A Hero's Rebirth
Chapter Eleven: The Perfect Storm
"There, the Lostlorn Forest." Ash pointed out to Charizard.
"Got it, brace for impact." Charizard grunted back, tucking his wings back slightly and pointing his front down.
For anyone else, it would've been a terrifying situation to be landing at such speeds on the back of a ferocious Pokemon. But Ash and Raichu, it was Tuesday. They both hardly flinched at the altitude quickly changing around them and merely leaned back with the force of winds blowing against them, both relaxed enough for Charizard to not worry about coming in too fast and as a result, he stuck the landing, only taking three trees down with him this time.
It was a considerable improvement over the last time they had landed in a forest, so Ash didn't see any reason to reprimand the fire-type. Instead, he simply dismounted his loyal friend and let Raichu land on his shoulder, one hand scratching both Pokemon.
"Great ride, buddy. We'll work on your landing some more, but nice improvement. Rest up; with any luck we can be in and out of Nimbassa. We probably can't catch another gym battle after in Driftveil City, but it'd be nice to get there sometime tonight." Ash told them, recalling Charizard after the Kanto starter answered in the affirmative.
"You think we'll be able to catch Elesa at a good time?" Raichu asked curiously.
"Who knows, from what I read last night she's always pretty busy with her fashion stuff." Ash said, moving a shrub out of his way. "We'll just have to hope for the best."
"I still can't believe you even read." Raichu jabbed. "You never read up on gyms before."
"Yeah well, look at how well we've been doing so far while I have compared to before." Ash replied. "It's kinda nice knowing what you're in for sometimes, ya know?"
"Yes, that couldn't possibly be because we're all just a lot stronger than before, or that we're flying over half the routes instead of walking them like before, or that it's not even about the badges this time around." Raichu deadpanned.
"Say what you want, I've just finally started taking everybody's advice to heart. Where's the harm in planning a bit more?" Ash defended himself.
Raichu only shrugged, signifying the end of the conversation just in time for them to emerge from the forest and come face-to-face with the bottom of a large Ferris wheel. They were getting warmed, they knew, as they pressed on, heading west. They quickly bypassed Route 16, ignoring everyone and everything on the route in favor of just continuing towards the city.
Ash and Raichu could feel their adrenaline pumping already, even being blocks from the gym and not even knowing there was a battle waiting for them in the near future. Just the thought of one was enough to invigorate the duo. They loved the rush they got from battles in general, but there was definitely something special about Gym Battles in particular.
That was why they broke into a borderline sprint towards the Nimbassa Gym, eager to get back on the field.
"Good work, Weavile. Thank you." Paul thanked, recalling the dual-type.
He had just finished another battle, another two-on-two, but it was much less exciting than the one he had against Soledad. The only reason he even switched was because the other trainer got lucky and managed to burn Aerodactyl, halving its physical attack to almost nothing. It wasn't worth continuing to Paul, as it would've only resulted in a 2-1 victory instead of a 2-0 victory.
"Hey," Someone said approaching him. He looked up to see a slightly tanned man in a floral shirt and a flower necklace. Paul looked up to acknowledge them. "Great battle back there, I really liked your Weavile."
Paul stilled for a moment. He knew what the man wanted.
"Weavile isn't for trade." Paul told him.
He had changed, not much, but he had. He valued his Pokemon more as individuals than he did before and they certainly weren't just tools for him. That being said, even with that he wasn't above trading certain Pokemon away if the deal was right but there was still those where trading was non-negotiable.
"That's too bad," He started. "How 'bout the other one, then? Aerodactyl? I've never seen one of those before."
Paul hummed. He did just get a new fossil Pokemon, which seemed to have far more potential than Aerodactyl ever did even still. And Aerodactyl was one of those he wasn't above trading. The least he could do is see what the guy was offering, right?
"What have you got?" Paul asked, unclipping Aerodactyl's Pokeball from his belt. The tanned man smiled, unclipping an Ultra Ball from his waist.
"Have you ever been to the Alola Region?" He asked cryptically.
"Hello?" Ash and Raichu asked in unison, pushing the Nimbassa City Gym's door open into the darkness.
It was a surreal experience for the duo to see nobody there after the crowds that had hounded the place on his last visit. He his fist thought was that the gym was closed for the day, but that was before lights turned on throughout the room and the Nimbassa Gym was back.
The battlefield was at the top of a small staircase on the challengers' side and the bottom of another on the leaders side that led to a small stage. Elesa must have changed up the place so her battlefield doubled as a runway, he thought, watching as Elesa strolled out to stand at the top of her staircase.
She had changed her attire the most since last time out of all the gym leaders he'd seen so far. She was wearing a skirt and shirt that had the same yellow-and-blue-striped pattern but they weren't long enough to meet in the middle, her shirt leaving her whole stomach exposed and the skirt stopped in the middle of her thigh. Worn loosely around her shoulders was a puffy yellow coat, however, that dropped down far enough to hide both her other articles of clothing. Her blonde hair was gone, dyed to be as dark as his raven-colored hair with radio antenna-like wires protruding from her headphones.
Elesa stood silently for a moment but smirked and looked around, seeing the sea of people below the battlefield that had come for her interview today.
"I was wondering when you'd reach me." She jibbed across the room.
"I guess she knew we were coming." Raichu deadpanned. Ash only smiled wider.
"Would've been here sooner, but we got sidetracked." Ash told her firmly. "We're here for a gym battle, Elesa, against your personal team." He stated anyway to make the challenge official.
"There's a small problem." Another voice said.
Then, another girl appeared next to Elesa up on the stage. She was in a blue long-sleeved crop top the same color as her light blue short-shorts accentuated with bulky dark blue gloves, boots and a holster to strap into any plane. Her hair was vibrant red, standing out against the propeller accessory in her hair and her bright blue eyes.
"Skyla?" Ash asked aloud. "What're you doing here?"
"We knew you'd be coming here next. Imagine my surprise when Burgh called last night and said that he'd already been beaten by you, no later than a few hours after we heard you defeated Roxie." Elesa begun.
"So, Elesa called me and told me as much. We thought it might be fun to give you another kind of challenge since you seem to be bulldozing through the gym battles." Skyla continued. "I flew in this morning so Elesa and I could have our battles with you together, Raidyn."
"You mean I get to battle both of you at once?" Ash asked, pumping his fists. "Alright! Now we're talkin'! When can we start?"
The girls hummed in delight at their challengers' enthusiasm and Elesa nodded over to the field where a referee had made their way.
"As soon as your ready." Elesa teased, knowing the answer.
"I'm ready right now!" Ash cried, sprinting up the stairs to stand in the trainer box on his side of the room.
He looked out at the mass of people below, likely expecting him to lose to the combined strength of Unova's most famous fashion models. But he refused to give them the pleasure of showing any hint of nervousness at facing them both at the same time. It was there, certainly, but that's part of what made him so excited.
Raichu jumped down off his shoulder as he slung his bag down too, kneeling down to exchange a few Pokeballs. He clipped six new ones to the left side of his belt; ready for action as he noticed the two gym leaders take their place across from him. The ref pulled out their flags and began to announce the rules.
"This will be an official double gym-battle! Raidyn Stark, the challenger, is versing Unova's finest- Gym Leaders Elesa and Skyla! The Gym Leaders will only be allowed the use of three Pokemon each, while the challenger may use up to six. Once all of either side Pokemon is unable to continue on, a winner will be announced! Trainers, choose your Pokemon and begin your battle!" They called out.
"Dazzle them, Eelektross!" Elesa cried, releasing her Pokemon.
"To the skies, Braviary!" Skyla summoned in sync.
Eelektross and Braviary appeared in harmony, landing and screeching out their power before they posed. Ash smiled, taking a Pokeball in each hand.
"Noctowl, Torterra, I choose you!" Ash called.
Torterra landed with a mighty roar of its own and a thud on the battlefield. Noctowl, on the other hand, chirped quietly as it sparkled elegantly before landing silently on Torterra's back. They were both ready for a fight, Ash could tell. Torterra especially wanted to battle someone besides his teammates again.
"Oh wow, your Noctowl has different colors than mine! Where did you catch it? It's so cool looking and-" Skyla started before Elesa held one hand over her mouth.
"First move is all yours." Elesa offered him, waving her other hand. He nodded.
"Don't mind if we do." Ash stated confidently. "Noctowl, Air Slash on Braviary!" He commanded.
Noctowl flapped her wings; sending multiple sky blue saw disc-like energy blades flying towards the eagle-like Pokemon. Skyla didn't seem worried.
"Shield yourself with Steel Wing!" She cried.
Braviary's wings shined as they were coated in metal then brought around its own form, cocooning itself inside the steel-type attack and letting Noctowl's attack only push it back some. Otherwise, it was completely unharmed.
"Go in, Braviary!" Skyla shouted.
Braviary emerged from its cocoon and charged forward at Noctowl.
"Eelektross, ThunderBolt when it dives!" Elesa ordered.
"Dodge up, get behind Torterra!" Ash yelled out.
"Follow it!" They both cried out in return.
Noctowl dodged the Steel Wing by moving up, giving herself enough time to fly over to her battle partner while Eelektross tried to re-aim its electrical attack. As expected, it didn't even both Torterra. Braviary tried harder, swooping around but Noctowl flew through Torterra's tree, baiting Braviary into a chase.
"Braviary don't-" Skyla started, but it was too late. It had taken the bait.
"Leaf Storm, quick!" Ash said enthusiastically.
The tree on Torterra's back started to glow light green just before an enormous flurry of leaves also glowing light green swirled out in a vortex, throwing Braviary from inside and sending both the leaves and the bird at Eelektross. The Elefish Pokemon managed to dodge a lot of leaves, but not Braviary's incoming form.
"Hit 'em with Extrasensory, Noctowl!" Ash continued.
Noctowl's eyes glowed gold and it chirped, opening its beak to shoot a circular, multicolored beam straight at the two downed Pokemon. It surrounded them, letting them be lifted into the air when they started struggling.
"Break free, Brave Bird!" Skyla ordered.
"Flamethrower!" Elesa followed.
Braviary flapped its wings fiercely, coating itself in a light blue aura before it flew at Noctowl, breaking through the Extrasensory easily with its newfound armor. The Flamethrower, meanwhile, was heading straight at Torterra.
"Torterra, help Noctowl out! Rock Climb!" Ash countered.
Torterra roared, its claws elongated and glowed as it stood briefly on its back legs and slammed back down, cracking open the ground with its landing. A pillar erupted forth, shooting up to hit Braviary in the underbelly before it could slam into Noctowl and taking the brunt of the flame assault. Torterra moved fast, much faster than a Torterra had any right to, and climbed the rock pillar, slamming its whole weight into the Valiant Pokemon.
"Eelektross, Flash Cannon!" Elesa ordered.
Eelektross ran forward, stopping at the base of the pillar and shot the white-ish blue beam upwards, aiming at the owl-like Pokemon that hovered still the air.
"Braviary, Superpower!" Skyla ordered.
Braviary's body was surrounded in a blue light before it squawked loudly, shoving Torterra off of its body and pushing it down the mountain it had created. Torterra fell as Noctowl was struck in the chest with the steel-type attack, ending up embedded in the wall for a few moments.
"Flip yourself, Torterra, land with an Earthquake!" Ash cried out worriedly. "And Noctowl, Psychic! Send Braviary down!"
Noctowl, now flapping her wings again, chirped and let her eyes glow blue, surrounding Braviary in the same type of energy. Then, she threw the larger flying-type down at Eelektross, who was retreating from Torterra's falling form. For his part, Torterra roared again and managed to flip himself over a little, enough to land on two legs at least and let the earth shake when the other two came down next.
Eelektross and Braviary, both being piled up on the ground, felt the full force of the move. Elesa and Skyla grit their teeth, watching as they both shakily stood up. Noctowl, meanwhile, rested peacefully on Torterra's shell, albeit panting heavily. The Earthquake had let the rock pillar in the center of the field crumble now; letting both sides see clear across the field.
The girls looked at each other, nodding, before they turned back to their Pokemon.
"Crush Claw!" They shouted in unison.
A red aura formed over both Eelektross' hands and Braviary's talons, sharpening to a pointy claw-like shape. Then, both rushed to the other side of the field eager to slice into their opponents. Ash balled his fists. He didn't know how to play this one yet, not without knowing who they were each targeting. He needed to play safe.
"Noctowl, dodge! Torterra, brace yourself and get ready!" Ash cried.
Noctowl chirped, flying eagerly away from Torterra. Ash wasn't sure whether to be worried or relieved when he heard Skyla shout after,
"Braviary, after Noctowl!"
Braviary pulled off, swooping upwards to chase Noctowl in circles while Eelektross brought its glowing fists down on Torterra's hard shell repeatedly. Torterra held strong, barely wincing at the attacks and opening its maw, revealing the Crunch attack it had been secretly charging up and biting down on Eelektross' tail and began to vigorously shake its head.
Meanwhile, Noctowl was panting even harder, dodging all of Braviary's strikes so far was exhausting.
"Just one more Noctowl, get behind it!" Ash encouraged.
Noctowl's resolve steeled and it side-stepped (side-fluttered?) the next attempt as well, moving to get above and behind Braviary. She knew what Ash wanted and let the top of her head glow a reflective blue, signifying the use of Zen Headbutt. Immediately, she threw her weight downward at Braviary's back and sent her opponent crashing into the ground.
"Braviary, no!" Skyla cried out worriedly.
"Eelektross, Flash Cannon!" Elesa ordered growing tired of the endless shaking her electric-type was being committed to.
Eelektross fired its Flash Cannon again, nailing Torterra's shell this time. Then, it decided that wasn't enough and fired another Flamethrower, scorching Torterra's back enough to make him release his powerful jaws from around its tail, allowing the electric-type to land and scurry back to Elesa's side of the field.
"Keep it up, guys, Noctowl use Extrasensory!" Ash continued.
The round vortex of yellow light emitted from Noctowl's beak once more, sliding across the field like a tractor beam until it landed on Eelektross, lifting the Elefish Pokemon up again. Skyla attempted to help, but that's what Ash was counting on.
"Steel Wing on Noctowl!" Skyla shouted.
Braviary attempted to circle around the psychic-type attack and plow into Noctowl, but Ash was clever.
"Throw Eelektross up, then get behind Torterra!" Ash told her.
Noctowl nodded, throwing the electric-type into the ceiling as she did so and rushing forward to hide behind her partner once again. Braviary followed once more, but failed to notice Eelektross falling from the sky. It landed roughly on the Valiant Pokemon's back, jarring its flight and sending it into an almost downward spiral.
They righted themselves eventually, Braviary carrying Eelektross straight at Torterra.
"Perfect," Ash said, surprising everyone in the room. "Hit 'em with a Stone Edge!"
The room collectively gasped as one, watching as blue pillars broke through the ground in a path straight to the two gym leaders Pokemon. Braviary tried to shield them both with its still activated Steel Wing, but it was no use against the strong rock attack and certainly not with Eelektross limiting its maneuverability. They were tossed upwards with the rock, slamming into the ceiling forcefully before falling limply, crashing into the ground.
Nobody was surprised when the dust cleared and they were unable to battle. Elesa and Skyla were already recalling their Pokemon when the ref made the call.
"Eelektross and Braviary are unable to continue battling! Raidyn is the winner of this round! Gym Leaders, select your next Pokemon!" They called out.
"Dazzle them, Emolga!"/"To the skies, Archeops!" Elesa and Skyla summoned in sync with one another.
Emolga and Archeops appeared next to each other, both floating in front of their trainers. That didn't last long, though, since it was their turn to move first.
"Just before you got here I was reading about some more Spearow and Fearow habitats that we could potentially cover. There are a couple places that look promising, since Spearow and Fearow can be found in nearly every region." Gary explained to Leaf, who nodded. "Now tell me, how'd you catch those legendary Pokemon without, ya know, ruining the world?"
Leaf blushed in what Gary knew to be embarrassment.
"There are a few I actually did manage to capture, you know." Leaf said grumpily. Gary's eyes narrowed.
"'Actually' managed to capture?" He repeated sternly. Leaf just winked. "Leaf, what's going on?"
"I didn't actually need to catch them to scan them into the Green-Dex, see, because all I needed was a Pokemon that could become them." Leaf said playfully. "My Ditto's Imposter ability put to good work. All I needed to do was touch it to him when he transformed and it logged the species as captured." She sighed sadly. "I only did that with certain Pokemon, though. Lugia, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza so far and I'm afraid I'll have to do the same thing with the Creation Trio soon."
Gary shook his head in disbelief and amusement. Well, that was certainly one way to do it. Then again, could anyone really be expected to catch every single Pokemon and not ruin the entire world? That only happened in stuff like video games.
"Don't worry Leaf, your secret is safe with me." Gary assured her. "I knew you couldn't beat a Rayquaza anyway." He added smugly. "The legendary birds and beasts maybe, Celebi possibly, but the Weather Trio?"
Leaf playfully slapped his arm, giggling as she did so. She didn't want to cheat like that, but what else could she do? It wasn't like she could keep Kyogre and Groudon stuffed in her satchel without the ruining the balance of the world. The Pokemon that there were multiples of were one thing, but catching deities was another.
"So, where to next Gary?" Leaf asked, changing the subject.
Gary stood up and smiled widely, knowing that meant she would be tagging along. Which was perfect for him, he had a long trip ahead. After he cleared it with his gramps, of course, but he shouldn't have any problems with it.
"Pack your bags, girlie, we're heading to Johto!" Gary proclaimed excitedly.
"Emolga, Aerial Ace!" Elesa ordered.
"Dragon Claw!" Skyla added.
Emolga flew quickly through the air, slicing it up and creating white streaks behind it while the claws on the end of one of Archeops' wings glowed a light green before the energy expanded, forming a giant claw and it followed Emolga's lead and charged its opponents.
"Noctowl, Extrasensory! Stop Archeops!" Ash cried.
Archeops was a bigger threat to Torterra. He was confident Torterra could handle them both, but he needed to create those circumstances. Noctowl chirped, shooting its psychic-type attack at Archeops and sweeping it up inside the vortex.
"Archeops, Rock Slide!" Skyla countered.
"Emolga, Double Team!" Elesa shouted.
Archeops righted itself as best it could before it let giant boulders begin to start falling from the sky from white ripples that had formed across the field. Emolga, meanwhile, had multiplied itself to have a better chance of avoiding damage from the falling rocks. Ash, however, wasn't so lucky.
"Noctowl, watch out! Left, up, left again! Go right, quickly!" Ash did his best to guide Noctowl through the falling rocks while watching Torterra bounce them off his shell.
"Emolga, ThunderBolt!" Elesa ordered.
"Psychic, redirect it towards Torterra!" Ash countered.
Emolga shot a bolt of yellow electricity that was intent on striking Noctowl's chest, but it was coated in a blue aura before it could meet with the bird. Then, Noctowl controlled it enough to change its direction, sending it down at Torterra where it had no effect. Unfortunately, it looked like this was expected.
"Now Archeops, Head Smash!" Skyla cried out.
From behind Noctowl, Archeops cried out and rushed forward, surrounding itself in a reddish-white aura that made it look black and white while inside of it and crashed into the Johto bird Pokemon, sending it crashing down into the ground while it flapped its wings victoriously. Not seconds later, the ref made the call.
"Noctowl is unable to battle! Will the challenger please select another Pokemon?" They cried out.
"Noctowl thanks a lot girl. You did amazing, so take a nice rest, 'kay?" Ash complimented, recalling the shiny Pokemon. He quickly chose his next Pokemon, tossing the next 'ball on his belt into the air. "Hawlucha, I choose you!"
The crowd below gasped in sync with the female gym leaders. Elesa and Skyla shared a look. Was he serious? They couldn't tell. Hawlucha had to be literally the worst choice, right? It's types made it weak to both electric and flying types. What was Raidyn thinking?
Ash, though, had a plan. And, as usual, it involved throwing everyone off. Hawlucha posed a few times, showing off for the crowd, before Ash called to him.
"Hawlucha, Karate Chop!" He said, pointing at Archeops.
Hawlucha nodded, understanding right away. He turned and ran towards Torterra, launching off his shell into a back spring while one of his arms glowed white. Catching it off guard seemed to work because before anyone knew what happened, Hawlucha's glowing arm crashed down on Archeops' skull and sent it down to the ground.
"Emolga, ThunderBolt again!" Elesa cried.
Emolga's cheeks sparked as it shot more electricity up at Hawlucha, assuming it was defenseless. However, everyone was surprised when Hawlucha merely spun out of the way and began twirling down like a torpedo.
"Now, add in a Poison Jab!" Ash commanded.
Both Hawlucha's hands glowed purple, activating the use of the poison-type move as it torpedoed down directly towards Emolga. Elesa, however, refused to let it hit.
"Electro Ball!" Elesa cried out.
"Energy Ball!" Ash countered, hoping to stop the electric-type sphere.
"No you don't, Dragon Claw!" Skyla ordered suddenly.
Everything happened at once.
Torterra's Energy Ball was sliced open by Dragon Claw before it got the chance to intercept the Electro Ball, letting it hit Hawlucha dead on and sending it flying backwards, crashing onto the ground mere feet from where Archeops had just landed. Knowing they had to keep momentum, Elesa continued attacking.
"Move in with Aerial Ace!" Elesa instructed. Skyla nodded.
"You too, Aerial Ace!" She followed.
Both opposing flying-types sliced through the air, rushing forward at Ash's two Pokemon. Ash frowned. Just as before with Crush Claw. They really liked their tandem attacks. Last time Skyla had peeled off while Elesa went for Torterra, which would be beneficial again now. Archeops was still the bigger threat to Torterra, who he knew had plenty of fight left in him.
"Hawlucha, Bounce and come down with High Jump Kick! Aim for Archeops!" Ash ordered.
Hawlucha nodded, leaping up with fervor and going almost as high as the building was tall. On his way down, he put his glowing kneecap in front of him and twisted, aiming straight for Archeops' back. Archeops', however, swerved left and climbed upwards towards the Wrestling Pokemon.
Just in the knick of time, he managed to turn himself so his knee was between himself and Archeops before the fossil Pokemon slammed into his side, causing them to both take heaps of damage and send them flying apart after the draw of powerful attacks. Emolga, meanwhile, had struck Torterra's tree before landing peacefully on the part of the shell right above the head.
"Give it an Air Slash, Emolga!" Elesa cried.
Emolga nodded, moving upward slightly to be right in front of Torterra's face and sent more saw blade like discs at the Continent Pokemon's back. Both Ash and Torterra, though, noticed an opening. Emolga's tail was hanging right in front of its face.
Both trainer and Pokemon smirked, acting in sync.
"Crunch!" Ash said, but Torterra was already finished executing the attack when Ash finished his exclamation.
Torterra's glowing jaws clamped down on Emolga's bushy tail hard before slamming the little squirrel-like Pokemon down into the ground. It was no surprise to anyone when it didn't get back up. However, just as the ref raised a flag, small bolts of electricity danced around Torterra as it groaned out, uncomfortable all of the sudden.
Ash's eyes narrowed. Torterra had become paralyzed.
"Emolga is unable to battle! Leader Elesa, select your next Pokemon!" They announced.
"Dazzle them, Zebstrika!" Elesa called out her star Pokemon. Zebstrika stomped the ground, ready to go.
"Archeops, Steel Wing on Torterra!" Skyla ordered.
"Hawlucha, block it with Karate Chop!" Ash countered.
Hawlucha and Archeops quickly entered a dance of flashes, both parrying each other expertly. Archeops' steel-coated wings clanged against Hawlucha's muscle-y arms, both fighting to overcome the other. The difference was that Hawlucha was fighting to protect his friend. Thinking quickly, he blocked Archeops' right wing with his left arm before yanking it backwards, crossing Archeops' wings together. Then using his right arm, he used a Drain Punch, throwing the other avian Pokemon backwards a lot.
"Thanks," Torterra muttered over to Hawlucha. "I couldn't move at all there for a minute."
Hawlucha only nodded for now. He'd talk more after the battle.
"Flame Charge!" Elesa shouted next.
"Hawlucha, jump! Torterra, Earthquake!" Ash yelled.
Hawlucha jumped up, gliding over to land on Torterra who had begun to make the earth tremble once again and stopping Zebstrika's charging in its tracks.
"Archeops, go in with Acrobatics!"
"And Zebstrika switch to Double Kick!"
Archeops glowed blue and seemed to disappear, reappearing at Hawlucha's side quick enough to catch him by surprise and slamming into him, throwing the Wrestling Pokemon off Torterra's back. Zebstrika, on the other hand, recovered as best it could from the Earthquake and charged again before turning to pivot around and smacking its hind legs into Torterra's face.
"Go into Overheat!" Elesa continued.
"Torterra, Stone Edge Climb! Hawlucha, Bounce into Flying Press!" Ash yelled out hurriedly.
Torterra roared and stomped two feet down again, claws glowing, while Zebstrika was shining red already. The blue pillar of Stone Edge appeared instead of a simple rock pillar, holding Zebstrika on it peacefully while Torterra raced to the top, knocking the Thunderbolt Pokemon off with its body weight just before it erupted, shooting a swirling ball of fire up at Torterra on top of the pillar.
Meanwhile, Hawlucha had jumped up above the smoke expertly before it was outlined in white and dived down towards Archeops, smacking into the First Bird Pokemon. Dust was blown everywhere across the field and the whole room held their breath to see the outcome. Everyone was moderately surprised when Archeops was the only one who had not gotten up.
Torterra had been lowered from his Stone Edge platform, grunting in pain while Hawlucha was keeled over catching is breath and Zebstrika rose on shaky hooves but Archeops barely twitched while it laid on the ground with swirls in its eyes.
"Archeops is unable to battle! Leader Skyla, send out your last Pokemon!" The ref called again.
Skyla nodded, quickly recalling Archeops with a 'thank you' and swapping its Pokeball for another.
"To the skies, Swanna!" Skyla cried, sending out her signature Pokemon.
"Hawlucha, Karate Chop on Swanna!" Ash ordered.
Hawlucha stood up, forcing his legs to move quickly as his arm glowed again. He jumped up high enough to slam his arm into Swanna since it didn't seem like Skyla was that worried about it taking a fighting-type attack. Luckily, that's what Ash was counting on.
"Switch to Thunder Punch!" Ash cried out suddenly.
Hawlucha's glowing arm switched rapidly, crackling with electricity instead before it jammed its fist into Swanna's abdomen. Swanna, however, wasn't as tired as Hawlucha was and managed to push back by throwing its weight forward.
"Swanna, use Rain Dance!" Skyla ordered.
Swanna nodded, squawking as dark clouds formed above the arena, swirling counter-clockwise and bringing down heavy rain on the battlefield. Torterra groaned again and Hawlucha's eyes narrowed, running back to stand in front of Torterra.
"Now Hurricane on Torterra!" She said happily.
Swanna nodded again, vigorously flapping its wings as they glowed light blue, sending powerful bursts of wind. In the rain, they traveled too fast for Ash to come up with a reliable plan.
"Hawlucha dodge, Torterra block with-" Ash started, but Hawlucha didn't move.
The Wrestling Pokemon had firmly planted his feet, turning his head only slightly to nod back to Ash and Torterra before he was pelted in the chest and stomach with the powerful flying-type attack, picking him up and twirling him around like a rag-doll before he was thrown into the wall, sliding down unconscious.
Ash ran out onto the field over to the wall with Raichu on his heels. They stopped at Hawlucha's side, smiling when he weakly opened his eyes.
"That was really dumb, Hawlucha." Ash told him. "But thank you, you took that attack for Torterra because you know how much winning this battle means to him, didn't you?"
Hawlucha only nodded.
"All those losses back in Sinnoh really affected him, huh?" Raichu asked. Ash nodded, turning back to Hawlucha.
"Don't worry about a thing, buddy. You rest up for now, we'll win this one for you and all your hard work." Ash said, recalling Hawlucha ignoring the refs' cries as he moved back to his trainer box.
"Torterra, wanna take a break?" Ash asked. Torterra only turned its head minimally and shook it, answering no. Ash nodded, respecting the Continent Pokemon's wishes. "Then get ready, because we're about to win this! Floatzel, I choose you!"
Floatzel appeared beside Torterra, puffing its flotation sac proudly. Elesa and Skyla seemed to exchange looks before they nodded, turning back to the battle.
"Zebstrika, Wild Charge!"
"Swanna, Brave Bird!"
Zebstrika charged, its body crackling in electricity while Swanna flew in with its body cloaked in a light blue aura. Zebstrika was running at Torterra and Swanna flying at Floatzel, but halfway there they crisscrossed and switched targets expertly.
"Torterra, lift yourself with Stone Edge! Floatzel, Counter Shield!" Ash ordered, thinking quickly.
Torterra roared again, the blue pillars of stone returning this time only starting under the Sinnoh starter, lifting him up as they shot out across the field. Meanwhile, Floatzel was spinning on his back shooting streams of boiling hot water everywhere in the form of Scald, which managed to throw both Zebstrika and Swanna off course.
"Thunder!" Elesa cried out, knowing Thunder couldn't miss in the heavy rain and Floatzel had no chance of getting to Torterra before getting struck.
"Ice Beam!" Skyla ordered after Swanna was flying correctly again. Quickly, Swanna looped around the blue pillar flying to Torterra's height.
"Ground yourself, Iron Tail!" Ash ordered quickly, turning to Torterra. "Torterra, grab it with Giga Drain!"
Floatzel stopped spinning immediately, swiftly standing up and slamming his forked, glowing tail into the ground with barely seconds before Zebstrika's giant bolt of electricity struck him. Everyone minus his trainer and teammates were astonished when the Thunder passed harmlessly through his body and through his tail, flowing into the ground.
Elsewhere, the spikes on Torterra's back glowed green and matching energy beams extended past their tops, reaching out to grab Swanna. The White Bird Pokemon only managed to dodge one before the other two constricted on it, pulling it in and sapping its energy.
"Zebstrika, help Swanna with Overheat!" Elesa ordered.
"Swanna, break free with Brave Bird!" Skyla cried out.
Torterra grunted, trying to hold onto Swanna to desperately gain health back while the powerful flying-type attack let it push the duck-like Pokemon further and further towards Torterra's face. Suddenly, the vortex of fire shot from Zebstrika struck its side, causing it to cry out and release Swanna from its Giga Dram, taking a Brave Bird to the top of the shell.
The stone pillars began to retreat and Torterra knew he was done. He wasn't strong enough, again. Just like back in the Sinnoh League. In a last ditch effort, he tried to use Crunch but he felt his paralysis act up again, flinching as he raised his head. He wished the electricity would just go away! Why couldn't he make it useful like Raichu does?
He shook his head, refusing to be done in, powering through his paralysis this time. Just as Crunch landed on Swanna's foot that was dangling in front of his face, he tried again to will the paralysis away. He felt the crackling again, but it was moving this time up to his face. Before he knew what happened, thunder sprang from his jaws.
Torterra was lowered to the ground, mouth giving off jolts of electricity before they turned into full on bolts, engulfing Swanna. Everyone was too stunned to move, watching the scene in fascination. Then Torterra moved again, shaking his head to throw Swanna back into a wall, unconscious.
Nobody moved at all until Ash spoke.
"Torterra… did you- did you just use Thunder Fang?" Ash asked, amazed. Torterra weakly nodded, equally confused.
"Well, as amazing as that was," Elesa started. "The battle isn't over yet. Zebstrika, Wild Charge!"
Zebstrika charged again in a mass of yellow electricity, but Ash was confident.
"Floatzel, Dig!" He shouted, leaving Torterra as the only available target.
Zebstrika stopped before making contact, knowing it wouldn't affect the larger Pokemon, but when it planted itself Floatzel jumped upwards, knocking it back.
"Now Aqua Jet!" Ash continued.
"Dodge it!" Elesa tried to shout, but it was no use.
In the rain, Floatzel's Swift Swim let it move faster than Zebstrika did even with the earlier speed boost from Flame Charge and the water torpedo that was Floatzel struck Zebstrika's side, sending it flying back while the water-type attack curved upwards and Floatzel emerged in mid-air, ready to go still.
But Zebstrika could not.
"Zebstrika is unable to battle! Since the Gym Leaders Elesa and Skyla have lost all of their Pokemon, the winner is the challenger, Raidyn Stark!" The ref called, shaking themselves from their stupor.
Ash and Raichu ran onto the field, Ash hugging Torterra around the head tightly while Raichu launched onto his back and scurried over to his head.
"Torterra, you were amazing! You did so great!" Ash praised, opening his other arm for Floatzel who rolled his eyes but stepped closer, nuzzling Ash.
"Yeah, that was so cool! How'd you use Thunder Fang like that?" Raichu asked happily.
Torterra would've blushed if he could've, but was cut off from answering by the approach of the gym leaders.
"That was an, ah, interesting battle Raidyn." Skyla offered her hand. Ash shook it respectfully, backing off Torterra.
"Yes, it seems everyone else wasn't kidding when they said you were special." Elesa continued, shaking his hand next.
"Thanks a lot, guys. We had a blast, didn't we?" Ash asked, glancing back at Torterra and Floatzel.
"You bet!" Floatzel agreed happily.
"It was fun." Torterra grunted his agreement.
"I have to ask, though. How did your Torterra use Thunder Fang?" Elesa asked, confused. Ash only shrugged.
"I've got no idea, to tell you the truth. We're just as confused as you are." Ash told her.
Elesa and Skyla shared a skeptical look, but nodded their piece.
"Anyway, we better get going. Raichu and I planned on getting to Driftveil City today." Ash told them. Raichu showed his agreement by jumping off Torterra and onto Ash's shoulder, grinning. "Thanks a lot for the tag gym battle, it was the best battle we've had in a long time." He said, quickly recalling Floatzel and Torterra.
"Raidyn, do us a favor?" Skyla said before he could leave. Ash turned around, confused. "Let us know if you ever figure out what happened with Torterra."
"Sure thing," Ash nodded his promise. "We'll figure it out soon enough."
Then, Ash and Raichu departed from the Nimbassa City gym ignoring the lingering eyes of Elesa, Skyla and the crowd on their backs. Elesa and Skyla exchanged another glance, this time out of confusion.
"Doesn't he kind of remind you of someone?" Skyla said to Elesa, who shrugged.
"I thought so too," She started, playing back their entrance earlier. "But I can't quite put my finger on it."
Barely two hours later, Paul had parted with Aerodactyl. The fossil Pokemon had seemed not to have any issue with being traded and seemed excited at the prospect of using whatever a 'Z-Move' was. He hadn't bothered to ask the trainer, too focused on learning more about the new Pokemon he had just acquired.
Turtonator, it was called, and was a dual fire/dragon-type from the Alola Region, a section of islands located in the middle of basically nowhere. The only real location indicator he had gotten from the man was that it was in the southwestern hemisphere, miles and miles below Fiore.
He didn't really need to know much else after he had scanned the Blast Turtle Pokemon, learning about its stats and move set. Turtonator seemed happy enough to come along with the promise of becoming the strongest it could be, strong enough to combat champions one day. Hell, it might be one day soon because the Pokedex indicated that he had just as much experience as his Aggron, which was a force to be reckoned with itself.
All in all, Paul considered that a win. He would start battling with Turtonator tomorrow, after letting it adjust to its new trainer and teammates for the night. Normally, he'd battle right away as a way to get introduced, but Turtonator seemed like too peaceful a Pokemon for that to be the correct way to go about introductions. If he was more like his feisty brat of a Tyrunt, then maybe, but it wasn't mean to be.
Maybe he could catch Soledad by surprise with his new battler tomorrow, anyway.
Ash and Raichu were booking it for a few minutes after they left the Pokemon Center. Joy had healed his battle-weary Pokemon quick enough, and they had naturally set out straight away. They slowed to a stop just outside of the town on Route Five, slowing down to talk a little while they crossed the drawbridge. If the bridge had been lowered, they would walk. It wasn't that much slower than flying considering the distance between Nimbassa and Driftveil.
"What do you think happened back there?" Ash asked Raichu.
"I really don't know," Raichu started. "One minute Torterra's getting hammered by Brave Bird, the next he's learning Thunder Fang. It doesn't make any sense."
"I know what you mean, Torterra can't even learn Thunder Fang." Ash muttered in response. He felt Raichu move around.
"Well," He started. "Who's to say he can't? Humans couldn't possibly tell everything about any individual species of Pokemon, right? Most people would think a Pikachu couldn't beat up a Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross, Regice and Latios but I did all of that stuff." Raichu explained.
Ash hummed in thought. That was true enough. If there was anything he learned over the course of his journey it was that there was always more surprises ahead, especially when you thought you had seen everything already. In a weird way, he should've expected something like this.
"But," Raichu started again. "Did you notice that after he used Thunder Fang, he stopped sparking?"
"What do you mean?" Ash asked, confused. He didn't notice much after that, eager to end the match and check on Torterra's condition. He had hung in there so long, all Ash wanted was for him to be okay.
"Torterra was paralyzed by Emolga's Static, right?" Raichu started. Ash nodded. He remembered that. "I could feel it, being an electric-type myself. I could sense the electricity that was affecting Torterra's muscles and movements the whole time, like I can sense other electric-type attacks or electric-fields." He paused, letting Ash nod again. "After Torterra used Thunder Fang, I couldn't sense any more electricity inside him. He cured the paralysis himself."
Ash hummed, intrigued by the interesting theory.
"I see what you mean. So you think Torterra's Thunder Fang was a result of being paralyzed?" Ash asked. "I guess it could be, but you've been burned plenty of times and you can't use Fire Punch or anything." He paused. "Can you?"
"No," Raichu replied, also pausing. "At least, I don't think I can."
Ash and Raichu exchanged confused looks, interested, and stopped walking.
"What do you say we let Torterra out and talk about this a little more, huh? We'll see what happens and hopefully we'll still make Driftveil by nightfall." Ash proposed, unclipping Torterra's Pokeball already as Raichu jumped to the ground eagerly.
"Works for me." Raichu said, watching Torterra materialize again.
Ash threw his bag down against a tree before he ran to sit down with Raichu and Torterra, excited over the prospect of what had just transpired.
Bam, done! Chapter Eleven in the books, guys!
I hope you liked it, I think I had about four different versions of that battle floating through my head at once. Ultimately, I liked this one the best because it flowed the best but let me know what you guys thought about it, both the battle and the fact that it was a tag-battle!
I hope I managed to do your idea justice, Vital Info, this chapters dedicated to you!
Sorry about not showing off another companion in this one, but I kind of got sidetracked with everything that was happening here. Do you guys like my little fake-out for Leaf catching those legendries? Come on, nobody should ever walk around with deities like the Weather and Creation trio on their belts! I'm highly against giving most anyone legendries at all, but the anime has shown us that certain ones are plausible to own and for Leaf's goal to be taken serious I needed something to give it some backbone.
And what about Paul this chapter, guys? He's the first person revealed in this story to own a Gen VII Pokemon! That's my way of saying yes; they will be in this story! Not everyone will have one or know about the Alola region or all it's customs, but it very much exists in this story!
Ash won't have his Alola Pokemon in this story, but he does have one Gen VII Pokemon with him. Any guesses, because we'll be seeing it soon!
Now that that's done, onto your reviews!
Alpha: Calm down, friend. I explained in this chapter that it wasn't the real Weather Trio and that it wouldn't be the real Creation Trio either.
Vital Info: Thanks, I put a lot of thought into who Ash's mainstay Pokemon would be and I ultimately decided it would be those six. Not to say that the likes of Infernape, Snorlax and Krookodile aren't also immensely powerful and more than capable of beating legendary Pokemon too (depending on the scenario of course). I did retcon the end of XYZ but that was done since the first chapter pretty much since the Kalos League never finished and yes, Garchomp is indeed the little Gible Ash once had and unfortunately, he hasn't quite grown out of that yet. As for Primeape, who could forget such a loveable guy like him?
Thanks again, I really put everything I had into those battles and really tried to show off that Ash wasn't the only one who had grown as a trainer which goes back to my whole 'the world kept going when Ash disappeared' thing that bothers me so much in other fics. Soledad certainly wouldn't have slacked either, so in the end I decided to let her show off by tying with Paul, who so far has been dominating everyone ever since the DP anime.
I haven't decided if we'll hear from Domino at all, but it's not out of the realm of possibility!
Right now, I'm torn between Rampardos and Aurorus for Cynthia's fossil. We already discussed the timeline more in depth privately, but I'll certainly keep Ash vs. (Legendary Pokemon) in mind for later. That's an interesting idea. As for the GS ball, I certainly can't make any promises but it's something that I will think more on and see if there's any place in the story for such an addition.
Sovereign2080: I'm sorry you feel that way and I certainly won't fault you for skimming through, but I can't say that I'll change the way I write the battles. It's much more interesting and fun and believable for real people to battle with strange tactics and maneuvers and making it move like the games where anything super effective turns into a 1 or 2HKO would be pretty boring.
As for the length, I realize that I've got a hefty story in front of me that I'm willing to continue with if enough people will read it. If you just mean too many chapters for one story, I may consider splitting it up into different arcs if that makes things easier but I also don't have any intention on changing the plot anytime soon.
Voltage-Livewire: Thanks for the compliment, I do try my best to make the battles engaging and exciting to read while showing off everyone's skills. As for the chapter length, noted. And the companions? Well, that's a really good guess, actually…
Hope you enjoyed! Next time, Gary and Leaf head out to Johto, more on Torterra, Paul battles someone else probably who knows anymore, Team Rocket appears again and Ash's _ Region traveling friends appear in Chapter Twelve: Johto, Huh?