Chapter 35: Goopool Swamp Part 1
Once Ash, Alice, Delia arrive at the entrance to the Goopool Swamp, Rodney is battling a person in front of them. The person has a Pharobe and it defeats his Salaslam.
"I lost..." Rodney sighs. "You are so strong."
"Why thank you." The girl says. "And we seem to have some audience as well."
Rodney turn around and he says, "Oh, guys, you made it. Well, the surfboard we got from the Professor is really useful. And you see, this is the entrance of Goopool Swamp."
"I see." Alice says, "Goopool Swamp is said to be a mysterious area...but we don't need to worry about that, right?"
"Of course, not if I am with you." The girl says, "It has been a while since I last see you, Ash."
"Not again..." Ash says as he is being rubbed of his hair. "Why do you and Wade like to do that to me? Gina?"
"Can't blame me since Mother has been keeping secrets about you all the time." Gina laughs.
Alice asks, "Gina...is that the name of your sister?"
Rodney says, "Wait, you are Ash's sister?"
Ash sighs and says, "Of course, she is my sister Gina, and she is also a ghost lover."
Gina sighs, "The last one is really unnecessary. But yeah, I love ghosts."
Rodney says, "No wonder you beat me with a team full of ghosts. By the way, Ash. Have you seen those rocks on the beach? You are able to smash them with Rock Smash. But there is another way, you can use the Hammer."
As he gives him the hammer, he gives a look of are you serious. Rodney notices it and says, "I bought one for me, but I also thought that it will be a help for you and Keira. So you can take it."
"Thanks, I guess." Alice says. "But why do we need to smash rocks?"
Gina says, "I heard that there are smashable rocks all over the region, and there are some rare items under the rocks. How cool is that?"
"Really? I think you just like to see if there are any Pokemon underneath it." Delia says as Gina sighs, "You're right, Mom."
After Rodney leaves, they all enter the Goopool Swamp.
Once they arrive at the Goopool Swamp, all they can see is the fog. Alice says, "I can't see anything..."
"Me too." Ash says. "Gina, so you said that you train here a lot often?"
"Yeah." Gina says. "It is mysterious and I like it."
But without seeing anything, Alice bumps into something that is very spiky. "What is that?"
Just then, the spiky ball starts to change its form, and then it tries to use Spiky Shield. Gina says, "Don't worry, that is a Toxidon."
Ash is of course excited for the new Pokemon, he then takes out the Dusk Ball and capture the Pokemon, and much to their surprise, it is a success.
Toxidon: The Quill Pokemon: Poison Type. When startled, Toxidon roll up into a ball shape, using the spikes on its back to defend itself from attackers. Contrary to popular belief, however, they cannot roll well.
"So you are going to capture all of the Pokemon here as well?" Alice asks.
"Of course." Ash says. "But this place looks really spooky, so does that mean there are Ghost Type Pokemon as well?"
Gina says, "Of course. And I can see one there."
They see a bunch of pumpkins and Alice asks, "A Pumpkaboo is hiding there?"
"Nope, Pumpkaboo is from Kalos." Gina says and then they see the bug like Pokemon eating one. Ash then sends out his Terraz to battle. And then with the super effective Acrobatics, the Pokemon faints and Ash captures the Pokemon. Terraz also evolves into a new Pokemon who looks like an Aerodactyl.
Terravolt: The Winged Finger Pokemon: Electric and Flying Type. Evolved from Terraz at LV:32. Terravolt leads flocks of Terraz, making sure they are able to keep up. Yet, at the same time Terravolt themselves cannot keep flying for a long time either.
Halloweed: The False Plant Pokemon: Ghost and Bug Type. Holloweed's main diet are pumpkins, with them being able to hide among pumpkin plants and gorge on them without being noticed.
But after Ash sends the Halloweed out, it starts to glow and then it becomes a surprise to the group. "Already?"
And then the newly evolved Pokemon tries to attack Ash, but Ash uses the Pumpkin to stop it, much to everyone's relief.
Hallowkin: The False Plant Pokemon: Ghost and Bug Type. Evolved from Halloweed at LV:32. Even in the murky darkness of the swamp, Hollowkin are able to hunt thanks to their soul-piercing glowing eyes and their keen sense of detecting vibrations.
"What a relief..." Ash sighs as the Hallowkin finally opens up to Ash. Gina notices it and says, "Well, Ash, I have some Dusk Stones, why don't you give it to him so it can evolve further?"
"Are you sure?" Ash asks as she nods. Then he gives the stone to Hallowkin, and then the Pokemon becomes a rotten pumpkin like appearance.
Rottoween: The False Plant Pokemon: Ghost and Bug Type. Evolved from Hallowkin with a Dusk Stone. Every October, swarms of Rottoween would appear from the swamps to hunt. This led to a tradition where people put jack-o-lanterns around their house to keep them away.
"So that is why we often make Jack-o-lanterns." Ash says, "That's new."
Ash uses the second one to evolve his Napkid, and it becomes a human like appearance with bedsheets over it.
Phansheet: The Bed Sheet Pokemon: Ghost Type. Evolved from Napkid with a Dusk Stone. Phansheet wraps itself around Pokémon and human alike, sapping their life energy in the meantime. This does little more than putting the targets to sleep, thankfully.
"I see." Ash says, "I think that we have to be careful from now on." Alice nods at his words.
As they step into the swamp, they are walking really slowly as Alice says, "I really don't like this place...my legs are a mess..."
"Don't worry, after this is over, there will be sea up ahead." Gina says.
But just then, they see something approaching Gina and Ash yells, "Watch out!"
Gina turns around and sighs, "Don't worry, Ash." He takes out the wand and the light scares the Pokemon. "What is that?"
"A Swampheap. It does that to preys." Gina says as Ash captures the Pokemon.
Swampheap: The Lurking Pokemon: Dark and Grass Type. In a dark environment such as swamps, Swampheap are able to fully blend themselves into the area, dragging unaware preys into their jaws.
"I see...we really need to be careful here." Ash says.
Then they see a frog taking some tadpoles swimming by, and Alice asks, "What are they?"
"They are Purpole and the middle one must be Frogoo." Gina says as Ash scans them.
Purpole: The Slimy Pokemon: Poison Type. Purpole secretes venomous slime on its body on a regular basis. While contact with it will not cause lethal harm, it is still enough to cause severe pain.
Frogoo: The Slimy Pokemon: Poison Type. Frogoo do not mind living in murky and polluted water, the toxic flowing through their body counteracting any possible harm the water can cause to them.
And they see that one of the Purpole has evolved into Frogoo, but when that newly evolved Frogoo sees Ash, he suddenly rushes to him. "Ash...is that you?"
Ash says, "Wait, another one our my killed friends?"
Gina sees it and says, "You're right. You see, I was also there when Mother brings the souls to the new body. And if I remember, it is Palpitoad."
"Palpitoad? Is that really you?"
The frog nods, much to the other Purpole and the Frogoo's confusion, then Frogoo tells them everything as they are surprised to know that it was once a Palpitoad. And they are happy that he reunites with his family. So Ash recaptures the Pokemon.
Then after bidding farewell to the Purpole and Frogoo, they see some Pokemon inside the bubble. "And they must be Aqlarva." Gina says.
Ash scans the Pokemon and then he tells Jellitot to battle it. And the female one evolves and also defeats the Aqlarva, causing it to be caught.
Jellinip: The Toxic Jelly Pokemon: Water and Poison Type. Evolved from Jellitot (F) at LV:32. Using their many tentacles, Jellinip entangles their foes, then submerges them in toxic clouds. The cloud of poison decomposes in a few minutes, though.
Aqlarve: The Larva Pokemon: Bug and Water Type. Aqlarva keeps a bubble of water around it when it is out of water. In dry areas, it is a necessity for trainers to provide it with additional water supply.
As they continue forward, they hear some scream. Alice says, "What's wrong here?"
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Ash says.
Just then, two Team Lunar grunts appear and the male one says, "Oh my god! Did you hear our cries?!"
"Team Lunar? What are you doing here?" They start to do some battle pose.
The female one says, "We were just looking in the graveyard for something special...but then a creepy man appeared out of nowhere!"
"So it is a ghost, huh?" Gina says.
"What? You mean he could be a ghost?" The female one asks.
"Stop joking, ghosts doesn't exist." The male one says.
"Maybe, or maybe not." Gina says.
"We should go back, Commander Scarlett sure isn't happy with us running away because of this ghostly guy..."
"Mhh..., you look really familiar..." The male one says, "I remember you two, you're the kids who battled us in Dullfern Forest in front of the eyes of Commander Scarlett!"
"Because of you, our commander was really angry about us! Mercifully she didn't tell Leader Derek!"
"Derek? Is that their boss' name?" Ash asks Alice as she shrugs.
"This must be fate, we had to battle you again, and your time has come!" The female says.
Then they send out Monstrap and Widox, Ash and Alice sends out Jellitot to battle. And in the end, the spider and the fly trap Pokemon are defeated by the evolution and the Ice Beam.
Jellitic: The Cold Jelly Pokemon: Water and Ice Type. Evolved from Jellitot (M) at LV:32. Jellitic shields themselves from attackers with ice shields formed instantaneously. However, they discard these every time, not having the strength to move them.
"Nice job, Jello." Alice says as she pets the Pokemon.
"Urgh...we lost again..." The male grunt says.
"Luckily, Commander Scarlett wasn't here to see our defeat..." The female one says in relief, but they are wrong as a person appears behind them.
"I've seen enough to tell you fools that you have failed again!" Scarlett yells at them, Ash says, "Great, more problems."
The two grunts look like they have seen a ghost as the male one begs, "Commander Scarlett! I'm sorry for running away..."
"Please forgive me Commander! But this creepy man was so scary..."
"Scared? What has come over you!? How will you survive in Team Lunar's world of chaos, if you are scared by a ghostly guy!?" Scarlett gives them a cold glare.
"We are so sorry, Commander Scarlett!" The male says.
Scarlett face palms and she says, "Ahh, you two are hopeless...You can consider yourself lucky that I will be still your Commander in our new world! But in addition to running away, you two lost to these twerps again!"
Alice says, "Who are you calling twerps!"
Ash sighs, "Alice, it is fine, I am already used to it."
Scarlett sees the group and says, "Even though you change a person...it seems that you are chasing us...as the queen and the prince, you really like to place yourself in danger, mhh?"
Delia says, "I won't be so sure about that."
"It's time for a lesson, I've waited for this after our first battle." Scarlett says to Ash.
"If you want to face my brother, then you will have to get past me." Gina says.
"Is that supposed to scare me? Goons, out of my way, this twerpette is mine!" Then Scarlett sends out her Taraterror while Gina sends out her own shiny Rottoween. Even though there is a type disadvantage for Gina, but the Trick-or-Treat and the Bug Bite causes her Pokemon to faint.
"Annoying...It's just one loss...you won't be able to stop our plans! Goons! We are leaving! I'm sure we won't find here what we came for..." As the grunts leave, Scarlett says, "Remember my words: In Team Lunar's world you have to obey what I'm saying!"
Then they disappear in the fog. Gina says, "So they were the ones who tries to steal the elemental stones and the crystals for Lunaro?"
"Yeah, they have the Earth Stone. But they won't succeed since we have the Core Stone." Alice says as she nods.
"Now let's ignore them for now, we should keep moving. But there is something suspicious, there is a graveyard?" Ash asks.
"Oh there is. In fact, our Dad is also buried there." Gina says as Ash is shocked. Delia sighs, "I guess I forgot to tell you about this?"
"How could you, mom?" Ash says as they move forward.
I wanted to make it a chapter, but there are too much that I am forced to split into two chapters, I hope you like it.