Surge Sparks frowned deeply when he saw his Alolan Raichu tangled between the overgrown vines.

He was pretty confident that after setting up the Electric Terrain, his victory would be guaranteed...But now? He wasn't so sure...Those vines were so thick and littered with sharp prickly thorns...And those green flames around the Ivysaur...He was convinced that he hadn't seen anything like that before.

But years of experience finally showed Surge something that he could take advantage of...Ivysaur had summoned those vines but he couldn't control them. Otherwise Raichu would have been crushed the moment he entered the binding. Narrowing his eyes Surge barked out to Raichu, "RAI! Use your Psychic to deal with the binds. Then Psyshock on Ivysaur!"

Raichu struggled for a bit before his eyes started to glow an ethereal pink color. The vines went limp and Ivysaur found whatever small amount of control he had over those vines slipping away from him. Suddenly a pulse of psychic energy sent those vines flying away as Alolan Raichu became free of his bindings.

Before Ash could command his Ivysaur to dodge, a very concentrated blast of pinkish energy slammed into Ivysaur and sent him flying to the other end of the battlefield with a thunderous boom.

It seemed whatever Overgrow boost Ivysaur received was enough to keep him awake after tanking the supereffective psychic type attack.

Meanwhile Ash on the other end of the battlefield let out a sigh...He knew this was going to happen actually. He just wanted Ivysaur to make sure to grapple Raichu in his vines once...Why? The vines were poisonous. And Raichu spent about 2 minutes struggling inside them. He must have inhaled atleast some poison.

Now...He only needed to survive until the poison takes effect. Ash was sure Kirlia could atleast stall Raichu for 10 minutes...The antennas were gone...So Raichu atleast won't be able to detect him from his clones...And even if Kirlia couldn't stall Raichu then there was Charmeleon. With his decision made, Ash quickly recalled his fallen Ivysaur into his Pokeball and took out the one for Kirlia.

The psychic fairy pokemon appeared on the battlefield with a flash and looked at Ash with a blank look that screamed, '...Okay...How much did you screw up?'

Ash would have chuckled sheepishly but...Nah. He was just that much of a bastard. With a straight face he replied, '...Quite a bit actually...Don't worry. You just need to stall...About 6 or 8 minutes or so...'

'Yeah...And that will be a piece of cake I'll guess?' Kirlia retorted sarcastically with a scowl.

'...Whatever...Just start with Double Team...'

'Fine'

And the match started.

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Apparently stalling a Raichu with Surge Surfer in electric terrain was as easy as a trying to subdue a Moxie Salamence on steroids.

The battlefield was a wreck. There was no spot on the ground that wasn't covered in poisonous vines or craters of all kinds and sizes. Kirlia was tired. And it was showing too. Only 9 of his clones remained on the battlefield trying to distract Raichu from using Psyshock on the original Kirlia.

One of the Kirlia clones teleported in front of Raichu and then teleported right back, taunting him.

Meanwhile, Surge was getting annoyed. Ash had destroyed his towers and antenna and so there was no way to distinguish original Kirlia from clones. It has been almost 4 minutes since Ash brought Kirlia onto the battlefield. Of course Surge knew what Ash was trying to do...He was stalling for time so that Ivysaur's poison could take effect.

And Surge was getting sick of it...He decided to take advantage of the Electric Terrain and end this in one go...Although the move he was about to use would be slightly taxing to Raichu...He didn't have a choice.

With his voice full of conviction Surge yelled out, "RAI! TIME TO END THIS! RISING VOLTAGE!!"

Alolan Raichu's grin enlarged as he was covered by a pulsing cloak of golden yellow electricity. All the Kirlia clones started to teleport helter-skelter as soon as thunder began to rain down on the field.

Soon enough the dome of electricity around Raichu expanded as a massive explosion shook the gym to the core...The absolute chaos that Rising Voltage rained down upon the battlefield became too much for Kirlia to handle...Slowly Ash's best friend felt his eyes become weary and unconsciousness welcome him like an old friend.

Ash sighed despondently as he recalled Kirlia with a fervent 'thank you'...It was time for the finale. With a look of fierce determination on his face, he took out Charmeleon's pokeball and released the ambitious fire lizard.

Charmeleon appeared on the battlefield with that same permanent sneer etched on his face as he spat out fire, obviously showing his eagerness.

What Charmeleon saw made him slightly nervous...But his excitement was on another level on its own and overpowered his nervousness soon enough. As soon as the referee announced the start of the last match Charmeleon jumped up eagerly and took a deep breath in...

...And rained down the hottest fire he could muster up from within his lungs onto the battlefield full of vines...Waiting to be burnt.

Yeah...Did the no-good idiot of an author ever mention that Charmeleon was a pyromaniac?

Ash let a small smile form on his face when the vines earlier planted by Ivysaur caught up fire and within moments, the entire battlefield was a raging inferno of fire and smoke. Charmeleon grinned as he saw Alolan Raichu float out of the range of flames...Obviously such a harsh fiery environment wasn't suited to a glass-canon Alolan Raichu.

'NOW Charmeleon! It's time for Smoke Screen!'

Charmeleon obediently followed his trainer's orders and let out a huge fountain of black smoke from his maw that covered the vision. Raichu squeaked quite indignantly when the tables were turned. Surge grit his teeth together when he realized one fact...

...Ash was winning the match. The kid made some mistakes. Sure. But he knew how to fix them...This was exactly the situation Ash had wanted from the start...A raging inferno of burning poisonous vines...A deep smoke screen...No antennas and towers to sense or charge up. Surge was crippled.

When Raichu started to cough and sputter in the black smoke Ash ordered his Pokemon, 'It's time for Dragon Rage!!'

Deep blue draconic flames erupted from Charmeleon's mouth and headed straight for the electric psychic pokemon who couldn't even see the attack coming thanks to the Smokescreen.

"RAICCCCCHHHHUUUUUUUU!!" The Alolan pokemon screamed out in agony when the blue draconic flames hit him point black.

'Raichu! Hang in there! Just for a minute! Rising Voltage can only be used 1 time within 5 minutes...Raichu is very tired...It would take 3 minutes to charge up another...Just endure it Raichu...' Surge thought to himself worriedly.

Charmeleon didn't stop his relentless assault and kept up on his Dragon Rage. The burning vines on the battlefield were now spreading...Poisonous fumes started to rise from the burning vines and mixed up with the Smoke Screen. Obviously the poisonous smog that was the mix of smoke screen and the toxic fumes from the burning vines didn't do anything to Charmeleon. He was a fire type bitches. Inhaling soot and smoke was just like breathing to him.

Raichu spent the 3 last minutes dodging the Dragon Rages and trying to stop the poison from acting up in his body...As soon as they 3 minutes of charging time was over...Surge decided to end it.

The blonde gym leader bellowed from the other end of the battlefield, "Raichu! Time to end this! RISING VOLTAGE!!"

'END THIS CHARMELEON!! DRAGON RAGE AND EMBER COMBO!'

And then...In the middle of the battlefield, two titans of fire and electricity collided with each other.

Charmeleon's Ember was upgraded to almost Flamethrower levels by the heat of the burning vines and coupled with Dragon Rage, devastating blue flames straight from the pits of hells itself went towards Raichu.

The electric mouse pokemon from Alola let loose a massive pulse of golden yellow electricity that was coupled by the Electric Terrain.

An enormous explosion shook the entire gym to the core and the only thing that was visible through the soot was a prominent red horn on the fire pokemon's head.

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"...Heh...Hehe...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! AHAHAHAHAHAAH!!"

The towering giant that was Surge Sparks burst out laughing when he saw the outcome of the match...Ash had won. Just by the skin of his teeth...But the 13 year old had won.

So why was Surge cackling like a maniac? Well, it wasn't everyday that a challenger walked up to him with the rarest pokemon from across all the regions to battle him 6 on 6 and yet win.

Ash really had turned the tables with his Charmeleon in the last quarter of his match.

The red lizard of fire stood in the middle of the battlefield...Grinning from ear to ear as he huffed and puffed proudly in his achievement.

'...Damn Charmeleon...Damn...' Ash Ketchum was officially speechless with the pokemon abandoned by its original trainer that he caught...What in the name of Satan's (Giratina, official Satan of pokemon) Balls was Charmander's trainer thinking when he abandoned him?

'...I would say 'You obviously don't know who you're fucking with'...But it's a little late for that...Imma settle for 'And that's why you don't fuck with the future king of dragons'...' The red fire pokemon said proudly puffing out his chest.

...Erm...Maybe a little ego-management classes were required in the future...

Up there in the stands Goldie Sparks and Sophia stood up as they walked down. Goldie with literally stars in her eyes when she thought about seeing Ash's Luxray. And Sophia with that familiar tired expression on her face...

...And an extra cute white snow fox on top of her head.

Just a few minutes later Ash and co. were standing outside the gym. Surge took out a thunder emblem from his pocket and handed it to Ash with a grin, "Well played kid. Well played. I look forward to battling you with my original team soon. HAH! That will be a match to see...Anyway. Here's the ThunderBadge and Ah!" Surge turned to his assistant who handed him an yellow disk.

Ash's eyes widened when he remembered about the TM Brock gave him...Brock had told him that Gym leaders can give TMs to trainers they find worthy...

"THIS babe is one of my favorite TMs. Rising Voltage, as you saw, can deal terrific damage in Electric Terrain. Use it wisely kid. I'd recommend it on your Luxray for sure...That's one tough dude if I've ever seen one..." Surge suggested.

Ash nodded thankfully as he accepted the TM for Rising Voltage...It was going to be a menace on the battlefield when Luxray learnt this. After a few moments of silence Ash turned to Surge and said, "...So...I guess we're pretty much done here...Goodbye Lieutenant Surge...Goodbye Goldie...I hope we'll meet again"

"Bye big brother!! I'll see you soon!!" The blonde girl on her father's shoulders waved her hand rapidly as she spoke.

Ash smiled at her and soon enough after exchanging their numbers to keep in touch, he left the gym with Sophia in tow. Ash was going to head towards the Pokemon Center but then he remembered that it was time for his impromptu travelling companion to go away. He'd even received a message the day earlier that Tulip was personally coming to pick up Sophia in a stealth helicopter just a little distance from Vermillion.

Sighing to himself when he realized that he wouldn't have the time to heal his pokemon, Ash turned to the blonde girl with the fox on her head as he spoke, "...Hey...Sophia...You know you're gonna have to go with my aunt today?"

She nodded unenthusiastically in response.

Ash sighed as he continued, "...Hey now...Don't be like that. I actually like your presence now, you know? And Snowy will miss you too...Aunt Tulip isn't that bad. The worst that can happen to you is that you'll be kept in a cell...But don't worry about anything too bad unless you refuse to give them info alright?"

The blonde girl snorted as she bit back, "Yeah, yeah...It was certainly terrific experience playing house-house with Snowy...Now if you excuse me I'm going to be taken prisoner to an unknown organization that is apparently run by your aunt. Sorry if I'm being a little doubtful..."

Ash shook his head and rolled his eyes...A ray of sunshine ain't she? He increased his walking speed a bit towards their destination of Route 8 outside Vermillion.

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When Ash reached the clearing which was marked by a red cross on his Pokedex, he was surprised...Why? There was a black military helicopter in the middle of the clearing with the familiar figure of a certain busty brunette standing outside it with a dazzling smile on her face.

Seeing Ash enter the clearing Tulip waved excitedly at him, "Hey Ashy! It's so nice to see you again!" The brown haired glasses wearing woman promptly proceeded to glomp the silver-streaked teenager into a bear-hug.

Sophia looked oddly amused when she saw the boy she'd taken a small liking to get suffocated by a pair of what could only be described as freaking watermelons...Cue teenage self-consciousness acting up when Sophia looked at her own not-so-developed pair...

'...When did I start worrying about something as inconvenient as my breast size anyway?' The blonde thought to herself blankly...Just 6 months before, in her regular 'thug-life' she had little to no time to think about her looks. Well the only time she minded about her looks was when there was a seduction and assassination mission handed to her...Now? Life seemed pretty boring actually...She even had the time to paint her nails with a nail polish that she'd cautiously borrowed from a nearby store...

When Tulip was done suffocating Ash in her bountiful pair she turned to Sophia with a smile as he spoke, "Hey Sophia. Ash told me a lot about you. So...Just so that you know, no one, no one would even touch you as long as you keep supplying us with info...And yeah, if you like I can even grant you a position as a spy in my network...I can definetly use someone of your caliber in my humble organization...Of course you'd be given some training and put on a small probation...And if you continue a good work record for some time...I may be able to pull some strings and remove the Arrest On Sight order on you..."

Sophia's eyes gleamed with interest at that...No more fear of arrest when she went out? No more bad names? No more connection to crime? A happy life in exchange for info about a team who murdered her abusive mother and forcefully taught her the ways of the assassin?

"...Count me the fuck in. Where do I sign up?"

Tulip grinned.

"...Mind your language will you? There's a little baby pokemon on your head..." Ash said with a frown when he finally noticed Snowy waking up from her nap on her 'Mama's' head.

"Oh fuck off..." Sophia huffed. Who the fuck cares about the profanities coming out of her mouth when she's going through a life altering choice?!

'*Yaaaawwwwnnnnn* Papa? What does fuck mean?' The sleepy voice of a cute fox pokemon echoed throughout the clearing.

"...Damn you Sophia...Damn you..."

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As Sophia mounted Tulip's fancy helicopter, Ash stood alone in the clearing with a single ticket in his hands...

Just a few moments ago, Tulip had entrusted him with his second mission, '...Ashy...I want to inform you that there's something fishy going on here in Vermillion. My spies have been monitoring the crime rates here in Vermillion and trust me...It's bad. Moreover, I suspect that something is going to happen in St. Anne that's coming to Vermillion this weekend. You've got 7 days to prepare. St. Anne sets sails from Vermillion harbor every 2 years. This is a rare opportunity for you AND team rocket. I believe that they will be up to something. You know, St. Anne will make stop in Vienna City which is just 8 miles south of Lavender. So you'll be able to get to Lavender easily if you get off in Vienna. I guess the trip from Vermillion to Vienna will take 1 month...The ship will make some stops at tropical islands and tourist spots after all. And just so that you know, there will be small tournament on the ship. Perfect for trainers like you. The rewards are high too. And there will be many people attending...High class people, filthy stinking rich ones...You'll meet all kinds of trainers there...So your next mission is to attend and if possible win the tournament, watch out for Rocket activity and...Discreetly 'eliminate' any threats...Got it?'

So Ash Ketchum accepted his next mission with excitement. A chance to meet and battle in a tournament? High rewards? Possible team rocket goons for Luxray to chew on? Fuck yeah! Sign him up.

After saying that and giving a final hug to Ash, Tulip had mounted her helicopter with Sophia in tow (After Sophia handed the little cute fox pokemon to Ash) and the helicopter started its engine. The black blades of the aircraft started to spin with flapping sounds as it started to rise up into the air.

Meanwhile up there on the helicopter, the former master assassin felt a slight tug in her heart when she looked down at the white fox in Ash's arms. She didn't like to admit but Vulpix had grown on her.

"Having second thoughts?" Sophia's head turned to her right to see Tulip asking her something with an amused glint in her eyes.

The blonde girl shook her head, "...No...Its just..."

"...It's Ash isn't it? Yeah...He has that effect on people around him..." Tulip chuckled quietly to herself. Sophia didn't answer her and extended her head outside the helicopter to look down at Ash for the final time,

"Hey!"

The silver-streaked boy looked up to see Sophia with her head extended out of the aircraft. Ash raised an eyebrow at her from his position on the ground. The blonde girl whose bob cut hair was swishing in the gale of the helicopter blades spoke up shyly,

"...Just...Just don't die out there...And keep Vulpix safe..."

"...Will do" Ash nodded with a very small almost unnoticeable smile...She did care after all...

Sophia huffed and tucked in her head inside the aircraft with something that resembled a pout...Couldn't that asshole be a little more enthusiastic about his response?

Tulip smiled good-naturedly at the young blonde sitting aside her. However just before she could have said a few comforting words to Sophia –

"We're good to go Ma'am!" The man flying the helicopter suddenly announced.

Tulip nodded and ordered him to go on. The man bobbed his head up and down and soon the black helicopter took to the skies.

Ash meanwhile felt the wind go through his long silvery bangs and