So I decided that for the duration of Ash's training, I would give a time stamp as to where they are in terms of the 2 months. The main reasons are that I am lazy and making a new chapter for each day would both be hard and repetitive at some points. Plus this story would have like 100 chapters which would take way too long to complete.

Day 8 of Frontier Training...

Ash heard his alarm go off once again, which he was getting tired of hearing constantly. In all fairness, anyone would be tired of it, but to Ash, it is way better than dealing with Anabel's wake up call. The trainer and his electric type companion got up out of bed and began to ready themselves for the day at hand.

Over the past few days, Ash has been working with Anabel to get used to the Battle Tower routine as well as figure out paperwork. His Pokémon training has taken a slight back seat, but Ash still takes his time to train his Pokémon whenever he can grab a bit of time. However, that doesn't always occur. He has also taken his time to read that book that the guy named Caleb gave him several days ago.

Some of the contents have really struck Ash with a bit of surprise, as he really didn't expect what he read from this book. It contained a bit of insight on many of the different main fighting spirits of trainers. One of which pertains to Ash much more than he realized, which was the one about the Red-Hot fighting spirit. It was one that seemed to talk about many of Ash's surprising characteristics.

That particular battle style seemed to represent the rashness and fiery spirit that seems to overtake them in battle. They normally have the characteristic of being able to use their quick thinking skills to be able to move out of any sticky situation. This one represented Ash very well, as most of his on the spot strategies seem to get him out of a lot of tight corners in battles.

One that he also noticed after reading the book was one that seemed to represent Anabel when she battles as well. The Icy-Cold Fire is a fighting spirit that is for more level-headed trainers that focus on mainly strategies and calmness in battle. Their characteristics are complex strategies, and making sure they have a response for anything.

However, there is one final one that Ash read about in that book which is one that is unheard of and rarely seen as a whole. It is one that is called the Ever Changing Fire, which is considered the strongest out of the three fighting spirits. It is thought to be the combination of the individual fires into a fire that changes intensity throughout the battles. Those with considerable control over their mind and soul can interchange between the two constantly. In rare cases, they can combine the two at once to make a powerful fire that is seemingly calm, but deadly at the same time. They seem to adapt to any challenge they go through, and are incredibly quick thinkers.

Ash wasn't sure how he could make the most out of his fire, and of course this is all in theory, but one thing was for sure, he had to talk to Caleb once more and figure out a few extra things from him. As he seemed to be a powerful battler, Ash was confident he would be able to help in many different ways. But now wasn't the time for that.

They walked out of their room to discover that Anabel was standing there with a Pokémon that seemed to be her height and coated with green and white. Its arms seemed to resemble blades, and it seemed to look very much like a type of knight.

Anabel turned around as she heard a noise behind her to discover her student and his partner right next to them. "Oh. Morning. I'd like you to meet my Gallade."

Ash and Pikachu walked up to the Psychic and Fighting type and introduced themselves to him, who gave a nod. "Anabel, why do you have your Gallade out? Normally you don't just have your Pokémon out like this except for Espeon."

"I actually do keep them out a lot, but they normally are all on one of the floors of the Battle Tower or around the forest. But I called Gallade here to try something new, and also help me introduce a new idea to you. Follow me outside."

The pair continued to walk outside towards a field that was a small walk away from Anabel's house. The area had a clearer view of Tohjo Town in the distance with Tohjo Falls noticeable in the background. If anyone bothered to take a deep look, they would find the sight magically breathtaking, but as trainers. the pair didn't notice this factor. After the quick walk into the field, Anabel had Ash stand across from Gallade. Pikachu sat near Anabel with Espeon.

Ash looked at Anabel. "So what is all of this?"

Anabel smiled. "Well, this is a bit of an idea that Brandon and Scott came up with not too long ago, which is to get more involved with how your Pokémon train. Normally, we have them pitted against our own Pokémon, and we just observe. However, a better and more direct method of helping to train your Pokémon is to go up against them yourselves in order to see what they are having troubles with."

Ash gave a scared look. "Wait, does that mean that I-"

"Have to fight Gallade?" Anabel finished for him. "Yes, it does."

Ash widened his eyes as he imagined himself as flat as a pancake. "What? But how am I going to live through that?"

"Gallade isn't going to try and obliterate you Ash. Just calm down. For now we are just going to try some of the basic fighting techniques. Once you figure those out, we will move on to the harder stuff."

Ash just realized something. "Wait, you know how to do this already?"

Anabel nodded. "Yeah. Gretta taught me how. Though Lucy and Tucker are way better than us."

Ash shook his head. "I don't think I want to know how you know this."

"Good idea. For now let's get started. Gallade, go." Anabel said.

"Wait wha-" *SMAAAACK*

Ash didn't even finish his sentence. Gallade struck him and launched him several feet, knocking him flat on his back. Anabel widened her eyes and ran towards Ash. The male however, was already pulling himself off the ground. It almost seemed like he didn't feel more than the surprise of the attack from the Psychic Fighting Pokémon.

She knelt over him. "Are you ok?"

Ash nodded as he began standing up. "Yeah. Didn't hurt all that much."

Anabel gave him a weird look. "Are you sure?"

"Trust me. I have been hit by my fair share of Pokémon attacks. I'll be ok."

Anabel took a few steps back and decided to let the two go at it. Ash rushed toward Gallade and threw a punch, which was blocked and responded by a swift punch which knocked Ash off his feet. He was launched even farther before, but that did not even waver the determination of the Pikachu trainer. He was determined to land a clean, solid hit. He stood right back up without letting his focus waver from his task.

"Oh no you don't."

Ash rushed up again, but was hit by Gallade again. Anabel exchanged a look with Pikachu and Espeon. "This may take a while."

And it did take a while. About 3 whole hours as a matter of fact. Ash kept trying to rush, but was constantly knocked back. He did have moments where he read Gallade's movements very well and managed to block or dodge a punch, but that was just met with a kick as a follow-up move. It wasn't like he wasn't getting the hang of it. He was doing better than Anabel expected of him, but she forgets how Ash can be.

However, she also noticed a few changes in his emotions. His weird voice that is bothering him seems to be taking less of an effect on his mind and heart. And it seems to be getting better. Now would be the time to go call in the surprise.

"Hey Ash, if you want to go take a break and walk into town, you can. I need to go take care of something right now." Anabel stated.

Ash gave a thumbs up from the floor. "Thanks. I'll go do that."

As Anabel walked off towards the Battle Tower with Gallade, Ash stood up and began walking in the direction of town. He decided he should talk to that one guy he met earlier in the week and see what he was up to.

Ash walked into the Pokémon Center with Pikachu right behind him and began looking for Caleb. He scanned the area, and found him playing guitar over on one of the seats. His Leafeon was by his side along with a Glaceon on his other side. Ash couldn't tell what he was playing, but it sounded pretty nice.

Ash walked up and took a seat. As Ash sat down, Caleb stopped playing and looked at him. "You seem better than last week. I suppose things are going well?"

Ash nodded. "Thanks for your advice from before. It really helped me out. Also I finished that book you gave me, and I thought it was awesome."

Caleb chuckled. "Glad you think so. That was one of my favorite books to read."

Ash looked at the Glaceon next to Caleb. "You seem to have a lot of Eevee evolutions."

Caleb looked at the two next to him. "I only have these two Pokémon on me right now. They have been with me through a lot of tough times in my adventures. They are also some of my strongest."

Ash noticed what he said. "Where are your other Pokémon?"

"With a friend. I left them there to take a break for about a month because they were getting tired of the constant movement. My current job can be very demanding of moving around, but with things going quiet, I let my Pokémon and myself have a break thanks to my boss. But these guys didn't want to leave me, so we decided to stay here for a little while. It's quiet and peaceful out here, and the community is by far one of the nicest I have met."

Ash nodded as he had a few friendly run-ins when roaming through the market with Anabel. "Can't argue there."

Caleb tilted his head a little bit and finally saw the Mouse Pokémon that sat on Ash's shoulder. "You have a Pikachu also? I guess he is your partner Pokémon?"

Ash looked at the Electric type right next to him. "Yeah. He has been there since the start of my journey. It's been quite a ride to get to where we are now."

Caleb began picking at his guitar again. "I bet it has. Though I can only assume not all of those times have been good."

Ash began rubbing Pikachu's tail, which earned some soft, joyful cries from Ash's partner. "They weren't. But you must know as well as I do that if an adventure was full of only good things that happen, then we wouldn't be able to learn from them."

Caleb smiled. "You're starting to catch on to what I have been wanting you to see since last week."

Ash looked up. "What does that mean?"

"That voice in your head that has been bothering you. You need to make sure that no matter what, that the point where you started having doubts about yourself is the lowest point in your adventure. Start building yourself back to what you want to be, and maybe even better than that. Don't stay satisfied with your point in life, because how will you open up to new things if you don't shoot higher?"

Ash thought about it for a second then nodded. "I think I get what you mean. I appreciate all you have done to help me, but can I ask one more thing?"

Caleb leaned back into his seat. "I got all day. Go ahead."

"Would you have a battle with me?"

..........

Back in the field, we see the Salon Maiden standing with her Espeon waiting for Ash and Pikachu to return. There was an oddly large cardboard box right next to them as they continued to wait for them to show up.

Anabel sighed. "You would think they would be done in town by now."

Espeon nodded. "Maybe they met someone new?"

Anabel thought for a second. "That could be it. Should we go see what they're doing?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't recommend leaving the box like this. Maybe we should move it back to the house first."

Anabel through out a Pokeball, which brought out her Metagross. "What is it Miss Anabel?"

"I'm going to go check on Ash. Can you please move the box back to the house? I can't risk it getting stolen."

The Steel type began moving the box with Psychic. "This won't take but a minute. I will safeguard it until you return."

Anabel smiled and began to walk towards Tohjo Town with Espeon right behind her. "Thanks Metagross."

.........

Caleb thought for a second. "Why do you want to battle me?"

Ash gave him an 'isn't it obvious?' look. "To see how strong you are. I haven't had a battle in a little while."

"Well neither have I. I may be a bit rusty but let's do it." Caleb stated.

They walked around and to the battlefield right outside of the Pokémon Center. Ash sent Pikachu out front while Caleb had Leafeon go in front of him. A few trainers from the center came to watch the battle unfold. They all stared at the uncommon sight of the Leafeon before them as well as the Glaceon that sat at Caleb's feet.  As the special Ice and Moss stones from Sinnoh were incredibly rare in Kanto and Johto, many considered these Pokémon to be rare, though the two battlers are not aware of this currently.

Ash looked around. "I don't think we need a ref, do we?"

Caleb shook his head. "No, I don't think so. We can tell if one of us is done. You can have the first move."

Ash smirked. "You may regret that. Pikachu, use Quick Attack."

Caleb's eyes followed the speed of the Pokémon very easily as he called out his own attack. "Go behind them."

Leafeon took off faster than Ash expected, and ran right up behind Pikachu, who froze from slight shock. "Now use Leaf Blade."

Though self doubt tried to take control, Ash snapped out of it. "Iron Tail."

The attack was too late, as Leafeon spinned on its front feet to deliver a quick swing to Pikachu before it could move. Pikachu was sent back a few feet, but quickly stood up while trying to shrug off the brunt of the attack that hit him head on.

Ash was surprised. "Talk about speed. But they can't outspace us. Use Thunderbolt."

"Use Razor Leaf."

 Pikachu jumped up and launched a Thunderbolt while Leafeon launched multiple leaves with it's tail. Both attacks clashed with each other and caused a brief explosion in between each other.

"Charge in with Leaf Blade, and don't let up!"

Ash growled. "Block with Iron Tail."

Both Pokémon began to clash their tails multiple times and cause light shockwaves each time they clashed. You could see flashes occur due to the energy output they were producing. Nobody knew who had the advantage, though everyone knew this was a battle they could not miss, considering the power these two wield.

Ash however, could see the other level that Caleb was on. 'How am I supposed to outsmart someone like this?'

His voice tried to take over. 'You can't. Not with your weakness. Just give up now.'

'Never!'

.........

Anabel was walking around Tohjo Town with Espeon at her heels as they tried their best to spot where Ash and Pikachu could be. They grew worried as they continued to walk through the town. They checked the river docks, the local coffee shop, and even the market, but came no closer to finding him after searching for a decent amount of time. The pair finally took a break on a bench about a block from the Pokémon Center as they tried to think.

"I'm starting to get worried. Where could they be?" Anabel wondered.

Espeon suddenly raised her ears. "I hear a battle by the Pokémon Center."

Anabel then facepalmed in realization. "Why did we not go over there first?"

They made their way to the Pokémon Center where they saw a battle taking place outside. The battle seemed intense, and everyone seemed to be watching it take place right now. It was on further examination that Anabel realized who was battling.

"That's Ash. So that's what he's been up to."

She turned towards the other side of the battlefield and put on a slight look of surprise. "Wait. Is that guy... no way. It is him."

.........

Both Pokémon took a step back. Pikachu was panting slightly, but Ash noticed that the exchange of blows didn't even faze Leafeon. It looked like it could go at it for hours if it must.

Caleb took the next move. "Now run at them and use Rock Smash."

Leafeon began charging at them with more surprising speed with fighting energy starting to form in it's tail.

Ash grit his teeth, but then realized something. Leafeon uses all of it's attacks from it's tail. If he could only... 'That's it!'

"Pikachu, wait for Leafeon to get close, then use Quick Attack to jump."

Caleb narrowed his eyes. "What's he up to...?"

Leafeon struck straight down and launched a few rocks as Pikachu dodged up into the air. The rocks were launched next to Pikachu as well.

Ash smirked. "Now use Iron Tail and hit those rocks at Leafeon."

Caleb raised an eyebrow as he saw the rocks began flying straight towards Leafeon. The Grass Pokémon began to dodge the rocks quickly, but as it dodged the last rock, it felt something hit its tail. It turned around and saw that a large rock was holding the tail down in place, thus preventing Leafeon from attacking and moving.

Caleb smiled. "Wow. Impressive. So you figured out one of the ways we attack. And by cutting it off, you can hold us in place and strike us with a finishing blow."

Ash nodded. "No point in hiding the idea. You already saw what I did. Now time to end this. Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu charged in head on and began charging up sparks quickly as it got faster. The sparks began enveloping him as he glowed a brilliant electric yellow while he ran forward.

Caleb smile turned into a competitive grin. "I commend you for your efforts, but I can't let you win right now. Leafeon, use backpedal Return."

Everyone gave a strange look as Leafeon formed energy from within and began forming a brilliant white glow around it and launched backwards on its front legs and managed to destroy the rock that hindered it.

Everyone widened their eyes at the sheer effectiveness the move had. "Now hurry and jump."

In a mere split second, Leafeon jumped in the air and avoided the Volt Tackle before it hit. Pikachu did it's best to try and stop while the recoil slightly took an effect on the Mouse Pokémon.

Everyone besides Caleb looked up in awe of the sheer strength of the Verdant Pokémon. Caleb just nodded at Leafeon, who nodded in return and started slicing down with a Leaf Blade. As Pikachu was stunned by the recoil, he couldn't dodge the attack and was struck hard by the Grass attack and driven into the ground. Pikachu was seen with swirls in his eyes as the smoke cleared.

Ash sighed, but was still smiling. "Looks like we lost. That fight was amazing."

The crowd began dispersing with murmurs of the battle that took place while Caleb began moving up to his Leafeon. He held his hand up, and it was hit by Leafeon's tail in a gesture of partnership. Ash picked up Pikachu and they moved into the Pokémon Center, where they left Pikachu and Leafeon with Nurse Joy. They took a seat once again in the same spot as before.

"How are you so powerful in the first place? I have never seen that type of speed and power before." Ash said as he was practically jumping out of his seat in anticipation.

"Alright, alright. Calm down Ash." Ash stopped moving so much.

Caleb sighed as he began thinking. His Glaceon was looking up at him with a bit of concern in her eyes. Caleb noticed this and began scratching behind her ears to show that he was just fine.

Caleb looked up. "Well... it isn't the easiest to explain..."

"Hey!"

They both turned to see a Lilac haired girl walking up to them with an Espeon following close behind her. She seemed both a bit agitated, but a bit curious overall. She moved up to the two of them and began crossing her arms.

Ash looked scared straight for a second. "Anabel."

"Why were you having a battle? We still have some training to... do..." She sighed and relaxed. "Geez. I can't even try and scold you sometimes. You were taking longer than expected, so I went all over town trying to find you."

Ash looked up at the Salon Maiden. "Sorry about that Anabel. I really wanted to battle."

Anabel smiled. "I can't stay mad at you forever. I would probably want to battle a lot if I were you. But besides all of that..."

She turned towards the guy who was petting the Glaceon right next to them. "Caleb, why are you here?"

Plot twist. But not really. This OC devopment might make this story a bit more interesting, so I decided to inlude my OC into the story. Just putting that out there. Now tell me what could be worked on. I'm not a perfect writer, so I would love tips. Comment Question: What is your favorite Pokemon move? Mine would be currently Photon Geyser. Man that move is broken. But anyways, have an awesome day.

-Bl0t0rch