Chapter 81: UB Files 08: Beauty
Ash, Brock, and Misty made their way through the Akala Meadow. Over the past few weeks, reports of Z Crystals gone missing had been coming in, and while at first it wasn't considered worth investigating, the number of thefts continued to rise.
"Who would want to steal Z-Crystals?"
"Do you think it could be Team Skull?"
Ash shook his head.
"No, the scope of these thefts is way out of their league. Nanu thinks it might be a you-know-what situation, which is why he called us."
"What would an Ultra Beast want with a bunch of Z-Crystals?"
"I don't know, but we'd better figure out soon."
Glancing down at the energy tracker Looker had given them, they could see a large energy reading coming from a cavern nearby.
"I'm getting something from over there."
"Come on, we better go check this out!"
Entering the cave, they were surprised to find it cluttered with Z Crystals. Huge stacks of them lined the walls all the way to the ceiling!
"Woah!"
"I think we found what we were looking for."
Incineroar leapt up, punching the thing hard with its flame covered fists, sending it flying to the ground. Before it could get up, Sudowoodo summoned a large pillar of rock beneath it, shooting it up to the ceiling. By the time it had hit the ground again, it was out cold, easily captured by Ash.
"Alright, we did it!"
"Thanks for the save, Misty!"
"Now we just need to find who, or WHAT, took them."
Just then, they heard a strange noise from behind, like a Kricketune rubbing its legs together. Turning around, they found a humanoid insect, tall and thin.
"I think we found our culprit."
"Alright guys, let's do this. Go, Incineroar!"
"Sudowoodo, I choose you!"
"Psyduck, go!"
The Ultra Beast flipped its "hair" back, unimpressed by her opponents before jumping up for a flying kick, hitting Sudowoodo right in the jaw.
"Hit him with Counter, Sudowoodo!"
Recovering quickly, Sudowoodo smacked the beast with its arms, flailing it off.
"Hit her with a Flame Charger, Incineroar!"
Incineroar concentrated, producing a large field of flames from his belt that surrounded the Ultra Beast, causing her great pain.
"Now's our chance, Psyduck! Hit her with Water Gun!"
Psyduck just tilted his head, completely unaware of what was going on around it. Misty just sighed deeply.
"Just when I thought we were making progress."
"Don't worry, just leave it to us! Sudowoodo, Head Smash!"
"Flame Charge, Incineroar!"
The Ultra Beast jumped up, letting the two of them bash right into each other, falling to the ground in pain. As their opponent fell, she kicked the two of them three times each before gracefully leaping off, getting one more kick in Sudowoodo's face as it did so. This made Misty nervous.
"Oh man, this is bad."
But before she could grab another Pokemon to join the fray, Psyduck stood up, hands dropping from its head as its eyes glowed. Misty knew this could only mean one thing, and she loved it.
"Yes! Psyduck, use Confusion!"
This time Psyduck did just that, lifting the insect fighter into the air and holding her above the ground while she tried to break free, to no avail. Ash and Brock seized the opportunity.
"Incineroar, use Fire Punch!"
"Sudowoodo, use Stone Edge!"
Incineroar jumped up a punched it hard with its fiery fists, sending it to the ground hard. Before it could get back to its feet, Sudowoodo summoned a large pillar of rock underneath it, sending it flying to the ceiling. By the time it landed on the ground, it was knocked out, allowing Ash to easily catch it with a Beast Ball.
"Alright, we did it!"
"Thanks for the save, Misty!"
"Don't thank me, Thank...huh?"
Before their very eyes, Psyduck began to glow, growing taller until it was no longer a Psyduck, but a Golduck.
"Golduck!"
"Woah, Psyduck evolved!"
Buzzing with excitement, Rotomdex flew out to give reports on the new Pokemon.
"New update izz acquired! Pheromosa, the Lissome Pokemon. A life-form from another world, its body is thin and supple, but it also possesses great power."
"Hey Rotom, think you can give me some data on Golduck?"
"Can do, Misty! Golduck, the Duck Pokemon. The webbed flippers on its forelegs and hind legs and the streamlined body of Golduck give it frightening speed. This Pokemon is definitely much faster than even the most athletic swimmer."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Misty bent down and gave Golduck a big hug.
"Golduck, you were amazing today!"
Golduck was about to respond, only for it to be hit by a massive headache, causing it to grasp its head in pain. Ash, Brock, and Misty could only chuckle.
"Somethings never change."