Author's Notes:
Hello everyone, and welcome to a fresh new chapter. Ok so, starting with this chapter, and continuing on to the next couple chapters, a lot is going to happen. From just dramatic chapters, to new developments, to new information, and maybe sometimes all of the above. So sit down, strap in, and if anyone has a heart condition please take appropriate measures for the next few weeks.

If you like my work please vote, feel free to comment, and please share this story with your friends. I now present to you chapter 43, enjoy.

Normally in a tournament, people weren't too concerned about the matches of the previous day, and focused on the current days matches. This was not the case today however, as Paul's battle against Carlos was being described as nothing less than a massacre. Paul's Magmortar didn't just finish the match quickly. He set a new tournament record by finishing the match in one minute flat. His tactics were ruthless but effective, finishing the match with only two extremely powerful attacks.

Afterwards, Paul just returned Magmortar and walked away, leaving everyone but those who knew him worried for when he and Ash were to battle in the final round. After dinner, Paul and Miette weren't seen again, but they were heard by anyone walking by their room. Serena went to check on Miette once, but didn't even knock. Upon hearing the pleasure filled noises, Serena just blushed and left them alone. The only benefit of Serena hearing those noises was that it made her miss being intimate with Ash. Despite still being nervous about sex, much to Ash's enjoyment, Serena did go back to sleeping in just her bra and panties.

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It was almost time for Ash and Paul's match. Both were standing in their respective tunnels as they waited to hear their names. Up in the stands, Serena and Miette sat there patiently awaiting the beginning of the match. Neither one was speaking, because every time they did it turned into them both arguing about who was going to win.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final battle of the Moltres Cup!" William announced, causing the spectators to cheer in excitement. "First, from Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region, we have Paul Shinji."

Paul walked out of the tunnel as everyone cheered. His expression was back to his usual calm emotionless one, and he was feeling much better after crushing his previous opponent, regardless if it was the correct Carlos or not.

"And from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, we have Ash Ketchum," William announced.

Ash walked out with Pikachu on his shoulder as they both smiled and waved to the people in the stands.

Ash and Paul reached the trainer boxes, and listened as the referee explained the same rules as he did for all the other matches. Finally, the referee said the first thing that they cared to hear. "Trainers, release your Pokémon."

"Infernape, I choose you!" "Magmortar, standby for battle."

The two Pokémon emerged from their Pokéballs and gave battle cries as they faced one another.

"Both trainers ready?"

Ash and Paul nodded.

"Battle begin!"

"Infernape, mach punch!"

Infernape's fists both glow light blue as he charges in towards Magmortar.

"Counter with thunder punch and hold him," Paul ordered.

Magmortar's fists began to spark as they were covered in yellow electricity. Infernape threw his first mach punch and hit Magmortar in the face. But as he threw his second, Magmortar blocked with thunder punch, then grabbed his fist. The thunder punch was sending electricity through Infernape's body as Magmortar held him. But as it was weaker than Electivire's, he was able to endure. Infernape tried to pull away but couldn't. He then tried another mach punch with his free hand, but then Magmortar caught that one too.

"Magmortar, smog!"

Magmortar opened his mouth as a thick grey smoke came out. Infernape inhaled the smog as he struggled and began coughing as he became poisoned.

"Infernape, back to back double kicks to his face to break free!"

Infernape jumped up while still being held and rapidly began kicking Magmortar in the face. After the first kick, the smog stopped coming out, and after several repeated kicks to the face Magmortar released Infernape, allowing him to back away.

"Infernape, are you ok?" Ash asked.

Infernape looked back to Ash and smiled back as he nodded, but then winced as the poison affected him.

"We need to finish this fast. Close combat!" Ash called out.

Infernape quickly charged in for the attack.

"Use rock slide to stop him," Paul commands.

A white ring forms over Magmortar's head and several rocks with white outlines form, then start shooting at Infernape.

"Destroy those rocks with close combat," Ash yelled.

Infernape starts smashing the rocks as they approach him. It doesn't stop him, but it does slow him down.

"Now rock tomb!" Paul yelled.

Magmortar sticks out his arms and fires a purple circle into the air. The circle then formed into a large rock bigger than him, and came flying at Infernape.

"Dodge with dig!" Ash countered.

Infernape jumped up into the air and came down digging, getting completely under before the rock hit.

"Use earthquake while he's underground!" Paul yelled.

Magmortar jumped into the air, but right before he hit the ground, Infernape burst out of the ground slamming into him hard. Magmortar flew back up into the air and crashed back down.

"Alright Infernape, tectonic rage!" Ash called out.

Both Ash and Infernape began making the synchronized moves as Magmortar got back up to his feet.

"Get ready, just like how we practiced," Paul said quietly so only Magmortar could hear.

Infernape then slammed his fists into the ground.

"NOW!" Paul yelled.

Magmortar was down to one knee as his cannon arms were pointed down and pressed against the ground. Once hearing Paul's command he shot into the air like a rocket as he used a powerful flamethrower attack from both arms to propel him up into the air, just as the fissure formed underneath him. The crowd cheered as Ash and Infernape looked on with wide eyes as their powerful attack missed.

"Now rock tomb again!" Paul yelled.

While still mid air Magmortar fired the purple circle and created the large rock, and sent it at Infernape, who was still recovering from the failed Z move.

"Dodge!" Ash yelled.

Infernape started moving, but it was too late, as his leg was caught under the rock, and effectively pinning him in place.

"Finish this with hyper beam," Paul said calmly, believing the match was over.

Magmortar aimed both of his arm cannons at Infernape, then a pale pink beam with a white outline fires at him.

"INFERNAPE!" Ash yelled.

Just before the attack hit, Infernape felt a surge of power. The hyper beam hit creating a large dust cloud hiding Infernape. But before the dust could clear, a pillar of orange-yellow fire shot up, blowing the dust away. The flame was spiraling up into the air. At the base of the flame a white silhouette of Infernape could be seen. After a few seconds, the flame burst out in every direction as it dissipated.

Where the flame once stood, only a Pokémon remained that resembled the Infernape that was once there, but he was different. His feet were now black up to his knees, as were his hands up to his elbows, and his chest. The gold that was once at his chest was now around his waist like a belt, as well as around his wrists. On the back of both of his hands was a flame, as well as at the end of his tail. And finally a golden crescent shaped crest formed above his eyes with a red circle in the middle.

"This is amazing everyone! We are witnessing the first recorded mega evolution of an Infernape!" William yelled.

The crowd roared with excitement. Miette looked to Serena to ask why she didn't tell her about this, but saw she looked just as shocked as she was.

Paul looked in amazement at the mega evolved Pokémon as he took a battle stance, clearly rejuvenated and ready to fight.

"Now while he's recovering, use low sweep, then focus punch to send him up into the air!" Ash yelled.

Infernape rocketed towards Magmortar faster than ever as his right fist started glowing light blue. Upon arriving at Magmortar, he got low and swept his legs out from under him. As Magmortar fell, Infernape continued to spin around, doing a complete three sixty. Then using focus punch in the form of an uppercut sent Magmortar flying up into the air.

"After him, and send him back down with flame staff!" Ash called out. Upon the words leaving his mouth, Ash realized he had no idea why he said those words, or what kind of attack flame staff even is.

Regardless, Infernape jumped up into the air. As he went up, Infernape grabbed the flame coming out of the back of his left hand, and pulled out, just as the move suggested, a staff made of flames.

"Magmortar, counter with thunder punch!" Paul yelled.

Magmortar's fist sparked with electricity, and when Infernape was at his level he attempted to punch him. Infernape blocked with flame staff, knocking Magmortar's fist to the side. Infernape then spun the staff over his head before slamming it down on Magmortar's head, sending him plummeting down to the surface. Magmortar hit the ground hard enough so that everyone on the battlefield felt the ground shake as he was hidden in a dust cloud. Infernape landed, still holding his flame staff incase the match was to continue. In a few seconds, enough of the dust settled to see Magmortar, laying in a crater with swirly eyes.

"Magmortar is unable to battle. This makes Ash Ketchum and Infernape the winners!" Announced the referee.

The audience erupted into cheers. Paul returned Magmortar and thanked him, then looked over to Infernape to see him briefly erupt into flames for a split second as he returned to his normal form. Upon returning to his normal form, Infernape went down to one knee and was breathing heavily. Ash ran up to Infernape and went down to his level.

"Infernape, you were amazing," Ash praised.

"Thanks Ash, but what happened to me out there? And how did you know that move I did? I didn't even know it until you called it out," Infernape asked.

"I would guess you have the battle bond ability like Greninja, and we were finally able to activate it. As for that move, I have no idea," Ash replied.

Infernape then nodded and smiled, as he was ready to show Greninja he wasn't that special anymore. Ash then returned Infernape to his Pokéball and stood back up, to see Paul standing there, and William walking up. Ash and Paul shook hands as Paul congratulated Ash.

"Ash Ketchum, congratulations! You are this year's winner of the Moltres Cup," William announced as he handed Ash the trophy.

The trophy had a wooden base, and a golden volcano with a golden Moltres on top. And going unnoticed by Ash, the base also held a fire stone.

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A little while later, Ash and the others were at the Pokémon Center. After fighting through crowds of people giving their congratulations, and young trainers asking for tips, Ash was able to get Infernape healed, and was now outside with all of the Pokémon he used for the Tournament.

"This is it everyone. Our reward for all of our hard work and tough battles this week," Ash said as he held out the trophy.

All the Pokémon gave their cheers of excitement upon winning, and reached out to touch the trophy.

"I'd be careful if I were you," Paul said getting everyone's attention.

The fire types glared at Paul, thinking he was insinuating that they were clumsy and were going to break it.

"I trust they won't break it, and if they do, we'll live," Ash replied.

"That's not what I'm referring to. Take a closer look at that base," Paul instructed.

Ash looked, and his eyes widened as he saw the fire stone.

"I know you only have one Pokémon that would be affected by that, but I also know how you are on evolution. So I figured I would give you a heads up incase it doesn't want to evolve," Paul explained.

"Thanks for the warning," Ash replied as he pulled out the evolution stone and put it in his pocket.

The Pokémon then each touched the trophy as they looked on with pride at what they accomplished. However, they then looked at Ash as they wondered what he was going to do about that stone.

"Alright. Well Growlithe, out of all my fire types you're the only one who needs a fire stone to evolve. So I ask you this question, do you want to evolve?" Ash asked.

All eyes were on Growlithe as she was considering this decision. She always knew a fire stone was needed for her to evolve, but while she was a wild Pokémon, she never expected to find one. Because of this, she was satisfied being just a Growlithe and never thought much about the idea. But now she had the chance. So it was time to think how much she wanted to evolve, since if she did, there was no going back. In the end, one thought rang true, that she wanted to be stronger for Ash, and this stone could make that happen.

Growlithe looked up to Ash and nodded, her eyes full of confidence. Ash smiled as he nodded back and held the stone out to her. Growlithe leaned in and touched her nose to the stone, and became engulfed in a white light. Everyone backed up and gave her room as she grew larger. In a few seconds, the light dissipated to reveal the powerful Arcanine that now stood before them. Everyone was happy for Arcanine as they looked over her new form.

"Now that that's out of the way, it's time for me to ask you something. What was that Infernape did? I didn't see him wearing a mega stone, and I didn't see you touch a key stone. So what happened?" Paul asked.

"I think that was the battle bond ability. My Greninja has it too. It's the only explanation I've got," Ash replied as Infernape stared down Paul with pride.

"That's the only explanation because that's the only possibility you can come up with," William said announcing his presence. "If you knew what I knew, you would know that's wrong, and would be left with only one possibility."

"And that is?" Paul asked.

William took a sip of his coffee as he walked over and examined Arcanine. "She's a fine example of an Arcanine. Nice coat, good muscle structure, sharp fangs. She will definitely be an asset in the Torrent League," William commented then scratched her behind the ear, causing her to smile.

"I asked you a question," Paul said sternly.

"I know, but I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Ash. If he wants to know, he's going to have to ask me, and tell me it's ok to allow you to hear me," William shot back.

"I do want to know. I don't keep secrets from Serena, and I'm fine if my friends know. I know Paul and Miette well enough to know, that as long as I didn't break any rules, if I ask they won't spread this information," Ash replied.

"Ok, in that case let's go to your room to talk. That way we don't have to worry about any unwanted ears listening in," William replied.

Ash and Serena then lead everyone to their room. Ash returned his Pokémon so they could walk through the Pokémon Center, but brought them back out once in the room, which was big enough for all of them. There was a small table and two chairs in the room, that Paul and Miette sat at. Ash and Serena sat on the edge of the bed with Pikachu on Serena's lap, because William took the larger chair that had a cushion that Pikachu had been sleeping on at night. Arcanine got on the bed behind Ash and Serena, as she still wasn't used to her increased size, and the remaining Pokémon sat or laid down on the floor. William then cleared his throat, signaling he was going to begin.

"What happened with Infernape was mega evolution," William stated.

"That's impossible. Infernape can't mega evolve," Miette blurted out.

"Why? Because it's never been seen before? All fully evolved Pokémon have a mega evolved state. The only issue is for trainers to find the stones, and that is by the will of Arceus," William replied.

"So Arceus decides if we find mega stones or not?" Paul asked skeptically.

"Only what ones can be found. Technically, finding a stone or not is up to the trainer. Arceus only provides the options. He decides whether humans can find the stones. Think of it like a video game. Every once in a while Arceus puts out an update of what mega stones people can find," William explained.

"Ok, so all of our fully evolved Pokémon can technically mega evolve, got it. But I don't have any mega stones or a key stone. So how did Infernape mega evolve? And that flame staff move, how did I know about a move I've never heard of before?" Ash asked.

William looked at his audience hesitantly, especially Paul and Miette.

"You can tell them. They have my trust," Ash said noticing Williams hesitation.

"Ok. Ash, what you demonstrated was kind of like a Pokémon ability. It's extremely rare, and has only been documented a handful of times in ancient texts. It's known as The Will of the Chosen One, and only the chosen one of Arceus can ever use this power. It allows you to mega evolve all of your fully evolved Pokémon without the use of stones," William explained.

"This kind of sounds like the bond phenomenon I have with Greninja," Ash commented.

"It is similar, but it is also different. That is an ability he has, and can only have it with one trainer in his lifetime. He takes on some of your traits and his power is ultimately measured by the strength of your bond. Which means the stronger your bond, the more in sync you two are, and the more powerful he will be. Where as your ability allows you to mega evolve all of your fully evolved Pokémon. Yes a bond is required, but you don't have to be in sync or anything like that. You can still power them up with your aura, but that's it. It works the same as mega evolution except you don't need the stones to make the bridge. This ability allows you to create your own bridge," William explained.

"You said aura. Does that refer to Aura Guardians? Is Ash an Aura Guardian?" Paul asked.

"Yes, Ash and I are Aura Guardians," William replied.

"I've heard that Aura Guardians can speak with their Pokémon without words, is that true?" Paul asked.

"We are kind of getting off topic here, but yes," William replied.

Paul then stood up and walked over to Ash, and then punched him in the stomach.

"PAUL!" Miette yelled in shock.

"Ash, you held back against me. Do you think so little of me that you can't go all out in a battle with me?" Paul asked.

"No," Ash managed to say as he tried to catch his breath.

"Then before we part ways here, you and I will have one more battle, and you will not hold back, nor will you ever hold back against me ever again," Paul demanded.

"Fine with me," Ash replied as he smirked up at him.

Paul then returned to his seat.

"Was that really necessary?" Serena asked angrily.

"That was payback for treating me like a pathetic trainer and holding back," Paul replied.

"Serena it's fine, this is how Paul is. I hurt his pride by doing that. Although Paul, it wasn't intentional. Most of my life battling like everyone else, it's kind of second nature to me," Ash said.

Even though Paul didn't respond, he did accept Ash's response as an apology.

"And what about that move I called out but never heard of before?" Ash asked.

"That's your aura. It's a more advanced level of reading aura. As you know your Pokédex can give you a list of all the moves your Pokémon knows. This technique pretty much takes the place of that. You can read your Pokémon's aura and know every move they know," William explained.

"But when I try and read their auras now I don't see any of that?" Ash replied.

"Most likely the intensity of the battle made this possible temporarily. That fact that you were able to do it once only means that your at a level to be able to control it, you just need more practice. But to make you aware, this is something that Professor Sycamore probably doesn't even know. That flame staff move, I highly doubt Infernape could do that now. There are certain moves out there that a Pokémon can only unlock in their mega evolved state," William said.

"Ok, so why is this new ability happening now? I've been in a lot of intense battles like that before, and plenty even more dangerous. What made this any different?" Ash asked.

"I'm not certain, but I believe it has to do with your aura training. According to my studies into the Aura Guardians, the chosen one has always been one," William deduced.

"You said this is an ability, how could aura be a part of this?" Ash asked.

"I've read Professor Sycamore's recent paper on mega evolution. He states that a key stone absorbs energy from the trainer. Aura is energy, the life force that flows through all living things. Now your aura is strong enough to reach your Pokémon without a key stone," William explained.

"That makes sense. Hey, we spoke to Professor Sycamore a couple weeks ago about mega evolution in regards to mega evolving multiple Pokémon in a battle. Since Ash doesn't have a key stone in the way, could he mega evolve Pokémon back to back now?" Serena asked.

"Hmm, probably so. But he's going to need to train on this ability. I'm willing to bet though, that after he masters his control over this ability, he could probably even mega evolve multiple Pokémon at the same time," William replied.

Ash smiled excitedly upon hearing this information, as this would give him a chance at being able to counter Damion's mega evolutions.

"What about Z moves? I know that mega evolved Pokémon normally can't use Z moves, but since I don't have to use stones, and I've seen Greninja can use Z moves, could I use them now?" Ash asked eagerly.

"I don't think so, and honestly I wouldn't want to experiment with it," William replied nervously.

"Why?" Paul asked.

"Since your asking, I'm guessing you don't know what happens when a mega evolved Pokémon uses a Z move. Basically it's unpredictable, but it's usually bad. I've seen mega or key stones explode hurting either the trainer or Pokémon. The Pokémon gets the energy for the move, but then experiences extreme pain. The move becomes unstable and literally explodes in the Pokémon's face, or in the best case, nothing happens at all. The worst case ones are more common though, so I wouldn't want to dare trying. I would wager that the only reason Greninja can handle it in his other form is because of the link you two share in that form. I suspect that it somehow helps with the energy and keeping it stable, kind of like you both are focusing it, or the bond makes the transfer stronger," William replied.

"Ok, a little off topic. In regards to Pokémon that aren't known to be able to mega evolve, you said all Pokémon are capable of mega evolution. Does that mean I might be able to find Meowsticite one day?" Miette asked.

"Yes. New stones can be found at any time, and we'll never know when. I mean just a few weeks ago, I was riding my dragonite home from one of my daughter's performances. I was flying the same route I've flown dozens of times. But this time as we were passing over a lake, my dragonite began to nosedive. She went right underwater. I had to let go and swim to the surface so I didn't drown. She came up a minute or two later holding a mega stone. We tested it and learned we found the very first ever Dragonitite," William replied.

"Really! Could you show us a mega Dragonite?" Ash asked excitedly.

"You know what sure, but in the form of a battle. This would be good for your training, anyways. I could tell that you triggered your ability involuntarily, so this would be a good chance to see if you can do it by choice," William replied.