A/N:
Hopefully, this doesn't take as long as the previous one, somehow, I doubt that I am that lucky though.
Sandman001: I have noticed that there is a bit too much space there, and have started using another way to contract that hopefully will function better. I'm guessing you were coming with constructive criticism and not flaming, considering you seemed to imply that the story was well written. And you reviewed the last chapter which normally means you've read the story. So, I believe I owe you a thank you for the constructive criticism?
Kyu9930: I had not planned on keeping Z-Moves in the story, I might incorporate it somehow. In which case it is almost a guarantee that Croconaw gets one.
Aegis120: Truthfully, he should probably keep more of his powerful Pokémon on him, but while that would make sense it allows me so little leeway for how to handle the small instances. Does that make sense?
Drakensong24: I know which instances you're referring to, but the chance is small that those instances will come up any time soon.
Snoozing Lurker: Thank you very much for your compliments and your constructive criticism, I truly appreciate it.
Mr. Darklord: I have changed the apostrophe marking, though I am not yet sure if it makes a difference, and if I do go back to edit I will try my best to make everything more legible.
Thank you for all compliments given, and I urge you to let me know about anything I can improve upon.
I had a Guest review wondering if the Monarch Mutation was my take on King's Nature. The name sounds familiar so that is very possible, but as I have stated before I can't fully remember where that inspiration came from.
Lastly, I had a Guest review about Kalos Ash not being bad. And to an extent I can agree, I never truly watched the entirety of the Kalos seasons so the only things I know for absolutely certain is that Ash left both his Goodra and Greninja. Which I frankly think is monumentally stupid in both cases.
I really don't have that much more to say here, so maybe I should just get started on the chapter, eh?
Oh, except for one quick thing. I have decided that I will not be implementing the Pokémon movies from Sinnoh into the story, sorry to those of you hoping to see them. I might, and that is a very shaky might, include Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior, maybe. But none of the others.
Let's go!
Drama, Dragons, and Deceit!
After Ash's battle for the Forest Badge, the trio had quickly decided to take it slow for a few days while heading toward Hearthome. While Ash had notified Dawn of the impending contest close to Veilstone, she had stated in no uncertain term that their next destination was Hearthome City regardless of whether that made her miss out on that particular contest. Not willing to argue, especially not since it was mainly for her benefit, he had brought it up, Ash quickly conceded and the trio made their way onward at a calm, easy pace.
They had been traveling for a few days since Eterna, and while Ash still kept his training to a maximum, the days had been calm. Ash had even sent a few of his Pokémon back to Oak's ranch, opting to have just his Sinnoh captures along with Pikachu, though Pupitar was included, with him for a few days at least. The wind had been kind, not being too harsh and allowing the trio and their Pokémon to walk relatively unprotected from the elements.
"Halt!" the command had been loud, and abrupt, causing the trio to stop dead in their tracks. In front of them stood a trio of, seemingly, Dragon Tamers, two females and a male, carefully taking up positions to defend the entrance to the valley Ash and his companions had been about to enter. "What's up?" Ash asked an eyebrow rising. He had unconsciously taken a step forward and was half-covering Dawn from the trio. She looked at him, a bit exasperated, but didn't comment on the move. Brock also noticed, a knowing smirk spreading over his face, as he knew Ash was doing it unconsciously by reading his friend's face.
"We apologize for our friend's rude greeting," one of the women, a blonde with black streaks in her hair, stated shooting a glare at the man. "We are actually looking for a Pokémon said to be present on the mountain, and were wondering if you might have seen it? We are supposed to ascertain whether or not it is safe remaining here," the other woman, with flowing raven locks streaked with scarlet. "What Pokémon are you looking for?" Ash asked the question and the situation had made him suspicious. "A Gible, it is dual-typed. Dragon and Ground, they are supposed to be native to the area, but Merlin here," she pointed to the man, "have gotten some information that states they might be targeted by some serious Pokémon Hunters." "I can't say I've seen a Gible, no… But I don't think we'd mind helping you search for a bit," Brock cut in, smiling benignly as he spoke. "That would be appreciated," the blonde said with a smile.
Ash, having been instantly suspicious of the three, had to ask, "Where did you get the info?" That seemed to take all 5 of the others off guard, the two women bristled at the implied accusation while the man glared heatedly at Ash. Even Dawn seemed mildly annoyed at her boyfriend's insinuation, the only one who seemed to trust Ash completely was Brock, who simply rose an eyebrow and gazed at Ash. "What does that matter?" the blonde asked, though not angrily. Ash shook his head, his hair ruffling slightly in the wind as he did. From the valley, Ash could clearly smell the scents of nature, but a rather distinct smell that was decidedly not natural also hit his nostrils. Gasoline.
"Pokémon Hunters don't announce their plans, at least not the ones that aren't in jail," Ash stated simply, narrowed eyes staring at the older man, Merlin. "Ash! You can't just go around accusing people like that!" Dawn shrieked, horrified at what her boyfriend was stating. "Yeah, how dare you!?" the raven-haired woman hissed, a furious glint in her eyes as she glared at Ash. Ash shrugged his shoulders, though it hurt a bit that Dawn wasn't trusting him. "I'm sorry for my boyfriend, I have no idea what is going on in his head," Dawn apologized on his behalf, despite the fact Ash had no intention of doing so and wasn't sorry in the least. "We'll help you find the Gible, won't we, Ash?" she stated, trying to glare Ash into submission. "I'd really rather not," Ash stated simply, getting an affirmative nod from Pikachu.
Dawn hissed at him, "Well just because you seem to be intent on being an ass, doesn't mean I have to support that." "I suppose not," Ash conceded, calmly. His calm serenity as he answered seemed to only further infuriate Dawn, who was nearly red with rage. "We're helping them find the Gible and that is final!" she declared furiously. Ash rose an eyebrow, and took a deep breath to calm himself, "You're my girlfriend, Dawn, not my boss. You don't decide what I do and what I don't, and I am not helping these three. I don't trust them," he answered, a stubborn set in his jaws as he gazed back at his irate girlfriend.
"If you want to help them, I won't stop you but don't expect me to help. I've already given my opinion, though it seems you're keen to disregard it," he continued, turning to Brock. "You helping them too, or are we heading on?" he asked, the wind whistling through the valley as he put his best, human, friend on the spot. Brock seemed to think for a few moments, before stepping up to Ash's side showing clearly what he chose. "What is going on with you two, normally you'd be all for helping someone!" Dawn nearly screamed at them, angry tears in her eyes as she felt utterly humiliated by her boyfriend. "Normally we don't have reasons to be suspicious," Brock cut in, supporting Ash.
"I'm helping them," Dawn stated coldly, glaring at them. "If that's your choice, fine. You catching up to us later, or should we wait for you in Hearthome?" Ash asked, knowing that he might be making a mistake. "Neither," Dawn hissed, as she turned and stalked off accompanied by the three new arrivals. Ash gazed after them until they were out of sight, before sitting down heavily on a rock, his face in his hands. "I really thought she trusted me more than that," he spoke quietly, unbridled emotion in his voice. "Did I make a mistake, Brock? Should I have just gone with her, with them?" he asked, and Brock could see a few tears trickling down his cheeks.
"I'm… not sure, to be honest. It might have been easier to simply bend to her will, but at the same time, she should have understood we are speaking from experience. I don't think there was a good choice here, Ash. You simply chose to be your own man and not let others decide for you," Brock answered, trying his best to be comforting while speaking. "Thanks, Brock, at least you're on my side. Are you alright with just taking a bit of a break here for a while? I really don't feel like continuing right now," Ash's voice was hoarse and it was obvious he was trying his hardest not to get emotional.
Though experienced in many things as a result of his journeys, Ash had never truly dealt with emotions before. He had always been better at ignoring any emotions save for the joy of winning and the sadness that came with losing, emotions that always led him to strive harder towards improving. These emotions were a feeling of despair that Ash had never dealt with before, and quite frankly more than making him sad they scared him. He wouldn't think that he could feel like this after such a short time, it hadn't been more than a week or so since they got together. These feelings had taken control of Ash faster than he liked, it scared him and it alienated him. He knew that although he was scared, he wouldn't change it for the world. Knowing that it could hurt this bad, he knew the opposite was also true.
Ash sat there on that rock just letting the sun shine on him as he let his mind swim in different thoughts, the day moving slowly past him. By the time Ash was ready to move again it had been nearly three hours, and what brought Ash out of his thoughts was Brock cooking lunch. "Finally getting your thoughts together, Ash?" Brock asked curiously. Ash smiled sadly, "I guess. I'm getting there I think, but I'd be better if we could fix this. Somehow." He finished wistfully looking into the air, just in time to see a massive cone of smoke billow over the hill. Followed by a shockwave and a loud noise coming from the same direction. "Isn't that the same direction Dawn and the others went earlier?" Ash asked quietly, almost silently.
Brock sighed, hurriedly packing down everything and tossing one of the finished sandwiches to Ash. "Eat on the run," he said simply, slinging his backpack on, and then the two were sprinting toward the smoke. It took a bit of time getting there, a few shockwaves and large booms meeting them on the way. When they finally got over the last hill, they were both shocked to see the scene, and bubbling anger rose in the pit of Ash's stomach. On the ground were Dawn and the two females from before, the older man, Merlin, was standing in front of them with a Shiftry and a large black draconic Pokémon at his sides.
In front of the trio of young girls an Altaria, a Flygon, and a Pokémon Ash didn´t recognize lay knocked unconscious. "Merlin, what the hell are you doing!?" the raven-haired girl screamed, palatable anger in her words. "I don't really need you three any longer," he stated unapologetically, shrugging his shoulders. "Now I know where to find the Gible and Mistress J will certainly reward me greatly for bringing it back." "You won't get away with this!" the blonde screamed, though she ended up coughing just after because of stress on her lungs. Dawn sat there stunned, watching the man Ash had warned her about trusting so obviously betraying them and proving Ash correct. "Oh, and who exactly will stop me? The girl got rid of her friends with her tantrum, and the three of you are already defeated. In fact, I think I can safely take some time to have some… fun," the older man grinned with a sickening lustful grin on his face.
"Yeah, only one problem with that buddy," Ash called out, bursting into the battle head first, "We're still here." The presence of Ash and Brock seemed to catch Merlin entirely off-guard, and before he could react in any way Brock and Ash had moved between the girls and Merlin, releasing Crobat and Pupitar respectively. "You take care of Shiftry, I'm the better of us at taking new challenges in stride," Ash spoke quietly, his serious voice showing not a hint of boast in the statement. Brock nodded lightly, almost imperceptibly, before the two veteran trainers burst into action.
"Pupitar start with Dark Pulse, and get ready!" Ash commanded, his teeth grit and anger flashing in his eyes. He never noticed that Dawn was sobbing silently behind him, regret and sorrow filling her at seeing him leap in to help them despite her harsh words only hours earlier. Merlin seemed to finally shake off his shock and harshly ordered his Pokémon into battle. "Noivern use Dragon Pulse to counter, and Shiftry force that bat down with Hurricane!" "Crobat dodge, and use Cross Poison!" Brock immediately countered. Almost simultaneously as Crobat dodging out of the Hurricane's path, the dark and draconic energy pulses slammed into each other and resulted in a rather massive explosion.
The following explosion sent shockwaves crashing against the trainers, the pressure almost sending them sprawling to the ground. "Pupitar use Rock Slide, and then Sandstorm to disappear," Ash commanded, one of his common tactics making a reappearance. Merlin grit his teeth, almost snarling towards the opposing trainers. "Ariados, Mightyena come on out!" The two sinister Pokémon entered the fray with fervor, ganging up to fight two on one. Migthyena and Noivern both started relentlessly battling against Pupitar, while Ariados and Shiftry held Crobat at bay.
"Brock do you have any good ideas for how to get out of this?" Ash shouted over the cacophony of the battle. Brock shook his head, before fully focusing on his battle again. In a flash of inspiration, he summoned his Graveler to aid in battling his two opponents, gaining way slowly against the powerful adversary. -I can't release another of my Pokémon to fight here, except for Pikachu they´re not powerful enough at the moment, Ash thought to himself. The sole reason he couldn´t use Pikachu was that the Electric Mouse had stationed himself between the battles and the trio of girls, fending off and redirecting any attacks that made their way towards them.
Suddenly the choice was taken out of his hands as Shinx hopped out of her Pokéball, and before Ash could stop her charged against the enemies with a Spark. The young Electric-type slammed into Mightyena, sending the large canine Dark-type soaring through the air. The battle quickly descended into chaos where none of the trainers involved managed to utter a single command over the ensuing noise. Attacks flew between the battling Pokémon in a flashing display of lights that would fit better in one of the sci-fi movies Ash had seen when he was little. In the end, the battle was stopped dead in its tracks by the sudden appearance of a new trainer, his Pokémon separating the fighting Pokémon within seconds.
In the space between where Ash and Brock were on one side and Merlin on the other stood two Pokémon exuding a massive amount of power, literally subjugating the other Pokémon by presence alone. A curiously small black-haired Pokémon had stopped several attacks by simply moving its hand in front of them, and behind it stood a curiously purple-detailed greyish black lizard-like Pokémon. The trainer was an intimidating young man in his early twenties, with a scar across his left eye and raven black hair in spikes. He was very obviously armed, as the sheath of some kind of sword was present on his hip. And the revolver in his hand, which was pointing towards the ground currently.
While Brock, and the girls, didn't recognize the man, Ash and Merlin both immediately knew the man. "Zeus Lazarus!" Merlin shouted before he swore rather loudly and sprinted away at top speed. "Grimmsnarl, Salazzle, take down his Pokémon. Lycanroc get him!" Zeus ordered shortly, releasing a beautiful canine Pokémon that immediately sprang after Merlin on all four. Merlin tried jumping away from the leaping canine, only to slip on a loose rock and crashing to the ground with a giant canine snarling in his face.
Zeus' other Pokémon moved against Merlin's with incredible speed, snatching all but the Mightyena up within moments. Due to their size, the Pokémon could not manage to forced Mightyena into submission along with the others, especially since the Bite Pokémon's instincts had kicked in and it furiously attacked the closest Pokémon, Ash's Shinx. The small Flash Pokémon dodged the initial attack before being sent skidding backward by the follow-up, causing a gasp to be heard from the trainers. "Shinx use Discharge and follow up with Tackle," Ash ordered, taking control of the battle again after the interruption.
The young Pokémon acted upon its new orders with glee, the powerful wave of electricity bounding at Mightyena. Mightyena managed to barely dodge the incoming electric blast, only to be met full on with a decidedly unpleasant Tackle hitting its chest. The Mightyena lashed out with Ice Fang, its teeth crashing into Shinx full force. As Shinx screamed in pain, Ash gritted his teeth and tried desperately to find a way to release Shinx from its predicament. A regular Electric-type attack wouldn't be as effective as it usually was, due to the Ice-type energy not being a good conductor and thus blocking most of the power. Before Ash had time to find a proper solution, Shinx roared in defiance and began gleaming brightly, growing in size.
When the light settled the newly evolved Luxio was standing on the ground, its new weight having forced Mightyena's head down. Without being prompted Luxio lifted its head, baring its fangs and chomped down on Mightyena's shoulder with a heavy Thunder Fang. The energy seemed to travel through Mightyena's entire body, forcing it to let go of Luxio with a flinch and utterly paralyzing the Pokémon from further action. In a very deliberate move, Luxio spun around with an Iron Tail, lobbing Mightyena over to the Salazzle and Grimmsnarl before sauntering over to Ash and rubbing against his leg as many feline Pokémon did when they wanted attention.
Ash let out a deep sigh of relief, before acquiescing to Luxio's demand for attention. "Everyone alright?" the deep baritone voice of the newest arrival rang out, the heavily armed young man taking a few steps closer to the group of teens. Ash turned around to check on the others, not willing to answer and find out that he had answered incorrectly. When the trio of girls shakily got to their feet and nodded slowly, he turned back. "We seem to be alright," his voice was light and careful. "That's good to hear, would one of you be capable of verifying a G-Men ID? Most people seem skittish around me until they realize I really am law enforcement," the raven-haired newcomer asks cautiously. Ash chuckled slightly, "No need, I know very well who you are. Zeus Lazarus, also known as the Hunter among G-Men."
The now named Zeus blinked, before realization dawned, "Ah, you must be Ashura Ketchum, yes? I was briefed by Lance about you. Said if I wanted to catch as many poachers as possible, I should just tail you." Ash, Brock, and Zeus all started laughing heartily at that. "Considering you managed to somehow bump into this one," he pointed to Merlin, "who for some reason seems to have given up on his oaths as a Dragon Warden, I'd be rather inclined to agree." Ash could do nothing but shrug his shoulders, fact was that the point was well-made. "I'll be taking him in now, be careful while on the mountain," Zeus stated calmly before he picked Merlin's Pokéballs up and returned all his Pokémon.
It took only a few more moments before a Metagross flew up to the plateau with a motorcycle carried by its psychic powers, putting it down next to Zeus. "Oh, thanks Metagross. Hey, could you carry this one?" Zeus smiled, looking at his Metagross. Said Pokémon narrowed its eyes and glared at its trainer, who immediately put his hands up, "Just a question, and I'll even pay you for it. How about it, you carry the captive and I get your favorite snack later, eh?" The Metagross continued to glare, before scratching the ground twice. Zeus sighed heavily, "Fine, two bags." He turned to his other Pokémon, who were laughing at him. Seeing no empathy there, he turned to the other trainers. "See what I have to deal with?" he spoke, fake tears streaming down his cheeks.
Ash snorted, while the others laughed brightly, seeing the apparently incredibly strong trainer bullied by his own Pokémon, which of course caused said Pokémon to laugh even harder. Evening his face out Zeus stated easily, with a smirk on his face, "I'll be expecting to hear great things from you in time, Ash." Waving over his shoulders as he calmly walked towards his motorcycle, Ash couldn't see the smirk as much as he could hear it.
Turning around with an even expression on his face, Ash gazed down at Dawn and the two other girls, who he didn't quite remember the names of. Dawn gazed back at him with tears in the corner of her eyes, a despondent look on her face. Ash sighed deeply, and let a small smile, cautious as it was, twitch his lips upwards. "Do you see what I mean, Dawn?" he asked quietly, not reproaching or accusing but conveying the message. She let the tears fall from her eyes and nodded weakly towards Ash. "Well, you're alright at least," Ash stated, the smile still small as he turned around.
Brock saw the smile slip, as Ash looked to him, "Shall we get going then, Brock?" Raising an eyebrow, Brock inclined his head towards the girls in a nearly imperceptible way making his non-vocal question clear as day. Before Ash could even try to answer, the engine of Zeus motorcycle revved alive. He nodded to the group once, before he drove off with his Metagross flying beside him. Their attention on the leaving G-Men operative, Ash and Brock didn't notice Dawn get up and move towards them.
When Ash was about to get Brock to keep moving Dawn's hands embraced him, pressing her into his back. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please don't leave me alone," Dawn pleaded, misery in her voice. Ash didn't turn around, afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep it together should he look at her. "You were the one who didn't want anything to do with us," Ash whispered, his voice low and breaking. Dawn squeezed him harder to herself, her arms almost vice-like and refusing to let go. The three onlookers, Brock and the girls alike gazed on with pity in their eyes, and a bit of guilt mixed in for the girls. Dawn pressed her cheek into Ash's shoulder blade, tears streaming down her face in copious amounts. "I got angry, and I'm sorry. I regret it, and you were right. I just… It felt like you were declining to help for no reason and…" Ash cut her off there, "And you didn't trust me enough to believe in what I said, Dawn. I… I can understand the angry part, believe me when I say I have more than a bit of temper myself. But you not trusting me, that… That hurt."
The wind let out a mournful whistle as it blew gently through the valley, brushing through Ash's hair. "I'm sorry, please forgive me? It won't happen again," Dawn pleaded, her voice small. Ash smiled slightly, turning around still in Dawn's arms. "You can't promise that, Dawn. There will come times where you won't fully believe what I say, or believe that your way is better. And I'm fine with that, but we have to be able to communicate better if we want to stay together. If you blow up at me when I make a decision, it will only end badly. Same if I blow up at you, and I guess we both have to remember that we don't control the other person."
Ash had a small smile as he locked eyes with Dawn, who still had a few tears on her cheeks. Brock smiled proudly at the two, as Ash gently brushed the tears away from Dawn's face. "I guess we both acted as if we could decide for the other person, huh?" Dawn stated, "I sure did. We'll be better from now on." A determined expression made its way onto her face, and she smiled up at Ash. Nodding back at her Ash agreed before he dipped his neck down and kissed Dawn softly on the mouth. Making up after their first fight as a couple, and all was right in Ash world once again. At least until they were interrupted by a few growls coming from behind Ash, causing them to quickly let each other go and spin to face whatever it was.
When they did Ash broke out laughing, and even Brock had to chuckle. Behind them stood a Gible, its fin a bit rough and a fierce look in its eyes. "Leave it to my luck to lead the Pokémon straight to me, huh?" Ash stated, laughing as he quickly glanced at Brock. Seeing Brock´s eyes widen though, he quickly turned back to the Gible. Only to find the Gible wasn't as alone as Ash had first assumed, as suddenly two more Pokémon crawled out of the hole the Gible had made. All three of the Pokémon looked roughed up, and the egg that one of them refused to let go of looked scuffed. -What the hell happened to these three? And what is that Pokémon?, Ash thought to himself in shock.
Two of the Pokémon he easily recognized, due to his studies and travels. He knew Gible because of his studies into the Sinnoh Champion's ace Pokémon, and the small, blue Pokémon stood protectively in front of its companions. The second Pokémon Ash recognized because he had met once before, and the blue serpent body of Dratini was etched into his mind from meeting them in the Safari Zone all the way back in Kanto. The last Pokémon though Ash had no clue what was, and it confused him. It stood on two feet and had two stubby arms, with a massive and powerful jaw. While the Pokémon was mostly brown it had small ridges that seemed orange and had a collar of white around its neck.
-What are you?, Ash thought to himself and quickly ascertaining that none of the others knew what the Pokémon was. He slowly and deliberately brought his Pokédex up, trying not to spook the Pokémon into attacking. The trio of Pokémon looked alarmed as the Pokédex whirred to life, but didn't attack. After a few moments of scanning, the Pokédex started giving information in its monotone metallic voice. "Tyrunt the Royal Heir Pokémon. This Pokémon is believed to be naturally extinct and lived close to a hundred million years ago. Mostly believed to have lived in today's Kalos, there have been found evidence of them in other places as well. Not much information is known about them, but it is largely believed they were wiped out by a sudden ice age."
As the Pokédex went silent, a single collective thought rushed through the minds of everyone present.
-How is this ancient Pokémon alive and how is it here?!
A/N:
Finally managed to find the time and motivation to finish this chapter. It has been a long time coming and has been difficult for me to finalize.
I can't apologize for this one, and I won't. I hit a pretty rough patch after I released the last chapter, in more ways than one. I lost my grandfather to pneumonia about two days after the last chapter went up, so that took a lot of my motivation out of me. After that, I had a hard time getting the time, energy, and motivation to write. School and work got in the way a lot, and then I managed to destroy my knee and kind of got a bit depressed about it. I'm getting better and my motivation is starting to come back, but I'm not making any promises or assumptions about the next chapter.
In addition to my very real real-life problems I also had some difficulty with a writer's block, and not fully knowing how to handle the couple's argument. I do hope you like the chapter though, and I hope to hear from you.
Till next time!