Disclaimers: I do not own Pokémon or the concept of Moemon.
The gang were heading into National Park, but they noticed a Venomoth in front of the entrance. "Come one, come all! Our Bug-catching Contest is about to begin!" The Venomoth said.
"Why is that Venomoth talking about a Bug-catching competition?" Misty asked nervously, her fear of bugs beginning to show.
"Well, for starters, that isn't actually a Venomoth, just someone dressed up as one." Ash assured, getting the Water trainer to calm down. "Although, I am curious myself." He walked up to the 'Venomoth'. "Excuse me, miss, what is this Bug-Catching Competition?"
"Glad you asked." The woman smiled. "You see, every year, Bug Moemon from all over suddenly appear into National Park, so we decided to hold a bug-catching contest." She explained. "The rules are simple. You go through the park and catch a Bug Moemon for yourself."
"Are there any prizes?" Tomo asked.
"The winner gets a Sun Stone. Furhtermore, the trainers who place first, second and third get to keep the Bug Moemon they caught."
"Interesting." Ash mused. "I think I'll enter this competition. What do you guys think? Well, apart from Misty, since I know she's staying out."
"You bet I'm staying out." Misty said. She was happy her friend knew her well enough to leave her out of anything involving bugs.
"I'm not a trainer yet." Molly sighed.
"That's okay." The woman assured. "Even if you're not a trainer, all people from twelve to nineteen could enter, as long as they had a Moemon with them."
"Sign me up!" Molly and Tomo immediately exclaimed eagerly.
The Ketchum siblings got in line to register. "I hope to win and get a new Moemon, big brother." Tomo said.
"Same here!" Molly said.
"Let's aim for Top 3 then." Ash smiled.
"Hey guys!" A familiar voice called them as Casey came up to the gang.
"Hey Casey." Ash greeted. "Long time no see."
"Sure has." Casey agreed, and then noticed Molly. "You're new."
"Hello, I'm Molly, Ash's new little sister." Molly introduced herself.
Casey blinked, looking between Ash and Molly. "But, you only look a few years younger than him."
"She's adopted." Brock told her.
"Oh."
"So, how have you been?" Ash asked.
"I have been great." Casey replied. "My team and I have been on a winning streak like my favorite team, the Electabuzz! And my team of yellow Moemon with black stripes is starting to build."
"What new Moemon did you catch?" Es asked.
"A Beedrill and a Flaaffy."
Molly blinked. "But, Flaaffy aren't yellow."
"True, but Ampharos are." Casey replied. "I still haven't caught an Electabuzz yet, but I will get one. For now, I'm focusing on winning this Bug-Catching Competition!"
"Well, good luck to you." Ash wished Casey good luck.
After Ash, Tomo, Molly and Casey signed up for the bug-catching contest, the announcer explained all the rules. Next the trainers were each given a Park Ball. "You can only catch a Bug Moemon with the Park Ball, and the judges will decide which three Bug Moemon are the best for first, second and third place." The announcer explained. "Good luck to you all, and go catch those Bug Moemon!" And so, the bug-catching contest was underway.
Tomo and Molly decided to stay together so that they wouldn't get separated. "Where should we look?" Molly asked.
"Well, Bug Moemon always take shelter in bushes and trees." Wendy informed. "Why don't we look through the bushes and trees first?" The two kids nodded and went towards the trees, with their Moemon partner ready to help out at moment's notice.
Trainers were looking everywhere for Bug Moemon; through bushes, through grass, and looking in trees. There were all kinds of Bug Moemon, including ones from other regions. Back at the seats, Misty kept screaming after seeing all the Bug Moemon on-screen, with poor Brock and Giselle trying their best to calm her down.
Back with Tomo and Molly, the two were still searching for Bug Moemon. "Any luck, Tomo?" Molly asked.
"Not yet." Tomo replied, shaking his head.
"You kids looking for something?" A voice asked as they looked up and saw two Moemon, a Vivillon and a Ledian, flying down to them. The Ledian wore a white-yellow dress with a long red cape, with five black dots on the back, and beneath her cape were two pairs of clear wings. She had red hair down to her shoulders with red stripes in it, and had bright blue eyes.
"You don't look old enough to be trainers," Ledian said, observing them, "but I guess you were old enough to take part in this competition.
"A Vivillon and a Ledian, huh?" Wendy asked.
"The Vivillon looks beautiful." Molly said. "I want to catch her."
"I'll take the Ledian since she looks cool." Tomo said.
"How sweet of you." Vivillon giggled. "Well, you can try to catch us, but don't push your Moemon too hard."
"Okay." Molly nodded. "Let's go, Glimmer!"
"Alright!" Glimmer nodded.
"Use Psybeam!" Molly commanded. Glimmer fired a rainbow beam of psychic energy at Vivillon, which hurt her. The Bug Moemon tried to counter with Gust, but Glimmer dodged with Agility and countered with Fairy Wind, knocking her to the ground.
"Molly, throw the Park Ball at her now!" Tomo told her. He had already caught Ledian thanks to Wendy nearly knocking her out with Flamethrower.
"Okay. Park Ball, go!" Molly threw her Park Ball at Vivillon, which sucked her in. The Park Ball shook a few times, before clicking in a successful capture. "I did it!" She cheered happily.
"Way to go, Molly!" Wendy praised the younger sister. The two younger sibling had caught their Moemon, and were hoping that they would get to keep them.
"I wonder how Ash is doing." Glimmer wondered.
"I bet he's gonna catch a really cool Bug Moemon." Tomo said.
Over with Ash, who had Es with him for the competition, he was walking towards a different part of National Park. He was using his Aura to detect Bug Moemon to catch, but found a strong aura signature in a very secluded area in the park. "It should be this way." Ash said, moving through the trees.
"I wonder what Moemon could be this powerful." Es said curiously. When they finally reached the area, they saw the Bug Moemon and their eyes widened.
The Moemon wore a black and blue skirt with black dots, and wore a furry white dress over it. She had six wings of orange and red flames, and had long red hair down her back. "I didn't think a human would ever find me." She said, turning to look at them with sparkling blue eyes.
"You're a Volcarona." Ash said in awe. He had heard that Volcarona and their pre-evolutions, Larvesta, were Moemon that were nearly extinct, and that Alder, the Unova Champion, had one of the only few remaining.
"Yes, I am." Volcarona said. "You are the first human to ever find me. I've taken refuge here for over a year now, but no humans have ever found me."
"Wow." Ash said, before steeling himself. "Well, my name is Ash Ketchum, and I challenge you to a battle."
Volcarona smiled. "I have no problems with you trying to catch me, but the question is, can you?" She asked. "I am pretty strong, you should know."
"That's good. We love a challenge." Ash smirked. "Let's go, Es!"
"Right!" Es nodded, jumping forward into battle.
"Flamethrower!" Volcarona released a stream of flames at Es, who used Psychic to dispel the flames. The Espeon then formed a Shadow Ball and fired it at Volcarona, who flew into the air to dodge and then countered with Bug Buzz.
"Block with Light Screen, then use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. Es formed a psychic barrier that blocked off the sound move, and then formed an azure sphere with her Aura and flung it at the Bug Moemon, dealing damage to her.
"Not bad." Volcarona said. "But let's see how you like my Solar Beam!"
"I'm show you MY Solar Beam!" Es shouted in reply. The two Sun Moemon absorbed sunlight and fired it off into bright beams at each other, the two beams colliding into each other before exploding.
Volcarona was surprised by Es using Solar Beam, as she had never seen an Espeon who could use that move - or Aura Sphere for that matter. 'This will be interesting.' She thought.
"Psychic!" Es's eyes glowed purple as she fired a psychic pulse at Volcarona, who cancelled it out with her own Psychic and countered with Hurricane. Es braced herself against the fierce winds before using Psychic again to dispel it.
"Grab her with Telekinesis, then use Power Gem." Ash commanded, shocking Volcarona that the Espeon knew a Rock-type move. Es caught her in a psychic hold before she could recover from her shock, and then fired a beam of energy from her gem, landing a direct hit and hurting her a lot. "Now, Park Ball, go!" Ash took the chance and threw the Park Ball, which sucked Volcarona in. There was a tense moment as the Moe Ball shook a few times, before clicking in a successful capture. "Yes! I caught a Volcarona!" Ash cheered happily, and then high-fived Es.
Meanwhile, Casey was searching around for Bug Moemon as well. She had already battled and captured a Pineco, but felt that Pineco may not be enough. She had seen and battled other Bug Moemon as well, but she thought they weren't strong enough either. "Since we're aiming to win, we need a Bug Moemon that is strong." She said to Chika. Just then, they saw a Scyther in the long grass. "That Scyther is just what we need to win this contest." Casey grinned. "Let's go, Chika!"
"Okay." Chika nodded, running up to face the Scyther, although, she looked a little nervous as well as tired.
"Razor Leaf!" Casey commanded.
"Useless." Scyther said, cutting up the sharp leaves that were thrown at her and then retaliating with Fury Cutter.
"Don't give up, Chika. The game isn't over yet!" Casey encouraged. Chika tried to fight back with another Razor Leaf, but that only got the same result, except the Fury Cutter was stronger, hurting her a lot. "Try using Tackle!" Chika charged at Scyther, who merely sighed and knocked her down with the back of her scythe.
"Time to finish this." Scyther said, preparing to deal the final blow, only for a Psybeam to hit her on her right shoulder.
Casey looked and saw that it was Tomo and Molly, and that the Psybeam came from Glimmer. "What are you doing!?" She asked hotly. "I saw this Scyther first!"
"We don't care about the Scyther, we're doing this for Chika." Wendy said, frowning. "What you're doing isn't fair to her."
"Yeah, Chika will easily get defeated by Scyther!" Molly told her. "She's a Grass type and Scyther's a Bug/Flying type!"
"Chika will win." Casey said. She was too stubborn to listen to the kids' warnings.
Scyther had recovered from Glimmer's attack and was about to attack Chika, only to freeze up when she felt a great amount of intent directed at her. She turned her head to the source, and the others looked in her direction and saw Ash, his Aura flaring around him as Es was by his side.
"That's enough." Ash told Scyther with a steely gaze. "You've already won. Your opponent cannot battle anymore."
"Yes, she can!" Casey tried to rebuke.
Scyther looked at Chika, who could barely even stand. "No, he's right." She told Casey. "Your Moemon cannot battle any further without risking injury. Continuing this fight is pointless."
Casey could only look on in shock as Scyther flew away. "What did you do that for!?" She shouted at Ash angrily, only to take a step back when he looked at her with a disapproving glare. Es, meanwhile, went over to heal Chika.
"Because you were pushing Chika too hard, when she was already at the point where she couldn't battle anymore." Ash told her, his voice holding disappointment for the younger trainer.
"Ash is right, Casey." Serena told her from behind. She, Misty, Brock, Kyuubei and Giselle had seen all the things that Casey had been doing on screen and the battles she had put Chika through, and they all thought Casey was being unfair to Chika and decided to go to the park and speak to her.
"Casey," Ash got the young trainer's attention, "do you prefer winning battles over your own Moemon's well-being?"
"Absolutely not!" Casey immediately denied. "My Moemon mean a lot to me!"
"If that's true, then you should think more about how your Moemon are feeling." Ash lectured her. "A good team captain should take into account the current conditions of their players, and give them breaks when needed. If they're too focused on winning the game, then they risk giving their players serious injury, which could result in them being taken out of the game, or worse, the rest of the season."
Ash's sports metaphor surprised everyone, and it made Casey freeze and realize what she was doing wrong. She was so blind of winning battles, she never knew the condition she put Chika in. "Y-Y...You're right..." Casey said, falling to her knees. "How could I have been so stupid?" She asked, her voice cracking.
Chika saw that her trainer was close to crying and went over to hug her. "Please don't cry, Coach." She said in a soothing voice.
"Chika..." Casey tearfully hugged her starter. "I'm sorry... I don't deserve a Moemon like you." The gang was happy that Casey and Chika made up. Unfortunately, the sounds of a small explosion ruined the moment.
"What was that Molly gasped.
"I don't know," Brock said, "but we better check it out." The gang and Casey hurried to see where the small explosion came from. What they saw shocked them; injured Bug Moemon were scattered around.
"Who on earth did this?" Glimmer gasped, horrified by the scene before her.
Just then, everyone heard laughter above them and looked up to see the culprits. "Team Rocket!" Ash shouted angrily.
"Who are they?" Molly asked.
"A bunch of bad guys who steal other people's Moemon and cause trouble." Es told Molly, Glimmer and Casey, her glare staying on the Rocket Trio.
"Oh, looks like there's a new twerp in the mix." Jessie said, having seen Molly.
"And a Ponyta as well," James added, "but not one I've ever seen." Glimmer flinched and stepped closer to Es, afraid that Team Rocket was gonna steal her.
"What are you three doing here?" Pia demanded.
"We wanted to enter this contest to get Bug Moemon as well." James explained.
"But, we were told that we were too old to enter." Jessie continued.
"So, we decided to do things the Rocket way - infiltrate the contest with our balloon and catch all of these Bug Moemon." Meowth finished, smirking. "It's easy with the help of these Pineco and their Self-Destruct." Team Rocket had used cables to capture a dozen wild Pinceo, and was using them to weaken the other wild Bug Moemon.
"That's horrible!" Molly exclaimed angrily.
"I may not like Bug Moemon, but I agree with Molly. This is terrible." Misty said, glaring at Team Rocket.
"You guys are despicable!" Casey shouted as she stepped forward. "This is a foul move, and I'm going to stop your foul by defeating you!"
Her statement made Team Rocket laugh. "You honestly think you can stop us?" Jessie mocked her.
"Chika, we will need to strike with all our might to win this game!" Casey told her Moemon.
"Yeah!" Chika nodded. "We'll beat them - as a team!"
Suddenly, Chika started glowing a bright light. "What's happening?" Casey asked, shocked.
"Chika's evolving!" Giselle exclaimed.
The glow faded to reveal Chika in her new form. She wore a yellow-green dress that went below her knees, with leaves sticking out her collar. She had green hair down to her shoulders, with a long leaf sticking out, and red eyes. "I'm a Bayleef, now!" Chika exclaimed, smiling. Casey was also happy with the evolution.
'So, that is what Haruka and Megan will evolve into.' Ash thought with a smile.
"Okay Chika, use Razor Leaf to cut those cables and free the Pineco!" Casey commanded. Chika threw sharp leaves at the cables, cutting them easily and freeing all the Pineco.
"Oh, this is bad." Meowth said nervously.
Es smirked. "Solar Beam." She fired a bright beam of sunlight at Team Rocket, sending them flying.
Soon, the contest was over, and it was time for the judges to examine the captured Bug Moemon and see which trainers had won. Molly placed third with her Butterfree and got a gold berry as a prize as well as keeping Vivillon. "What do we do with this?" Molly asked, looking at the berry.
"Don't know." Glimmer shrugged. "But at least we got a new team member."
Tomo had placed second with Ledian and got an Everstone as a prize as well as keeping Ledian. "I think I should keep that," Wendy suggested, "so that I don't risk accidently touching a Fire Stone and evolving."
"Good idea." Tomo agreed.
"And the winner of the Bug-Catching Competition is Ash Ketchum, who caught a very rare Volcarona!" The judge announced. "His prize is a Sun Stone as well as keeping Volcarona."
"Thank you, sir." Ash thanked the judge, accepting the Sun Stone and the Moe Ball.
"Looks like I'm sticking around." Volcarona smiled.
"Yep." Ash nodded. "Welcome to the team."
The Ketchum siblings were happy to keep their new Bug Moemon. Molly called Vivillon Vivi, Tomo called Ledian Dia, and Ash called Volcarona Youko.
Moemon: Volcarona
Name: Youko
Species: Sun Moemon
Type: Bug/Fire
Current Level: 70
Scarcity: Ultra-Rare
Ability: Flame Body
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 102.9lbs
Cup Size: DD
Weaknesses: Bug, Flying, Water
Resistances: Grass, Bug, Ice, Fighting, Steel, Fairy
Immunities: None
Known Moves: Ember, String Shot, Morning Sun, Absorb, Flame Charge, Bug Bite, Quiver Dance, Fiery Dance, Bug Buzz, Hurricane, Flamethrower, Solar Beam, Psychic
Evolves Into: None
Evolves From: Larvesta
Info: Volcarona are very powerful and loyal Moemon, and are very protective of their masters. They will protect their masters with their lives, and will obey any orders. They control very destructive powers and flames, and utilize the power of the sun. They are very clingy to their masters, however, and if a Moemon moves too close to their master, they will burn the Moemon away with their flames. Because of this, the trainer's other Moemon fear their powers.
"So you're like an artificial sun." Es said, looking at Youko.
"Yep." Youko smirked. "You better be careful around me, or I'll burn you."
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Es smirked. "I've faced scarier things than you." It would seem that a friendly rivalry has developed between the two Sun Moemon.
"I'm happy for you three." Casey said. "I don't feel down about not winning, because Chika is all I need." She started to sing her song for the Ketchum siblings' victory. (Same song from the actual episode.) After that, the gang said goodbye to Casey and went on their way.
"Wonder what's going to happen today?" Molly asked, feeling excited as the gang was currently walking through a forest. Her reason for asking is because a few days after she, Ash and Tomo caught their new Bug Moemon, Brock's, Misty's and Serena's Moemon evolved.
On the day after the Bug-Catching Contest, Misty and Serena were training their Moemon. Haru and Blossom were both growing strong, and they decided that it was finally time for them to evolve. Haru said that she wanted to evolve into Vileplume while Blossom wanted to be a Bellossom. After Ash gave them the Leaf Stone and Sun Stone respectively, the two Gloom evolved into their respective forms. Since Blossom was a Shiny Bellossom, she wore a purple tube top, her hula skirt was made of verdant green and mint green leaves, and her hair was purple with pink flowers on both sides of her head. The day after that, Zura evolved into Golbat. Misty, Serena and Brock were very happy with their evolutions.
"Don't know, but I feel today is gonna be interesting." Ash answered.
Suddenly, they heard a noise which sounded like a stampede. A Tauros was charging down the hill. "Taura, calm down!" The Tauros's trainer shouted as he chased after her, but Taura was in such a panic that she couldn't hear him. Just then, Ash saw an old man walking down the same path as Tauros.
"Uh oh!" Ash gasped, seeing the danger quickly running towards the old man. The old man down the hill suddenly stops and turns to see Taura coming towards him. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled a Moe Ball out of his kimono, but stopped when he saw Ash send out Nocturne. "Use Extrasensory to get her attention!" Ash commanded. Nocturne fired a rainbow pulse of psychic energy at the ground on front of Taura, making her stop in her tracks and charge at her. "Fly around her!" Nocturne flew in circles around Taura, making the Tauros feel giddy. "Now use Hypnosis to put her to sleep!" Nocturne released hypnotic waves that put Taura to sleep.
"Incredible." The old man said, impressed by Ash's skill.
Taura's trainer came up and returned her to her Moe Ball. "Sorry about that. We were training together, but she got stung by a Beedrill." He explained.
"You have trained your Noctowl well, young man." The old man praised Ash. "If you are interested, I may have a job for you." Everyone began wondering what the old man has for Ash.
The old man introduced himself as Kenzo as he led them in front of a large Japanese-style building. "Here it is." He said.
"Look at the size of this place!" Glimmer exclaimed in awe, before everyone heard people counting from inside.
"And one! And two! And three! And four!" People chanted.
"What's that?" Tomo asked.
"That's my granddaughter's foolish idea of training." Kenzo said, frowning.
"Foolish?" Misty asked.
"My family has had this Moemon Fighting Dojo for centuries."
"A fighting dojo." Ash said, sounding impressed. "That sounds to be a part of."
As they walk in, they see many trainers and Moemon doing warm-up kicks with a pink-haired girl. With her was a Moemon that wore a bright blue leotard with brown tights under her blue shoes, with a tail growing out of her back, which had a third foot. She had brown hair down to the sides of her head, brown eyes, and a large horn on her forehead.
"Who's that Moemon?" Tomo asked.
"That is a Hitmontop, one of the evolved forms of Tyrogue." Laby identified. "It's also the hardest of the three evolved forms to obtain."
"How so?" Molly asked.
"Tyrogue's evolution is based off of their Attack and Defense stats. If their attack is greater, they evolve into Hitmonlee, but if their Defense is greater, they evolve into Hitmonchan. Only Tyrogue who achieve a perfect balance of attack and defense evolve into Hitmontop."
"Interesting." Ash said, sounding impressed. It must've taken the girl a lot of careful training to evolve her Tyrogue into Hitmontop.
The girl clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, pay attention. It's important to make your attacks graceful. Tona will demonstrate." Tona did a series of kick, before jumping up and spinning on her head like a top.
"Wow! Look at her go!" Molly said in awe.
Kenzo, however, wasn't impressed one bit. "She's turning this place into a circus..." He muttered.
"Ok, great work, everyone. See you tomorrow." The girl said as she and Tona waved goodbye.
As all of the students walked out, they and their Moemon bowed to the old man. "Good day, sir." They all said before leaving.
"Why did they all bow to you?" Tomo asked.
"Because I am the Shihan of this dojo." Kenzo replied, surprising everyone.
"Shihan?" Tomo, Molly and Glimmer asked.
"A Shihan is the Moemon Dojo's master." Ash explained. He had learned that from Professor Oak in the past.
The girl and her Hitmontop approached the gang. "Hi there, my name's Chigusa." The girl introduced herself.
"And I'm Tona." Tona introduced herself.
"Grandfather, who are your new friends?" Chigusa asked her grandpa.
Kenzo clapped Ash on the back. "This young man is Ash Ketchum, the most recent Indigo League Champion." He introduced Ash. "He will be replacing me as Shihan."
That made everyone look at him with wide eyes. "Me? Replace you as Shihan!?" Ash exclaimed. "When you said you had a job for me, this wasn't what I had in mind!"
"Grandfather, you can't be serious!" Chigusa exclaimed, also not liking the idea. "I'm taking the role as Shihan of this dojo!"
Kenzo bursted out laughing at her claim. "I would never let you be Shihan here!" He told her. "A Shihan must teach the traditional ways of battle. The way you teach is like ballet."
"That's not true! I'm teaching Moemon how to be winners!" Chigusa argued.
"Of dance contest." Kenzo mocked.
Chigusa was offended by that remark. "How can you say that!?"
"Um, maybe there's another way we can settle this?" Ash asked, trying to diffuse.
Chigusa and Tona glared at Ash. "Alright, if you want to take over, you're gonna have to beat the two of us first!" Chigusa challenged.
"I didn't even agree to this!"
"I wanna battle." They heard a voice and saw a teenage boy with green hair walking in. "My name is Shiro, and I wish to battle the Shihan of this dojo." Shiro challenged.
"I know you." Chigusa said, pointing at Shiro. "You're the one they call the Dojo Destroyer."
"Dojo Destroyer?" Pia asked.
"Correct." Shiro smiled. "I challenge the Shihans of various dojos, and when I defeat them, I win their plaques. Right now, I'm going to collect my twelfth plaque."
"What is your purpose for doing this?" Kenzo asked.
"I want to open my own Moemon Dojo, and I want to show the plaques I won to earn respect from my students." Shiro explained.
"I see." Kenzo said with closed eyes. "Well, if the other Shihans accepted your challenge, so will I." He opened his eyes to face him. "But I warn you, you will not triumph."
At the back of the field, everyone was sitting down to watch Kenzo battle Shiro, with Chigusa acting as the ref. "This will be a one-on-one battle." Chigusa explained the rules. "Ready? Begin!"
"I choose you, Lee!" Shiro sent out a Hitmonlee.
"I will use Choka, my strongest Moemon!" Kenzo does kung-fu-style moves before throwing the Moe Ball.
...only for his back to crack.
On his side of the field emerged a Machoke, who started flexing.
...only for her back to crack as well.
Everyone cringed at the sound. "That sounded painful." Pia grimaced.
"Are you alright, Mr. Kenzo?" Es asked as the gang came over.
"I guess we're both a little rusty..." Kenzo groaned painfully.
Chigusa came over. "Grandfather, you're in no condition to battle Shiro." She told him. "Me and Tona will take over."
"Ridiculous! You can't defeat someone like him!" Kenzo shouted his refusal, before he felt his back crack again.
"Yes I can!"
"Are you gonna let her battle me, or are you gonna lose your dojo's plaque by forfeit?" Shiro asked him.
"Grandfather, please!" Chigusa exclaimed. Kenzo struggled on what to do, before reluctantly agreeing to let Chigusa battle.
Now it was Chigusa and Tona facing Shiro and Lee. "In place of the Shihan, Kenzo, Chigusa will be battling with her Tona against Challenger Shiro and his Lee." Brock said, taking over as referee.
"I suppose facing a fellow evolution of Tyrogue is a good substitute." Lee said, taking a kicking stance.
"You better be ready to lose!" Tona exclaimed, getting ready as well.
"Battle begin!" Brock gave the call to start the match.
"Lee, use Rolling Kick!" Shiro commanded. Lee performs a roundhouse kick, but Tona blocks it.
"Not much kick to it." Tona smirked. "Let me show you a real Rolling Kick!" Lee took a defensive stance and blocked all of Tona's kicks.
"Maintain your rhythm and pursuit!" Chigusa commanded. Tona started kicking back and forth, but Lee kept blocking them all. "Use Rapid Spin, Tona!" Tona jumped on her head and started spinning.
"She's pretty fast." Tomo said, impressed by Tona's spinning speed.
"Tona's going to win." Misty said with confidence. Ash, Pia and Es, however, weren't convinced.
"Beautiful, Tona. Now, Triple Kick!" Chigusa commanded.
"Wait for my signal." Shiro said. Lee nodded and watched carefully as Tona spun in, and then the kicks came out. "It's coming from the left!" Lee dodged right. "From the right!" Lee dodged left. "From the left!" Lee dodged right.
"She dodged all three!?" Chigusa gasped.
"Low Sweep!" Lee kicked low, knocking Tona into the air and causing her to stop spinning, and then she followed up with Blaze Kick, knocking her into the ground.
"Tona!" Chigusa gasped. Things were looking bad.
"End this with High Jump Kick!" Shiro commanded. Lee jumped into the air and prepared for a diving kick, but the moment she reached the apex of her jump, a metal claw suddenly grabbed her.
"What the hell!?" Lee exclaimed, trying to break free. Everyone then heard laughter and saw the culprits.
"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted angrily.
"You guys again!?" Glimmer exclaimed, glaring at them.
"We were thinking of grabbing the Hitmontop, but this Hitmonlee's obviously stronger." Jessie said, smirking.
"So, we'll be leaving with her instead." James said.
"Off we go!" Meowth said as the trio were about to take off.
"I don't think so!" Ash exclaimed, performing an Aura-enhanced jump into the air, surprising Kenzo, Shiro and Chigusa as he punched the claw holding Lee, smashing it and freeing the Kicking Moemon.
"Incredible." Kenzo said in awe. Ash then fired an Aura Sphere at the blimp, sending Team Rocket flying.
The Aura Guardian landed on the ground and looked at Lee. "You alright?" Ash asked.
"Yes. Thank you." Lee said gratefully. Shiro also gave his thanks before returning Lee.
"We've battled enough for today." Shiro told Chigusa. "We'll be back tomorrow to settle this, Chigusa."
"Tona and I will be ready for you." Chigusa said. Shiro bowed before leaving to heal Lee.
That night, they were all in the house part of the dojo, sitting in the living room. Chigusa was getting pumped, waiting for tomorrow to defeat Shiro. "I'm afraid you will not succeed in tomorrow's match after the display you showed today." Kenzo told his granddaughter in a disappointed tone.
"What are you talking about? I could've won." Chigusa argued.
"Had Team Rocket not interfered, you would've surely lost!" Kenzo snapped. "You need more training!"
"What kind of training?"
Ash was thinking back to Chigusa's battle with Shiro, before standing up and looking at her. "Chigusa, why don't we have a battle right now?" Ash requested. "And this isn't about be being Shihan. I just want to show you a big problem with your battle style."
"I don't see anything wrong with how I battle." Chigusa argued, before standing up. "But if you want a battle, I'll give you one."
Everyone walked outside as Chigusa and Ash took their places, with Kenzo as the referee. "Rio, I choose you!" Ash called out Rio.
"I figured that as an Aura Guardian, you would have a Lucario." Kenzo grinned at Ash.
"You're a Steel type, aren't you?" Tona asked. "That means I have the advantage!"
"Type advantage means nothing." Rio said calmly as she took a battle stance.
"Battle begin!" Kenzo declared.
"Tona, Rolling Kick!" Chigusa commanded. Tona perform a roundhouse kick, but Rio calmly blocked the kick, as well as the series of kicks that follow.
"Force Palm." Ash calmly commanded. Rio blocked another kick before thrusting her palm at Tona, striking her in the chest and knocking her back.
"Regain you rhythm with Rapid Spin!" Chigusa commanded. Tona jumped onto her head and started spinning.
Ash and Rio carefully watched Tona's leg movement as she spun in, and then the Triple Kick came out. "From the left." Ash said. Rio dodged right. "From the right." Rio dodged left. "Block left." Rio reached out to her left and caught the final incoming kick, completely stopping Tona's spinning, showing the Rio had grabbed her tail.
"Uh oh!" Tona gasped, before Rio swung her around Mario style and threw her high into the air. The Lucario then jumped, using Extreme Speed to quickly get above Tona as the Hitmontop's eyes widened.
"Aura Sphere!" Ash gave the final command. Rio formed an azure sphere of Aura and fired it at point-blank, blasting Tona to the ground and knocking her unconscious.
"The match is over!" Kenzo declared. "Ash and Rio are the stronger team!"
"Well done, Rio." Ash prasied, getting a nod in return.
"Ash, how did you beat Tona's kicks?" Chigusa asked, wanting an answer to her loss.
"All I did was pay attention to Tona's movements." Ash answered. "You kept your attacks at a rhythm, so all I had to do was have Rio block at that same rhythm. You're also far too reliant on Tona's spinning ability that even if she can attack while spinning, the opponent can easily dodge and counterattack as long as they watch her leg movements. Long story short, stop relying on spinning so much."
Kenzo agreed with Ash and said his piece. "Young Ash is right, Chigusa. It is true that spinning is a great offence, but it makes it difficult for Tona to defend herself from another Moemon's attacks. You put your Moemon in danger."
"I...never thought of that." Chigusa said silently, thinking her grandpa and Ash were right.
"Neither did I." Tona said sadly. "Maybe Ash should be Shihan."
Ash sighed. "You guys were so wrapped up in this that you didn't even ask me if I wanted the job." He said, getting their attention. "Chigusa, being a Shihan is a great honor, but it's an honor I don't need. You have the chance to have it, but you have to work harder than you ever had before. You up for it?"
Chigusa and Tona looked at each other, before facing Ash. "Yes, we are." They said.
Ash smirked. "Then let's get back to training. We've got a long night ahead of us."
"Right!"
All night, both trainers and Moemon did nothing but battle and battle.
The next day, Chigusa and Tona, both bruised from their training last night, faced off against Shiro and Lee. Thanks to Ash's training and teaching last night, Chigusa and Tona battled better than yesterday. Chigusa paid close attention to Lee's movements and didn't rely on Tona's spinning so much this time. Soon, Lee was defeated by a surprise upwards Rapid Spin kick from Tona. "That was unexpected. Good job, Lee." Shiro said, returning Lee. "Now I see why your dojo is held in such regard, Kenzo."
Kenzo nodded. "I see you are gracious in defeat." He said. Shiro bowed and took his leave.
As the sun was setting, Chigusa and Kenzo saw the gang off. "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble, Ash." Chigusa apologized.
"There wasn't really any to begin with." Ash shrugged, accepting her apology.
"I still have a lot to learn, so my grandfather is going to teach me how to be a Shihan."
"I'm getting too old for training." Kenzo said.
Chigusa looked at him with shock. "But we have to keep our traditions!"
Kenzo slowly smiled. "Well, I suppose I could show you a thing or two." He said, making his granddaughter and Tona smile as well.
"I'm sure you'll make a great Shihan." Misty said.
"She has a great teacher." Kyuubei smiled.
The gang then bowed goodbye and left.
Today, the gang was at a stream as Ash and Misty were training their Moemon. Ash was training Priere and Fuyuku with the help of Serah and Lila and Lily, while Misty was focusing on training Deen, who she honestly hasn't as much, compared to her other Moemon. The Goldeen knew a lot of good moves, though, so she was a strong battler despite lack of training. As they neared the end of their training, though, Deen suddenly glowed a bright light and evolved into Seaking.
Deen wore an elegant red and white dress and had shining black eyes. She had red and white streaked hair flowing down her back, with a horn sticking out of her hair.
"Wow, Deen, you evolved!" Misty said happily.
"Indeed I have." Deen smiled.
"I'm happy that we're all getting stronger." Hiei said, smiling. Besides her and Deen, Misty had Abigail, Starry, Nyo and Toto.
"I can't wait until I'm strong enough to become a Carrocosta." Abigail said excitedly, before looking at Nyo. "What about you, Nyo? You use evolution items to become either Poliwrath or Politoed."
"I want to be a Politoed." Nyo said. "But, I think I need more experience before I evolve."
"Well, there's no need to rush yourself." Misty said kindly.
Suddenly, a Moemon came out of nowhere and punched Nyo really hard, making her cry out in pain. "Nyo!" Misty's Moemon cried out. Abigail, Starry and Toto went to their friend's side while Deen and Hiei glared at the attacker, who was a Poliwrath. She wore a blue and white shirt with a spiral marking on the front, and a blue skirt, and had blue hair down her back, with black eyes.
"How dare you attack our friend like that!" Hiei growled.
"Because it's what she deserves." The Poliwrath said, frowning. "I don't understand why a Legendary Moemon is hanging out with a bunch of wimps."
"Excuse me!?" Hiei snarled. "Just who are you calling wimps!?"
"Who do you think I'm talking about?" The Poliwrath asked nonchalantly, pointing to the unevolved Moemon. "The Poliwhirl, the Tirtouga, the Staryu and the Totodile. None of them have evolved yet."
"Hey, just because they haven't evolved yet, that doesn't mean they aren't strong Moemon." Es said firmly, deciding to butt in. "Moemon can be strong even without evolving. Pia is a prime example of this."
The Poliwrath scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Tell that to my Master."
"So, you have a trainer." Deen said, eyes narrowed. From the sound of it, the Poliwrath's trainer believes Moemon only have real value when they evolve.
"Well, whoever your trainer is, I'll gladly beat his ass in a Moemon Battle!" Misty snarled.
The Poliwrath smirked. "As much as he would want to take up your challenge, he has important business to attend to." She said. "Later." As the Poliwrath walked off, Misty was growling angrily, wanting to beat up the bastard who would think of her Moemon as wimps.
The gang were just about to walk down a road, when they noticed a lot of people with fishing rods. "Where are those people going?" Priere asked curiously.
"Don't know." Ash said, before approaching one of the fishermen. "Excuse me, what's going on?" He asked.
"The Seaking-Catching Competition is today." The fisherman replied.
"Seaking-Catching Competition?" Deen repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Sounds interesting." Ash said with interest. "Why don't we go check it out?"
"Another contest." Youko mused. "And to think, Master and his siblings had participated in the Bug-Catching Contest not even a week ago."
The Seaking competition was held at a gigantic lake, and lots of people with fishing rods were there. The man who was in charge of the competition explained the rules to them:
1. Those who enter the competition need to use only one Moemon to help them catch the biggest Seaking they could find.
2. They could use any rod, reel, lure and bait that they want.
3. They can only use a special Moe Ball called a Lake Ball to catch the Seaking.
4. After the time is up, all caught Seaking must be measured to see who wins. The winner receives a gold trophy and lots of candy bars.
'This is a lot like the Bug-Catching Competition.' Ash thought.
"Um, guys? You might wanna look over there." Glimmer said, pointing in a direction. Everyone looked where she was pointing and saw a familiar Poliwrath standing with a man with blue-green hair.
"That's the Poliwrath that insulted my Moemon!" Misty exclaimed angrily.
"So that man is her trainer?" Pia asked with a frown.
"Oh, him? That's Andreas. He's won the competition lots of times before with his Poliwrath, Raika." The host explained.
Misty wasn't impressed; she was still angry at him for his Poliwrath insulting her Moemon. "I'm going to beat him in this Seaking-Catching Competition." She declared. "I have been fishing since I've learnt how to walk. I'm going to make him pay for insulting my Moemon." Misty entered the competition with Nyo immediately, while Ash decided to give it a go with Priere. The others just decided to watch Ash and Misty compete in the competition. They found a motor boat, got their rods ready, and soon it was time for the competition to start.
Brock drove the motor boat to a fishing spot by Misty's directions. Misty knew exactly where the perfect spots for fishing were, having fished millions of times in the past. So far, Ash and Misty hadn't caught anything yet; fishing always took time.
Meanwhile, Andreas had caught quite a big Seaking. "Oh, you again." The Seaking said, having recognized him.
"Yeah, me again." Andreas said, before letting her go. Andreas's strategy was that after he had caught a Seaking, he would release her and go for a bigger Seaking. Misty wasn't giving up though; she was desperate to defeat Andreas.
Some moments later, Misty felt a change in the wind and gathered her things. "Where are we going, Mistress?" Nyo asked.
"The wind is perking up, so the Seaking will be swimming to a different spot in the lake." Misty explained.
The gang moved the boat to a different spot to fish. A minute later, Ash hooked up a big Seaking. "Balloon!" Priere exclaimed, blowing a water balloon that held the Seaking, allowing Ash to catch it easily.
"Nice work, Priere." Ash praised. Just then, Andreas hooked up and caught a massive Seaking.
"Oh yeah, this one's a winner!" Andreas smirked, deciding to keep the Seaking he just caught.
"That looked like a really big Seaking." Glimmer said, worried for Ash and Misty.
The redhead frowned. "No choice, then." She said. "Time to use one of my Misty Lures!"
"Misty Lures?" Everyone repeated with confusion, not knowing what 'Misty Lures' are. Apparently, they were lures Misty created for herself, and they looked like her, only smaller and with a different decoration. One lure had Misty holding out all ten fingers. Another looked like a normal lure, just with Misty's head on it. The third had Misty wearing a cape. The last one had Misty doing a peace sign.
"A little narcissistic, don't you think?" Ash asked with a sweatdrop.
"I was a little kid when I made these." Misty said, tying one of her Misty Lures onto the string and applying the bait. "And I had caught Cruela using them." Misty cast the lure into the lake, and ten seconds later, she hooked a massive Seaking and caught it with Nyo's help.
"Wow." Pia said in amazement.
"If it works, don't knock it." Misty smiled.
When time was up, all the caught Seaking were measured and scaled, and soon a surprising announcement came. "Your attention, please!" The host called. "For the first time ever in the Seaking-Catching Competition, there has been a tie for first place!"
"A tie!" Misty gasped.
"Something tells me it's between you and Andreas, Misty." Ash said.
"The trainers competing for first place and Andreas Balther and Misty Waterflower!" The host announced, proving Ash correct. "The judges have decided that there will be a Moemon Battle between the two and the Moemon they registered with to decide the victor!"
"A battle against a wimpy Poliwhirl?" Andreas smirked arrogantly. "I may as well have already won."
Misty heard him and was quite angry and even more determined to beat him. "Let's show him what we're made of, Nyo!"
"Yeah!" Nyo nodded.
The battle took place on a water battlefield on the lake, with Nyo and Raika ready to battle. "I hope Nyo will be okay." Glimmer said, worried for her friend. "She's up against one of her evolved forms."
"Don't worry." Es assured. "Raika may have evolved, but Misty is a Gym Leader, so she knows how to train her Moemon."
"Battle begin!" The referee announced.
"Nyo, use Bubble!" Misty commanded.
"Dodge those bubbles, then use Hydro Pump!" Andreas commanded. Nyo dodged the bubbles and fired a blast of pressurized water in retaliation. However, even though it made contact, it did absolutely nothing.
"Water Absorb?" Raika said, frowning. "No matter. Submission!" She then rolled towards Nyo and hit her, knocking her to the ground.
"Damn you..." Nyo growled as she stood up. She took a lot of damage from the attack, but she wasn't giving up. She wants to pay Raika back for insulting her and her friends. "Mega Punch!" Nyo punched Raika hard in her cheek, and then followed up with Double Slap, making her flinch back.
"Show her your Mega Punch!" Andreas commanded. Raika tried to punch Nyo, but the pre-evolution nimbly dodged all the punches.
"Nyo, use Psychic!" Misty commanded.
"What!?" Andreas shouted, watching in shock as Nyo lifted Raika into the air with her psychic power.
"They totally didn't see that coming." Es smirked. She and Sophia had worked together to teach Nyo Psychic.
"Now slam her to the ground and use Hydro Pump!" Misty commanded. Nyo smirked and slammed Raika into the floor, and then blasted her with her Hydro Pump, not only sending her flying out of the ring, but knocking her unconscious as well. Thus, Misty won the Seaking-Catching Competition and got the gold trophy and lots of chocolate bars.
Andreas congratulated Misty and apologized for calling her Moemon wimps. Misty sent her gold trophy to the Cerulean Gym and some candy bars to her sisters. She also sent chocolate bars to Brock's family, Delia, Professor Oak and Tracey.
"And that leaves the rest for us." Misty said, looking over the remaining chocolate bars, before she heard the sounds of a Moe Ball opening.
"Food?" Laxi said, eyeing the chocolate bars hungrily.
"I almost forgot I brought Laxi today." Ash chuckled good-heartedly. "Don't eat too much, Laxi. Brock and I are gonna make dinner later on."
"...I suppose I can wait." The Snorlax said. It's not often that she'll wait for food, but it's worth it for Ash's and Brock's cooking.
Chapter 42 DONE!
Ash didn't really get a Bug Pokémon from the Bug-Catching Contest in the anime, so I decided to give him one in my story. It was a struggle between a Volcarona or a Shiny Bug Moemon, but I ultimately chose the Volcarona, and thus, we have Youko.
Next is the whole Dojo debate. True, being a team with your Pokémon/Moemon is important, but why did Ash not say that he won because he carefully read Hitmontop's movements in the anime?
Last is the Seaking episode. Honestly, I love it when an unevolved Pokémon/Moemon beats their evolution and proves arrogant trainers that Pokémon/Moemon don't need to evolve to become strong. It's an oddly satisfying feeling to me.
Quite a few competitions this time, and there's more to come next chapter. See you guys then!