Hey all I'm back and ready with the new chapter. Thanks to Antex for the review. Also thanks to KoriSeiyuri and Zanuk for the favorite/follow. I do not own Pokemon.
CH 53 A Champion of a Time Part II
"Sceptile Agility!"
"Blacephalon Fire Blast!" Sceptile sped out of the way of the incoming fire which Ash took not of. He was not expecting it to be a fire type.
"Shadow Ball." Scratch that a ghost and fire type, Ash could not think of a more annoying combination in this instance.
"Leaf Blade" Sceptile sliced through the attack and kept charging forwards.
"Flamethrower!" Sceptile dodged the large stream of fire before charging towards Blacephalon again.
"Frenzy Plant!"
"Fire Blast." Vines and flames clashed briefly but the flames won as they scorched both Sceptile and his vines. Sceptile laid on the ground finally knocked out.
"You were amazing take a long rest," Ash said recalling Sceptile," I choose you Krookodile!"
"A logical choice on your part, Blacephalon Flamethrower."
"Krookodile Dark Pulse!" Dark energy shot out from Krookodile's mouth and cut through the flames only for Blacephalon to side-step the attack.
"Flame Charge." Blacephalon charged towards Krookodile covered in flames at high-speed.
"Grab it!" Krookodile stood his ground and dug his claws through the fire trying to grab Blacephalon. He slid back quite a bit but managed to hold onto the Ultra Beast.
"Mind Blown!" Both Ash and Krookodile were caught off guard when Blacephalon's head began shining before exploding. Krookodile was sent flying back as Blacephalon emerged with its head intact but damaged from recoil.
"Haven't seen an attack like that before," Ash wondered as he looked at Krookodile who got back up," you okay?" Krookodile nodded at Ash causing him to sigh in relief.
"It's amazing to see what these creatures are capable of, to think they existed while we were none the wiser," Giovanni said with amazement in his voice.
"Perhaps it would have been better if they remained hidden."
Giovanni laughed at Ash's response,"now why would you say that? Surely someone who aspires to be a Pokemon Master would at least be a little intrigued by such powerful and mysterious creatures. I thought meeting and learning about all the Pokemon you can was part of the road to that title. A master must be well versed in both their knowledge of battle and the ones they fight alongside and against."
"What makes you think you know anything about being a master?"
Giovanni took a moment to think before responding," I've seen many trainers in my time and I have met very few that would be worthy of that title. Take Alex, someone who has already defeated captured every known Ultra Beast. On the other hand, despite her personality, Marissa commands an overwhelming knowledge of battle strategery and every Pokemon's capabilities. They are examples of what I would consider master-class. But perhaps you could rank as such."
Ash wasn't sure if Giovanni was trying to compliment or mock him. He'd take his words to heart though, for the time being at least. The Rocket boss was rather unpredictable and certainly not trustworthy after all. The sooner they could stop him the better.
"Krookodile Sandstorm!" Krookodile let out a loud roar as sand began swirling around the field. Soon the field was starting to become difficult to see amidst all the sand. Blacephalon found itself getting hit by the extreme weather.
"Not a bad strategy, using the weather to inflict damage and hinder my Ultra Beast, Fire Spin." Blacephalon spun around shooting flames out trying to overcome the sandstorm. The flames, however, fizzled out as they collided with the sand.
"Krookodile Dark Pulse." The blast cut a path through the thick sand as Blacephalon tried to figure out from which direction it would come from. The attack hit it on the left side knocking it down with decent force.
"Shadow Ball!" Blacephalon fired back as it stood back up but the ball never hot Krookodile thanks to all the swirling sand.
"Crunch!" Krookodile charged through the sand seemingly disappearing before Blacephalon. Before it could react, Krookodile appeared behind Blacephalon biting down hard on one of its arms. Blacephalon began to wildly swing its arm around trying to get Krookodile off of it. Krookodile held on for as long as he could biting down until he was eventually shaken off of Blacephalon.
Krookodile skid back a few feet as Blacephalon launched another Fire Blast at him. Krookodile burrowed underground leaving the flames to fizzle out without hitting anything. Slowly he travelled underground leaving Blacephalon alone in the sandstorm. The Ultra Beast tried feeling the ground for Krookodile but his movements were too erratic to pin down.
"Just calm down and prepare yourself." Blacephalon acknowledged Giovanni as it stopped looking around so frantically. It stood as still as the sandstorm would allow it too, Blacephalon waited calmly for Krookodile to re-emerge from underground. After what seemed like an eternity, Krookodile popped back up behind Blacephalon and lashed out with teeth again. THis time, however, Blacephalon was prepared as Krookodile latched on.
"Mind Blown." Blacephalon's head began glowing again as a loud explosion rang out through the sand. The sandstorm finally subsided as both sides were knocked out. Both trainers recalled their Pokemon leaving them with three each.
"Go Celesteela!"
"Infernape I choose you!" As Infernape emerged, jagged rocks pricked him as Stealth Rock took effect.
"Celesteela Iron Defense."
"Infernape Mach Punch." Infernape shook off the rocks and flew forward pulling back his fist. Punching Celesteela with considerable force he didn't seem to make much of a dent.
'Great another one with tough as nails defense,' Ash groaned to himself as Infernape backed up a bit.
"Celesteela Heavy Slam." Celseteela jumped high into the air before crashing down towards Infernape who immediately rolled out of the way.
"Flame Charge!" Coated in flames, Infernape charged at Celesteela who had just crashed into the ground. Infernape slammed into it knocking it back a bit but nothing more.
"Gyro Ball!" Celesteela began to spin around wildly rapidly approaching Infernape who brought his arms up in a defensive stance. Celesteela spun into Infernape who slowly slid back from the impact.
"Close Combat!" Infernape dug his feet into the ground as he began punching back the still spinning Celesteela. Celesteela's spinning body clashed with Infernape's punches as the two tried pushing the other back. They pushed each other around forcefully before they both began to slow down. Celesteela stopped spinning and slid back as Infernape pursued it.
"Fire Punch!" Infernape ran forward before jumping into the air and charged downwards with his left fist enveloped in flames.
"Iron Defense." Infernape's attack hit the mark but Celesteela was unphased as embers fell onto the field.
"Flare Blitz!" Still close to Celesteela, Infernape covered himself in super hot flames and tackled the Ultra Beast with as much force as possible. This time Celesteela felt it as it was set ablaze from the intensity of the flames. Waves of fire poured off it and along the body as Infernape backed up.
"Gyro Ball," Celesteela began spinning again trying to get the flames off of its body. As it spun around the flames shot off into the ground melting parts of it, including the Stealth Rock he had set up earlier. It was unintentional but Ash would take it regardless. The ground continued to sizzle as most of the flames were casted off of Celesteela's body and onto the field. Seeing this Ash was reminded of his battle with Paul back at the Sinnoh League and got an idea
"Infernape go underground." Recognizing what he was up to, Infernape quickly dug his way underground.
Giovanni was unsure of what Ash was planning," Celesteela Iron Defense." Celesteela continued to raise its defense in anticipation of Infernape's next move.
Underground Infernape continued to dig around creating tunnels that ran along underneath the entire field. Giovanni still had no clue what he was aiming for as both he and Celesteela waited for the next moment to strike.
"Flamethrower!" The ground began to get hot as Infernape reemerged from the ground. However as he did the ground became red as it boiled with fire. Pillars of fire erupted from the ground and shot up towards the ceiling. The field was soon filled with fiery pillars trapping Celesteela. The Ultra Beast had nowhere to move as it was boxed in by the fire. It was fortunate that the building was resistant or the ceiling would have melted away by now. The ground under the trapped Celesteela cracked as Infernape popped out before slamming a fiery fst into the Ultra Beast. It staggered back almost getting knocked into one of the flame pillars.
After a few more seconds the fires finally died down leaving the field covered in scorch marks and melted in some places. Giovanni had not been expecting such an unorthodox strategy but it had proven to be effective. He relied on well thought out plans and calculations, it was obvious Ash did not operate the same way. The unpredictability would surely be a problem that would persist.
"Celesteela Metal Sound!" The Ultra Beast produced a shrill and overpowering noise that kept Infernape in his spot trying to block out the noise. He gripped his ears trying to drown it out but the noise was too loud. He dropped on one knee reeling from the noise as it overpowered him.
"Gyro Ball." Infernape was unable to dodge as he was still disoriented by the loud attack from before. AS Celesteela collided with him he was sent skidding back towards Ash. He just managed to stop himself from going past the edge of the field.
"Infernape you okay?" Ash asked as Infernape rubbed his ears which were still ringing. He gave Ash a nod trying to reassure him.
"Celesteela Heavy Slam." Celesteela launched itself upwards before coming crashing down towards Infernape.
"Don't move yet." Infernape nodded as he stood in place watching Celesteela fall closer. After a second or two he saw Ash nod from out of the corner of his eye. Infernape pivoted to the side and jumped out of the way barely dodging the attack.
"Flare Blitz!" Infernape crashed into Celesteela cloaked in flames at full force. The Ultra Beast could not dodge and was sent flying landing unconscious.
"Celesteela return," Giovanni said recalling it.
"You get some rest too Infernape."
"Nihilego come out." The jellyfish Ultra Beast emerged and floated in the air above the field.
"Pikachu your up!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu hopped onto the field in a crouched position waiting to battle Nihilego.
"So this is the Pikachu those buffons are so fixed on," Giovanni smirked," well let's see why they lose so often to him."
"Pikachu Quick Attack!" Pikachu sped across the field quickly gaining speed before crashing into Nihilego.
"Pika!" Pikachu slammed Nihilego back a bit before landing back on the ground.
"Nihilego Poison Jab." Nihilego coated one of its tentacles in poison before swinging it at Pikachu.
"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Pikachu flipped into the air dodging the attack before spinning around slamming his hardened tail onto Nihilego.
"Venoshock." Nihilego quickly grabbed Pikachu with one of its tentacles before shocking him with purple energy. This knocked Pikachu to the ground but since he was not poisoned the damage was only minor.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt!"
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu let loose a large blast of electricity shocking Nihilego who began swaying in the air a bit dazed.
"Power Gem." Nihilego generated several shiny rocks in front of it before shooting them towards Pikachu.
"Pikachu Counter Shield!" Pikachu began to discharge electricity as he spun around. The vortex of electricity knocked the rocks out of the air as they fell to the ground.
"Sludge Wave."
"Jump!" Pikachu jumped into the air dodging the attack.
"Rock Blat!" Nihilego blasted a series of large rocks at Piakchu who was still in the air. Thinking quickly he jumped along the tops of the rocks heading down towards Nihilego. As Pikachu jumped off the last rock he spun in the air before bringing down a powerful Iron Tail onto Nihilego. The jellyfish flinched from the force of the impact as it fell down to the ground. It managed to stop itself from hitting the field as Pikachu charged back in with a Quick Attack.
Nihilego launched off a series of Sludge Bombs at the advancing Pikachu. Pikachu weaved his way through the oncoming attacks, the large chunks of poison hitting the field and slowly disintegrating parts of it. Pikachu kept charging until he reached the Ultra Beast slamming into it.
"Grab him!" As Pikachu collided with Nihilego it braced the attack before wrapping its tentacles around Pikachu. It began to grip tighter preventing Pikachu from escaping.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" Taking advantage of a bad situation Pikachu shocked Nihilego at point blank range. The jellyfish responded by firing a Sludge Bomb right back at Pikachu as he fell out from its tentacles/
"Volt Tackle!" Pikachu fought through the pain and hit Nihilego with everything he could muster. Nihilego fell back paralyzed as Pikachu was suffering from poison. Giovanni knew Nihilego could not take anymore damage so he decided to cut his losses and let it take the fall. Thanks to the poison he knew Pikachu would be out of commission for the time being.
"Return Nihilego," Giovanni recalled it to Ash's surprise.
"You come on back Pikachu," Ash said picking him up and putting him back at his side," why did you recall it?"
"It was obvious it wouldn't last much longer so I'll take it as a loss. I still have my strongest left after all."
Meanwhile:
Gary, Anabel and Alex arrived in a large chamber underneath the base. In the center of the room was some form of a large gate.
"What the heck is that?" Anabel asked as she inspected the mysterious gate.
"Looks like something for an Ultra Wormhole," Alex said looking it over," seems man made so I assume Team Rocket built it."
"Alex is right, Marissa and I found others like this scattered throughout the area. We figured it was them trying to figure out how to create a stable wormhole without the need for an Ultra Beast.
"Speaking of Marissa, where is she?" Anabel asked Gary who sighed in response.
"We got separated on the way here not sure where she…" Gary was cut off when one of the nearby walls three jumped from the sudden explosion.
"I'm right here!" They turned to see Marissa stepping over the rubble that was once the wall.
"Why do you insist on blowing everything up?" Anabel asked her obviously annoyed by her behavior.
"No walls can contain me, they can only crumble in my wake!" The three just opted to ignore her as they went back to the gate.
"So you think they actually got this to work?"
"Well they didn't seem to have luck with the others we found," Gary answered Alex.
"Though this one could be another story," Anabel said to which Gary and Alex nodded.
"Hey stop pretending I'm not here!" Marissa exclaimed as she stomped her foot in frustration.
"Did you find anything since we got split up?" Gry asked finally acknowledging her.
"Hmph I didn't but nice to see you acknowledge me."
"Looker said the last of our reinforcements have arrived,"Anabel said looking at her X-Transceiver," the Galar Champion Gloria is here and…"
"Oh hell no that witch is here?" Anabel was curtly cut off by Marissa.
"You know her?" Anabel asked confused by Marissa's angry reaction.
"Sure do we met at a fashion show before she became champion, she's a cocky, vain, vulgar, money obsessed and manipulative man-eater!"
The three were not sure how to respond to her description of the Galar champion. Marissa was enough of a handful but now they would have to deal with her hatred of this new ally. Anabel took a moment to pick her response as she did not want to escalate the already bad relationship.
"Look you obviously have issues with her but that cannot disrupt the mission. Ami clear Marissa?" Anabel asked with a bit of force in her voice.
"As long as she doesn't antagonize me then that won't be an issue."
"Why are girls such a pain?" Gary whispered to Alex who chose not to answer as he did not want to get dragged into the mess. The tension was broken up when the gate began to glow.
"Why is it glowing?" Marissa asked as the others turned their attention back to it.
"An Ultra Wormhole must be opening, not sure by what though," Alex said as the wormhole appeared.
"Just be prepared for whatever pops out of it,' Gary said as they readied their Pokemon. However after a few minutes nothing appeared from it.
The four looked at eachother confused as they all had expected something to appear from it. Another few seconds passed as a loud noise began to ring out from beyond the wormhole. They were all surprised when Necrozma slowly appeared from the wormhole only to stay floating in place.
"Why is it not doing anything?" Anabe asked Gary.
"No clue maybe it's waiting for something or someone," Gary answered not entirely sure himself.
Alex could feel one of his Poke ball's shaking," Solgaleo seems to be reacting to it."
"From what I saw in their files Necrozma has some relation to Solgaleo and Lunala, not sure about the exact details though.
"We need to get everyone here now, we have no clue what this thing is capable of," Anabel said as she ran off.
"What about us?" Alex called out after her.
"Just keep your eyes on it!" Anabel shouted back before running off.
"Great babysitting an extremely dangerous creature we know nothing about," Marissa mumbled.
"I don't know if we can deal with this between just us," Alex said looking it over," it seems to be asleep for now so that gives us some time."
The others just nervously nodded hoping the others could get there before it woke up.
