Our apologies for the odd chapter last time, but this one should prove to have quite a bit more drive to it. We hope you enjoy! Time for Chapter 6!
Chapter 6
A Giant
Gloria swallowed, staring into the angry eyes of the turtle before her, pawing the ground.
She was unsure how to react in the presence of this new, furious Pokémon, and her annoyance at the situation faded into apprehension. When it growled, Gloria and her partners immediately took a defensive stance, only for a voice to interrupt, carrying its own pleading shock.
"Sah-sabble!?" the Water Lizard Pokémon shouted, eyes still wide, seeming more surprised than worried. Ash, Greninja and Pikachu still stood up and put themselves ahead of Sobble, just in case.
The newly-arrived Pokémon stepped forward, gaze now directed to Sobble as it pointed its stubby feet to him. "Chew! Chew chewtle chew!"
Sobble stepped back, his anxiety once more on display, twisting his head between Ash and the turtle. He looked uncertain, and Gloria wondered if the turtle was telling him to leave.
Ash scratched his head, observing the exchange. "They seem to know each other."
Gloria nodded, that much being clear. She grabbed her Rotom Phone and scanned over the new Pokémon, hoping for useful information.
"Chewtle, the Snapping Pokémon. A Water type," Rotom droned out. "Far more aggressive than its size would imply, it's driven by its itchy teeth to snap its jaws at anything in front of it. Once it bites down on a flinching opponent, it never lets go."
Chewtle's scowl grew fiercer at the echoed words, jaws closing shut in an attempted threat. "Attempted" being the key word, as even though it appeared larger than the picture suggested, Gloria couldn't find the threat in at all. Nor did anyone else. They all remained in place, ready to act as they tried to understand what was happening.
"Is it here for Sobble?" Serena wondered. The small amphibian continued to stay in place, Greninja putting himself between the fellow Water types.
Chewtle didn't seem to like that, and without prompting tossed its head down and charged wildly towards Greninja, jaws ready to sink into him. The Ninja Pokémon leapt out of the way and Chewtle only bit into the air, the frog taking a defensive stance and preparing to strike back, still between the turtle and Sobble. Chewtle let out a cry, and prepared to strike once more.
Gloria frowned. She knew that Ash would be able to handle the Snapping Pokémon. Yet without hesitation, her fist clenched. She couldn't just stand by.
"Looks like it, but not to prey on him! Scorbunny, let's go!"
Her bunny raised a paw in agreement, and both trainer and Pokémon rushed to Ash and Greninja's side, Scorbunny sprinting straight for Chewtle. Their intrusion caught Chewtle off guard, but it still managed to redirect itself towards them.
The gauntlet thrown down, Gloria steadied herself, pointing at the turtle.
"Double Kick, now!" Scorbunny rushed towards Chewtle, feet striking the Snapping Pokémon right on the face.
It wasn't blown back. The opposing Pokémon remained in place, surprising the Rabbit Pokémon and his trainer. Before Scorbunny could jump out of the way, Chewtle's jaws snapped around his leg, holding the bunny in a tight grip. Scorbunny cried at the sharp tooth into his skin, and only grew louder as Chewtle slammed him on the ground repeatedly over and over. Gloria winced at her partner's pain.
"Scorbunny, Ember!"
Scorbunny tried to ignore the pain as his body impacted groundward over and over, aiming and firing a burst of flame straight for Chewtle's eyes. It didn't damage it much, but still forced it to squint and grunt in pain. Scorbunny slipped out of the opened jaws immediately, landing quite a few feet away and holding his leg, grimacing back at Chewtle. He still stood, however, and rushed for Chewtle with another Double Kick, ready to strike again.
Scorbunny unleashed a barrage of kicks, slamming all over Chewtle's body. None of the attacks deterred Chewtle from charging back at him, trying to snap its jaw and trap the Rabbit Pokémon once more. Chewtle was relentless, leaving Scorbunny constantly on the move, both Pokémon trading blows but neither overpowering the other. After a few failed attempts, Gloria gulped down her worries.
"This is getting nowhere..." She clenched her fists, falling deep in planning. She knew that Ash, Serena and Astrid could send their Pokémon anytime to help out, and even Rookidee was flying overhead, ready to drop down and support his trainer.
But this was her and Scorbunny's fight, and they were going to win it by their own power. They had to.
Thus, she focused on Chewtle, the turtle still charging headfirst towards her Pokémon, forcing Scorbunny to leap to safety before he could strike back. Chewtle only stopped enough to realign itself, and then rushed onward once again. It seemed like nothing could stop the turtle from charging ahead.
And it was then that Gloria grinned, the missing piece she needed finally falling in place.
"Alright! Scorbunny, jump backwards!"
The Fire type obliged, bouncing the other way right before Chewtle could ram into him, too quick for Chewtle to stop in time. The turtle skidded past its intended striking point, right underneath where Scorbunny would land. As it realized it, it stared skyward in shock.
Gloria punched forward, seizing the moment. "Now, Double Kick!"
Scorbunny righted himself and plummeted feet-first, stomping down on Chewtle's shell and cratering the ground. Gouges appeared on the field, upsetting the grass. Chewtle cried out as its body dug into the ground, Scorbunny sending the shell further down as he leapt back with the second kick, ricocheting back to safety, a proud grin on his face. Chewtle, even with the beating, still tried to break free and resume its assault. Only to find itself unable to.
Chewtle turned around, eyes wide, realizing how its whole body was embedded into the ground, preventing it from moving in any way.
"Chew! Chewtle chew! Cheeeew!" it cried, still trying to push itself out to no avail. The poor turtle was completely trapped, and that only meant one thing.
"Victory!" Gloria shouted, giddily sharing a high five with Scorbunny before giving her partner a tight hug. It may have been a small achievement, but in that moment, it felt like the most important thing she could've done.
She turned around, and was met by the approving nods of her companions, their Pokémon in agreement (even if Rookidee didn't seem too amused at having been denied action). Ash in particular gave her a thumbs up before bending down to pet Sobble on the fin once more.
"Great job, Gloria. I knew you could deal with this."
"Heh, it was a piece of cake!" the Postwick girl rubbed her nose, snickering with pride. Scorbunny did the same, trainer and Pokémon enjoying the attention.
Her sense of accomplishment inflated, Gloria spared a look towards the defeated Chewtle, finding the Snapping Pokémon still trying and failing to break through the ground prison. It scowled at the humans and Gloria in particular when it realized how stuck it was. Its constant, futile efforts gave the girl pause, almost admiring how much work it was putting into its escape attempt.
As she kept admiring the tiny Pokémon's tenacity, Sobble finally took a bit of courage, leaving Ash behind and reaching for his acquaintance with small steps.
"Sahbble! Sah sah!"
"Chewtle chew!"
As Chewtle glared once again towards the humans and Sobble shook his head, Gloria thought she got the gist of the discussion. They seemed to be old friends, and if Chewtle could manage to befriend such an anxious Pokémon, perhaps they weren't so bad, after all.
Wanting to try and make things clear, Gloria reached next to Sobble with Scorbunny in tow, kneeling down to check the turtle. "You were worried we would hurt your friend here? Don't worry, he's fine!"
Greninja and Ash joined the girl's side, much to Sobble's embarrassment as the Ninja Pokémon folded his arms. The frog grunted and agreed, standing ahead of Chewtle. The turtle's expression didn't change, if anything only scowling at Greninja, too.
Gloria threw her hands up. "We were just passing by and your friend came to us. We have no bad intentions, I swear."
"Chew..." Chewtle's large brow only furrowed more harshly as it bared its tooth again, trying and failing to appear threatening. Gloria sighed; much like their battle, that attempt was getting nowhere.
"Still unconvinced, huh...?" She scratched her head, thinking things over, until her eyes fell on the plate of food Sobble had left half-finished. Seeing that, the girl snapped her fingers. "Well, I know what to do!"
She headed back for the pot of curry, quickly serving up another plate. Soon as it was ready to go, Gloria placed it before the stuck turtle, and with both hands, wrenched the poor Water type out of the ground. It was a borrowed idea, perhaps, but in the moment, it felt like the best way to prove she could be trusted. With a nudge, Gloria pushed the plate in front of Chewtle.
Chewtle shifted between the food and Gloria, unwilling to touch it as it stretched its limbs. The Postwick girl didn't give up, pushing the plate closer to the turtle.
"Try a bit of this. I'm sure you'll love it!" she said with a beaming smile, taking a few steps back and letting the turtle decide what to do.
The Water type kept staring at the food, without even taking a step to try and eat some. Even as Gloria continued to wait, a tinge of worry was starting to hit her. Maybe it really wanted nothing to do with them, after all. What did I expect, just copying Ash's idea like that?
Just as Gloria was starting to doubt, however, Chewtle took a few tentative steps forward, considering the food once more. It opened its jaws and bit down on a sizable chunk of the curry, swallowing it right away.
"Chew!? Chewtle chew!" The turtle Pokémon threw away all prior caution, wolfing down the curry with as much voracious appetite as Sobble. The pleased, almost high-pitched cries it let out managed to make Gloria giggle, glad to see the Pokémon enjoying the food. Sobble was just as pleased, taking his own plate as he began eating alongside his friend, both of them looking much more at ease than before.
With the atmosphere finally defused, everyone else went back to eat as well, grabbing their plates and finishing lunch. Sobble and Chewtle were granted a further plateful of curry as they finished theirs, eating through it with as much appetite as before. Even Greninja joined them with a plate of his own, sitting right next to Sobble and offering him a few bites. The Water Lizard accepted it with some embarrassment, but the sunny smile he gave made his true feelings clear.
Gloria observed it all between each bite, noticing Greninja smile under his tongue-scarf. "He really took a shine to him, huh?"
"Greninja was always good with children. That's probably why," Ash said, also eating through his current portion (Gloria wasn't sure if it was his second or third).
The Postwick girl nodded back absentmindedly, her interest shifting to the remaining Water type. Chewtle was keeping a small distance from its friend, just about to eat the last spoonful of rice. Gloria grinned and got back up, grabbing another ladle of curry and serving it to the turtle, without any need to ask. Chewtle looked back at her, blinking in confusion, leading Gloria to chuckle once again as she rejoined the table.
"Are those two Pokémon common around these parts?" Serena asked, curiously checking out the duo.
"I'm not sure, the Wild Area is a pretty diverse place..." Scratching her head, Gloria grabbed her trusty phone. "Rotom, what's the typical habitat for Sobble and Chewtle?"
"The Sobble and Chewtle species have been reported to live around this area," her assistant said, the screen showing a map of the whole Wild Area with a specific part of it colored red and flashing intermittently.
As she compared it to their position, Gloria quirked an eyebrow. "Weird. They seem to live quite far from here."
"Is that so unusual? Maybe they were just exploring around," Astrid said with a shrug.
"You saw how you can run into danger any second around here, right? Most species don't move too far from their habitat."
"They seem to be really be hungry, as well..."
At Serena's remark, Ash scratched his chin, thinking. "Maybe it's not that they wanted to leave their area, and more like they had to?"
Gloria tapped her temple intermittently, reflecting on the man's question as she observed Chewtle and Sobble again. The two Pokémon were still eating with the same eagerness they had displayed from the start, aggressively munching through like they had gone without food for days. Something pretty weird for a resource-rich environment like the one they were in.
Her curiosity piqued, she found herself agreeing with Ash's point. She rose from her seat once again, returning to the visiting Water type duo.
"Say, did something happen? Did a big Pokémon threaten you, or something?" Gloria asked, lowering herself closer to their eye level.
Both Chewtle and Sobble almost choked on their food. They swallowed it down, Sobble looking pale as a bedsheet while Chewtle furrowed its brow further, neither saying anything. That, by itself, was a confirmation already, but she didn't know if pressing the topic further might've been a good idea.
Fortunately for her, Ash joined her questioning by kneeling with them, offering both Pokémon a smile. "It's okay, you can tell us. You don't have to worry."
"Pika pikachu!" his trusty partner added from the man's shoulder, thumping on his chest. Greninja didn't say anything, but stood by his trainer's side, looking stalwart. The others continued to watch with interest.
Sobble and Chewtle thought about it, while both trainers waited patiently. After a brief deliberation and cleaning of their plates, the Pokémon seemed to reach a decision. Chewtle walked ahead and pointed its frontal toe to the distance, right towards one of the red pillars shooting skyward, partially hidden by some trees.
"That's where your problem is?" Both Pokémon gave an affirmative to Gloria's question, leading the girl to trade glances with both Scorbunny and Rookidee. They both appeared fired up, ready to follow her, and that reassured the girl. The idea of leaving the Pokémon to fend for themselves felt...wrong, somehow.
And so, she turned to Chewtle once again, grinning. "Can you show us what it is?"
Chewtle and Sobble nodded, and everyone came to a swift agreement to get to the bottom of what was happening. After recalling most of the Pokémon and stowing away their camping equipment, Gloria and her companions headed further into the Wild Area with only Scorbunny, Pikachu and Greninja still out and about. Looking to fear no danger, Chewtle led the march through the plains, straight toward the beam of light shining skyward.
The sky turned redder, the closer they got, and Gloria was unable to tell if it was because of the afternoon moving towards sunset or an effect of the pillar of light they were getting closer to. Gloria couldn't help herself, wondering what could await at the end of the road.
As they arrived at the other edge of the forest and they could finally get a good look, the result was absolutely not something she or the others expected to find.
"Whoa! Look at that!"
"Pika..."
Ash looked like a kid in a candy store as he observed the cream and brown-colored squirrel Pokémon sitting several feet away from them. A sight that would've been unremarkable with how common the species was in the Galar region, were it not for it being several feet taller than it should've been and enveloped by the very same aura shooting for the sky.
As if stepping into a horrific new world, a dark, crimson storm formed over where the energy pooled, and an unearthly scream rested on the air. The giant squirrel seemed blissfully calm in spite of that, eating through a veritable tower of berries half his enormous height, constantly made bigger by several Pokémon, from Skwovet to Tyrogue to Skuntank and everything in between. None of them appeared pleased by the situation. Chewtle in particular scowled in the Pokémon's direction, while Sobble remained behind.
"What Pokémon is that, Gloria?" Serena questioned, resting a hand on her shoulder.
The girl narrowed her gaze at the gigantic Pokémon. "It's a Greedent, a Normal type obsessed with eating food."
"Is this that Dynamax thing?" Astrid scratched her chin, contemplating Greedent's size.
"Yeah, it is." The response came very easily to the girl, and in saying that, the pieces she had missed fell in place at once. "Oh, crap!"
Upon noticing the puzzled looks of her adult companions, Gloria pointed at the pillar of light, a large frown on her face. "The lights! They're a sign Dynamax is active there! That kind of stuff is why it was so hard to settle into the Wild Area for people! Though, from what I understand, it's rare for one to invade other territories like this..."
"So, that Greedent ended up Dynamaxing?"
"They aren't usually this big, so..."
"And it didn't waste time using that power to get what it wanted." As if to confirm Ash's words, Greedent glared over the crowd of Pokémon gathering food, its tail slapping the ground with shuddering force. The action caused them to speed up their procession to deliver their berries. A few Tyrogue and Snorunt almost tripped over as they hastened their pace, all while Greedent continued to devour the fruits of their labor.
Seeing what was going on, Sobble stepped back, his whole body shivering. "Saah..."
"Chew chew! Chewtle chew!" Chewtle snapped its jaws several times over as it ran ahead of Sobble, its frown growing harsher in Greedent's direction.
Gloria folded her arms, head tilted as she put the clues together. "I get it. He took control of your turf and forced you and every other Pokémon to give your food to him, right?"
"Chew!"
At the turtle's affirmative, Serena took a stand. "So, it's taking advantage of its strength to bully those weaker. We can't let it continue like this."
"Yeah, for sure." Ash faced the younger girl, appearing pensive. "Gloria, what can you tell us about Dynamaxing?"
"Not much, honestly. It's a cool powerup to bring your battles to the next level, but I never looked much into the theory of it. Only the battle applications…" Gloria trailed off, regretting her ignorance. She still tried to gather all her knowledge. "It can only be done in certain parts of the Galar region, and especially here in the Wild Area. The Pokémon grow much more powerful, and their energy forms that tempest you can see. Don't know much more, though..."
"It's enough to get a gist, at least." Astrid stretched her fingers with a feral grin, looking over their Dynamaxed opponent. Ash shared in it, the two veteran trainers matching gazes. "We just gotta beat him down until it's knocked out."
"A simple plan, I like it." Ash let out a chuckle, adjusting the rim of his hat.
"Just make sure you don't make the habitat worse," Serena warned with pursed lips, her eyes trailing to the snapping Chewtle.
"Of course. Gotta have a home to go back to," Ash replied to his wife with a disarming grin. That grin soon settled on Gloria. "Ready to fight, Gloria?"
Gloria fell silent, glancing over both Greedent and her still very Dynamax Band-free wrist. Facing a Dynamax Pokémon was something she had dreamed of for years, but could she truly make it as she was? Even with all her confidence, she wasn't sure of that. Perhaps noticing her turmoil, Ash approached her.
"Hey, relax. I get it, the giant Pokémon here is scary, and you don't know if you can make it. That's fine, you're still at your starting line." The man flashed her a grin, tilting his head back to Astrid and Serena, both women just as confident as he was. "But you're not alone there. We're all here to fight alongside you. You don't have to, but let's be honest. You want to, right?"
At that moment, her gaze locked with the man's, and Gloria could feel her doubts melt away. The man had a point; she wouldn't be alone, and she wouldn't waste a chance to face a giant Pokémon by herself.
"Of course, I do!" She grinned, only for her to remember Serena's condition. "Though, Serena-"
She was interrupted by the woman's headshake. "You don't have to worry. We've been through worse before."
Gloria considered her response, sighing out and deciding to trust Serena's words on the topic. Her attention went back to Chewtle and Sobble. "Well, it's settled. Stay back here, okay?"
"Chew."
"Saah..."
Neither of the two seemed happy with that idea, Chewtle in particular looking ready to face Greedent by itself, but both the turtle and the lizard accepted it, safely hiding behind a nearby tree, gratefully looking after the humans. Ash got closer, and placed Pikachu on the ground next to the Water types.
"Keep an eye on them, all right?" The Electric Mouse tightened his fists and grinned back, cheeks already sparking with electricity. A thumbs up later and Ash's attention went on his remaining walking Pokémon. "Greninja, I'm counting on you for the fight."
"Nin."
The Ninja Pokémon leapt forward, standing ahead of his trainer and quickly joined by Serena's Braixen and Astrid's Absol as their trainers sent them out. Scorbunny hopped to join them, kicking the air and raring to go, emboldening Gloria to take the first step among the trainers. Observing their giant opponent once more, she inhaled, pointed at the Dynamaxed Greedent, and shouted.
"Hey, you, overgrown pile of fur and berries! You've stolen food for long enough! You'll stop now!"
The Greedent didn't move from where it was, still too busy eating the literal tower of berries in front of it. Gloria almost questioned with some embarrassment if she should've yelled again, until the Greedy Pokémon finally perked his head up, turning around. "Gree...?"
Each tiny movement the Pokémon made was enough to make the ground shake, almost making Gloria and her comrades fall flat on their butts. None of them moved from their place, however, and Greedent finally found them as it looked down. It remained unimpressed, sizing up Gloria and the rest of its comparatively tiny opposition. His disturbingly joyful smile didn't change at all.
"Greeh greeh greeh greeh!" His booming laughter echoed throughout the plain, stopping all the wild Pokémon in their tracks. The four trainers stood their ground, and Gloria couldn't help but feel the pit in her stomach as she noticed how unimpressed the giant Pokémon appeared to be.
"Is he... mocking us?" Astrid tightened her fists, extremely displeased.
"Gree gree! Greedent greeeeeh!"
The Greedent's laugh slowly changed, becoming more aggressive. The pale red aura enveloping it flared up, the pillar dyed a deeper crimson as the tempest overhead increased in intensity. The ground shook again, enough to send most of the local wild Pokémon scampering away to hide.
"What's happening?!" Serena yelled over the noise, keeping her hat from flying away.
"It's getting serious! Be careful!" Gloria glared at the Greedent, the aura reaching its maximum intensity as the Greedent readied itself to fight. She took the first move. "Scorbunny, let's start! Double Kick!"
Scorbunny covered the distance in large leaps, propelling himself straight for the Greedy Pokémon's large belly, foot ready to strike. He sunk into the fur and skin, only for it to retreat like a trampoline and bounce Scorbunny back where he came from, rolling over the grass with no damage given. Gloria didn't have the time to reach for him, as Greedent made his move.
"Greeeee!" The squirrel Pokémon threw his head up, screaming skyward as rings of psychic energy flew into the air, only to curve and prepare to rain down straight for the group, pulsing with power. Gloria froze, the name escaping her, but clearly identifying it as a Max Move ready to smite them. Serena and Astrid didn't waste time on the counteroffensive.
"Braixen, Psyshock!"
"Absol, Psycho Cut!"
The five-way blast of psychic energy and the energy slice mingled and merged together, the unified ray clashing overhead with the Psychic type Max Move. Loud shockwaves resounded through the sky, each attack trying to overpower the other, until Greedent's own shattered through, losing none of its power even as it was diverted away. That was no source of relief, however, as the new target was a very familiar tree.
The rings of psychic energy sliced through the crown, the branches of it all falling and burning away on impact, the attack traveling to the ground and detonating even further. With the impact, the whole terrain was immediately cloaked in a pink mist. The tree managed to remain standing, protecting Pikachu and his two little wards, only for its foundations to crack, the dead wood aiming groundward for the Pokémon.
"Saaaah!" In a panic, Sobble vanished from sight, and Chewtle rushed where he just was, jaws ready to take on the fallen tree.
Gloria felt her heart skip a beat. "Chewtle, no!"
"Chuuuu pika!"
Pikachu leapt into action, his shimmering tail cutting through the tree, bisecting it right in the middle. Yet, a large chunk of it still fell in the Snapping Pokémon's direction. Gloria was already fearing the worst, until a combined blur of blue and white went through and grabbed Chewtle and Sobble, taking them to safety. The wood fell down and splintered all over. Gloria followed it, her worries subsiding as she saw Scorbunny and Greninja holding Chewtle and Sobble in their hands, neither injured. She sighed in relief.
And then a call came. "Don't get distracted, Gloria! The battle's still on!"
Gloria turned back to see Greedent looking down on them, preparing to unleash another attack. She bit her lip, trying to think what to ask Scorbunny to do, but Ash proved faster on the uptake.
"Greninja, Double Team and Water Shuriken, quick!"
"Ninja!" The frog put Sobble down and ran back into action, afterimages of himself joining him and forming a unified front against the Dynamax Pokémon. At once, they all clasped their sides and formed liquid shuriken from there, a veritable barrage shooting for Greedent. In the face of the incoming assault, Greedent switched gears, bringing forward both arms in front of him.
An oval, translucent blue shield formed in front of Greedent, and every single shuriken shattered over it, none of them landing on the giant Pokémon. Even the ever-stoic Greninja remained speechless at that as his clones vanished. Gloria swallowed, recognizing what it was.
Ash, instead, frowned. "What the-"
"Greeeh greh greh greh!" the Greedy Pokémon giggled as the shield faded, and immediately held his prized berries with one hand while throwing the other groundward. The whole ground shook right after, entire pieces of earth flying high as the fissure traveled right for the trainers.
"Look out!" Gloria shouted, the growing chasm inexorably getting closer every second.
From the corner of her eye, Gloria could see Ash throwing himself over Serena, shielding her with his body as Greninja sliced through the ground and Braixen worked to melt away the incoming debris with bursts of Flamethrower. On the other side, Pikachu slammed his tail into the earth, sending a shockwave against the fissure with enough power to cancel its course.
Gloria tried to order for Scorbunny to do something, but as she did so, the fault was mere inches away from her. The Max Move struck suddenly, and Gloria felt the blow of the Max Move across her whole body, rolling over the upset grass before she realized it, every part of herself flaring up in pain.
"Nibbah!" The girl opened her eyes slowly, her blurred view quickly refocused to meet the worried grimace of Scorbunny, checking her out and offering a paw. She was relieved to still see him uninjured from the attack, beyond his dirt-matted fur.
"I-I'm fine, don't worry..." Gloria lied as she accepted the hand, rising on shaky legs as she ignored her own pain. At the side, she could see that Absol was getting back on its feet as well, the injuries it sported making clear what it had done for the still unharmed Astrid. The young woman was grimacing at that. All the while, Greedent giggled to himself, taking some berries out of the precariously stable tower at its side before it started to prepare another devastating attack.
After making sure her partner was alright, the Kalosian trainer stared back at the giant Greedent. "We need to strike fast and quick! Absol, Megahorn!"
The Disaster Pokémon ran fast, its horn growing twice its size as a green energy enveloped it fully. Much like before, Greedent erected its impenetrable barrier, and Absol harmlessly bounced away from it, no damage done. But as Greedent's barrier faded, Ash and Serena took their chance.
"Flamethrower!"
"Aerial Ace!"
The stream of concentrated fire and the flurry of close combat attacks struck Greedent at once, enough to actually blow the gigantic squirrel back a few steps. It almost lost its balance and Absol seized the chance, rushing back for his mark.
"Dark Pulse!" The blast of inky blackness fired straight for Greedent's head, the Greedy Pokémon squirming in pain at the sharply aimed attack. It flailed its arms, barely avoiding knocking its stash of food, and as he realized that, he directed an angry scowl towards the adult trainers and their Pokémon.
"Greeeeehhhh!" The aura flared up again, the tempest above growing strong enough to send harsh, black winds throughout the battlefield. He threw a hand back into the ground, even more faults fired for the trainers. Each of the them barely dealt with them, just as they had before.
Gloria kept herself away alongside Scorbunny, the Galarian trainer and her partner only able to watch as her companions went on the offensive again. Their efforts were quickly ruined by yet another, better timed shield against their combined assault. As her entire body ached and the adults resumed their attack, she couldn't help but feel useless, the only rookie among veterans, facing a battle even they were stalling out against. The adults were clearly smart, powerful, and quick to adapt, but nothing they could do would've ended the battle so long as Greedent could make their efforts pointless so frequently. Not if they wanted to keep the rest of the habitat safe. The girl tightened her fists.
They couldn't continue to fight like that, but no solution presented itself. Greedent continued snickering proudly, in spite of the damage it had sustained.
The giant rodent Pokémon extended its arm to grab some more of its berries, until a massive Fire Blast forced him to turn away sharply. The attack flew overhead harmlessly but forced Greedent's body over the tower of berries. The Pokémon paled as the pile of food wobbled dangerously close to the ground, forcing the Dynamax Pokémon to hold it together until it regained its balance. Greedent fired a fierce glare at Braixen, the fox holding her wand out, sharing the same fierce expression as her trainer. It didn't like that, and the giant squirrel immediately charged yet another Max Move that Greninja and Absol prepared to deflect.
And yet, Gloria saw something, and a smirk formed on her face. An idea finally came to her. Noticing Scorbunny's equally smirking face, she knew that her partner was on the same page. She pumped her fists, and gave the order.
"I get it! Scorbunny, Quick Attack and Double Kick!" she shouted, and Scorbunny blurred into high speed as he rushed forward in large leaps.
Serena, noticing Gloria taking action, tilted her head. "What are you planning?"
"To win, of course!" the girl replied, a fist to the sky as Scorbunny kept running.
The Rabbit Pokémon's mad dash caught Greedent's attention, and as the gigantified rodent fired another volley of psychic rings towards him, Gloria almost froze, Scorbunny too caught up in running to prepare for it.
A volley of psychic slices met Greedent's own, throwing them far away from Gloria's partner. Reassured, Gloria glanced the way the attack came from to find Astrid staring back at her, wearing a dismissive frown, but nodding. "Whatever you wanna do, just do it!"
Next to the Kalosian trainer, Ash and Serena gave their own assurance. Gloria felt emboldened, facing Greedent once more. "You heard 'em, Scorbunny!"
Scorbunny heard her, too, rushing even faster for the giant opponent, no fear to be seen. Calls from behind indicated Pikachu and Chewtle cheering the bunny on, making him yet faster.
Greedent hardly gave up, rows of psychic rings and ground-shattering fissures traveling for the white bunny in equal measure, only for Braixen and Greninja to leap in the way, acting in sync to rein in the rodent's powerful attacks. Greedent became furious, misaiming his attacks and completely missing Scorbunny, while Gloria's companions made sure the few lucky shots didn't strike the tiny Pokémon down. After a race that felt like it lasted forever, the rocketing bunny finally stood inches away from Greedent, leaping forward and kicking with all his might.
He bounced off Greedent's belly like it was a trampoline, just like the first time. The giant rodent laughed at the failed attempt, but Gloria's smirk only widened. The Dynamaxed Pokémon turned apprehensive, even moreso as it saw what it caused.
Scorbunny was in a collision course towards the tower of berries. Greedent's face lost all color.
And Gloria punched forward. "Now, kick again!"
"Greeee!" came the desperate cry, but Gloria's partner couldn't be stopped.
Scorbunny unleashed his remaining kick, cutting through the colossal stash of berries until he landed right on the other side. The small, bunny-shaped vacuum his attack left behind was enough to upset the shaky structure, berries rolling groundward at a fast pace, until the whole tower turned into a veritable flood encompassing the whole battlefield.
Greedent's jolly demeanor disappeared completely, its mind going over recovering as many berries as possible, yet finding all of its prized food slipping through his fingers. The battle didn't matter anymore, only his futile attempt to save his treasured nourishment. Gloria and Scorbunny grinned once more.
"Good idea, Gloria!" Ash said, giving the girl a thumbs up as he saw the results.
The compliment energized Gloria further, still observing the now distracted Greedent. "Let's go for the final hit, now!"
"You said it!" Ash agreed, sweeping his hand.
From different sides of the battlefield, both Scorbunny and Greninja raced for Greedent. And at once, their trainers gave their last orders.
"Quick Attack!"
"Cut!"
Scorbunny's speed increased tenfold as the bright white aura surrounded him once again. At the same time, Greninja manifested a short, glowing energy blade in his hands. Greedent turned around too late, too busy reconstructing its stash to prepare any shield or counterattack, both Pokémon right in its face.
The frog and the bunny sliced and slammed at once, the combined attack powerful enough to blow Greedent backwards. The titanic Pokémon tried to keep its balance, only to find its feet slipping, rolling over the very same berries it tried to protect. It fell groundward, right over what remained of its stash, diving through it until they covered the Pokémon completely.
And then, the aura of energy surrounding it flared up once more, all of it coalescing into a loud, gigantic, smoking explosion that shook the whole battlefield.
The four trainers and their Pokémon barely resisted being blown away as the resulting shockwave washed over them. It was strong enough to affect some of the hiding wild Pokémon several feet away, all the trees shaking from the expulsion of energy. After a moment, the shockwave petered out, and with it the smoke started to fade, unveiling the result of the attacks. Gloria's heart was racing, worried of what was to come.
It felt like an eternity, but the smoke cleared up completely, revealing Greedent unconscious in the sea of berries, his body much, much smaller than it was before. The tempest above cleared up, the howling, screaming wind gone and replaced by the bright, sunset sky.
They had won. And as she realized it, Gloria threw both arms to the sky.
"Yes! We did it!"
"Scor scor!" Scorbunny beamed and ran back to his trainer, leaping over to Gloria. She caught him immediately, twirling together while sharing a warm hug.
The adults were relatively more reserved, all of them relieved at how the battle ended, slapping high fives or hugging their Pokémon as well. Ash in particular had a huge grin on his face as he rubbed off the sweat from his forehead.
"Whew, that battle was something. Always a blast learning how to deal with a new challenge, and I'm glad the area isn't wrecked too bad." It seemed a slight exaggeration, given some of the toppled trees and the fissures in the ground, but after a blink, Gloria didn't think those looked too bad, either. It helped that Ash quickly addressed her. "Great job with that quick thinking, too, Gloria."
She chuckled, placing her partner Pokémon on the ground. "I did my best. I could only do it because you three were keeping him at bay, though."
"It's not gonna Dynamax again, will it?" Astrid frowned, looking ready to order Absol to blast Greedent over and over.
"Not a chance. After defeat, it takes a while for a Pokémon to Dynamax again."
Gloria's reassurance was enough for Astrid to desist from her plan. The Postwick girl gave a quick glance to her surroundings, noting with relief how Serena appeared to have sustained no injuries from the battle nor looked too fatigued, a relief that only increased as Pikachu's group made their way to rejoin them, both Chewtle and Sobble looking fairly unharmed as the Electric Mouse returned to Ash's shoulder. They didn't have time for longer celebrations however, as a rustling sound among the berries could be heard, signifying the slow awakening of their defeated opponent.
"Greeeh...Greh? Gree!" As the Greedy Pokémon moved past its early stupor, it didn't take long for it to notice its sharply decreased size, checking over its body and tail with concern. As the realization dawned on him, it also did for many, many other creatures in their surroundings.
"Skwov?"
"Tyrrrog..."
"Runt snorunt!"
One after the other, all the various wild Pokémon came out of their hiding places, none of them looking happy at their prior forced foraging. The large amount of small Pokémon closed around Greedent slowly, everyone scowling and some of them preparing attacks. Greedent swiveled its head back and forth, sweating. Not a single Pokémon left any escape route for the large, overweight squirrel.
Greedent swallowed, stepping back fearfully, almost tripping on the berries around him. "Gree..."
"Chewtle chew! Chewtle!" The Snapping Pokémon started punching in the air with such a burning intensity that even Sobble felt uneasy. It didn't take knowing Pokémon language for Gloria to figure out the gist of it, especially with the rest of the wild Pokémon getting closer and closer to the weakened, defenseless Greedent. She couldn't help but feel just a bit bad for the squirrel, pain in the neck as it had been.
"Things aren't looking good..." Ash commented, looking ready to intervene.
"Give me a moment."
Upon saying that, Serena strode forward, making her way through the crowd of gathered wild Pokémon with ease. Gloria was surprised, wondering if she should've stopped the older woman, but Ash quickly gestured for her to stay back. She couldn't help but have a sense of deja vù as she let Serena handle the matter. The wild Pokémon, perhaps curious themselves, had no issues allowing Serena to get closer to Greedent, stopping inches away from the Pokémon.
"Gree...?" Greedent was puzzled as well, lost to the stern gaze of the woman, and quivering as well. She observed the gathered wild Pokémon, leading the nervous squirrel to do the same.
"Do you see how angry you made everyone? You could have helped everyone feel better, and instead you decided to be selfish and force everyone to hoard the food for you." Serena kept the Greedy Pokémon looking at all the Pokémon it had wronged, making sure it understood.
The sight, coupled with the scolding, seemed to strike a chord into the guilty Pokémon. It turned back to the woman all flustered, waving his arms around in denial. "G-Gree...Greedent gree!"
"You didn't need all these berries, did you? You only forced everyone to gather them because you could."
Greedent's attempted excuses were put to a screeching halt, and the squirrel turned to the large amount of berries all around them. It fell silent, but Serena was hardly done.
"What you did was horrible, selfish and unkind, and you really deserve to be punished for what you caused."
A shiver ran down Greedent's spine, once again looking over the large crowd of agreeing wild Pokémon. It swallowed. "Gree gree! Greedent dent! Gree!"
"Saying you're sorry isn't enough, you have to act on it. Only then will you really make things better." Serena leant a bit closer, her expression unchanging. "And you want to make things better, right?"
Sweat ran down the once-Dynamaxed Pokémon's face, fear of retaliation clearly taking over. It tried to resist just a bit longer before finally crumbling, grabbing a large amount of the berries and moving around the wild Pokémon to distribute them.
"Gree! Gree greedent!" it said, delivering large amounts of food for everyone around him, going as far as sharing it with the Pokémon of Gloria's traveling group, right down to Chewtle and Sobble. The various Pokémon seemed fairly confused at that change of attitude, but it didn't take long for them all to sink their teeth into the berries, their prior anger making way to satisfied smiles. After everyone got some food to enjoy, Greedent let out a sigh of relief, and that prompted Serena to get closer once again.
"Isn't this better? Making everyone smile, and have everyone enjoy food together? You can have all you need, and everyone else as well." She grabbed quite a few berries of her own and gave them to Greedent, patting the squirrel on its head. "And if you share, they'll all be willing to help you out if you ever need more food."
Greedent contemplated its share of berries, reflecting on the admonishment. Serena kept looking at it, leaning in until she met the Pokémon face to face. "If you keep being selfish, however, no one will ever help you, and you will deserve anything done to you. Do you understand?"
Her face might've been smiling, but Gloria could feel dread crawling under her skin as she listened to her sharp, pointed tone. Greedent was clearly of the same opinion, his face losing all color.
"Greedent gree! Greedent!"
"Fantastic. Keep being a good kid, alright?" Serena chuckled out, rubbing the Greedy Pokémon's head once more.
Greedent nervously nodded several times over, immediately sprinting to grab more berries and share them all with the local wild Pokémon, as he should have. Serena gave him an approving nod, with no further words needed.
As Gloria kept an eye on how eager Greedent had gotten to follow Serena's words, she gulped down and glanced over to Ash. "Your wife is scary..."
"Like you wouldn't believe. Serena's really kind, but she knows how to be heard." Ash laughed it off, as the woman rejoined them.
The whole situation looking to be resolved, Gloria turned her attention to Astrid, wondering what she was up to. She found her still looking over at Greedent and then the sky intermittently, quite pensive as she scratched her hair.
"So, that was Dynamax. Interesting..." she muttered to herself, leading Gloria to scoff.
"If that was interesting, just wait till you see it in Gym battles. It'll blow your mind!"
The girl's boast seemed to only make Astrid more interested, and Gloria couldn't deny how that made her feel a bit more prideful for her region. It didn't stop the blonde from examining further, either, walking to the spot where Greedent had Dynamaxed and tapping the ground, careful to avoid the lessening fissures. "Does it happen often like that?"
"Dunno. Gym matches are where you really see it. Why?"
"Just curious…" Astrid appeared pensive, Absol nudging her side to draw her away before more words left her lips. "Wonder why it happened here, and how…"
Gloria shrugged, but at that point, however, her body finally ran out of adrenaline, and she allowed herself to fall on the soft grass, quickly joined by Scorbunny. Her body ached all over, her heart still thumping over her ribcage, and her mind a mess of several different thoughts. But as she looked back to her starter Pokémon, she smiled as happily as she could.
Even if it required help, they had defeated a Dynamaxed Pokémon together. Their biggest achievement until then, what would surely become the first of many. They laughed at it together, wondering what else their journey ahead would bring to them.
"Chewtle chew."
Gloria felt a small weight fall on her chest, and turning to the side, she could see Chewtle delivering a few of the berries, before sharing a few with Scorbunny as well. Before Gloria could blink, Chewtle sat next to her, munching on its own berry in silence. She was a bit surprised by the turtle's kind gesture, but still gladly took a bite off an Oran Berry alongside Scorbunny.
"Thank you," she said as she munched the berry, savoring its taste and feeling just a bit more reinvigorated. It felt nice, just the three of them, sitting and eating, before someone else's cry echoed.
"Saah sah! Sahbble!" Gloria heard from the side, and in her periphery, she noticed Sobble offering some berries to Greninja and Ash as well, in a very similar way as Chewtle.
"Nin," Greninja thanked him with, eating the berries slowly as Sobble continued to stare at him and Ash with a blissfully starstruck expression, his tiny hands joined together.
Gloria shrugged, finding the Water Lizard's behavior fairly endearing. As she turned back, however, she realized how Chewtle had kept glancing at her in the meantime. She blinked. "Um...is something wrong?"
Questioned, the tiny turtle continued to stare at the Postwick girl before trotting forward and pointing at an empty pokeball on her belt.
"Chew chew," it said, pointing towards herself right after. The meaning was clear, yet still caught Gloria off guard. She took a moment to process it.
"Wait...you mean...you want to come with us?"
"Chew!" she nodded strongly, its constant frown softening up just a bit.
Gloria watched a moment, pursing her lips and then reaching out to feel the turtle's horn. "Any reason why?"
"Probably because she saw how strong you and Scorbunny are, and really likes that!" Ash said, following the scene from the side. He was quick to turn to Sobble, as well, the small Water type still observing Greninja happily. "And I guess you're the same. You want to join us, too. Am I right?"
"Sah sah!" Just like Sobble, the Water type gave a firm nod of his own, barely constraining the urge to jump in the air, leaving no ambiguity to his intention.
Both Gloria and Ash thought things over, the young girl still quite surprised by the turn. She liked the little turtle, for sure, but she would've never expected the two friends to decide to join their group as well. Glancing up, though, and seeing all the feasting Pokémon around them, Gloria realized the two had already been forgotten, just another of the pack.
It almost appeared like they were choosing a different home. To that, Gloria rubbed her neck, unsure if they were truly okay with that. At the same time, however, she could only be excited knowing that another Pokémon found her worthy to be their trainer. From the way Scorbunny and Chewtle were locking gazes fiercely, she knew her partner felt likewise.
Ash was on the same page, a fist pumped up. "Well then. Who are we to say no?"
At Ash's words, and her continued stare at Chewtle, Gloria hesitation vanished, and she grinned.
"Indeed!" Gloria replied in kind, before she and Ash both faced their respective Water type.
At once, both Ash and Gloria grabbed one of their spare Poké Balls, tossing them simultaneously at Sobble and Chewtle, catching them at once. One, two, three shakes later, and the device finally stopped with no resistance whatsoever. The Kantonian and Galarian trainers rushed to grab their Balls, both of them holding them high, almost in sync.
"I caught a Sobble!"
"And I caught a Chewtle!"
"Pipikachu!"
"Scorbun nibbah!"
Pikachu and Scorbunny high-fived each other, grinning together. It took a few seconds for Gloria's excitement to fade and realize how she and Ash were pulling off almost exactly the same pose, and a wave of embarrassment washed over her. She dropped her hand down, her cheeks turning crimson. Serena had a good laugh at the scene, and Gloria decided to look over Chewtle's Ball, holding it tightly. Where the battle had ended, Astrid also looked back with an approving smirk, no longer distracted by the pale pink light left in the ground.
Gloria ignored her, heart fit to burst with joy. After Rookidee, she now had another new friend that would help her on her journey, and she couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for them. Next to her, she could see Ash being similarly excited for Sobble, discussing it with Pikachu and Greninja.
The jubilant atmosphere was finally interrupted by Astrid stepping in, pointing behind herself to the large walls nearby. "Touching as getting you some new partners is, if we're all done with the problem here, shouldn't we go ahead? We're closer to Motostoke, might as well go the whole distance."
It was only upon the woman's words that Gloria finally remembered their initial goal, and she turned in its direction. With a breath, the large walls surrounding Motostoke felt like a welcome sight once again. As she gripped tighter to the Ball containing her new friend, she was the first to sprint towards the city, the fatigue from the battle pushed aside by her drive.
"Astrid's right. Let's keep going!" she called, racing ahead. Astrid scoffed and shook her head, but she and everyone else was quick to follow along. Running forward, Gloira looked back to the restored habitat and all its inhabitants, Greedent still hurrying to feed the others its mountain of berries. It brought a smile to her face and she whipped around, leaving behind the redeemed Greedent and the other Pokémon of the Wild Area, content.
It had been quite a fun and rewarding day for Gloria, but the true adventure she was waiting for was just ahead, and she was ready to start it, alongside their new friends. They continued to the red-dyed walls of Motostoke.
For now, the Gym Challenge awaited.
Author's Note: As the second half, or companion chapter, of the last one, this involved quite a lot of payoff to that immediate setup, so I hope it went well for you. Ironically, some things in this chapter were probably more important than they initially seem, but I won't say how or what. Leave you to ponder. Though, I will say, in case people are worried about the "difficulty" the vets had, let's just say it's a new challenge they had to learn, and they were worried about the habitat surrounding them. This isn't a regression. At all. Now, for Viroro.
Viroro: And with this, we're at the end of this little mini-arc, with one addition to Ash's and Gloria's team each! While the teams beyond our new lead protagonist won't get a majority of focus throughout this story, we still had some fun ideas of how to integrate Sobble into Ash's team while fitting the story's themes that we felt was worth tackling. Chewtle was also a Pokémon we choose very deliberately for Gloria for reasons that will be made clearer as the story continues, but suffice to say she's going to be just as important as Scorbunny and Rookidee in regards to her growth as a trainer.
It was quite fun to write the first proper meetup with a Dynamax Pokémon for Gloria and the others, and to offer one proper moment of the whole group fighting together to officially make this quartet a team, story-wise at least, while leaning on the coordination needed to defeat it over brute force. But of course, even if the current troubles have been resolved, our group is still heading for Motostoke, where the next major events of the story will take place.
Hope you liked this chapter, and that you'll keep enjoying what's to come!
Of course, as usual, have some people to thank: BlackWriter9120, Darren1138 and ChaosHunter21 for favoriting; ArtisticFoxCat1 and jonald101 for following; and the hugest of thanks to oomoepoo, Fury, StoutShako42Refined, GalarianMike, MythGirl Writes, FantasyLover88, ChE Clarinetist, Tenzalucard123, AmourshippingCanon, potat lasaro, UltimateCCC, Ander Arias, Cottonmouth25, Rajiv A. Rajaram and 2 guests for reviewing!
Until next time, please do Review and,
Dare to Be Silly.