Hello again everyone. I hope you liked the previous chapter. As you saw at the end of the last chapter, the stranger challenged Ash to a battle. How will he fare? They will also get another clue, somewhat, of how to reach the island, which will happen next chapter, so please hold out.

Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Pokémon franchise. Nintendo, 4Kids, Gamefreak, etc., have those rights, and here are the age reminders once again...

Ash: 13
Misty/Todd: 14
Kenji: 17 going on 18
Brock: 19

Part 06: "What kind of Pokémon is that?" Weird Pokémon!

Last time, the gang tried their best to figure out the strange man's riddle. Coming up empty, partially, they gave Professor Oak a call, who didn't help them much at all. The stranger, who'd somehow been monitoring them, has returned and challenged Ash to a battle! Will he come out of the battle victorious?

Ash Title: Weird Pokémon!

"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Kenji stared in awe.

"I-I don't know, but I'm going to get some shots of it!"

"I better get a quick sketch of this one! I hope we encounter some more Pokémon like this so that I can study them a bit and present the information to Professor Oak and Bill!"

Todd started to snap photos while Kenji took out his pad and pencil and started sketching profusely. The Pokémon was a very dark color, like a shadow with eyes, only a slightly lighter shade. It was fairly large, maybe about the size of a Gengar or a small Raichu. Its eyes were an unhealthy red color, it had short, pointy ears, and stood upright. To both boys, it obviously wasn't a ghost type, as it seemed to have a fur type similar to that of maybe an Eevee.

Confused, Ash pulled out his Pokédex, pointing it at the strange Pokémon. It pinged, and replied in its robotic voice, "No data found."

"Oh no, not again," the boy groaned. "I know I should update this every once in a while."

"Ash, even if you did, I don't think it would be able to identify that Pokémon," Brock earnestly pointed out. "It might be too rare for that. Your Pokédex only recently had information added in about Mewtwo and it still doesn't have anything much on Togepi."

Ash put his handheld Pokémon encyclopedia away. "Well, I don't care what kind of Pokémon that is!" He pulled out one of his small red and white spheres. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!"

The light green plant Pokémon, with the bulb on his back, emerged from his Pokéball with a loud, "Bulba!"

"I know you've never seen that kind of Pokémon before, Bulbasaur, but please do your best." Bulbasaur nodded determinedly.

Brock walked to the middle and raised his hand. "You guys ready?" Both nodded. "Okay, let the battle begin!"

"Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip!"

The cloaked stranger laughed slightly. "Go, Zugeng! Take the hits from that wimpy Bulbasaur!"

The strange Pokémon nodded and rushed out to Bulbasaur, who was now fuming over the fact that he was referred to as weak and not being taken seriously. Two vines emerged from Bulbasauir's back, and he hit the "Zugeng" continuously with them. It just stood there, taking the hits as instructed. It didn't even wince. Everyone stared in surprise when they saw that the attack wasn't having any effect at all.

"Bulbasaur, use your Razor Leaf attack, now!"

The bulb Pokémon retracted his vines, and jumped back, tossing out two spinning leaves, but the cloaked stranger looking nonplussed and just smirked arrogantly. "Zugeng, use Retract!"

The dark Pokémon obviously moved, so that the leaves would go right past it, but the others spectating were amazed over how fast the move was.
x x x x
'Wow,' Brock looked on, quite impressed with the skill of this trainer and his Pokémon. 'It's like an advanced agility technique.'

"I hate to say it," Todd got another shot of the "Zugeng", "but I'm actually glad Ash and Bulbasaur are losing," he whispered to the artist. "It's easier to get more shots that way."

"It's helping me out too since it's not moving as much." He looked down at his sketch, slightly satisfied. "Now, what was it called….oh yeah…" He wrote *ズゲイング underneath the rough sketch. "…Zugeng, what a strange name."
x x x x
'I have to figure out that thing's weakness.'

"Zugeng and I are getting bored here. Give up?" he cruelly laughed.

Ash shook his head as he looked on, trying to come up with a strategy. He stared up at the now dark sky. Night had finally approached them, and the moon was shining down brightly into the clearing. It then hit him what he should try.

"Bulbasaur, fight back with Lunar Beam!"

"Ash," Misty protested, "the sun isn't out for him to use that kind of an attack!"

"I said Lunar Beam, not Solar Beam."

Their mouths hung open, Brock and Misty stuttering out a shocking, "H-how?"

"I wanted Bulbasaur to use his Solar Beam at night, but that's kind of difficult, even though there is a way to, so I taught him to take in the moon's energy instead and to form a beam from it. I had learned from Professor Oak that this type of move was possible, but very difficult for most Pokémon to learn.

"Since Bulbasaur is a grass type, though, this move won't be as powerful as his Solar Beam. Professor Oak also told me that normal types like maybe Clefairy and Clefable can be taught this 'ancient technique'. I wasn't planning on showing this move off until my league matches, if they ran into the night, but now is as good a time as any to see if it'll be affective against an actual opponent."

Ash's human companions were pretty amazed, wondering when he could've had time to even teach such a move to Bulbasaur. Mewtwo internally praised the trainer for his skill and determination.

"Lunar Beam? Puh-lease! Zugeng, use your Mirror Reflection attack!"

Zugeng let the beam hit him directly in the stomach, which had become very smooth and slick. It reflected the attack, sending the somewhat powerful beam right back at Bulbasaur.

"Bulba!" the Pokémon cried, unable to dodge it or even for Ash to issue a countermeasure. The force of the attack knocked him back.

"Oh no, Bulbasaur!"

"I went easy on your Bulbasaur," the cloaked stranger's voice rang out in cruel laughter. "I didn't let my Zugeng use its true power." He looked down at the plant Pokémon, who was now being held by Ash. "Hm, you may have what it takes after all since you taught that pathetic plant of yours something as rare as Lunar Beam."

"Bulbasaur is not pathetic!" Ash told him darkly. "He's a strong Pokémon and a great friend!" Ash pulled out Bulbasaur's Pokéball and recalled him, but praised and thanked him before the red beam sucked him back in. "Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Let me get this straight, you call back a pathetic plant just to send out a worthless electric rat?" He grinned. "What should I use against something as unworthy as a Pikachu…"

A nerve formed on Pikachu's forehead, as he was ready to use "Thunder" on the trainer, but Ash managed to keep the temperamental electric rodent under control.

"Zugeng, return. You did a great job, but sorry you didn't have a real challenge." After returning Zugeng, he pulled out another monster ball. "Michu, come forth!"

"Michu?"

As if mesmerized, Ash pulled out his Pokédex, pointing it at Zugeng's replacement. "Michu, another Pokémon of which I have no data on."

"Oh yeah, that's right."

This Pokémon was about the same size as Pikachu, and also had a similar build. Its coat was dark and shadowy, which made it fairly difficult to determine an accurate color for it, despite the brightness of the full moon above. Its eyes were a beautiful, majestic blue, but the pupils were a dark, glassy brown. It seemed to have the ability to stand on all fours or stand upright, and its tail was short and stubby. Pikachu didn't feel intimidated at all.

Not even waiting for Brock to start the battle, Ash went right into it. "Pikachu use agility, and when you see an opening, use your Thunder Punch!"

Understanding his instructions, he nodded and ran towards the dark Pokémon, his speed increasing to the point of his seeming invisible to the untrained eye. He continued to run circles around the Michu.

The cloaked stranger yawned. "Michu, counterattack with your Shadow Punch!"

When Pikachu felt he had an opening, his small paw became engulfed with crackling electricity, and he swung it at the strange creature. Michu, however, evaded by a fraction of a second, and punched Pikachu with its Shadow Punch. Its fist seemed to have a very dark aura surrounding it when administering the punch. The power of the punch knocked Pikachu back to where Ash was standing.

The boy rushed to his Pokémon companion's side, but Pikachu stood on his own, shaking his head while looking around incomprehensibly. It seemed as if the yellow rodent wasn't sure what was going on or even why he was there in the first place.
x x x x
Brock, who had been analyzing the battle intensely, crossed his arms. Both Mewtwo and Misty just watched, while Kenji and Todd continued to take advantage of the situation by sketching and taking photos. "Hmm, that attack the Michu used must be some type of confusion attack," Brock determined, "and confusion type attacks are normally most common with psychic types."

"He speaks the truth," the quietest of them spoke up. "I sense a great deal of confusion for the electric Pokémon."

"Oh, Mewtwo, is Pikachu hurt in any way?" Misty asked worriedly.

"No, Pikachu will be fine. Pokémon can withstand a temporary confusion attack, although with Psychic Pokémon, it's easier to rid oneself of it as their minds are trained for such maneuvers."
x x x x
"Pikachu, Thunder!"

"Michu, use Block and then Double Take!"

The Michu stood its ground, its arms outstretched in front of its body, as if creating some kind of an invisible barrier. Doing so, allowed it to block Thunder successfully. After the quick block, it cloned itself in two.

"Pikachu, Thunder Wave!"

Pikachu stared from one Michu to the other, still a bit disoriented from the earlier attack. He was unable to distinguish the fake Michu from the real one. Usually, such a tactic wouldn't have worked on the experienced Pokémon, and he could usually pick out a decoy with no problems at all. Pikachu chose at random, and aimed his Thunder Wave towards it.

Seeing the wave coming towards it, the Michu took its doppelganger and used it like a shield. The wave was reflected off of the clone, and before Pikachu could counter on his own, or before Ash could come up with a counterattack, it hit him full force, paralyzing him instantaneously.

"Pikachu!"

"Great job, pal. You deserve a rest, but sorry that the rat wasn't much of a challenge for you. Michu, return!" After the Pokémon was secure in its sphere, he looked over towards his opponent. He laughed cruelly as Ash was now holding and shaking Pikachu, who was struggling to try moving on his own. "If you can't even beat me, what makes you think that you can face the gym leader?"

"I will defeat whoever the gym leader is!" He then quietly added, "I don't have a choice…"

Not really caring whether this cloaked weirdo hung around or not, Brock, just as the others, were concerned over both Bulbasaur and Pikachu. "Ash, you better give Pikachu a Paralyze Heal. It should help him until you can get him to a Pokémon Center."

"I don't have any medicines with me…not even an antidote for poison."

"What! Ash, why not?!"

"Well, I figured we would've been on the island by now," he explained. "I was going to pick up some at the Pokémart there. I wasn't planning on getting into a battle on the way."

Brock rushed to his bag, but saw that he didn't have anything for paralysis, nor did he have any Full Heals or anything else that would've benefited this type of situation, but did have a few antidotes.

"You know, you seem like a determined kid," the stranger stated sincerely, no trace of malice or deceit whatsoever.

"First you taunt him, and now you're being nice to him?" Brock questioned angrily. "What do you want anyway?"

He just stared at the group as the mist started to roll in once again. "My Pokémon are weak, Michu being the exception, compared to the ones you will be going up against, kid. I'll give you a hint as to how you can get to the island, since you are a pathetic looking trainer…with potential."

Ash glared at him. This young man's arrogance was starting to remind him of Gary's, but it obviously wasn't him, given that this guy was obviously older than he and Gary.

"Pokémon are the key of getting to and from the island, unless you're special in some way." The mist was now that of a fog, and was so thick, neither could no longer see him. His voice was also growing fainter. "Remember, Pokémon are the key. I'll see you chumps later."

Just like before, when the mist cleared, he was gone.

"I am not pathetic," Ash insisted to no one in particular, "I just don't like riddles."

"Hey guys, look…on the other side of this clearing where that idiot was standing! I see a light!"

Everyone looked in the direction Misty was pointing, and went towards it. It was a soft bluish-white glow. The white light formed a door, but it was on the ground.

Brock took the initiative and knelt down, trying to grab the handle without any luck. "It's like the door's here, but at the same time, it's not. I can't grasp the door's handle."

"Maybe you can go through it?" Before anyone could object to his questionable suggestion, Ash stood on the translucent looking door, in hopes of falling through, but had no luck.

"I don't think that's going to work, Ash. If I couldn't grab the handle, I doubt you could just fall through it."

"If this is the way to the island, then another part of the riddle has been solved," Kenji triumphantly smiled. "This is the last place one would think of looking to get to an island."

"Yeah, you're right, but what about the key thing? Maybe we're having trouble getting through because it's locked and we need the key," Todd said.

'Pokémon are the key of getting to the island according to that jerk in the cloak. Since the island supposedly has an abundance of rare or unusual Pokémon, then maybe you must use one to enter or unlock the door. The Pokémon that guy used seemed to have some psychic abilities. I wonder…' Misty was quiet for another moment or two when she snapped her fingers. "I think I've got it!"

"What?"

"Pokémon are the key! You saw what type of Pokémon that guy was battling with! We've never seen them before, so they would obviously be considered rare…"

Ash impatiently rolled his eyes. "Wow, I didn't know that," he replied sarcastically.

Misty shot him a look, but continued. "Anyway, I was thinking that we also need to use a rare Pokémon to unlock this door or either a Pokémon with rare moves. From this glow, I think you have to use either a psychic type, a rare psychic type, or either a Pokémon with psychic moves."

Catching on, Kenji said, "Like Mewtwo!"

"Or maybe even my Togepi. *He's still the only one of his kind and he has used Teleport before…so maybe he's part psychic…"

"Good thinking, Misty, "Todd complimented.

Brock patted the younger girl on the back. "Yeah, great job."

"The redheaded one is very wise."

"Wow, that's great, Mist," Ash grew slightly apprehensive, but decided to ask his question anyway, "but how do we open the door exactly?"

Misty looked at him, as if in thought. She then answered coolly, much to Ash's surprise, "I have no clue."

"I think I may have something. Since Togepi doesn't know how to use psychic attacks entirely, how about we let Mewtwo use his most powerful 'Barrier' and teleport us," Kenji suggested. "Maybe if Mewtwo does this, we'll be able to get through this strange door."

"You may be on to something, Kenji!" Todd said.

"That would also mean another part of the riddle is solved! That guy said you have to use your mind to get there, not your eyes!" Brock reminded them.

Misty nodded. "Mewtwo would have to use his mind and concentrate in order to teleport while keeping a barrier around all of us. You also wouldn't think to use a Pokémon's barrier just to go through a door. We also haven't moved from this clearing, and that guy did say, 'you're already there'."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Since we can't physically open the door, or physically go through it, like Ash tried earlier, then I deduced that maybe we have to mentally go through it."

Taking in Kenji's words, Ash said, "It's worth a shot." He turned to the tall, quiet Pokémon. "Are you up to it, Mewtwo? If not, we could always try another way."

"No no, I am quite capable of using barrier as well as maintaining and using another attack simultaneously. Teleport is a fairly simple process and technique for a Psychic Pokémon and is generally one of the earliest moves mastered."

"What are we waiting for then, let's go!" Brock cheered.

"All of you must get close together, so that my barrier will enclose on us all."

"All right guys, let's stand on the door," Ash instructed, "and let Mewtwo do his thing. Everyone stick together. We don't want anyone to get separated."

Once everyone was settled and huddled as much as they possibly could, Mewtwo started to concentrate. A blue aura surrounded him, which grew larger and larger, like a bubble, but it was only surrounding himself. Using barrier was actually a simple task, but he'd never been in the situation where he had to include others with him. He focused harder, the aura around him growing more and more. In a matter of seconds, the move was complete, and everyone was now in Mewtwo's barrier.

'This is a bit more difficult than I originally anticipated. I do hope I will be able to carry along so many others in this fashion.'

"This is amazing!" Kenji stated, awe-struck. "I never knew a Pokémon could do this. I was just theorizing."

Mewtwo continued concentrating, but on teleporting this time. One wrong thought and it could be over, leaving all of them to end up in different places. He focused on the door and on it leading to Lost Kage Island.

After a moment of light meditation, Mewtwo finally felt he was ready. "Please prepare yourselves," he instructed. He closed his eyes, a golden light surrounding him and the others. A few seconds later, the group had vanished through the glowing bluish-white door…
x x x

Author's Notes

Note 1: As you can see, I put "Zugeng" into Japanese; katakana to be exact (did anyone else find this to be a lame name I made up? lol) There are three writing systems in Japan: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.

Hiragana is used for articles (to, wo, wa, etc.), and native Japanese words, pretty much, as well as furigana, but I'll explain this momentarily.

Katakana is used for words or names foreign to Japan or borrowed words, like "anime" which is short for "animation". Katakana is also generally used for sound effects (like in a comic) and for sound emphasis. Katakana is also sometimes used with animals. With both hiragana and katakana, each character represents a sound.

Above, "ズゲイング" spells "zu ge i n gu", as that's as close to the sound I had in mind. In romaji, it would be "Zugeng". For the record, all Pokémon names are written in katakana. I'll use another example. Mewtwo's name, in katakana, would be written out as "ミュウツウ". Mi + yu u tu u. The "myu" is there for the "mew" sound. The "yu" is also written small because you're combining it with "mi".

Kanji is the writing system adopted from China, but to help simplify the complex Chinese, hiragana and katakana came about. Even though both languages may share the same characters and meaning, the way to say them will be different. I guess it's similar to maybe Spanish and Italian. Yes, both languages are completely different, but if you know one or the other, one may be able to figure out the meaning through reading it.

Let's use "light" as our kanji example. Light, in Japanese is "hikari". Instead of using one of the Japanese alphabet systems (hiragana/katakana), you can write it out in kanji. The kanji for light is "光".

Now, onto furigana. Furigana is used with kanji. Many kanji characters can have multiple meanings and readings and can be easily misread because of that, so written above the kanji character are small, hiragana characters, which shows how that particular kanji is supposed to be read.

Let's use "hikari" again. Let's say a person is reading something, and comes across "光" but doesn't know how to read it right off. Above "光", or beside it, depending on how it's written (top to bottom), would be "ひかり" (hi ka ri) written in hiragana.

Well, there goes the brief Japanese lesson and for the record, hiragana and katakana are super easy to read and understand, mostly. Kanji is the difficult part of Japanese.
x x x
Note 2: As pointed out, at the time I wrote this fic and the last one, I hadn't played Pokémon Gold/Silver yet, so I didn't know that Togepi's type was "normal". I'd heard that it used "Teleport" in one of the Orange Island episodes at the time, and so I figured he was a psychic type. In my area, the show was dropped after the Princess vs Princess episode, so it took me a while to see the ep with Togepi using "Teleport", or rather, "Metronome".

I do know as of Generation VI (X/Y) that Togepi is a Fairy type, but I'm going to still stick with what I had originally for this story.
x x x

Fic Chapter Changes

When Ash used his Pokédex on the strange Pokémon, Ash did do the "Oh no not again" thing, but instead of Ash realizing he needed to update his computerized encyclopedia, Dexter itself did telling Ash that he should update it every once in a while and Ash begrudgingly agrees, but then Dexter points out that even if he had, he probably still wouldn't have been able to identify it (that line was given to Brock, which also added in his pointing out that Mewtwo's entry was recent and that it still didn't have anything much for Togepi). For the most part, I wrote Dexter a bit smart-allecky at times.

When Michu was revealed, there was a fourth wall situation dealing with its name and confusing it for "Michiru". Kaiou Michiru (Sailor Neptune from Sailor Moon) and Brock was in search of her. At the end of it, it went back to Dexter analyzing and the original line was, "Michiru…I mean Michu, no data found".

Another cut fourth wall segment with Ash and Misty acting mushy. Legitimately mushy, with pet names. After it was mentioned that they would all have to get close, Ash was saying something along the lines of being glad over getting closer to "Kasumi-chan". The other characters complain over it, Todd mostly, and RP reminding them that she had to toss in some AAMR (Ash and Misty romance) somewhere. Brock kept telling the two to knock off all the mushy talk, but he was ignored until he was noticed and Misty hurt him for interfering with romance. I was inspired by the ep, "Bye Bye Butterfree" when Misty punched Brock for "interfering with romance".