Battle Frontier Part 3
"Are you sure that we are on the right way?" Lillie asks Max as they find themselves lost while trying to locate the Battle Factory.
"But that is why my PokeNav says so..." Max frowns.
"I think we should start setting up camp for the night." Ash sighs as they stop and the prepare their stuff.
While they take a few minutes to admire the moon, a bit of snow blows by, and they see something fly overhead.
"Hey, look, it is Articuno!" Max says.
"What?" This causes Ash and Lillie to get surprised as they see the same Pokemon, not only that, it is soon joined in flight by a small malfunctioning biplane, but both seemingly crash.
Ash and his friends have been walking around trying to find Articuno again, but they don't find it, but they find the Pokemon Center. They spend the night there, and the local Nurse Joy promises to give them directions to the Battle Factory in the morning.
"So you want to find the direction of the Battle Factory, then-"
"How about I show them where it is?" They turn around and see Scott.
"Scott! It is good to see you again." Ash says.
"No problem, come into my car, I'll take you there." Scott says.
It turns out that Scott is every bit as insane a driver as Professor Birch, and he takes a shortcut. Fortunately, everyone survives the trip. "Are you guys okay?" Scott asks the others who are flat like Muk.
Lillie groans, "Tell me to not ride on a car again…"
They are about to enter the Battle Factory when they hear the noise of an engine. A large vehicle smashes through the doors of the Factory and nearly runs the group down.
"Oh, no. It is out of control!" They hear a voice from inside the vehicle, Ash says, "Then we have to help him." He sends out Steelix and then he manages to stop the machine. A hatch opens on top of the vehicle, and Noland emerges.
"Geez, this thing doesn't listen to me…Thanks for your help." Noland says.
"Everyone, this is Noland, how about you do the introduction?" Scott asks.
"Sure. I am the Factory Head Noland. I am the Frontier Brain."
Noland goes on to introduce the vehicle as the Noland J-9, his latest and greatest super-machine. He is interrupted by his assistant Sergio, who runs out and, rather exasperated, asks, "Boss? Have you been playing around with that thing again?"
"I wasn't playing. It is my hobby." Noland says back and then he says, "So Scott, who are these kids?"
Ash steps forward and says, "I am Ash, I want to challenge you to a battle."
Noland says, "I see, you are the Johto, Orange Islands and Hoenn Champion that Scott told us about. Very well, but I won't let you challenge me this easily."
"What do you mean?" Ash asks.
Then Sergio calls out, "It's Pokeblock Time." And about a dozen powerful-looking Pokémon come running. May's Munchlax also comes out of its Poké Ball to join them in the meal.
"Hey, Munchlax, what are you doing?" May yells as she tries to recall him back.
"It's fine, there is plenty of Pokéblock for everyone." Sergio says.
"Wow, there are a lot of Pokemon." Ash says.
"Indeed. More Pokemon give more possibilities for battles. But they are the rental Pokemon here in this facility."
"Rental Pokemon? What do you mean?" Lillie asks.
"In this facility, we won't be using our Pokemon to battle, instead, we let Challengers pick the rental Pokemon to fight." Noland says.
"What? So we have to command Pokemon that we didn't get to bond with?" Ash asks in shock.
"Of course, that makes the battle more interesting." Noland says. "And if you win 20 Battles in a row, then I will be glad to face you."
Ash then grins and says, "I accept the challenge."
Then in the whole afternoon, Ash is having 20 one of one battles in the factory, it doesn't take too long that May and Max get tired by watching them. Max asks, "Scott, does all the Battle Frontier Facilities are like this?"
"It depends on the Frontier Brain." Scott says.
"But I don't feel bored from it." This causes May and Max to look at Lillie. "Well, by watching every battle, you can see a lot of different strategy."
"You're right, it may be useful in the Contests as well." May says.
After the 20th battle is finished with the Fearow defeating the Pinsir. Noland appears while clapping his hands. "Good job, Ash. Now your 21th opponent is going to be me. From all the battles I have seen, you sure have a lot of knowledge about the Pokemon."
"Thanks. I almost have every one of them, so I know how to battle well." Ash says, "But can we battle tomorrow, I feel kinda tired after 20 battles without resting."
"Of course. To come up with those strategies in a day is no small feet, I can tell why you are a Champion level." Noland says.
Then they all go outside since they are going to feed the Pokemon with Pokeblocks. Ash says, "Noland, can I have a request?"
"What is it?" Noland asks.
"Can I battle my Pokemon as the final match tomorrow? I want to show the bonds of Pokemon in the battle." Ash says.
"Well… The rules are that you need to use rental Pokemon, but this time I will let you use your Pokemon."
Ash thanks him and then Noland also lets him choose the Pokemon that he wants to battle with. This causes Ash in a dilemma. Does he want to face Venusaur, the final form of Bulbasaur? Rhyhorn, for a test of power? Machamp, with its Fighting-type moves? While he's considering the options, Munchlax grabs one of the bowls of Pokéblock, and runs off into a nearby building.
"Munchlax! Where are you going?" May yells as she and Max chase him, and then find him standing on a crate, eating Pokéblock in private.
"Hey, this was the airplane that we saw in the previous night." Max says.
And then, a cold breeze starts blowing, causing them to shiver. "Did Munchlax learn an Ice-Type Move?"
"But it isn't Blizzard or Icy Wind..." Max says.
The truth is revealed moments later, as Articuno arises from behind Munchlax, then soars out of the building. Ash, Lillie are still talking to Scott and Noland until they notice the Legendary Pokemon.
"Articuno?" Lillie asks as she is pushed down to the ground by the bird.
"Stop it, it tickles." Lillie says with a laugh.
"So it seems to know you, huh?" Noland asks.
"Yeah, Articuno is our Pokemon." Ash says. "And we caught it back in the Orange Islands."
Noland says, "Well, I always wonder why it can't be caught, it does explain everything."
Lillie then says, "So what are you doing here?"
"I am meeting my friend Noland." Articuno replies to Lillie.
"Oh? So you are friends with Articuno? Noland?" Ash asks.
Then Noland starts to tell them the story. One night, while he was test-flying his plane, he was quite startled to find Articuno flying alongside him. Then Articuno started having trouble flying. Noland quickly realized that it injured its wing during one of its flights from mountaintop to mountaintop. He got it to land on top of his plane, brought it down, and helped it heal. Since then, it frequently comes to visit him.
"I see, Noland, do you think you can let me fly with Articuno?" Max asks.
"Sure." Noland says as he takes him up in his plane. Max invites Pikachu along, and they take to the air. Before long, Noland and Articuno are competing at fancy flying.
May, Lillie, and Scott, watching from the ground, are so enthralled that they don't even notice Ash is gone until he gets back.
"Ash, where were you?" Lillie asks.
"Sorry, I was just making a quick phone call." Ash says.
"Hey, there is something else in the sky." Scott says.
As it turns out, it is Team Rocket in a new mecha, making a very rapid descent to land near them. After their motto, the trio set their sights on their targets, the Battle Factory's Pokémon.
"Not you guys again." Ash groans as he and Lillie tell Sylveon, Absol and Persian to attack since Pikachu is with Max. But the mecha takes to the air, grabs about half of Noland's Pokémon, and is about to fly off when Noland rams it with his plane. The Pokémon are released, and the mecha comes crashing down.
"Though this mecha is intersting, but it should be stopped." Noland says.
"Yeah." Lillie says, "Articuno, please get rid of them."
Articuno nods as it grabs the mecha in its claws, lifts it off the ground, and throws it high into the air, where an Ice Beam finishes it off.
"So have you decided who to use?" Noland asks.
"Yes. But first I want to talk to Articuno." Ash says.
He turns and asks, "Do you want to team up with Noland and battle me?"
Everyone is shocked. Articuno says, "Sure. I want to prove that I am stronger than before, Father."
Noland says, "So it is decided. So you don't want to use rental Pokemon, who are you using?"
Ash looks up towards the moon, and says, "One of them."
Everyone looks up, and they see two Pokemon large and winged silhouetted against the moon. It is Charizard and Charla.
"No way, your Charizard?" Max gasps, as he wants to meet the Pokemon.
"And Charla as well, so that was the phone call you'd made earlier..." Lillie says.
Charizard greets Ash with the usual Flamethrower while Charla does the same to Lillie. "Your Flamethrower sure gets stronger..." Ash says.
"Same here..." Then they fall down together.
After getting back up, then they explain to Charizard that he is going to battle Articuno with the different trainer commanding him, and he agrees to it as he and Articuno goes for a stare off.
"So how do you have two Charizard?" May asks.
"Charla was one of our first Pokemon, and then Charizard was captured when we are traveling Kanto for the first time, they were both abandoned because they were weak, but we managed to help them out and they become strong." Ash says.
"Maybe it won't be boring after all." Noland says.
The morning sun rises as Ash alongside Pikachu soar into the sky to test Charizard's strengths in preparation for his upcoming Battle Factory clash, while Charla and Lillie are sitting beside to watch them training.
After the training, Ash goes to the Battle Factory's arena and then Noland soon steps onto his battle platform. "I had a look at your Battle Swap data yesterday. You seem to have the right idea, but you're still square in your head! Listen up, okay? Knowledge isn't only about reading books or doing desk work. Just doing that sort of thing... It may as well be useless! You have to experience things with your heart and your body, understand?"
"I understand." Ash says.
"Good, it's been a while since I have a top-notch opponent, I won't hold back in this battle."
"I am counting on it."
Noland calls in Articuno, while Ash sends out Charizard. Seeing as the match will quickly into an aerial display, Scott escorts Lillie and the others up to the stands for better viewing.
"Now Shake out every last bit of your knowledge and bring it on!" Noland yells as both Charizard and Articuno fly up into the air.
"Flamethrower!" Ash yells, and then it scores a direct hit after overwhelming Articuno's counter Ice Beam. Ash is exultant that Charizard can stand up to Articuno, but the Legendary flies straight back into the air, not looking any worse for wear.
"Flamethower again!" But this time Articuno uses its speed to evade the attack and fly right past the Fire Pokémon.
"Spin in a steep dive!" Noland yells. "Fly right for it!" Ash says.
Articuno uses Mist, which disorientates Charizard, before battering its opponent to the ground. Charizard stands up, shaking its head. It looks up just in time to see Articuno fly straight for it out of the Mist cloud.
"Dragon Breath!" Ash yells, and though Articuno dodges twice, it is hit on the third try. Charizard rushes in to grab its opponent, though Articuno escapes with ease.
"Ice Beam!" Noland calls, and it strikes Charizard on the wing.
"Flamethrower!" Ash yells, which Articuno dodges and hits Charizard with a Steel Wing. Charizard falls from a huge height and crashes into the earth again.
Charizard stands up, growling. It looks battered, but Articuno is still unmarked. Articuno uses a Water Pulse, sending Charizard into the wall.
"Get up! Charizard!" Ash pleads, and Charizard hunches its neck in pain. Articuno uses another Ice Beam. Charizard soars away, though its wingtip is frozen in the process, causing it to lose control. Articuno follows up with Water Pulse, turning the ice into projectile shards. Charizard shields itself with its wings and enters into a steep climb, though its speed is greatly reduced thanks to its frozen wingtips. Charizard launches a Flamethrower to counter, but Noland's Ice Beam and Water Pulse combination still hits its mark.
"If that frozen wingtip isn't destroyed...then Ash is going to lose..." Lillie says.
"Yeah..." Max says.
Noland says, "It is time to finish the battle."
"No, it is just started." Ash says. "Charizard! Mega Evolve!" He presses his Key Stone, and then Charizard glows, much to everyone's surprise.
The orange Charizard appears with a roar, and then the sun suddenly turned harsh. "Mega Charizard...Y..." Max mutters.
"Now use Overheat!" Ash yells, and then it glows bright red, and the ice on its wing melts after the sunlight as well as the heat.
Both Pokémon zoom higher and higher into the air before Charizard releases its built up Overheat attack. However, the Legendary counters with Water Pulse, which collides with Overheat in an explosion and intense flood of light.
"Charizard can do that move?" May asks.
"I didn't see him use that in the Johto League." Max says.
"Steel Wing!" Noland yells, and then Articuno bursts from the smoke and scores a direct hit. Charizard looks tired and very battered, while Articuno is still as strong as ever.
"Charizard won't be able to withstand another direct hit by any attack..." Lillie says as Charla looks at Charizard with worry.
"I know I can't use Overheat anymore - it lowers the Special Attack stat every time I use it...there is only one chance left to win the battle..." Ash thinks.
"You have battled bravely, but it's time to end the match. Steel Wing!" Noland orders.
Charizard stays unmoving in midair, as May, Lillie, Scott, and Max watch in anxiety. Right before Articuno can strike, Ash yells, "Now! Grab it!"
Charizard grabs the glowing wings with its claws, taking both Noland and Articuno by surprise.
"Use Seismic Toss!" Ash yells.
Charizard brings Articuno in close, and spins downward directly into the battlefield. After the dust cloud settles, Charizard is not moving while Articuno struggles to its feet.
Sergio is about to rule Charizard out, but Noland orders him to wait. Articuno then collapses while Charizard manages to stand up.
"Articuno is unable to battle, Charizard is the winner, which means that the victory goes to Ash Ketchum!" Sergio says.
"I win! Thank you, Charizard!" Ash hugs his Pokemon, who gives him a Flamethrower.
"That was a nice match." Noland says as he takes out a Symbol. "This is the Knowledge Symbol. It's yours."
Noland also hands Ash a Frontierfolio to store all of his future Symbols in. Afterwards, Articuno sets off once again and Charizard as well as Charla head back to the Charicific Valley.
"Next time, I'll come after you hard. No holds barred, understand? You keep up your studies!" Noland says.
"Sure." Ash says as they shake hands. After leaving the facility, Ash asks Scott, "So what is the next facility?"
"It will be the Battle Arena." Scott says as Max checks his map. "Hey, it is not too far away."
"Good, then we will go there." Ash says as they bid farewell to Scott.
Back at Cerulean City, Ash participates the Cerulean Contest, he uses Sylveon to make a love mist and earns a spot in the contest battles, then he defeats his opponents easily and get his first ribbon.
On the way, they meet the same Jigglypuff once more, and the Jigglypuff starts to sing before Ash grabs the microphone and says, "Please stop this."
"Give it back!" Jigglypuff tries to use Double Slap, but Ash becomes a Ghost Type and then it eventually gets tired. Ash says, "Jigglypuff. I know you like to sing, but you should try another song, what you always sing is lullaby, and a lullaby is a song that makes everyone sleep. If you don't want them to sleep, then you should stop singing it."
Jigglypuff frowns, as she doesn't know any other songs, so Lillie decides to teach her with some new songs, and eventually, the Pokemon all gather around Jigglypuff and they didn't fall asleep, not only that, they also give her cheers, causing Jigglypuff to be touched.
"See, that isn't so bad, right?" Ash says as she nods. But then they see that a Moon Stone on the ground and then Jigglypuff touches it, much to their surprise. And it becomes a Wigglytuff.
"A Wigglytuff?" Ash asks, she says that she is going to sing new songs with new body, and she wants to join Ash's team for so long, so Ash and Lillie captures her.
Johto Dex Entry No.23 Igglybuff: The Balloon Pokémon: Normal and Fairy Type. Instead of walking with its short legs, it moves around by bouncing on its soft, tender body.
Kanto Dex Entry No.39 Jigglypuff: The Balloon Pokemon: Normal and Fairy Type. Evolved from Igglybuff with high friendship. Uses its cute round eyes to enrapture its foe. It then sings a pleasing melody that lulls the foe to sleep.
Kanto Dex Entry No.40 Wigglytuff: The Balloon Pokemon:Normal and Fairy Type. Evolved from Jigglypuff with a Moon Stone. Its body is very elastic. By inhaling deeply, it can continue to inflate itself without limit.
On route to the Battle Arena, the group have stopped off at a particularly popular Kanto bakery at May's request. Suddenly, an Arcanine comes bounding down the road directly towards the gathered crowd. The Arcanine leaps over everyone and continues running into the distance.
"That Arcanine is so powerful...I want to catch it." May says.
"Arcanine." They hear a voice calls out to it and then they see Drew and his Flygon chasing it.
"Use Flamethrower!" Drew yells, though Arcanine evades and responds back with a Heat Wave attack. Arcanine then sprints into Extreme Speed to get away, much to Drew's annoyance.
"Oh, it's you guys again." Drew says. "I assume that you are partaking in contests here?"
"You as well?" May is shocked.
Ash asks, "So how many ribbons do you have?"
He shows one to them and Ash also shows one, but May doesn't have one to show, and then Drew says, "Well, it isn't surprising anymore. Since you always lack progressing." He soon leaves with his Flygon to continue pursuing the Arcanine.
"Who does he think he is? I am going to show him by catching that Arcanine." May says in furious as they also leave the area.
Not long after, they find the Arcanine as it is picking Pecha Berries and storing them for later. Arcanine starts to leave, so May sends out Blaziken to get it. Blaziken starts to catch up, but Arcanine uses Extreme Speed to flee.
"Maybe we can ask about the deal of that Arcanine." Ash says as they cometo an old woodsman's house. The man admits that a young boy and his Flygon were also curious about the Arcanine, and he also shares his first-hand information on the elusive Arcanine with the group.
"You see, the Arcanine never came down from the mountains until recently and that it goes to Pecha Trees and a local spring. Since all Pokemon have to drink sometime." The woodsman says.
"I see, thank you for your help." Then they go to the spring hides in the bushes nearby.
"I am going to use Squirtle to battle it." May says, but her voice causes Arcanine, who was drinking some water, runs off quickly.
"You're too loud." Ash says to May. "Now we just need to go to the Pecha Trees."
Once they get there, everyone gathers in a circle as Lillie draws out a map in the dirt.
"The east and west sides of the area are steep cliffs, so the Arcanine must've come from north or south. May, Max, you guys go to the north end, Ash and I will wait at the south end, we can divert the Arcanine to you if it comes our way." Lillie says.
As they nod, they send out Milotic, Lapras and Squirtle for battle. Arcanine soon comes in from the south, so Milotic attempts a Water Gun, though the attack misses its target. Next, Lillie orders a Hydro Pump from Lapras, leading Arcanine to flee up north. As May gets ready for Arcanine, she discovers that Squirtle is sleeping. She wakes it up and tells it to get ready. It stands to attention as Arcanine approaches. Arcanine uses Roar and Squirtle returns to its Poké Ball with Munchlax come out.
"Oh no..."
"Wait, May, tell Munchlax to use Metronome." Max says as she commands Munchlax.
Arcanine uses Extreme Speed to get away as Munchlax starts waving its hands. Munchlax's Metronome turns into an Extreme Speed attack, and it quickly matches Arcanine's speed.
"Jump on top of it." May yells, but Munchlax ignores orders, and instead starts gathering Pecha Berries at a blinding pace.
Once they fail, Ash and the others are now trying their last idea, going to the cliffs. They hide behind a rock, with Squirtle out, as Arcanine walks up the path to a ledge. May jumps out with Squirtle and corners Arcanine. But just when she thinks she's got it, Drew jumps in with Flygon. Arcanine jumps past the two and up a cliff. May and Drew argue for a bit, though decide to settles who gets Arcanine in a battle.
May orders Squirtle to use Tackle, which Flygon dodges by flying. Flygon then uses a Steel Wing attack. Squirtle tries to use Bubble to block, but Flygon's Steel Wing hits and Squirtle begins to cry again. May picks it up as Drew walks towards the cliff where Arcanine went. Everyone climbs up to see that it's gone. But then they notice it up on a higher ledge and see that Arcanine is feeding three Growlithe babies.
"I see..." Ash says. "So this is the reason you are gathering food."
Arcanine nods as then she lets Ash and Lillie hold her babies as they cooed in their arms. But the happy moment is over as Team Rocket appears in their balloon, net the Growlithe for themselves and capture Arcanine as it tries to intervene. Team Rocket rejoice for a moment, but are sent back to the ground by Flygon's Steel Wing. Drew and the group rush to the crash site.
Ash and Lillie start to take out their Poké Balls, but May says, "Wait, Ash, Lillie. Let me and Drew handle them."
They nod as they give the battle to May and Drew. Flygon uses Steel Wing to break the nets and free the captives. James sends out Cacnea and gets a needle-filled hug, before telling it to attack. Cacnea releases a Pin Missile, but Squirtle blocks with Bubble. Jessie sends in Dustox and orders a Poison Sting, though Flygon counters with Flamethrower. As Cacnea whips up a Sandstorm, Flygon blocks Squirtle from getting hit. Squirtle hops onto Flygon, and the pair soar towards their foe. Squirtle soon jumps off and smashes Dustox in a Tackle while Cacnea gets a Steel Wing from Flygon. May and Drew order Water Gun and Flamethrower respectively, sending Team Rocket blasting off.
"So I guess we should give up capturing Arcanine, since she wants to feed her babies." May says, and Drew also concedes.
But much to their surprise, a Growlithe hugs Ash tightly as he doesn't want Ash to go, "But we have to go..." Ash says, but then the Arcanine decides to let Ash take care of him, much to their surprise.
"Can we?" Lillie asks as she nods. Then Growlithe goes into their Pokeball and it is successfully captured.
Kanto Dex Entry No.58 Growlithe: The Puppy Pokemon: Fire Type. A Pokémon with a friendly nature. However, it will bark fiercely at anything invading its territory.
As the sun sets into the mountains, they bid farewell to the Arcanine family, and then Drew tells May, "You should enter the Saffron City Pokémon Contest. Though I won't be entering it since I want to get a new Pokemon to strengthen my team."
May nods and then Drew leaves, Max checks the PokéNav and announces that Saffron City is close by, and conveniently on the way to the Battle Arena. Ash says that they'll head for Saffron City first, so they head out.
Here is the first Battle Frontier Facility, and I am going for the Anime and Game combination rules in the story, I hope you like it.
Ash and Lillie's Current Pokemon:
Butterfree x2, Pikachu, Wigglytuff, Golbat, Persian, Growlithe, Lapras x2, Mewtwo, Mew, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix, Donphan, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Sceptile, Gardevoir, Vigoroth, Milotic, Absol, Metang, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Latias, Latios, Lucario, Gallade, Sylveon
In Home:
Venusaur, Blastoise, Pidgeot, Raticate, Fearow, Arbok, Raichu, Sandslash, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Clefable, Vileplume, Venomoth, Dugtrio, Golduck, Primeape, Poliwrath, Alakazam, Machamp, Victreebel, Tentacruel, Golem, Rapidash, Slowbro, Magneton, Farfetch'd, Dodrio, Muk, Cloyster, Gengar, Hypno, Kingler, Electrode, Exeggutor, Marowak, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Weezing, Kangaskhan, Seaking, Starmie, Mr. Mime, Jynx, Pinsir, Tauros, Gyarados, Ditto, Omastar, Kabutops, Aerodactyl, Snorlax, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Dragonite, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Furret, Noctowl, Ledian, Ariados, Lanturn, Xatu, Ampharos, Bellossom, Azumarill, Sudowoodo, Politoed, Jumpluff, Sunflora, Umbreon, Slowking, Unown x28, Wobbuffet, Girafarig, Forretress, Granbull, Scizor, Shuckle, Heracross, Ursaring, Magcargo, Corsola, Octillery, Delibird, Mantine, Skarmory, Houndoom, Kingdra, Stantler, Smeargle, Miltank, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Larvitar, Tyranitar, Lugia, Blaziken, Swampert, Mightyena, Linoone, Beautifly, Dustox, Ludicolo, Shiftry, Swellow, Pelipper, Masquerain, Breloom, Ninjask, Shedinja, Exploud, Hariyama, Nosepass, Delcatty, Sableye, Mawile, Aggron, Medicham, Manectric, Plusle, Minun, Volbeat, Illumise, Swalot, Shapedo, Wailord, Camerrput, Torkoal, Spinda, Flygon, Cacturne, Altaria, Zangoose, Seviper, Lunatone, Solrock, Whiscash, Crawdaunt, Claydol, Cradily, Armaldo, Castform, Banette, Chimecho, Glalie, Walrein, Huntail, Gorebyss, Relicanth, Luvdisc, Salamence, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Honchkrow, Weavile, Lickilicky, Rhyperior, Yanmega, Porygon-Z,
In training: Charizard, Charla
May's Current Pokemon:
Blaziken, Beautifly, Delcatty, Venusaur, Munchlax, Squirtle
