Chapter 8
As the sun rose over the horizon, peeking out between the skyscrapers of Jubilife City, Ash woke up. Normally, he would sleep in more. He appreciated the comfort of a good bed, both at the Pokémon Center or at home. However, this morning, he sat up in the bottom bunk, mind already working on a couple of his problems.
He would have to call Professor Oak later in the morning to see if Tauros was willing to haul things for him. If not, it may be possible to trade a Tauros for something like a Camerupt, a terrible option, but an option nonetheless. Then again, a lot of Tauros worked on farms and ranches. He may be lucky.
Figuring out what to do with Eevee was perhaps a bigger issue. How could he help Eevee find a goal when he did not understand her? If he couldn't expand his team, could he afford keeping her involved? Should he ignore the problem for a little while longer or should he take the initiative and make a change?
Ash shook his head as he finished dressing for the day. As part of figuring out Eevee, he needed to deal with something else as well. He needed to figure out his rotation for his Pokémon. It was not a big issue, he had only a couple opportunities to make a change so far in Sinnoh. Still, he wanted to make sure he and his Pokémon were ready for the Conference.
With a yawn, the young man opened the door, Pikachu sleepily following him. Making his way through the Pokémon Center, Ash slipped out the back of the building and he quietly stepped out onto the empty training grounds.
He reached to his belt and grabbed three Pokéballs, which he tossed into the air. Three white lights flashed and took the shape of his Pokémon. To his right, Aipom balanced on her tail, a wide grin on her face. In the middle, Eevee shook her white ruff before sitting, tail slowly wagging. Finally, to the left was Turtwig, a firm stamp of his foot and the fierce Grass Type stood ready for battle. Pikachu trotted over to join the line of Pokémon.
Ash knelt down, so his head was closer to his Pokémon. "Alright, soon we are going to face the next Gym Leader. I was talking with Gary earlier and he mentioned the Oreburgh Gym Leader uses Rock Type Pokémon. I know I am going to call in Totodile for backup. I was thinking you would lead off Turtwig. That means we need to do some training to prepare."
Ash paused, glancing to Eevee who was sitting with her body towards him but her eyes roved taking in all of the different sights around the training ground. Sighing to himself, Ash moved on. "Aipom and Pikachu, I want to work with the two of you to develop a couple of Appeals. Dawn is ready to learn more from me, she needs help in both the Appeal and Battle Stage. While I am confident we can make any battle flashy, I am not sure how to help with an Appeal."
"Pika? Chu pika pika pi?"
"I know, it was my mistake and my fault. I should have done more for May, she deserved more than me saying her Appeals needed work. I sent her a note after the Contest and will see if I can do better with Dawn."
"Turt?"
"If you want to learn about doing Appeals as well, I would be happy to include you in the training."
"Vee, Ee eevveee?"
"I am waiting to hear from Professor Oak. I want you to be happy but I need to give attention to the rest of my Pokémon as well. That goes for you was well Aipom, you are great and I love traveling with you. However, I may send you back to the Ranch temporarily to work with other Pokémon as well."
Aipom crossed her forearms and glared. "Pom Ai Ai Ai pom."
"I know, it is not what you want. I want all of my Pokémon to be happy. While the two of you really need to spend time with me, the rest of the family deserves the same chance."
Aipom scuffed her feet. "Ai."
"Thanks for understanding Aipom. For now, let's get to some training. Starting with creating some Appeals. Pikachu, I was thinking about what we could do with your lightning and speed."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Several hours later, Ash and Pikachu trudged into the Pokémon Center. Sweat dripped from under Ash's hat and he had stripped down to his tee-shirt. With a little huff, he collapsed into a chair at the table his friends were sitting.
"Morning." Ash said.
Gary rubbed his forehead. "How long have you been awake?"
"Morning Ash!" Dawn replied with a grin, Piplup nodded form his place on her lap.
Solana merely nodded at him over her cup of coffee.
"Not too long, just woke up at sunrise. Anyway, after breakfast I need to call Professor Oak. Depending on what happens there, I may be looking to do some shopping. What about the rest of you, any plans?"
Dawn shrugged, "I would like to get some training in, if that is alright with you."
"It might be nice to get on the road." Solana murmured into her steaming beverage.
Shaking his head in bemusement, Gary glanced at the clock. "Make your phone call Ash. We can finish packing and get on the road by midmorning. Dawn, we can talk you through a lot of what we saw as we walk. Tonight, maybe we can get started on showing you a couple of things."
Solana shrugged as Dawn nodded in agreement. Gary stood up, "Very well then, I will go gather my notes."
"Before you do," Ash interrupted, "I was wondering if you would talk with your Grandfather with me."
"It is your request he will be responding to, not mine."
"Yeah, I know. Still, he may be more willing to grant the request if you are there and he remembers both of us are involved."
"You are making a personal and interesting request. It doesn't matter if I am around. You will be caring for twelve Pokémon on the road. That is a big challenge and one you need to convince my grandfather that you can handle. I will help from time to time, but it is your responsibility and your Pokémon. Trust me, Grandpa will do what is right."
Ash nodded, a bit stiffly. "Well, I guess I better make that call. Dawn, you doing okay? I know losing is always tough."
"I am doing okay, yeah. I wish things turned out differently, of course right? But still I think I put on a good showing and because I have the two of you, I think I will do even better next time."
As Gary walked away, Ash stood up. "We won't let you down Dawn."
"Thanks!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Hey Professor, were you able to talk to my Tauros?"
"Good Morning Ash, yes I am doing well. Things are moving along like normal and your Mother is nearly constantly checking in."
Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Professor, I got excited. I am glad things are going well at the Ranch. Mom and I talked yesterday, it seems Mimey is taking over even more chores for her."
"Very true. Now, as to your request to carry twelve Pokémon, I must confess to being surprised. Not by you or the responses from the people who have the authority such as Professor Rowan, but from your Pokémon. Every single one of your Tauros were excited about the opportunity."
"Wow, I wasn't expecting that."
"Neither was I my dear boy. Now, I am going to trust you with carrying twelve Pokémon. I know that if it ever gets to be too much you will make good decisions and elect to voluntarily carry fewer. Is that understood?"
The Professor's voice dropped as he asked his question, eyes narrowing. Ash nodded quickly in response. "Yes, Professor, I understand."
"Good. Now, you have several slots open. I will transfer Tauros to you. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
"Yeah, a couple other transfers please." Ash said holding up a Pokéball.
"Very well, who are you sending back and who would you like transferred to you?"
"Snorelax is getting tired of being on the road, so he is going back to the Ranch. I was hoping you could send me Swellow to help train Starly and Totodile. Then I also need to spend more time with Gastly and Absol, could you send those two as well. I think that will be all for the time being."
"Very well, by my count that puts you at ten Pokémon. I am assuming you are keeping the extra slots for new catches?"
"That is my plan."
"Very well. I look forward to seeing how you do with this group of Pokemon. A very diverse cast, with a diverse set of needs."
"I know, I am looking forward to the experience."
"Give me a few moments to collect the various Pokémon and we can get you on your way."
"Thank you Professor!"
"Any time Ash, any time."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tauros, weighed down as he was by supplies and the groups backpacks, was not allowed to set the pace. The rampage loving Pokémon's strength and endurance was extremely impressive. Meaning he could still easily outpace Ash and his friends.
Dawn took the job of leading the group as they walked towards Oreburgh City. Ash was happy to meander down the road next to her as he easily kept up the pace.
Eventually Dawn broke the silence. "What did you think of the Contest overall?"
"Zoey has a long way to go and in time the two of you will outclass a good chunk of the competitors. Your Appeal was really pretty good, but you will still want to improve it to ensure you consistently make it to the battle rounds. You need to be more comfortable with the battle itself, I know you need to be flashy but there needs to be a level of understanding how to compete as well."
From Dawn's other side, Gary rolled his eyes. "What Ash is trying to say, ineffectively I think, is this was your first time entering into a Contest. There are positives and negatives in your performance."
"I haven't seen too many but I enjoyed it." Solana chimed in, "I would agree though, you seemed a bit stiff in battle."
"How do I get better?"
Ash grinned. "That is exactly what I wanted to hear."
"Wanting to get better is the first step. It is when you are content with your level that you no longer improve," Gary agreed.
"Still, how do I get better?"
"Practice." Came Gary's short answer.
Ash chuckled, a wide grin on his face. "Effort, time, energy, and a willingness to ask questions."
Dawn looked between the two of them. Behind the group and unseen by Dawn, Solana was shaking her head in exasperation. "Boys, don't be so cryptic."
Ash looked over his shoulder, grin still on his face. "I have said nothing which is not true."
In front, Dawn frowned. "But I want to win enough Ribbons to enter the Grand Festival. Will I have enough time to do so?"
"Yes," Ash said, his voice firm.
"Great, where do we start?"
"The first thing you need to think about is the team of Pokémon you want to build. How will they work with each other? What skill sets do you need? What roles will your Pokémon fill? Figure those kinds of things out. You have two Pokémon right now and frankly, you need at least a full team of six by the time you enter the Grand Festival. More may be better." Gary mused.
"I agree in part," Ash said. "Truthfully, you just need experience. We can help you with that. Every night, you and I will face off in a practice battle round. The goal being to help you start to develop your own style and to become more comfortable in that setting."
"Aren't Appeals more important? After all if I don't have a good Appeal, I may not get to the Battle round."
"Dawn, Gary and I are trainers at heart. Our passion has been and will continue to be the clash between two trainers. We can give you some general advice on how an Appeal works. That will be something you will need to create personally."
Dawn nodded slowly. "Okay, I think I got it. I have a couple more ideas for Appeals."
Ash turned back to Solana, walking backwards to show off a bit. "So what is your mission around Oreburgh City, if you don't mind me asking?"
"The Gym Leader, Roark, requested some help. Apparently the Oreburgh Mine is having problems. The Geodude and Onix native to the area are becoming more rare and the ones people have seen are restless. It seems like there is another Pokémon not normally found in the Mine stirring up trouble. At least that is the current thought process."
"Is it a Legendary?"
"Not everyone is you Ash. As far as the mission report goes, it is just a rarely found Pokémon in the area. The report indicates it may be an Aerodactyl."
Gary grinned as Ash groaned. "I have had some experience with fossil type Pokémon. Those Pokémon were the basis of my research and the subject of my Doctoral Thesis."
"I may need to make a call to an old friend if there is enough evidence it is an Aerodactyl." Ash muttered. "Charizard would never forgive me if I didn't bring him in for that fight."
"Why is that?" Dawn asked, "And Charizard?"
"I started in Kanto, Charizard is the final evolutionary form of one of the main starter Pokémon in the region. I actually found Charmander after he was abandoned by his trainer. Anyway, we stumbled into a cavern in Kanto filled with Fossil Pokémon. After evolving into Charizard, he fought against an Aerodactyl. I am not sure it was the result he was looking for and it ended up being something we had to work through."
"I remember that. It was a funny thing, that Aerodactyl tried to carry you off didn't it?"
"Laugh it up."
"Trust me I will."
"Anyway, the mission is to find a way to calm the situation down. If I need to defeat the Pokémon in charge, then that is the job I have. I should get more information from Roark when we arrive in Oreburgh City." Solana finished, mostly ignoring the two teen boys.
"Is it a hard job, being a Pokémon Ranger?" Dawn asked.
"It can be, there are definitely missions where you get hurt. Not just scrapes and bruises, but broken bones. On some missions, well, not everyone returns. Luckily, I have not had to deal with those situations as of yet."
Solana paused, tossing her bright blue hair slightly. "I am glad both of you have experience in this arena. Most of my missions as a Ranger have been in heavily forested area or jungles. To be honest, I am a bit concerned about fixing the problems in the mine."
"Is it really that different?" Dawn asked.
Shrugging, Solana replied. "Yes and no. As a Pokémon Ranger we work with local Pokémon a lot. In a jungle there tends to be a wide spectrum of Pokémon and Types of Pokémon. The information I have indicated there are only a few species native to the Mine. It will be different and more of a challenge. At least, that is what I expect."
"What ever I can do to help, let me know and we will solve the problem!" Ash claimed as they continued down the path.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
That evening, Ash stood on one end of a clearing while Dawn stood on the other end. Starly floated above Ash's head while Eevee, Aipom, Pikachu, and Tauros watched from the side with Gary and Solana. Dawn and Piplup stood ready to challenge them.
"Right, Dawn, in a Contest battle, you have two main ways of winning. You can either make your Pokémon look really good or to make your opponent's Pokémon look bad. I am going to use Starly, so when you are ready."
Dawn nodded, "Go Piplup, Bubblebeam."
"Air raid."
As Piplup breathed out, sending bubbles hurtling through the air, Starly dove and weaved through the attack. The Flying Type bent a wing to slip out of the bubble filled air and started flying on a course with Piplup.
Dawn gulped, watching as Piplup stood there and Starly approached. At nearly the last moment, she called out. "Use Bide Piplup!"
With a short nod, Piplup centered himself as he was hammered by Starly's Wing Attack. Ash just watched as Starly rounded his flight path and with a blink struck home with an Aerial Ace. The Flying Type then rose quickly several feet to create space away from the Sinnoh Starter.
The crackling energy of Bide erupted as Piplup glowed red. The beam of energy lanced out through the air. Ash nodded, Starly was fairly strong so the returning damage from Bide would be extremely potent. Still, he was not worried as Starly tucked both wings and plummeted towards the ground. The bright beam of Bide shot wide and Starly, now under the attack, angled to charge at Piplup again.
"That is enough, come back Starly."
Dawn collapsed to her knees. It was one thing to see Ash in action, it was another to have him completely destroy you. She had no idea how to respond, how to react. He wasn't a Coordinator, but she could still see the grace his Pokémon used in avoiding her completely.
Ash walked across the small battlefield, stroking Starly's head as he passed. He sat down next to the stunned Coordinator.
"I demonstrated how to make your opponent look bad. Starly didn't do much damage, but from that point in the contest, the Judges would have been giving me a large point lead."
Dawn just knelt there, eyes sort of glazed gazing at the battlefield where Piplup stood panting.
"There are two things which really went wrong for you. First, you were facing a Pokémon with a lot of speed and the ability to dodge. This is something you are going to need to find a way around. Second, Piplup is limited in his attacks at the moment. He knows some good attacks, but they are not diverse enough."
Ash paused, checking to see if Dawn was listening. Her eyes had focused, but she was still staring at Piplup.
"I did some research. Piplup can learn a couple of really interesting moves. For example, Rock Tomb, Dig, or more importantly Blizzard and a suite of Ice attacks."
At this Dawn did shift her gaze from her tired Starter to Ash.
"We are done battling today. You are going to learn how to teach your Pokémon a new attack."
The young Coordinator nodded her agreement.
Ash stood up and extended his hand, she took it and he pulled her up. With a smile he walked over to the watching crowd. Dawn followed him quietly.
Gary nodded as she sat down. "Ash is right, you need a diverse set of Pokémon and a diverse set of moves. It does you no good to only play to your strengths. It lets people figure you out."
"To start, choose one of your Pokémon." Ash said.
Dawn pulled out her other Pokéball. "Buneary tonight, Piplup is tired."
"Good choice," Ash murmured. He raised his voice. "The next step is harder. What move are you going to teach Buneary?"
"How do I chose that?"
"First, pull out your Pokédex." Gary instructed. "Scan Buneary and there will be a menu. From the menu it will have an option to find moves the Pokémon can learn. Choose from that list."
Dawn did as she was told and a few moments later looked up. "Buneary can learn a lot of different moves, how can I pick?"
"Consider places of weakness. You are currently having trouble with defending against speed and Buneary is a Normal Type, meaning she is weak against Fighting types. Is there a move which would help against either of those enemies?"
"I . . . I guess I don't know." Dawn admitted.
Solana held out her hand. "Could I take a look?"
As Dawn handed over her Pokédex, Ash smiled. "Buneary knows Ice Beam, isn't that right?"
"It is." Dawn said.
"Can she learn a Water Type attack?"
"It looks like she can learn Water Pulse and Rain Dance." Solana answered, quickly scrolling through the move list.
"Dawn, are there Contests where you can use two Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"There are a couple where in the Appeal round it is required to use two Pokémon." Dawn said after a moment of thought.
Ash grinned. "Piplup can learn Ice attacks, Buneary can learn Water and Ice attacks. What does that mean to you?"
"That I can combine the attacks and do something bigger with Water and Ice."
"Exactly. Pick one of the Water Attacks for now. Water Pulse is probably a bit easier."
"Okay, I will teach Buneary Water Pulse."
"Send her out."
With a flash of light, Buneary appeared, her fluffy curls held in her paws. As Buneary was sent out, Solana handed Dawn back her Pokédex.
Gary took over. "Your Pokédex has a description of how the move works, how the move looks, and the effect of the move. Use that to teach Buneary about the attack and how to use it."
"I can do that." Dawn said, her voice growing ever steadier as she replied.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Solana sat next to the two teen boys. Dawn, her Pokémon laying next to her, was passed out cold. She had practiced for essentially the entire evening and was rightfully tired. To the general surprise of the rest of the group, Buneary had learned both Water Pulse and Rain Dance while Piplup learned Blizzard. Dawn had been thrilled and both boys were quick to shower her with praise.
Ash was taking notes in his binder about his Pokémon, while Gary was taking notes about the interactions for the day.
"Are you sure you can teach her? I mean neither of you are Coordinators and both of you are just a few years older than she is. Aren't you worried about that?"
Ash shrugged as Gary ignored the conversation. "I don't want to fail her but I am not worried about teaching her. Either it works and Dawn is incredibly happy at winning a lot of Contests, or we change our strategy. Right now, the goal is to guide her towards finding the answer for herself. I see a lot of the passion which drives me in her. She will do great."
"Okay, I mean I am not that much older than you all and I would be worried about stepping into the teacher role."
"Solana, I am incredibly worried. I don't want to turn her into me, but I don't exactly know how to turn her into Dawn. It is something I am not ready for and something I am keeping a close eye on." Ash sighed as he took a quick note in the margins. "All I can do is help her the best I can. Nothing more and nothing less."
Gary didn't look up from his notes as he commented. "Ash is a fairly good teacher. You can tell she respects him and his ideas. He put her on the path towards something she can truly embrace."
Ash looked at his old friend. "That was quite poetic."
"Shut up. You are a good guy and Dawn is lucky to be learning from you Ashy-boy."
"Whatever you say."
"Exactly," Gary smirked as Ash rolled his eyes.
Solana chuckled at their exchange. "I am glad to hear it. Anyway, I actually wanted to talk to the two of you about the mission a bit more. It is definitely more complicated then I described today."
At her words, the two boys closed their work and looked at her intently. She paused, unsure of how to start the briefing before finally deciding.
"Have the two of you ever heard of Team Galactic?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
