Rise From The Ashes (A Pokemon Rewrite)

Homefield Advantage

After winning his four exhibition matches on the elemental fields, Ash has finally made it to the Top 16, where he'll be battling in the famous Indigo Stadium. However, he was very surprised to see that his first opponent was his rival, Gary Oak.

Gary: Lucky you.... Your stay in the Indigo Stadium's about to be a short one....

Ash: *irked* I wouldn't be bragging too soon, Gary. I'm not going to lose to you this time.

Green: Got that right, jerk!

Gary: Hey, Ash.... *digs into pocket* Remember this?

The other boy then pulls out what seemed to be the shrunken piece of a rusted and old Pokeball, this one being a ball's top. This however caused Ash to look in shock hat Gary had the piece.

Cobalt: Half of an old Pokeball?

Gary: Yeah, I thought so...

Ash: Of course I do! Its the other half of the Pokeball when we tied.

Misty: "Tied"? He kept half of a Pokeball from they tied?

Brock: Guess so.

Gary: Wrong! I consider that one a loss! As far as I'm concerned, a time with you IS a loss.

Ash: I keep forgetting, you keep saying things that make me not like you.

Gary: *rolls eyes* Starting now, the tournament's gonna be enforcing 6-on-6 battles. That means one thing... You're toast!

Ash: I wouldn't be so sure, Gary.

Gary: *chuckles* Well, it's YOUR funeral.

As Gary walked off, Ash and his starters growled in anger, while Misty and Brock just shook their heads in disappointment. Though of course, they didn't expect any less.

—-----------------------------------------

Luckily, Ash's match wasn't until tomorrow, so he had the rest of the day to come up with a strategy, specifically what Pokemon to use. In the bedroom, Ash was with his more abodable Pokemon as he dig through his bag,

Psi: What are you looking for, Ash?

Ash: I know it's in here somewhere. I just know I packed it- A-ha! Found it!

Out of his bag, Ash fished out a small drawstring bag, which he opened to pull out another half of an old, shrunken Pokeball, only it was the bottom.

Green: Hey, that's the other half of the Pokeball Gary had, right?

Ash: Yep. We both have a half because it broke in two. But this one's special. It's the very first Pokeball I had just before I started my journey.

He then went on to tell a story of right before he started his journey, he and Gary were fishing by a stream. He had managed to hook a Magikarp, (which proceeded to slap him in the face before landing back into the water) and Gary taunted Ash for being unable to name any of Magikarp's attacks due to being caught off-guard, including the Flail that was used on him. When both Ash and Gary caught a bite, both reeled in their lines but discovered that they had both hooked onto the same rusted Poké Ball.

Ash: And after we tried tugging it away from each other, the Ball broke in two.

Azula: Why keep it if Gary's just going to be sour about it?

Ash: I always kept it as a good luck charm, in a way.

Cobalt: Like with my wood carving....

Ash: Exactly. It carries all of my dreams of being a Pokemon Master. I tied with him then and I lost to him in school and I think I know why. I guess... I wasn't ready to beat him at the time. *determined* But I AM ready now, and I'm looking forward to this rematch!