It was night. The first day of the PML Tag-Battle Competition was over and most of the Trainers were in the Pokémon Center, relaxing with their Pokémon and human friends.

Well, most of them...

In a field outside of the stadium Ash stood between his Pokémon; Frogadier was on one side of the field while Pikachu, Treecko and Rockruff stood on the opposite side.

"Now, Frogadier, use Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded.

Frogadier's hands and feet glowed white with an outlined light blue glow before rushing towards the three Pokémon in front of it with a high burst of speed and a clear aura around it.

Pikachu, Treecko and Rockruff stood their ground up until the last second when they each scattered, causing Frogadier's move to miss completely.

"Awesome!" Ash congradulated his Pokémon. "And that's just how I want you to battle in the second round!"

All his Pokémon cheered.

"Well, I guess that's enough for one night... I know you guys will do just fine! Paul's the one I'm kinda freaked out about..." and with that, he walked to the Pokémon Center, his Pokémon trailing behind him.

That was, until they saw a plume of flames emerge from a nearby clearing.

"Huh? What was that?!" Ash asked, before he ran to check it out.

.......................................................................

"So a Pokémon's potential ability is greately influenced by its relationship with its Trainer, which is evidence by otherwise unthinkable desplays of power in their moves and abilities..." Conway explained to Serena, who was sitting with a drink on the opposite side of the table.

"Guess that's why Ash always comes up with these crazy moves..." she said, putting a hand on her cheek with an elbow on the table.

Remaining calm, Conway decided to entertain Serena's thoughts on Ash.

"So, what exactly is your relationship with Ash?"

She took a sip of her juice and recounted her tale. Not that she minded. She loved remembering it. "We met when we were little, at a summer camp... he saved me and gave me a handkerchief. And recently I tracked him down to return it to him. He asked me to work with him in Cerise Labs, and that's about it..."

"But you want more, don't you?"

"What?!" Serena nearly spit her juice after hearing Conway say what he said.

"Don't try to deny it, Serena. It is pretty obvious..." Conway took off his glasses and took a piece of cloth from his shirt's pocket.

"If it's so obvious, how come he didn't figure it out?"

"His head is somewhere else..." Conway concluded as he cleaned his glasses. "I can read him like a book. He's the kind of guy who's really passionate about his dreams, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, there's your problem! Guys like that won't listen to their libido until they fulfil their dream..."

"Their libi-what?" Serena asked.

Conway stared at her blankly for a few seconds. "Nothing. Anyway, my point is, unless you're willing to wait potentially years for him, my suggestion for you is to either look for someone else, or focus on your goals..."

Serena looked at her reflection in her juice cup. "Am I willing to wait...?" She asked herself. "I think I'm gonna take a walk... thanks for the advice Conway..."

"No prob!" He replied.

After she left, Conway looked at his reflection from the lens of his glasses.

"Of course, no matter how you look at it... Ash is the enemy..." he mumbled. A huge grin stretched on his face before he began chuckling under his breath.

...

"Your Scorbunny is completely healed!" Nurse Joy said as she handed a Poké-Ball to an expecting Goh.

"Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy!"

"That was quite the battle..." Chloe said as she approached her childhood friend, holding a panting Yamper close to her chest.

"Yeah, that I contributed nothing to... that Regina girl had to carry the whole battle..."

"You're not used to battles..." Chloe said. "And at least there's no way you can do worse..."

"Gee... thanks a lot..."

Chloe cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So, that girl with the Glaceon..."

"Regina?"

"Yeah... what do you know about her...?"

"Just as much as you... she's not much of a talker..."

Chloe looked down, disappointed. "Oh, I see..." she really wanted to get to know her.

.......................................................................

Ash finally reached the source of the flames. To no-one's surprised, it turned out to be Paul, putting his Chimchar through a very intense training regiment.

Surrounding Chimchar were Elekid, and three other Pokémon Ash didn't know Paul owned: a Torterra, an Ursaring and a Skorupi.

"Elekid, use Thunder..." Paul commanded coldly. "Torterra, Hyper Beam. Skorupi, Pin Missile. Ursaring, use Focus Blast!"

Elekid started to spin its arms at a fast speed, causing blue sparks to emerge from its outlet-like horns. It then released a beam of light blue electricity from one of its arms at Chimchar.

Torterra created a ball of purple and black energy, with some a white aura in the center, and white sparks coming off of the white ball. It then fired a purple and black beam from its mouth at Chimchar, with an orange ring of aura bursting from around a part of the beam when it was being fired.

Skorupi's tail stiffened and glowed white. It then fired white orbs trailing green streams of light at Chimchar.

Finally, Ursaring put its claws together and formed an orange orb with some a white aura in the center outlined in blue. It then hurled the orb at Chimchar, orange trails forming behind it.

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel..." was all Paul said.

Chimchar did as it was told, but the envelope of flames it was inside of provided little protection from the powerful attacks.

"Hey, Paul! What's going on here?!" Ash burst into the scene, demanded to know what was going on.

"Chimchar, use Flamethrower..." Paul ignored Ash's question.

Chimchar breathed a powerful stream of fire from its mouth at its opponents, Elekid forming a green energy field to Protect them all.

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed. "Wow, you just keep gettin' stronger and stronger, dontcha?"

Chimchar blushed, not really used to recieving compliments.

"Chimchar! We're not through yet..."

Chimchar sadly returned to Paul's side.

"What's with you, Paul?!" Ash asked. "Why's Chimchar the only one you put through this intense training?!"

"It's none of your business!"

"Yes it is! We're a tag team!"

"Your point...?"

"I still don't understand why you even entered this thing if you don't wanna cooperate!"

"You wouldn't..." Paul scoffed. "It's a good chance to get my Pokémon used to some real combat. Don't you see, I needed Chimchar to be hit by that Twister from our battle today!"

"But what if Chimchar would've lost?!"

"Then Chimchar would be useless..." Paul answered, completely sure of himself.

"Paul, if you wanna make Chimchar stronger, you gotta focus on improving its strong points!"

"Please! Spending a second improving a Pokémon's strong points is like babying a spoiled brat! A complete waste of my time!"

It may have been from anxiety, or just a delayed reaction, but as Ash and Paul were arguing, Chimchar fell to its knees and collapsed. Luckily, it was just unconscious.

"Stand!" Paul demanded.

Ash gasped, worried about Chimchar's well-being, but on a positive note, he figured that meant Paul would have to leave it alone, right?

"Wake it up with Thunder..."

Not so much...

Before Elekid's attack could reach the defenseless Chimp Pokémon, Pikachu countered with a powerful Thunderbolt, allowing Ash to grab Chimchar in his arms and hoist it away from danger.

"Knock. It. OFF!" Ash shouted, not having felt this angry for a long time. "That's it! I'm taking Chimchar to the Pokémon Center! Understand?!"

If Paul was intimidated by Ash's angry bellows, he didn't show it. As usual, he simply scoffed and walked away.

.......................................................................

In the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy was manually taking care of Chimchar's injuries, since Ash didn't have its Poké-Ball. She walked out of the examination room, being met by Ash, Serena and Goh.

"How's Chimchar?" Ash asked.

"Much better!" Nurse Joy reassured. "Chimchar needs rest though..."

"It sure does..." Serena said, looking at the injured Chimp Pokémon through the observation window.

"Boy, what a relief..." Goh said, wiping away sweat from his forehead. "I don't understand how could a Trainer put his own Pokémon through so much that it ends up in intense care..."

Ash remained silent as he leaned on the window. "You're gonna be fine... I promise..." he whispered, no-one but Serena hearing.

Serena thought about her earlier conversation with Conway. She really wasn't sure if Ash really was worth waiting for. But after being reminded of how much he cares for Pokémon, even oned that belong to someone he... doesn't get along with... Serena made up her mind. It may take years, and they may date other people in the meantime, but eventually... she promised herself that they'd be together.

"So when can I expect to get it back?" Paul asked, walking into the room as if he didn't just hospitalized his Chimchar.

"It will be able to leave the Pokémon Center in a few hours, but as a professional I must say that it absolutely cannot participate in any battles for the next 24 hours..." Nurse Joy replied.

"What?!"

"I'm serious! At this point, one more battle would either make Chimchar a lot stronger, or more likely permanently scar it. Physically and emotionally..."

Paul scowled.

"Why did you do it?!" Ash said with a scowl. "Why do you need push so hard?!"

After a few seconds of angry silence, Paul finally answered.

"Believe it or not, we all want the same thing!"

"What?"

"I'll never forget that first day..."

...

Paul told the story of how he met Chimchar;

Right after capturing the Skorupi he used earlier, he noticed a Chimchar racing through the forest, with several Heracross and Magmar in hot pursuit, relentlessly attacking it at every turn for unknown reasons.

Paul decided to follow them, and Chimchar eventually wound up cornered at the edge of a cliff, as the Heracross lunged torward him.

However, when Chimchar was in a pinch, the power of its fire attacks increased dramatically. Using a powerful Flame Wheel, Chimchar ingulfed the area with a spiral of fire, chasing the Heracross away.

After witnessing such mind-blowing power, Paul approached Chimchar and offered to train it, in order for it to become stronger. Chimchar accepted, and that's when Paul caught it.

...

"I knew that if I had that kind of fire-power, I was going win the PML for certain!" Paul said after finishing his story. "But ever since that day we haven't been able to duplicate that power..."

"I get it...!" Goh said. "You're trying to recreate the stress of when the Heracross were attacking by putting Chimchar through such difficult battles and training..."

"I need to push Chimchar far beyond its limit!" Paul stated. "If we could just capture that power, Chimchar would be strongest Pokémon of the whole PML!"

Despite its sympathies, Frogadier blew a raspberry upon hearing that comment. Though he couldn't deny that Paul had a point; if Chimchar was as powerful as he described, then it may very well be stronger than him. If only he had something that dramatically enhanced his power...

"I'm sorry, but Chimchar's health depends on it getting the rest it needs!" Nurse Joy said. "The only reason you're pushing your Chimchar so much is that you're just plain impatient! I am once again insisting that you allow Chimchar to get some rest!"

After another moment of silence, Paul relented and gave Nurse Joy a nod.

.......................................................................

The second round was coming to an end. And just like the first battle, this one had Ash and Paul facing some of Ash's friends. This time, it was Serena and Conway.

"Oh man..." Serena was shaking. This was her first battle that wasn't against Team Rocket or a wild Pokémon. And it was going to be against Ash!

"Hey, Serena!" Ash exclaimed from across the battlefield. "You're gonna be great! I know you will! Just give it all you've got!"

Like always, his tone reassured her. She smiled and gave him a determined nod.

"What a dummy..." Conway mumbled. "He's just helping himself lose..."

"Can you stop cheering for our opponents and just leave it to me already?!" Paul said.

Before Ash could reply, the referee Rotom-Drone arrived.

"Welcome welcome welcome! The last battle of the second round is about to begin! This will be a tag battle, and each competitor will be allowed to use one Pokémon! There will be no substitutions! Bring out your Pokémon!"

"Alright, Treecko, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed, hurling his Poké-Ball and releasing the snarky Wood Gecko Pokémon, who had a twig in its mouth like always.

"Chimchar!" Hearing that word come from Paul's mouth sent shivers down Ash and Serena's spines. "Stand by for battle!"

Indeed, after he hurled his Poké-Ball forward, a still injured Chimchar stepped into the battlefield.

"No!" Serena yelped.

"Chimchar! You need to rest!" Ash called out.

But to his surprise, Chimchar turned to him with a confident and reassuring smile. This reminded Ash of his own Pokémon; hanging by a thread, but never giving up until it's undeniably over.

Still, Ash was less confident about Chimchar's state, so he just replied with an unsure "Okay...". After a second, he had something else to say. "Hey, Treecko! Make sure to protect Chimchar during the battle!"

Treecko spit its twig out, and gave Ash a thumbs up, placing its other hand on its hip.

Serena hesitantly held her Poké-Ball. She didn't want to worsen Chimchar's condition, but she knew it wanted to battle, so she decided to give it a shot after all.

"Okay, let's go, Pancham!"

The Playful Pokémon adjusted its sunglasses and seemed more than ready to throw down.

"I would've gone with Fennekin, but a good choice nonetheless..." Conway said. "But now it's my turn... go! Heracross!"

And sure enough, the Single Horn Pokémon stood proudly on the battlefield.

"A Heracross?!" Ash exclaimed, remembering Paul's tale.

And by the looks of it, so was Chimchar, as it was quivering in fear in front of the, rather friendly, Bug type.

Unlike Ash or Chimchar, Paul gave a satisfied grin.

"3.
2.
1.

Battle begin!"

"Paul, we got the Heracross!" Ash exclaimed. "You just take care of Pan..."

"Chimchar! Use Flame Wheel!" Paul commanded.

The flame on Chimchar's tail intensified, It then rapidly spun its body, before it got cloaked in orange and yellow flames before rolling forward.

"Heracross, use Megahorn!" Conway commanded.

Heracross's horn glowed light green and multiple shades of yellow. It then fearlessly charged at Chimchar's Flame Wheel.

The fear of having to face a Heracross again made Chimchar freeze, leaving it defenseless.

"Treecko! Bullet Seed!" Ash commanded.

Treecko jumped in front of Chimchar and fired a barrage of golden, bullet-shaped seeds surrounded by green outlines from its mouth at Heracross.
The attack fazed Heracross a bit, but it continued forward, ramming Chimchar with its horn.

"Chimchar!" Ash cried out.

After taking a deep breath, Serena decided that it was time for her to give a command. "Pancham, Dark Pulse!"

Pancham created a ball of black and purple rings of energy in each hand. It then combined them and fired the rings as a beam of energy rings at Treecko, with a rainbow-colored ring of energy surrounding the beam as it was fired.

Being distracted, Pancham's attack scored a direct hit, sending Treecko flying backwards. It wasn't down for long, though, as it quickly got up and glared at Pancham.

"Chimchar, Dig!" Paul commanded.

Chimchar jumped in the air and then drilled a hole into the ground.

"What are we going to do?!" Conway suddenly panicked.

'Quick Serena!' She thought. 'Think on your feet! Think like a performer! What would a Performer do...?'

"I got it!" She exclaimed. "Pancham, create a ring of Stone Edge in front of us!" She commanded.

Shrugging, Pancham slammed its paws onto the ground, causing pointed light blue rock pillars to appear out of the ground.

"Can you cut the top of the rocks?" She asked her partner.

"Huh?" It took a second, but Conway managed to understand what Serena was planning. "Oh I see... yes, of course! Heracross, Brick Break!"

One of Heracross' arms glowed bluish white before it jumped up and sliced the pointy part of the rocks off, giving them a flat surface to get on.

"Now jump!" They both commanded.

Both Pancham and Heracross landed on a stone pillar just in time to escape Chimchar's incoming attack.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed.

"Now use Shadow Claw!" Conway commanded.

Both of Heracross' arms became surrounded by a black aura with a purple outline. The aura then took the form of a claw and, jumping down from its pillar, Heracross slashed Chimchar, sending it crashing into the ground.

From the pillar of smoke, Treecko came rushing in, its body outlined in light blue aura as it charged at Heracross with incredible speed, moving so fast it appeared to be leaving behind two after-images. Treecko tackled Heracross with incredible force, sending it flying backwards.

"Oh no!" Serena cried.

"Don't worry, my lady, I have it all under control..." Conway said. "Revenge!"

Heracross' body became surrounded by a firey orange energy. The energy then formed into a fiery aura around one of its arms. Heracross then punched Treecko, leaving a trail of fire behind the arm.

Treecko was sent flying into the stadium wall, creating a crater and a cloud of smoke.

"Treecko!" Ash cried.

"I told you! You shouldn't interfere!" Paul scolded.

As Ash and Paul began arguing again, nobody noticed Ash's Treecko walking back towards the battlefield with heavy steps. It noticed Ash and Paul arguing, and then Conway's smug smile. Heracross was also acting smug, laughing at the damage it had just caused to its opponent. Treecko did not like this. No. One. Bit.

It put its twig back in its mouth, before its body flared with blue energy. Its body doubled in size as long, slender leaves began to grow from the top of its head and forearms. After the glow subsided, a completely different Pokémon stood before the world.

"Grow... vyle!" It roared.

"No way!" Ash exclaimed. "Treecko evolved!"

Ash wasted no time checking his Pokédex.

Grovyle, the Wood Gecko Pokémon.
A Grass type and the evolved form of Treecko.

Grovyle has powerful legs, which allow it to move quickly and jump with great power.

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed. "Looks like we got some new moves too! Let's test 'em out! Use Leaf Blade!"

The three leaves on both of Grovyle's forearms glowed green and combined into one long sharp blade. Grovyle charged forward and sliced Heracross with its blades, moving so fast Heracross was unable to do anything.

"Woah!" Ash said.

"Heracross! Use Revenge!"

"And Pancham, Arm Thrust!"

Both Pokémon readied their attacks and lunged at their opponents. Chimchar was still too scared of Heracross to do anything, and it just cowered in fear, causing Paul to scowl in anger.

"Alright, Grovyle, use Leaf Blade again!" Ash commanded.

Stepping in front of Chimchar, Grovyle once again grew sharp green blades off its forearms. As soon as the attacks were about to make contact, Grovyle used its blades like shields, defending both itself and Chimchar.

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed with glee.

"We gotta break through..." Conway commented.

"Okay... Pancham, jump back and use Arm Thrust again!" Serena commanded.

Pancham jumped back before its hands glowed multiple shades of blue.

"With Grovyle preoccupied with Heracross, Pancham has free range to attack either opponent..." Conway thought out loud. "Unless..."

"Chimchar, use Flame Wheel on Grovyle!" Paul commanded.

"What?!" Ash exclaimed in confusion.

Chimchar turned to look at Paul, giving him a beckoning look and begging to not have to hurt its partner.

"Do it!" Paul grunted.

After a second, Chimchar released a roar of frustration before executing its command. Not ready for an attack from behind, Grovyle was defenseless and took massive damage from the Flame Wheel. However, the move did also hit Heracross, and a little later Pancham, sending all three flying like bowling pins.

After the attack was over, Chimchar looked back to see how Grovyle was handling. Not so hot unfortunately. It was covered head-to-toe in soot and bruises, and it was barely able to get up.

"Grovyle! You okay?!" Ash asked, worry filling his voice.

Grovyle struggled for a few more seconds before slightly lifting its body off the ground.

"What's wrong with you?!" Ash screamed at Paul.

"Now's our chance!" Conway exclaimed, taking Serena aback. "Heracross, use Megahorn!"

Without wasting a second, Heracross charged, horn first, at Chimchar.

"Flamethrower!" Paul commanded.

Chimchar was about to do as told, but it was rammed by Heracross' horn before it had the chance. Just to taunt it, Hetacross picked Chimchar up with its horn. This was a perfect opportunity for Chimchar to blast Heracross in the face with Flamethrower, but it was still terrified, and unable to attack.

"Guess that's it..." Paul said matteroffactly.

"No way! Grovyle, you gotta help Chimchar! Bullet Seed!" Ash commanded.

Finally getting up, Grovyle fired a barrage of golden, bullet-shaped seeds surrounded by green outlines from its mouth at Heracross. Its recent evolution gave that attack a boost, allowing it to blast Heracross back and free Chimchar.

Grovyle once more ran in front of a terrified Chimchar, but the damage it took caught up to it, and it fell to its knees.

"Now's our chance!" Conway exclaimed.

"But..." Serena tried to argue against hurting Ash's Pokémon, but she couldn't think of anything reasonable. "Forgive me... Dark Pulse!"

Pancham once more fired a beam of purple rings at Grovyle.

"Revenge! Go!"

Heracross's arm became surrounded in a firey aura as it charged at Grovyle.

"Grovyle!"

Without warning, Chimchar hopped over Grovyle and fired a Flamethrower at the incoming Dark Pulse, completely nullifying it. Then, just as quickly, it caught Heracross' attack, stopping it from reaching Grovyle.

Both Pokémon struggled for dominance, and that was the moment when Chimchar's body became ingulfed in a fiery red aura, the flame on its tale shooting out like a rocket.

Chimchar called out to Paul, asking for its next order.

"Hurry! Give Chimchar a command!" Ash told Paul.

"If that's not enough, use Shadow Claw!" Conway commanded.

"Come on, Paul!"

All eyes were on Paul at the moment. It was up to him to give Chimchar a command, or they might lose the battle. And what did Paul do?

He turned his back on the battle.

Ash quickly realized what that meant. And he just as quickly realized that he wasn't going to let that stand!

"Okay, Chimchar, use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

The crowd gasped. Ash just commanded his partners Pokémon! Was that even allowed?!

Regardless, Chimchar was more than happy to oblige! Before Conway's Heracross could slash it with a Shadow Claw-boosted Revenge, Chimchar blasted a powerful stream of flames from its mouth, hitting Heracroos from point-blank range. The flames were so intense that their inner-most part was blue.

That already would've been enough, but just to add to the power, Chimchar's Flamethrower sent Heracross flying backwards... right into Serena's Pancham.

"I'm not taking any chances with these two!" Ash said. "Grovyle, use Leaf Blade on Pancham! And Chimchar, give Heracross a Flame Wheel!"

Seemingly re-energized, both Pokémon wasted no time, and struck their final blows on their opponents, causing an explosion in the middle of the field. And when the dust settled, the victor was clear.

"Both Heracross and Pancham are unable to battle!" Exclaimed the Rotom-Drone.

"Yes! We did it! You did it, Chimchar!" Ash congratulated the Chimp Pokémon, jumping for joy. "I can't even begin to tell you how great you two were!"

Chimchar didn't fully register Ash's words. It was pre-occupied with the fact that Paul seemingly gave up on it. And even now, after it helped win the battle, Paul wasn't even looking at it...

.......................................................................

Later that day, Paul let Chimchar out of its Poké-Ball. But this time, it felt... different. The blue glow lingered on its body a little longer, and a few stars blasted off its body when its was over. It was almost like how it felt when Paul caught it.

"You're out of here!" Paul said with contempt.

"What?!" Ash, Serena, Goh and Chloe came out of left field, just as shocked as Chimchar. "So that's the end of all that 'special training'?!"

"Yes." Paul said definitively. "What's the point?! It's obvious that catching Chimchar was a mistake! And that I'll be needing a new Fire type..."

And with that, Paul walked away.

"So you're just giving up on Chimchar?!" Goh exclaimed in shock.

Paul kept walking away, not saying a word.

"What about you two getting stronger together?!" Ash asked.

"All that progress you made, and you're just throwing it away?!" Serena said.

Paul was still silent.

That hurt Chimchar. It hurt more than everything it suffered in the last 24 hours. And it would've hurt more... but Chimchar was tired... tired of everything... tired of being weak... Paul was the strongest Trainer it ever met, and even he couldn't get it to get stronger... so what was even the point of anything...?

"Chimchar!" Ash called out, catching the Chimp Pokémon's attention. It didn't even notice that it was walking away. "You gotta come with us!"

This was finally enough to stop Paul in his tracks and make him look back in anger.

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked.

Ignoring Chloe's remark, Ash walked a few steps towards Chimchar and knelt down to look at it in the eyes.

"As sure as I'll ever be..." Ash said, extending an arm to Chimchar.

"I promise you won't have to do anything you don't want to... we'll get stronger our way! And together, you and I are gonna win the Tag Tournament, and then the Pokémon Masters League!"

Chimchar stared at Ash's hand for a few moment, before moving up to his eyes. In them, he saw that Ash geniuenly cared for it. He had a heartwarming gaze that reminded Chimchar of its mother.

"Y'know, the way you work so hard is inspiring!" Ash added. "I know you didn't say anything yet... but it would be an honor to work with a Pokémon like you!"

At that moment, Ash's other Pokémon either hopped off his shoulder or exited their Poké-Balls. They all gave cries of approval. Even Grovyle.

Paul scoffed. "You two deserve each-other... you're both pathetic!"

"Hey! Don't you say that!" Serena exclaimed.

"Don't listen to him..." Ash said, not even looking at Paul. "Together, Chimchar and I will show Paul just how wrong he is!"

Tears formed in Chimchar's eyes. All its emotions overwhelmed it, but it quickly pulled itself together. It quickly grabbed one of Ash's empty Poké-Balls, and booped its forehead against it, allowing itself to be sucked in.

And in three shakes... it was done.

Not wanting to ruin the moment, Ash didn't do his "I caught a..." routine. Instead, he just looked at the Poké-Ball. The right half was reflecting his face, and the left half was showing Chimchar's face from inside the Poké-Ball.

"Hey, guys..." Ash said, turning to look at his fellow research fellows. "I think we should take Chimchar to the Pokémon Center..."

They nodded, and the gang quickly ran inside.

What we just watched is definitive proof, that even if you can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, you will reach if if you keep going. Now, Ash and Paul moved up to the Semi-Finals of the Tag Tournament. Just in time for a special guest to come and witness Ash's brand new Pokémon...

As the Journey continues!