Darkest Day Prelude
"Feels strange to be back in Stow-on-Side so soon, I wonder if Bea's around." Ash remembered her mentioning to him that she was the former Gym Leader of the city and that her rival Allister had taken over it.
"It's doubtful, she was in Sinnoh last we saw her and she's likely moved on to Kanto or Johto to battle the Fighting type specialists that reside there." Marnie spoke up while Zach's gaze became fixated upon a large group of tents that had been propped up nearby along with a fairly large crowd of people.
"Those weren't here a few days ago, I wonder what's going on." Zach commented.
"I'll ask," Dawn gave Zach an assuring smile, her hand brushed up against his before she walked towards the large crowd. She could be seen interacting with a stranger but Ash did a quick doubletake upon seeing who exactly the stranger was.
'The old man from Draco Island!' Ash recalled that he'd been masquerading as the Guardian of the Mega Stone, it was a mystifying experience as he referred to him as 'the Chosen One' and upright disappeared when the true Guardian appeared. Ash quickly sprang forward to interact with the man as he walked away from Dawn, the two soon disappeared into the large crowd and upon getting clear of it Ash quickly turned left and right while uttering out a growl of frustration as the man was nowhere in sight!
"Huh?" Marnie blinked as she watched Ash rush off. She didn't bother to run after him though as she figured he'd come back shortly.
"So what's up?" Zach questioned as Dawn returned.
"It's a Pokemon Swap Meet!" Dawn exclaimed as she returned while offering him a bright smile. "You can trade off those Fire types that you captured!"
"Really? Well that's rather sudden, I-I'm not sure what I'd even trade them for!" Zach sweated.
"Don't worry about that, I'll stick by you and make sure you make decisions you'll be proud of." Dawn smiled as her hands reached out to touch his own.
May watched as the two smiled and gazed into each other's eyes. 'Well they're certainly cute together...'
"Ace." A devious smirk appeared on Cinderace's face shortly before she hastily pushed Zach towards the nearby Pokemon Center. "Ace ace Cinderace ace!"
"H-Hey, Cinderace!" Dawn couldn't help but giggle as she watched Cinderace excitedly drag her crush away.
Zach returned at the same time as Ash did, the three Ultra Balls sat in his hands as he gazed towards the Swap Meet.
"Where did you go?" Marnie hissed out as she raced up to Ash with a questioning look. "Did you see one of your old rivals or something?"
"I wish!" Ash exclaimed as he'd been hoping to reunite with Trip, Cameron, Alain, Tyson and Tobias as he wanted closure with his old rivals. He never did have a full battle with Trip and come out on top! "No I just... thought I saw somebody I knew, I'm guessing that I was mistaken."
Marnie gave him a look before shrugging. It didn't appear to be anyone he was romantically interested in so why worry about it?
"Well we have a few hours until Zach's scheduled match with Allister so Zach and I are going to attend the Swap Meet to try and trade off his Fire types!" Dawn exclaimed while latching her arm around his.
Zach blushed lightly as he nodded in agreement. "T-That's right! I don't think they'd get much usage on my team and it wouldn't be right to have them sitting at the lab all the time so I'd like to make sure they go to trainers who'd get better use out of them than I would."
Marnie gave Ash a swift look before looking towards Ash once more. "What's a Pokemon you always wanted to catch but haven't had the chance to?"
"I-I don't know, somebody from the Trapinch line I guess?"
"That's perfect!" Marnie turned to Ash and grabbed hold of his arm. "This is perfect, we can go off to the Wild Area and try to find him a Trapinch to trade for Sizzlipede!"
May watched the pair walk off before turning her attention towards Zach and Dawn as they walked towards the Swap Meet. "Hey wait up!"
The first hour of the Swap Meet was pretty uneventful but the three friends had a fun time walking around and admiring the Pokemon on display.
"Is that seriously a Heatran over there?" Zach narrowed his eyes as he spotted the Legendary Pokemon sitting on display. He couldn't help but wonder what the trainer even wanted for the Legendary but he'd find himself broken away from his thoughts as May let out a loud squeal.
"Swablu!" May's gaze was fixated upon the Normal/Flying type Pokemon. "I always wanted to catch one of these, Altaria are so beautiful!"
Zach glanced down at one of his Ultra Balls before offering it to Swablu's trainer. "Would you trade Swablu for a Vulpix?"
"Sure!" The trainer responded with an excitable expression before returning Swablu to it's Pokeball as she motioned towards a nearby trading machine. "Follow me!"
Zach and Swablu's trainer placed the two Pokeballs onto the trading machine before activating the machine. The balls were vacuumed into the machine as Vulpix and Swablu's icons displayed upon the screen, it didn't take long for a loud chime to echo across the area as the Ultra Ball rolled out towards the female trainer while the Pokeball containing Swablu rolled towards Zach.
"And the trade's complete! Thanks so much," The trainer bowed before taking her leave.
Zach was quick to turn to May as he held the Pokeball out to her. "Here you go, you wanted a Swablu right? Well now you can have one!"
Dawn smiled at his gesture as she found it quite admirable he'd do such a thing for her.
May silently gazed at the Pokeball for a moment before accepting it as a warm smile spread across her face. "Thank you," May wrapped her arms around him as she showed her appreciation for the gesture. "I'll take good care of her, I promise!"
"I sure hope so," Zach smirked lightly before glancing to the side as he distinctly recognized somebody. "Hey that's Shane Seeker! He must be here looking for a shiny Pokemon, good thing I don't have one of those... oh wait!" Zach went pale as he realized that he did have one, he then started nervously sweating as Shane caught sight of him and began walking towards them. Zach closed his eyes and silently prayed to Arceus that Shane would walk right past as he didn't want to disappoint his friend as there was no way he'd ever trade away Eevee after what he'd been through.
"Hey it's you, that guy who almost got crushed by that shiny Darmanitan! I saw your recent Gym match and noticed that you captured a shiny Pokemon, one which I've had my eye on for quite some time! I'll trade you it for my Milotic, it ain't shiny but I do own a shiny!" He didn't wish to taint his Pokedex with 'normal' Pokemon but once he captured the shiny variant, he was free to capture the normal variants for trade stock in order to obtain more shiny Pokemon!
"S-Sorry Shane, we may be friends but there's no way I'm trading you my Eevee for Milotic!"
"Milotic? Oh that Pokemon's so beautiful!" Dawn gushed while staring off with a dreamy expression.
"Eevee?" Shane gave Zach an odd look. "Who said anything about Eevee? I'm talking about Litwick!"
"Huh? But Litwick's not a-" Zach paused for a moment as he realized that he actually didn't get a good look at the Ghost/Fire type as he had been focused upon the task at hand! He quickly opened up the Ultra Ball to check and sure enough the shiny hunter was right as Litwick's flames were a light blue color rather than the usual purple. Zach caught Dawn's dreamy expression and turned to Shane before delivering a quick nod of acceptance. "Alright then I guess we've got a deal!"
What happened next was a bit of a blur to Dawn as she was lost in a trance, envisioning herself in a dual performance with both Piplup and Milotic and she was only snapped out of it by Zach's return as he spoke out to her. "Dawn?"
Dawn shook her head as she was brought back to reality, her eyes then widened as she saw a Dive Ball being held out to her. Dawn gave him a questioning look as if to ask if it were Milotic before Zach gave a nod of confirmation while offering her a warm affectionate look. Dawn let out an excited squeal as she threw her arms around him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as she pressed her lips directly up against his own! Zach's eyes widened from the gesture as he certainly wasn't expecting that, he stumbled backwards before correcting himself as his back pressed up against the trading machine, his hands soon wrapped around Dawn's own waist as he returned the kiss. The two lovers passionately kissed each other and lost track of their surroundings, May wasn't paying much attention either as she couldn't help but smile at the sight.
'Those two really were made for each other...'
The trading machine soon activated as Sizzlipede's ball rolled onto it while at the other end, an ancient looking Pokeball was placed onto the slot. The old man watched the two with a smirk before turning his attention towards the screen as Sizzlipede's icon was swapped for that of Cyndaquil!
"Such a noble gesture, Zachariah. No wonder you always win over Akari's heart no matter where or when you are. I see you've met Irida again as well..." The old man mused with a chuckle as he took hold of Sizzlipede's Ultra Ball before walking off, disappearing from sight as soon as he blended in with the crowd.
"Mmm..." Zach and Dawn separated shortly after, the two shared a lingering gaze and smiled at one another.
"Well it looks like we're together now, no denying it anymore!" Dawn giggled out while leaning her head up against his.
"Heh, yeah." Zach breathed out as the two continued affectionately gazing into each other's eyes. "So this means you're traveling around with me full time?"
"Of course silly, I've got nothing better to do and I don't want you feeling like Ash and Marnie's third wheel!" Dawn laughed out.
"So I guess this means we have to find a date now, a-any ideas? I-I didn't exactly get to go out with... you know." Zach nervously sweated.
"And I've never had a boyfriend!" Dawn exclaimed while giggling out before kissing his cheek while her hand pressed up against his chest. "Let's just find some place nice to eat tonight, nothing special and just the two of us! Your company is all I need for a date!"
Zach smiled at her words before awkwardly glancing to the side as he remembered May had been there the whole time! "O-Oh! S-Sorry May, I know that you-"
May was disappointed but like she promised Dawn, she wasn't going to hold it against them if Zach chose Dawn over her. May offered the two a smile before giving them a hug. "Congrats you two, you sure make quite the cute couple!"
"Carrr!"
"Piplup!" The two Pokemon cried out in agreement while Cinderace gazed towards the trading machine as Zach was pulled away from it. Cinderace scratched her chin as she saw the ancient looking Pokeball sitting there and she slowly turned towards Zach, quickly coming to a realization upon spotting the missing Ultra Ball that something must have happened!
"Ace ace, Cinderace!" Cinderace leaped up and down while hastily pointing towards the machine.
"Something's up with Cinderace," May noted causing Zach to pull away from Dawn as he turned to look at the Fire starter.
"What's up, Cinderace?"
"Ace ace!"
"Carr?" Lucario tilted his head as he shot his trainer a quick look, his gaze fixated upon his trainer's belt before glancing back towards the Pokeball that sat upon the machine. "Carr, Lucar!"
"What? You're saying that I butt-traded somebody while making out with Dawn?!"
"Carrr!" "That's one way of saying it, yes!"
Zach quickly looked towards his belt and realized that Sizzlipede's ball was missing. He glanced towards the machine and paused as he saw an ancient looking Pokeball waiting in the trading dock for him. "I-Is that mine then?" Zach picked up the ball and gave it an odd look as he looked it over. "I've never seen a Pokeball like this before, it looks super old and ancient!"
"Are you sure that it even works?" Dawn questioned.
"Well surely it has to, I mean the trading machine accepted it!" May motioned towards the trading machine as it showed that a trade had been completed.
"Well I guess there's only one way to find out if it's working or not," Zach reached for the release button while Cinderace gleefully leaped for joy as she was the only Fire type on his team once more! However that joy didn't last long as Cyndaquil burst from the ball!
"Cyndaquil!"
"Ace!" Cinderace's jaw dropped at the sight of the rival Fire starter. "Oh come on, we just got rid of the others!" She pouted.
"Aw, it's cute!" Dawn gushed.
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil held it's arms out towards Zach and began waving them as if she were a child wanting to be picked up!
"Looks like she's imprinted on you already," May smirked.
"Well I guess I'm keeping this one then, sorry Cinderace!"
"Ace..." Cinderace crossed her arms and silently leered at Cyndaquil before her eyes went soft as Cyndaquil let out a rather cute yawn! Cinderace smiled lightly and shuffled her paws as she glanced towards the ground. "Well I suppose having one other Fire type won't hurt..." It wasn't as if he'd just up and replace her, she was quite the troublemaker and he'd taken the fall for her every time and although he scolded her he never stayed mad nor even hated her! She was a permanent member of his team and she realized that nothing would change that!
"Dragooo!"
"Sala!"
"Alta!"
"Draga!" Dragonite, Salamence, Altaria and Dragapult soared through the skies above but not a single Trapinch was in sight!
"We've been out here for hours and there's no sign of Trapinch!" Ash let out a loud sigh of annoyance before plopping down atop a tree stump. "We should just go ahead and head back, he likely traded Sizzlipede by now!"
"That's fair, I just realized that we neglected to ask him to hold it for you." Marnie lightly sweated. "Sizzlipede may be a bit common if you know where to look but ownership is key, if one of his fans show up they'd eagerly jump at the chance to own a Pokemon that was owned by their idol. I mean... I was that way once." Marnie sheepishly smiled.
Ash turned to face her as a light chuckle escaped his lips. "I suppose you're right, then we definitely should head back. We don't want to be late for his match."
The old man shook poked his head out from a nearby bush and smirked as he caught sight of Ash and Marnie.
"Satoshi, Mai." The man spoke as he enlarged the Ultra Ball and pressed the release button before crushing the ball with surprising strength as a pile of rubble and ash sat at his feet. "Let's see how well you handle a Dynamax battle, Satoshi!"
"SKORCH!" Ash and Marnie were quick to turn around and gasped out at the sight of a Gigantamax Centiskorch!
"Where did that come from?!" Marnie shouted out. "There's no hotspots in this area, what gives?!"
"It doesn't matter where it came from, we've got to take it down before it attacks us!" Ash exclaimed as the Pokemon was giving them a hostile look. "Inteleon I choose you!"
"Leon, Inteleon!" Inteleon twirled his hand as he posed with a finger gun motion once more. Ash was about to utilize the Dynamax Band that Chairman Rose gave him all those months ago but before he could retrieve it, Inteleon seemingly Dynamaxed or rather Gigantamaxed on his own!
"Inteleon!" The lizard cried out as it towered above them, utilizing it's now insanely long massive tail as a sniper's perch as he took aim at Centiskorch with water that had taken the shape and form of a sniper rifle!
"Huh, I've never seen that one before." Marnie commented with a surprised expression.
"Snipe Shot!" Ash was quick to exclaim.
"You mean Max Geyser!" Marnie shouted out to correct him.
"Oh right, I forgot!" Ash chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. "Max Geyser!"
"Intel!" Inteleon fired off a large water geyser from his sniper rifle, blasting Centiskorch and knocking the Pokemon back as rain began pouring down upon the area around them! Centiskorch leered at Inteleon as multicolored sparks of light appeared around his body, forming into green energy orbs before bursting and releasing blasts of green energy upon Inteleon! Inteleon was pushed back by the attack but remained perfectly balanced as he didn't teeter over.
"Let's try this again one more time, Max Geyser!"
"Leon!" Inteleon took aim and fired off another massive geyser of water from his sniper rifle, the geyser erupted upon impact and splashed against Centiskorch causing the Pokemon to let out a loud pain filled cry before he dropped towards the ground as the purple and red clouds spiraled around him once more, reverting him back to normal!
"What on earth is going on here?!" Marnie asked as she shot a quick look around. "I don't see any hot spots and there aren't supposed to be active ones around here in the first place!"
"I have no idea but maybe we should catch this just in case," Ash pulled back his arm as he enlarged a Pokeball before throwing it forward, the ball soared through the air and opened up as it approached the downed Centiskorch before engulfing him in a bright red light as he was absorbed into the ball. The Pokeball hit the ground and shook twice before chiming out to announce the capture complete!
"Well at least you ended up with a Centiskorch," Marnie smirked lightly before turning her gaze towards the sky above with a look of concern. The sky was calm now and there was still no signs of an active hotspot as Inteleon began reverting back to his normal form. "It is rather worrisome it just randomly happened though, not to mention Inteleon just did it without your say so!"
"Yeah, it may be my unfamiliarity with Dynamax but it doesn't make sense to me either." Ash frowned.
Marnie took hold of his hand and smiled as Centiskorch's ball was whisked away to Professor Oak's lab. "Well seeing how the situation has seemingly passed, why don't we head on back to Stow-on-Side? Zach's due to battle Allister any moment now!"
"Yeah, let's head back."
The old man smirked before retreating back into the bushes, a bright light shined through the bushes before a feline shape flew out of it and towards the sky above. Oleana lowered a pair of binoculars as she'd been watching from afar. "Chairman Rose is right, that kid's too much of a liability..."
The woman pulled out a silver colored Rotom Phone and typed in a number, the screen soon changed to showcase a pair of twins that looked almost identical with the sole difference being their hairstyle as one had their hair modeled and shaped after a sword while the other had modeled their hairstyle after that of a shield.
"Sordward, Shielbert. I'm in need of your assistance..." She spoke in her usual cold manner.
"Yes my queen?"
"What can we do for you today, m'lady?"
Oleana held up a picture of Marnie. "I believe you're already familiar with this target? This is Marnie, the Chairman wants you to capture her and hold her hostage as to keep her boyfriend in control."
"Say no more m'lady!"
"Consider it done!"
"But..."
"Anything else?"
"Yes, I've come to realize that the Chairman isn't as fearful of Ash's Gym Challenger friend as he should be. I saw how his Obstagoon wiped out the majority of Kabu's team, a team which most trainers fail to take down just one of the members! We're going to need him taken care of as well, I'm not sure who his girlfriend is as he's close to three different single women. However his relationship with Chloe Cerise appears to be platonic from what I've studied, therefore you're to capture both Dawn Berlitz and May Maple."
"Um..." Sordward gave his brother a look.
"Exactly how do you suppose we separate them?" Shielbert questioned.
"From what we know of the first target, she's always around either Ash or his companion. She's never alone..." Sordward spoke up.
"Don't worry, I've got the perfect distraction in mind." Oleana smirked as she flicked towards Bede's contact information. "Now listen up, here's the plan..."
"You sure you're okay on going right out there?" Dawn asked with a light head tilt. "The stadium is a lot bigger than the previous one and you seem to have formed quite the fanbase." She noted as she pointed towards the television that was attached to the locker room's wall, currently displaying a small selection of the stadium where quite a few rows were packed with fans holding signs with '64!' or 'Go Zach' or just loudly cheering for him, and of course there were some obnoxious fangirls as was common with pretty much any individual that got famous in the Galar League, rather you were male or female you were sure to get crazed fans! Dawn gave that area a light scowl before turning her attention back to Zach as he spoke up.
Zach shivered lightly at the sight of the crowd before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath as he turned to gaze into her eyes. "I'll be fine, after all I've got the most beautiful woman in the world standing here waiting for me!" Zach smirked lightly as Dawn let out a giggle before rushing forward as she planted a kiss right on his lips with him returning it before they'd separate as the announcer called for him once more.
"Good luck babe, go kick the Gym Leader's butt!" Dawn called out watching as Zach flashed her a thumps up before rushing out onto the field as Lucario and Cinderace raced after him.
"And here we are folks the final battle of the evening, Challenger 64 also known as Zach is here to face Allister for his fourth gym badge! He's shown off quite an impressive cache of Pokemon so far so I wonder what Pokemon we'll see today! Today's challenge consists of a maze that the trainer must get through without the help of his Pokemon! Challenging his skills and patience as a trainer!"
A large maze appeared on the field and Zach took a deep breath before walking into it, he wasn't perfect as he hit pretty much every dead end possible but never hitting the same one twice as he appeared to memorize his pathing, eventually coming out on the other side where Lucario and Cinderace were waiting for him. The crowd began to cheer as the announcer spoke up.
"And Zach has proved himself a success! Now will his Pokemon be capa-"
"Scizor!" Scizor swiftly moved through the maze in seconds before giving the cheering crowd a challenging stare. "Scizor zor!" 'That the best you got? Give me a real challenge!'
"O-Okay well looks like we'll now proceed to the battle portion of the challenge where our beloved Gym Leader Allister will go up against the Challenger!" The maze lowered into the ground as the field changed into a battlefield while Allister phased right through the ground and into his position almost as if he were a ghost himself! Quite a few girls could be heard screaming from within the crowd as they found the mystique behind his mask alluring and attractive. "This will be a four on four battle with only the challenger being allowed to switch out Pokemon, the winner will be declared once one said is unable to battle or the challenger forfeits. You all ready for this?!" He asked the crowd as they let out a loud cheer.
"Then let the battle begin!" The announcer declared as Zach and Allister both grabbed onto Pokeballs.
"Chandelure, I require your assistance."
"Raichu, let's go!"
"Rai rai!" Raichu cried out as he burst out alongside Chandelure, the two rivaling Pokemon giving one another a hard stare.
"Overheat!" Chandelure's body began glowing red as it fired off a massive stream of fire towards it's opponent!
"Rain Dance!" Zach shouted as Raichu was quick to raise his hands causing a heavy downpour to appear and cause part of the flame to die out as it continued approaching Raichu before striking against him, the electrical rodent uttered a soft grunt before regaining his balance as he locked eyes with his opponent.
"Now use Surf!" The crowd let out a gasp as he revealed Raichu to know quite the surprising and almost unheard of move for an Electric type such as he. A powerful wave grew beneath Raichu before quickly rising up and towering over Chandelure, the Ghost/Fire type began visibly sweating before the wave came crashing down hard on him. Chandelure disappeared beneath the waves as Raichu surfed back to his trainer's side while the two waited to see what Chandelure's status was, as the water soon died down they'd get their answer as Chandelure laid on the battlefield ground in defeat with swirls in his eyes.
"Chandelure is unable to battle, Allister please send out your next Pokemon!"
Allister returned Chandelure, his expression being unreadable on account of his mask. He placed the ball back onto his belt before reaching out and grabbing hold of a different ball. "Runerigus, I need your assistance!"
"Runerigus the Grudge Pokemon and the evolved form of Galarian Yamask, a powerful curse was woven into an ancient painting, after absorbing the spirit of a Yamask the painting began to move!" Ash's Pokedex read out as he scanned the strange looking Pokemon.
"Still up for this?" Zach asked as Raichu clenched his fists.
"Rai rai!"
"Then let's go with another Surf before the Rain Dance wears off!" Raichu raised up his arms before riding another massive wave towards his opponent and bringing it crashing down upon him! Runerigus was pushed back before shaking itself off and locking it's eyes onto Raichu's body.
"Earthquake!" Runerigus slammed into the ground causing the ground to shake and vibrate all around them as Raichu began losing his balance before toppling right off his tail and onto his back as the ground opened up beneath him. "Rai!"
Raichu was still able to fight but with the rain wearing down and Raichu looking weakened, Zach decided to return Raichu and let him conserve his strength for now. "Scizor, let's go!"
"Scizor!" Scizor eagerly leaped forward."Scizor!"
"Bullet Punch!"
Scizor's claw glowed light blue as he swiftly moved across the field faster than one could blink as he prepared to strike!
"Destiny Bond!" Allister shouted causing Zach to grit his teeth as a bright light surrounded both Pokemon. Scizor struck out mere moments later, bringing Runerigus crashing down in defeat before Scizor fell face forward seconds later as both Pokemon laid in defeated slumps before their trainers.
"Scizor and Runerigus are both unable to battle, trainers please go ahead and pick out your next Pokemon!" The scoreboard adjusted to gray out both Pokemon while Raichu's face was the only currently shown Pokemon still lit up on the screen.
Zach returned Scizor with a regretful expression. "Sorry your first Galar match ended in a draw, I'll make sure you get a slot in the next gym."
"Cursola, I need your assistance!" Allister called out as he released what appeared to be a white Corsola only it's branches were far longer and it's body appeared to have died as it didn't show any visible signs of breathing.
"Cursola the Coral Pokemon and the evolution of Galarian Corsola, it's shell is overflowing with its heightened otherworldly energy. The ectoplasm serves as protection for this Pokemon's core spirit!"
"...what's the story with Corsola?" Ash wondered as he used the search function, bringing up a picture of Corsola.
"Corsola Galarian Form, sudden climate change wiped out this ancient kind of Corsola. This Pokemon absorbs others' life-force through its branches!"
The data caused Ash and Pikachu's faces to be full of sorrow.
"That's terrible!"
"Pika!"
"Let's go Eevee!" Zach called out as he threw forward the ball containing the shiny Normal type, Eevee burst out with a happy cry and gave his trainer an expression full of love before locking his eyes onto Cursola as the audience let out an 'Awww!' at the sight of the adorable Pokemon.
"Use Dig!" Zach ordered as Eevee burrowed beneath the ground, that wasn't his plan of attack but he hoped Allister would take the bait.
"Fly in and use Ancient Power!" Allister ordered behind his mask. Cursola flew in the hole after Eevee while he burrowed right out the other end.
"Quick, go back to the other end and fire off a Shadow Ball!"
"Eevee!" Eevee cried out, rushing across the field at a surprisingly quick speed as the ball of black and purple static energy formed inside his mouth. An explosion was heard within the tunnel and Cursola was sent flying right out the other end!
"Now use Iron Tail!" Eevee's tail turned bright steel as he leaped up into the air before striking it against Cursola! Cursola now flew in the opposite direction before landing against the ground with a thud as the crowd let out an excited murmur at the strategy that Zach and Eevee had utilized as Cursola currently laid in defeat before them. Eevee smirked and leaped up onto his trainer's face before affectionately nuzzling him and licking his cheek while Zach couldn't hold back his laughter as he gave him a pet. Bede was watching from the stands with crossed arms though a light smile crossed his face at the sight of Eevee performing quite well under his new trainer.
"Unbelievable Cursola didn't even get in a single hit!" The announcer gasped out in shock as Allister returned Cursola to his ball. "An excellent strategy that shows how skilled of a strategist he is, no doubt the upcoming Gym Leaders have quite a challenge on their hands unless Allister can pull a recovery?!"
"Gengar, I need your assistance!" Allister didn't need to throw a ball as Gengar popped right out of his shadow, revealing how Allister had phased through the battlefield earlier. Ash's eyes widened as he wondered if perhaps his own Gengar could do that? He wouldn't notice from the distance but Allister's Gengar was even a slightly different shade of purple that you'd really only notice if you were up close!
"Gengar!" Gengar gave Eevee a sinister smirk but rather than back down Eevee kept his cool and gave Gengar a confident and brave stare as the crowd roared out in excitement of what was to come!
"We need to even the field, let's Dynamax!" Allister activated his Dynamax as the familiar purple and sinister looking clouds took form around Gengar's body as the Pokemon grew larger, his mouth stretching open and honestly starting to resemble a funhouse at a Halloween carnival! His purple coloring had also changed into a bright white coloring, revealing that Allister's Gengar was actually a shiny one!
"We're gonna Dynamax as well, right?!" Zach smirked at Eevee, knowing that this would likely be the only shot they had of utilizing his Gigantamax form!
"Eevee!" Eevee flashed his trainer a smirk, Eevee walked down his arm and tapped the Dynamax band to activate it before leaping off as he began to transform! He became kaiju sized and his physical appearance didn't change too much other than his fur collar greatly enhancing into a massive ball of fluff that covered up the majority of his lower half! "Evoi!"
"Max Darkness!"
"Max Quake!" Gengar released a massive burst of dark energy while Eevee slammed his tail into the ground, causing it to shake before cracking beneath Gengar and sucking the Ghost type in! Both Pokemon looked effected by the attacks with Gengar taking the worse of it due to his type disadvantage!
"Max Ooze!" Allister shouted.
"Max Phantasm!" Zach shouted out as the two Max Moves began clashing against one another, poisonous ooze fighting phantasm energy before Eevee's Ghost attack eventually prevailed, breaking apart the Max Poison attack as it continued moving towards Gengar! Gengar widened his eyes and let out a shout before an explosion went off as he returned to his normal form after taking the hit, laying on the ground in defeat as Eevee let out a happy cheer as he returned to his normal form as well.
"I-I can't believe it... Zach just managed to beat Allister! While only needing to use three of the four required Pokemon at that! He's truly worth keeping an eye on in the future as who knows what his next battle will look like!"
The crowd began cheering loudly as Zach looked around for a brief moment, giving them a wave before letting out a cheerful laugh while Lucario and Cinderace cheered for their buddy and Eevee! "We did it Eevee, we did it! We won, we-"
"Evoi!" Eevee began absorbing moonlight as his body became encased in a bright blue glow, his pelt began turning into a black coloring while his eyes turned a bright orange. Bright blue rings began forming around his body as he raised up his head and cried out at the moonlight above before looking back at his trainer with an affectionate look. "Umbreon!"
Zach's eyes lit up before he threw his arms around his newly evolved Pokemon, and pulling him into a hug. "You evolved!" He had a feeling Eevee would be evolving soon but he tried avoiding the topic of evolution as he didn't want to risk offending Eevee and making him think he was gonna ditch him like Bede did if Eevee chose the wrong option or refuse to evolve.
"Umbre!" Umbreon let out a happy cry before leaping up and nuzzling against his trainer who let out another series of laughter before Allister started his approach. The younger male held out the badge before speaking.
"This is the Ghost badge, thank you for the fun battle. And don't worry, no hard feelings! I haven't had this much fun since I beat Bea!" Allister let out a chuckle beneath his mask before giving Zach a light wave. "And good luck against Opal, see you around!"
Zach took the badge from Allister's grasp and smiled before bowing his head. "Thank you, I too found that battle exciting!" Umbreon smirked at his trainer with a wide grin as he was merely thankful for the chance to finally prove himself for a change and ensure that he'd found his forever home as part of Zach's team!
"Wait you're telling me that you just asked her out? Simple as that?" Ash questioned as the two waited for the girls outside of the Pokemon Center. Marnie and Dawn were currently switching up their teams, Marnie as she was about to start a late night training session with Ash while Dawn simply wanted to retrieve Milotic from Rowan's lab.
"Well I wouldn't say that, it was more like she threw herself at me after I gave her a Milotic then after we stopped kissing I just awkwardly asked if we were supposed to go on a date now and she said yes!" Zach's eager expression matched that of Ash's when the raven haired boy was about to challenge a powerful Pokemon trainer!
Ash sweated as he realized that perhaps Brock had gone overboard as per usual when it came to romance but it was too late now, he already had his mind set on the Wind Festival as his and Marnie's first date and he wasn't going to change that! "Well I hope the two of you have fun!"
"Thanks Ash," Zach smiled lightly before turning his attention towards the Pokemon Center door as Dawn stepped out, both of them were wearing their everyday trainer attire as they didn't want to make a big deal over their date. They just wanted to relax and spend time together!
Dawn returned the smile as she stopped in front of him, her eyes locked with his. "You ready for the date?"
"Of course I am, I-I think I've been ready since the day we met. Just too shy to say it," Zach chuckled.
Dawn giggled out as she took hold of his hand. "We'll see you two tomorrow morning!"
"Morning?" Ash questioned while Marnie gently rolled her eyes with a light smirk before taking hold of his hand as she guided him towards the Pokemon Center's training field.
"Achoo!" Lucario covered his mouth as he sneezed, he tried staying on alert to ensure that his trainer's date wouldn't be interrupted by Team Rocket, Klara or any other nonsense but his aura senses were out of whack on account of his sickness. Lucario frantically jerked his head back and forth while he had his back pressed up against the wall to get a good view of the restaurant.
"Ace!" Cinderace soon approached him, Cyndaquil sat atop her shoulder as Cinderace held out a soup bowl to Lucario. "Ace Cinderace!" "You're sick, relax! The two are enjoying a date in a nice public restaurant, nobody's gonna attack them here! Just relax and let your senses recover!"
Lucario flashed his partner an appreciative look as he accepted the soup bowl with a light growl. "Carrr..." "Perhaps I am worrying too much..."
Cinderace smiled before leaning back against the wall alongside him while shooting the two lovers an occasional glance as they appeared to be having a good time together.
"I'm so happy you're going to be traveling with me full time, I don't think I have it in me to try another long distance thing!"
Dawn flashed Zach a warm smile before speaking up after swallowing some of her food. "I'd never do that to you, I never intend on leaving your side. If you fail-Not that I don't have faith in you, I'm sure that you can do it! But if you fail to beat Mustard, I'll stick with you wherever you go next. Regardless if it's someplace I've already traveled to or someplace entirely new!"
Zach gave her an appreciative look. "I'm actually not sure what I'd do if I don't beat Mustard, maybe I'd go someplace entirely new... somewhere neither one of us have been before." Though that list was a short one, who knows maybe it would suddenly come to him someday! "But regardless I'm giving it my all, I want to be the Galar champion and I intend on completing that goal!"
Dawn giggled out once more before placing her hand atop of his own. "I have faith in you just don't get too cocky okay? Not many trainers or Coordinators can say they've beaten the Pokemon League or Grand Festival on the first go."
"I know not to underestimate Mustard, he was a former World Champion! Taking him down won't be easy."
"Hey isn't that Challenger 64?"
"Hey he's dating Dawn Berlitz!"
"Let's take a pictur-Hey!" The photographers let out an annoyed shout as somebody smacked the cameras out of their hands only to instantly go pale as they saw Obstagoon snarling at them as if he dared them to try and disturb his master!
"Ace!" Cinderace smirked as she pointed towards Obstagoon. "See? Obstagoon's got it covered! With him around there's no need to worry about paparazzi!"
Lucario smirked at the sight before fully relaxing.
A few hours later Ash and Marnie left the training field and began heading back to the Pokemon Center when Ash's attention was suddenly grabbed by a large colorful mural that sat at the center of the town. "What is that?"
"Oh that's the town mural, it's been there since... well I'm not sure how long it's been there but it's ancient that's for sure." Marnie explained before taking hold of Ash's hand. "It won't hurt to check it out, right?"
However the two were in for quite the surprise as they saw a familiar figure already there, closely examining the mural with an investigative look to her. "Hm..."
"Sonia?" Marnie spoke up causing the orange haired woman to leap up.
"Huh? O-Oh hello Marnie!" Sonia's eyes quickly glanced around which Marnie suspected was her trying to see if Zach was with them or not. "Are you two on a date or-?"
"We're still just friends!" Marnie blushed heavily. "Ash was just curious as to what this mural was about so I decided to bring him to get him a closer look! Maybe you could tell us what this mural is supposed to stand for?"
"I'm actually not sure myself," Sonia spoke up while rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "But I have reason to suspect that it has something to do with the Darkest Day!"
"Darkest Day? What's tha-" Ash was interrupted by a series of loud heavy footsteps that sounded as if they were stampeding towards them! Sonia's eyes widened as she took notice of something causing her to quickly run and dive out of the way. Ash turned to see what was coming but Marnie quickly pushed and dragged him out of the way as a familiar looking Copperajah came crashing through, charging head first towards the mural before slamming his head against it causing the ground beneath them to shake as a loud boom echoed throughout the town as the mural started to crack.
"Wait isn't that Copperajah the one we fought?" Ash questioned.
"Pika...?" Pikachu tilted his head as he seemed to share the same feeling of recognition that Ash did.
"Copperajah break down that mural!" Bede shouted out.
Copperajah blared out through it's trunk before slamming it against the mural causing it to continue cracking apart!
"Oh no you don't, Pikachu use-"
"Stop!" Marnie held her arm in front of Ash. "If you battle Copperajah then you'll definitely wind up destroying the mural!"
Ash narrowed his eyes as he realized that Marnie was right. "Bede what on earth are you doing?!"
"I'm breaking down this mural to unearth Wishing Stars for my da- Chairman Rose!" Bede exclaimed with a determined gaze. "This will finally win me the respect I desire from him!"
"By breaking down a priceless mural?!" Marnie shouted.
"Come on Bede, there's better ways to earn somebody's attention!" Ash remarked while Zach and Dawn came racing onto the scene. Marnie glanced towards the pair and sweated lightly as she saw Dawn wearing Zach's jacket while Dawn's hat sat atop of Zach's head, sweat ran down their foreheads as they hurried to investigate the noises as fast as they could. May let out a light yawn as she appeared next to them, she'd gone to bed early and the racket had apparently woken her up.
"Bede's committing vandalism?" Zach groaned lightly.
"Yeah he thinks that it'll win Rose's respect," Marnie rolled her eyes.
"Bede... whoever told you that is clearly lying, Rose will be ticked off if he hears that you broke a thousand year old mural!" Zach shouted. Bede gave his former friend a look and his fists began loosening up as he appeared to see some sense. Bede gazed at the ground for a moment before looking up as he opened his mouth.
"Sto-!"
Crash! It was too late as the mural came crashing down causing the crowd to let out a loud gasp while some snapped pictures with their Rotom Phones as two golden wolf shaped statues were revealed behind the mural's rubble!
"It's them, the wolves from Slumbering Weald!" Ash and Zach exclaimed simultaneously!
"Pika pi!"
"Carrr!"
"Ace!" The Pokemon gasped out.
"So ya were telling the truth after all..." Marnie gasped out in awe before she suddenly felt a strong pair of arms latched around her mouth, covering it up as she was pulled away! "Mmph!"
"I don't blame you for being scared Piplup, they do look frightening!" Dawn exclaimed with a light shiver.
"Piplup!"
"So those are the wolves..." May commented before both girls and Piplup found themselves in a similar situation to Marnie, the culprits easily pulled it off as everyone was too distracted by the mural and Lucario had been passed some tainted food earlier that evening that messed up his aura, getting him sick and preventing him from reading the bad aura until it was too late!
Ash and Zach silently stepped forward to give the statues a closer look while Sonia began quickly snapping pictures of the statue before diverting her attention towards something in the back. She tilted her head before stepping on in to investigate while Bede silently slinked away.
"Zacian..." Ash read out as he eyed an inscription that sat next to the sword wolf's statue. "So that's your name?"
"Zamazenta?"
Sonia suddenly let out a loud gasp as her eyes fixated upon a tapestry. "Zach, Ash... you may want to look at this!"
The two stepped further into the cave, their Pokemon following after them as they headed towards Sonia before stopping as their eyes locked onto the tapestry. The two wolves were depicted upon it and appeared to be facing off against a large purple alien looking Pokemon that neither of them had seen before! Ash pulled out his Rotom Phone in the hopes of reading up on the species only to be greeted with.
"Unknown Pokemon, no data is currently known about it."
"That isn't what I wanted to show you!" Sonia pointed towards the background of the tapestry where a knight in shining armor that looked similar to Ash stood alongside what appeared to be a prince as the man stood side by side with the knight. One of them held an ancient looking sword while the other held a shield in their hand. "Do you see what I see?!"
"Yeah, it looks like that sword and shield thing fixes the wolves tangibility problem! If we find those then we can make the wolves whole again!" Zach remarked.
Sonia sweated lightly. "Well I suppose but don't you see what this means? Zach you might be part of Galar's long lost royal bloodline!"
"What?!"
The male and female Team Yell member were dragging their feet across the ground with tired expressions as they continued following Marnie throughout the world, the pair finally arrived in Stow-on-Side and prepared to sit down when they spotted individuals with sword and shield shaped hair walking past them with three unconscious women and a Piplup sprawled out within the arms of their Pokemon!
The female Team Yell member gave them a passing glance before performing a quick double take. "They're kidnapping Marnie!" She exclaimed.
"What?! We've got to go after them!" The two rushed after the strange men as fast as they could as they were determined to save Marnie before something happened to her!
Bede narrowed his eyes as he watched from afar before clenching his fists once more as silently followed both parties to their destination.
Next, Darkest Day! :)