Pokemon Direct in two days (at the time of posting this) for Sword and Shield! The hype is real guys!
This is where I usually thank my reviewers for the last chapter... however, there is an issue I need to address. I'll be putting it in a second author's note at the bottom of this chapter, just to not clog up the top.
Enjoy!
Wes:
Nayru the Gardevoir (Friend Ball, shiny)
Faye the Ribombee (Level Ball)
Zero the Type: Null (Luxury Ball)
Sakura the Milotic (Lure Ball)
Inigo the Combusken (Permier Ball, shiny)
Blake the Umbreon (Moon Ball, shiny)
Rose:
Shelgon (Great Ball)
Brionne (Poke Ball)
Opal the Lycanroc (Fast Ball, Dusk Form)
Maple the Raichu (Love Ball, Alolan Form)
Reiki the Lucario (Ultra Ball)
Salandit (Luxury Ball)
Alola barely experienced rain and was usually bright and sunny most of the time, but ominous rain clouds were hanging in the sky that day as the students sat outside for the lesson, Jason standing in front of a portable chalk board as he spoke. Several of the students had brought umbrellas for cover at a moments notice, however as Wes eyed the dark clouds in the sky, he realized they seemed to be stationary over a town in the distance, at least for the time being.
"And that is the history of the modern PokeBall", Jason finished explaining, looking at his students. "But of course, while the mass production of the PokeBall is handed under Silph Co. and the Devon Corporation, they are not where PokeBalls originated from. Can anyone tell me where the first PokeBall originated?"
Of course, it was Rose that was the first to raise her hand, and Jason turned to her in acknowledgment, nodding to her. The redhead cleared her throat before answering, "The invention of PokeBall occurred in the Johto region, where Apricorns grow natively. These fruits were cut apart and carved out, then fitted with a special device, and used to catch wild Pokemon."
"Almost word for word from the book, 'History of Pokemon'", Wes muttered mockingly, which caused Rose to elbow him.
"Wes, you have yet to answer a question, so be quiet", Jason replied, glaring a bit at the trainer. "Don't worry about the rain clouds and focus on the lesson! Now, when exactly did the research that lead to the creation of the modern PokeBall occur?"
Before Rose could even raise her hand, a new voice spoke up. "Professor Westwood of Celadon University lead the research team that studied Apricorn PokeBalls and developed the first proto-type PokeBalls, eventually leading to the creation of the PokeBall that most trainers use today. In addition, he also assisted the team that worked on the PokeDex and was said to have written many of the entries for the device." Jason blinked and turned to the source of the voice, where the students could see a man standing there wearing white robes with a black pattern going up the middle, and a black scarf around his neck, and a black sash around his waist.
"Grimsley?" Jason said in recognition. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Unova?"
"I stepped down from my position in the Elite Four to come to Alola", Grimsley replied, a nod towards Jason.
"Wait, you can do that?" Jason asked, baffled.
"Why of course", Grimsley assured him. "Though you usually need to find someone to take your place… I must admit, it was quite worth going through that hassle. I find that Mantine Surfing is a hobby which I excel at."
"So, that is who 'Big G' is on all the leaderboards", Jason thought out loud, before turning back to his students, who were looking extremely confused and baffled. "Oh right… students, this is Grimsley, former Dark type Pokemon Master of the Unovan Elite Four!"
"It's very nice to meet you all", Grimsley waved at them. "I must admit, I never thought that when I battled you, Jason, that you would be the teaching type. Hmm, I wonder how much your students know… tell me, kids, what are the specific qualities of Dark type Pokemon?"
Jason smirked as almost every student raised their hand. He remembered their lesson on Dark Type Pokemon a long time ago and was quite pleased when Grimsley called on a student who gave him a perfect answer. "Dark type Pokemon are strong against Psychic and Ghost types, but are weak to Bug, Fighting and Fairy types. They are unique as they take no damage at all from Psychic type attacks, making them the perfect counter to the type."
"A perfect answer", Grimsley beamed, and turned to Rose. "You, young lady, seem very eager as a student. Can you tell me what would happen if the Dark typing was combined with the Poison typing?"
"The only weakness from that Pokemon would be Ground", Rose answered without even thinking about it. "Dark is weak against Bug, Fighting and Fairy types; all types are resisted by Poison, who is weak to Ground and Psychic. Since Dark types are completely immune to Psychic types, it only leaves Ground as the weakness."
"Very impressive, young lady", Grimsley replied. "Hmm… let me think… Oh, I bet none of you know this one. Who is the current champion of the Unova region? We recently had a Champion change, so no it is not Alder."
This stumped several students, including Rose, as the news that Alder was defeated and stepped down was shocking to all of them. However, to everyone's surprise, Wes raised his hand, and Grimsley called on him. "Iris, right? She was the last to challenge him."
"That is correct, young man", Grimsley nodded at him, beaming. "Well, seems like you have taught them well, Jason. As a reward for your marvelous students, I have beamed the data of Ride Sharpedo into their Ride Pagers. I'm sure it will be useful should you ever need to cross a body of water with rocks blocking the way." With that, he waved and began to walk off, with Jason looking after him sheepishly.
"He was always a strange one… when I beat him, he only said to me 'Now, I'm nothing more than the guy who lost... Nothing more, nothing less'… yet, he didn't seem mad. I could never read the guy", Jason sighed, before turning back to the students, who were now all looking at him very eagerly. "Er… so anyway, back to PokeBalls-"
"Man, I knew you said you were from Unova, but I didn't know you made it so far into the Unovan League!"
"Can you show us a Unovan Pokemon! Please, please, please!"
"I'd like to see one myself, honestly", Rose commented, with Wes, Nayru and Maple nodding as well.
Jason sighed, defeated. He knew that unless he complied, the students would be too distracted to follow along with the rest of the lesson. "Fine… Go, Fraxure!" Out of the ball he threw appeared a bipedal, draconic Pokémon with long, gray tusks with red tips protruding from the sides of its mouth, dark eyes with red irises, a gray face, and a cowl-like feature of green segments on its head, neck, back and chest. Several of the students gave gasps of shock and wonder, and Jason smirked at them all. "This is Fraxure, a Pokemon that I've been raising, and one that evolves into a Dragon type known as Haxorus. I happen to know a particularly territorial Haxorus, who gave me one of her babies as a sign of trust, though I think it was also because the little guy was too ambitious and adventure seeking for his own good. Now, you all promised, so let's get back to the lesson."
Before Jason could speak again, however, tons of smoke suddenly filled the air. Several students screamed in shock, and immediately Jason, Wes and Rose sprang into action. As the smoke cleared, Fraxure, Nayru and Shelgon were standing at the ready, looking around wildly for signs of an attack, but nothing really seemed to be there.
"Is everyone alright?" Rose asked.
"What happened?" Kukui asked, running to them from the school. "I saw a bunch of smoke suddenly appear!"
"Seems like someone tried to take my Fraxure", Jason muttered, looking at the Pokemon in question, who's claws were dripping with a bit of blood. "However, seems like the people who tried to do it got away… and I bet anything that I know who was behind it."
A sudden shriek caught their attention, and everyone turned to stare at the source. Chloe was looking around in a panic, eyes wide with fear as she turned to stare at them all. "Bulby! Where is Bulby!?"
Jason's eyes went wide, knowing instantly that Chloe's Bulbasaur must've been taken instead. He walked up to her instantly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Chloe, you don't need to worry! I am pretty sure I know who did it, so I'm going to-"
"Professor, look!" Juan suddenly said, pointing. Kukui looked over to see a letter lying on the ground nearby to where Chloe was standing, as if it was dropped in a hasty panic to flee before the smoke cleared. Kukui picked up the letter, and looked at the back of it before turning to Wes and holding it out to him.
"Wes, it's for you."
The red-eyed teen looked confused as he pointed to himself, before stepping forward and receiving the letter. Everyone's eyes were on him as he opened it up, cleared his throat, and began to read.
Dear Wes,
It's ya boy, Guzma! I told you when you defeated me that you made a dangerous enemy, and that next time I would beat you down! That time has come! If you want to see (insert Pokemon name here) again, come to our crib Po Town, and come alone! If we see anyone else with you, you will never see the Pokemon again!
Guzma
"Insert Pokemon name here?" Rose asked, looking at the letter and sure enough, she noticed that was written underneath a giant line, as if the grunts were to write in a Pokemon name before dropping the letter. "What, did they just plan to steal whatever they could for ransom?"
"Seems like it", Juan sighed, looking grimly at the letter. "Though they are a bunch of misfits and stupid, even this action is dangerous for them."
Jason was glaring at the letter and snarling, before he turned and recalled his Fraxure into its ball before glaring in the direction of the rain clouds. "Alright then… you stay here, I-"
"Wait, but the letter said that I should go", Wes stated, looking over at Jason, who's head turned to look at him so fast that Wes flinched.
"Didn't I tell you that next time something like this happened, you were to NOT get involved with Team Skull?" Jason reminded him.
"Jason, perhaps we should listen to Guzma and let Wes go", Kukui suggested, earning himself an 'ARE YOU KIDDING ME' look from the student teacher, which he ignored and continued. "Guzma seemed serious when he said that Wes should come alone… we cannot just take his threat lightly."
"Guzma's dumber than a Slowpoke!" Jason shot back, crossing his arms. "What's he gonna do?"
"That is a risk we should not take", Kukui stated, looking over at Chloe, who's face had paled significantly with worry. "But at the same time, Wes might need help… I have an idea. We shall send Chloe, Rose and you to Aether House. It's a small house on Route 15 that is used as an orphanage for human children and Pokémon. I'm sure the Oranguru there will let you stay there, since Acerola is a resident… The house is close enough that you can see Po Town, and if Wes is in danger, he can send a Pokemon attack into the air as a signal."
"We're coming too!" Lillie boldly stated, with Juan nodding. "Chloe is our friend and we should be there for support!"
"Very well", Kukui nodded, turning to the other students. "The rest of you, class is canceled due to this emergency! Please return to your dorms, and don't try and sneak off to Aether House! I will be keeping an eye on all of you!"
Several of the other students groaned but obeyed the order as they were herded like sheep back towards the school building. Jason, meanwhile, was grumbling to himself as he sulked off towards Route 15, followed by Wes, Rose, Chloe, Lillie and Juan. As they walked, Jason's grumbling continued and seemed to get worse the closer they got to Aether House, reaching a point that Wes and Rose could both clearly hear him muttering the same phrase over and over.
"It doesn't bother me; it doesn't bother me."
"Alright, I'll be back before you know it!" Wes grinned, turning to them all and smirking at them as they approached Aether House.
"Wes, please be careful", Rose said, her expression one of concern.
"Don't worry, I beat Guzma once", Wes nodded towards her. "I can do it again."
"We'll get back Bulby, Chloe", Nayru said, giving the trainer in question a nod of her own. "Promise."
"T-Thank you, both of you", Chloe warmly smiled. Wes gave her a grin and a thumbs up before turning and heading off towards Route 16, Nayru floating after him.
"Don't worry", Maple said with a smile. "I'll know if they are in any real trouble, and if so we can go after them Rose."
Rose nodded and ended up sitting on the front steps of the Aether House, along with Chloe, Lillie and Juan. Lillie was speaking to her bag, and it seemed Nebby was restless and wanted to come out again, Juan quickly joining her in attempting to calm the nebula Pokemon down. Chloe and Rose were both looking out towards Route 16 and eyeing Po Town in the distance, each one donning a worried expression on their face. Jason, meanwhile, was pacing impatiently, muttering the same line over and over until finally his expression began to twist a bit.
"It doesn't bother me; it doesn't bother- …It bothers me. It bothers me SO MUCH!"
"J-Jason, wait!" Rose shouted after him, the elder trainer in question storming off.
"I have been a pain in his ass ever since I got here, and he chooses to focus on Wes just because he beat him once! Well, that's not going to fly with me! I'll show him how much of a pain I can really be!"
"I-Is he talking to us or just venting to himself?" Lillie asked, looking after him.
"I think he's just venting", Juan stated. "Either way, I hope he doesn't do something drastic."
"Wes should already be at Po Town", Maple stated, looking off into the distance. "As long as he keeps Team Skull busy enough, there shouldn't be an issue."
"Let's hope", Chloe whispered. Please be okay… Wes… Bulby.
XxXxXxX
"So, can you think of a reason that a town is surrounded by walls like this?"
Wes only had that question as he stared up at the giant, stone walls that were almost black in color, blending into the stormy sky as the rain fell upon Wes and Nayru. Naryu didn't look too pleased, shaking herself and sending water everywhere, only to groan as she just continued to get wet from the storm. "We really should've brought an umbrella…"
"There's no time to worry about that now", Wes stated, looking at the door before realizing that they weren't alone. Standing in front of the gate to the town was an elderly man with grey hair, wearing a black, short sleeved police jacket with a red undershirt, black pants held up by a leather belt and a pair of sandals.
"You there, boy", the man said, realizing they were walking up at him with the intension to get into the town. "You're trying to get into Po Town, right? You sure you've thought this through? You better be ready if you're thinking of going in there, ready to either take on Team Skull or live as Team Skull... you really think you're ready for that?"
"I am", Wes replied confidently. "One of my friend's Pokemon was stolen by Team Skull, and I intend to get it back!"
The officer huffed at that, "I guess everyone has their own reasons. I've got my reasons, too, for doing what I do. Very well, I'll let you in… if you don't make it, I'll be sure your remains at least get back home." He then pressed a button and the steel doors to the town opened, and as he walked off to the side, he could see Wes' eyes locked onto him. "You got a problem?"
"I do", Wes commented, staring particularly at the yellow badge on the man's left sleeve. "You're the police! Why are you letting Team Skull do whatever they want? You're stopping people from entering their town, the town they took from the locals, but you aren't doing anything else! So, why? Who do you think you are anyway?"
"Wes, don't pick a fight with an officer!" Nayru warned him.
The man stared at Wes for a moment before huffing again. "Name's Nanu, and like I told you before, kid, I got my reasons for doing what I do. Team Skull usually is locked up in their little town thanks to me, and sure, they get out from time to time and cause mischief, but it's just that… I'm not stupid enough to fight a pointless battle, kid. They do not pose a serious threat to the wellbeing of Alola and its residents, they're thuggish nuisances at worst."
Wes glared at him for a little bit before walking towards the gate but stopping just to Nanu's side and speaking again. "Justify your actions by saying it's pointless to try and oppose them… in my mind, you're just a coward." And with that, he stepped inside the gates, not looking back to see that Nanu was watching after him, a curious expression on his face.
When Wes fully stepped past the gates, however, he could see that Nanu did have a point. The entire town was Team Skull-afied, with graffiti everywhere, and barricades set up to prevent anyone from getting inside, as if they had expected him to come. Sure enough, two Skull grunts were standing at the first barricade, staring directly at Wes.
"The boss is expecting you", the first grunt said, holding up a Nest Ball. "But he didn't say anything about us softening you up. Go, Spinarak!"
"Unlike last time, you're not going to be ready for the boss", the second grunt replied, also holding up a Nest Ball. "We'll make sure your Pokemon are too injured to fight the boss properly! Go, Trubbish!"
Out of the two Nest Balls appeared a spider looking Pokemon and a trash bag looking Pokemon, both of them charging forward and ready to strike. Nayru simply sighed, and with a flick of her wrist, Spikarak was sent flying back from the force of her Psychock attack. Wes pulled out his Moon Ball and sent Blake out, who charged forward and used Foul Play to instantly defeat the Trubbish.
"O-oh man… this kid is no joke!" the first grunt whimpered, staring in shock at both Nayru and Blake.
"H-hey man, let's cheese it!" the second grunt stated. "I-if we get back to the mansion, we can prepare enough grunts to hold this kid off!"
"G-g-good idea, bro!" the first grunt muttered, and instantly they both recalled their Pokemon and took off, rushing back to the mansion with haste.
"Well… that isn't good", Nayru said, as Wes watched them run off. "I don't wanna know what an entire army of grunts would look like…"
"We need to find a way to avoid as many of them as possible", Wes realized, though he could see movement in the mansion up ahead. "Though… I get the feeling that isn't going to be easy…"
"Can we at least get out of the rain?" Nayru shivered, shaking herself again.
"Yeah, let's dip into one of the abandoned houses and rest for a moment", Wes stated, and took off into a run towards one of the worn-down houses. Once inside, he pulled a towel out of his backpack and handed it to Nayru, who began to dry herself off instantly.
"Any ideas, master?" Nayru asked, realizing that Wes was staring out the window into the storm, his eyes focused on the mansion, where he could see about ten or so grunts had gathered at the front door.
"Well, maybe if we use Faye to fly up towards one of the top windows and lower something down for us to climb, we can sneak into the base", Wes thought out loud.
"That isn't going to work", a voice behind them said, causing Wes, Nayru and Blake to whip around. "There's probably going to be a grunt or two up there as well." A figure stepped out of the shadows, around Wes' age, wearing the standard female Team Skull uniform. Her brown hair was in two braids, draping one over each shoulder, and her hazel eyes were locked onto Wes. Blake was growling at her, and Nayru was holding out her hand, psychic energy filling it.
"Who are you?" Wes asked, sizing her up. "You don't look like the other grunts I've seen."
"My name is Selene", the girl replied, smiling at him. "And I'm on your side."
"That so?" Wes asked, looking confused. "I highly doubt a Team Skull member would be on my side."
"You got a point there", Selene replied, shrugging. "But I'm no ordinary Team Skull member. See, I moved here from Kanto about a year ago, and ever since then I've had to watch this region suffer because of Team Skull's actions. So, I decided that I wanted to do something about it. I joined Team Skull with the intention of figuring out how to change them from the inside… sadly, it's not working too well…"
"I can see that", Wes bluntly replied. "So why stick around with these misfits then?"
"Call it a hunch", Selene answered. "Originally, I was just going to leave once I realized that no one could really help me out, but then two things happened. The first was that Gladion joined Team Skull, and well…" the girl began to blush at that, before shaking her head. "A-anyway! The second thing was that Guzma began to talk to Lusamine a lot."
"The President of the Aether Foundation?" Wes asked, so stunned that he dropped his guard. "What would she be in talks with Team Skull for? The Aether Foundation said that they protect Pokemon that Team Skull has targeted."
"Can you really believe everything the Aether Foundation says?" Selene asked bluntly, and when Wes couldn't reply, she smirked. "So, I stuck around. Me and Gladion have been attempting to figure out what's been going on ever since. Any little bit helps, ya know?"
"Alright, happy to hear that you two are doing that", Wes replied, shaking his head. He found it weird that Gladion and this bubbly girl could be working on dismantling Team Skull from the inside, due to his history with Gladion, but he put it out of his head at the moment. "But I am in somewhat of a hurry. If you really are on my side, then can you help me get to Guzma? He stole one of my friend's Pokemon… a Bulbasaur."
Selene blinked in realization, "So that is why two grunts ran in here screaming something about accomplishing a mission… wait, that means you're Wes! The one that beat Guzma!"
"I-I am", Wes said surprised. "But yeah, if you don't mind helping me, that would be great."
Selene began to think, before she grinned and nodded. "Alright then! Here, put these on!"
"Huh?" Wes saw a blob of black being thrown at him, and after catching it he realized that he was holding a Team Skull uniform, complete with shoes and all.
"Just put your ordinary clothes in your backpack for now!" Selene stated, her grin unfading. "Once we do that, recall your Pokemon, and then we can pose you as a grunt!"
"Now hold on a moment!" Nayru suddenly interjected. "I don't do PokeBalls!"
"Come on, Nayru! Just please get into your Friend Ball", Wes pleaded. "If we don't do this, how are we going to get Bulby back!"
"I'll just stay here!" Nayru huffed, crossing her arms.
"You have gone in the ball before, what's the issue this time?"
"The issue is that I hate it, that's what!"
"Okay, okay, hold on!" Selene interrupted, stepping forward. "This still could work to our favor… you mind playing possum, Nayru?"
Nayru blinked, before looking at the girl with narrow eyes. "What are you suggesting exactly?"
So with a quick change, recalling Blake into his Moon Ball, and the plan between Wes, Nayru and Selene hatched, the trio headed out into the soaking rain, where Nayru was draped over Wes' shoulder as he carried her, Selene following just behind him. The ten or so grunts standing at the front of the mansion looked confused as they walked up, before they saw what Wes was carrying. "Whoa, is that the dude's gardevior!"
"We took care of him for now!" Selene told them, looking serious. "But he could be back at any moment. We need to go deliver his gardevior to the boss before he gets here!"
"Alright, go!" one of the grunts said. "I think I see someone coming!"
"Huh?" Wes asked, and was about to turn to see who could possibly be coming, but Selene had already grabbed his hand and began leading him up the stairs and onto the second floor. There were only two grunts upstairs, and both of them were looking down as screaming was suddenly heard in the distance.
"GUZMA!"
"T-that's Jason's voice!" Wes realized, causing Nayru to perk up a bit.
"Not the time!" Selene hissed, shaking her head. "Look, you go face Guzma! Get that Bulbasaur back! I need to play my part still!"
"A-are you sure?" Wes looked at her with a worried expression on his face, almost feeling sorry for the girl. "If you fight my teacher, he'll clobber you!"
"Either way, gotta play my part, right?" Selene replied, winking before she rushed back down the stairs. Sighing, and watching the other two grunts that were upstairs run down there as well, Wes put Nayru down and the two ran off towards where Guzma's bedroom was waiting. Once outside of it, Wes quickly ducked into a side room and decided to change quickly back into his regular outfit, before stepping inside the room and coming face to face with Guzma himself, who was sitting on a large chair at the back wall, a grunt standing off to the side with Bulby at his feet, who seemed too scared to move. Guzma's green bed was off to the side, but only Nayru noticed it and how messy it looked.
"Well, you got here pretty quickly", Guzma said baffled. "Then who is downstairs fighting my grunts?" He paused for a moment, before hearing Jason shout again. "Jason… of course he would come here anyway. Well, my grunts should hold him off until I'm done beating you down!"
"Guzma, release Bulby!" Wes demanded, glaring at him. "That is all I want!"
"And all I want is revenge!" shot the leader of Team Skull. "The hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up… Yeah, big bad Guzma is getting his revenge! When I have a malfunctioning machine, I give it a good hard smack… so let's see if I can't fix you! Go, Golisopod!" From the ball emerged the water and bug type, and Wes instantly knew his plan of action.
"Go, Sakura!" Wes called, sending Sakura out from her Lure Ball.
"First Impression!" Guzma called.
"Toxic!" Wes ordered. Golisopd charged forward and slammed into Sakura, and like before it did a ton of damage, however this time Sakura reacted by sending out a orb of poison, which hit Golisopd and slowly began to leach his health away.
"Now use Scald!" Wes commanded. Sakura sent out a jet of boiling water, which slammed into Golisopd. Despite the move being not that effective, the damage from the poison and water attack activated Emergency Exit, and Golisopod was recalled into his Nest Ball.
"Go, Pinser!" Guzma called, sending out a bug type that caused Wes to gasp; a bipedal, insectoid Pokémon with a wide, dull brown body divided into segments by thin lines. On top of its head was a large pair of gray, spiky pincers on top of its head. In its mouth were many long, flat teeth arranged horizontally and it has triangular eyes.
"That's… different", Wes commented, unsure of what to make of his opponent, pulling out his PokeDex and analyzing the creature. "Pinser, the Stag Beetle Pokemon. Pinsir has a pair of massive horns. Protruding from the surface of these horns are thorns. These thorns are driven deeply into the foe's body when the pincer closes, making it tough for the foe to escape."
"Allow him to demonstrate", Guzma taunted, smirking. "Pinser, X-Scissor!" The stag beetle Pokemon charged forward and gripped onto Sakura with his pincers, causing her to begin struggling in pain, thrashing her tail wildly until she was still.
"Sakura, return!" Wes called, absorbing her back into the Lure Ball.
"One down", Guzma smirked. "And I still have all three of my Pokemon! What now, kid?"
Hate to admit it, but Guzma is better than he was last time. Wes thought to himself, pulling out his Permier Ball. But then again, so am I! "Go, Inigo! Use Flame Charge!" Inigo erupted from the ball, and was instantly surrounded by fire, slamming into Pinser and sending it flying into the wall. The beetle got up, hissing in pain.
"Use Storm Throw!" Guzma commanded. Pinser charged forward, once again gripping onto his opponent with his horns, before throwing Inigo to the floor, who hissed in pain upon his landing.
"Inigo, Peck!" Wes commanded, causing the fowl Pokemon to obey instantly, striking Pinser with his beak once, who fell over unable to battle. Guzma recalled Pinser, and Wes, realizing that Inigo was injured and should rest for a bit, recalled him as well.
"Not bad, kid", Guzma declared, smirking. "Now we each have two Pokemon, one being injured… but unlike last time, your disadvantage is going to be your downfall. You shouldn't have used Inigo against me! Go, Masquerain!"
"We won't know until we get there!" Wes declared, taking out his Moon Ball. "Blake, go!"
Guzma blinked at that before chuckling a bit. "Alright then, Dark types are weak to Bug moves, but if you wanna lose that badly… Masquerain, use Bug Buzz!" Masquerain flapped his wings rapidly and let out a red wave of sound, which slammed into Blake, causing him to shut his eyes in pain. Guzma smirked, expecting an easy knock out, but didn't count on how defensive Blake was, as he gasped in shock when Blake opened his eyes.
"Blake, use Foul Play!" Wes shouted. Blake surrounded himself with a dark glow again, rushing forward and slamming into Masquerain. Despite the bug type not having high attack power, his defenses were also somewhat weak, and he began to sway in the air as he attempted to regain himself.
"Use Bug Buzz again!" Guzma commanded. The move once again hit, and while it seemed like it weakened Blake a bit more, the move was still in vain, as on Wes' order, Blake took out Masquerain with another Foul Play, bringing Guzma down to his last Pokemon.
"Alright, kid", Guzma snarled, pulling out Golisopod. "Time to end this! Go, Golisopod! Use First Impression!" Golisopod popped out and instantly attacked, and unlike Bug Buzz the sheer power of the bug type move caused Blake to get sent flying back, fainting the second he hit the floor.
"Blake, return!" Wes commanded, recalling the Moonlight Pokemon into the Moon Ball. "Thanks, Blake! You did exactly what I wanted you to, and now Inigo can bring this home! Go, Inigo!" The fowl Pokemon emerged again, clicking his beak eagerly. Golisopod, remembering the first time they fought, looked angrily at Inigo, and seemed ready to strike.
"Use Razor Shell!" Guzma commanded.
"Use Flame Charge!" Wes shouted. The two Pokemon charged, and a collision of fire and water caused a small explosion, which knocked Golisopod and Inigo both back, though while Golisopod landed on his feet, Inigo stumbled and fell to the floor.
"Quickly, use Sucker Punch!" Guzma commanded. Golisopod charged forward and sent his fist flying at Inigo's face, who caught it and struggled to hold it back, but suddenly just as it seemed like Golisopod's attack would get through, Inigo began to glow and quickly sent Golisopod flying back with a toss. Inigo stood up, and began to grow in height, and when the transformation ended, Wes could see a shiny Blaziken standing there.
Wes gasped, pulling out his PokeDex again. "Blaziken, the Blaze Pokemon. In battle, Blaziken blows out intense flames from its wrists and attacks foes courageously. The stronger the foe, the more intensely this Pokémon's wrists burn."
"It doesn't matter that he evolved!" Guzma shouted, pointing at Inigo angrily. "You're still going to lose, kid! Golisopod, Razor Shell!"
Golisopod charged forward and slashed at the newly evolved blaziken with a water filled hand again, but this time Inigo raised his arms instantly, activating Protect and shielding himself from the damage of the attack. His foot suddenly began to burn with fire, and he aimed at Golisopod with a kick that sent him flying back, the bug type to snarl in pain.
"That was Blaze Kick!" Wes gasped, before realizing that he might need more power to take down Golisopod this time, as the Hard Shell Pokemon rose to his feet, eager to continue the battle. Wes took out the Firium Z he received from Kiawe, and slapped it onto his Z-Ring, facing Guzma and grinning. "I told you last time, Guzma! Don't insult those who dream of becoming champions, or those of us who are taking the Island Trial Challenge… Inigo, Inferno Overdrive!"
Inigo let out a shout, as he was suddenly surrounded by fire, and charged forward and slammed into Golisopod. The resulting damage caused not only Golisopod to faint, but parts of the room to get scorched by black soot. Guzma stood there baffled, looking down at Golisopod, fainted before him, before he looked up at Wes and Inigo facing him, and Nayru who was standing off to the side.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, causing Nayru to jump as Jason stepped in. "Guzma!" he shouted, before realizing what had happened, and looking between the fainted Golisopod on the floor, to the evolved Inigo, he realized that he was too late, a snarl appearing on his face.
"Guzma, what is wrong with you?!" Guzma shouted, holding his head with his hands and failing around a bit. With a growl, he recalled his Golisopod and turned to the grunt standing next to Chloe's Bulbasaur. "Yo! Give the Pokemon back to the kid, now!" Hearing this, the grunt stepped aside, and Bulby ran forward towards Wes, who bent down and happily petted the grass type. The grunt quickly fled the room, realizing that Guzma was not happy, as the boss of Team Skull glared at Wes. "I'm going to beat you down one of these days! No matter whose help I need to do it!"
"NO!" Jason roared, stepping forward. "You are fighting me next; do you understand me?"
"Guzma does what he wants!" he shouted at Jason, before stomping out of the room angrily, growling the entire way.
"Er… Jason…" Wes sheepishly greeted him. "W-we got Bulby back!"
"You got Bulby back", Jason snarled, before he gave a sigh. "And I really hate to admit it, but… you handled yourself very well… however-"
"Next time let you handle Team Skull and Guzma, I got it", Wes mumbled, shaking his head.
"Good", Jason snapped, turning and noticing a ton of Bugium Z next to Guzma's throne chair. Smirking a little, he nabbed three of them, tossing two of them to Wes. "Here. Now let's go return Bulby to Chloe… I'm getting a bad feeling all of the sudden."
Before Wes could ask Jason what he was talking about, he suddenly felt something was wrong to. Teacher and student looked at one another nodded, and after recalling Inigo into his ball the two of them raced off back to Aether House.
Before anyone asks, yes; this Selene is the exact same one that is the main protagonist for Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. She was a somewhat last minute addition that I thought would make this story a bit more whole, and don't worry she will appear in future chapters, however she isn't directly a "main character" per say, more like a supporting cast member.
So like I said in the first authors note, usually I thank my reviewers for their reviews on the last chapter, however this time there is an issue I need to address... Using your review to call out or directly attack another one of my reviewers WILL NOT be tolerated. I do not care for the reason, your reviews are for commenting on my story, not your beef with another member of this site. Should another review pop up on my story again directly attacking or calling out another member, I will block that member and your review will be reported to FanFiction Admins. No questions asked. Keep your issues with another member either to yourself, or DM them directly, using my story to flame or attack another is considered spam, and that CAN and WILL be reported as such.
Those that left proper reviews on Chapters 1-22, you have my thanks.