Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the concept of Moemon.
Misty's scream could be heard from the forests of the island as the gang ventured to find the Moemon Center. The island they were on was called Murcott Island...and apparently, it's home to all sorts of Bug Moemon. The gang had spotted Caterpie, Weedle, Pinsir, Paras, Metapod, Venomoth, Butterfree and Beedrill, with Misty screaming at all of them except the Butterfree and Venomoth, since she was used to seeing them. The others thought that this was getting ridiculous, except for Tracey, who found the whole thing hilarious.
Suddenly, Tomo saw something. "Look!" He pointed to a Scyther, who was really hurt and covered in cuts and bruises. "That Scyther is in a lot of pain!"
The gang ran over to her at once. "We need to get her to the Moemon Center at once." Tracey said. "I'll use a potion to help her a bit until we get there." He took out a potion from his ruck sack, but just as he sprayed it on Scyther's wounds, the Mantis Moemon's eyes widened as she jumped up in fright.
"Who did that!?" Scyther asked, sounding scared as she got into battle position.
"Looks like the stinging from the potion startled her." Es noted.
"Scyther, please calm down." Tracey tried speaking to her as he approached her. "We just want to-whoa!" He was forced to retreat back as Scyther swipe one of her scythes at him fearfully.
"Calm down!" Nati exclaimed, emerging from her Moe Ball and using Sleep Powder, which worked as Scyther fell asleep. Tracey then took out a Moe Ball and tossed it at Scyther, capturing her.
"Scyther's probably going to be cross with me," Tracey said, frowning, "but this is the only way." The others understood.
When the gang reached the Moemon Center, Tracey gave Scyther to Nurse Joy at once. A few hours later, Nurse Joy came out of the treatment room. "How's Scyther?" Tracey asked.
"Well, she's very exhausted and needs a lot of rest." Nurse Joy gave her report on Scyther's condition.
"I wonder what caused her to get hurt like that." Ash wondered.
"I know why. This kind of thing is common." Pia said. "As you may know, wild Moemon tend to travel in groups, and in those groups, there is always a leader to guide them." She explained. "And when it comes to leaders, the Moemon would fight each other, sometimes to the death, for leadership of the group."
"So, that means that the Scyther Tracey caught was the leader of her swarm?" Wendy asked.
"From the looks of it, yes." Nurse Joy answered. "And she seems to be quite old for a Scyther, so it's quite clear that she got beaten by a younger Scyther."
"But she doesn't look old." Tomo said.
"Moemon age differently from humans." Wendy replied.
Meanwhile in the forests, there was trouble. The usual Rocket Trio was in the forest, looking for Bug Moemon to capture for Team Rocket. "Imagine how much money we'll get with all the Bug Moemon." Meowth said, smirking.
"So, which Moemon should we go for first?" Jessie asked.
"Well, in my opinion, Scyther is the rarest Bug Moemon to find." James gave his opinion.
Meowth nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and they're said to be the strongest, next to their evolved form, Scizor."
"Then Scyther it is." Jessie said, giving the final call.
They had found the Scyther Swarm as once, in a clearing with lots of trees and a big pond. James brought out a sort of large black card from his kit bag. "What's that?" Jessie asked, looking at the item.
"This holds a very sticky net that catches Bug Moemon." James explained. "I nicked it from the Team Rocket Headquarters."
"You sure know how to gather cool gadgets, Jimmy." Meowth smiled. At the time, the Scyther were enjoying the sun, oblivious to the fact that they were in danger. James threw the big black card into the air over the Scyther, and then a big black sticky net suddenly sprung from the card and caught all the Scyther, who cried out in surprise as they got caught in the net. "Got 'em!" Meowth cheered.
"Won't they be able to slice their way through the net, though?" Jessie asked.
James shook his head. "Not really. These nets have very sticky glue on them and are tough to cut through." He told her. "Besides, their arms will be restrained, so they can't swing their scythes around.
"So now, these Scyther are our way to fortune." Meowth smirked.
Back at the Moemon Center, Scyther was having her bandages removed, when she suddenly jolted out of bed, surprising Nurse Joy. "Scyther, what's wrong?" She asked. "You need to stay in bed."
"I can't!" Scyther grunted. "The others are in danger!" She flew weakly through the window, breaking it. The gang saw what was happening and ran outside.
"What's going on?" Serena asked. "Scyther hasn't recovered yet!"
"She must have sensed that the other Scyther are in danger." Pia theorized. "Even though she's not the leader anymore, she can still sense if her old swarm is in danger."
"Then we have to help her save them!" Ash said, following Scyther.
Meanwhile, the Scyther Swarm were struggling like mad in the sticky net. A few were calling our for help, but to no avail. "Okay, now to catch them in Moe Balls and send them to the boss." Jessie said.
"Good thing we brought Moe Balls with us just in case." James smiled. Before he could even throw one, though, the elder Scyther turned up.
"Stop!" She shouted, stopping Team Rocket. "Leave those Scyther alone!"
"Another Scyther?" Meowth blinked. "We must've missed one."
Scyther glared at the trio. "I may not be the leader of my swarm anymore, but I will not let you get away with what you have done!"
"That goes double for us, Team Rocket!" Ash shouted as he and his friends turned up.
"The twerps!" Jessie exclaimed, surprised to see them.
"You know, I was honestly wondering when we were gonna run into you again." Pia admitted.
"Aww~ Did the twerps miss us~?" Meowth asked teasingly.
"Well, we missed sending you flying." Pia taunted, getting a glare from the Scratch Cat Moemon. "We ran into two other Rockets at Mandarin Island, but we had easily stopped what they were planning."
James blinked. "Hold on. Was one of them a blonde woman while the other was a teal-haired man?"
Es nodded. "Yeah, do you know them?" She asked. Her reply was the Rocket Trio laughing loudly.
"Know them!? Those two are our rivals!" Jessie laughed.
"They were giving us shit for repeatedly failing, saying that they could easily deal with a few twerps." James explained through fits of laughter.
"And where that ended them up!" Meowth laughed. "Man, you twerps really taught them a lesson!"
"...You're welcome?" Ash said, confused that Jessie, James and Mewoth were actually thanking them.
Scyther coughed, getting everyone's attention, and then they remembered why they were here in the first place. "Oh, right!" Jessie exclaimed. "We're not gonna let you twerps stop us from taking these Scyther! Go, Cleo, Lira and Pearl!" Jessie called, sending out Cleo, Lira, and her newest Moemon, a Shellder.
"Kono, Victoria, Gloria, you too!" James called, sending out Kono and his newest Moemon, a Victreebel and an Oddish.
"So, you caught some new Moemon for yourselves?" Pia asked, looking over the new recruits. "Well, gives you variety, at least."
"That's right." Jessie smirked. "We've been training since our last defeat, and now we're gonna show you our Moemon's real power. Cleo, Poison Sting! Lira, Lick! Pearl, Ice Beam!" She commanded her Moemon.
"Kono, Sludge Bomb! Victoria, Razor Leaf! Gloria, Petal Dance!" James commanded his Moemon.
The six Rocket Moemon used their respective attacks, while Scyther used Double Team and Agility to dodge them. But since she was still ver weak, she began to collapse from exhaustion.
"You're gonna need help." Tracey told the ex-swarm leader, and then sent out Nati. Pia, Es and Wendy also ran up to battle, while Misty sent out Haru and Serena sent out Runa.
"Thunderbolt!" Pia fired a bolt of electricity.
"Solar Beam!" Es and Haru quickly gathered sunlight and fired it in two bright beams.
"Psybeam!" Nati fired a rainbow beam of psychic energy.
"Flamethrower!" Wendy and Runa released streams of flames.
In no time at all, the attacks hit Team Rocket and sent them and their Moemon blasting off again.
After Team Rocket was dealt with, Haru cut the sticky net with a mixture of Razor Leaf and Petal Dance. As soon as they were free, the Scythers went into the pond to wash the glue off themselves. Afterwards, a Scyther walked up to the elder Scyther. "Thank you." she thanked her. "Even though we left you hurt after our duel for leadership, you still came back to save us."
"Didn't I tell you?" The elder Scyther smiled. "Even if I am no longer leader, I would still make sure that everyone would be alright. Now, as the new leader, you must do the same for your swarm."
"Right!" The young leader nodded, and then flew off with the rest of the swarm.
"There they go." Tracey said, watching the Scyther Swarm fly off, before looking at the elder Scyther. "Are you gonna join them?"
Scyhter shook her head. "I know that they will be fine without me." She said. "My new place is with you. You had caught me, therefore you are my Master."
"I guess." Tracey smiled in acceptance. "Since you're staying with us, I'll call you Ruby."
"Very well."
"Ruby?" Giselle repeated, raising an eyebrow at Tracey's naming choice.
"I had watched a lot of RWBY back then." Tracey explained. "Ruby was the main character of the series, and the fights using a scythe."
"Ah."
Suddenly, Mea emerged from her Moe Ball in front of Ruby. "Now that you're officialy with us, I'm gonna fix your problem with your age." She told her.
Ruby was shocked to see the Phantom Legend, but confused when she said she would fix her age problem. "How so?"
Mea smiled. "Be right back." Mea Teleported away.
"Where did Mea go?" Tracey asked. "And how is she gonna help Ruby?"
"I have a feeling I know what she's planning." Ash said, and then Mea suddenly reappeared.
"I'm back!" Mea announced her arrival, and then tossed something at Ruby. "Catch!" Ruby, though surprised, caught the item, and then she suddenly glowed a bright light and evolved into Scizor."
"Thought so." Ash nodded. "Mea had fetched a Metal Coat to evolve Ruby. She had done the same thing before with Sierra."
"I see." Tracey nodded in understanding, and then turned to Ruby. "How do you feel?"
"Well, definitely younger than I did as a Scyther." Ruby smiled. "I'm sure I'll get used to this form very quickly."
"Well, how about we head back to the Moemon Center?" Ash suggested. His friends agreed and they head back to the Moemon Center.
"That was the seventh trainer today..." Ash grumbled, feeling a bit annoyed. Ever since the gang had arrived to Mandarian Island, he had been battling trainers for a while. Normally, he was always accepting to battling trainers, but the battles had been in such quick succession that he was given a chance to rest his Moemon.
"Yeah, and so far, you won all of your battles." Giselle said.
"On the bright side, it was good training for Umie and Rio." Serena pointed out. "Rio had won three of those battles, and Umie won two. The last two you just used Pia and Es."
Ash couldn't help but agree that those two were certainly becoming strong. "Still, I wish I knew why so many trainer are battling me... I know that I'm the current Indigo League Champion, but even my Moemon need a break from battling." Thankfully, he got his answer when Tracey noticed something very surprising on the paper he was reading.
"Hey, it says here that Lorelei from the Kanto/Jotho Elite Four is here on this island." He told everyone.
"Seriously!?" Misty squealed, looking ecstatic.
"Yeah, and she's giving a lecture later today. It's the reason why the trainers on this island are challenging each other to Moemon Battles."
"That explains a lot." Ash said.
"What's an Elite Four member?" Tomo asked.
"The Elite Four are groups of four very powerful trainers, whom are only topped in strength by the Regional Champions." Ash explained. "I've seen Elite Four battles on TV before. They're stronger than eight Gym Leaders combined." Tomo and Wendy were amazed by that.
"Each Elite Four member specializes in a single type, but they know how to bring out the best of that type, earning them their title as Masters." Giselle continued Ash's explanation. "Lorelei, for example, is an Ice Master. She knows how to bring out the true coldness of Ice-type Moemon."
"I would certainly love to meet Lorelei." Misty sighed dreamily. "She's my idol and hero."
"Hero, am I?" A voice asked. Everyone was then surprised to see Lorelei behind Misty. Lorelei was a beautiful woman, with long purple-red hair, and wore glasses.
Misty was so shocked to see Lorelei, she was nearly at a loss for words. "I-I-It's nice to meet you, L-Lorelei." She stuttered her greeting.
Lorelei greeted her back, and then turned to Ash. "You're Ash Ketchum, correct?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's me." Ash nodded. "I just heard that you were giving a lecture later today."
"That's right, but I would like to test your abilities in a one-on-one Moemon Battle."
Ash's eyes went wide at being challenged by one of the Elite Four, but managed to keep his composure. "Of course. This'll be a great chance to see how far I've come since the Indigo League."
"That's the spirit!" Misty cheered, happy to see her favorite Elite Four Member in action.
The gang followed Lorelei to the island battle stadium. "Are you gonna give your lecture here?" Ash asked.
"That's right." Lorelei nodded. "I plan to battle some trainers and give them advice, and then when I'm done, we'll surprise them with our battle." She explained her plans for the lecture.
Ash nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
So, Lorelei's demonstration went off without a hitch, and once the last person left the field, she told everyone that she had a special treat for them: an exhibition match between her and Ash Ketchum. This got everyone excited as they wanted to see a match between the current Indigo League Champion and a member of the Elite Four. "So, Ash, who are you going to use?" Lorelei asked.
"We talked about it during the lecture." Es said as she walked onto the battlefield. "I'm the one he's going to use for our battle."
"Very well. Go, Rouge!" Lorelei sent out a Jynx. She wore a long red dress, with blonde hair down her back and black eyes.
"That's a Jynx." Ash said to Es via telepathy. "Be careful, Es. We're about to get a taste of the Elite Four's power."
"Yeah." Es replied. "Let's see where our power stands right now."
"Now, let's begin. Hail, then Blizzard!" Lorelei commanded. With a wave of Rouge's hand, the weather got colder and hail began to fall, and then she unleashed a Blizzard at Es, who quickly blocked with Protect.
"Man, this is cold." Es said. "And I doubt she'd let me change the weather that easily."
"We'll just have to brave the snowstorm." Ash said. "Let's go!" Es nodded, and then as soon as Rouge's Blizzard ended, she used her Aura to boost her speed and get next to Rouge in half a second.
"Whoa!" Rouge yelped as she ducked Es's punch, but got hit in the side with an Iron Tail immediately after.
"What?" Lorelei asked, surprised by how fast Es moved. "How did...wait. This is Aura, isn't it? I saw that your Espeon used Aura Sphere at the Indigo League."
"That's right. Aura is most commonly used in attacks like Force Palm and Aura Sphere, but those with great mastery over it can use it for internal effect, like momentary speed bursts." Ash explained.
"I see." Lorelei nodded, taking that in. "Quite a tricky battle tactic to overcome, but it won't change the outcome. Rouge, Ice Beam!" She commanded.
"Counter with Psionic Bolt, then use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. Es fired a bolt of psychic power at the Ice Beam with one hand, cancelling the attack, and then she fired an Aura Sphere with her other hand at Rouge, catching her off guard and knocking her down.
"Shadow Ball!" Rouge retaliated by firing a sphere of darkness at Es, dealing great damage, but the Espeon wasn't out yet as she released a small psychic pulse to right herself.
"You okay there, Es?" Ash asked.
"I'm fine." Es assured. "That attack was powerful, but I'm not out yet."
Ash nodded. "Okay then, use Power Gem!" The gem on Es's forehead glowed as she fired a beam from it at Rouge, who countered with Psychic. Ash saw that the psychic pulse at carried some of the hail, which pelted Es, and then he got an idea. "Gather up the hail with Psychic, and then unleash it in your own Blizzard!" He commanded.
"This is gonna be good." Es smirked. Her eyes glowed blue as she twirled her hand in a circle above her head, gathering up as much hail around her as she could, and then she sent it all towards Rouge in a wave of psychic hail, pelting her with her own weather.
"You and your Moemon are quite adaptable, Ash." Lorelei complimented. "However, it's time we end this. Rouge, stop her with Attract!" Rouge smiled, winking seductively as she released pink hearts of energy at Es.
Es stood there calmly, using Calm Mind to boost her special power. As soon as the hearts reached her, her gem glowed, signifying the activation of her Magic Bounce as the hearts went back at Rouge.
"What!?" Rouge gasped with shock as she was hit with her own Attract, but to zero effect.
"Magic Bounce!?" Lorelei gasped.
"Yep." Ash nodded. "Es is pretty much immune to status moves, being able to reflect their effects back at her opponent." He looked at Rouge. "However, since Rouge wasn't infatuated by the Attract, her ability must be Oblivious."
"Yes, and for once I'm very thankful for that." Rouge said, grateful for her ability. "Since I can't use my status moves against you, this has become a battle of power. Ice Beam!"
"Power Gem!" Es's gem glowed as she fired a beam from it at the Ice Beam, this time overpowering it and striking Rouge directly, making her scream in pain.
"What!?" Lorelei gasped again. "But how!?"
"Simple. Es used Calm Mind to boost her special strength when you made the mistake of using Attract." Ash explained. "Now, hold her with Telekinesis, and finish this with Zap Cannon!" He gave the finishing command. Es held Rouge into the air with her psychic powers, and then she fired an electric blast that struck her right in the chest. Rouge fell unconscious, and Ash had won the exhibition match.
"It's my own fault for losing." Lorelei sighed as she returned Rouge. "I got a little overconfident and underestimated you a bit."
"It happens to the best of us." Ash said as Es walked back to his side.
"Well, good luck on your journey. I can't wait to see your next league challenge." Lorelei wish him luck as she left.
The gang then spent the rest of the day relaxing, before setting of on their journey in the evening.
The gang was now on a boat that was taking them to Trovita Island, where the third Orange Island Gym was. "What do you think the Gym Leader will be like?" Misty asked Ash, who was thinking about his third gym challenge.
"Don't know." Ash shrugged. "All I can say is that the Gym Leader will give me tough challenges like Danny and Cissy did."
"Guys! Someone's in trouble!" Pia shouted to get their attention, and then pointed to a little girl and her Seel struggling in a Whirlpool.
"That little girl is drowning!" Misty gasped, and then quickly jumped into the ocean and sent out Starry. "Starry, let's get her out!"
"Umie, let's help, too!" Ash called, jumping in as well and sending out Umie.
With Starry's and Umie's help, Ash and Misty got the little girl to safety on the boat. "Thank you." The little girl thanked them with her Seel. "I was swimming with Denee, but the ocean pulled us away from shore and into that whirlpool."
"That's why you must be very careful when swimming in the ocean." Misty told her. "The ocean can be very dangerous."
When the gang reached the dock, there was a boy about 18 at the dock. "Mahri!" He called, running to the group.
"Big brother!" Mahri called back, running into the boy's arms.
"Mahri, you got me really worried." The boy said. "Don't go swimming by yourself ever again, okay?" Mahri nodded yes, and then the boy turned to the group. "Thank you so much for saving my little sister." The boy thanked them.
"It's not a problem." Ash said.
"It was a good thing that we were there." Tracey said.
The boy turned to Misty. "I saw what you did to save my sister." He said, looking her into the eyes. "You are amazing. I'm Rudy."
"Oh." Misty blushed. "I-I'm Misty."
"Someone's in looove~" Pia and Es told the others in a singsong voice via telepathy.
"It certainly looks like it." Ash replied. "Um, I hate to ruin the cute moment between you..." he spoke, making Rudy and Misty blush and look away from each other awkwardly. This made Ash chuckle. "Anyway, Rudy, are you the Gym Leader of Trovita Gym?"
"Ah, yes, I am." Rudy nodded. "Ash Ketchum, right? You're here to challenge my gym?"
"That's right. This is my third Orange badge."
"So, you've already challenged two other gym leaders." Rudy nodded, taking that in. "Well, to earn my badge, you have to complete two challenges. One is a target test, while other is a same-type Moemon Battle."
"I was wondering if one of the Orange Island Gym Leaders would give us a challenge we're familiar with." Es smirked.
"Yeah," Ash nodded in agreement, "but let's focus on the target test first."
"Okay." Pia nodded. "Who are you gonna use for this?"
Ash put some thought into it. "Well, this sounds more like an accuracy challenge. I think I'll use you two for this one."
"Got it." The two psychics nodded.
"Hmm, I think I'll also use..." He hummed, thinking of who else to use, and then brought out his Moedex. "Hey, Laby, wanna do this one?"
"Sure thing." Laby said, and then formed outside of the Moedex.
"Well, that's a new one." Rudy blinked. "Never seen someone who's Moedex was a Porygon of any kind.
So, with his chosen Moemon, Ash started the target test. For this test, he had to have Pia, Es and Laby hit targets that would appear in front of them on tree branches and rocks. However, the tricky part was that they had to ride a speed boat up the river. Although, that didn't deter them at all, as they were able to hit every target with pinpoint accuracy. While the challenge was going on, Misty and Rudy had been staring, smiling and talking with each other the whole time. 'Those two are definitely in love with each other.' Ash thought with a smile on his face, making sure not to disturb them while the challenge was going on.
"Well, Ash, your Moemon certainly have accuracy down the bat." Rudy said, congratulating Ash for completing the first challenge. "But, you still have to beat me in the same type Moemon battle tomorrow. Choose three types that you will use, and I will use Moemon of the same type. If you can win two out of those three matches, you win the challenge." He explained the rules of the second challenge.
"Right." Ash nodded, thinking about which types to pick. "I'll go with Flying, Poison and Ground."
"Um, Flying and Ground?" Rudy repeated, looking a bit nervous.
"Don't worry. I don't plan on using any Legendaries."
"Oh, thank god."
That evening, Misty and Toki were having dinner with Rudy and Mahri. "This food is delicious, Rudy." Misty said, liking the food the Gym Leader made for her.
It sure is." Mahri said proudly. "My brother is a very good cook."
"I'm glad you like it." Rudy smiled.
"You know, Misty, having you here is like you're my older sister." Mahri smiled. "I do wish I had a sister. My brother and the other boys are great, but I'm the only girl."
"What about the other Moemon?" Toki asked, her face full of food.
"She means human girls, Toki." Misty clarified, before looking at her scoldingly. "And don't talk with your mouth full, young lady."
Toki swallowed her food. "Sorry."
"But you're right, Misty. I'm the only human girl here." Mahri nodded, getting up close to her. "So I really wish to have an older sister like you!"
"That's enough, Mahri." Rudy chuckled, and then he had an idea. "Hey, Misty, after dinner, want to see all my Moemon?" He asked.
"I would love to." Misty nodded.
After dinner was finished, Rudy and Mahri led Misty and Toki to a room in the gym, where all of Rudy's Moemon were. Rudy had a Ninetales, an Electabuzz, a Venomoth, a Nidoking, a Starmie, an Exeggutor, a Hitmonchan, a Golem, an Alakazam, a Pidgeot and a Rhydon. The Electabuzz wore a yellow t-shirt with a black lightning bolt on the front, and yellow jeans. She had a yellow and black striped tail growing out of her butt, and had yellow and black hair down to her shoulders, two antenna sticking out of her hair.
The Hitmonchan had tan hair down to her shoulders and black eyes, and wore a violet dress and wore red boxing gloves.
"You taught your Moemon how to dance?" Misty asked, watching all the Moemon dancing to music.
"Yep." Rudy nodded. "You see, teaching my Moemon how to dance helps increase their skills." Mahri held hands with Toki and danced with her, while Rudy danced with Misty. While they were dancing, Rudy said something to Misty. "Misty," he spoke, "Mahri and I would like it if you stayed here with us." Misty was shocked and surprised that Rudy asked that and didn't know what to say. "Think about it tonight, and I'll hear your answer tomorrow after the gym battle."
Meanwhile, Ash, Pia, Es, Tomo, Wendy, Giselle, Serena and Tracey were eating dinner at the gym's visitor quarters, having takeout meals. Tracey was talking with Professor Oak on the phone and showing him his sketches of Moemon, while Ash was checking to see that Nagi, Kumo and Kaya were okay for battle. "So, you're gonna be using these three?" Giselle asked.
"Yep." Nagi nodded with a smirk. "It's about time I had a battle against a tough opponent!"
"I'm not really much for battles, but I'll fight if Ash wants me to." Kumo said, smiling.
"Um, isn't the win condition to win two of the three battles?" Kaya asked with a frown. "We're all pretty strong, so one of us might not get to battle."
"You're right." Nagi nodded. "And Muyuku and I are the only ones who haven't had a gym battle yet, nor were we used in the Indigo League. So, the one not battling is gonna be you."
"I guess that's fair." Kaya sighed.
"Well, Nagi or I could end up losing our battles." Kumo pointed out. "This may be a same type Moemon Battle, but our opponent might have a secondary type that gives them type advantage."
Nagi rolled her eyes. "Pshaw! Kaya against a Rock type for her first gym battle, and Pia and Es beat Ground and Dark types on occasion. When does type matchup even matter with us?"
"Nagi's right." Ash said in agreement. "A well-trained Moemon can win even against opponents who have type advantage over them. And you've gotten really strong, training with Rota and the Golems at the Tree of Beginning."
"Fair point." Kumo admitted.
Later that night, Tomo, Wendy, Giselle, Serena and Tracey were asleep. Ash, Pia and Es were still awake, however, as they were outside looking at the stars and moon. They were about to go back inside, when Ash noticed Misty was out as well. "Misty?" Ash called, getting the redhead's attention. "What's wrong?"
Misty sighed. "Well, something happened."
"Rudy didn't do anything bad to you, did he?" Ash asked, frowning. He didn't like people picking on his friends.
"Oh no, nothing like that. It's just that...he asked me to stay with him."
"What?" Ash, Pia and Es asked, surprised that Rudy made his move.
Misty sighed. "I don't know what to do. I want to keep travelling with you and the others, but..."
"You like Rudy." Pia finished, making Misty blush with surprise. "Mist, it was easy to tell that you and Rudy liked each other just by looking at you." Misty had to admit that Pia was right.
"Misty," Ash spoke, "as your friend, this is the only advice I can give. It is you yourself that decides what you do. Whether you continue travelling or stay with Rudy, we will accept your decision, and I'm sure Rudy will, too."
"Thanks, Ash." Misty smiled, happy to have a friend like him.
The next day, it was time for Ash's gym battle with Rudy. "Are you ready, Ash?" Rudy asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Ash replied.
"The battle between Gym Leader Rudy and challenger Ash Ketchum will now begin!" The referee, who was riding on a flying Pidgeot, announced. "This will be three one-on-one same type battles! Whoever claims two wins first is the victor!" He explained the rules. "Battle 1, begin!"
"So, which is first?" Rudy asked.
"Flying." Ash answered. "Nagi, I choose you!" He called out Nagi, who smirked.
"Thank goodness it wasn't your Pidgeot." Rudy said with relief. "It would've been hard to tell her and Geot apart." He sent out his Pidgeot.
"...Oh. Yeah, that would've been confusing." Ash agreed. "Anyway, you got this, Nagi?"
"I sure do." Nagi replied, smirking at her opponent. "Bring it on!"
"Geot, Air Slash!" Rudy commanded. Geot flapped her wings, sending slash waves of wind energy at Nagi. The Fearow dodged the attack easily and hit Geot with Aerial Ace, knocking her back. "Okay...use Feather Dance!"
"Heat Wave!" Nagi exhaled hot air that burned the feathers and hit Geot, and then she quickly followed up with Drill Peck.
"Your brother's Fearow is doing really well." Mahri admitted to Tomo. "She's battling Geot like she knows all of her moves."
"Well, I heard that she's rivals with my brother's Pidgeot." Tomo explained. "So, that might actually be the case."
"Hurricane!" Geot flapped her wings very hard, whipping up a hurricane, but Nagi was able to ride the winds and evade taking damage. As she did, though, her body was glowing. 'She is gonna use Sky Attack.' Geot thought. 'I have to hit her before she completes it.' She began charging a Hyper Beam, however...
"Sky Drill!" Ash commanded.
This threw everyone off, as they had never heard of the move. Nagi, however, smirked as she executed the attack spinning at Geot while encased in a drill of glowing white energy. Geot panicked upon seeing the attack and fired her Hyper Beam without fulling charging it, Nagi easily powering through it and striking her very hard, knocking her unconscious.
"Geot is unable to battle! Nagi is the winner!" The referee announced. "Ash Ketchum wins the first battle!"
"Nice one, Nagi!" Ash praised his Flying-type, getting a thumbs up in return.
"I can certainly say that I've never seen that before." Rudy admitted, impressed by the attack as he returned Geot. "You're a great battler, Ash, but it's not over yet. Which type do you want to use next?"
"Poison next." Ash answered. "Kumo, I choose you!" He called out Kumo.
"Then my next Moemon is Vena!" Rudy said, sending out his Venomoth.
"...That's the same name as my Venusaur." Ash said, shaking his head. He was glad he didn't bring Pina and Vena, otherwise this gym battle would've been so confusing. "Right. Anyway, watch out for her Psychic moves, Kumo!" He warned.
"Got it." Kumo nodded.
"Battle 2, begin!" The referee announced the start of the second battle.
"Vena, Psybeam!" Rudy commanded.
"Kumo, use Dark Pulse!" Ash commanded. Kumo fired a pulse of darkness to counter the beam of psychic energy, nullifying it and striking Vena, but the Venomoth recovered and tried to use Psybeam again, only for Kumo to Disable her.
"Damn." Vena frowned. "Fine. Try BUG BUZZ!" She screamed, sending sound waves of shaking energy at Kumo and making her cover her ears in pain.
"Use Rock Slide!" Ash shouted loudly. Thankfully, Kumo heard him and summoned rocks to fall towards Vena, forcing her to stop her attack and dodge. "Shadow Sneak, now!" Kumo extended her shadow to reach Vena and slashed her, knocking her to the ground.
"Hold still!" Vena exclaimed, restraining Kumo with Psychic. The Muk grunted in pain from the Psychic attack, but managed to released a Fire Blast, which hit Vena and made her cry out in pain and release her.
"Got you! Fire Punch!" Kumo ignited her fist and punched Vena, knocking her unconscious.
"Vena is unable to battle! Kumo is the winner!" The referee announced. "Since Ash Ketchum has won two battle, he is the victor of the gym battle!"
"Way to go, Kumo!" Ash cheered, and then he got glomped by Kumo, making him laugh. "You were awesome."
"I was, wasn't I?" Kumo smiled, nuzzling against Ash.
"It's still amazing how Kumo went from threatening to affectionate after Ash caught her." Es said, looking at the two.
"Well, Aeria was apparently like that as well." Pia pointed out.
Rudy returned Vena and walked over to Ash. "Well, Ash, you certainly are as strong as I have heard." He said.
"You're a strong trainer yourself, Rudy." Ash said, returning the compliment. Mahri walked up to Rudy and held up a box, which contained a badge shaped like a yellow, triumphant star turban shell with a small pink gemstone.
"Ash, as proof of your victory, I present to you the Spike-Shell Badge." Rudy said, giving Ash the badge.
"Thanks." Ash thanked him, accepting the badge. "Now that this is all over..." He turned to Misty. "Misty has something she would like to say to you." Misty started to blush, knowing what he was talking about.
Rudy looked at Misty, wondering what she was gonna say. The redhead took a deep breath, gathering up the courage to give Rudy her answer. "Rudy, I thought about your offer last night." She began. "I would like to stay with you, because I really like you," That surprised everyone except Ash, Pia and Es, who already knew. "but I want to keep travelling with my friends." Misty continued. "You see, I wish to take over the leadership of the Cerulean Gym, and before I do that, I want to keep on travelling and catching Water Moemon. So I can't stay with you and Mahri right now, I'm sorry."
After listening to Misty's confession, Rudy smiled warmly. "I understand, Misty. I can tell that you love Cerulean Gym just as much as I love my gym, and Mahri and I will support you in anyway we can." He handed her a small piece of paper. "This is my phone number. This way, we can keep in contact with each other."
"I'll phone you, too, and visit your gym!" Mahri piped in.
"Thank you." Misty thanked Rudy and Mahri, a happy smile on her face.
And so, Ash and the gang left Trovita Island with two things; Ash had earned the Spike-Shell Badge, and Misty had got a boyfriend. Now, if only Ash and Serena would progress with their relationship.
"AUTHOR!" Ash and Serena screamed, their faces blushing with embarrassment while the other laughed.
Chapter 25 DONE!
Since Ash will be coupled with Serena I tried to find someone to couple Misty with, and the first one that came to mind was Rudy. To be honest, I like the RudyxMisty couple.
Also, Jessie, James and Meowth finally reappear! And with new Moemon! I honestly thought that they didn't get enough Moemon in the anime, so I will be giving them more Moemon in this story.
I know that Lorelei used a Cloyster when she battled Ash, but I thought her Jynx would be an interesting opponent. In the games, Jynx was her strongest Pokémon, next to her Lapras.
Also, Nagi and Kumo finally get their gym battles, so that covers all the Moemon Ash caught in Kanto.
Now that that's settled, see you guys next time for the second Movie Chapter - The Power of One!