Chapter eight (AKPKMN)

**Review Responses:**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct:** Yeah and due to Ash's power I've had to invent an OC for an opponent.

**keyblademeister88:** Yeah Giovanni was desperate and thought he'd focus on the big two wants. Also, I read your story: Harry Potter and The New Occupant and loved it. Left you a few reviews too.

**Lezaroth:** Yeah, I always liked the idea of having levels of Mastery. I always imagined Goodshow as a former talented trainer who just wasn't good enough to make it at the highest levels and decided to go into politics. If you're talking about Ash's private island then it already has a castle on it. The Island where Mewtwo was kept was taken for a secondary plot line that was dropped. Oh I think you might like Ash's battles. I had to create an OC to spice things up. You will get to see Ash mentor and help some trainers.

It was finally time for the Indigo Plateau Conference's opening ceremony to begin and Ash and all of his Pokemon were eager to begin battling.

"And the opening ceremonies of the Pokemon League competition are officially underway. This is where the top Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon come to prove their skill, their strength, and their spirit. These hopeful competitors will battle one another as they strive always for excellence and victory. A victory they will need to enter the ranks of the Pokemon Masters! And here they come!"

"The competitors are proudly entering the stadium, each having proved their worthiness by winning a minimum of eight Gym Badges!"

Ash entered the stadium with the sole intention of finally leaving it the winner of this competition... and one day the champion of the Kanto region.

"Here is President Goodshow to greet our competitors!"

"Welcome one and all! This stadium is a very special place, a place where those who truly love Pokemon have come to compete! Here the glow from the flame of Moltres burns brightly to light our hearts and spirits. Battle valiantly and keep that flame alive, in your heart and in your spirit!"

Once President Goodshow was done talking they began the competition.

Ash was first pit against a guy named Mandi, who Ash genuinely mistook for a female and greatly amused everyone in attendance and watching on TV. The guys Exeggutor was dominated by Gengar, who went on to easily defeat his Golbat and Seadra. Still, Ash remained humble and reminded himself that Mandi wasn't even a remotely talented trainer.

After another disappointing match, Ash battled Pete Pebbleman with his Rhyperior defeating Pete's entire team.

Jeanette Fisher had her team swept next by Charizard and given how weak her Pokemon were Ash was wondering how she even qualified. Her strategies were decent, but her Pokemon lacked enough power.

Sadly, Gary lost and Ash wouldn't get a chance to defeat him again in the competition. Ash had made it to the Top 16 though and was closer to possibly winning the Indigo Plateau Conference. Ash decided to relax in between his battles and watch the other battles... It seemed that Melissa, Ritchie, and Assunta would all advance and hopefully Ash would get to battle them all.

After his mother arrived and took over the kitchen in a restaurant and cooked for them, Ash enjoyed a nice meal with his mother and Professor Oak.

"So, Ash, did you get a bunch of training in?" Oak asked, Ash's battles had greatly impressed him so far.

"Oh yeah," Ash replied. "Have you checked my recent captures or Pokedex data recently?"

"I've been too busy, why do you ask?" Oak asked.

Ash handed him his Pokedex...

"Pokedex completed," Oak stated in shock. "How?"

"Befriended a Mew and battled a Lugia with my Gyarados. The others required hard work, and I also offered food and first aid in exchange for catch and release. I did it Professor. I did what not even the legendary Red could do. I may not have battled Mew, but I caught it."

"That's great, Ash. I was just surprised!" Oak said. "Do you still plan to travel before challenging an Elite Four and Champion?"

"Yes. I want to grow as strong as I possibly can before that." Ash said and Oak nodded in understanding.

"Two members of the Johto Elite Four were recently murdered for associating with Team Rocket and the Johto Champion Lance has been looking for replacements or substitutes to fill the vacancies... I told him about yourself and Misty; one of the Cerulean City Gym Leaders who dreams of being in the Elite Four. He expressed interest in recruiting you; at the very least as a substitute. If you continue doing well in the Indigo Conference it will only improve your chances... but you will need to choose one or two types with similar weaknesses while acting as one of the Elite Four."

"I can do Rock and Ground, Fire, and Flying; if five-on-five. I would have to use my new Moltres for Fire though, but Rock and Ground would allow me to give a great challenge to any trainers."

"Well, you can tell Lance that," Oak said. "Here he comes with Misty."

Moments later, Lance was greeting their table. "Hello, Professor, and I'm assuming that you are the Ketchum's?"

"Yes," Ash replied, overcoming his awe very quickly.

"May we join you?" Lance asked politely.

"Of course!" Ash, Delia, and Oak said.

"Thank you," Lance replied, pulling out a chair for Misty before taking his own seat. "As you all most likely know, Team Rocket was recently purged by an unknown assassin..." They all nodded, and Lance then continued. "Will and Karen of the Johto Elite Four were both affiliated with Team Rocket and after being defeated and murdered, I have been seeking replacements. Naturally, I asked both Professor Oak and Elm for recommendations. Oak here was kind enough to make my job far easier. Misty has been training with Wallace, Juan, and Siebold and has grown powerful enough under their guidance to be considered for the Elite Four. As for Ash, he easily defeated both Koga, Blaine, and Giovanni using one Pokemon per Gym Leader and having read his trainer profile I believe that he is easily Elite Four-level."

"We were actually just talking about that Lance," Oak said, before gesturing for Ash to take over.

"I can only use five Flying-types, but I can use Rock and Ground and Fire, but I would need my Moltres to have a full team of Fire-types. Rock and Ground would allow me to provide the best challenge for the trainers taking the Elite Four challenge."

"Ash is being modest. His Pokemon are easily strong enough to fight on par with the Elite Four." Oak said, and as a former regional champion who battled the Elite Four his word counted for a lot. "His strategic mind, ruthlessness while being gentle enough to not inflict permanent harm, and his ability to calmly predict his opponents strategies, and then dissect and counter them would make him a great boon to Johto's Elite Four."

"Would you be interested in substituting or joining full time?" Lance asked.

"I could substitute, but being full-time would prevent me from continuing my journey to become a Pokemon Master," Ash replied, to which Lance nodded.

"I'll continue observing your performance, but you are the best candidate so far for the second vacancy," Lance said.

Lance and Misty excused themselves and left.

"I'm gonna be on the Johto Elite Four," Ash said in awe.

"Most likely, yes," Oak agreed with a smile. Oak was pleased that his protege was thriving.

The next opponent Ash was to face was Ritchie, a recent acquaintance of his. Still, Ash wouldn't hold back against him.

Once the referee said his part the battle began...

"Go Sparky!"

"Go Charizard!" Ash said, not wanting Ritchie to return his Pikachu due to a major type disadvantage. Ritchie started it off with a Thunderbolt that did nothing due to the heat channeled within Charizard's body. Charizard used a dispersed Heat Wave that struck Sparky and then followed it up with an Overheat that left Sparky unable to battle.

"Go Happy! Use Sleep Powder!"

"Destroy it with Flare Blitz!" Ash ordered, and watched his Charizard fly across the battle field, destroying the Sleep Powder, striking the Butterfree and causing Happy to faint.

"Go Zippo!" Ritchie said. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Dragon Pulse," Ash replied, disappointed by Ritchie's choice in his final Pokemon. The Dragon Pulse easily overwhelmed the Flamethrower and blasted Zippo into the ground... unable to battle.

"Charmander is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The referee declared.

Ash's next opponent was Assunta, who had her team defeated with relative ease and Ash advanced to the Top 4. His next opponent was far weaker.

Being one of two trainers left, it was down to Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and Bill from Hoenn.

"This will be a full six-on-six battle with substitutions allowed and will have no time limit. The winner will leave here the winner of the Indigo League, win one million Poke dollars and other prizes, and gain the right to challenge the Elite Four and the reigning Champion at any time they desire."

"Go Espeon!" Bill said.

"Go Gengar!" Ash said, opting to play it safe at first.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Bill ordered, going immediately for the kill.

"Redirect it with Psychic!" Ash ordered and then had it followed up by another Shadow Ball, but from Gengar.

"Espeon is unable to battle! Bill send out your next Pokemon!"

Bill returned his defeated Espeon, shocked at such a quick defeat and the tactics used. To be fair, most Psychic Pokemon can't redirect attacks, and seeing a Ghost-type do it was nearly unheard of. Bill decided to have his Alakazam wear down Ash's Gengar, he would be saving his best for dealing with his other Pokemon.

"Go Alakazam! Use Psychic!"

"Shadow Punch!" Ash ordered and Alakazam was heavily damaged and quickly put on the defensive. "Shadow Ball!"

"Teleport!" Bill said, panicking.

Alakazam barely managed it in time, but was hit by Hypnosis; putting it to sleep, then Toxic, Nightmare, Hex, and then finished off by Shadow Ball.

Bill's Medicham was quickly defeated next, by Night Shade. With Bill having had three Pokemon defeated, they were forced to take a short break.

Ash was amused when Bill's coach lectured him before getting dismissed by Bill and then led away by security. It was finally time for the battle restart, and Ash was hoping his Gengar's could continue sweeping...

"Go Gallade!"

"Go Gengar!"

"Gallade, use Psycho Cut!" Bill ordered.

"Catch it with Psychic!" Harry said calmly, and Gengar caught Gallade, suspending it in midair. "Hypnosis!"

"Use Dream Eater!" Ash said, and Gengar obeyed, damaging Gallade. Ash continued the assault, with a Dream Eater/Nightmare/Hex/Toxic combo.

"Gallade is unable to battle! Bill, send out your next Pokemon!"

Bill returned his defeated Gallade and sent out his Gardevoir, smirking.

"Gardevoir! Mega Evolve!" Bill said, to the confusion of nearly everyone. Everyone watched as power emitted from Bill's Key Stone and Gardevoir and light enveloped Gardevoir as it evolved into its Mega-Evolved form. When it had finished evolving, Bill was extremely confident. "I'll be winning this conference and this battle!"

Ash laughed at Bill's over-confidence and then had Gengar use Mean Look and Destiny Bond, while Bill was rejoicing in his supposed victory.

"Use Imprison!" Bill ordered angrily, but only succeeded in annoying Ash with his strategy.

Ash sighed in annoyance and then had Gengar begin a brutal onslaught of Ghost-type moves. Or Ash intended too anyway. It fainted after four Shadow Balls and a Night Shade, and was left in very bad shape. Bill angrily returned his defeated Gardevoir and sent out his Metagross. Naturally, he also Mega-Evolved it.

Bill knew that he was going to lose, but at this point he just wanted to defeat even one of Ash's Pokemon.

Bill ordered Mega Metagross to use Meteor Mash and Ash ordered a Destiny Bond, and then a Shadow Ball that only briefly slowed Mega Metagross down before it hit Gengar. Gengar used Explosion, ending the battle to Ash's favor. Ash knew that his Gengar was too close to fainting to defeat Mega Metagross and win, but Explosion allowed him to secure the victory all by himself.

"Metagross is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town has won the Indigo Plateau Conference! Ash, as most call him, is the second youngest to have done so, but he is the first to have only one of his Pokemon to faint during the Indigo Conference his victory. That, people, is an accomplishment for the ages! An as of yet unmatched accomplishment that many will seek to surpass!" The announcer said.

"Here comes the Champion, Atrius, and the President of the Torch Committee, Charles Goodshow to present our newest Champion with his trophy!"

"Well done, Ash!" President Goodshow said jovially. "You have certainly earned this and more. You and your Pokemon are all truly exceptional! Only one fainted! Impressive! For your achievement, you are awarded the title Champion of the Indigo League Conference, one million Pokedollars, and the right to challenge the Elite Four and Champion at any time you desire. Also, here is your Pokemon League Badge to signify your participation in the Indigo Plateau Conference."

Ash left the Indigo Plateau truly pleased with himself and with his Pokemon. He had actually won his first League Conference! He didn't ever expect to do that... he merely trained and prepared with that in mind, but he was still happy.

Ash's time after the Indigo League was great. Professor Oak was studying Ash's Legendary Pokemon and was advancing the worlds understanding of them by leaps and bounds with Mew contributing.

Unfortunately, Ash's Rock and Ground team was so powerful that he was positioned as the fourth of the Elite Four... no one ever made it to him. Ash had plenty of time to travel to Valencia Island and deliver the GS Ball to Oak.

At least Ash got more training in while killing time until Johto and his Pokemon had improved greatly. Ash battled a lot of trainers with the Pokemon that he wasn't using as an Elite Four member and won a lot of money off them. So many just wanted to test themselves and their Pokemon against him and his.

Ash had also gotten his Pokedex updated and he began working on purging Cipher and capturing Pokemon to speed up its completion.

Cipher would later go down in history as the most easily beaten of the teams.

Ash disabled production of Shadow Pokemon and killed everyone who knew how to corrupt more of them.

With Cipher essentially ruling Orre they didn't even bother hiding and Ash was able to kill so many so fast that Cipher never stood a chance... They were beaten in under a month. Team Snagem joined them in hell mere days later.

That left Ash with the duty of creating an entirely new league.

Finding enough type specialists wasn't very difficult. Justy became a Gym Leader and several others stepped forward and were given training. They designed their own badges, were given funding and further training, and Colosseums were to serve as elite Gyms, schools, and also be used for tournaments. Ash was funding it temporarily with his own spoils from Cipher.

Best of all, Fate, Death, and Arceus had used their powers to give Orre more Pokemon... Pokemon from other worlds, but similar to the ones already there. All Pokemon within two worlds were relocated to others and two worlds ruled by people named Cyrus and Lysandre were each erased due to being unsavable.

For his reward, Ash was given former Pokemon of theirs... a Gyarados, Crobat, and Houndoom. Ash gave the latter two to Leaf.

It was the Orre Elite Four that was giving him trouble though...

Ash recruited another Rock and Ground-type specialist, a woman named Tera, and offered Misty a spot on the Orre Elite Four. He even got the third person, but he still needed a fourth.

Fortune had favored him yet again, however, and Lance, the Johto Champion, Kanto Elite Four member, and Pokemon G-Man member had been captured while spying and had caused some damage while trying to evade capture.

"Lancey, Lancey," Ash, disguised, said before making a 'tsking' noise. "Espionage, resisting arrest, and terrorism. That's a life sentence for you."

"Your government isn't legitimate!" Lance said angrily.

"And Cipher and Team Snagem's was?! They conducted inhumane experiments on people and Pokemon and many other crimes. I couldn't just destroy their government and then leave a vacuum behind for another tyrant to fill. I'm building a government, a new league, importing more Pokemon, and funding it all with Cipher's money."

"Tell me Lance... Who is more evil? I fight and permanently eradicate evil, but you let it fester. The reduced crime rate in Kanto? Me! Team Rocket's eradication? Me. Cipher and Team Snagem's eradication? Me!"

"I'm making the world a better place Lance... you just pretend too." Lance looked quite angry and would've punched Ash in the face had he gotten the chance.

"Where are my Pokemon?" Lance asked.

"In stasis. No food, water, air, or exercise requirement and they can only be let out when we decide too. But we'll get to that." Ash paused, irritating Lance further. "So, what will it be? Execution and likely a war with massive casualties? Or will you agree to act as the final member of our Elite Four and an ambassador to the Pokemon League?"

"Why would you let me have that kind of power?" Lance asked.

"Oh, you'll be replaced in the Elite Four as soon as I find someone strong enough. We wish to integrate with the Pokemon League, but we've also banned Legendary Pokemon from all official competitions and hope that the League will do the same. I'm no ruler. I'm just making sure that a tyrant doesn't step in and undo all my work here. Gyms have been established, leaders have been appointed, badges have been made, and three of the four Elite Four have been appointed. We just need more Nurse Joy's and Officer Jenny's, and a final Elite Four member... whoever defeats the Elite Four shall become the first Champion."

"There are others that you could recruit to your Elite Four... you met Ash Ketchum and let him catch the new Mewtwo," Lance said, fishing for information.

"He's just a kid who got lucky and won a League Conference," Ash said dismissively. "I let him have Mewtwo because I don't need any Pokemon to be strong."

"That kid could probably defeat me or at least come very close," Lance replied, angered at the insult to one of his temporary Elite Four. Lance considered Ash a viable successor; if he continued growing in strength and hearing this... thing insult him angered him greatly.

Ash was inwardly amused, but decided to just move on. It was good to know that Lance had such a high opinion of him though. "Yes or no?"

Lance sighed. "Yes, I'll accept your offer and help Orre, but this changes nothing between us. I won't rest until you are in prison where you belong."

"Well, you're doing wonderfully so far," Ash replied mockingly. "I understand your anger, Lance. Truly, I do. But the world is a far better place without Team Rocket, Team Snagem, and Cipher in it. I got results and all of Kanto, Johto, and Orre knows it... putting me in prison might not have the effect that you hope for. I have never asked anyone to emulate or join me; this is my task and sacrifice. Law enforcement had decades to try and they have no right to complain when someone finally steps up and does what they lack the will, ability, and conviction to do."

"I'll have someone let you out of your cage Lance, but if you try attacking me or any of these people... well, I'll do to you what I did to Giovanni and he begged to receive the mercy that he had never given anyone." Lance looked horrified. "I will purge this world of its major threats and no one will get in my way."

Ash left the cell, leaving a shocked Dragon Master in his wake.

After informing the others of Lance's choice Ash places eavesdropping spells on Lance's cape.

With his business in Orre concluded, Ash returned back to his island to change his clothes and pick up his Pokemon, and then to Pallet Town... Ash would be leaving for Johto soon and he wanted to rest some first.