Chapter 4

The Battle Club!

A Mysterious Pokémon and an Unusual Trainer Appear!


§

Ash and Pikachu managed to get out of the woods and see the first town in sight. "Alright, we finally made it to Striation City!" Ash excitingly declared, "The gym battles won't be long for me to challenge!"

"Pika~!" Pikachu agreed.

"Think again, O experienced trainer," Grey singsonged as he lets his Pokémon out for a walk, "This is Accumula Town."

"Striaton City is the next town over," Iris added.

Ash and Pikachu were stupefied at the realization.

(Iris)» "You didn't know about it?"

(Grey)» "There was a sign nearby." (He obviously pointed to the sign nearby where Ash just missed it.)

(Both, harmoniously shrugging)» "Such naïve little kids."

"Oh, man," Ash droopingly complained, "I was so hoping for a gym battle."

"Thankfully, there should be a Battle Club over there," Grey mentioned as he pulled out his Town Map's extended details, "You want to go?"

Ash didn't know what a 'Battle Club' is, so the Antony said, "I don't blame you for not having this kind club in your region, Ash. Why, we even have one not far from Opelucid City." And the Dragon Villagers guided Ash to the location.

-T&D-

[At the Battle Club]

The gang entered the complex through the sliding doors. The main lobby has multiple electronic bulletin boards that show which trainer has their current Pokémon in his/her roster of selected Pokémon and what types of Pokémon to be facing against. It's a good place for Trainers who can battle freely and improve on other techniques. Ash is intrigued with the new concept.

The gang then entered the arena to witness a battle between 2 trainers facing against each other; one boy on the east side (dubbed "Cedric") is battling with Servine while another boy (dubbed "Dewey") is on the west side with Dewott facing off. Ash and Grey used their Zukans to read the data about these Pokémon and they read, [Servine, the Grass Snake Pokémon and the evolved form of Snivy. It avoids attacks by slipping through the shadows of trees and overgrown grass. It skillfully uses its vines for counterattacks.]

[Dewott, the Training Pokémon and the evolved form of Oshawott. The skills to wield its duel shalchops with graceful swordsmanship is essential for its harsh training.]

Cedric commanded Servine to use [Leaf Blade] and the Grass Snake's tail glows green as it prepares to strike closely at his opponent, but Dewey commanded Dewott to use [Water Gun]. Dewott's attack wasn't ordinarily effective, but the water spray sent Servine tumbling out of the ring and landed near Grey. That's when a burly, mustached man came by and stopped the match and let the sored Servine's trainer hastily take it to the Healing Facility. ("Rude, much?" the Antony felt annoyed.)

The man introduced himself as Don George, General Manager of the Battle Club to the gang. He deals with anything battle-related. Grey, Iris, and Ash introduced themselves.

"I heard that anyone can battle here freely," Ash said.

"Yes, that's right," Don George answered cheerfully. Ash then requested a battle to help prepare for gym battles. Grey wished to do the same. That's when the Dewott's trainer came by and requested Ash for a challenge against his Pikachu and an older trainer with green hair tied in a ponytail requested a challenge against Grey's Pokémon. Both Ash and Grey eagerly accepted the terms and went to separate battle arenas.

-T&D-

While Ash is fighting Dewey and his Dewott, Grey is battling against the man only known as N, with Iris and his team of Pokémon in the sidelines. Before they begin the battle, N asked, "I see that you have a girlfriend by your side."

Grey and Iris blushed slightly at what the mysterious man had said as N chuckled, "Now there's no need to be coy. I, myself, have a few women in my life that helped take care of me when I was very young. But let's change the subject. You do have a Pokédex, yes?"

"Yes, I do," Grey replied as he shows his Zukan.

"I, too, am a Trainer, but I am always having this doubt," N hypothesizes, "I asked myself, 'Am I making my Pokémon happy and did I treat them well?' Grey, was it? Let me hear your Pokémon's voices in battle!"

"Oh, it's on, N!" Grey obliged with a slight smirk.

And one of Don George's apprentices acted as referee and he scheduled a one-fall battle and began the match.

"Let's show them what we got, Woobat!" N called out and the Bat Pokémon with a heart-shaped nose came out of its container and is flapping its wings, showing off its prowess.

"Ready, Tepig?" Grey called his Pokémon from the sidelines and the Fire Piglet snorted fire, ready to show its stuff as the referee begins the match.

"Woobat, start by using Gust!" N ordered and the Bat created a gust tornado to blow the Fire Piglet away, but Grey cryptically ordered, "«Tepig, hang tight and fire back with [Ember]!»" Tepig took a deep breath and snorted burning sparks of fire at Woobat, effectively connecting the attack.

Iris is watching her boyfriend in action, but then she sees N starting to psyche up without looking too excited as he says, "More! Show me more of what your Pokémon can do!"

"OK, N, you asked for it!" Grey declared, "«Tepig, use [Smog] to cover the field.»"

And the Piglet blew out damaging smoke to cover the area. Woobat took little damage from breathing in and suddenly got poisoned (a sign of purple bubbles).

N commanded Woobat to endure it and use [Gust] to blow the smog away, and it did. The damage from the status hurts the Bat Pokémon. When the smokescreen cleared, N noticed that Tepig is in a curling position and realized that Tepig used [Defense Curl] to gird up its defense. What happens next would be considered checkmate as Grey commanded Tepig use [Rollout] to roll around and was jumping towards the wounded Woobat, until...

*Aooooo-gah!* *Aooooo-gah!* *Aooaooo-gah!*

The security alarm went off for some unexpected reason. Grey quickly told Tepig to stop attacking and do a ground pound instead. And Tepig's [Rollout] arcked downwards to intentionally miss hitting Woobat and stopped rolling with a thwomp. N didn't expect his opponent to suddenly stop the match because of an interruption. Was it cowardice, just playing around, or was it something else? Is it form of action that is meant to spare the opponent from any more hurtful contact?

The Antony immediately went to N's Woobat and gave it a Pecha Berry to heal its poisoning, to which it happily ate the berry.

"Why?" N asked.

"'Why' what?" Grey questioned while tending to his Tepig.

(N)» "Why did you stop the attack while you still have a chance of defeating my Woobat?"

"It's hard to explain, but let's say it's a matter of duty and priority for some things urgent. Call it a case of luck because I have just shown you [mercy]," Grey secretly uses his Heal Pulse to mend Tepig's scuffs and rejoin the other Pokémon.

While N mulls about the why his opponent was showing [mercy], Don George's apprentices said to their shishou (master) that the emergency alarm went off. They said that it was some intruders that are breaking into the storehouse and it's that same mysterious Pokémon has been muscling around again.

Don George interrupted the matches to investigate the incident.

Ash wondered what was this...mysterious Pokémon and Iris is interested in finding it. Grey noted about 'the frequent appearances of the mysterious Pokémon' in his mental notes as he and their respective Pokémon joined with Ash as they began investigating with Don George.

-T&D-

[Near the storehouse]

One of the apprentices reported to Don George, saying that there's minimal damage, but something's not right here. Don George is grateful that there's a nearby functional surveillance camera that has captured something.

[In the surveillance room]

The apprentices and the gang checked the video to see who were the culprits that recently looted the food in the storehouse. There were many eyewitnesses that many have seen this unfamiliar-looking Pokémon. That's the reason for the cameras being set up. Grey added 'the visual of the crime' to his notes as he, Iris, and Ash are watching the screen. Ash thinks it could be some new Pokémon species, but Grey and Iris doubtfully rebutted as the former said, "Not so fast, my friend."

"A new species in this region couldn't be found so easily," Iris followed.

"The fact they're not so easy to find makes things all the more romantic," Don George added.

Ash defeatingly agreed as he and the gang started seeing the video and saw a small black shadow quickly escapes the storehouse, followed by a woman with long red hair fashioned to slicked back, a man with neck length blue hair, and a Meowth speaking the human tongue and is standing bipedal.*

(* - It's not uncommon nowadays for Meowth or any feline Pokémon to be able to stand on two feet instead of just being on all fours.)

The Rocket trio spotted the camera as their faces were shown in full living color as they got caught in the act and then made a mad dash as they escaped from the scene.

The apprentice noticed that there were people involved in the break-in and recognized those scoundrels, "That's Team Rocket! They're just a bunch of thieves situated from Kanto that always tried to steal other Pokémon, but mostly have been following me around, trying to get what they greedily wanted: Pikachu. They are in a different league than Team Plasma's."

Grey and Iris agreed that they don't like that faction, either.

But then, Grey declared, "Hold it! I think I saw something moving pretty fast before Team Rocket made their escape."

Don George agreed that he, too, saw a small figure zipping around, so he requested his apprentice to carefully rewind the footage to see the small shadow moving and the video paused to prove that the Pokémon does exist.

"It's black and slim!" Iris exclaimed, "I'm not sure what Pokémon looked like this before."

Ash checked his Zukan and guessed that Pokémon could be an Umbreon, but Grey disapprove the idea, because it's too small and it isn't really that radiant to be a foreign Pokémon such as that. He pieced the clues together and guessed that the black shadow could be a thin and emaciated Tepig, unlike the one in his party. Iris somehow agreed that the creature looks nothing like Umbreon, while Ash is adamantly sure that it is one of Eevee's branched evolved forms.

Don George had agreed that this discovery of the mysterious Pokémon could help solve this mystery once and for all.

-T&D-

[Outside the Battle Club]

Don George assembled his apprentices to search for the black Pokémon that could be Umbreon or a blackened Tepig roaming around as they search every tree and shrub. The trio decided to help out as well as they used some Pokémon food set up in bowls (permitted by Don George). Ash curiously wanted to know what are they going to do next.

"Shush!" Grey hushed, "Just keep quiet while we split up, so we'll take it by surprise."

"If it goes so far as for searching for food, it's likely to be extremely hungry," Iris suggested, "It'll positively fall for it."

(Grey)» "All right, Just call us when you found the black Pokémon, okay?"

And the Dragon Villagers immediately took cover while Ash commented, "Geez, so tenacious..." And Pikachu agreed.

-=-=-Break Time-=-=-

It's time to play...

"Who's That Pokémon?"

Here's the clue:

[It can actively avoid its foe's attacks while shooting fireballs from its nose. It roasts berries before it eats them.]

(5 letters, Starts with a T. Is a Fire-type.)

The answer at the end of the chapter.

-=-=-Break Time-=-=-

While Pikachu, Oshawott, and Grey's Pokémon wait inside the storehouse (to make sure that nothing goes wrong, including the otter Pokémon doing something silly), Ash hid in the bushes to see if "Umbreon" would show up. And sure enough, a blackish Pokémon appeared near the dish bowl. "All right, Umbreon, you're as good as caught," Ash softly spoke while preparing his Pokéball. But when he looked closer, the blackish Pokémon isn't really Umbreon at all; it was a Tepig covered in soot with some rope covering its snout. {Grey was right all along}, Ash thought to himself as he used his Zukan to read more of Tepig's data, [Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokémon. It blows fire from its nostrils, but whenever it feels unwell, black smoke comes out instead of flames.]

{Tepig is one of the starter Pokémon for beginning trainers in Unova,} Ash noted to himself, {Boy, was I wrong about it for Umbreon, because Tepig looks so dirty and thin.} He slowly and carefully moved closer as he tries to gain its confidence while trying to help it. And the Fire Piglet became frightened and scurried away.

Grey and Iris managed to catch up with Ash as he told them that he found the mysterious Pokémon. They joined in on the pursuit and chased the runaway Tepig. They cornered it to a dead end, which the Piglet cowers in fear. Ash went ahead while trying to comfort the emaciated Pokémon as he carefully picks it up. Tepig pitifully struggled to loosen Ash's grip, but he started to look the Ketchum in the eye, it blew black smoke at his face. After a moment of hacking and coughing, Ash kindly asked, "You wanted to eat the delectable Pokémon food, right?"

Tepig nodded in agreement and Ash sat down on the stone pavement and meticulously try to remove the noose around Tepig's snout. Iris tries to help, but was stopped by Grey putting his hand on her shoulder, shook his head and said, "«Let Ash do it. You'll get your chance, Dear.»" And she trusted her boyfriend's advice as she witnesses the tearjerking moment. Grey is trying to hold back his emotions as he asked himself, {Who could do such a thing to just a Pokémon like this one?}

After the cord stuck on Tepig's mouth is safely removed and is cleaned up, Iris takes one of the bowls used for the trap and gave it to the starving Shoat and it gladly ate the Pokémon food. It's a life-changing lessons that both Dragon Villagers had learned for today that just made them feel glad. After Tepig ate its meal, Grey began his diplomatic interrogation with the Piglet.

-T&D-

While Meowth, painted like Umbreon distracted Don George and his apprentices, Team Rocket snuck back to the scene of the crime to search for more food in the boxes. When James lifted the opened box that isout of place on the ground, he and Jessie found Pikachu lying on the floor, swirly-eyed.

(In other words, it's 'light's out' for the stunned Mouse Pokémon.)

How did it happen?


A few minutes earlier...

Pikachu was trying to stop the goofing-off Oshawott from eating one of the dishes set for the trap as it was greedily ate the Pokémon food, but the Otter tossed Pikachu aside and crashed into the boxes. Some of the containers fell down and clocked Pikachu on the head, followed by a loose dishpan comedically knocking it out cold, and then one of the empty boxes conveniently covered the fainted Pokémon.

When Grey's Pokémon were trying to keep the situation from getting out of hand, when they sensed the intruders coming inside the storehouse. Skiddo hid itself in a different empty box, Pidove took cover in a high shelf, Grey's Tepig dragged the stuffed and tired Otter from plain sight, and Goomy hid in a dark corner, trying not to sweat itself out, giving away its position, just when Team Rocket returned to the scene of the crime.


Back to the present time...

Jessie and James nabbed the helpless Pikachu and put it into a cloth sack, thinking that they are getting away with their dirty deeds. Little do the crooks know, there were sets of eyes watching at Team Rocket as they left the storehouse.

-T&D-

Ash is carrying a now fuller and tuckered out Tepig while Grey and Iris felt relieved after all of the hullabaloo as they clasp their hands together. The trainers went to the main entrance to find Don George and his committee, but coincidently, they just bumped into each other. Don George said to the kids as he scratches his head, "Well, we thought that we found Umbreon, but that turned out to be a false lead."

"So did I," Ash admitted before he showed Tepig to the Don. "But then, we found this Pokémon, it was covered in soot and was thinner than it oughta be, making almost look like an Umbreon." He then presents some rope to the Don proving that this Tepig couldn't eat anything while being tangled up.

"That Tepig told me that its former trainer named Séamus forcefully abandoned it after losing just a single battle," Grey mentioned.

The Don and the apprentices were astonished at the Antony's abilities, but George then said, "You're right. I've seen this Tepig before. A young trainer did abandon it in this facility a few days ago. It lost against Cedric's Deerling and Séamus told it that he doesn't like weak Pokémon and he tied it to a post and left it behind. I tried to untie the cord, but Tepig broke loose and disappeared. It still was searching for its Trainer, thus becoming a stray Pokémon."

"The poor guy," Ash mulled while slowly getting angry, "How can this trainer do such cruel things to a Pokémon he travelled with?" He can't help but remember a time when a punk named Damian, back in Kanto, did the same thing to a Charmander, especially if it's technically a stray one.

"Raising a Pokémon kindly is a very important and fundamental part of being a worthy trainer," Grey mentioned, "This Séamus guy is going to answer for this atrocity."

"We'll punch his lights out when we'll find him!" Iris declared while itching to get even with the heartless trainer. Grey agreed; after he and his girlfriend crosses Séamus' path and talk turkey with him. Then they'll decide to punch his lights out.

Just when Tepig woke up Grey and Iris began to sense vile intentions coming from behind the corner as they turned around and found none the crooks other than Team Rocket, trying to sneak away.

Jessie and James uttered, "It's the twerp and the Test Subjects!"

"Team Rocket!?" Ash declared, "What are you planning this time?"

"Stop making falsities, twerp," James denied the allegation as they tried to escape, but they were suddenly blocked by the swift Dragon Villagers in their fighting stances as Grey said, "Better drop that sack nice and easy, and nobody's going to get hurt!" The crowd and the crooks were taken by surprise that both Iris and Grey moved like they teleported from one place to another.

Oshawott told Ash (in Pokémon tongue) that Team Rocket pokénapped Pikachu. Then Ash said this one word, "Wait!"

Then Team Rocket began their motto, starting with Jessie, "If you insisted on saying, 'Wait'..."

"...the answer we give is for the sake of tomorrow!" James followed up.

(Jessie)» "«Future»: The white future wears the colors of evil."

(James)» "«Universe»: The black world receives the iron hammer of justice."

(Meowth, caught up to his Partners)» "We mewll make history on this earth!"

"The passionate destroyer, Jessie."

"The pure heart of darkness, James."

"The infinite intelligence, Meowth."

(All Members)» "Now, gather...in the name of Team Rocket!"

Don George and his apprentices realized that Meowth was not only a real red herring (disguised as a pale substitution for an Umbreon), but is also Team Rocket's accomplice.

{Great! Now we got another obnoxious organization coming after us, saying the opposite of Team Plasma's,} Grey thought, {Something tells me that they've just brought in their A-Game. Better be on our guard.} (A little earlier, while Team Rocket is busy with their motto, Grey secretly swapped cloth sacks. He shushed Pikachu and said to play along so that the crooks and everybody else wouldn't notice.)

"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed, "Give Pikachu back!"

"Hmph! You're the one who abandoned it inside a box!" James accused.

"There are cruel things that Trainers who dump Pokémon they got, huh?" Jessie followed.

But Grey declared, "Not so fast!" And Team Rocket turned to see their wanted 'criminal' had to say, "You're lying, darnit! Pikachu and our partners were trying to catch our culprit and you have the nerve to call my friend a cruel trainer?" Then he puts on his 'Super Psyche Up'* expression that intimidates the crooks and said, "You better apologize, or so help us, we'll put an end to your little game."

(* - Refer to Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory, a classic soccer/football game by the former SNK company. When one of the footballers get slighted by an opposing team, but can still go on, they give off a very angry expression that looked almost murderous.)

"You'll never get away with this!" Iris also declared.

"Listen, little brats, we won't apologize to the twerp and that's final!" Jessie stubbornly said after losing her rhythm.

And James followed up, "Just because you two are the boss's "progeny" and "daughter", doesn't mean that we'll just listen to you."

"We'll just capture you two along with Pikachu so our boss can congratulate us, meow," Meowth also added.

"Those are your final words," Grey warned, "Now, Ash!"

"OK! Oshawott, use [Water Gun]" the Kantoian commanded the Otter to dampen Team Rocket's spirits, but Meowth pulled out a device and it revealed to be a shielding apparatus that blocked the spray. Then the dastardly crooks started to float away, thinking they can get away with what they (greedily) wanted. Ash is worried that his Pikachu ends up lost to the enemy, but Grey opens the sack and the real Pikachu managed to reunite with its Trainer. Ash wondered what Team Rocket got instead.

When Team Rocket opened the sack, it was a gag-explosive bomb set off by a delayed device, with a note saying, "You'll be sorry!", with a drawing of a person giving off the 'red-eye' gesture (Biii~!). It was a AAA battery and a cut-out piece of a chewing gum wrapper (the metal side) tied to the fuse of an Pikachu-sized bomb. When the explosion covered the inside of the shield, they couldn't see where they're going and they're trapped inside the protectorate.

(When Grey was helping with setting up the 'bait', he came across a inconspicuous box saying Caution: Smoke Bomb. That's then he has an idea to counter against the intruders.)

"Shall we 'help' them, guys?" Ash asked Grey and Iris.

"Yeah! Let's 'help' them out," the Dragon Villagers agreed as Ash and Grey commanded the Tepigs to use [Ember] while Iris commanded Axew to use [Dragon Rage] to combine their attacks together, and the moves connected as they busted Team Rocket's shield, letting the smoke clear.

Jessie, James, and Meowth were blackened as they were coughing like crazy and their eyes watered from being caught in their own trap. So the dominating maroon-head queried, "*cough!* How dare you steal our Pikachu, Subject GR-3Y! We just had a good thing going and you just ruined it!"

"Your words say you're doing what's right in your own eyes, but your intentions said otherwise, Miss Team Rocket!" Grey replied plainly, "For your information, I am Grey Antony, and the lovely woman next to me is my best friend, Iris. Tell your boss that if he dares to cross our paths and bother us again, I'll tear him and his organization apart, along with the three of you, until I get some answers! You understand?"

That's when Team Rocket sees the figure of Giovanni on the Antony's face, telling them to get lost before he changes his mind. And the Rocket trio used their jetpacks to blastoff themselves away from the scene.

(Later, they have to go to the nearest Rocket infirmary to get the smoke out of their lungs.)

(Sorry, there won't be any 'stars from over the horizon' for a while, folks.)

-T&D-

Ash thanked the stray Tepig for helping him. Iris came by an find the Piglet cute, even though it like the Kantoian more. She was rather disappointed that she couldn't get one of her own. Then, Grey's Tepig rubbed snouts with Ash's Tepig as if they are related. Grey talked to the Piglets and then said to Ash and Iris, "These little ones are actually brother and sister from the same mother. They missed each other so."

It was a sweet reunion for the Tepigs indeed, as Don George happily said to Ash, "It seems that not only does that Tepig chose you as a trainer, it went through many hardships until it found you. Take good care of it."

Ash obliged and he used his Pokéball to successfully capture the formerly stray Tepig.

That's when Grey wondered about whatever happened to N and the interrupted battle with him as he and his friends returned to the Club for more training. So he and Iris decided to challenge some other trainers to test their mettle against them.

-T&D-

[Elsewhere...]

N was watching his quarry from atop of the buildings and said to himself as he erased the data of his memory card hidden in the miniature camera, "Grey Antony and Iris. You are quite the fearsome trainers that have shown me a lesson that I'll never forget. So, I'll let this slide for now... But next time, I won't be so...merciful." And he came to his sisters, Anthea and Concordia, for a briefing about the next stage for the capture of the Newmans and some quality with family.

§

To be continued...==»


Extra Scene: Grey and the Choice of Nicknames

After having a good workout, Grey discovered that he and Ash have 2 of the same Pokémon in their roster, he realizes that this could lead to a confliction of telling which Pokémon is whose. That's when Don George came by and suggested the Name Rater section in the facility. It's a nifty way to give Pokémon their individual names at their own chose or the computer's choice at random before finalizing. It also has a Pokésticker booth where trainers can make personal stickers to make the Pokémon distinguishable from the others. Iris wanted to see how the Name Rater and the Pokésticker works.

So Grey went Name Rater machine and booted up the system. After giving consent by his Pokémon on wanting a nickname, Grey then typed in the names for his Pokémon:

Goomy -» Goobert (combined Robert with the Goomy family)

Skiddo -» Caprice (after Capricorn the Sea Goat and the word 'capriccio')

Tepig -» Bonnie (after a female version of Emboar (the 'Bo' part) and a certain pig from Bleach)

and...

Pidove -» Midori (after a Green Pheasant)

The Pokémon agreed to Grey's decision and registered their names to the Name Rater. The machine sends the data to the actual Rater and then rates the names, which turned out to be great choices for Grey's Pokémon and Iris hugs her boyfriend for her supportive decision and he kisses his girlfriend's hand, saying that it was nothing.

Then Grey and Iris went to the Pokésticker booth to have the stickers custom-made for their Pokéballs (with a small fee). (It doesn't have the flairness of the Pokémon Contest Balls, but they can still work with them.) Grey uses the computer chose the Team Galactic logo, but added an artistic touch-up and skillfully adding a big 'A' on the other side of the big 'G'. Grey then paid his bill to print up some Pokéstickers and saved the data of the pattern into his Pokédex Zukan.

He then lets Iris do her part and she chose a black Hydreigon silhouette (Think "Tower of Druaga" logo) and a big white 'I' in the center of the picture. After giving the final answer and Grey paying up, Iris gets her own sticker set of her own and recorded the data into Grey's Zukra. The manager of the booth told the kids that the stickers must be on the top side of the containers, not on the bottom, but they are proven not to interfere with Contest Ball Covers.

And they obeyed the instructions and then Grey and Iris now have their Pokéballs stylized to tell which owner's which.

After that, they and Ash had a big and busy day at the Battle Club.


"Who's That Pokémon?"

[It can actively avoid its foe's attacks while shooting fireballs from its nose. It roasts berries before it eats them.]

It's... Tepig!

"Ueen!"


Updated Current Stats

Ash - Pokémon Team: Pikachu (male), Oshawott (male), Pidove (TBD), Tepig (male)*

* - New Pokémon joined to Trainer's roster


A/N: I combined the game scenario with the early appearance of 'N' in his civilian clothing in Black and White 1. He'll show up now and then to see his rival's progress.


The heat will be on!

- blukmage19