The Journey Continues
Chapter 36
Ruin of the Unown
Sinnoh Region – Solaceon Town
Ash and Dawn were finally arriving in Solaceon Town after a few weeks of traveling. Their arrival at the town meant they were about halfway to Veilstone City, where Ash's next Gym Battle was slated to take place, but after so much traveling, both teens were looking forward to some much-needed rest. The central Sinnoh town resembled Hearthome City in terms of architecture, but still managed to retain a country feel that Hearthome could not. One of the first landmarks outside the city limits of Solaceon was that of a Pokémon Ranch. Several acres of crops went up and down the fenced-in ranch, and Pokémon of all shapes and sizes worked alongside a small group of people in the fields.
The Trainers' first stop in Solaceon Town was nothing else but the Pokémon Center. Ash and Dawn alike had been training extremely hard on the road for the last few weeks, and after the last batch of exercises, rest was a must for their Pokémon. Most notably out of all the Pokémon that the pair owned, Ash's Gengar was getting better and better under Ash's tutelage. The ghost-type's raw power was being progressively refined into a combination of skills, something that Ash was visibly proud of. Gengar, too, seemed very proud of itself. At random times Ash would talk to Dawn about his link with the Shadow Pokémon. Why Ash would share a telepathic link to Gengar—but not Pikachu—was confusing to Dawn, and Ash had never been able to offer up a solid guess as to why, so both had eventually chalked up the ability to the mysteriousness of Aura and left it at that.
On Ash's to-do list after resting the Pokémon was consuming a hearty lunch, consisting of a turkey sub sandwich and spinach. The combination was obviously unusual, but Ash insisted that the spinach was necessary. The Pallet native had taken a liking to most vegetables more recently, as his diet had normally consisted of gourmet cuisines prepared by Brock and Delia that weren't the healthiest meals around. His diet had changed along with countless other things since the end of his first Sinnoh journey.
After downing their lunches, Ash and Dawn picked up their Pokémon from Nurse Joy and headed out of the Pokémon Center. Ash had a thousand and one ideas about what they might be able to do during their brief stay in Solaceon Town before heading on the road. Unfortunately, those plans were dashed as a boy who couldn't have been much older than 12 came bolting into town, shouting at the top of his lungs.
The boy nearly barreled into Ash, but the older Trainer easily reached out and stopped the boy in his tracks by putting his hands on his shoulders. The boy had light brown hair that was parted to the side, and he wore a light blue jacket and shorts. A belt carrying three miniaturized Poké Balls indicated that he was a Trainer, and the boy was visibly hyperventilating.
"Help! They took my Pokémon!" he stammered, his mouth ahead of his brain as Ash held him still.
"Slow down, now, slow down." Ash said with a stoically calm voice, "Who took your Pokémon?"
"M-m-my Eevee." The boy whimpered, "I was out by the Solaceon Ruins when these people showed up and told me to beat it. Then they saw my Eevee and told me to hand it over. I tried to stop them, but…but…"
"What did these people look like?"
"T-there were a lot of them!" the boy shouted, "Most of them were in these weird gray uniforms, but there were two that were wearing all-black instead of gray, and they had some weird-looking cat Pokémon with them, I think."
"I should've known." Ash growled, "Where did they go?"
"They should still be there. The ones in black went deeper into the Ruins with that Pokémon along with a bunch of people." The boy whimpered, "Please, is there any way you can save my Eevee? Eevee's my best friend—my partner."
"No need to worry, we'll go get your Pokémon back." Dawn interjected, "We won't just stand by and let someone's Pokémon get taken away, right Ash?"
"Of course not." The older Trainer grunted. A twinge of anger burned inside him. Team Rocket was still up to their nasty tricks, it seemed. "You wait here, kid. I don't want any more of your Pokémon to get stolen. Wait for us at the Pokémon Center, and if you can, notify the police and send them to the Ruins. We'll go on ahead."
"Thank you!" the boy said, rushing forward and hugging Ash for a brief second, "Please be careful! Find my Eevee!"
The boy then raced off further into Solaceon Town. Ash locked eyes with Dawn, "Let's go. We don't want them getting away." The two Trainers rushed off toward the outskirts of the city, where the Solaceon Ruins lied in wait.
Solaceon Ruins
The Ruins sat on a huge rectangular cut of land that was elevated above the surrounding area. Artificial staircases from a forgotten civilization connected the elevated land to the path leading to the town, and Ash and Dawn wasted no time racing up them. Giant plots of grass filled the huge square of land, and a large, familiar temple sat in the center of the landscape. Large statues depicting Dialga and Palkia stood tall at the front entrance of the ancient temple, and a group of six gray-clad Team Rocket Grunts patrolled the outside.
Since there was no cover to speak of, the group of Grunts spotted Ash and Dawn easily, but rather than be hostile, they immediately put on a charade. The nearest Grunt was a mountain of a man with long, orange hair flowing down past his shoulders. His head was thick, as was the rest of his body, and he had a wild pair of piercing blue eyes that seemed to vibrate as he spoke with a thundery accent.
"Oi! The Solaceon Ruins are off-limits to the public for the time being! We have important business here, so I must ask you to leave!"
"C'mon, we're not dumb, Team Rocket!" Dawn spat back, "If you actually expect us to think you're supposed to be here, you're even crazier than we thought!"
Ash smirked as the Grunt chuckled. His demeanor changed instantly, and his voice began dripping with contempt, "Clever bunch, you two. But you've walked into something you can't handle. Grunts, attack them!"
The five Grunts ran in front of the huge man, shouting, "Yes, sir!" in perfect unison. The gesture made Ash raise an eyebrow, as it became clear that the orange-haired man wasn't a Grunt at all. The five Grunts each released a Golbat onto the field, prompting the two Trainers to defend themselves.
"Pikachu, get in there!"
"Piplup, you too!"
"Knock out their Pokémon, now!" the heavy-voiced Grunt commanded. Each Grunt responded with a 'yes, sir' and called out for an Air Cutter from their Golbats.
"Pikachu, dodge those with Quick Attack and use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu quickly dove forward with staggering speed and sharp blades of air sliced behind its body, each of them missing completely. The electric mouse looked up and generated a blast of electricity, striking each individual Golbat at the same time with a loud 'Chuuuuuuu!'
The Golbats all fainted at the same time from the incredible Thunderbolt, and the five Grunts quickly returned them and looked around at each other. Then, promptly, they all ran in different directions, disappearing from the Ruins completely.
"Stop! Where do you think you're going?" the accent-heavy Rocket shouted, but the fleeing Grunts kept running, "Idiots! You'll be catching hell if you don't turn back up at the base!"
"You!" Ash snapped, "What is Team Rocket doing at the Ruins?"
"And what have you done with that Eevee that you stole?" Dawn added.
"You expect me to tell you that?" the man asked incredulously, "You know, the two of you are quite the celebrities at Team Rocket. I don't see how none of our people are able to send you packing. So I'll have to do the honors." The man then revealed a single Poké Ball, tossing it in the air and roaring confidently, "Your meddling in our affairs is finished! Magmortar, go!"
The tall Blast Pokémon roared its way into reality, showing off its fiery cannons and leering at the two Trainers in front of it. The orange-haired man howled, "Magmortar, use Fire Blast!"
Magmortar lowered the cannon on its left arm, and the darkness inside of it instantly lit up with a brilliant orange glow. A second later, the Blast Pokémon launched the attack, sending out a five-armed explosion toward the two smaller Pokémon on the ground.
"Dodge it!" Ash and Dawn cried in unison. Pikachu and Piplup both dove to opposite sides, and the Fire Blast exploded on the grassy ground, sending up a ridiculous amount of heat that made Ash and Dawn's faces uncomfortably warm. The fire died out as quickly as it had come, and the two Trainers called for their own commands together.
"Piplup, use Bubblebeam!"
"Pikachu, add to that with Thunderbolt!"
The two Pokémon launched their powerful attacks together, hitting Magmortar from both sides. The tall fire-type recoiled and clutched its arms against its body as it absorbed the attack, taking a handful of steps backward in the process. The smoke quickly cleared and the orange-haired man roared out another command.
"Magmortar, hit 'em with Fire Punch!"
Magmortar advanced with a speed that contradicted what one might've thought it was capable of. The Blast Pokémon enveloped its two cannon-fists in scorching flames as it reached Pikachu first. The fire-type delivered a punch downward, but Pikachu quickly hopped out of the way of the attack. Magmortar sneered and tried again, but once again Pikachu avoided the attack. Ash shouted for an Iron Tail, and Pikachu dealt a devastatingly fast uppercut with his tail, driving Magmortar a few steps back.
"Piplup, use Whirlpool!"
Piplup howled as it generated the powerful vortex of water from its beak. Magmortar whirled around just as Piplup threw the Whirlpool, and though Magmotar's Trainer shouted for the Pokémon to use another Fire Blast, the Whirlpool crashed into its heavy body and shoved the Blast Pokémon back.
"Wanna finish this with a little Hydro Tackle?" Ash asked with a confident smirk, alluding to the pair's special combination move.
"Of course!" Dawn agreed, "Piplup, use Hydro Pump!"
"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"
Pikachu leapt forward in a vortex of lightning as Piplup parted its beak, charging up a powerful Hydro Pump. The orange-haired man shouted angrily at Magmortar, who was staggering to its feet as it recovered from the Whirlpool.
"Move, Magmortar! Fight! Use Flamethrower, dammit!"
Magmortar spotted the oncoming attack just as Hydro Pump merged with Volt Tackle, forming the ultra-powerful Hydro Tackle combination that Ash and Dawn had devised near the end of their first journey. Magmortar panicked, lowering its two cannons and letting loose a pair of Flamethrowers, but Pikachu charged right on through the fiery blast and crashed into Magmortar at full force, bowling the Blast Pokémon over and driving it into the ground. The mouse bounded away in a flurry of static and embers, but Magmortar failed to get back up.
The orange-haired man screeched angrily, barely showing enough self-control to not lash out on the fainted Pokémon. He locked eyes with the two Trainers who had bested him as he returned Magmortar, and a look of concern washed over his face as he took a step back.
"Th-they weren't kidding about you…" the man panted, "I have to warn them."
The man then whirled around and took off, thundering away toward the temple at the center of the ruins. Pikachu and Piplup both hopped back into their respective Trainers' arms, pleased with their victory.
"He's certainly a character." Dawn remarked.
Ash's face scrunched up and he frowned, "Yeah, he's a big talker. Now c'mon, we should go after him. Hopefully we can find out why Team Rocket's at the Ruins and rescue that kid's Eevee."
Ash and Dawn sprinted through the dark halls of the Solaceon Ruins' temple. Infernape led the way through the darkness, barreling down the hall alongside the two Trainers as the flame on its head lit the path. As they ran, Dawn swore she saw moving letters at random times, but she was so focused on keeping up with Ash and getting to the bottom of things that she never paid much attention to them.
Eventually, the dark hallways of the temple led to a single, square room at the center of everything. Artificial electric lighting lit the room, and it was all too easy to pick out the shapes of about six people and one Pokémon standing in the room. Even easier was recognizing the uniforms of Team Rocket on all but one of the intruders.
"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted, garnering the attention of each crook in the room. All six people turned around, revealing their faces to the two teenagers. The orange-haired man who had commanded the Magmortar registered a look of panic and he squeaked.
Meowth perked up first with his trademark lisp, "Whaddya know, it's the twoips!"
"Sir Charon, they're here." The man croaked.
"Yes, I can see that, Mercury. I'm quite disappointed that you couldn't keep them at bay for longer." A short, portly man grumbled. He had light purple hair that was twisted into a peculiar shape, and his wrinkled lips turned to a twisted smile.
A pang of realization hit Ash, and he fought to keep his jaw from dropping, "You're that scientist guy who was with Team Galactic!"
"The one who mysteriously disappeared from Spear Pillar…" Dawn added.
Charon smirked, stifling a chuckle, "I would say that I'm touched you remember me, but truthfully, I'm not." Charon sneered, "Your meddling has caused me no small amount of headaches."
"What are you doing in the Solaceon Ruins?" Dawn demanded.
An exaggerated feminine laugh caught Ash and Dawn's attention, and they turned their attention to Jessie and James, who stood just a few feet away against a rock wall. The wall was ages old and depicted a long inscription in the language of the Unown. Jessie spoke with her usual condescending tone.
"Well now, we can't just tell you everything, can we?" Jessie teased, "That would ruin the fun."
Charon interrupted, "If you must know, we plan to capture the Unown living here in order to use their psychic powers for our own gain." Charon offered, though the offering was scant.
"We won't let you do that." Ash challenged.
"We'll see about that." Charon said, "Grunts, take care of them while we complete our errand."
The two Grunts in gray uniforms stepped forward, each clutching a Poké Ball. Together, they reared back their arms and tossed the capsules, calling on their shared Pokémon, "Stunky, go!"
Two purple skunk-like Pokémon were released from the Poké Balls, each chirping with a displeased manner. Both Grunts followed up with the same command, "Stunky, use Sludge Bomb!"
The two poison-types clutched their bodies and then opened their mouths, spitting a large blast of toxic projectiles toward the two Trainers.
"Infernape, block that!"
Infernape leaped forward from Ash's side and spit a Flamethrower, decimating the Sludge Bomb attacks with ease. Both Grunts gritted their teeth, and the one on the right called for Stunky to use Feint Attack. The Grunt on the left called for a Toxic attack.
"Infernape, use Mach Punch on Stunky!" Ash called as the first Stunky came rushing forward. The fire-type surged forward and delivered a crushing blow to the Stunky, sending the poison-type back toward the Grunt that controlled it and knocking it out with a single move. The second Stunky, however, released a cry and a circle of purple light appeared around Infernape. The fire-type looked around at the shape for a brief second before several beams of energy struck it from all sides, forcing Infernape to its knees.
"Infernape, no!" Ash cried, stepping forward. The Flame Pokémon was now poisoned by the attack, and clutched its shoulder where the first beam of energy had struck it. A disgusting purple gash was left on its body in that place, and the Grunt with the remaining Stunky laughed as he called for another Sludge Bomb.
Infernape countered the Sludge Bomb attempt with another Flamethrower, destroying the attack. Ash followed up by calling for Close Combat, and Infernape rushed forward, delivering a brief series of punches and kicks that knocked the second Stunky out of commission.
"Weaklings!" Charon snapped as the two Grunts stepped back after returning the two fainted Pokémon. Infernape trudged over to Ash, gripping its shoulder once again, and sighed. The former head scientist of Team Galactic shoved the Grunts out of the way and stepped forward; turning his head to glance at Jessie and James, "Begin releasing the Unown. I will handle this."
James nodded and released his Mime Jr., quickly asking for the Pokémon to use Hidden Power. Mime Jr. complied, sending a strange energy into the wall marked with Unown. The letters on the wall glowed brilliantly, before the letters themselves came to life, releasing Unown in the forms of every letter that had been present on the inscribed wall. Immediately, Jessie, James, Mercury, and the two beaten Grunts began throwing Poké Balls, capturing each of the Unown one by one as they circled the people that had released them.
"No!" Ash shouted, "Why are you taking the Unown?"
Charon ignored the question and growled, "Quit your crying. I'll have to handle you two myself, and once I'm through with you, you won't be concerned about the Unown anymore. I will not let you get in the way of our plans yet again!"
"Bring it!" Ash snapped, "We'll make you eat those words."
The portly scientist leered and then pulled two Poké Balls from the inside of his lab coat, tossing both capsules into the air, "Tangrowth, Bastiodon, to battle!"
The two large Pokémon spawned from the Poké Balls and stamped about for a brief second, recognizing their opponents and readying themselves. Ash looked over to Dawn and the Coordinator stepped forward as well. Ash returned the poisoned Infernape and pocketed the capsule, sending Pikachu into the fray as Dawn sent Piplup out once more.
"I've heard great things about these two Pokémon." Charon acknowledged, "Perhaps they would be worth stealing, I would very much like to run some…experiments…on them."
Dawn balked, "You're a monster!"
"Humph, not quite, my dear. I simply lend my talents to the monsters." Charon countered, "Tangrowth, Bastiodon, use AncientPower!"
The two Pokémon both combined their AncientPower attacks, churning up a massive collection of boulders. Charon's Pokémon sent the boulders flying, and Ash quickly called for a counter.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack and run on the boulders to get in close!"
"Piplup, use Bubblebeam after!"
Pikachu launched forward, bounding along the boulders with wild speed as they flew through the air. Piplup fired a Bubblebeam, destroying each boulder after another as the electric mouse leaped toward Bastiodon, waiting for Ash's command as he fell.
"Use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu somersaulted forward with its steely tail and drove Bastiodon's huge head into the ground with a single hit, quickly bounding away before Tangrowth could retaliate. Bastiodon was far from incapacitated by the hit, but the huge Shield Pokémon looked clearly surprised by the little mouse's power.
"Such strength!" Charon commented, "That Pikachu would be worth studying!"
Ash glanced over to the Unown that were being helplessly captured, and then glanced back to Charon, and decided on a gamble, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt over Charon's head!"
The portly scientist's eyes widened as Pikachu launched a Thunderbolt, and he instinctively ducked. The blast of lightning cleared his head easily, and continued forward where it zapped a group of airborne Poké Balls, frying them and preventing a score of Unown from being captured. The ancient psychic-types glanced over to Pikachu and the teenage Trainers, and the handful who had avoided capture vanished from view. Charon saw the act and then threw his gaze back to Ash, blowing steam out of his ears.
"Great job, Pikachu!" Ash praised, "Let's try and save some more Unown!"
"Tangrowth, use Power Whip!" Charon shouted.
Tangrowth lumbered forward with the energy of the grass-type move covering up its entire arm. The large Vine Pokémon was on Pikachu in an instant, surprising the electric-type, and swung the Power Whip into the mouse, batting him away with ease. The force of the attack was so great that Pikachu went flying toward a rock wall on one of the adjacent walls of the temple room, far from Ash 's reach. Pikachu promptly slammed into the rock and slumped to the ground.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried. Charon followed without missing a beat, ordering Bastiodon forward.
"Bastiodon, use Block on Pikachu!"
Bastiodon reared up on its heavy back feet and its eyes glowed red, tracing a red outline around Pikachu as the mouse tried to stand. The energy suddenly halted Pikachu's recovery and the electric-type half-stood, suspended from moving. As the mouse shivered uncontrollably in place, Charon smiled, ordering another attack from the steel-type.
"Now, use Iron Head! I want Pikachu incapacitated for the ride back to base." Charon commanded.
Dawn gasped and Ash realized Charon's intentions as she did so. Bastiodon lurched forward and an aura of energy similar to Volt Tackle (although a brilliant silver instead of yellow) formed around its body as it charged.
"No!" Ash shouted, "I won't let you do that, Charon!" The Trainer started futilely running after Bastiodon, as if he would magically outrun the Shield Pokémon.
"Tangrowth, stop him." Charon spat. The huge grass-type stepped into Ash's path, keeping the Trainer from going any further. Bastiodon closed in on Pikachu quickly, and the madman grinned evilly as he anticipated the electric-type being knocked out.
The Pallet native threw out his hands in a last-ditch effort; focusing his mind in the instant he did so. Immediately in response, blue energy appeared from thin air just outside the palm of his hands. Ash commanded the energy with speedy expertise, and a light identical in color to the glow of his Aura appeared around Bastiodon, neutralizing the Iron Head attack and stalling the Shield Pokémon. Bastiodon grunted and Ash held the huge Pokémon in place, his bodily muscles straining to hold the Pokémon still.
Closing his eyes, Ash entered the Aura Channel, projecting himself into Bastiodon's mind. All movement, including time, froze around him and Ash faced the steel-type in a room surrounded by fiery blue energy.
Bastiodon made a noise, as he looked around, confused by the situation he was in. Ash began speaking telepathically to the Pokémon, drawing its attention to him. Bastiodon showed no anger or fear of the human, and appeared to simply be listening.
"Bastiodon, please. Do not attack Pikachu."
Bastiodon slowly nodded, grunting but not replying. Ash assumed that the steel-type was incapable of speaking even in the Aura Channel, though that would seem to contradict what Riley had taught him.
"I'm so sorry for everything Charon has done to you. I can feel your pain. Bastiodon, will you help us? I can free you from Team Rocket, but we'll have to work together.
Bastiodon slowly nodded again, grunting a second time.
"Thank you, Bastiodon. I'm about to take us back to the real world. Are you ready?"
Bastiodon grunted, and Ash closed his eyes again and exited the Aura Channel. Time began flowing again, and the blue glow around Bastiodon faded. The steel-type turned around and glared at Charon. The ex-Galactic scientist balked, turning his anger on Ash, "What have you done to my Bastiodon?"
"Bastiodon is not your Pokémon." Ash growled, looking back up to the portly scientist, "There's no connection between either of you. You ruled Bastiodon through fear, and now that I have resonated with it, it is free to choose for itself."
Charon watched Ash for a moment, and then began to chuckle. He pushed the red-lensed glasses up on his nose, his chuckle turning to borderline laughter.
"I'll admit it, I'm impressed." Charon chuckled, "The rumors were true: you are an Aura Guardian."
One of the two Grunts from earlier suddenly ran over, saluting Charon before speaking, "Sir, we've captured the last of the Unown."
"Good, then our work here is done." Charon decided, "Set the charges. We're pulling out of here."
"Charges?" Ash gasped. Charon didn't acknowledge Ash as several blocks along the wall suddenly lit up with a red light, and Ash easily recognized the light as a timer counting down. Jessie and James looked over to Ash and Dawn, glancing between each other and then running out of sight down one of the halls. The Grunts and the man called Mercury followed, until Charon was the last one in the room.
"Goodbye, children! I'd say I look forward to our next meeting, but I'm afraid there won't be one!"
Charon laughed and then disappeared into the darkness, leaving the two Trainers in the temple room. Ash whirled around to Dawn, rambling, "Dawn, take the Pokémon and get out of here. I'm going to stop these bombs from going off."
"What?! Ash, that's too dangerous!"
"Dawn, there's no telling how big these bombs could be. But I have to do something. I'm going to try to do what Riley and Lucario did back on Iron Island. But I need you to get out here."
Dawn stared at Ash for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Be careful," she murmured before running over to Pikachu, picking up the mouse (he was still being affected by Bastiodon's Block) and sprinting out of the room, making as fast as she could for the exit of the ruins. Bastiodon followed, its thunderous footsteps shaking the ground as it followed the Coordinator out of the temple.
Ash took a deep breath and glanced at the nearby timers. There were countless lights lining the wall of the temple room, but the nearest ones read 30 seconds until detonation. Ash focused, thinking back to the events on Iron Island. During their visit to Iron Island, Team Galactic had planted bombs to blow up the island, and the Guardian had nullified the explosions with a bubble of Aura. Unfortunately, he had also had Lucario, and Ash didn't have the luxury of a Pokémon's additional power.
Ash breathed in and then formed two bubbles of Aura in his hand. The bubbles expanded in size quickly, until Ash pushed them outward and covered the individual bombs with their very own Aura shield. After that was done, he poured more and more of his Aura into the temple room, quickly covering the entire room of the temple in a barrier of his own life energy.
The Trainer took another deep breath as the clocks hit 5 seconds. Then, at the last second, he focused every fiber of his being.
He really hoped this would work.
The bombs exploded all at once, immediately releasing a concussive force so great that the bubbles of Aura almost shattered instantaneously. Ash's mind reeled and he focused even harder, managing to stave off the first explosions and hold the energy bubbles steady. More explosions followed, testing his strength with every second that passed by. He began to sweat profusely as the explosions continued, thrashing against the azure bubble that trapped them. His muscles screamed and his brain pounded, but Ash continued to hold on. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the explosions weakened before disappearing altogether.
Ash collapsed the boundaries of Aura around the temple room and crumpled to his knees, falling forward some more and catching himself with his hands.
"Heh..." he muttered, breathing in as much as he possibly could. Once his head stopped spinning, Ash stood up. He glanced around the room, observing the blank wall that had once been inscribed by the Unown. After many more breaths, he turned and trudged out of the room, headed for the exit of the temple, following the dimly lit paths until he finally saw a shaft of light at the tunnel's end.
But as he ran to the exit, one thing held on his mind. Despite all the good he and Dawn had just done, they had failed to rescue the boy Trainer's Eevee, or even locate it for that matter. Ash knew what it was like to lose Pokémon, and he was immediately dreading having to face the boy and tell him the truth.
The ruins eventually opened up, and Ash found himself back in broad daylight on the square of the Solaceon Ruins. Dawn was only a handful of feet away, running toward Ash with a smile.
"Ash! You stopped the explosions!" she shouted. Dawn reached him and skidded to a stop, relief in her eyes. Pikachu was now sharing space with Piplup on her shoulder, having recovered from the Block move. Bastiodon also stood beside Dawn, only a handful of inches shorter than the Coordinator.
"Yeah…I…I think so…" Ash heaved, taking a knee once again, "But Dawn…we…"
"I know…" she sighed, "We couldn't find that boy's Eevee."
Just then, a peculiar cry rang out near Ash and Dawn. The teenagers looked to the source of the noise, and out of thin air, a dozen Unown materialized to life, hovering in the air. They were all different letters, and seeing them outside of somewhere as dark and secluded as the temple was unusual. The group of Unown chirped happily.
"Hey, could these be the Unown we rescued?" Dawn wondered aloud. The ancient Pokémon chirped together, and Dawn asked, "What would they be doing here?"
In response, the ancient Pokémon became bathed in a white light and their forms began changing into different letters.
"Woah! What are they doing?" Dawn gasped.
"I…I don't know…" Ash mumbled.
The Unown formed groups as they stopped transforming, and then arranged themselves into patterns. Immediately, Ash realized that they were forming words. First, three Unown formed a word, followed by groups of four and two creating more words. Ash and Dawn began to read the words aloud, which was a significant struggle thanks to the irregular shape of the Unown "letters".
"You…save…us…" Ash read after several seconds of deciphering.
The Unown began rearranging themselves and transforming into different letters as Ash spoke further, "But, we couldn't save all of your friends." The Unown rearranged themselves into more words, and Dawn read them this time.
"Not…your…fault…" she said.
"This is incredible…" Ash marveled, "The Unown are actually communicating the only way they can. Professor Oak would go bonkers if I told him they could do this."
The Unown rearranged themselves once again, forming some more words.
"We…will…"
"Repay…you…"
"The Unown want to repay us for saving them from Team Rocket." Dawn realized, "But, there's not much they could really do for us."
"Not necessarily." Ash said, "Unown are psychic-types, meaning they're capable of some incredible things. Unown, if you can understand us, we came to the Ruins to try and save a friend's Eevee. Team Rocket had taken the Eevee from him, and we think they got away."
Dawn picked up on what Ash was saying and started speaking, "Is there any way you could find Eevee and bring him back, so that we can return him to his Trainer?" Dawn finished. The Unown twirled around and seemed to glance at each other. Then, all together, the ancient psychic-types vanished from view, leaving the two teenagers alone, just as the wailing of sirens began echoing near the Ruins.
The seven members of Team Rocket rode away from Solaceon Town in the helicopter. Several cases full of Poké Balls were lined up along the door of the chopper, carrying each individual Unown that they had stolen from the temple.
"The bombs should've gone off by now! What's happening down there?" Charon snapped.
"This doesn't make any sense, Sir." Mercury said, looking at a scanner, "The scanner indicates that the bombs have detonated."
"How in the—" Charon started, before stopping himself. During his time with Team Galactic, they'd attempted to blow up Iron Island. Explosions had occurred, yet none surfaced on the island, and the place still remained on the face of the earth to this day, "No matter. We've accomplished our mission anyhow." Charon said, before stopping all discussion into the matter. He began to brood in his seat, his face scrunched up into a stone cold glare.
It had been quite some time since he had come face to face with the likes of Ash and Dawn, and they had once again surprised him. The boy was much more powerful than he had been during their last meeting, as was the girl. Their spies had been truthful about the boy's Aura abilities. To be honest, Charon wanted to learn the true extent of the boy's power, but there were more important things coming up for the organization.
Mercury flew the helicopter, while Charon sat in the co-pilot's chair. Their plotted course was for Coronet Base, where they would store the Unown they had stolen, as well as the handful of other nearby Pokémon they had taken. Pretty soon, Team Rocket's first major operation in the Sinnoh Region would be a go, and that would send them down the path to unlimited power. It was a road that Charon had tread before, previously under the banner of Team Galactic. But, he had been betrayed along with every other member of the group just when their great plans came to fruition. Luckily for him, he'd gotten away before anyone had noticed his disappearance, and found his way to Giovanni. As unique and persuasive as Cyrus had been in order to get Charon on board with his plans, Giovanni was ten times that. As much as his common sense told him it was foolish, he wholeheartedly believed that Giovanni was a far better man to call boss than Cyrus had ever been. Because of this, Charon carried out his commands with even greater loyalty than he had when he worked under Cyrus.
Charon reached down to the briefcase in the floorboard of the co-pilot seat. There were a total of seven briefcases in all, and Charon had taken care to count every single Poké Ball that held a stolen Pokémon. In all, there were 73 capsules shared between the seven cases. Charon opened the case and began counting.
There were 12 Poké Balls in this case. It was strange; Charon could've sworn that he had counted 13 in this very case during the mission, but it was possible that it had been a different case than the one he now held.
"Jessie. James. Grab the other cases. Count the Poké Balls inside them." Charon ordered. Jessie and James exchanged a confused glance, but did as they were told, counting each individual capsule until they had counted all six of the other cases. Charon recounted his own as they reported back how many total Poké Balls they had in their possession, and then he swallowed and grumbled. They only had 72 Poké Balls now.
One of the Poké Balls had gone missing.
Sinnoh Region – Solaceon Town
Ash and Dawn stood on the outskirts of Solaceon Town, having reported everything they'd seen and done to the police. Their next stop was the Pokémon Center, where they hoped a young boy would become very happy.
On one of Ash's shoulders sat Pikachu. On the other, an Eevee balanced itself. The Unown had come through, somehow or another finding the boy's Eevee and returning it to them. However, there was another Pokémon that needed taking care of.
"Bastiodon." Ash murmured. The Shield Pokémon looked up at the Trainer that had freed it from Charon's control, "I know that you've been abused by Team Rocket, and you have every right to go free. But…the problem is, there are no wild Bastiodon in Sinnoh." Ash explained. Indeed, Bastiodon had been at the height of their numbers in the wild thousands of years ago. Now, only those resurrected from Fossils existed, usually owned by a Pokémon Trainer.
"Bass…" Bastiodon sighed, rubbing its large feet in the dirt.
"But, if you would like, I know of a steel-type Trainer that would be great for you."
Bastiodon looked up at Ash, a small amount of apprehension in its demeanor. Under Charon, Bastiodon's life had been far from stellar. Ash continued however, doing his best to dissuade the Pokémon's fears.
"Don't be afraid. Byron is a Gym Leader, and he even has a Bastiodon of his own. He specializes in steel-type Pokémon, and I really think you would be happy with him." Ash offered, "What do you say, Bastiodon? Would you trust me with this?"
Bastiodon looked forward, staring off into space. Ash made a good point, there were no Bastiodon in the wild, not in this day and age. The Shield Pokémon pondered the Trainer's offer, and then decided. This Trainer called Byron seemed like one that understood Bastiodon's needs. Perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing to give it a shot.
Bastiodon turned its gaze back to Ash and nodded with an affirmative huff. Ash smiled, and pulled out a Poké Ball from his bag.
"I'm going to capture you, Bastiodon, and then I'll send you over to Byron. Is that all right?"
Bastiodon responded by tapping its head on the exposed capsule. The Pokémon was promptly sucked inside the Ball, and a chipper tone from the capsule quickly indicated that Bastiodon had been caught.
"Thank you, Bastiodon. I promise, Byron will do right by you." Ash promised, tucking the capsule into the bag. Ash looked to Dawn, who smiled wistfully, and then he sighed, "Well, Eevee, I guess we should get you back to your Trainer, huh?"
The Trainers walked toward the Center with a skip in their step. Soon, they reached the Center, and as soon as the automatic doors slid open, a boy's voice cried, "You found him!"
The jacket-clad boy came sprinting to the two older Trainers, his arms outstretched. "Eevee!" he cried. The Evolution Pokémon bounded off of Ash's shoulder and into the boy's arms, drawing a delighted laugh from the boy, "You're okay!"
"Eevee-ee-vee!"
"Thank you so much!" the boy said to Ash and Dawn, grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh, don't mention it." Ash said, before he leaned forward so that he could look the boy in the eye, "Now, what's your name?"
"My name's Corey!" the boy answered happily, "And as you already know, this is my partner Eevee. We're on a journey to win the Sinnoh League!"
"What are the odds?" Ash said, "You and I are traveling for the same reason."
"Wait, you're trying to win the Sinnoh League? But you're a lot older than me!"
"That's right. I've traveled Sinnoh before, and I'm doing it again to have another go at the Sinnoh League." Ash said, "My name's Ash, and I'm from the Kanto Region."
"And my name is Dawn!" Dawn chimed in, "I'm competing to become a Top Coordinator!"
"Wow, you guys are so cool!" Corey said, giggling, "I'm on my way to Veilstone City to try and win my third Gym Badge. What about you two?"
"We're actually headed to Veilstone City as well. I have a battle set up with the Gym Leader there." Ash admitted.
"So we're going to the same place." Corey observed. He became nervous, "Since that's the case, can I ask you guys a favor? You two seem like really great Trainers. I can't thank you enough for saving Eevee. If you'd allow it, I'd like to travel with you two, just until we make it to Veilstone City. I don't feel very safe with crooks like the ones who took Eevee running around."
"I'm totally cool with that." Ash said, "Dawn?"
"I think that's a great idea!" Dawn agreed, "Ash can teach you all sorts of things too! He was my mentor when we started traveling Sinnoh a few years back."
"Really? That's great, isn't it Eevee?"
"Eev!"
"Well, what're we waiting for?" Corey said, "Let's get going!"
"Hold up a sec." Ash said, stopping Corey in his tracks as the boy had started to run around him, "It's mid-afternoon already, so unless you really want to sleep on the ground tonight, I suggest that we wait until tomorrow before heading out."
"Ooh, you're probably right, huh?" Corey said, "I should probably listen to you on this stuff."
"I mean, Dawn and I are fine with sleeping on the ground, we've been doing that for several weeks since we left Hearthome City, but this is our only chance to sleep at the Center for a while. There's a big desert north of here." Ash explained.
"Good point." Corey said, "I'll go book myself a room real quick."
Corey then took off for the front desk of the Center. Ash and Dawn collectively chuckled. "He's excitable." Dawn said.
"For sure. Reminds me of how I was when I first traveled Kanto." Ash agreed.
"Well, now that our day's worth of heroics are over with, what do you want to do now?" Dawn asked.
Ash's stomach growled in response, loudly enough so that a patron at a nearby table heard the noise and looked up at the teen with a surprised face.
"I'm down for eating." Ash said quickly, "But I need to call Byron on the videophone and explain the situation to him."
"Right, you should go do that." Dawn agreed, "I'll join you in a bit. I want to work on some of my combinations on the practice field."
"Cool! How about a practice battle later?" Ash offered.
"I'll take that bet, Ketchum." Dawn giggled. Ash raised his hand up and Dawn answered by completing the high-five. With a laugh, Ash turned and ran to the videophone, while Dawn calmly walked over to the practice field off to the side of the Pokémon Center. Tomorrow—as well as the several days following it—would be no easy task, as a sweltering desert stood between Solaceon Town and Route 215, which led straight into Veilstone City, where Ash and Corey had their own battles with Maylene set up. As she reached the dirt field beside the Center, Dawn called out two of her chosen Pokémon, quickly becoming lost in her Contest training.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is probably the most we've had Team Rocket involved since the start of the story. We're now about 10 chapters into the Sinnoh arc, which is the main part of the story. Please do consider leaving a review at the bottom. Maybe include what you like so far about this section of the story, what you don't like, what could be improved, or even some things you'd be interested in seeing (I'll do my best to consider any ideas, but for the most part I have a finished blueprint on where this is going).
Until next time, stay tuned, as the journey continues!