Hey! New characters appear in this chapter that haven't appeared in the anime yet, so I'm going to put my own twist on their personalities from the games, they probably won't resemble them a lot though. Thanks again for all the follows, favorites and reviews!
Ash was suddenly awakened by the bright sun illuminating the room through the window alongside a sound he did not recognize. He scratched his eyes in an attempt to fully regain his vision, and for some strange reason, he felt as if he was being watched. Once his eyesight was no longer blurry, he stood up from the bed and staggered back in surprise as he was immediately greeted by Chloe, the girl staring at him in an unamused fashion leaned on the wall opposite to him, and Pikachu, also staring at him in a similar manner. The Vermillion City girl didn't say anything, which originally confused Ash, but when he noticed the time indicated by the clock situated next to her, he practically jumped out of bed, and went to the bathroom to get ready. A few moments later, Ash came out in his travelling gear, with his bandage now removed from his right arm, now having completely healed from yesterday's injury, and awkwardly leaned on the doorframe. "U-Umm… G-Good morning Chloe!" He said.
The girl let out a light chuckle and, still without saying a word, came up to him, adjusted a bit of his untamed hair, and left the room. Ash, slightly bewildered, looked at Pikachu for explanation, but his Pokemon seemed equally surprised by the girl's action. Ash checked the clock one last time before darting out of the room, with his favorite electric type in tow.
The Hyper Class trainer caught up to the girl right before she reached a surprisingly huge dining room, where Ash quickly spotted Brandon and Goh already eating their breakfast, and Chloe went to go join them. The Pallet Town first swiftly went and got a tray of food before sitting down at the table, where Goh was the first one to speak up. "Ever heard of an alarm Ash?"
Ash awkwardly laughed at Goh's words and replied: "W-Well at least I am not late this time…"
"You would've been if Chloe didn't wake you up…" Brandon suddenly said. Ash took it as a sign to stop talking, so he calmly started to eat his breakfast without uttering another word.
"Anyways…" Started off Chloe, "Brandon, you mentioned yesterday the temple we were looking for is at the Three-Point Pass right." The man being questioned nodded silently. "Do you know how we are going to get there?"
"Indeed," The Pyramid King pulled out a map from his pockets and placed it on the table for everyone to see. "First, we make our way past Freezington through the Frostpoint Field where we'll reach the Giant's Bed, then I planned on taking a detour to Ballimore Lake to visit the famous Dyna Tree, as there is something I wanna look into there, after that we simply pass through a cavern nearby to make it to the Frigid Sea where we then take a little path through the ocean to reach the Three-Point Pass, simple." The man explained as if it was the easiest thing ever.
The three young trainers looked at each other with concern before Ash spoke up. "Um… I-I think we'll just follow wherever you go Brandon…" He said sheepishly, earning a laugh from the rest of the group.
"Make sure you don't forget anything before we leave, this Pokemon Center is the only rest stop in the entire Tundra, so there's no turning back anymore, no matter what we face…"
"Yeah, you're not helping us feel any more confident about this whole expedition…" Goh said in a quiet voice.
Ash put his now fully healed arm around Goh pretty aggressively and proclaimed. "We'll be fine Goh! Nothing to worry about!"
"Says the person who almost fell off a cliff yesterday…" The Vermillion City researcher muttered, quietly enough for only himself to hear.
"Alright, let's get going everyone." Brandon ordered as he stood up from his chair and started leaving the dining hall. Goh and Chloe followed behind, with Ash and Pikachu taking a final bite of their food before doing the same.
"Wow, it's actually pretty hot today." Commented Goh to the rest of the group as he took his first steps outside and unzipped his coat slightly.
There was no snow falling like there was yesterday and the sky was completely clear, making the sunshine reflect on some of the snow and ice on the ground beautifully, with only the shadows of some trees diminishing the brightness.
Ash quickly took the lead and exclaimed: "Alright, first up, Frostpoint Field!" He looked around for a bit before turning around to face the group again. "So… where is that exactly?"
The rest of the group sweatdropped at the young boy's cluelessness when they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a girl shouting at someone. The group of four turned to where the sounds came from and noticed a blonde and pink haired girl, probably around Ash, Chloe and Goh's age, arguing with someone who presumably was their father next to a small wooden house on a very small hilltop further in the village.
"Come on, Dad! Lay off and quit following me already!" The young girl screamed loudly enough for the whole of Freezington to hear.
"Come on, Nia! Be reasonable! Don't you want to do some quality adventuring with the coolest dad ever!?" A gray haired man looking to be Brandon's age replied desperately.
"I'll pass thanks…" Retorted the girl coldly. She then started to hurriedly make her way down the slight slope and seemed to be looking for anyone else apart from her father. She eventually noticed the four travelers and ran up to the first one in front of the group.
"Excuse me! My dad is stubborn as steel and he won't leave me alone! Back me up will-" The girl temporarily paused mid sentence and took a good look at the person she was addressing, and her jaw dropped. "Oh my Arceus! Are you Ash Ketchum!?"
Ash, not really knowing how to react to that, answered awkwardly. "Um… Yeah?..."
The girl in front of him suddenly took Ash's hands abruptly, causing him to yelp in surprise and stumble forward slightly, and extremely excitedly said. "No way!? I'm like your biggest fan EVER. I can't believe I'm actually meeting you!"
"Huh?..."
Chloe suddenly stepped in between the two and turned towards the Pallet Town trainer. "Alright Ash, we're going to need some explanations… Do you know this girl? She said quite firmly.
Ash was going to say something but was interrupted by the blonde haired girl. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Peonia, It's an honor to meet you all!"
"It is?" Ash asked innocently, clearly confused with the current situation.
At that moment, the gray haired man Peonia was shouting at just a moment ago caught up to her. "Why do you keep running away Nia?" The man looked at the confused faces of the people he didn't recognize and addressed Peonia. "Are these your friends Nia?"
"You have got to be kidding me right?" Peonia said dumbfoundedly, and then pointed to Ash. "You seriously don't recognize the Champion of Alola!?"
"The what now?" Asked simultaneously Goh and Chloe.
Brandon frowned at Goh and Chloe's reactions and suddenly came up behind Ash and said, "Don't tell me you haven't told them?" Making the Hyper Class trainer flinch.
"Alright alright everybody calm down!" Ash screamed as he threw his hands out frantically. The Pallet Town native took a deep breath before commencing. "Let's start by introducing ourselves properly. What's your name sir?" He said politely.
"The name's Peony, nice to meet ya!"
"Nice to meet you! I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and right here is my buddy Pikachu." He said while petting the Pokemon on his shoulders. He then pointed beside him and introduced his friends. "These are my friends Brandon, Goh and Chloe."
"Pleasure to meet you." Said the three, with Peony replying with a simple smile and wave.
"Wait so you two didn't know Ash was the Alolan Champion!?" Asked a surprised Peonia to Goh and Chloe, who replied with slow negative nods.
Before Goh and Chloe even said anything, Ash immediately started explaining. "You see... basically, when I was on my journey through the Alola region, they had just created the first Pokemon League in the region, and I ended up winning the tournament... that's really all there is to it."
"That's one weird way of saying you're the strongest trainer in the entirety of the Alola region…" Muttered Goh.
Peony then suddenly chimed in with a strange comment. "Oh! So you're the trainer that Nia can't stop talking about!"
"DAD!?" Shouted a now blushing Peonia. Chloe noticed this and narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but didn't say anything. "A-Anyways... What are you guys doing here in the Crown Tundra?" Asked the blonde haired girl, recomposing herself.
"We are going to check out some ruins at the Three-Point Pass, apparently there has been mysterious readings coming from there." Explained Ash.
"So you could say it's... an adven-tour?" Said Peony with a huge smile on his face.
"If you meant adventure, then yeah I guess..." Responded the Pikachu trainer, a bit confused.
"Well then would it be too much of an inconvenience for you guys to bring Nia along?" Peony's response confused just about everyone, including Peonia herself, as she wasn't expecting such a suggestion. "I know we just met but, since she doesn't want to go on an adven-tour with her old man just yet, maybe her going with you guys will help her learn just how much adventuring can be! And I'm sure Nia over here would love to travel with you, right?"
"I mean.. I-If it's not too much of a bother for you g-guys of course…" Added shily Peonia.
Ash turned to his current companions and asked. "Well, what do you think guys?"
"I don't mind, the more the merrier!" First said Goh, his cheerful attitude annoying Chloe slightly, as she wasn't particularly keen on having the blonde haired girl join the group.
"Hmm, I don't know… It risks being dangerous… Can she battle?" Asked the Pyramid King.
Brandon's smart thinking gave Chloe hope that he wasn't going to accept another member joining the group who couldn't defend themself, but after Brandon's sentence, Peonia grinned and pulled out a Pokeball. It revealed a Tyrantrum, who upon landing on the ground, made a deafening screech that scared off nearby Pokemon in a second. "I can take care of myself!" She proudly declared.
That was enough to convince Brandon, who upon seeing the clearly well trained Tyrantrum, nodded in acceptance. Ash, Goh and Brandon all looked at Chloe expectantly, and after a while, she reluctantly agreed. "Fine…" She sighed, frustrated.
"Well, I guess you're one of us now, Peonia!" Ash exclaimed.
"Really!? I can come!?" After the Pallet Town nodded as a final sign of confirmation, a huge smile came to her face and she tackled Ash into a bear hug as she profusely started thanking him. "Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!"
"...C-Can't… B-Breathe…"
"O-Oh, sorry Ash!" Apologized Peonia, letting go of him. Ash simply gave her a smile and said it was alright. Chloe clenched both her fists angrily at the scene, Something which didn't go unnoticed by Goh. "Hmm?" He hummed quietly while tilting his head.
"Ash! Look at this! It's a Snorunt!
"Huh?" Ash quickly left his current discussion with Brandon and made his way excitedly to Peonia, who was crouching down, pointing at the miniature snow type, the Pokemon just looking at them idly. "Oh, it is!" Ash said, then proceeded to pet the creature, who seemed to enjoy the gesture.
"You have a Glalie right? Did you catch it as a Snorunt?" The blonde haired girl asked enthusiastically.
Ash scratched the back of his head. "Yeah I did… How did you know I had a Glalie? He asked back, intrigued.
"W-Well…" She shifted her legs nervously as she spoke. "You used it in the Hoenn League…"
"You watched that!?" He exclaimed, surprised, to which the girl slightly nodded. "Well then you probably also saw how I lost the league to a Meowth hehe…"
"I-I thought you did great though! That Meowth was clearly well trained… and Pikachu almost knocked it out too!" At Peonia's words, Pikachu, currently on Ash's shoulder, seemed to be experiencing flashbacks of the events and shivered nervously at the memories of Tyson's Meowth. This made Ash and Peonia laugh, as the Pokemon clearly wasn't very happy with how it battled back then.
"Jeez… just how much does she know about Ash anyways…" Chloe sighed angrily, watching the two interact from a distance.
It hadn't even been that long since the group had left Freezington and Peonia was already getting on Chloe's nerves. They were currently walking through Frostpoint Field and ever since they had left, Peonia stopped constantly at the sight of any Pokemon, and kept asking Ash a bunch of questions, to which the Hyper Class trainer happily answered every time, which for some reason, really annoyed her.
"Alright you two… let's keep moving, we can't stop every time one of you sees a wild Pokemon…" Brandon said, wanting to focus on their mission ahead.
"Sorry…" Apologized synchronously the two distracted trainers.
"It was enough having just Ash here, but now it's almost as if we have a second Ash haha!" Joked the Pyramid King, causing Ash, Goh and Peonia to laugh out loud, whilst Chloe held her head, irritated.
"Hey, I think I can see the Giant's Bed in the distance!" Suddenly exclaimed Goh, pointing at a huge grassy plain further ahead.
"Alright, let's go!" Suddenly exclaimed Peonia as she quickly ran off in the direction Goh was pointing.
"Wait Peonia!" Tried to warn Ash, as she was about to trip on a small rock on the floor. The girl didn't notice this and eventually toppled on the small object. She was about to hit the ground but Ash caught her just before that.
"You should really pay more attention to where you are going, don't want to get her hurt now don't we?" Brandon and Goh looked at each other knowingly at Ash's ironic words and Peonia recomposed herself.
"Y-Yeah you're probably right, t-thanks Ash…" She said with a blush. Chloe growled in anger as the group kept moving towards their destination.
Whilst they were making their way through to Giant's Bed, Ash and Peonia were still happily conversing just behind Brandon, this time about the beginning of Ash's journey, which didn't sit well with a certain maroon haired girl currently walking at the back of the group with Goh. Her childhood friend noticed her displeasure once again and this time asked about it. "Umm… You feeling okay Chloe?"
"...Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine, why'd you ask?" The Vermillion City girl replied innocently.
"Well, you just seem… agitated…"
"I am not!" She screamed, causing Goh to laugh.
"If you say so…" He said, still chuckling. "You know, it's kind of weird Ash didn't tell us about being the Alolan Champion, it feels like something he should have told us about a long time ago…" He remarked, changing the subject.
"Yeah maybe, but I don't necessarily think Ash is the type to boast about those things, and considering that when he told us he acted like it was nothing, I don't believe he actually thinks of it as a big deal."
"I guess you're right… but still, the fact that Peonia instantly recognized Ash makes it seem like it is a big deal… and especially as his friends, I wonder why he has never told us…"
The two Vermillion City trainers looked down at the ground at the same time, thinking. The more the duo thought about it, the more questions came up. Do his other friends know he is a Champion? Does Professor Cerise know he is a Champion? Is it actually that big of a deal? Was he never planning on telling them?
"W-We should probably just ask him, he surely has a good reason, right?" Goh tried to reason.
"Y-Yeah, probably…" Responded Chloe with a slightly forced smile.
Thirty minutes went by and after a fairly uneventful trip so far, the group had reached an Old Cemetery where they decided to take a little break. Brandon and Goh were intrigued by the site so they decided to explore the abandoned graveyard, Ash took the opportunity to train his Pokemon, making Lucario and Sirfetch'd battle, and Chloe decided to relax next to a tree with her Eevee. Whilst the maroon haired girl was idly petting her Eevee, Peonia suddenly sat on the fence in front of her and gave her a huge smile. "Hey!"
Seeing Peonia smiling happy at her, Chloe took time to finally take a good look at her appearance. She was about the same height as herself and sported a plain white t-shirt covered with a blue jacket matching with a skirt of the same color and black leggings, making it almost seem like she was wearing some sort of school uniform. The blonde haired girl also had some beige shoes and a light blue bandana on her head. She didn't seem very prepared to face the cold, so Chloe narrowed her eyes and commented on it. "Aren't you cold wearing just that?" She said, ironically, coldly.
"Not really, I come here often so I get used to the temperature pretty fast!" She responded cheerfully. A slightly awkward silence occurred and Peonia said. "You don't talk much do you?"
The girl's comment irritated Chloe. "I-It's not that I don't talk much… I just don't feel the need to comment on every little thing I see…" She defensively replied, not so subtly referring to Peonia.
"Oh I see! Though, it seems a little strange that you decide to travel with Ash and, from what I've seen, Goh, since they seemingly act like that a little as well."
"W-Well Goh never really used to act like that before he met Ash, but since then it feels like I'm travelling with two kids constantly…"
Peonia giggled at her response and added. "I guess that's just what Ash Ketchum does to people…"
Chloe rolled her eyes and sighed angrily. 'Great, here we go again with the Ash obsession…' Peonia was going to continue but Chloe cut her off uncharacteristically. "What's your deal with Ash anyways? It seems like every time you wanna say something, you always have to bring him up somehow..."
A longer silence took place as Peonia seemed a little surprised at her tone. After a little while, she looked at the ground embarrassingly. "Sorry… i-it's just that, I really admire him… I've been following his journey as a trainer for a long time now and finally meeting is really awesome!... H-He is actually one of the reasons I became a trainer in the first place…."
"Huh?" Said Chloe, surprised.
"D-Don't tell him that though!" Peonia said even more embarrassed before sighing. "It's just… I remember first seeing him battle in the Silver Conference and I felt captivated by his battle style… The way he just came up with a strategy on the fly was beyond impressive! I started watching all his league matches since then and in every battle, he found a way to be even better than in the last one! When he made it to the Kalos league final, that's when I finally decided to actually become a trainer. I had never seen a battle quite as intense as that one in my entire life, and that made me want to be like him! If he was the same age as me and could have a battle like that, then I could too! His level of passion and love for Pokemon is something that has truly inspired me my entire life. But not only that, even now, he always has a positive attitude and seems like he is enjoying every single little bit of his life at every moment. That attitude, not only as a trainer but as a person as well... is something I strive to achieve!"
Chloe was left stunned. She couldn't believe that the Ash she knew influenced people that much. Heck, by the way Peonia described him, she would've guessed he was a world renowned celebrity, inspiring the lives of thousands of trainers. She glanced at Ash and saw him with a beaming smile, watching Lucario and Sirfetch'd battle each other with everything they had. The Vermillion City girl just couldn't associate the person Peonia was describing with the Ash she knew… and that thought frustrated her... a lot.
"I don't get it…" Chloe started off, catching the blonde haired girl's attention. "I know I haven't known Ash for that long, but it seems like we know two completely different people… I didn't even know he was a Champion before this morning…"
"That still surprises me now, even if he never told you, his status as a Champion is hard to not know…" Chloe gritted her teeth at her words, and the girl continued. "Anyways… s-sorry if I talk about Ash a lot, he has just been a really big inspiration for me… a-and… I-I guess… w-well…"
Peonia started blushing again as she was speaking and Chloe narrowed her eyes suspiciously again, until the blonde haired girl suddenly found an excuse to leave. "U-Umm, I-I'm going to check what Goh and Brandon are doing, s-so yeah, see ya around!" She said as she quickly left. Chloe frowned, closed her eyes and went back to petting her Eevee without saying a word.
"You know Brandon, would it really have been that big of an inconvenience for you to help just a little?" Goh asked sarcastically.
"If you keep asking for help, you'll never be able to do anything by yourself." The man replied firmly.
"Yeah, I get that, but when I'm being chased by THREE Dragapults don't you think that's a bit much to handle alone!?"
"Life isn't always fair kid..." Goh slapped his forehead at Brandon's words in disbelief.
After deciding to explore the Old Cemetery together, Brandon and Goh eventually found themself face to face with a Drakloak. Goh, excitedly wanting to catch the secondary evolutionary stage of the Galar Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon, engaged in a battle with the dragon type. After a well fought battle, Goh managed to catch it safely in a Pokeball, but soon after, three Dragapults appeared and seemed pretty angry at Goh for catching one of their friends, and started attacking him. The Vermillion City researcher desperately tried to fend them off, and eventually, after a lot of difficulty and Goh needing the help of all five of the Pokemon currently in his party, the group of dragon type Pokemon fled. Brandon simply stood there the whole time, observing the entire scene.
"Well anyhow, you successfully managed to make them flee, and you caught a pretty powerful Pokemon at that, so you should be proud of yourself kid." Laughed out the Pyramid King.
"Gee, thanks…" He replied, looking at his new Drakloak's Pokeball
The two trainers then suddenly spotted Peonia running towards with a hand in the air. "Hey guys! Umm, what happened to you Goh? You look like you just fought three strong Pokemon at the same time…" She said, noticing the researcher looking all scratched and bruised.
"That's because I did…" Replied Goh, deflated.
Brandon let out another laugh. "Well, we should go get Ash and Chloe and get a move on, we took enough of a break as it is…"
"Speak for yourself…" Goh interrupted, as the group started making their way to the other two trainers.
After a not so long walk, they first found Chloe with Pikachu in her arms, looking at something in the distance. Goh addressed her first. "Hey Chloe, we're going back on the road, where's Ash?"
"Alright Lucario, you better watch out this time! Ready Sirfetch'd?"
"Fetch'd!"
The group turned towards the sound and found Ash, using a branch as a sword and his cap as a shield, and Sirfetch'd trying to attack Lucario, who wasn't using any moves, simply trying to dodge the pair's attacks using only it's Aura.
"He's trying to teach Lucario to trust his Aura instincts to dodge attacks, don't really know why he is pretending to be Sirfetch'd with a branch and his cap though…" Chloe explained.
"Pikapi…" Agreed the electric type.
"Hey! Ash!" Screamed Goh.
"Huh? Oh hey guys!" The trainer waved from a distance.
"We're going to keep making our way to the Three-Point Pass, come on!"
"Oh, okay! Lucario, Sirfetch'd, take a rest now." Ash said as he returned his two Pokemon and went and joined the rest of the group, with Pikachu swiftly jumping out of Chloe's arms onto Ash's shoulder and placing his trainer's hat on his head.
An hour passed by, with nothing particularly eventful happening; Brandon was still leading the pack, indicating where they had to go, with Peonia next to him, as he was explaining to her all the information they had so far about the temple they were looking for. Goh was just behind them, taking pictures here and there of the wonderful snowy tundra, and finally Chloe and Ash were walking side by side at the back of the group of five, lightly conversing about random subjects, but it was mostly focused on Chloe asking some much needed questions to his recently revealed status.
"So, let me get this straight, you're still considered the Champion of Alola, but you gave your Champion duties to Professor Kukui because you decided to go back home and explore the world?" Ash simply nodded. "Seems pretty dumb to me, but not surprising considering it's you…"
"Well maybe it is a bit weird that I decided to do that, considering most people would have probably just settled with being a Champion, but I felt like I still hadn't accomplished my dream of being a Pokemon Master, so I think it was for the best." Said the Pallet Town Trainer, hands behind his head. "Maybe once I become a Pokemon Master I'll go back to Alola and take back my Champions duties…"
'Considering you don't even know what a Pokemon Master is, I highly doubt it…' The Vermillion City girl said in her mind, before speaking again. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you're basically famous, and you never even told us…"
Ash seemed disturbed at the mention of being famous but quickly recomposed himself. "But I'm not 'famous', I'm just your typical Pokemon Trainer, I'm really nothing special."
"As if…" Chloe muttered.
"Huh? What was that?"
"Oh! U-Um nothing…" She said a little flustered, which made Ash laugh.
"Anyways, I guess for me another thing I'm struggling to wrap my head around is how Peonia knows so much about me…" Chloe's expression visibly changed at the mention of the blonde haired girl, although it went unnoticed by Ash.
"Seems a little creepy if you ask me…" Chloe said, arms crossed.
"At first, it seemed like that to me at as well... but now I feel kind of grateful." The maroon haired girl looked at him questioningly. "I've had plenty of random people who've admired me before, saying things like my battling is really unpredictable and amazing, but that's only as a trainer. I was kind of scared Peonia was going to be like that too, but I feel like she appreciates me as a person as well, which is something I'm really thankful for…"
Chloe didn't recognize the expression on Ash's face; it was a mix of relief, happiness and gratefulness. It was clear the Pallet Town native meant what he said, but what Chloe found strange was how she didn't feel happy for him, and felt more jealous than anything. "O-Oh, w-well that's great…" She ended up saying, with no real emotion behind it. The conversation ended soon after, with only silence now taking place between the two of them for quite a long while.
Eventually, the group finally arrived at Ballimere Lake, where the Dyna Tree could easily be spotted from miles away.
"Alright gang, we're here." The Frontier Brain exclaimed.
"They definitely don't make it hard to miss…" Goh commented, noting how huge the tree really was.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out!" Excitedly said Peonia, as she took off for the giant tree, followed by Goh and Chloe. Ash stayed behind to talk to Brandon for a bit.
"So Brandon, why exactly did you want to come check out this huge tree? It's not really like you to take a detour for nothing…" The Hyper Class trainer first said.
Brandon narrowed his eyes seriously before answering, which made Ash even more intrigued. "As you might have guessed from the name, the Dyna Tree radiates Dynamax energy. Recently, I've been told it's been expelling more energy than usual, and people think it's because there's a possibility of a wild Dynamax Pokemon nearby…"
"Wait really!?" Ash exclaimed, surprised, to which Brandon nodded. "Better be careful around here then…" He finished more seriously.
"There have also been reports of a mysterious Pokemon wandering near here, and I think it may be connected to the extra energy being radiated from the tree." Added the Pyramid King. "Keep a lookout for anything suspicious alright?"
"Gotcha!" Ash affirmed as they went and joined the rest of their group.
The three young trainers ahead of Ash and Brandon had set up a little spot to camp at, and Peonia suggested making some curry, to which the whole group quickly agreed. "Alright then everyone, let's go find some berries first, there's plenty of berry trees around here." The blonde haired girl practically ordered.
Goh went with Chloe, walking around and picking at random berry trees they found along the way. They ran into a little trouble when a few Skwovets appeared from a couple of the trees, but their Pokemon handled them just fine. Peonia stayed back and prepared the stove that she somehow had and finally, Ash went with Brandon a little further from the Dyna Tree to also search for some berries.
The Pallet Town trainer let out an exhausted sigh. "Man, all this walking sure has made me hungry, I'm glad I get to eat soon…"
"I see your excessive appetite also hasn't changed Ketchum." Brandon jokingly said, which made the both trainers chuckle. "But don't forget to keep an eye on anything of note."
"Shouldn't we tell the others about this? It seems like something they should know."
"Being the Champion of a region is also something Goh and Chloe should've known, but you still didn't tell them…" Brandon commented, which made Ash flinch. "I already told Goh some of the details, but I don't want to worry the other two for nothing…"
"I see… well I guess that's fai–" Ash suddenly stopped talking as he saw a shadowy figure, seemingly looking at him in the distance, before dashing off. "...Y-You saw that, right?"
Brandon nodded. "Looked like a Pokemon, but it was too far to tell what it was exactly…"
"Do you think it's the mysterious Pokemon you were talking about?"
"Too early to tell, it could have been a random Pokemon, best not to jump to conclusions…"
"You're right…" Ash finished as they went back to picking some berries.
After a little while, the entire group was now back at their mini campsite close to the Dyna Tree, with plenty of berries in hand.
"This should be enough for the five of us." Goh affirmed.
"Hmm… I guess yeah, but I feel like we're lacking a diversity of berries..." Peonia mentioned. The girl looked around for a bit until she stopped and stared at the Dyna Tree, where an idea visibly came to her. "Surely the Dyna Tree has some special berries! Why don't we just pick them from there?"
"I'm not so sure that's a great idea Peonia…" The Pallet Town trainer first replied.
The girl in question dismissed his words with a sway of her hand. "It will be fine Ash! I'm just going to pick a couple!" She said as she started running towards the tree. Peonia tried to get one of the berries dangling from the bush, but it was too high up to reach, so she frustratingly started shaking the tree in order to make the berries fall. "Tyrantrum, help me out!" She called out her Pokemon, who helped her in rocking the tree.
Unknowingly to Peonia, the constant shaking of the tree started making red energy particles flow out of the bushes more and more, which started to concern the rest of the group. "I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this…" Goh said worriedly as more and more particles started coming out.
"Trust me, there's nothing to worry about!" She stubbornly replied as she kept shaking the tree with even more force.
"Peonia, the bushes are letting out some weird particles, you should really stop right about now!" Chloe shouted. Brandon seriously looked at Ash and gave him a sign telling him to get ready, and Ash relayed the message to Pikachu in a similar fashion.
After a little more time, a Roseli berry lightly fell off the tree, which Peonia caught. She looked back at the group and smiled. "See? Nothing happened!" She exclaimed, oblivious of what was happening behind her.
"H-How about you turn around before saying anything…" Goh said with a shaky voice, staring behind her.
Peonia innocently turned around and noticed the red particles going back into the tree, followed by the slow appearance of a Dynamax Greedent falling from the giant bushes. After the Pokemon fully emerged, it landed on the ground, which made Peonia and her Tyrantrum jump, and let out a deafening screech, causing the entire group to cover their ears. "WHAT IN THE WORLD!" The blonde haired girl screamed. The Greedant didn't even give her time to breathe as the Dynamax Pokemon immediately started charging a Max Strike.
Ash, looking in shock at the sudden appearance of a Dynamax Pokemon, suddenly had a train of thought. 'Wait, if there are Dynamax particles here, does that mean…?' The trainer quickly whispered something in Pikachu's ear, to which the Pokemon smirked, and quickly rummaged through his bag.
"Quick Tyrantrum, Protect!" Peonia ordered. Her Dragon Type quickly put up a shield as it's trainer quickly ran back to the group. The Greedant fired off it's attack at the nearby Tyrantrum, who blocked most of it, but still received some damage.
"What is a Dynamax Greedant doing in a tree of all places!?" Chloe exclaimed, finding it hard to believe a Pokemon like that was just hiding in the Dyna Tree.
"Less questions, more fighting back." Brandon said firmly. "Regirock, I need your assistance!"
"Cinderace, Let's go!"
"Eevee!"
As everyone called upon their Pokemon, everybody looked at Ash expectantly, who for some reason, was standing there. "Umm, Ash?" They simultaneously asked.
The trainer smirked, took his hat back from Pikachu, who jumped in front of his beloved trainer with a cry, and showed off his wrist, revealing a familiar black and white wristband with blue and red colors on the edge to the surprise of the entire group. "If that Greedant can Dynamax because of those particles, so can we!"
"Y-You have a Dynamax Band?!" Peonia exclaimed, surprised, earning a confident nod from Ash.
"I'm surprised you don't know that as well…" Chloe muttered to herself.
"Alright! Pikachu, let's get huge! Gigantamax!"
"Pikapi!"
Without even the need to recall Pikachu to it's Pokeball, Ash's Dynamax Band started glowing and Pikachu started absorbing some of the red particles in the air, and consequently, grew more and more in size, until eventually, his Gigantamax form appeared in front of the group. His tail was now a really bright yellow color plus some red clouds were now above his head, and, most obviously, Pikachu was now a size comparable to the giant Greedant in front of them.
"Alright, now this is a fair battle! Let's show this Greedant what we got everyone!"