Chapter 59: A Serious Rival Named Hugh!
"The name's Stephan! My journey has just begun, but I'll battle anyone! So, wanna have a battle?" The Trainer asked Ash, causing the Kanto Trainer to smile back confidently as he greeted his opponent back.
"I'll accept your challenge, Stefin!" Ash smiled, causing the opponent to blink before he sighed, hearing that the Kanto Trainer had said his name wrong.
"The name's Stephan, but whatever. Alright, Blitzle! Let's go!" Stephan called out as he sent out a small colt-like Pokémon that seemed to be ready to shock its opponent out hard!
Taking notice of a Pokémon he's never seen before, the Kanto Trainer scanned it with his Pokédex.
"Blitzle, the Electrified Pokémon. Blitzle catches electricity and stores it in its mane, which glows when the electricity is discharged." The Pokédex buzzed as Iris gave a little hum before thinking of what possible Pokémon could be a match against Blitzle.
"Ash should use a Grass Type like Snivy or an Electric Type like Pikachu against another Electric Type..." Iris suggested as she knew that there might be some advantage of the Pokémon that she referred to.
"He should be careful. Blitzle knows many different types of moves." Cilan added, as he knows how a Blitzle can battle, which could lead to a struggle for the opponents that it battles against.
"You ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked his Electric Type partner.
"Pikachu!"
And with that, the Mouse Pokémon ran forward to face off against Blitzle to have an Electric Type against an Electric Type battle...!
But the moment he ran out to face his opponent, one of Ash's Pokéball opened by itself as both the Kanto Trainer and his Electric Type partner blinked in surprise to see that Oshawott appeared to face off against Blitzle!
Then, he pushed Pikachu back to where Ash was, bewildering the Mouse Pokémon and the Kanto Trainer, who was surprised as Oshawott didn't seem to be the type that would want to battle against a strong opponent.
"Oshawott... You want to battle?" Ash asked, causing the Water Type to smirk proudly before showing off the scalchop that was on his stomach.
"I get it... You have your scalchop." Ash noted, earning a nod from the Sea Otter Pokémon.
Understanding and seeing how determined the Water Type Pokémon looked, the Kanto Trainer smiled and accepted Oshawott's decision to take Pikachu's place in a battle against Blitzle.
"Okay, Oshawott! I choose you!" Ash declared, much to Oshawott's excitement.
Meanwhile...
While Ash was getting ready to battle against Stephan, Takeru wasn't far from the group as he was also confronted by another Trainer to battle against.
And this Trainer looked serious, yet kind. The two had eye contact, which meant there was only one thing to do when two Trainers do that: Battle.
"I'm Hugh from Aspertia Town." Hugh introduced himself.
"I'm Takeru Yamada from Nuvema Town. And if you're from Aspertia Town, then you must know who Nate and Rosa are, right?" Takeru asked.
"Well yeah... They're my neighbors..." Hugh smiled before he took out a Pokéball.
"But this isn't about them. It's about us having a battle. Are you a good Pokémon Trainer to not just yourself but to the Pokémon as well?" Hugh asked.
"Let's see and find out. I'm ready when you are." Takeru said as Hugh smiled before he sent out his Pokémon.
"Okay then! Let's go, Dewott!"
Hugh's Pokémon for battle was the evolved form of Oshawott, as the moment it was sent out, it was more than ready for a battle as it had a serious look on his face before he got into a fighting stance.
"A Dewott... That would mean Oshawott was your partner of choice... I shouldn't be surprised, since Nate had Pignite and Rosa had Servine..." Takeru smiled before he turned to Narri.
"You ready?"
"Mm hm. Let's try that during the battle." Narri said as Takeru blinked before he slowly nodded in understanding.
And with that, the Emanation Pokémon challenged the evolved Water Type as the two glared at each other before the battle would begin...
(Pokémon BW Opening (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 4 Lyrics) (English Subbed))
(Many Pokéballs pass by, coming from the bright light)
Now is the time, hold up your trump card.
This future is yours to take!
(Takeru catches one of them and summons his Pokémon)
(The Best Wishes opening title shows with Takeru, Ash, Iris, and Cilan's four faces showing)
Burning brightly.
Like you're still watching an unending dream
(Takeru walks on a path at night with a serious expression on his face, with Riolu at his side)
Your body yearns for it.
A place where those who are strong are.
(Ash stands at a battlefield, with Pikachu on his shoulder, as they prepare to face their opponent)
Shaky, wavering.
What you're looking for it nowhere to be found.
(Cilan and Pansage are preparing supper, until they see a shooting star up on the evening sky)
But you're still seeking it.
A place overwhelming with power.
(Iris and Axew watches the forest on a high branch of a giant tree)
The next battle is waiting for me.
(Team Rocket and Team Plasma stand in opposition, ready to fight)
(Jessie, James, and Meowth stand above the Team Rocket organization)
(Aldith and Barrett stand above the Team Plasma organization)
(Giovanni and Ghetsis stand big and tall as each organization's leader)
I can hear the sign of new days coming.
(Shade turns, offering a hand, with Ryuu and Chikage behind him)
(Takeru, Iris, Ash, Cilan, Nate, Rosa, and Hugh prepares to fight against their enemies)
(Riolu, Axew, Pikachu, Pansage, Pignite, Servine, and Dewott stands behind their trainers)
Now is the time, hold up your trump card.
This future is yours to take!
(Takeru summons all eight of his Pokémon; Riolu, Tranquill, Pignite, Joltik, Deino, Zorua, Darmanitan, and Petilil)
(Ash summons his Pokémon; Pikachu, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Tranquill, Swadloon, and Scraggy)
Whether your smile can shake this world is all up to you.
(Iris summons her Pokémon; Axew, Emolga and Excadrill)
(Cilan summons his Pokémon; Pansage, Dwebble, and Stunfisk)
Write a new chapter in this story.
After all, aren't you the hero?
(Zekrom and Reshiram roars together in opposition)
(Takeru and Zekrom merges together, making Takeru a different person)
(Takeru, Ash, Cilan, and Iris all stand together with all their current Pokémon)
(Opening ends)
Hugh: Dewott VS Takeru: Narri
"We'll start things off first! Dewott, use Ice Beam!"
And without a second to waste, the evolved Water Type shot the Ice Type attack to freeze Narri in his tracks. But to Hugh's surprise, the Child of Zekrom said nothing as instead, Narri dodged on his own...!
"What the...? It dodged without the Trainer's command? Dewott, use Water Pulse!" Hugh yelled as Dewott shot multiple water orbs to attack Narri.
But just like before, Takeru said nothing and instead watched as Narri continued to dodge without even listening to his command, much to Hugh's curiosity as he narrowed his eyes.
"Again... it dodged without the command. What's the big deal with that?" Hugh asked as Takeru smiled.
"There's no deal. It's just how we battle together. You can't hear it, because we're linked together." Takeru explained, catching Hugh by surprise before realization hit him as he realized what Narri was.
"Linked? Of course...! Your Riolu is a Pokémon that can use Aura... you two are using Aura to communicate, are you?" Hugh asked as Takeru nodded.
"Exactly right. Can you keep up with our movements?" Takeru asked as Narri charged forward before hitting Dewott hard with a Thunder Punch attack!
The move hit hard on the mark as the evolved Water Type skidded back, wincing in pain from the super effective attack. Hugh sensed the pain that his partner was in before he made a stern glare, before getting ready to counter.
"You'll pay for that move! Dewott, use Revenge!" Hugh yelled as Narri widened his eyes before Dewott let out a loud cry, unleashing the energy that it held in its body from the damage it has taken so far!
But thanks to their link together, the Child of Zekrom was able to tell Narri to dodge by using Dig as the Revenge attack barely missed, leaving Narri safe as he had taken no damage from the attack.
"They're planning an underground attack... Dewott, use Water Pulse!" Hugh shouted out.
And with that, Dewott shot the attack into the hole, causing another hole to burst out and shoot Narri flying into the air!
"AHHHH!" Narri shrieked in surprise as he was falling towards the ground. But with Takeru's quick thinking, the Emanation Pokémon was able to soften his landing by flipping backwards and landing on his feet, stopping him from taking any more damage.
"Not bad. You're pretty good... I'll give you that much." Hugh smirked as Takeru smirked back.
"The same goes for you. I didn't expect a Revenge attack to come out of nowhere..." Takeru admitted as the two Pokémon got ready to continue the battle. But before they could, a frantic cry stopped the Pokémon and the Trainers from continuing on.
Confused, they all turned to see Oshawott running past them, looking frantic as he seemed to be missing something.
"An Oshawott?" Hugh spoke in confusion while Dewott tilted his head in curiosity.
But that was also when the Kanto Trainer ran right past them with Pikachu by his side.
"Oshawott, wait up!" Ash called out as Takeru blinked in surprise to see his friend running after the Sea Otter Pokémon.
"Ash? Wait, did something happen...?" Takeru asked as Ash stopped before he made a brief explanation.
"Long story short, we were having a battle and then an attack knocked Oshawott's scalchop away!" Ash explained before he continued to run after the Water Type, leaving the Child of Zekrom and Narri bewildered.
"He lost a scalchop? Oh man..." Narri groaned as Takeru sighed.
"A lost scalchop, huh..."
Takeru turned to see Hugh coming over with Dewott by his side, as the Child of Zekrom gave an apologetic look to his opponent.
"Sorry... but, do you mind if we continue this battle later? I have a friend that I need to help out." Takeru explained, only to get a shaking head from the Aspertia trainer.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. Dewott had a similar situation like your friend's Oshawott did. Here... Maybe I can help out with the search. That way, it'll be easier and more faster." Hugh suggested, causing Takeru to blink.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. A scalchop is a part of an Oshawott and a Dewott. Losing them can be quite devastating." Hugh nodded as Dewott nodded his head while folding his arms with a frown on his face.
Gratitude came to the Child of Zekrom's face as he smiled, before thanking his opponent.
"Thanks." Takeru said, earning a nod from Hugh before the boys and their Pokémon partners went after Ash and Oshawott to join in on the scalchop search.
Meanwhile...
Oshawott ran to find out where his scalchop had landed as he was desperate in finding it. The scalchop was his main weapon and his main defense. Without it, the Sea Otter Pokémon felt vulnerable without it as it was a part of him.
So with that, he quickly and desperately searched for the scalchop around the tall grass. It was at that moment when the Water Type found something glistening not too far from where he was.
Excited that it might be his lost scalchop, the Water Type rushed over to pick up the shiny object, only to realize that it wasn't a scalchop. It was too small and it was too round to be the weapon that he had lost.
What he had found was a bottle cap of some sort, where someone seemed to have littered on purpose or by accident.
Annoyed that it was some stupid bottle cap that he had found, the Sea Otter Pokémon angrily threw it away before sighing sadly, for he had yet to find his main weapon and main defense.
"Oshawott! No luck finding your scalchop?" Ash asked as he and Pikachu came over.
The Sea Otter Pokémon sighed and shook his head with a sad grumble, causing the Kanto Trainer to smile softly, as he felt sorry for his Water Type friend for his loss.
"Okay... We'll help you look for it!" Ash offered, with Pikachu nodding in agreement. Upon the offer, the Sea Otter Pokémon smiled happily, before expressing his gratitude for his friends' assistance in the search.
"You need a hand with the search?"
The three turned to see Takeru and Narri coming with Hugh and Dewott, causing the Kanto Trainer to blink at the new face.
"Oh... Yeah! That would be great, but... who are you?"
"My name is Hugh. I'm from Aspertia Town, the same town where Nate and Rosa lives in..." Hugh explained.
"Dew! Dewott!" Dewott introduced himself as well, surprising Oshawott before sparkles appeared on his face, as he realized that the newcomers were also going to help out with the search.
"From the look on Oshawott itself, I'm guessing a lost scalchop is the reason why you look so desperate?" Hugh asked, causing Ash to blink before he made a sheepish smile.
"Yeah... It kinda got lost in a battle, so-"
"Then let's not waste anymore time, then. That scalchop is like a part of Oshawott, isn't it?" Hugh reminded Ash, causing him to blink before he nodded quickly.
"Y-Yeah!"
A few minutes later...
"Now... It's gotta be around here somewhere..." Ash spoke as the boys and their Pokémon friends all began to search around the tall grasses to search for the missing scalchop.
"How do you know it landed around here, though?" Hugh asked, causing Ash to give a shrug.
"Well, it was flung far off, but not that far off..." Ash explained, causing Hugh to raise an eyebrow.
"So this is just a guess of where it exactly is?" Hugh asked.
"Well, it's better than searching blindly, right?" Ash questioned back.
"Ash... I think searching for something where you don't even know the location of where it landed is called searching blindly..." Takeru explained with a frown.
"Argh... If only I could use my Aura to search for it... then it would be a lot easier. But the scalchop isn't a living thing..." Narri frowned.
Takeru smiled apologetically to Narri before the search continued on, until...
"Ah! I think that's it!" Ash pointed out as the group turned to see something glistening not too far from where they stood.
Upon hearing that, Oshawott quickly grew excited as he dashed over to where the shiny object was. But as Oshawott was getting close, Takeru narrowed his eyes before...
"Um... I don't think that's the one...!" Takeru called out, much to Ash's confusion as Oshawott turned around to attach the scalchop on his chest when...
"What the heck!?" Hugh gasped as the object that Ash found wasn't the missing scalchop... it was a wild Joltik, who didn't look too happy upon being picked up and placed on the Sea Otter Pokémon's chest!
As soon as Oshawott took notice of Joltik, the Bug-Electric Type took the chance to give the Water Type a little shock.
And while it was little, it was still super effective as Oshawott shrieked in pain and ran around, trying to get the wild Pokémon off of him.
"That's not a scalchop! That's a wild Joltik!" Hugh exclaimed as Ash widened his eyes before turning to the Mouse Pokémon.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail to get it off of Oshawott!" Ash called out as Pikachu nodded before he swatted the wild Bug-Electric Type away with the Steel Type attack!
"Got it!"
"Oshawott...!"
Relief came to Oshawott as he took a big hit, while Joltik on the other hand, was less than pleased from the hard hit it's taken.
Annoyed with what it went through just now, the Attaching Pokémon huffed before scurrying away to make its escape.
As soon as it was gone, Oshawott sighed in disappointment, as that was the second time his hopes were dashed when he had thought he had found his lost scalchop.
Seeing the sad look on Oshawott's face, Ash placed his hand on the Sea Otter Pokémon's back to try and comfort him.
"Oshawott... Hey, cheer up! Let's keep looking for your scalchop!"
"Pika!"
Oshawott smiled again, feeling thankful for what his Electric Type friend and Trainer were willing to do to get his scalchop back. Takeru and Narri smiled together while Hugh raised a brow, not looking impressed.
"Ash! Were you able to find Oshawott's scalchop yet?"
The boys and their Pokémon friends turned to see Cilan and Iris rushing over to where they were as the Kanto Trainer frowned while shaking his head in denial.
"Nope, not yet... Where's Stefin?" Ash asked.
"Stefin?" Takeru blinked as Iris explained with a sheepish smile.
"He's talking about the Trainer that he was battling until Oshawott ended up losing his scalchop. We decided to postpone the battle, so he left." Iris explained.
"And... this is a new face." Cilan took notice of Hugh, who smiled.
"I'm Hugh... I'm a Pokémon Trainer from Aspertia Town." Hugh introduced himself, as Dewott introduced himself as well.
"From Aspertia Town? Wow...! It's so nice to meet another Trainer from the same town where Rosa lived!" Iris smiled as the Aspertia trainer nodded before clearing his throat.
"Anyways... pushing the introductions aside, what are you going to do now?" Hugh asked, facing Ash as the Kanto Trainer frowned.
"If we don't find it, then I guess Oshawott will just have to battle without it, then." Cilan said with folded arms, causing the Water Type to widen his eyes before he frowned.
"That's going to be tough since the scalchop is the important part of Oshawott that helps him win in battles..." Takeru pointed out, with Narri giving a nod of agreement.
Iris began to hum at the thought before an idea came to her mind.
"I know! You just leave it to me! Be back in a flash!" Iris called as she ran off, much to the confusion of the boys.
"Wait, Iris! What are you up to!?" Ash called out as they watched Iris head for a tree, as Oshawott sighed sadly.
Dewott gave a pat to his pre-evolved form's back to comfort him as the Kanto Trainer tried to reassure his Water Type friend that everything would just be fine.
"Everything's cool, Oshawott. Iris just got an idea, that's all!" Ash reassured to the Sea Otter Pokémon, as Hugh rose a brow.
"She's going for the tree full of Berries... how is that supposed to help exactly?" Hugh asked as Takeru gave a sheepish smile.
"I wish I knew, but... it's better than doing nothing." Takeru said before...
"Oshawott! Over here!" Iris called out, waving to the Sea Otter Pokémon. That caught Oshawott's attention before Ash knelt down to his friend.
"See?"
"Oshawott!" Oshawott cried out with a smile, feeling excited that there might be a solution to his scalchop predicament after all.
But then...
"What about this?" Iris suggested, handing a Berry over to the Sea Otter Pokémon.
It turned out Iris' idea to solve the missing scalchop problem was...
"...Is that an Iapapa Berry?" Hugh asked with an incredulous look.
"Well, yeah! I bet you that this Iapapa Berry will work out great!" Iris suggested, causing Oshawott to be a little confused before he took it in his paws.
"How is that going to help? Iapapa Berries may be a little tough, but it's nothing compared to a scalchop's hard surface..." Hugh pointed out.
"This is just a test run to see if it'll work. And besides, it even looks like Oshawott's scalchop!" Cilan assured to Hugh, who scratched the back of his head with a sigh.
"Whatever..."
Having the Iapapa Berry in his hand, the Sea Otter Pokémon swung it around, acting as if the Berry was his main weapon and his main defense.
But strangely, it didn't feel the same as the Iapapa Berry wasn't smooth like his scalchop. And it didn't seem to have quite the sharp edge as the scalchop did.
"So what do you say? Pikachu can test it out using Thunderbolt." Ash suggested, causing Oshawott to smile before he gave a nod, giving Ash the permission to have a Thunderbolt come and ready.
"Okay, Oshawott! Ready?" Ash called out, as Pikachu sparked his cheeks.
Oshawott nodded, readying the Iapapa Berry to block the Thunderbolt attack as Narri frowned at the sight.
"I get the feeling that this isn't going to be a pretty sight..." Narri hypothesized as Takeru remained silent while folding his arms.
The others watched before the Kanto Trainer commanded his Electric Type partner to make the attack.
"Now, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out as the Mouse Pokémon launched his signature attack.
And as the electricity started to get close, the Sea Otter Pokémon got ready to use the Iapapa Berry to block the attack, like he would do with his scalchop!
But as Thunderbolt made contact... it looked as if the Berry did the trick... only for it to be cut in half and shock Oshawott hard!
"OSHAWOTT!" Oshawott shrieked as he was burnt to a crisp, along with the now cooked Iapapa Berry.
Groaning in pain from the super effective attack, the Sea Otter Pokémon fell backwards as Iris frowned before picking up the cooked Berry.
Cilan took the other half as the wild girl sighed.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time..." Iris frowned.
"The Iapapa Berry isn't as strong as we thought..." Cilan commented as Hugh rose a brow.
"You think?" Hugh sighed, before Iris and Cilan took a bite out of the Iapapa Berry that was cooked, with Axew taking a little piece of the berry as well.
And while it was useless as a shield... the two Trainers and Axew smiled at the taste from it.
"But what a nice smoky flavor...!" Iris commented in surprise.
"Mm! It's too sour when raw, but cook it like this and it takes on a delicious mellow taste!" Cilan commented with a smile.
"Are you guys really eating at a time like this?" Takeru asked bluntly.
"Yeah! Will you guys stop eating and get serious already?" Ash asked as well, while Oshawott sighed in disappointment.
The first test was a failure, as it only took a moment for the Iapapa Berry to be destroyed by the Thunderbolt attack.
But that was when Cilan came up with an idea of his own to provide a substitute for Oshawott's missing scalchop.
"Then there's no choice! I'll lend Oshawott my dish! My treasured serving dome polished to a shine of love! There's no doubt that this will serve your needs." Cilan explained as he handed Oshawott a serving dome.
"But that's metal... The electricity will still do its work and shock Oshawott..." Narri pointed out with a frown as Takeru rose a brow.
"There's only one way to find out if it'll be successful still..." Takeru commented as the Sea Otter Pokémon took the serving dome in his paws.
"Right! Let's give it a test, Oshawott!" Ash called out as Oshawott looked at the metal serving dome before he inspected it a little more.
On first look, it looked weird to the Water Type as he couldn't swing it around with just one paw. So he couldn't use it to attack, but maybe he could make it his shield.
Coming up with that, the Sea Otter Pokémon made a determined look and got ready for the second test, with Pikachu ready to see if the substitute shield will do its work or not.
"Osha!"
"Ready? Here goes! Pikachu! Thunderbolt now!" Ash shouted as Pikachu launched his Electric Type attack again.
Oshawott readied the serving dome to use as a shield... but the moment the electricity touched the metal dome...
ZAP!
"OSHAWOTT!"
The Sea Otter Pokémon took the shock, causing him and the serving dome to be blackened from the Electric Type attack.
"Lousy call..." Ash groaned as Iris made an unimpressed look.
"It's metal. Duh." Iris sighed as Narri sighed.
"I called it. Test number two is a failure." Narri commented bluntly, causing Takeru to give a sheepish chuckle while Cilan held his serving dome, frantic about how filthy it looked now.
"Ah! My beautiful serving dome! It's now blacker than the night sky!" Cilan commented in disbelief as Hugh sighed.
"I thought you can polish it with love..." Hugh grumbled as Ash started to get desperate.
"We gotta figure out what to do!" Ash shouted out as Cilan knew that the Kanto Trainer was right, as he took out a Pokéball to call out a friend.
"Right! Dwebble, come on out!"
Dwebble appeared, looking ready to lend a claw or a hand as Cilan explained the task that he wanted the Rock Inn Pokémon to finish.
"Dwebble! Would you carve a shield out of rock for Oshawott?" Cilan asked, causing Dwebble to happily accept the task before he began to get to work on carving a rock shield.
The group watched as Dwebble began to get to work as fast as he can... making it look exactly like the missing scalchop that Oshawott had lost as the Sea Otter Pokémon watched the Rock Inn Pokémon do his work.
As Dwebble was making progress, the Water Type Pokémon was getting excited as he finally might get the chance to have a proper weapon and shield for his battles!
But as the building was complete, Oshawott was rather confused as the scalchop was much more smaller than the rock scalchop that Dwebble has created just now.
"That's... a bit too big." Takeru commented with a frown.
"True, but the Iapapa Berry and the serving dome were weak against Electric attacks, but the rock shield that Dwebble crafted should be excellent!" Cilan assured to the Child of Zekrom.
"If you say so... I mean, it looks really well made. I just don't know how it'll work in a battle if Oshawott can't run around with it for an attack..." Takeru frowned.
Hugh rose a brow as Ash was into the idea as he smiled.
"Yeah! That should work great! Right, Oshawott?" Ash asked.
This time, Oshawott was rather reluctant to agree as he wasn't into having such a heavy shield that might be a bit too heavy for him to carry.
But there was no other choice as the first two tests have failed to provide the defense that he needed to block Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack.
So with that in mind, the Sea Otter Pokémon readied the rock scalchop while Ash and Pikachu got ready to make the third attack and see if the shield was durable or not.
"Okay! Ready, Oshawott?"
"Osha!"
"Cool! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted out.
And just like before, the Thunderbolt attack was shot towards Oshawott, who lifted the rock scalchop with all his strength to block the attack!
And this time, the rock scalchop did the trick! There was no scratch or any marks that threatened to break the shield this time, causing the others to perk up at the new results.
"It worked..." Takeru breathed out while Narri blinked in awe.
"Hmm..." Hugh frowned while Dewott had an unimpressed look on his face.
"Wow! Oshawott, that shield's looking good!" Ash pointed out as Oshawott let out a grunt before wheezing in exhaustion.
The weight of the rock scalchop was getting too much as by stumbling backwards, the rock scalchop fell onto Oshawott, causing him to yelp and groan.
"Ooh..." Narri winced while Dewott face-palmed at the sight.
"...I can't tell whether that was a pass or a fail..." Takeru commented as Hugh rose a brow.
"It blocked the Thunderbolt successfully, so it's half a pass. But the weight of the shield was too much for it to take, so it's half a fail." Hugh explained.
Later...
With the shocks that Oshawott has taken, followed by an exhaustion of using his strength too much, the Sea Otter Pokémon was resting in a shade while Pikachu and Narri fanned him with some leaves.
Dewott watched over the groaning Water Type as the group watched with frowns.
"I guess Oshawott really needs his own scalchop after all..." Ash sighed.
"Or not. Maybe Oshawott depends too much on the scalchop." Iris brought up, as she seemed to recall the many times Oshawott had used his scalchop in battle.
Takeru thought back to when Oshawott used the scalchop to save Pikachu, Axew, and Narri from Team Rocket one time.
And, the Sea Otter Pokémon used his scalchop to defeat Cilan and Pansage in the Striaton Gym, which awarded Ash the Trio Badge.
And, there were many other times when the Water Type used his main weapon and main shield to do whatever he can to help himself and his friends...
"You might have a point there, but still..." Takeru started, as Ash nodded, knowing what the Child of Zekrom was about to say next.
"Yeah... The truth is, that scalchop isn't just a tool. It's really important to Oshawott." Ash agreed as Hugh rose a brow.
"And a certain someone had to make Oshawott lose one of its important tools..." Hugh scoffed, glancing at Ash, causing the Kanto Trainer to glare at him.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Ash snapped.
"You know what I mean. Your irresponsibility as a Trainer to take care of a Pokémon's needs caused Oshawott to lose his scalchop in battle." Hugh pointed out.
"That's not true! I didn't tell Oshawott to lose his scalchop! It was by accident that the scalchop was lost! No one's to blame for that!" Ash argued back.
"Now now, you two... Let's settle down. Arguing over this isn't going to help anyone." Cilan said, getting in between the two Trainers.
"Anyways... instead of defense mode, maybe we should switch to offense!" Cilan suggested, confusing Ash at first before the Connoisseur explained himself.
"Think about it. You've heard the best defense is a strong offense, correct?" Cilan asked.
Ash hummed to himself while folding his arms as he wasn't sure of what to do before Iris brought up a suggestion to improve Oshawott's stats.
"I'll bet you we can take care of that by improving Oshawott's speed!" Iris suggested.
"But how do we do that in time for tomorrow's battle? Our only hope... is to use that shield as a substitute!" Ash declared, turning to the rock scalchop that was lying on the ground.
"You can't be serious right now..." Hugh said as Ash glared back at the Aspertia trainer.
"I am... even if it looks or sound tough..." Ash spoke back.
Takeru narrowed his eyes before looking to see that it may be the only option that Oshawott has.
With the scalchop missing and with the two tests being a failure, the rock scalchop was the only thing that was able to defend against Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack.
"This is probably going to be icky, no matter what anyone says... The rock may be strong, but with enough force, even a weak attack can break it apart once it's weakened enough..." Takeru thought as he turned to Oshawott, who was frowning at the second predicament he was in...
To be continued...
Takeru's Team:
Riolu: (Narri) (M): (Aura Sphere, Blaze Kick, Thunder Punch, Dig)
Deino: (M): (Dragon Rage, Headbutt, Bite, Incinerate)
Tirtouga (M): (Aqua Jet, Protect, Ancient Power, Bite)
Tepig: (M): (Flamethrower, Smog, Flame Charge, Rollout)
Zorua: (F): (Scratch, Leer, Pursuit, Fury Swipes)
Darmanitan: (M): (Psychic, Bulk Up, Fire Punch, Flamethrower)
With Prof. Juniper:
Joltik: (M): (Electro Ball, Signal Beam, String Shot, Electro Web)
Petilil: (F): (Magical Leaf, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Mega Drain)
Tranquill: (M): (Air Cutter, Gust, Aerial Ace, Roost)
Next chapters:
Chapter 60: The Scalchop to Train For!
Chapter 61: Fight for Love! Go, Cottonee!
Chapter 62: A Challenge from a Strong Sword!
Chapter 63: Mana and Elgyem! A Hope for UFO!
Chapter 64: A Chase with the UFO! Mana's Hope!
Next chapter preview:
Ash: This is a problem... Without a scalchop, Oshawott will definitely have a problem during battle since the scalchop is a part of him!
Hugh: Maybe my Dewott can help out with your situation. I'm sure he can teach your Oshawott on how to battle without a scalchop.
Takeru: Now that I think about it, you said you were from Aspertia Town, right? The same place where Nate and Rosa comes from.
Hugh: That's right... Looks like you guys are taking care of your Pokémon pretty well... Well, except for the one that's Oshawott's Trainer...
Ash: Wait, what!? What's that supposed to mean!? I take care of my Pokémon pretty well! I like Pokémon as my partners and my friends!
Hugh: You say that, but look what happened to your Oshawott's scalchop. It got lost because of your irresponsibility as a Trainer.
Events that occurred:
- The group meets Stephan and Hugh
- Stephan challenges Ash to a battle, which gets interrupted when Oshawott loses his scalchop
- Hugh challenges Takeru to a battle, which gets interrupted by Ash's battle
- Hugh joins the group to help with the search of Oshawott's scalchop