"Come on, come on!" Serena cried as she and Bonnie jogged ahead of us in the rocky canyon.
"Slow down, Serena. Coumarine City isn't going anywhere." Clemont said.
"The sooner we get there, the closer I'll be to my first Pokémon Showcase! Hurry up!"
We reached a long and steep hill that stretched on for a while. While I hiked, I noticed Serena's pacing begin to slow about halfway up. After another minute, Ash and I glanced back and saw Serena trudging up the slope alongside Clemont.
"So much for getting there quickly." Ash said.
"Are we there yet?!" Serena cried.
"If we say yes, will you stop complaining?" I said.
"Hey!" Bonnie cried at the crest of the hill. "At this point, it's all downhill!"
"Thank goodness!" Clemont said.
We joined Bonnie at the top and looked at the winding trail below. We heard the coo of a Pokémon and looked up as a Swanna flew over us.
"A Swanna!" Bonnie said. "I've never seen one before! Can you catch it for me, Clemont?"
"Uh..." Clemont sweatdropped. "How about we focus on taking care of Dedenne?"
"Guys... What's that?" Serena pointed to the sky. As Swanna passed over us, an object fell from it and made its way to us.
"What in the-?" Ash said before a large, purple, gooey object plopped onto his face, engulfing his head. He lost his balance and fell on his back.
"Are you okay, Ash?!"
Ash muffled underneath the object and pried it off and set it on the ground. His face was drenched with its slime.
"What is this?" Bonnie said. She poked its face and tugged on its antennae.
"It's a Goomy." I said, pulling her hand away. It looked like a large puddle of melted goop. "It doesn't look good."
"Hey, Goomy, wake up." Ash said, lightly nudging its head. Goomy didn't move.
"You know, Goomy's body is mostly made up of liquids. Maybe riding on Swanna's back underneath this sun dried it out." Clemont said.
"I have some water that may help." Serena said, taking off her backpack and bringing out her water bottle. She opened it and spilled the remainder of its contents onto Goomy's head. As the liquid absorbed into Goomy's body, its eyes cracked open.
"It still doesn't look better." Ash said. He stood up and looked around. "There's a river down there! I'll take Goomy to it."
He scooped Goomy into his arms and hurried to the edge of the cliff.
"Um, Ash, shouldn't we look for a way that's less scary-looking?" Serena said.
"This isn't a problem! All right, Goomy, let's go!" Ash said.
"Wait, Ash!" I said, but Ash leaped off the edge and began a wild sprint down the slope. I sighed. "He could've asked me for help."
"Since when does Ash ever think of a logical solution?" Clemont said.
I stretched my hand out and created a platform of Protect. We climbed onto it and rode down the cliffside toward the river, keeping our eyes on Ash as he tumbled down the side. He miraculously managed to dodge the giant boulders in his way, but near the foot of the cliff, his foot snagged on a small rock and he flew into the air. Goomy flew out of his arms, and it, Pikachu, and Ash tumbled into the river. Ash's head surfaced, and he grumbled while he wrung out the water from his hat.
"Did you have fun?" Bonnie said as we floated down to the riverside. Ash ignored her.
Goomy floated to the surface, still looking melted. We poured more water on its head to try and help it recover. With each drop, its spirits came alive again. Clemont dumped a bucketful of water on Goomy's head. Goomy shook off its weariness.
"T-Thank you!" Goomy said.
"That's a relief!" Bonnie said.
Dedenne poked its head out from Bonnie's bag. "Hi, there!" it said.
Goomy screamed and leaped back onto Ash's head, its body rippling from its trembling.
"What's up with you? Are you scared of Dedenne?" Ash said.
"Dragon-types are weak against Fairy-types, so that might be why it's afraid." Clemont said.
Bonnie snickered. "How can you be afraid Dedenne? It's too cute to be scary!" she said. "You're so weird."
Goomy slid off Ash's head and back into the water, returning to a pile of goo.
"I think you hurt its feelings." I said.
"Oh... Sorry." Bonnie crouched down and patted Goomy's head.
"Maybe we can do something else to help it out." Ash said. "Hey, Goomy, how about getting something to eat?"
Goomy perked up again and nodded. It crawled out of the water, and we followed it down the rocky path and into the forest nearby. We stopped at the roots of a berry tree. Goomy slithered over to a bush planted next to it and gobbled down the leaves, humming happily. Chespin broke out from its PokéBall.
"Leaves? Please! I've got something better!" Chespin said, pointing up at the berry tree. He used Pin Missile on the trunk, making it rain berries. With shimmering eyes, Chespin picked up a berry and took a big bite out of it.
As Chespin opened his mouth to eat some more, a cluster of the tree's leaves rustled, and an Ariados fell out and in front of Chespin. Goomy scurried behind Pikachu.
"This tree must be Ariados' home. I guess it didn't like Chespin coming over and messing it up." Clemont said.
Ariados attacked with String Shot, but Pikachu countered with Electro Ball. With a grumble, Ariados crawled back up the tree and disappeared.
Goomy, however, was still trembling and sweating so badly that a puddle began to form underneath him.
"Is everything all right, Goomy?" I said. I knelt and patted Goomy's head. "It's gone now; it won't hurt you."
Images flooded into my mind. I saw a swarm of Yanmega dive-bombing from the sky above a swampy oasis. They dropped off Ariados that charged towards a group of Gulpin. A flock of Swanna flew away from the area, and I could see spots billowing with smoke.
"What's up, Rylee?" Ash said.
"You... should see this." I stretched my hand out, and I displayed Goomy's memories in front of the others. The ambush replayed in front of them, and once it was finished, we turned to Goomy. "What in the world was that?"
"It looked like some kind of battle between Pokémon." Serena said. "Maybe that's why Goomy was so afraid of that Ariados."
"Is there anything else that we should know?" Clemont said.
Zoroark's ears perked up, and she turned her head. I followed her line of sight and saw something shine in the distance. A blue cube flew towards us. I jumped to my feet and swiped two fingers vertically, creating a thin strip of Protect. It sliced through the cube, scattering metal and circuitry at our feet. I looked up at the sky and saw the tips of Team Rocket's Meowth hot-air balloon peeking above the trees.
"Let's move." I said. My friends scrambled to their feet. "You guys go ahead; we'll distract Team Rocket."
My friends nodded, and they disappeared into the woods, leaving me, my Pokémon, and Goomy, who was too lost in thought to notice the others leave. Sylveon waved a ribbon-like feeler in front of its face, and it snapped out of its reverie and scurried away from her.
"All right, Zoroark." I said. I crouched down, glowing green, and transformed into Pikachu. Zoroark transformed into me and picked up Goomy, shuddering at its slimy body. The entirety of Team Rocket's hot-air balloon came into view, and they spotted us. We took off in a different direction as the others. We found a path and hurried down it.
"Do you have any plans besides running?" Sylveon said.
A Shadow Ball and ray of Psybeam hit the ground in front of us, and we came to a skidding halt.
"Fight, I guess." I said, turning around to face Team Rocket.
"All right, Ms. Pokémon twerpette. If you don't mind, we'll take that Pikachu off your hands." Jessie said.
Zoroark scowled and took a step back. Goomy squirmed in her arms.
"Playing hard to get, eh?" James said. "Inkay, use Psybeam!"
"Pumpkaboo, Shadow Ball!"
A glint shimmered in Zoroark's eye. "Sylveon, use Dazzling Gleam." Sylveon obeyed, blinding Team Rocket's Pokémon. "Pikachu, use Hyper Beam!"
I smiled and used Sylveon to jumped high into the air. Collecting the Hyper Beam at the tip of my tail, I twisted my body and fired it at the Pokémon. It hit Inkay, and it flew back over to Team Rocket, unconscious.
"Since when can Pikachu use a move like that?!" Jessie said.
"Rylee!" I turned and saw Ash and the others heading our way.
"Hold the phone! Since when did you lugs have two Pikachus?!" Meowth said.
"They're... not in their best form today, are they?" Serena said.
"Let's just get them out of the way." Bonnie grumbled.
"Pumpkaboo, use Dark Pulse!"
Goomy squirmed out of Zoroark's arms and leaped in front of all of us. The Dark Pulse hit it.
"Goomy!" Ash cried.
"Use Dark Pulse again!"
Again, the Dark Pulse hit Goomy. When the attack stopped, Goomy's contour glowed red. It pulled back its head as a ball of white energy coursed at the end of its mouth. It unleashed the energy in one giant, white, searing beam of power. The power hit Pumpkaboo, knocking it back into Team Rocket and blasting them off into the sky.
"Whoa... That was incredible!" Ash said.
"That was Bide." Clemont said.
Ash turned to Goomy. "You were awesome, Goomy! That's some amazing power you've got there." Goomy blushed.
"Yeah, you were awesome!" Dedenne said, hopping out of Bonnie's bag and landing on Sylveon's head. Goomy whimpered and hid behind me, terrified of the double flower power before it.
"You know, even though it's weak to Fairy-types, I don't see why Goomy should be so afraid of them." Serena said.
"Maybe there's something we don't know." I said. "I mean, we all saw that battle earlier. Goomy must be keeping a lot inside his head."
"You say I'm strong..." Goomy said, slowing crawling out from behind me and looking up at Ash. "B-B-But... do you think I could become... stronger?"
"Well, of course you can!" Ash said. His eyes widened. "Goomy, do you want to come along with me?"
Goomy's antennae perked up, and he nodded. Ash grinned and pulled out an empty PokéBall.
"I couldn't ask for a better addition to the team. Together, we'll get even stronger." Ash crouched down and tapped the PokéBall lightly against Goomy's head, pulling him inside. The PokéBall shook a few times before it sealed shut. Ash held the PokéBall tightly. "I can't wait to see what's in store for us."