Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - Casting the iron
“May! Get over here already!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!”. With one final touch, May flicks back her hair. “And I’m done!” she says, looking proudly in the mirror.
“By the time you’re done the match would’ve been over”, comes back a sneaky reply. Max pushes his glasses back, sitting on the couch in anticipation. “This could very well be the most important match in Ash’s life!”
“I hear ya. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen him!” remarks May. She sits down beside Max, no less excited. “I can’t wait for this battle to start. Can you believe, Ash battling the champion!”
“Well duh, of course I can. He’s the champion of Alola now. Plus, he’s strong enough to beat dad!”, Max boasts. In truth, he knows how far Ash has come since his days in Hoenn and he felt this rush of pride of him making it to the Masters 8 tournament.
“Well I’m only a gym leader”, comes a calm reply. “This tournament is where the true battling is at.” Norman looks at the screen with a smile. Ash is introduced on stage, waving his hands and his face is lit up in determination.
“Well let’s watch it together, honey.” Caroline says, “I’m sure we’ll enjoy the battle regardless”.
This was the conversation of a family found in Petalburg city in the Hoenn region, halfway across the world from where the Master 8 tournament takes place. In Galar, we find the champions waiting in the back room, looking at their rivals in excitement.
“Waah, I can’t believe I’m going up against THE Cynthia!” Iris shouts, clearly freaking out.
“I know, isn’t it awesome!”, Ash replies, just as loud.
“How are you not freaking out right now! You’re going up against STEVEN STONE!” Iris shouts while clenching her head.
“I know! I’ll finally be able to get that rematch”, Ash grin enthusiastically. His heart pumps faster, after all this time, he finally gets to battle him again. Bouncing slightly, Ash reminisces about the Hoenn League and the battles he’s had. He has grown since then, he thinks. ‘With how awesome my pokemon are, I can’t lose!’ Pikachu trills beside him as he looks at the two pokeballs in his hands. His choice of pokemon is going to surprise a lot of people.
It all started when he visited Pallet Town right before traveling to Galar for the Masters 8 tournament.
“Alright everyone, as you know the Masters 8 tournament is coming up. We’re going to go up against opponents like Cynthia, Steven, Lance and LEON! So let’s put in our all for today’s training!”, Ash shouts as he pumps up his fist in the air.
All of his pokemon jump and shout in excitement, some even launching some attacks. In particular, Ash notices the glint in their eyes. The determination to win. He thinks about his teams. Gengar, Dragonite, Lucario, Dracovish, Sirfetch'd…
They’ve all been working really hard to get them here, but was it enough. Doubt lingered in his mind. Yes, he has confidence in them, but they were only together for a year. Would their bond be enough to go against Champions who had decades of experience.
Paul helped him realize this when he visited. Going up against his Metagross, Gyarados, and Garchomp was no walk in the park. He knew a champion’s partner was going to be much more difficult. He needed a plan. Ash started wracking up his brain for past battles.
He thought back to his Hoenn team and loss following his match with Tyson. Pikachu was barely able to win against Meowth, leaving him tired for his match with Steven.
He knew it was a great match, it really was. He was able to knock out TWO champion levelled pokemon, even though Steven defeated all six of his. They would only have 3 pokemon in the first round. Ash had to prepare carefully for this.
His gaze wandered to the side of the clearing, green scales and black feathers. Yes, out of all of his pokemon, their eyes shined the brightest when he mentioned Steven. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to change things up a little…
“Hey Sceptile! Swellow! You guys have a minute, I wanna talk about something.”