulpix."Alexia introduced herself, Kirlia give a bow while Eevee and Vulpix let out small cry of greeting.

Ash brought out a his Pokédex, giving a quick scan of Piplup with a smile.

"So that's a Piplup, huh..."Ash said.

"Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon. It's very proud, and its thick down protects it from the cold."

"I sure hope your friends are okay after that."Ash frowned, sounding concerned.

"We're fine, my Pokémon didn't sustain much damage from that debacle. Though I'm not sure the same can be said for Piplup, who did got hit by some of their attack."Alexia sighed.

"Hey, Piplup's fine. You tell them, Piplup!"Dawn huffed before turning to her partner, who let out a cry, saying how fine he was.

"Is he? Piplup does seems to be hurt."Susan said.

"Wow, you're a though Pokémon."Ash smiled. Piplup smiled, before he suddenly started to look dizzy as he twirled around before falling on his back. The sudden fall alarmed them all.

"Piplup, no!"Dawn exclaimed as Brock knelt down to check on him.

"Obviously something's wrong big-time. I'll do everything I can to help."Brock said, as he take the weakened Piplup in his arms. Taking out his backpack, he took out what looked like a Super Potion to spray onto the wounds Piplup sustained before he made a stern expression at Dawn.

"It's important for any Trainer to always know the condition of their Pokémon."He told her, Dawn frown before she knelt down with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Piplup..."Dawn said sadly, Piplup cry reassuringly.

"Now, let's have a look at Pikachu."Brock said, before turning to the wounded Pikachu, who smiled with a grateful look.

"Hey, thanks, Brock. You're the best."Ash said softly.

Alexia nodded."I agree with you Brock is the best. Man... Just thinking about him make me miss his cooking..."

Later...

After Brock helped Pikachu and Piplup recover from their wounds, they all headed to the nearest phone booth in Route 202 to inform Prof. Rowan of their success.

"Well, that's excellent! I can't tell you how happy I am for you. Everything worked out just perfectly."The Professor said.

"Thanks, Professor."Dawn smiled before the Professor turned to Ash.

"Of course! By the way, Ash, I just received a package for from your mother."The Professor said, much to Ash's confusion.

"From my mom?"

A few minutes later...

After the phone call they were asked to return to the laboratory, as they make their way back, Dawn and Alexia were learning more about their new friends.

"Wow, Brock that's so cool you're a Pokémon Breeder. It's just like Alexia's father!"Dawn said in awe.

"Pokémon Breeder?"

"It's someone who helps raise Pokémon, who takes care of them."Alexia said.

"Isn't the name a bit misleading?"Hermione asked.

Brock turned toward Alexia."Your dad is a Breeder too?"

"Well he's retired, but yeah he was one in the past."Alexia admitted.

"Really? Well, as soon as we get back to the lab, I'll make some special Pokémon food that's perfect for your Pokémon."Brock offered.

Piplup cry in excitement as Kirlia smiled.

They suddenly heard a beeping sound, causing them to look up ahead and see Officer Jenny in her bike driving towards them with a smile on her face.

"I heard the news!"Officer Jenny said, to which Ash smiled at.

"Hey, Jenny!"Ash greeted her before the bike stopped before them.

"That's so great. How's Pikachu?"Officer Jenny asked.

"Fine! Thanks again for your help."Ash said in a grateful manner.

Suddenly Brock let out an excited grin.

"And your beauty! Your thoughtfulness knows no bounds! Thanks for helping my friend Ash in his hour of need!"Brock exclaimed while holding her hands.

"Does this happens everytime he encounter a pretty woman?"Tonks asked.

"Yes... It's worst when they are Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy."

"So, he have a thing for older woman?"

Alexia and Ash shrugged, they never really gave much thought about Brock quirk.

"Sure...?"Jenny said, who seemed baffled by his sudden advancement. Even Dawn and Alexia were completely baffled by what was happening.

"And now, i'm asking you to help me out in my hour of need! Because I need YOU!"Brock exclaimed, getting closer to the officer, who was looking rather uncomfortable.

"Ash, what's wrong with Brock?"Dawn asked him, who looked rather sheepish.

"Nothing. Not for him, anyway."Ash said.

"Does this happened often?"Alexia raised an eyebrow.

"You have no idea..."Ash sighed with a resigned look, as Pikachu had the same look.

Later...

Officer Jenny accompanied them to the Laboratory, where they parted ways from her. As soon as they got there, they reunited with the Professor, who presented Ash the package that his mom sent him. Opening it, it turned out to be clothes for him to wear.

"Wow, check out the new clothes!"Ash said in awe.

"She even put a new backpack in there, too."Brock added. And it wasn't long before Ash was in his new outfit, after he wore it he decide to contact his mother.

"That's nice of her."Lisa said.

Alexia nodded."Mrs. Ketchum is amazing."

"Pika pi!"

"I'm thrilled! Such a handsome young man!"

"That's really nice of you, mom."Ash said.

"I wanted to give them to you while you were here... but you flew out of the house in such a rush!"

"Sorry about that, mom. But everything's going just great here in Sinnoh, and I can't tell you how psyched I am!"

"Well, if you don't take Team Rocket into account then it wasn't that bad."

"Well, I can see that! You did call Prof. Oak and tell him Pikachu's safe, right?"

At the reminder, Ash froze in realization, as his eyes widened.

A few minutes later...

After finishing his call with his mother, he quickly call Professor Oak.

"I appreciate you letting me know the good news, young man."Prof. Oak said.

"And this is Dawn and Alexia! They're the ones that saved Pikachu."Ash explained.

"It's a real honor to meet you, sir!"Dawn stated, soon followed by Alexia.

"It's nice to meet you, Professor."Alexia smiled.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both! You two are brand new Trainers, are you not?"Prof. Oak asked.

"Yes. we are."Alexia nodded.

"I hope you don't mind... You love Pokémon poetry, don't you?"Dawn asked, startling both Ash and Brock.

"Yes, I do!"Prof. Oak smiled.

"Awesome! Does that mean you know all the Pokémon poets?"Dawn asked Ash in awe, Alexia sweat dropped at her best friend question.

Some were a bit confused at the question.

"What?"

"How could he know all the poets?"

"Dawn, he's a Pokémon Professor, and not a Pokémon poet."Alexia said.

"Right, he's just like Prof. Rowan."Ash nodded.

"But how come I always seen him on TV reading poems?"Dawn asked, leaving Ash to scratch the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"Maybe because he loves poetry and it's just a hobby!"

"How come? Well..."Ash struggled to respond until Prof. Rowan came over.

"Say, perhaps the good Professor and I should have a little discussion."Prof. Rowan suggested, catching the Kanto region Professor, who smiled and greeted his colleague.

"Well, well! Professor! Say, Ash, may I speak with him for a moment?"Prof. Oak asked.

"Sure!"Ash nodded, as they all got out of the way to let the two men speak with one another.

"Perhaps you could spend little less time reading Pokémon poetry on TV and more time doing your research, eh, Samuel?"Prof. Rowan asked.

"Right! I'll do that!"

Everyone chuckles slightly.

By the time they continued conversing with one another, the gang were at the lobby waiting for them to finish their talk.

"Those two must go way back."Brock said.

"Guess so."Ash nodded.

"So, what are you two doing here, anyway?"Dawn asked them.

"Well, I came here so I could compete in the Sinnoh League and win!"Ash answered.

"The Sinnoh League, huh? I guess that's mean we are going to be rivals, since I'm hoping to compete too, with Kirlia."Alexia smirked.

"It wasn't much of a rivalry compare to Paul"Alexia muttered.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short."Ash smiled, Alexia blushed slightly at his smile.

"Pika..."Pikachu sighed, as Gardevoir nodded agreeing with him, with how much they dance around each other while they were travelling Sinnoh they should have got together at this point.

"Oh yeah? That's great!"Ash smirked back, as Brock took out what seemed to be a guidebook about the Sinnoh region.

"Okay, it looks like the closest Gym to Sandgem Town is Oreburgh City, Jubilife City's right on the way."Brock said.

"That's awesome! Can we come along?"Dawn asked, catching Ash and Brock by surprise."I want to be the number one Contest Coordinator! And the first Contest I wanna compete in is in Jubilife City!"

"That's great! Come along! When it comes to traveling, the more the merrier, I say."Ash smiled.

"Pikachu!"

"Brock, what do you think?"Ash asked him.

"Of course! It'd be a lot of fun."Brock said.

Kirlia nodded as Piplup, Aipom, Eevee, Vulpix and Starly all ran over them, sounding like they all preferred traveling together as a group.

"It looks like everybody agrees!"Ash pointed out.

"And we'll get to spend some more time with Pikachu."Alexia said, earning a smile from him, who let out a cry of content.

Everyone smiled at how excited the Pokémon were, they all find them interesting and can't wait to learn more about them.

Soon, all of them had their bags ready before they called back their Pokémon back to their Pokéballs, except for Pikachu and Kirlia, who remained on Ash's shoulder while Kirlia remained in Alexia's arms.

"Okay, we're all set. Let's go!"Ash said.

"Hold on. Aren't you going to put Pikachu in a Pokéball, too?"Dawn asked.

"Nah, Pikachu hates traveling that way when my shoulder's much more fun."Ash chuckled, which Pikachu gave a nod.

Alexia nodded."Kirlia is the same, she much preferred traveling by my side instead in side of a Pokéball."

"That's Amazing."Dawn said, as Prof. Rowan came over.

"Why did she even asked the question since wouldn't she know already with you being her best friend?"

"You'll learn that there are as many different Pokémon personalities as there are Pokémon."Prof. Rowan said.

The four of them began to walk out of the lab together with the Professor seeing them out, but the moment they got out, they got surprise when they noticed a Trainer up ahead with his arms folded.

"Yes, who are you?"Prof. Rowan asked, causing the Trainer to step up.

"The name's Paul. And from the looks of things, you must be Prof. Rowan... I have been waiting for him."Paul introduced himself before glancing at Ash, who blinked in surprise.

"For me?"

"You've got three Pokémon now. Wanna battle?"Paul challenged him. Pikachu glare, as Ash seemed to notice before smiling and turning to face his new opponent.

"Sure! I'm ready! I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master and the way to do that is to beat challengers like you!"Ash declared.

"Mm! Then off to my back garden."The Professor suggested, as they all made their way there.

A few minutes later...

Dawn and Alexia stood at the side with Prof. Rowan, while Ash was getting ready to battle Paul, who looked calm and unfazed.

"I'll be the referee."Brock announced, taking his position.

"This is great! I've never seen a real Pokémon battle before."Dawn said, sounding Excited. As Alexia was watching with anticipation with Kirlia in her arms.

The students were excited to see a real Pokémon battle, they've seen Alexia and Dawn battle wild Pokémon and even Team Rocket Pokémon, but now they're going to see what an official battle is like.

"Well, you're seeing one now! So hold on to your hat!"Ash said, to which Paul chuckled at.

"What's so funny, Paul?"Ash demanded.

"Just that you talk like such a little kid."Paul said, Alexia frowned.

"Oh yeah!?"

"Yeah. Okay, like I said before, this is gonna be a three-on-three battle with no substitutions, and the one with two wins first is the winner. Got it?"Paul smirked.

"What does no substitutions means?"Colin asked.

"It means that they won't be able to return and change their Pokémon mid battle."Alexia answered.

"I got it! Starly, I choose you!"Ash called out, sending out Starly as his first pokémon.

"Now, Starly, stand by. I choose you!"Paul responded, sending out his own.

"He got one too..."Alexia muttered.

Paul: Starly+2 VS Ash: Starly+2

"Okay, Ash... I'll let you go first."Paul offered.

"Why would he offered you to go first?"

"Doesn't that put him at disadvantage?"Neville asked.

"Maybe he have a plan."Padma said.

"Right! Starly, use Quick Attack!"

The battle begun as Ash's Starly made the opening move, striking at Paul's Starly with the speedy attack, the move made a hit, knocking the opponent's away.

"What the heck? Why didn't he told his Pokémon to dodge?"

"It's a hit!"Dawn exclaimed.

Alexia nodded."True, but it doesn't look like it did much damage..."

"I think Paul is just testing Ash's Starly's attack power."Prof. Rowan commented, catching Dawn and Alexia attention.

"So, that's why he didn't have his Pokémon dodge."Dean said.

"Still, that's was a pretty risky move."Hermione said.

"Starly, Aerial Ace!"

Paul's Starly responded, by slamming into Ash's Starly, who shrieked in pain as he took the hit hard.

"Starly, Wing Attack, go!"Ash shouted out, having his Starly ready his wings to strike. But in the middle of his attack...

"Quick, Double Team!"

Clones of Paul's Starly appeared altogether, startling Ash's Starly. But while he was confused as to which was the real one, Paul's Starly flew in from behind. Ash noticed it coming as he tried to have his Pokémon evade.

"The real one's in the back! Dodge it now!"

"Aerial Ace!"

WHAM!

The Aerial Ace hit its mark again, causing Ash's Starly to flutter down and take the first fall, looking unconscious from the hit he took.

"Ash's Starly is unable to battle! Paul's Starly is the winner!"Brock announced.

Everyone were shocked at how quickly the battle end.

"All it took was two attack..."Harry said.

Paul: 1 Win / Ash: 0 Win

"Oh no... Poor Starly."Dawn frowned.

"Don't worry, Ash hasn't lost yet..."Alexia said, as they watched the battle go on as both sides called back their Pokémon.

"Starly, return now! You were great, Starly."Ash said, praising his defeated Pokémon. But for Paul, he simply narrowed his eyes before speaking up.

"I think I figured out your battle style. You cover up your weak attacks by pushing. And when you combine that with a lame-o strategy like yours. I can't help but feel sorry for any Pokémon who gets stuck with a lousy Trainer like you! That's all you've got!?"Paul snorted.

"That guy doesn't sound nice... And I thought that was a good fight."Justin said.

"Same, guess he doesn't think it was."Theodore said.

Alexia frowned, 'What's up with that guy?' she thought.

Ash didn't seem too concerned with the blunt insult to his battling skills as he already had another Pokéball ready in his hand.

"Now, Aipom! You're up next!"

"Stand by, Chimchar!"

The two Pokémon appeared from their Pokéballs, with Ash looking surprised by the appearance of Chimchar.

"A Chimchar?"Ash said, taking out his Pokédex.

"Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon. Chimchar easily climbs the sheerest of walls and lives on mountain tops. When it sleeps, its flames go out."

"Isn't that nice? You got your Chimchar lesson for today."Paul snorted with a sneer, earning ire from Ash.

"Is it just me or that boy remind me a bit of Malfoy."Blaise said.

"Nope."

Draco glared at them, how dare they compared him to a Mudblood!

"Now! Swift, Aipom!"

"Ember!"

The two attacks were shot, canceling each other out. And in the midst of it, Ash was already having Aipom prepare the next attack.

"Focus Punch, go!"Ash shouted out.

In his command, Aipom readied her focus on her tail, preparing to deliver a wicked attack, but in Paul's case, it was an opening for him to take.

"Use Flame Wheel!"

With Chimchar's speed, he bashed into Aipom, who shrieked in pain. And what's worse, was that the focus for Focus Punch faded away.

"That Focus Punch disappeared."Dawn gasped.

"Yes, if a Pokémon is using Focus Punch and gets attacked before it's complete, the attack can't be finished."Prof. Rowan explained.

"So that's why Aipom was widened open."

"Couldn't Aipom just dodged?"Terry asked.

"I don't think so, since Aipom need to focus if she had dodge she might have lost her focus."

"Does that mean Aipom is in trouble?"

"For now, but I'm sure Ash will find a way to make a comeback out of all of this. He did battle with many opponents before."Alexia said.

"Not a good choice of attacks, Ash. Chimchar, go!"Paul called out, having his Pokémon ready another attack, to with Ash countered with a defensive move.

"Double Team, Aipom!"

Just like with what happened in the first round, Aipom created clones of herself to try and confuse her opponent. But Paul looked ready for that as he had his countermeasure ready.

"Ember!"

The fireballs quickly made the clones disappear, surprising Ash for how fast Paul responded to his countermove.

"Wow, he's pretty good for a new trainer."Cedric said.

"He's not a new trainer."Alexia shakes her head.

"Really?"

"Yeah! We learn later on that he traveled to other regions before Sinnoh."Ash nodded.

"Uh oh!"

"Now use Scratch!"

The Scratch attacks made their mark, stunning and damaging Aipom even further.

"What are you doing!? Fight back!"Alexia exclaimed.

"Right! Focus Punch again, Aipom!"Ash called out, having Aipom ready another big move. But like the first time, Paul prepared to interfere with the charge once again.

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel!"

It was like a repeat of the first time when the fire attack began to pick up speed and get closer to Aipom, who was still in the middle of focusing her attack.

"Just wait! That's it!"Ash called out, catching his opponent's attention.

"What!?"Many exclaimed.

"What's he up to?"

Alexia frowned, wondering what was Ash planning to do?

"Now, jump and then dodge!"

Using her paw, Aipom sprung up to evade the Flame Wheel, allowing the focus to be complete.

"HIT IT!"

Under his command, Aipom slammed the powerful attack onto Chimchar, who shrieked from the big hit, the impact was strong enough to knock the little guy out, while Aipom was left standing.

"Chimchar's unable to battle! Aipom's the winner!"Brock announced.

The students cheered.

"That was so cool!"Many first years said in awe.

Michael smiled."There's only one battle left, he still have chance to win it."

Paul: 1 Win / Ash: 1 Win

"All right!" Dawn and Alexia exclaimed in unison, seeing Ash was able to grab the second round victory.

"Okay, Chimchar... Return."Paul grunt, returning Chimchar back to his Pokéball, as he did... "You're still just as useless as can be..."He snorted.

Everyone frowned.

"What's wrong him! Chimchar did pretty good!"Anthony said.

"Yeah!"

Alexia glared at Paul, first he insulted Ash battling skills and now he's insulting his own Pokémon! She shook her head, trying to cool herself off... not wanting to let him get to her.

The Marauder flinched when they saw Alexia's glare.

"Oh shit, she definitely got that from Lily."Sirius muttered to his best friend who nodded.

"Aipom, Return! You were awesome!"Ash said with a smile, praising his Pokémon for the win. Alexia smiled softly admiring how whether he win or lose he still praise his Pokémon.

"It looks like it's a one-on-one!"

Paul didn't say anything but simply watched before Ash turned to Pikachu.

"Pikachu, it's you and me. Ready?"Ash asked him.

"Pika!"Pikachu nodded before he took his place on the battlefield. As for Paul...

"Flaa-ffy Flaa!""C-Chiko..."Flaaffy cheers for her new friends, and even Chikorita does so shyly.

"Osha!" "Dove!"

"Pika."Pikachu smiled at his friend.

"Okay! Stand by, Elekid!"

An Elekid appeared from its Pokéball.

"Elekid, how cool!"Dawn smiled, before she took a quick scan with her Pokédex.

Elekid, the Electric Pokémon. Elekid waves its arms to produce a strong electrical charge and gains strength when lightning is present.

"Is Pikachu the one who does Volt Tackle?"Paul asked.

"Yeah? So what?"Ash shot back.

"So nothing!"Paul smirked, before Ash began the final round with the first move as usual.

"All right, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"

Without wasting another second, Pikachu unleashed his attack, which hit Elekid directly. But as Elekid took it... it didn't look faze at all.

"Is he testing Pikachu power like he had done with Starly?"Hannah asked.

"Not exactly."Alexia said.

"It doesn't look it did a thing."Dawn said surprised.

"It did... Electric Type attacks don't do much damage on the same type, but... I have a feeling that's what Paul was waiting for."Alexia said, earning confusion looks from Dawn.

"Thunder, go!"

With a quick jump, Elekid launched an all-powerful Thunder! But unlike how Elekid took Thunderbolt, Pikachu looked like he was taking a large amount of damage from the attack.

"Whoa! Elekid sure is powerful!"Dawn said in awe.

"Pikachu, are you okay?"Ash asked, watching his partner skid back from the impact.

"Pikachu..."

"Of course, there's a reason I let you go first."Paul said, earning glares from both Ash and Pikachu.

Everyone frowned, wondering where he was going with that.

"What?"

"Pika?"

"I let you start, so that Elekid and I can used the energy from your Pikachu's Thunderbolt to supercharge our Thunder."Paul smirked.

Everyone eyes widened.

"That's smart using Pikachu own attack to powerup his own Pokémon electric attack."Hermione said.

"Did he plan that from the beginning?"Ginny wondered.

"Most likely."Harry shrugged.

"Whoa... That's what you meant by saying that that's what he wanted?"

"Yeah... it goes to show that Paul might not be an average Trainer like we may had thought..."Alexia said.

"We'll see how smart you are! Volt Tackle!"

With the electrical surrounding his body, Pikachu rushed forward to deliver a quick and powerful attack. But as unfazed as he's always, Paul called out a countermove.

"Elekid, Protect!"

A barrier formed around Elekid, knocking Pikachu backwards.

Alexia winced."That must have hurt..."

"But how did that happen?"Dawn asked.

"Well, Volt Tackle can cause damage to the one being attacked and the one attacking. And by using Protect to avoid all its damage... that was very clever."Prof. Rowan said.

The situation is growing dire... Pikachu looks like he's the one that substained the most damage so far. The backslah from Volt Tackle and the big shock he took from thunder was proof of that.

Some gasped in worried for Pikachu, seeing how badly hurt he was compared to Elekid.

"Oh no..."A first year gasped.

"This going to be even more hard to comeback from this."Harry said.

Hermione nodded."I don't think they have much of a chance to win with how easily Paul was able to counter Ash."

"Are we done yet?"Paul asked with folded arms, sounding as if he had enough of this battle already. Elekid seemed to feel the same as he had a smug look on his face. For Pikachu, he struggled to get up, making his trainer concerned for his condition.

"Pikachu, how do you feel?"Ash asked him.

"Pika.."Pikachu said with a determined look.

Everyone watching in awe seeing Pikachu not giving up.

"Give up."Paul demanded with an unimpressed sneer, only for Ash to respond...

"No way! Are you kidding? Iron Tail!"

"Use Brick Break!"

The two Electric Types charged at each other before the fist and tail clashed with one another, struggling to try and overpower one another.

The tension raised in Great Hall as everyone were holding their breath wondering who would win the match.

"I hate to bring bad news. Your Pikachu seems to be all turned around... But Elekid's got a free arm."Paul reminded Ash, catching him by surprise.

"Thunder Punch, now!"

"Not so fast! Iron Tail's still on the way!"

With the left fist readying a Thunder Punch, Elekid swung... but missed! Pikachu managed to dodge out of the way before negating Thunder Punch's impact... and knocking Elekid away with Iron Tail.

"Yeah! Pikachu!"Ash grinned.

"Don't let your guard down!"Alexia quickly warned him.

"Come on! Brick Break again!"Paul exclaimed, having Elekid slam its fist at Pikachu again.

"Pikachu!"Ash gasped, seeing his Pokémon take the hit. The two Electric Types glared at one another... before both slides slowly began to fall.

THUD! THUD!

Brock noticed the condition of both sides before he made the announcement.

"We have a tie! Both sides are unable to battle!"Brock announced.

Everyone were shocked that in end in a draw.

"Man this was so intense!"Blaise said.

"Is this always like that when battling?"Hestia asked.

"Yes, but I wil l say that League battle and even Gym battle can be even more intense then this."Alexia said, Ash nodded agreeing with her.

DRAW

"Wow... Guess that means they're equally strong!"Dawn said in awe, as for Alexia frowned not sure what to think.

"All right, Elekid... Return."Paul said, returning his unconscious Pokémon.

"Pikachu..."Ash frowned, holding his beaten partner in his arms before Brock came over.

"That sure looked like a draw to me."Brock said.

"Well, not me. Pikachu was the first to go down. We lost... Isn't that right?"Ash said before facing Paul, who didn't seem satisfied at all.

Everyone was surprised by his humility, as some people admit they wouldn't be as humble as he is after a defeat.

"That's pretty humble of you."Andromeda said, Ash blushes while Alexia smiles softly, for it's a quality she loves in him.

"It was called as a tie. A tie it is."Paul said with indifference in his tone.

As Dawn, Alexia and Prof. Rowan came over, Paul took out a Pokéball before throwing it in the air... revealing the Starly that battled. But the strange thing was... instead of the usual white light, a blue light formed as it came out. Meaning he was releasing it!

Everyone gasped.

"Why did he release Starly?"

"What'd you do that for!?"Ash demanded with a glare.

"There's a million Starly as strong as that one. Soon as I run across a stronger, I'll just grab it."Paul declared with a snort, catching everyone attention.

"How can he say that!"Many cried in outrage.

"What a jerk."Ginny muttered.

"You'll just what!?"Ash snapped.

"How can he just say that?"Alexia asked with widened eyes in disbelief. Taking no heed to the glares they were giving him, Paul turned to the Professor.

"Professor... Thanks for the use of the field. I appreciate it."Paul said, giving a small bow. Prof. Rowan simple nodded, allowing the Trainer to take his leave. But for Ash, he looked as if he wasn't done with his battle yet...

"Come on, wait! Let's battle again, Paul!"Ash called out, as Alexia placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Just let it go for now... You won't be able to battle with the damage that your Pokémon took today."Alexia said.

"She's right, you should prioritise your Pokémon health."Susan said, Ash sighed, knowing they were right as he was blinded by anger, he was glad Alexia had been able to get through him before he did something he'd end up regretting.

"But...!"

"There's always a chance that we'll meet up with him again. And if we do, you'll get your opportunity for a rematch. For now, just let him be."Alexia said. What she had say was enough to make him him standby as they all watched him go, leaving them puzzled to what Paul's really thinking about.

Alexia's Team:

Kirlia (F) -Psybeam, Magical Leaf, Teleport, Double Team-

Vulpix (F) -Flamethrower, Energy Ball, Double Team, Quick Attack-

Eevee (F) -Undecided-