The Battle Dome Tournament: Ash and Red

**"The Battle Dome Tournament: Ash and Red"** is the sixteenth chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* As soon as Ash's group arrives to Lavender Town and meets Red and Yellow, they're all invited by Scott to participate in the Battle Dome Tournament on the offer of amazing prizes, money and free food for the contestants, and the three decide to take part in the competition. Meanwhile, Scott takes an interest in both Ash and Red, thinking they might be potential future challengers for the Battle Frontier.

## Plot

Just when Ash and Red are about to battle each other, Scott arrives to interrupt them. Ash is surprised to see him so early on his journey, while Scott talks to them about the upcoming Battle Dome Tournament that just happens to have three open slots. On the offer of prizes and free food for the contestant, Ash and company decide to accept, and they're all taken to the Battle Dome.

Inside, the tournament is hosted by the Dome Ace himself, Tucker. Ash notices that, aside from wearing his usual outfit, he has a clear stone in the headpiece that he didn't remember from the last time. Meanwhile, Iris is annoyed by the crowd's noise, while Misty is unimpressed. Tucker then releases his Pokémon for everyone to see: Swampert, Arcanine, Charizard, Salamence, Metagross, Hitmonchan, Victreebel, and Magnezone. Ash notices how half of them are carrying different colored stones in item holders, which seem to radiate some kind of mysterious power, something Pikachu also takes notice of. Tucker then announces, to Ash's surprise that the Battle Frontier only has five parts so far, the Dome, Pike, Palace, Pyramid, and most recently the Factory, making Ash guess that Greta and Anabel probably haven't joined yet. Tucker then announces the rules for the competition: a sixteen-man elimination tournament, with three Pokémon registered and to be used in one-on-one matches, and each Pokémon has to be used at least once during the tournament, similar to the Nimbasa City Battle Club Tournament as Ash recalls. Tucker also announces that items are not allowed, so Pikachu will have to sit this one out. Then, for initial prizes, Ash watches how Tucker's Metagross levitates with its psychic powers a series of small stones towards him and the rest of the competitors. Upon glancing it, Ash experiences a series of visions with his Pokémon, including Charizard, Heracross, Pidgeot, Sceptile and Glalie fighting similar yet different battles to The Old Timeline, and acquiring forms he's never seen before. Ash then recalls the Mega Blaziken he got to see during his short stint in Kalos, and wonders if those visions are related to those Pokémon being able to Mega Evolve themselves. Tucker then announces that the tournament is officially underway.

On the first match, Red goes up against Alex Davis. The latter sends out a Kadabra, while he himself uses his Charmeleon. Red uses his Victory Sight power to calculate the odds, giving him an 86%. He, just like Ash, experienced visions of Mega Evolutions upon holding the stone he was given, but still has little clue about them, so he decides to focus on the battle at hand. The two are more or less evenly matched, as both have earned three Kanto Gym Badges, but Red ultimately manages to win, using Charmeleon's Shadow Claw to defeat Kadabra with a super effective attack.

Misty takes the stage for the fourth match, she herself having experienced similar Mega Evolution visions like Ash and Red. Tucker announces out loud that Misty is the cousin of Kalos Elite Four member Siebold for everyone, much to her embarrassment, before introducing her opponent, Otoshi from Fuchsia City. The battle goes underway, Misty calls Staryu and Otoshi sends out his Cubone. Despite the type disadvantage, Cubone manages to defend well against Staryu, until the latter manages to knock his bone out of reach and leaves him helpless to attack, giving Misty the victory. On a show of good sportsmanship, Misty picks up the fallen bone and returns it to Otoshi after he goes to pick up his fallen Cubone.

Iris steps up for the seventh match, likewise after experiencing Mega Evolution visions. Her opponent is Jeanette Fisher, but Iris has no interest in her, instead focused on her goal of finding Hunter J and rescue her family. Jeanette sends out a Scyther while Iris sends out Emolga. As soon as she appears, the crowd begins to gush over how cute Emolga is, while she herself is delighted to be the center of attention much to Iris' chagrin. As the battle goes underway, Iris orders Emolga to use Attract, having noticed the Scyther is male, but Jeanette counters by ordering Fury Cutter, slicing the attack off with no effect. The two are evenly matched, but Emolga clearly has the upper hand thanks to her type advantage, and they finish the battle with their recently learned Electro Ball, winning and making it to the next round.

Before the eighth battle begins, Ash tries to ask his Pokédex about information about Mega Evolution. The device tries to deflect his question talking about random topics, before admitting to not have much info about it yet, save for the files downloaded from the Rotan library which still need to be translated. Ash is then called for his own match, only for Tucker to announce his victories in the Pewter, Cerulean and Vermillion Gyms, also adding that the second one is worth eight badges for everyone to hear, much to his chagrin.

In the stands, Pikachu along with Goomy (who's wearing a soda drinking cap) is sitting next to Scott, who informs him he has his sources to find out everything within the Battle Frontier. Pikachu comments that this'll probably bring trouble for Ash, which Scott, despite not understanding Pokémon speech, correctly deduces. He tells him that, whatever the result may be for Ash, he can keep the drinking cap Goomy is currently wearing.

All over Kanto the reactions are made obvious: Delia is watching the tournament at Oak's lab, and demands an explanation from the scientist, who neglected to mention the circumstances of his match at the Cerulean Gym before, prompting Bulbasaur and Krabby to leave the premises. In Pewter City, Brock almost opens his eyes in shock, realizing what got the Sensational Sisters fired. In Vermilion City, Lt. Surge calls the Sensational Sisters "tactless", prompting his nine Raichu to roll their eyes in disbelief. Lastly, somewhere on the way to Celadon City, Paul watches the tournament with a furious gaze at the revelation.

Back on the dome, Ash's worries about the revelation are compounded when his opponent is revealed to be Solidad, who has six gym badges of her own. Ash is surprised to see her as a trainer instead of a coordinator. The battle gets underway, with Solidad sending out a Slowbro, and Ash sending out Snivy, prompting a reaction of surprise out of Solidad. Trying to play the smart way, Ash decides to keep Snivy's type hidden as long as possible and orders her to use Attract. However, the attack doesn't have any effect whatsoever, and the Pokédex reveals that Slowbro has the ability Oblivious that makes it immune to attraction and taunting. Solidad counters with Yawn, sending out a cloud of shiny bubbles at Snivy. Ash once more orders Attract using it as a defense, cancelling both attacks out. Ash then tries using Snivy's Grass-type attacks while Solidad uses Slowbro's Psychic to move around the arena as if dancing. Ash quickly recognizes that Solidad is using a Contest Battling style, so he promptly orders Snivy to use Leaf Storm over and over to increase its power. Solidad manages to catch Ash off-guard by pulling off a fifth move: Aerial Ace. The Pokédex explains that Pokémon can break the four move limit with enough experience, which Ash should try after a few badges.

Mid-battle, Ash asks Solidad about her battling style, which she explains that she intends to enter Pokémon Contests but wants to gain experience as a trainer to be strong enough to win by KO if necessary. The battle continues and Ash eventually manages to pull off a win by the hair, much to his relief.

During the break between rounds, Iris asks Ash about already being qualified for the Pokémon League. Ash has to explain that he was tricked into battling and managed to win just by having some skill and luck, and just because he's qualified, it doesn't mean he's strong enough for it. The Pokédex then rings out, announcing a call from Delia, which Ash had been dreading since Tucker announced about his Gym Badges.

The second round begins, and Ash is pitted against A.J., who is eager for a rematch from the last time. Ash sends Squirtle once more, while A.J. sends his Sandslash, having already evolved from Sandshrew. The battle goes underway, and despite dodging well, Squirtle is quickly forced to activate Torrent when Sandslash lands two solid blows on him, much to Ash's shock. In the stands, Scott comments how Ash favors Pokémon like Pikachu, speedy and maneuverable yet able to perform high-powered attacks while also being skilled in dodging, but that has the drawback of making them less durable when they take damage. Yellow, who is nearby, asks if Ash should have evolved his Pokémon, to what Scott replies that no, using unevolved Pokémon is a valid strategy as well, as they can learn moves much faster and opponents might be more used to fight their evolved forms at high levels, and Ash must be taking notice of the drawbacks between this and the previous match. Back in the arena, Squirtle manages to learn Brine, a Water-type attack that doubles damage if the opponent is already weakened, helping them win the match. A.J. picks up Sandslash and shakes hands with Ash, promising to become stronger and win the next time, to which Ash replies wishing him good luck.

The next battles continue without much fanfare: Misty defeats the Hiker with her Poliwrath while James uses Carnivine to win his own match. The next match has Red vs. Iris, and Ash has some interest in it. Red sends his Clefairy, while Iris sends out her Axew, giving him a full advantage and, according to his Victory Sight, 98% of victory odds. Iris recalls how she and Axew trained on the use of Dragon Claw and how much pride they took on it, and decide to open the match with it. Much to their shock, however, the attack doesn't do any damage to Clefairy. Red orders Clefairy to use Sing, while Iris and Axew counter with Dragon Rage. The attack neutralizes the musical notes, but once again it does not damage Clefairy. Red orders a Double Slap and Iris, out of options, has no choice but to counter with Scratch. Axew fighting back has Red's victory odds drop to 90%. Clefairy uses Metronome, while both Red and his Pikachu seem perturbed by his behavior, almost as much as Iris and Axew. The Metronome summons a Shadow Ball, which Axew deflects with Dragon Claw before attacking with Scratch once more. Another Metronome gives Clefairy a Vicegrip, trapping Axew and then proceeds to try and rip out his tusks. Desperate, Iris jumps into the arena to rescue Axew, forfeiting the match. Red quickly returns Clefairy and apologizes, but Iris can only glare at him in response.

Meanwhile, Ash and Misty check the items they earned in their previous matches, a Miracle Seed (which Ash gives to Snivy) and a Mystic Water (which Misty gives to Staryu). Ash senses Iris nearby, who is depressed and upset over her loss. Ash then brings out the Pokédex, who proceeds to explain that Clefairy is a Fairy-type Pokémon, immune to Dragon-type attacks and weak to Steel-type ones. Iris realizes that she would have been better off using Excadrill, but Ash assures her everyone makes bad calls sometimes. Iris is still upset because she was the one who sent Axew to a battle he couldn't win and got him hurt, but Ash reminds her she also got him out before he was injured seriously, and they can grow stronger to beat Clefairy the next time. The talk does help Iris and Axew feel better.

Ash once more takes his spot on the arena for the third round, and now he's set to fight James. The latter says they should put their previous meetings behind for the time being and have a friendly match with all the respect that it entails. Ash decides to play along, while James sends out his Inkay to battle, albeit also bringing out the rest of his Pokémon so they can watch, much to Ash's surprise for having them already with him. James takes the chance to look at the camera and yell at his parents for taking his friends from him, and that he's not afraid of them in case they're watching. Ash meanwhile sends out Butterfree, and the two engage in combat. James' Inkay uses a Return tackle, which Butterfree admits hurt pretty much, before the two engage in a Psybeam duel that results in an explosion. Ash tries to put Inkay to sleep with Sleep Powder, but James catches wind of this and orders a Psybeam that sends Butterfree falling down. Before he falls, though, Ash orders him to use String Shot to drag Inkay with him, slamming the squid to the ground. Angered, James orders Return, while Ash tries to counter with a Gust. However, the attack suddenly turns into Silver Wind, giving it more power on top of a double type advantage against Inkay, winning the match for them. Afterwards, James picks up Inkay and accepting his defeat gracefully, promptly leaves the arena, leaving Ash wondering what's up with him.

On the next semifinal bout, Misty is set to face Red, whom she's noticed looks a lot like Ash, down to having a Pikachu on his shoulder, and correctly guesses he's probably going to use him now against her, having already seen her choice of Pokémon. Meanwhile, Red notices the similarities between Misty and the Cerulean Sisters, guessing that she is a relative of them, but clearly more talented or hard-working than them. Red uses Pikachu while Misty calls Gyarados. His victory odds show 99%, but unknown to him, the redhead has a strategy in mind. As soon as Red has his Pikachu unleash a Thunderbolt, she has Gyarados use Iron Tail to nullify the damage, dropping Red's victory odds to 10%, much to his shock. Red's Pikachu uses Quick attack, slamming Gyarados in the face and preparing to hit with Brick Break, while Misty gets ready to counter using Dragon Rage. Red once more tries an electric attack with Thunder Punch, while Misty, unsure if the Iron Tail will work as well with a physical attack, instead orders Gyarados to use Water Pulse to push Pikachu away before he makes contact. Red's victory odds drop to 8%. Seeing that Quick Attack is the only move that gets through, Red tries using it repeatedly, but Gyarados swats Pikachu away using Iron Tail, forcing him to counter with Brick Break.

In the stands, Yellow watches how Red seems about to lose and calls out to Pikachu, briefly causing Ash's Pikachu nearby to become confused, and she comments as to why some people use nicknames for their Pokémon. Meanwhile, Scott comments that Red might have a way to defeat Misty, but he doesn't have the insight to try something outside the box yet. Yellow however is confident that Red can win.

Back in the arena, Misty orders Gyarados to use Water Pulse. Red uses his Victory Sight to slow down time and calculate the scenarios with each one of the moves his Pikachu can use. Brick Break, Thunder Punch and Quick Attack are a no-go, but Thunderbolt gives him a 74% of victory odds for some reason. Red then guesses that Gyarados Iron Tail was what negated the damage from the attack before, and takes his chances despite the unknown variables. As the electric attack is unleashed, Misty has no time to switch to Iron Tail for defense, and Gyarados takes full damage. Gyarados drops on the ground defeated, while Red advances to the finals.

Misty returns to Ash, who congratulates her despite her loss. Ash assures her that everyone loses sometimes, and the best she can do is move on and learn something from it, such as improving her defenses against electric attacks. Like with Iris, it helps her feel much better afterwards.

Before the final match, both Red and Ash are pondering on which Pokémon they will use. Red considers Ash's three Pokémon, Snivy, Squirtle and Butterfree, while also recalling that his battling style is beyond comprehension, his most likely option seems to be Squirtle, and having already experience with Gary Oak's starter, he feels confident he can win regardless of his choice of Pokémon. With Snivy, Red admits he might have difficulties even when using Charmeleon, as he doesn't have Fire-type ranged attacks to use to his advantage, plus Snivy has versatile tricks such as Leaf Storm powering up and Attract. He however discards Butterfree as a possible choice, considering it completely mad.

Ash meanwhile, discussing with his Pokédex, thinks otherwise: rather than go for the logical option in Squirtle, he'd rather use the least likely one: Butterfree, who has two possible disadvantaged match-ups with Red's Charmeleon or Pikachu, since Red will most likely be expecting Squirtle, and Snivy showed everything she had with Solidad's Slowbro thus he won't have the surprise factor on his side this time around. The Pokédex thinks Ash is mad, but ultimately accepts his decision on account that he gives him good data to analyze.

The final round begins, and both trainers send out their Pokémon. As soon as they appear, Red's Victory Sight quickly shows him 100%, while he himself is in shock that Ash chose Butterfree. He calls for a Rock Tomb to end this quickly, but as soon as the battle starts, Ash orders Butterfree to tie the rocks using String Shot neutralizing the attack and, much to Red's shock, glitching his Victory Sight into unknown odds. Red calls for Dragon Rage with Ash countering with Silver Wind.

In the stands, while Yellow cheers for Red and Pikachu and Goomy do the same for Ash, Scott watches both trainers, quickly deducing how they're completely opposite from each other, Ash being able to come up with unexpected yet effective maneuvers on the fly, but still lacking in strength, and Red having raised strong Pokémon but lacking insight to think outside the box, both of them potential challengers for the Battle Frontier in the future, after they have a few leagues under their belt.

Back in the arena, Charmeleon tries to get close to land a Fire Fang attack while Butterfree uses String Shot to shut his mouth before he can land it, causing him to swallow the Fire Fang. Ash calls for a Silver Wind, making Red wonder if he's trying to take advantage of the power boost effect. Charmeleon ducks to evade and then goes for a Shadow Claw. Butterfree tries to blow him away with Silver Wind, but the attack barely fazes Charmeleon, making Ash realize that Gust would have probably been better in this case due to type effectiveness. The battle ends when Charmeleon lunges for another Fire Fang while Butterfree hits him on the chest with a Psybeam, knocking each other out. While cheering for Butterfree to stand up, Ash once more feels that power in his eyes and is about to use it, but then realizes that would make the victory hollow, as he'd been winning through unfair means. Sensing that Butterfree agrees with him, he choses to not use his power, but in doing so gives Charmeleon the chance to stand up while Buttefree drops on the field, defeated. Red is then declared the winner of the tournament. The two trainers acknowledge each other skills and then part ways, ending the tournament.

As they leave Lavender Town, Misty and Iris are surprised that Ash is taking his loss so well. He replies that he can't mope over a defeat, instead taking what he can to learn from it and help make his Pokémon stronger. He then ponders that he's always worked with his Pokémon strengths rather than try and push them beyond their limits or remove their weaknesses, like Paul did.

In the Lavender Pokémon Center, Red ponders about how he sensed that Ash had a similar power to his own, and could have used it to win in their match, but for some reason he chose not to do so, and that intrigues and bothers him, wondering if he actually won that match, or Ash merely lost it.

At the same time, in Kalos, Serena watched the tournament on TV and feels saddened at Ash's loss before going to sleep, unaware that her hair changes its natural color to black, as if reflecting her feelings at the moment.

## Continuity

* First appearances of Solidad, Tucker, Jeanette Fisher, Otoshi, Alex Davies and the Hiker.
* The Battle Dome Tournament begins and ends. Ash suffers his first on-screen defeat in the new timeline.
* Ash, Misty, Iris, James and Red, along with everyone else who take part in the tournament, receive their Key Stones.

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash Ketchum
* Red Tajiri
* Scott
* Misty Waterflower
* Iris
* Yellow
* Tucker
* Alex Davis
* James
* Otoshi
* Jeanette Fisher
* Delia Ketchum
* Professor Samuel Oak
* Brock Harrison
* Lt. Surge
* Paul
* Solidad
* A.J.
* The Hiker
* Serena Gabena

### Pokémon

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Pikachu (Red's)
* Metagross (Tucker's)
* Swampert (Tucker's)
* Arcanine (Tucker's)
* Charizard (Tucker's)
* Salamence (Tucker's)
* Hitmonchan (Tucker's)
* Victreebel (Tucker's)
* Magnezone (Tucker's)
* Mega Charizard-X (Ash's; vision)
* Magmar (Blaine's; vision)
* Spearow (Wild; vision)
* Fearow (Wild; vision)
* Mega Pidgeot (Ash's; vision)
* Mega Blastoise (Gary's; vision)
* Mega Heracross (Ash's; vision)
* Mega Glalie (Ash's, vision)
* Metang (Morrison's; vision)
* Mega Sceptile (Ash's; vision)
* Mega Blaziken (May's; vision)
* Mega Blastoise (Vision)
* Mega Gyarados (Vision)
* Mega Slowbro (Vision)
* Mega Swampert (Vision)
* Mega Sharpedo (Vision)
* Kadabra (Alex Davis')
* Charmeleon (Red's)
* Yamask (James')
* Cubone (Otoshi's)
* Staryu (Misty's)
* Mega Charizard X (Vision)
* Mega Garchomp (Vision)
* Mega Sceptile (Vision)
* Mega Altaria (Vision)
* Mega Salamence (Vision)
* Mega Latias (Vision)
* Mega Latios (Vision)
* Mega Rayquaza (Vision)
* Scyther (Jeanette's)
* Emolga (Iris')
* Goomy (Ash's)
* Bulbasaur (Ash's)
* Krabby (Ash's)
* Raichu (Lt. Surge's)
* Snivy (Ash's)
* Slowbro (Solidad's)
* Sandslash (A.J.'s)
* Squirtle (Ash's)
* Poliwrath (Misty's)
* Carnivine (James')
* Clefairy (Red's)
* Axew (Iris')
* Butterfree (Ash's)
* Inkay (James')
* Gyarados (Misty's)