Ash frowned at hearing that match. He never expected to be facing anyone from his past so soon. Especially since this was the first round of the tournament. "It's really them?" He questioned in mild annoyance.

Anabel nodded, which earned a groan from Ash. "Ugh! Why did it have to be first round!"

"Just our luck I guess." Anabel muttered aloud.

"Well what about the others?" Ash asked curiously.

"Bonnie managed to get Sawyer like you said, and they are facing some random duo. Callum and Gloria are dealing with Pryce and Morty from Johto. Lillie is also facing another random duo, but the kicker is that Lillie is partnered with Hau."

"Really?" Ash asked mildly surprised.

"Mhm. You'll have to ask her tomorrow." Anabel said.

"What about the other brains?" Ash wondered.

"Nothing too special from what Lucy told me earlier, besides Thorton and Tucker getting Erika and Sabrina from the Kanto gym circuit. So it looks like you and I might have pulled the most interesting match." Anabel decided.

Ash nodded. "Seems like it. Why is Serena even in this tournament... more importantly, past the first round?"

"Well Caitlyn watched that match and told me that her opponent forfeited because of her title." Anabel inferred.

Ash's eye visibly twitched in anger. "...seriously?"

"Seriously."

Anabel could feel the malice coming off of Ash. Normally, this would scare anyone normal, but the topic of his old friends getting title privileges has has always had an effect on him. His mood hardly affected the Salon Maiden, considering she had her own opinions about the group as well. "I'm going to enjoy beating those two."

"Same here." Anabel stated casually as Pikachu and Espeon voiced their agreement from the background. "Not like they will be a challenge anyways."

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Ash and Anabel tossed each other confused looks as Ash went and opened the door. Standing in the doorway as he opened it was a familiar young blonde who was giving a wondering look to the Castle Guardian.

"You guys did see your match for tomorrow, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. Your brother and Serena are on our hit list now." Ash stated bluntly, before he realized something. "Wait a second. How did you even get here?!" He questioned.

The Kalos native gave a sheepish glance. "Umm... I had some help." She pointed behind her, where Ash noticed that Callum and Gloria were standing there with amused expressions on their faces.

"How did you two even get up here?" Ash questioned.

"Being a Pokemon Ranger has some advantages, though not very many. After we saw the list, we really just came up here to make sure you didn't blow up anything." Callum explained, his smirk not leaving his face.

Ash scowled. "Hey! I actually have control over my aura now, thank you!" He shot.

"You'd still do it unintentionally." Gloria giggled.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He turned his attention back to Bonnie. "Anyways, we'll be fine. Just don't be surprised if your brother is really annoyed for the next few days."

"Alright then." Then she saw Anabel through the doorway and smirked mischievously. "Sharing a room I see. How did you pull that off?"

Ash shrugged the comment off. "You can ask Scott. His plans changed when everyone started picking their roommates before Anabel and I got there."

"You sure they didn't do it on purpose?" Bonnie asked snidely.

Ash groaned as Anabel blushed in the background. "Go to bed Bonnie." He closed the door in front of her while Bonnie stood there with a large grin on her face before leaving, followed by Callum and Gloria who were laughing the entire time.

Ash sighed as he walked over to Anabel. "Sorry about that. You alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I can deal with it." Anabel stated as her blush started going down.

"Still though. I think it's going to be a long tournament." Ash stated as he sat back down.

. . . . . . . .

Morning arose quickly for Ash and Anabel, as their match is one of the first ones to start for the day. They got ready in their Battle Frontier attire, Ash not dawning his cloak, and snagged a quick breakfast by the hotel lobby before taking off for the stadium to battle.

As they were on their way, Anabel realized something. "Hey Ash?"

Ash was petting Pikachu, but responded anyways. "Yeah?"

"I was doing a bit of reading up on Aura, and I was curious. Can you telepathically communicate with your Pokemon through Aura?" Anabel asked.

Ash paused for a second. "Where did you hear that?"

"A website speaking about the subject. It wasn't exactly clear, and by that I mean not clear at all, on how the flow of Aura works. But I did read a part that was supposedly from an ancient text that stated, 'So long as the bonds are true, the people of Aura do not need words to speak with those close to them.'" She explained. Ash sighed and stopped petting Pikachu.

"I'm surprised you pieced that much together in one day, but then again, you've always been smarter than me. Yes, I can speak with them through Aura. But I don't dare use it in battle." Ash said.

"Why not?" Anabel wondered aloud.

Ash laughed. "Cause that's your thing. Plus it's hard for me to keep that concentration for very long. I've only been at this for a year after all."

"So your Aura would get stronger if you practiced it over time." Anabel surmised.

"Bingo. But I don't dare go at it for a long time. If I did, I could die from Aura depletion. It's a risky art, but mastering it helps prevent accidents." Ash exclaimed.

"Well that's good to know." Anabel stated. "I was curious."

Ash shrugged. "Okay then."

Anabel looked around and saw no person in sight, so decided to be a little bold. She turned to Ash, who was back to petting Pikachu. And before Ash realized what she was doing, he felt something soft hit his cheek, stunning him. Anabel was blushing as she pulled back, but giggled a bit at Ash's reaction before moving on.

Ash's cheeks grew red as he felt the spot on his left cheek where Anabel's lips hit him. He was shocked that she even attempted that, but couldn't help but smile at her before they continued on.

Meanwhile, hidden in a nearby tree, a blonde was giggling to herself. "I knew they just needed alone time for it to work."

She turned to a Ghost Pokemon hidden under a colored rag that resembled a certain electric mouse next to her. "Thanks for scaring the crowd off Mimikyu. Though I don't know how you did it."

"Kyukyukyukyu." The ghost type giggled evily. That was one cat that would never escape the bag.

. . . . . . . .

Waiting for their names to be called, Ash and Anabel stood below the stadium, where the platform would take them up to the field. They had materialized the Poke Balls of the Pokemon they planned to use prior to arriving, as to not flaunt Professor Oak's invention before its scheduled release next year.

Ash was fiddling with the Poke Ball of the only Pokemon he planned to use on the two Kalos natives. "I give it close to ten. You?"

Anabel was looking through a bit of info on her wrist dex while just across from Ash. "Ten as well. Fifteen if those two won't shut up the whole battle." She decided, almost certain that those two will have a few choice things to say about them when they get up there.

"Fair enough. Clemont does love to rant. Especially about his inventions before they explode." Ash mused.

"It just better not take half an hour. We have a meeting to get to with Scott and the others at noon." Anabel informed him.

"Yeah I got that message a few minutes ago. But knowing Serena and Clemont as a pair, the battle shouldn't take that long." Ash assured her. "Besides, Serena isn't even a battler. We'll be fine."

"Will Frontier Brains Ash and Anabel please step up on the platform?" The intercom sounded.

Ash and Anabel nodded to each other as they stepped onto the platform, flashing brief smiles for reassurance as they prepare to meet their demons.

. . . . . . . .

"So why did you drag us out here? Some of our matches are in an hour you know." An emo-looking blonde with emerald eyes demanded.

Lillie grinned. "Trust me. You don't want to miss this match." She promised them.

Olivia frowned. "And the reason being?"

"Let's just say we have an old friend in this match." Lillie hinted.

Acerola pulled out the battle schedule for today and skimmed through the list until she found the right stadium number. "Let's see. Ten o'clock in stadium 5 is..."

Then she froze up for a brief moment before closing it quickly. For a ghost type trainer, she also seemed extremely pale all of the sudden. Her body shook a slight amount as a small tear started to form in her left eye. Her mouth hung open as her mind attempted to catch up with what she read.

Everyone noticed Acerola's sudden change in expression and grew a bit more anxious to find out. "What was it?" Hapu asked.

Acerola didn't answer Hapu's question. Instead she looked at Lillie with pleading eyes. "Please... say this isn't a joke." She begged her.

Lillie smiled. "No it's not. I faced him myself."

The ghost trainer sighed in relief. "Thank Arceus. I can't believe it." She muttered.

Everyone else lacked a list, so all they did was shoot confused looks at the pair. They decided best thing would be to wait for the surprise to come to them.

. . . . . . . .

The platforms rose up to reveal the red corner first. Them being the Kalos natives themselves.

"And up now, we have our red corner. First up, we have two people from Kalos. The beautiful Kalos Queen, Serena Yvonne. And next to her, the electrifying inventor of Lumiose City, and their very own gym leader, Clemont." The announcer stated.

Everyone cheered for the pair as they waved to their fans with smiles on their faces. Then Clemont turned to Serena. "So do you know who our opponents are?"

Serena frowned. "I thought you knew." She responded.

"I misplaced my list, so the most I could learn without it was our battle was at ten." Clemont told her. "I don't know who they are."

"Well I don't know either."

"And in the blue corner, we have two battling legends from Kanto entering the field. Up first, we have a person with a rare special skill, who is higher ranked in her line of work, dawning the Ability Symbol in the Battle Frontier, we have Salon Maiden Anabel."

As the platform rose up, it showed the Salon Maiden along with her partner next to her. And after seeing her, they glanced at the partner. Serena and Clemont began to widen their eyes in surprise.

"Is that-" Serena started.

"And her partner is a talented individual, who has gained some of the most achievements for his age. He was high ranked in seven league conferences, beating the Orange League, and conquering the Battle Frontier before joining it. One who represents the achievements of bonds between people and Pokemon, dawning the Passion Symbol, we have the Castle Guardian Ash."

. . . . . . . .

The Alolan trainers dropped their jaws. They were speechless as to the revelation taking place before them. None of them could believe that their long time companion was alive and in such a position.

"You're joking! Ash is still alive?!" Mallow cried out.

"A Frontier Brain!? But how?!" Lana yelled as she recovered from her initial shock.

"Wait a second. Lillie, if he's a Frontier Brain, then does that mean-" Gladion started.

"I already fought him." Lillie stated, her eyes not leaving the pair on the field. "He beat me, but I didn't exactly make it a challenge for him."

"What do you mean?" Kahili asked.

Lillie shook her head. "I lost my cool during the match. And also, I don't think he wanted me to win that match as much as he wanted me to learn something from it."

"Huh... well did you learn it?" Hapu asked.

"I...I think so. I think that he wanted to help me remember what I learned from him back in Alola." Lillie assumed. "During our battle, I was losing myself cause he defeated my Flareon with his Scizor before I landed a hit."

The Alolans gawked momentarily before Lillie continued. "He then told me that if I couldn't stay confident, then the battle was already over. He said my Pokemon could feel my emotions, so if I was losing it, my Pokemon would too. I gained control back, but by the time I realized, it was too late and Ash had already pulled too far ahead for me to win."

"Wow... if Ash is that strong, then I don't know if I'll win this time around." Hau exclaimed, most of the Alolans nodding in agreement.

. . . . . . . .

As the crowd roared for them, an all too familiar, yet infamous group stood in the stands shocked at the revelation. Witnessing a ghost return not only surprised them, but they were shook and a bit annoyed that he happened to be in such a high battling position.

"Did you guys know about this?" Paul demanded, looking at everyone in the stands.

All the group shook their heads as they looked down at the pair with glares. Apparently nobody bothered to look at the matchups for today.

"Did Clemont and Serena know about it then?" May wondered.

Trip eyed the Kalos pair from his seat and saw the completely wide-eyed looks that were trapped on their faces. "Judging by the surprise on their faces, no. Must have lost the schedule for today." Trip inferred.

"I guess the Frontier must have been desperate. Ash isn't worth the skin he walks in, yet they still let him in." Misty remarked.

"Yeah. Score an easy victory for Serena and Clemont. Heck, I bet I could beat both of them alone while blindfolded." Max boasted.

"Oh stuff it Max. Everyone knows you would struggle. With Anabel that is." May stated while smirking.

"Yeah, that empathy skill is something all right. But why does a joke like her have it?" Dawn questioned with disgust.

"Probably luck or something. Whatever the case, she doesn't deserve it." Iris said.

Meanwhile, an all too familiar Pokemon Doctor sat in silence, simply observing the new development with curiosity rather than resentment.

. . . . . . . .

"Oh man, are the others annoyed." Ash said with his eyes closed, using his aura to boost his hearing.

"Good. Makes it more fun to beat them." Anabel said in a dangerously calm tone that almost shook Ash up a bit.

"You're about to go Evil Anabel mode on them. Aren't you?" Ash asked slowly as his aura dissipated.

"Let's just say I don't plan on this taking long with small talk." Anabel spoke again with the same tone.

Ash tossed his Poke Ball up and let it fall into his hand. He repeated the action continuously while responding. "I'll take that as a yes then."

Clemont finally had the nerve to speak. "The Battle Frontier must have really been in a hole to invite you, Ash."

Ash just kept tossing his Poke Ball until he spoke. "Tell me. Who is the strongest in your group?"

Serena smirked. "Easy. That's Paul." She answered with no hesitation.

He stopped tossing the Poke Ball as his tone turned mocking while his eyes shot daggers at the duo. "Yet he never beat Spenser. And for reference, Anabel and I are ranked higher than him. No offense to you Spenser."

"NONE TAKEN." A voice sounded from the Frontier Box.

Ash stood there for a second, mildly confused as he turned to Anabel. "He heard that?" The Salon Maiden simply shrugged in response.

"The Frontier Brains have stupid rules. In a legitimate battle, they aren't any better than a starting trainer." Clemont declared.

"Yeah. Paul defeated the Sinnoh Frontier no problem." Serena said.

"We know. Except we have more than just three Frontier Brains in Sinnoh now. So I'd watch what you say about the Frontier." Anabel calmly inferred.

"What's the point? It's not like this is a difficult match anyways." Serena fired back in annoyance.

"Actually, for once, you're right. This won't take 10 minutes." Anabel claimed coldly as she pulled out her Poke Ball.

"This is a tag team match between Frontier Brain Duo Ash and Anabel, and Kalos Queen Serena and Gym Leader Clemont. Now trainers, send out your Pokemon!"

"Delphox, come on out!" Serena tossed up her Poke Ball.

"Heliolisk, let's win this." Clemont released one of his favorite Electric types.

Ash and Anabel nodded knowingly to each other, the family bond of Frontier Brains putting the words out for them.

"Come on out my friend!"

"I choose you!"

And as the flash from the Poke Balls disappeared, it revealed the pairs trusted fighting types, Lucario and Mienshao respectively. They let out fierce glares that made Heliolisk and Delphox recoil in fear.

"Battle... begin!"

"Fighting types? No problem. Use Psychic on Mienshao, Delphox." Serena commanded.

"Use Thunderbolt on Lucario." Clemont added.

"Dodge left." Anabel stated.

"Backpedal to your right." Ash said.

With experience speaking louder than words, the pair of Fighting types dodged the attacks with ease. They stopped side by side as they awaited the next command from their trainers.

"Alright Lucario, grab Mienshao, then toss her. Then follow her with Extremespeed."

"High-Jump Kick on Heliolisk, Mienshao."

The fighting types obliged and moved quicker than the opposing pair expected. Lucario grabbed Mienshao's arms and started spinning fast. In seconds, Mienshao was in the air and flying fast while Lucario was in hot pursuit, as it disappeared into a blur.

"Heliolisk, use Parabolic Charge." Clemont commanded.

"Psychic on Mienshao." Serena yelled.

"Dark Pulse." Ash stated simply.

Delphox attempted a Psychic, but was blindsided by a Dark Pulse from Lucario. Heliolisk attempted a Parabolic Charge, but was quickly caught by a High-Jump Kick to the stomach, crying out in pain and flying back a few feet as he winced from the super effective attack.

"What is that speed?" Clemont widened his eyes.

"It's not that Mienshao and Lucario are fast. You two are just slow." Anabel inferred as the two Fighting types returned back in front of them.

"And sadly, one of you is an Electric specialist. You should know what speed is." Ash added with disappointment.

The two opposing Pokemon got up as Serena and Clemont fumed. Insults coming from Ash were enough to set off explosions in their heads. "Oh that's it. Flamethrower on Lucario."

"Use Hyper Voice."

"Use Extremespeed to approach, then use half of Attack Chain three." Ash commanded.

"Charge with Detect, then use a shortened Attack Chain five." Anabel called out.

Everyone expressed confusion as Lucario and Mienshao followed through with their commands. Lucario disappeared and dodged the Flamethrower and Hyper Voice while Mienshao avoided it all with Detect.

Lucario appeared behind Delphox as Mienshao made it to Heliolisk. Lucario attacked with a barrage of Ice Punches and Thunder Punches, making sure to step in each time as Delphox was getting forced away. He finished with an uppercut Meteor Mash, knocking Delphox a couple hundred feet into the air. Mienshao hit Heliolisk multiple times with a Poison Jab in one hand and a Knock Off in the other, targeting specific joints before finishing with a Vital Throw to the ground below Delphox.

"You know what to do." Ash stated as Lucario used Extremespeed to get above Delphox before using Bone Rush to launch it downwards at Heliolisk.

"Heliolisk, get out!" Clemont cried

The Electric type tried to move, but found that it couldn't budge, which Clemont noticed. Delphox landed hard on Heliolisk, causing a bit of dust before revealing them to be knocked out.

The ref rose his flags. "Heliolisk and Delphox are unable to battle. Trainers, release your final Pokemon."

Clemont eyed the two Frontier Brains. "What did you do to my Heliolisk?! Tell me!"

Anabel shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing major. Just when Mienshao attacked, she targeted Heliolisk's pressure points, causing brief paralysis. It's only temporary."

"And those 'Attack Chain' things?" Serena tried to pry.

"Our own inventions. We get bored in between challengers, so we end up making new combinations. Not that you could memorize them for your benefit anyways." Ash stated.

The pair growled as they prepared to send their next Pokemon out.

. . . . . . . .

"That was amazing!" Hau exclaimed with widened eyes.

"These two could give Red and Blue a run for their money in the Battle Tree." Gladion praised.

"What creativity! I should ask them how they made those!" Hala, being a Fighting type trainer, couldn't help but mutter in awe.

Lillie smiled. "Ash never battled me with them, cause he says that they are easy to mess up without proper training, and aren't possible on some Pokemon. But their Lucario and Mienshao were born for these types of maneuvers. They spent an entire year training them to perfect those combos. They even tried to teach me one."

Olivia frowned at Lillie. "He tried to teach you?"

"Yeah, but it's a work in progress. But my Hitmonchan has improved a lot thanks to them." Lillie inferred.

"No. I mean he tried to teach you? So you trained with him before the tournament?" She elaborated.

"Yeah. It was only a week, but it was... I guess enlightening is the best word for it. I ran through the wringer, but I learned so much because of it." Lillie rambled slightly.

"Ash has changed so much. It just makes me want to battle him right now." Gladion exclaimed with a smile.

Lillie smirked. "Gladion Aether, is that a smile I see?" She teased.

Gladion rolled his eyes and performed his signature pose upon impulse. "Oh shut up."

. . . . . . . .

"Go Sylveon!"

"Let's bring it back Luxray!"

The pair sent out their own respective Pokemon as they glared daggers at the opposing Pokemon, wanting to beat them badly. Meanwhile Ash and Anabel showed no signs of fear at all.

"You both still good?" Ash questioned.

Both of the fighting types smirked while giving a signalling nod.

"Now... begin!"

"Use Moonblast on Menshao!"

"Wild Charge on Lucario."

The two Pokemon formed their perspective attacks and prepared to launch them.

"Hey Ash. How much time has passed?"

Ash knew where this was going as he smirked and looked at his watch. "About eight minutes and twenty-three seconds."

"Then let's end this quick and get to the meeting. Sound good?" Anabel asked as the attacks launched from the opposing Pokemon.

"Yeah, let's go. Lucario, full power Bullet Punch into Meteor Mash!" Ash commanded.

"Mienshao, Detect then use High-Jump Kick at max power!" Anabel stated.

Lucario ducked under the Moonblast then charged, rushing around Sylveon to confuse it before driving a Meteor Mash into it's side, defeating it as it fell over. Mienshao dodged the Wild Charge and drove Luxray to the ground with High-Jump Kick, beating it into a crater as it yelled out in sheer pain before fainting himself.

"Both of the red corner's trainers have run out of Pokemon. The winner is the blue corner team of Ash and Anabel." The ref concluded.

The crowd erupted in happiness for the match. Anabel and Ash returned their Pokemon before waving to the crowd and smiling at them.

"Hey!"

They turned to see Clemont and Serena charge with upset looks on their faces.

"How did you beat us? What did you use to cheat!?" Serena demanded.

"We didn't cheat. You don't have battling experience and Clemont has not been keeping in top form by spending so much time on inventions." Anabel stated simply.

"But Ash is a weakling! He couldn't beat a Baby Magikarp." Clemont fumed.

Ash chuckled harshly. "Yeah, well I didn't beat a Baby Magikarp. I beat a couple of idiots."

And on that note, the two Frontier Brains left to attend to other matters, leaving a fuming duo behind them to tend to their Pokemon.

. . . . . . . .

All the Alolans were out of air in their lungs after that last attack. The power that they just displayed was above anything they expected. Even Lillie was shocked to some degree. None of them were sure if their opponents were just that bad or if Ash and Anabel wielded that much power.

It took a second, but one of them, the person being Hau, finally snapped out of it. "THEY JUST BEAT THEM IN ONE ATTACK!?"

"Lillie, did you know they could do that!?" Mallow demanded in awe.

"No! I know it's possible, but to do it on a Gym Leader or the Kalos Queen? That's incredible." She breathed out.

"Well what are we waiting for? We need to go catch them!" Acerola yelled as she led the charge out of the stadium.

. . . . . . . .

Gloria smiled a bit as they watched Ash and Anabel walk off of the field. "If that battle is anything to go by, then I'm scared to see just how well they do against the rest of the competition."

Callum, who was munching on a hot dog, swallowed a bite before turning back to Gloria. "It's not much of a question. They're going to tear up the tournament." He decided.

Gloria turned to him. "I almost want to fight them now, but we haven't even matched up against them yet."

Callum shrugged. "We'll get our shot at them eventually. So long as we don't get knocked out too early." He took the last bite of his hot dog. "Besides, we may want to fight them, but I know you have one opponent in particular that you want to fight."

Gloria nodded slightly and looked up at the champions box one more time before the Galarian duo made their way out of the stands.

. . . . . . . .

Meanwhile, in said box, almost all of the people that were seated here looked mildly in shock at the display.

"Wow. I knew Ash was pretty good back when we met, but this is on a whole new level for him." Cynthia mused slightly.

"I knew that boy had potential. And it looks like he's finally tapped into it." Said Lance.

"You two knew him as well. Can't say I'm surprised." Alder stated with a chuckle.

"I think at this point, we can't deny it. Almost everyone has met Ash. I know most of us have. I can bet that the new Alolan Champion has too." Diantha stated with Steven nodding in agreement.

"Hopefully one of us can test him in this tournament. I hope it's Cynthia or Diantha. Now that would be a match." The silver haired man said.

Leon, meanwhile, was sweatdropping at this. "Since when have you all been so interested in one person?"

Wallace chuckled lightly from right next to Leon. "I'll explain later. Just know that he is one of the most talented battlers of his age group."

"Well one way or another, this is not the same Ash Ketchum, and his teamwork with that girl is so impeccable, you would think they were made to be teammates. That does it then. I'm calling in my favor from Goodshow. I think it's time to test him." Cynthia spoke with a smile.

. . . . . . . .

Not a lot of changes were needed here. This was one of the few chapters that I don't really see anything wrong with. So this will stay remotely the same as before. Maybe I'll actually finish these revisions before my summer break ends. Hope you enjoy.

-Bl0t0rch