Chapter 7: A Pitfall
~ Sea Spirit's Den ~
"How did it go?"
"It went without a hitch; I told you, I'm a master of disguise."
"Good work. Get back here as soon as possible...I have another task for you."
– –
~ Route 18, Kalos ~
Ash's Charizard, his Staraptor, Drew's Flygon, Paul's Honchkrow, and Calem's Pidgeot were soaring through the skies over Route 18, headed for Terminus Cave. Team Dedenne was making great time, and everyone was prepared for the fight of their lives.
Mairin was holding onto Shauna's waist, who was holding onto Ash's on the back of his Charizard. The young, red-headed trainer was arguably the most excited out of them all, but also the most concerned. She knew Alain was strong, but he barely managed to resolve the whole Primal Legendary situation last time...and now Teams Magma and Aqua were involved? She couldn't help but question whether victory was guaranteed.
She tried to take her mind off of it as best as she could. "Hey, Ash. Besides Pikachu, Charizard, and Staraptor, what other Pokemon did you bring?"
From the back of Drew's Flygon, Max called out, "Did you bring any Pokemon you caught in Hoenn, Ash?"
"Yeah, tell us! I'd be really interested to hear," Shauna added cheerfully as she scooted a little closer to Ash.
Ash noticed that Shauna was almost pressed up against him, but he thought it would be rude to mention it. Besides, he couldn't lie to himself; the warmth from Shauna's body was...comforting, to say the least. He smiled and said, "Well, it was really tough to pick just six Pokemon, except for Pikachu, of course. Pikachu is always by my side, right buddy?" he said as he pet Pikachu's tail.
"Chaa!" Pikachu responded, feeling relaxed as he always did whenever someone pet his tail.
As Serena listened to their conversation, she couldn't help but glance over at them. Her cheeks turned slightly red with jealousy when she saw how close Shauna was to Ash. She is so...Ash would never...ugh! I don't care... she thought to herself as she turned away. It could be worse...at least Shauna's the one behind Ash, and not the other way around...
"I had to go to good 'ol Professor Oak's lab to see all of my Pokemon in one place. I didn't think about how difficult it would be to choose from them all til' I got there," Ash began as he pictured it all in his head.
*Flashback *
~ Pallet Town, Kanto ~
"Ash, my boy! How have you been? It's been almost a year now, hasn't it?" Professor Oak exclaimed happily as Ash walked into his lab. Ash smiled and replied, "I'm doing alright, thanks Professor. It's been way too long."
A small, blue Pokemon with a green bulb on its back entered the room and saw Ash. Immediately, it ran over to its trainer and jumped into his arms.
"Bulbasaur! I haven't seen you in forever. Still helping out the Professor, right?" Ash said as he hugged the first Grass-type Pokemon he had ever caught.
"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" replied the Seed Pokemon as it hopped down from Ash's arms and greeted Pikachu. Pikachu shook Bulbasaur's vines, as they did the last time they were reunited.
Professor Oak smiled and said, "Yes, Bulbasaur is always ready to make peace between quarreling Pokemon, although over the years they've all come to love and respect each other, so fighting is usually a rare occurrence. They're like one, big, happy family now."
Oak led Ash into the back area, where all of Ash's Pokemon stayed unless he decided to call them up into his party. Ash took a step outside and breathed in the fresh air of Pallet Town. Immediately, he was swarmed by a crowd of Pokemon; all 66 of his Pokemon. He greeted each of them one by one, including his 30 rowdy Tauros.
Seeing all of his Pokemon here made him think about all the adventures and experiences he had gone through with them. He missed those days, the time when he was just a little kid and he traveled from one gym to the next, meeting hundreds of Pokemon. He wished he could spend more time with them here; he loved and cherished them all.
"So Ash, what brings you here to Pallet? I understand that a trainer of your caliber is constantly traveling the world, am I right?" the professor asked.
Ash's expression suddenly turned grim. "I don't much about it yet, but the Kalos region is in some pretty big trouble right now. Diantha herself asked me to come, so I'm here to pick out a team to take to Kalos," he replied.
Oak frowned and stared blankly at the ground, looking as if he was deep in thought. "I see...well, I'd hate to rush you, but clearly there's no time to waste. You must pick six – no, sorry Pikachu...five – Pokemon to take with you."
Ash nodded and turned to face an anxious group of Pokemon, who seemed to sense that something big was up. He could tell they all wanted to be a part of it and smiled weakly at them all, already feeling sorry for the ones he wasn't going to bring.
If he could, he would bring them all. He knew that they were all brave, hard-working, and trustworthy. But today, Ash planned on choosing only the strongest of them. He decided not to say too much here, since it would likely make the others jealous; this was gonna have to be quick and straightforward.
First, he walked up to Charizard, who was wearing its Mega Stone around its neck. "C'mon, big guy. I'm definitely gonna need you for this one," Ash said, stroking its wing.
He then walked over to Sceptile, who stood calmly and confidently, still holding a twig in its mouth like always. "Sceptile...you're coming, too."
Next, he walked past Kingler, Tododile, Corphish, Oshawott, and Palpitoad...right up to the Ninja Pokemon. Greninja silently nodded its head, able to acknowledge that it was selected without needing Ash to say anything.
Then came possibly one of the toughest decisions to make. Ash walked over to Noctowl, Swellow, Staraptor, Unfezant, and Talonflame. He figured he was going to need a good scouting Pokemon, as well as another Pokemon for aerial transport. After a long minute of thinking, he finally decided on bringing Staraptor.
His last pick surprised everyone, and caused some Pokemon to be upset as a result. Even Professor Oak himself questioned Ash's last Pokemon, arguing that it was too inexperienced and that there were better choices. Ash figured he was probably right, but...from the look that this Pokemon gave him at that moment, it practically emanated determination.
*End of Flashback *
~ Route 18, Kalos ~
"Who was it, Ash?" Max asked, curious.
Ash was about to answer when Calem said, "Hey Ketchum, sorry to interrupt, but have you heard anything from Alain yet?"
Ash suddenly remembered where he was. He rummaged through his pack hastily, and after a few moments he said, "He still hasn't responded," as he checked his Holo Caster for the fifth time. He had sent three video messages to Alain, hoping to confirm that Team Piplup had made it to the Sea Spirit's Den safely. Already he was worrying about his friends.
Cilan frowned, stroking his chin with his right hand as he sat on the back of Ash's Staraptor. "Hmm. You don't suppose there's an interference somewhere?" he asked.
Ash shrugged his shoulders. "No clue. I don't know jack shit about science, but I can tell you that Clemont here's pretty much a tech genius. But, uh...he doesn't look too good right now."
Cilan glanced behind him and saw Clemont with his eyes closed, clinging onto the back of Staraptor as if a sudden gust of wind would blow him away at any moment.
"Um, Clemont? Is everything alright?" Cilan asked. To his right, he heard an exasperated sigh from Bonnie.
Clemont simply nodded his head and gave Cilan a shaky thumbs-up. Bonnie laughed at her older brother as she said, "Oh, Clemont. When will you stop being such a baby?"
Ash couldn't help but start cracking up. Back in the day, Clemont and Bonnie had always managed to make him laugh, each in their own way. He heard Serena laughing, too, which meant that she was also thinking about their journey in Kalos.
On the back of his own Flygon, Drew pointed towards a relatively short mountain up ahead. "Over there! Is that it, Ash?" he shouted.
Ash looked through the clouds and remembered the day when he, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie had passed through this area years ago. He nodded and shouted, "Yeah, that's it! Let's land over there!"
– –
~ Uncharted Territory ~
"Look, Aster! See those Pokemon down there? They look pretty cool, don't they?"
Zinnia's Whismur replied cheerfully as it sat in her lap. They were currently flying on the back of Zinnia's Salamence, headed straight for the Kalos region.
The Draconid girl stretched her arms out and breathed in the fresh, sea air. This was just the opportunity she had been waiting for...a chance to redeem herself as a Draconid after failing Rayquaza back then. She blamed her naive and inexperienced self for that...but this time, after years of training, she wasn't even considering failure as a possibility.
This time, she was going to reclaim her legacy.
– –
~ Terminus Cave ~
Clemont sighed with relief as Team Dedenne's transport Pokemon all landed gracefully on the ground. Quick as lightning, he scrambled off of Staraptor's back and kissed the ground, praising Arceus that he was safe and sound. "Oh, the sky is terrifying, absolutely terrifying, thank Arceus we're here...the ground is solid, stable, and reliable...the ground is my friend, the earth is where I'm safest...
"Oh, Clemont, how am I ever going to find a wife for you?" Bonnie said, who seemed to be genuinely exasperated.
Max thought about Clemont's words, thinking hard. The ground...it's solid, and stable. The earth...this is Groudon's type of place. How would Team Aqua keep Kyogre in a place like this?
"Alright, let's go!" Ash said, walking towards the cave and past Serena, who began following him. Although he had grown up and matured, he was still impetuous to a degree, which often led to trouble. Trouble was something he could deal with, however, so his recklessness almost never truly harmed him. But would a situation like this be defined so simplistically as mere 'trouble'?
Max spoke up, trying to process all the possibilities. "Ash, wait! I don't think-"
He was interrupted by tremors in the ground beneath them. The trees lining the path all shook, and some of the weaker ones fell down completely.
Cilan shouted, "Simisage, come out!" as he tossed his starter Pokemon's Pokeball into the air. In a flash of white light, the Thorn Monkey Pokemon appeared, ready for action.
Paul was also quick to react. "Ninjask, standby for battle!" he commanded, releasing Ninjask from its Pokeball.
Everyone else followed suit, calling out their Pokemon who could best withstand or avoid the powerful earthquakes.
Ash gritted his teeth. He knew something was up, and now he could pretty much confirm it. Terminus Cave...it was the home of Zygarde, a Ground-type, who also regulates the ecosystem, for Arceus' sake. This was clearly prime turf for Groudon, the Continent Pokemon.
"We were tricked! Siebold betrayed us!" Calem shouted as he desperately held onto his hat.
Clemont struggled to keep his glasses from shaking off of his head. "I don't think Siebold would do that! Something must be wrong, but whatever it is we have to figure out how-"
"Oh, don't worry, you won't have to figure anything out."
Ash and Max immediately recognized that voice. They both looked up and saw Magma Admin Tabitha standing on top of a ledge with at least a dozen grunts beside him.
All around Team Dedenne, more men and women started appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Within seconds, Team Dedenne was surrounded by Team Magma members.
Magma Admin Courtney laughed as she stepped up to face Ash and the rest of the group. "Surprise! We weren't who you were expecting, isn't that right?" she taunted, smiling with mock sympathy. "I must say, it was a good plan to divide yourselves according to your advantages against our two organizations. Clever, clever...but oh, the irony of it all...you thought you had the element of surprise, ha! Groudon, rise!"
The ground began to quake more violently now, knocking Drew, Clemont, Bonnie, Max, Cilan, and Serena off of their feet. Ash instinctively caught Serena before she could fall to the ground, pulling her back onto her feet with his left arm.
"Oh, um...thanks Ash!" Serena said, holding onto her hat.
Ash's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he realized that they were holding hands. "No...no problem," he replied.
He held her steady as everyone looked up in awe at the massive Pokemon emerging from within the ground, huge chunks of earth flying everywhere as the Legendary Continent Pokemon rose.
Groudon's roar could be heard from miles away.
– – – –
