Chapter 8 - Taiga's Pursuit of Graphite

In Route 45, Ex-Aid was able to wipe out the Bugster minions and is about to use his finisher on the Bugster.

"Alright, let's finish this!" Emu said as he grabs his Gashat from the Gamer Driver and inserts it into his Kimewaza Slot Holder.

GASHAT! KIMEWAZA!

MIGHTY! CRITICAL STRIKE!

Ex-Aid jumps and performs a diving kick on the Bugster, which is then followed by a multiple flurry kicks, destroying the Bugster in the process.

KAISHIN NO IPPATSU!

Meanwhile, Lance's Dragonite and May's Mega Blaziken managed to weaken Nidoqueen long enough for Hiiro to extract the Bugster within it.

"There's nothing I cannot cut!" Hiiro said.

Hiiro slashes Nidqueen, extracting the Bugster within.

"Proceeding to Level 2." Hiiro said as he flips the lever on the left side.

GACCHAN! LEVEL UP!

TADDLE MEGURU! TADDLE MEGURU!

TADDLE QUEST!

Hiiro has transformed into Kamen Rider Brave Level 2. He then takes out his weapon.

GASHACON SWORD!

"Proceeding with Level 2. Cut down the separated Bugster." Hiiro said.

Hiiro starts attacking the Bugster, with Ex-Aid, Dragonite and Blaziken joining the battle. Meanwhile, Snipe and Graphite are still fighting, but Snipe is weakened.

"It's over, Taiga..." Graphite said as he prepares for an attack.

Taiga also prepares for his Critical Finish.

GASHAT! KIMEWAZA!

"Dragon Fury!" Graphite shouted as he fired a large projectile at Taiga.

BANG BANG! CRITICAL FINISH!

Snipe fired a yellow beam, which collided with Graphite's projectile, causing a big explosion. Graphite was sent flying on where Ex-Aid and Brave fought the Bugster.

"It's that green Bugster!" May said.

"Graphite!" Hiiro said.

"I'm your opponent." Graphite said.

Graphite the helps the Bugster attack the Gamer Riders. He managed to take down both Ex-Aid and Brave.

"Well, how about this?" Emu said as he activates the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat.

GEKITOTSU ROBOTS!

"Dai-Dai-Dai Henshin!" Emu shouted.

GACCHAN! LEVEL UP!

MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK!

MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!

A GACCHA! BUTTOBASE!

TOTSUGEKI! GEKITOTSU PUNCH!

GEKITOTSU ROBOTS!

Emu transforms into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Robot Gamer Level 3. He tries to use his rocket punch on Graphite, but he managed to deflect it and damages Ex-Aid.

"Hmph! Is that all you've got, Ex-Aid?" Graphite taunted.

Blaziken and Dragonite tried to attack Graphite, but they were soundly defeated by Graphite.

"Blaziken!" May shouted.

"Your Pokemon are no match against me!" Graphite said.

He then goes towards May. Blaziken tried to get Graphite away, but he managed to make him faint. Lance tried to protect her as well, but he was swept away by Graphite.

"Lance!" May said.

She tries to run away, but she slipped by the rock.

"Looks like no one's gonna save you, girl!" Graphite said.

"May!" Emu said as he tries to get up, but he was too injured.

Graphite was about to finish her off, but someone shoots Graphite, damaging him greatly.

"What?" Emu shockingly said.

He looks to where it came from, and there he found Snipe, using his Gashacon Magnum.

"You!" Emu said.

"I won't let you do that, Graphite." Taiga said.

"Impossible! How did you survive my Dragon Fury?" Graphite asked.

"Hmph, I managed to dodge it in time." Taiga said.

Taiga goes towards May and protects her.

"Get out of here. I got this." Taiga said.

"Right." May said as she ran towards Lance to help him get up and ran away.

Ex-Aid and Brave then joins Snipe in battling against Graphite and the Bugster.

"Graphite is mine. You two deal with the Bugster." Taiga said.

Taiga then fights Graphite while Emu and Hiiro deals with the Bugster. At first, the Bugster were able to overpower both Ex-Aid and Brave, but they managed to gain the upper hand by freezing him using Brave's Gashacon Sword.

"I'll leave this to you, Hiiro." Emu said.

"Hmph. There's nothing I cannot cut!" Hiiro said as he takes his Gashat from the Gamer Driver and inserts it into his Gashacon Sword.

GASHAT! KIMEWAZA!

TADDLE! CRITICAL FINISH!

Hiiro uses it's Flame Mode to slash the frozen Bugster, destroying the Bugster in the progress.

"Hmph. I'll let you live this time." Graphite said. "We'll meet again."

Graphite then flees the scene. The three detransforms and confronts each other.

"What are you doing here?" Emu asked.

"I'm here for Graphite." Taiga answered.

"So, that's why you stole one of the Gashats from Genm Corp." Hiiro thought.

"Hmph." Taiga said.

"But that means you're stuck here." Emu said.

"I don't care..." Taiga said as he leaves.

"Wait, where are you going?" Emu said.

"To find him again." Taiga said.

Taiga then leaves. Emu tries to reason with him but Hiiro stops him, saying that he must leave him to his own business. May and Lance then confronts them.

"I guess you two did it." May said.

"Yeah." Emu said.

"But where's the other guy?" May asked.

"Oh, he chased after Graphite." Emu answered.

"Don't you want to help him?" May asked.

"Nah, he can take care of his own." Emu answered.

"I see..." May said.

Nurse Joy then injects the cure to Nidoking and Nidoqueen, returning them back to normal.

"There. That should bring them back." Nurse Joy said.

"They should be able to return back to the wild." Lance said.

"Well, now that it's over, why don't we go back to Blackthorn City?" May suggested.

The group decided to go back to Blackthorn City. There, they found Drew waiting for them.

"Drew! You missed the fun." May said.

"I know. The meeting kinda took long..." Drew said.

"So, how was the meeting?" May asked.

"It went pretty well. Turns out that the organizer of the meeting is someone we know." Drew said.

"Huh?" May was confused.

Then, an orange-haired woman wearing an orange cloth appears.

"It's been a long time, May." The woman said.

"Solidad!" May greeted.

"Good to see you again, May." Solidad said.

"You too, Solidad." May said. "By the way, what was the meeting all about?"

"Oh, you know, Pokemon Contest-related stuff..." Solidad answered.

"What? Why didn't you invite me?" May was shocked.

"She said that if she were invite you, you wouldn't be able to stay there long enough." Drew said.

"Oh, come on! I wouldn't do that, especially if it's about Pokemon Contest." May said.

"And who are these guys?" Solidad asked.

"Oh, this is Emu and Hiiro." May introduced the two. "They helped us from these incidents about the virus."

"Nice to meet you." Emu said.

"Wow, these two are really handsome." Solidad said.

"By the way, Harley's not with you this time?" May asked.

"Unfortunately, no. He didn't attend this meeting." Solidad said.

"That makes me wonder what's he been doing this entire time..." Drew said.

"I believe he's in Cherrygrove City right now." Solidad said. "Shall we go to meet him?"

"But how do we get there?" May asked.

"If I remember correctly, there is a shortcut around Route 45 that leads to Cherrygrove City." Emu said.

"That's great! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" May said.

"You're going already?" Lance asked.

"Yes. What about you, Lance? Aren't you going with us?" May asked.

"I decided to stay around here. This is my hometown, after all." Lance answered.

"But you're the Champion, shouldn't you be staying in Indigo Plateau?" May asked.

"Ah, yes. Actually, I've had someone to take my position temporarily." Lance answered.

"Oh, I see..." May said.

"Well, good luck on your journey, May." Lance said. "May we cross our paths again."

"Thanks, Lance." May said.

The group decided to go to Route 45 in order to go to Cherrygrove City to meet Harley. Meanwhile, back in Ex-Aid's world, Kiriya, as Kamen Rider Lazer Level 1, can be seen testing the fake Gashat that he got.

"Second gear." Kiriya said.

GACCHAN! LEVEL UP!

A portal appears in front of him and runs into it. He glowed white for a few seconds and then he disappears, with the Black Ex-Aid observing him and walks away. Meanwhile, in Cherrygrove City, a purple-haired man wearing what seems to be a Cacturne costume can be seen, sitting in the bench.

"What took her so long?" The man said. "Oh, well, time to find something to eat."

The man then goes towards the food store.

To be continued...