Ashley and the gang got to Viridian City where they went straight towards the Gym that was guarded by people wearing armor and holding spears. Giovanni leading at this point told the guards to stand down as he lead the group into the Gym. "Alright Ashley, Gary. Take your places opposite of me." He instructed as he made his way to the Leader platform while Ashley and Gary stood on the opposite. "This will be a three person battle. Ashley is allowed to use Legendary Pokemon if she wishes. Whomever loses all of their Pokemon first loses. Go Golem and Machamp!" Giovanni called out.  "Blastoise go!" Gary called out.  "Mewtwo I choose you!" Ashley called out as Mewtwo took his place beside his comrade. Mewtwo was different now. He was all black with a orange crystal jutting out of his right shoulder and the tip of his tail was also orange. He had gotten a stone that Professor Sycamore recognized as a Shadow Synergy Stone. This gave Mewtwo incredible power when he absorbed it. Ashley called the Kalos Professor for information on the stone they found during the fossil excavation and said that Ashley needed to keep an eye on Mewtwo in case if he ever got out of control.  "Golem start out with Defense Curl and use Rollout! Machamp use Bulk up then use Rock Smash!" Giovanni ordered.  "Blastoise use Hydro Pump!" Gary countered.  "Mewtwo use Calm Mind then use Psychic!" Ashley countered.  Golem rolled a bit before rolling towards Blastoise whom shot him with a Hydro Pump. Machamp flexed his muscles and sent large rocks at Mewtwo whom meditated and then used Psychic to send the rocks back at Machamp. It did little to no damage to Machamp. Golem was hurt by Blastoise however. "Alright now use Confusion!" Ashley ordered as Mewtwo confused Machamp. "Now use Zen Headbutt!" She ordered as Mewtwo's head started glowing then he ran and headbutt Machamp and returned to his side on the field.  "Golem use Rock Polish then use Rock Blast! Machamp use Karate Chop!" Giovanni ordered.  "Blastoise use Withdraw then use Water Pulse!" Gary ordered.  "Mewtwo use Barrier then use Psystrike!" Ashley countered as Mewtwo raised a barrier around him.  The Pokemon then attacked their respected opponents but ultimately it was Blastoise and Mewtwo who stood proud and strong. "Golem, Machamp return. As promised here's the Earth Badge for both of you." Giovanni said as he gave Ashley and Gary the badges.  "Thanks Giovanni. Let's go guys. Now that me and Gary have all eight badges it's off to the Indigo League." Ashley announced as the group left the Gym and eventually the city. They got to the Indigo Village where everyone was staying. They checked into the Pokemon Center and went to the Stadium where Charles Goodshow did the opening ceremony. Lance had to leave the group to do the ceremony as well. Once the ceremony was over they went back to the Pokemon Center to see who Ashley and Gary were up against first. "I've got someone named Mandy." Ashley said causing Brock and James to growl in distaste making Ashley, Misty and Jessie a bit curious.  "I take it you two know this person." Jessie deduced.  "Yes. The 'Astounding Mandy' He calls himself." James replied.  "He's nothing but a pretentious prick. All the magic he does. Getting all the girls! Please. You could call Ashley a real magician." Brock added.  "Um Brock. Magic and Aura are two different things." Ashley deadpanned.  "Even so! You're more astounding than the Astounding Mandy!" Brock complimented...or at least Ashley took that as a compliment.  "Um...thanks...I guess." Ashley said blushing a tad bit.  "Did I hear that correctly? Someone thinks they are better than the Astounding Mandy?" A new voice asked.  "Speaking of which." James thought bitterly.  A man stepped out from a crowed of girls holding a rose. "And which of you think you're better than me?" Mandy asked.  Ashley looked at Brock. "Don't get me involved." She threatened through her teeth.  "Ashley is a far better magician than you'll ever be!" Brock exclaimed.  "Damn you I told you not get me involved." She turned her attention towards her opponent. "I'm terribly sorry for my friend. To be honest Aura and magic are two completely different things." Ashley said embarrassed by Brock's actions.  "Ah yes. You're the girl who's been all over the news. You're who I'll be facing in the first round yes?" Mandy asked.  "Yes that's right." Ashley replied.  "Well then. Here. For good luck." Mandy said giving her a rose causing all the girls in the room to face-fault. "I look forward to our battle." He added kissing her hand before walking out the door leaving a flustered Ashley and a group of girls crying waterfalls. She looked at Brock and James who were at this point seeing red.  "What did I tell you! Pretentious prick!" Brock snapped.  "I don't know he seemed very gentlemanly to me." Ashley thought.  "Not helping!" Brock exclaimed.  "You don't need to get involved with the likes of Mandy. He's your opponent in the first round and that's the extent of it." James said.  "Aiya. You two are idiots." Ashley thought. Later Delia and Sam came in and escorted the gang to a cabin in the woods where they would stay. It was big enough to fit everyone thank Arceus.  "Welcome everyone. Make yourselves comfy." Delia said.  "This is pretty cozy mom." Ashley complimented.  "It really is." Paul agreed.  Suddenly Ashley's stomach started growling again causing her to blush in embarrassment. "Sounds like someone's hungry." Delia teased. "I can't let my baby girl battle on an empty stomach. I know just what you need. Your favorite." She suggested.  "But mom how are you going to cook all that?" Ashley asked.  "Leave that to me." Delia assured. Later they went to a restaurant where Delia used the kitchen to cook all of Ashley's favorite foods for her table. All the chefs looked at her like she was crazy.  "Normally the customers come to eat food not make it." The head chef thought.  "This is all for my daughter who's competing in the League." Delia said as she continued working. After awhile Delia came out with several plates of food. "Here you go dear. Bon Appetite." Delia said as she handed out plates to everyone.  "Thanks mom." Ashley thanked  "Thanks Mrs. Ketchum." everyone thanked as well.  "It's no trouble." Delia assured.  "So Ashley. Who are you planning on using in the league?" Paul asked.  "Spoilers. You'll just have to watch to find out." Ashley teased.  "Ashley promise me you'll fight to get into the Top 5. I look forward to facing you in the Finals." Lance begged.  "Don't worry Lance. Rest assured I'll get into the Finals and we'll have a battle to remember." Ashley assured.  "Unless I get there first." Gary said.  "Gary you might have good Pokemon but I have a feeling Ashley's going to beat you to the Finals. From what I've seen she's really good to be considered an Elite Four already." Paul said.  "Point taken. Oh well if I'm going down I'm going down fighting." Gary assured.  After dinner they left to back to the cabin. "Hey Paul. Do you mind if I train with you. I need all the help I can get if I'm going to be ready for the League in the morning." Ashley asked. She now had on a Pokemon Ranger's Trainer Class Uniform.  "Sure. Elekid standby for battle." Paul called out.  "So that's an Elekid." Ashley thought as she scanned Elekid.  Elekid the Electric Pokemon.  Elekid stores electricity in its body. If it touches metal and accidentally discharges all its built-up electricity, this Pokemon begins swinging its arms in circles to recharge itself.  This Elekid is male, its height is 1 foot 12 inches tall and weighs 51.5 pounds.  "I know the greatest thing for that. Go Pupitar!" Ashley called out.  "Going with the advantage huh? I shouldn't be surprised. Elekid use Thunder!" Paul ordered.  "Pupitar use Dig!" Ashley countered. Once Elekid fired off the electrical attack Pupitar dug into the ground and nailed into Elekid.  "Elekid use Electro Ball!" Paul ordered.  "Pupitar dodge and use Bulldoze!" Ashley countered.  Elekid launched the Electro Ball but missed but Pupitar hit home as he ran Elekid over then returned to his side of the field. "Elekid use Thunder Shock!" Paul ordered  "Pupitar dodge and use Mud-Slap!" Ashley countered. Elekid tried to hit the smaller Pokemon but was unable to hit Pupitar but Pupitar had different luck Pupitar ended up knocking Elekid out.  "Elekid return. Looks like the Sun's going down. So much for training." Paul thought.  "Eh. It's alright." Ashley said as she sat down to watch the Sunset, Paul sat down next to her. "You've come such a long way in the short amount of time we met Paul. You're rapidly progressing to becoming a better person." Ashley praised.  "At first I thought I was going to suck at changing." Paul admitted.  "Hmph...could've fooled me." Ashley teased.  "Shut up. If you haven't taught me how to raise Pokemon properly you'd probably hate me right now." Paul thought.  "I don't hate anyone Paul. Disappointed maybe, but I wouldn't hate you." Ashley assured.  "You hated Gary didn't you?" Paul asked.  "*Sigh* I'll admit I did hate him for bullying me. But now we're cool." Ashley replied.  "Mamma!" Manaphy called out as he jumped into Ashley's arms.  "Manaphy what's wrong?" Ashley asked.  "Manaphy wanted mamma." Manaphy replied as he snuggled into Ashley's chest. "Manaphy happy." Manaphy said as he drifted to sleep eliciting a giggle from Ashley.  "We better get inside." Paul suggested as he got up and carefully pulled Ashley to her feet trying not to wake Manaphy.  "Yeah. We all need our rest for this week...especially Lance." Ashley agreed as she followed Paul back into the cabin and prepared for her morning.