Thanks for 900 reads. That was quick. But sorry for the wait this is a longer chapter. Enjoy the story.
With White:
White remembered all the restless nights she had. She had spent 14 years searching for the Light Stone and hadn't stopped. This tournament was the longest she had ever stayed at one place since beginning her search. She looked at the picture of Black she carried around with her everywhere. His smile. His eyes. She missed him so much. But her search had to be postponed. Black would not want her to keep searching for him when there were thousands of peoples lives on the line and that number would only increase as time went on and Team Rocket grew more powerful. She had learnt a lot from spying and tracking. She had learnt of the fate of Red's son from spying on her seniors. She hadn't spoken with them in years. Why should she, it was a waste. They were slowly collapsing, something that started with the disappearance of Red. Then she learnt that Ash had started to work with the four horsemen of Team Rocket. Well three of them, Victoria never seemed to go on missions. She had started tracking them 4 months ago. And now Ash was working with them. She saw as they killed Professor Oak, a necessary death. If she would to have revealed herself to them it put her plan in jeopardy. She was the reason the news was all over Pallet Town. She watched as New Bark Town burnt and she tracked them back to Kalos where they currently were and where she had a battle in 40 minutes. White would not admit it to herself but she had given up hope. Hope that Black could still be found. His smile was etched into her mind. She broke her trail of thought by speaking, "I'll see you again my love. I promise."
With Ash, Paul, Jimmy, Green, Blue, Gold, Silver and Crystal:
"You... you met them," Jimmy asked in disbelief. "We were told about them but never met them... why would Giovanni want you to meet them." "I don't know. He introduced us and then they left," Ash lied, "then Giovanni wanted to speak to me privately." "About what," Silver asked. "Revealing them. Out in the public. He had to come rescue me," Ash replied. "Revealed? To who," Jimmy asked. "The International Police," Ash replied," let's go for a walk, I'll show you." "Can't," Paul said, "got a battle in 10 minutes, new brackets are out." "Alright seeya Paul," Ash yelled before Paul ran off. "Follow me," Ash said. They walked for a bit, drifting further and further away from the arena until they arrived at an office. "This is it," Ash said. "Doesn't look like there's anything wrong with it," Green replied, "wait till you get inside," Ash said. Ash opened the door before walking through. The others followed shortly. Glass was shattered all over the floor, the was patches of dried blood on the floor. Everyone was silent before Jimmy asked a question, "what happened here." "I thought I was meeting with Giovanni to discuss things like we later did but Looker arrived to arrest me. I shot him," Ash replied. "Is that it," Jimmy asked, "seems like there is a lot more damage than from you just shooting someone." "Well, Blake showed up and we had a bit of a fight. I escaped," Ash said, "Giovanni rescued me. Otherwise I would've probably been killed by Blake." "So all this shit, is because you decided it was a good idea to fight someone trained in hand to hand combat," Jimmy replied sarcastically, "I am too," Ash muttered smiling a little bit, "it seemed like a good idea at the time." "You my friend are extremely stupid," Jimmy said smiling. Ash couldn't help but smile too. Jimmy had called him friend. Maybe... maybe Team Rocket was wrong. Destroying a city for order because it's the easiest way to do it. Ash scolded himself mentally, 'no,' Ash thought, 'the end justifies the means.'
With Paul and White:
Paul eyed the person standing on the opposite end of the field. She looked like a female version of Ash except more mature and older. And had blue eyes. But like Ash her eyes looked hollow and dead. He knew who she was. His senior. White. He knew this because of the leaderboard he had checked before on his Pokédex. "Hello ladies and gentlemen here we are on a fine day with the first matches on a new bracket. And I am given the honour of reading out our standings currently yet again," Mr. Goodshow yelled into his microphone enthusiastically, "in first place we have White Touko of Floccessy Town, Unova. In second place we have Green Oak of Pallet Town, Kanto. In third place we have Paul Shinji of Veilstone City, Sinnoh. In fourth place we have Jimmy Jackson of New Bark Town, Johto. In fifth place we have Red Ketchum of Pallet Town, Kanto. In sixth place we have Silver Sakaki of Viridian City, Kanto. In seventh place we have Gold Jackson of New Bark Town, Johto and finally in eighth place we have Blue Oak of Pallet Town, Kanto. These are the current top eight none of them have dropped out of the top eight since the tournament started. The finals are definitely going to be interesting. Paul remembered checking how many wins and losses the top eight had. Only 16 matches had happened and they were going onto the 17th.
1st
White Touko
Floccessy Town, Unova Region
Matches participated: 16
Wins: 16
Draws: 0
Losses: 0
2nd
Green Oak
Pallet Town, Kanto Region
Matches Participated: 16
Wins: 15
Draws: 0
Losses: 1
3rd
Paul Shinji
Matches Participated: 16
Wins: 15
Draws: 0
Losses: 1
4th
Jimmy Jackson
Matches Participated: 16
Wins: 15
Draws: 0
Losses: 1
5th
Red Ketchum
Matches Participated: 16
Wins: 14
Draws: 1
Losses: 1
6th
Silver Sakaki
Matches Participated: 16
Wins: 13
Draws: 2
Losses: 1
7th
Gold Jackson
Matches Participated: 16
Wins: 13
Draws: 1
Losses: 2
8th
Blue Oak
Matches Participated: 16
Wins: 13
Draws: 0
Losses: 3
Paul had looked who had lost to who out of the top 8 because he was curious and also didn't care about the random trainers they beat along the way. White had lost to nobody which he had at first found fine. Green had lost to white just barely even though they were 10 years apart and Green had a full extra 10 years to get better at Pokémon battles than White. The match had been 5-6, White loosing 5 of her Pokémon and Green loosing all of his. Next was himself who had lost to Jimmy 5-6. Next was Jimmy who had lost to Ash 5-6. Ash had tied with Silver and lost to Paul 5-6. Silver had drawn with Ash and Jimmy and lost to White 4-6. That's the thing that shocked Paul. That Silver had lost an official match when his opponent had two Pokémon left. Gold had drawn with Silver, lost to Green 5-6 and lost to White 4-6. Blue had lost to Green 4-6, lost to Silver 5-6 and lost to White 3-6. The way White battles is different to anything Paul had ever seen. From what he had seen her battle style was calm and collected not showing any emotions. Her eyes were like Ash's. Hollow and dead. He knew what had happened in Unova 14 years ago. And he only hoped that she would not end up like Ash. White looked at the purple haired trainer who was studying her. He was a possible ally for when Giovanni attacked. She knew what would happen. She knew what would happen on that day and when it would happen. She just needed to be ready. White was brought out of her trail of thought by the ref speaking, "This battle is between White of Floccessy Town, Unova and Paul Shinji of Veilstone City, Sinnoh. Will both Trainers please send out their first Pokémon." "Go Nancy," White spoke calmly and serene, "Electivire, stand by for battle," Paul yelled. "Battle begin," the ref yelled. "Electivire use Thunder," Paul yelled, " Nancy use Protect," White still spoke in that serene voice. "Electivire use Thunder Punch," Paul yelled, "Nancy use Protect," White said again. Alomomola obliged and created an energy field again itself and protected itself from any damage. "Argghhh," Paul yelled, "Electivire use Thunder." "Nancy use Hydro Pump," White still spoke calmly. "Electivire Return. Torterra, stand by for battle," Paul yelled, "use Frenzy Plant." It was a risk, a risk Paul was willing to take. His Pokémon not being able to move would be a problem. "Use Protect, Nancy," White spoke with such calmness in her voice it was intimidating. "Now Hydro Pump," White said calmly. The attack hit Torterra head on but when the smoke cleared it barely affected it. "Use Earthquake," Paul yelled. "Use Protect," White said. " Use Leaf Storm," Paul yelled. "Hydro Pump," White said. "Leaf Storm again," Paul yelled. This time White didn't react and in one move Alomomola had fainted. "Alomomola is unable to battle, the winner is Torterra," the ref yelled, "will Trainer White please send out their next Pokémon." "Go Darlene," White said still calm even after losing her first Pokémon and not doing much herself. "Torterra use Earthquake," Paul yelled, "Use Energy Ball on the ground," White said. Earthquake was completely nullified and it left room for counterattack. "Darlene use Megahorn," White said. Sawsbuck charged to Torterra and it seemed Torterra was off guard until Paul yelled, "use Crunch." "Use Shadow Ball," White said. Paul groaned. This battle was slow paced and did not match him style. "Drapion, stand by for Battle," Paul yelled. "Use Cross Poison," Paul yelled. "Shadow Ball," White said still remaining calm. "Use Pin Missile," Paul yelled. "Dodge," White said. Sawsbuck managed to dodge some of them before they outmanoeuvred it and it was hit. "Cross Poison," Paul yelled. Nothing. White just let Sawsbuck get hit. To be sure that it would go down Paul yelled a command, "Pin Missile." White still said nothing but her eyes now had some colour in them and didn't look completely hollow. "Sawsbuck is unable to battle the winner is Drapion. Will Trainer White please send out her next Pokemon," the ref announced. "Go Dorothy," White said. "Drapion, Return," Paul said, "Weavile, stand by for battle." "Weavile," the Pokémon cried as it exited its Pokeball. "Weavile use Ice Beam," Paul yelled. "Thunderbolt," White said," Stone Edge." "Psycho Cut," Paul yelled. "Use Sludge Bomb," White was still calm which was starting to piss Paul off. How could she stay so calm yet she had lost 2 Pokémon. 'Unless,' Paul thought, 'she's doing this purposely to try and learn my team while I am unsure of the Pokémon she had left.' Paul wasn't paying attention and Weavile was hit because of it. "Weavile, use Night Slash," Paul yelled. "Use Stone Edge," White said. Weavile managed to dodge most of them and only got hit when it dived at Stunfisk because it was struck from underneath it sending it back. 'I'm not doing anything against this, I need to switch but that's what she wants me to do,' Paul thought. Paul was yelling at himself in his head. "Weavile return," Paul yelled, "go Ninjask." "Use Stone Edge," White said. "Dodge then Fury Cutter," Paul yelled. Stunfisk was too slow and was hit. "Use thunderbolt," White yelled as Stunfisk let off electricity that hit Ninjask. "Now use Giga Drain," Paul yelled as vines from the ground came up and wrapped around Stunfisk, draining its energy. "Now use Metal Claw," Paul yelled. When Stunfisk was visible again it had swirls in its eyes and White didn't seem to care. But her eyes now looked nothing like Ash's but blue and full of colour and... happiness? "Stunfisk is unable to battle the winner is Ninjask. Will Trainer White please send out her next Pokémon," the red announced. "Go Amanda," White yelled. "Ninjask, return. Magmortar stand by for battle," Paul yelled. When he looked over White was smirking. Paul realised what he did. White knew all 6 of his Pokémon and he knew 4 of hers 3 of which had fainted so Paul only knew 1 of her remaining Pokémon. She could come up with a strategy to deal with all of his Pokémon while Paul only knew one of hers. Paul could see the gears turning in her head thinking of something. "Magmortar use Fire Blast," Paul yelled. "Protect," White yelled. White seemed a lot more into the battle now than before. 'What had changed,' Paul thought. "Focus Blast," Paul yelled. "Dodge it, Amanda," White yelled. "Flamethrower," Paul yelled. "Dragon Pulse," White yelled back, "use Aqua Tail." Paul was caught off guard by the speed the final evolution of Snivy held and because of this Paul didn't have time to react as Serperior hit Magmortae with a super effective move. When the smoke cleared Magmortar was on the ground with swirls in its eyes. Paul was shocked, Magmortar had gone down in one move. To a Pokémon it held the type advantage against. "Magmortar is unable to battle. The winner is Serperior. Will trainer Paul please send out their next Pokémon," the ref announced. "Weavile stand by for Battle," Paul yelled. "Amanda return." White said, "Go Solly." "Weavile use Ice Beam," Paul yelled. "Energy Ball," White yelled back. "Weavile use..." Paul was cut off as White had yelled a command, "Solly, use Thunder Wave." "Weaa," Weavile cried as it was paralysed. "Use Night Slash," Paul yelled. "Weavileee," Weavile cried as it jumped to attack Reuniclus. "Solly use Focus Blast," White yelled. "Reuniclusss," Reuniclus cried as it launched its attack at Weavile. "Weavile hit it back with Night Slash," Paul yelled. And that's when paralysis chose to kick in stopping Weavile from blocking the attack and it was hit by Focus Blast. Weavile was send back hitting the ground at a high speed creating a crater in the ground where it landed. "Weavile is unable to battle, the winner is Reuniclus. Will Trainer Paul please send out their next Pokémon," the red announced. "Drapion, stand by for battle," Paul yelled, "use Pin Missile." "Draaaa," Drapion cried as it launched Pin Missile at Reuniclus. "Reuniclus, use Psychic to stop the attack," White yelled. "Reuniclussss," Reuniclus cried before stopping Pin Missile completely in its tracks. "Use Focus Blast," White yelled, "Cross Poison," Paul yelled back. "Energy Ball," White yelled, "Dark Pulse," Paul yelled. 'This is going nowhere. White is just picking off my weakened Pokémon if I don't do anything I'll lose,' Paul thought, "Cross Poison," Paul yelled, "Focus Blast," White yelled back. Suddenly Paul saw something that he didn't see before. An opening after Reuniclus launched Focus Blast, a few seconds before it got into a battle stance again. But it would take getting hit for it to work. Now he would have to bait White into using Focus Blast. And it had to be Dark Pulse so Reuniclus couldn't use Psychic to block it. "Energy Ball," White yelled, "Cross Poison," Paul yelled back. White looked at Paul, studying him. To her he seemed a lot more tense than he was before. Like he was waiting for something, 'but what,' White thought to herself. "Pin Missile." Paul yelled, "Psychic to stop the attack," White yelled, " Now use Focus Blast." 'There is is,' Paul thought. "Drapion use Dark Pulse but go for Reuniclus," Paul yelled. "Draaaa/Reuniclussss," Both Pokémon cried as neither attacks hit each other but went for the Pokemon it was targeting. When the smoke cleared from the battlefield both Drapion and Reuniclus were on the floor. "Both Drapion and Reuniclus are unable to battle. It's a tie. Will both Trainers please send out their next Pokemon," the ref announced. "Torterra, stand by for battle," Paul yelled, "Let's go Amanda," White yelled. "Torterra use Crunch," Paul yelled, "Amanda use Aqua Tail," White yelled. Both Pokémon came closer prepared to attack but when Torterra charged to use Crunch Serperior used Aqua Tail hitting Torterra into the ground. "Frenzy Plant," Paul yelled. Paul looked over and White was smirking 'what it she...," Paul thought, 'shit I fell right into her trap.' "Use Protect," White yelled. Now Torterra was trapped because he couldn't attack until White used a move. "Use Leaf Storm," White yelled, "Serperiorrrr," Serperior cried before launching its attack at Torterra. Smoke moved to cover the battlefield from where Torterra was standing. When the smoke cleared the ref began speaking, "Torterra is unable to battle, the winner is Serperior. Will Trainer Paul send out their next Pokémon." "Ninjask, stand by for battle," Paul yelled. "Nin ninjask," Ninjask cried as it exited its Pokeball. "Amanda return," White said, "go Barbara." "Man Mandibuzzz," Mandibuzz cried as it exited its capsule. "Ninjask use Fury Cutter," Paul yelled, "Barbara use Steel Wing," White yelled. White noticed something, 'Ninjasks movements seem more sluggish and it seemed to take longer to recover from that attack. That's all I need," White thought to herself. "Use Brave Bird," White yelled, "Metal Claw," Paul yelled. Her theory was proven correct because Ninjask did take a lot longer to get back into an attacking stance than her Mandibuzz but she couldn't use a recoil move or the plan might not work. "Use Foul Play," White yelled, "Fury Cutter," Paul yelled back. "Mandibuzzzz/Ninjaskkkk," both Pokémon cried as they met each other in the middle with their attacks. Neither Pokémon letting up until they were both send back by the blast created. "Now use Brave Bird," White yelled. Paul realised the window of opportunity she had seen," try to block it with Fury Cutter," Paul yelled. Ninjask managed for a few seconds until Mandibuzz overpowered it and sent it falling to the ground. "Ninjask is unable to battle, the winner is Mandibuzz. Will Trainer Paul please send out his last Pokémon," the ref announced. "Electivire, stand by for Battle," Paul yelled. "Barbara return," White said, "go Amanda." 'Great,' Paul thought to himself. "Use Ice Punch," Paul yelled, "Aqua Tail," White yelled, "Leaf Storm," "Thunder," "Dragon Tail," "Protect." "Electivire use Thunder," Paul yelled "Leaf Storm," White yelled back. That's when Paul realised something he should've earlier during the battle. 'Every time Serperior used Leaf Storm it's attack should get weaker every time but it seemed to get stronger which would mean that it had contrary,' Paul thought, 'but how. It's her starter it's supposed to have Overgrow... Ability patch.' Paul groaned. 'Of course she would use that,' Paul thought to himself. "Amanda finish it with Frenzy Plant," White yelled, "Electivire use Thunder," Paul yelled back. Frenzy Plant overpowered the Thunder due to Electivire being in battle before and contrary Leaf Storm. That's when Frenzy Plant hit Electivire. "Electivire is unable to battle. The winner is Serperior so the match goes to White of Floccessy Town, Unova," the ref announced. White began walking towards him so Paul did the same. White stuck her hand out for a handshake. Paul took it and shook. "It was a good battle," White said. "Yea... it was," Paul replied. "I can't thank you enough, Paul was it," White said. "Why," Paul wondered aloud. "For 14 years I never stayed in one place for longer than a few days. I was always searching for something I could never find," White explained, "I ended up becoming cold to everyone around me. I pushed my family and friends away in search of my goal. You helped remind me of the passion I once held and helped me find a reason that's why I thank you." "I know what your talking about," Paul answered before showing her his Pokédex. White smiled before saying, "there are more of us than ever. Which is good because of the times ahead of us," "yea. If we fail the world is going to be an a lot darker place," Paul replied, "yea," White muttered, "well excuse me but I must go speak with someone." Paul nodded at her before they went separate ways.
With Ash:
Ash sat on a bench observing Dawn and May as they waited for more of their friends to arrive. Of course he was unrecognisable. He had a blue hoodie and denim jeans on and wasn't wearing his hat. He looked over and saw as Misty, Brock, Gary and Richie. Ash's doubts about Team Rocket were becoming greater by the second. Maybe it wasn't worth it, his friends still cared about him. Even though he left them for 4 years. He wasn't sure who to blame for that. It wasn't him and it wasn't them. Kenny? Serena maybe? But he had friends in Team Rocket as well. Joel, Hudson, Emily. With the short time they spent on that mission they had all hit it off. He considered them friends. Giovanni was a different case. When he had no one Giovanni had helped him pick up the pieces he had lost and given him a purpose again. He was brought out of his trail of thoughts by someone next to him speaking, "having second thoughts about coming here are we." "Hello White," Ash said. "Hello Ash," White replied. "Have you come here to mock me," Ash asked, "for being a coward and not going over there." Ash gestured towards where the people who had betrayed him so long ago stood. Now there were more people there. Alain and Sawyer were there. So was Iris and Cilian. Clermont and Bonnie were there. So was Max. Just looking at them made him remember Professor Oak's pleading eyes before Ash had killed him. "No," White replied, "I just wanted to talk to you." Ash looked over at her for the first time since their conversation had started. She was also unrecognisable, she wasn't wearing her hat either, her hair lay straight at her sides not tied up. She had jeans on and a blue jacket. The same one Black used to wear. Before the incident 14 years ago. "You've come to share you pain with me," Ash questioned. "We've both had similar experiences. We both lost a lover because of an organisation. I lost Black because of Ghetsis and you lost Dawn because of Giovanni," White replied. "It would not seem so," Ash said, "you and I are nothing alike," Ash yelled at her, "you lost Black because you were weak. You failed to save him. He was so much better at everything than you. He protected you and you just let him be taken by the light stone." White smiled sadly but saw a tear roll down her cheek. "I can choose whether I want to save Dawn," Ash continued, "you couldn't. That's what makes us different, Senior White."
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