Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the Three OC's appearing in this chapter. Everything belongs to whoever the owner of it is.
Chapter 21: Guess Who's back?
Some time has passed since Bagon's egg hatched and we had to cut back on our pace to make sure the little guy was happy all the time. His interactions with my other Pokémon were hilarious with the tiny dragon being less than a twentieth of the size of most of my team yet running around them in circles most of the time. While I didn't want him to start battling any time soon, I did end up starting his basic training just to raise him properly.
With that said, we were currently in a small town called Little Town. It was near Grandpa Canyon and was much smaller than Pallet Town. There weren't many people living here but we did see a lot of kids around which meant that the inhabitants were probably young.
"Do you have any plans for today Ash?" Brock suddenly asked.
"No. What's the matter, Brock?"
"Well, would you like to visit my uncle then? He lives in this town and he had his second child recently but I couldn't find time to visit him before so I thought it would be a good time to do so." Brock replied honestly. "I think you should meet him as well since he works with the League and it never hurts to be acquainted."
"That you are right. So should we leave now?" This uncle of Brock's was someone I had never met before since my only acquaintance in the Kanto Pokémon League was Mr. Goodshow who was technically the biggest name in the League outside of Professor Oak which spoke volumes of my connections. But I wasn't really sure I could connect with him this time around and it never hurt to meet new people.
"I want to buy something for the kids since little Asuka would tear my hair off if I went there empty-handed."
"Kids huh." I sighed in exasperation as well. I never had one but I kinda knew how crazy things could get when it comes to one.
"What are you saying, buddy?! You're one too." Brock said humorously before patting me on the shoulder with a light chuckle and walking off.
The next hour was spent trying to look for a good item for the kids. Even though it was a small town, there were a lot of shops around with a wide variety of goods for kids as well as adults. There were no Pokémon-related items except for a few Pokedolls lying around. We eventually decided on a small frock for the newborn and a Tyranitar doll for the older one.
"Still, why the Tyrantiar plushy Brock? Wouldn't a little girl like something like a Gardevoir or Clefairy?" By no means was I generalizing but my limited experience with kids and a decent knowledge of marketing lead me to the conclusion that little girls usually liked "cute" Pokémon while boys liked "cool" Pokémon like Charizard or Salamence. Heck, I had bought a few for my own Godchildren by the time I entered into the forties and was stable enough as a trainer.
"You would be surprised. Lil old Asuka has a massive love for Dark-type Pokémon for some reason so I decided to buy the strongest of the type."
"So she's aiming to become a trainer as well?" Most kids who wish to become a Pokémon trainer are slowly introduced to the world of Pokémon bit by bit through the likes of Pokémon Camps and Excursions like the Summer Camp held by Professor Oak back home and as such, kids having favorite types was not that rare.
That said, focusing on a single type, while far easier than being a mixed-type trainer, had its own demerits. For example, a strong Psychic-type trainer would be hard-pressed to win against a mixed-trainer with an equally strong Dark-type Pokémon. This is the same for every other type as well.
This was one of the main reasons why Regional Champions were primarily mixed-type while the Elite-four were type specialists. The Champion must be ready to face a wide variety of trainers who were able to successfully get past the different types of the Elite-four which required them to be flexible. This is why the Elite-four would only disband once the champion has been dethroned, giving them more leeway when it comes to losses compared to the champion.
Of course, Lance and Steven were exceptions to this but they more than made up for this by being ridiculously strong.
"Yes, she is," Brock replied.
We soon reached a fairly large house near the edge of the town with a big garden as well as a front yard, proof that the owner was financially stable. We rang the bell and stood near the entrance waiting for a reply.
"Yes yes. Coming." A woman's voice rang out from the house and soon the door was opened. "Who is it?" A fairly young woman who looked like she was in her late twenties asked before her sights landed on Brock and she exclaimed "Oh Brock! It's so good to see you." She gave a tight hug to Brock.
"Hello, Aunt Hana. I hope I'm not intruding."
"Nonsense Brock. We told you that you are always welcome here, didn't we? You and your little friend can come inside. Your uncle is currently out shopping with Asuka but he'll return soon." She invited us in after taking a small glance at me. I could see curiosity in her eyes.
Hana Slate was a beautiful woman. She had jet black hair and blue eyes that were as beautiful as the ocean. She was quite short, standing at around 160cm but her figure was really adult-like. She was currently wearing a white one-piece dress. {Just imagine Haruno Yuinoshita but shorter}
The house itself was quite big compared to what was seen from the outside and there were lots of rooms around. Soon, we reached what I assumed was the living room.
"Make yourself at home kids. I'll bring you something to drink." She said before leaving for the kitchen. We seated ourselves at the table awaiting her return.
"Here you go." She came back after a little while carrying two glasses of Oran Berry juice. After giving us a glass each, she sat down on the couch. "So who's your little friend Brock?" She asked.
"Hello, Mrs. Slate. My name is Ash Ketchum and I am a traveling Pokémon trainer." I introduced myself.
"Oh my! So Polite! No need to call me Mrs. Slate Young man. You can call me Hana." She replied.
"As you wish Ms. Hana. Anyways, I am currently traveling with Brock to collect eight gym badges to enter the League."
"Is that so? What about the kids' Brock?" She asked Brock who had been silent till now.
"There's no problem Aunty. Dad is taking care of them now."
"Really?! So Flint came back? This is such good news. I am sure that your Uncle would be happy to hear it as well. Maybe we should go to Pewter one day." She said, sounding quite excited as Brock answered her question. It made sense since Brock's dad had been gone for more than two years before his return.
"Well, I'm sure Dad would be happy to have you guys as well."
"We're Home!" Just as Brock was speaking, a loud yell came from the front door.
"Looks like your uncle has come back. I'll go receive them. You two stay here and make yourself comfortable." Hana said before leaving.
After a few minutes, the door to the living room opened once again and Hana she returned with two people in tow.
Theodore slate, Brock's uncle looked like an older version of Brock himself for the most part except for the black hair. He was quite tall and stood well over 180cm from my estimates. He had a thin build compared to his frame which indicated that he didn't exercise that much which made sense since he held an office job in the League according to Brock. He was wearing black cargo pants with a grey color shirt.
Their daughter, Asuka had inherited features from both of her parents. She had the same Black hair as her mother but her big eyes were the same auburn color as her father's. She was wearing a cute white frock with a blacktop. On top of her head laid a big Straw hat.
"Big Brother Brock!" Asuka yelled when she saw Brock before untangling herself from her mother's embrace and lunging at Brock. Brock caught her with a seasoned reflex which indicated that this was not the first time she had done this.
"Did you bring me a gift?" She asked with excitement only found in small children.
"I sure did," Brock replied happily before unpacking his bag and giving her the Tyranitar plushie that he had purchased.
"Yay a T-tar." She yelled happily before giving Brock a small kiss on his cheeks and running off into the next room.
"I told you that you don't need to bring gifts every time you come here. She will become spoiled at this rate." Theodore, who had seated himself on the couch said exasperatedly.
"Don't worry about that Uncle. She's a good kid." Brock replied.
"Anyways, who's the kid?" [Theodore]
"This here is Ash. He is a trainer and we are currently traveling together." [Brock]
"Ah yes! Hana did mention him. That said, Flint came back huh. Took him long enough I guess. I told the old fool that he was not cut out for the circuit but he didn't listen. Last time I heard from him was when he failed the seventh Gym. I am glad that he decided to step up and take his own responsibilities." He said.
"That said, how's the Gym challenge going kid?" he asked me.
"I'm doing alright sir. I currently have six badges so I only need two more to qualify."I replied
"Six badges already! Well, I'll be damned! That is pretty impressive. You are ten right?" [Theodore]
"Yes sir." [Ash]
"Where exactly are you from again?" [Theodore]
"Pallet Town, sir." [Ash]
"Well, that explains a lot. I swear to god that there's something about that place that spawns all the talented trainers there. Anyways kid, since you are a friend of Brock, I'll help you out if you need anything related to the League. I might not look like it but I hold a pretty high position in the organization chain." [Theodore]
"Thank you, sir." [Ash]
"By the way Uncle." [Brock]
"What is it, Brock?" [Theodore]
"Did something happen to you recently?" [Brock]
"Hmm. What makes you think that my boy?" [Theodore]
"Well, you look rather tired right now and your eyes have those dark circles around. I thought maybe something was bothering you." Brock was indeed right as Theodore looked a bit tired and had dark circles around his eyes, which signaled sleep deprivation.
"Good observation my boy. Well, it's nothing much but do you remember that mine North of the city?" [Theodore]
"You mean the one where they mine Iron Ore?" [Brock]
"Yes, that one. Lately, you see a group of strange Pokémon that has taken over the mine. They have forced the mining team to stop their activities since they attack anyone who tries to enter the mine. The League told me to deal with it since I live nearby but I have no idea what to do myself since those Pokémon are not something that I have ever seen before. To make matters worse, no one in the League knows of them and we are trying to get some info from the other regions with the limited info that we have. I tried to catch one but the bigger ones wrecked my Pokémon before I could do anything. Keeping this mine closed is starting to affect the steel production in these parts and with the sheer number of new projects around, that is a big problem." [Theodore]
"That sure sounds rough." Brock sounded sympathetic.
"You said a weird Pokémon, right? What kind of Pokémon is it?" I, on the other hand, was intrigued. Brock gave me a weird look, but I reassured him with a smile.
"Well, there are ten of them in total from what I saw. The smallest ones and their evolutions are quadrupedal and the biggest ones are bipedal. Their body is black but they have from what I saw, steel armor. There are four of the smallest ones and their evolutions and two of the biggest ones." [Theodore]
"I see. I might have an idea what they are. Let me ask you something. Did the smaller ones grow in size during the time they have been in there?" [Ash]
"Let's see. Now that I think about it, they did grow a few feet during the week." [Theodore]
"Great. Then I know what they are. Can you take me with you to the place? I can help you." [Ash]
"Really?! Then let's go right now." He was excited.
"You are going nowhere until you eat your lunch mister." Mrs. Hana, who came out of nowhere poured cold water over the grown man's excitement.
After lunch, all three of us reached the old mine where the current problem rested. We walked for about ten minutes before we reached the center of the mine where different caves were created.
"Last time, we found them near here." [Theodore]
"I see. Let's take a look around shall we." [Ash]
We wandered around for a while until Theodore yelled. "There it is!" And just as I predicted, it was an Aron and by the looks of it, it was eating the iron ore in the mine.
"Blastoise, let's get ready for battle." [Ash]
The gigantic turtle Pokémon was not exactly a comfortable fit in the narrowish mines but he still had room for moving around.
"Blastoise, use water gun but not too hard okay." The Aron looked like it was around level 20 so I didn't want to hurt it too badly.
A small stream of water came out from the impressive-looking canons and crashed with the small Pokémon and threw him back by quite a bit. He fainted soon after and just as I was readying a Pokeball, the ground between us and the Aron shook and two impressive-looking Aggrons emerged from the ground. Following them, three other Arons and Four Lairons who were nearing the size of an Aggron all emerged to shield the fallen Aron from us.
"Blastoise, let's, clean house buddy. Use Hydro Pump."
Jets of water erupted from the canons that made the previous attack look like a child's play and crashed onto the opposing mons before they even had time to react. Blastoise's quick shot training was already paying its dividends. He hit all the opposing Pokémon who fainted pretty quickly. As physically bulky as the Aron line is, their special defense left a lot to be desired.
I caught all of them in Pokeballs. Normally, I wouldn't catch them but they were not native to Kanto and couldn't be allowed to breed any further in the wild lest they become an invasive species. This was a rule that any trainer who came across foreign species had to follow. All of them had already been transferred to Professor Oak so there was no need for us to remain here any longer. We still made a few rounds in case we had missed any but the mine was pretty much empty save for a few Geodudes here and there.
"Thank you so much, kid." The first thing Theodore said to me was this. "I need to call the mining team and inform them of the good news." He said before moving away and calling someone on the Pokegear.
"They'll be here soon." He said after the call was finished and just as he said a lot of miners arrived soon afterward. After all the formalities between the adults were finished with the leader thanking me personally, we returned to Theodore's house. Mrs. Hana was waiting for us ad soon served tea since it was already evening.
"Tell me, kid, do you know what those Pokémon are?" [Theodore]
"Oh, those? They are from Hoenn. The smallest ones are called Arons, their evolutions are called Lairon and the biggest ones are called Aggrons. From what I heard, they are to Hoenn what Geodudes are to us except they are a little bit rarer." [Ash]
"From Hoenn? That explains why no one in the mainland knew about them. I'm a little curious about this. How do you know about them?" [Theodore]
"Well, Professor Oak upgraded my Pokedex to the National version some time ago and Aron is one of the few Hoenn Pokémon in it. I had a sneaky suspicion since they are notorious for hoarding Iron Ore mines since they eat Iron Ore to grow." [Ash]
"Wow. I guess you learn new things every day. Once again, thanks, kid. If you ever need my help, don't be shy to ask." [Theodore]
Just as we were finishing our conversation, a loud voice interrupted us. "Big brother, are you a Pokémon trainer?" Little Asuka came out of her room like a rocket.
"Well yes, I am." [Ash]
"Really?!" [Asuka]
"Really." [Ash]
"Do you have any Dark-type Pokémon? I love Dark-type Pokémon." [Asuka]
"I'm sorry kiddo. But I don't have any." [Ash]
"Oh." Little Asuka's enthusiasm was gone.
"Well how about this. If Big brother ever catches a Dark-type Pokémon, I'll bring show them to you." [Ash]
"You will?!" [Asuka]
"Yes." [Ash]
"Yay, It's a Promise." [Asuka]
"Sure." [Ash]
"You too big brother Brock. You need to show them to me." [Asuka]
"Of course." [Brock]
After we said goodbye to the family of three, we headed back to the Pokémon Centre for the night. On our way back, Brock asked.
"Hey Ash?" [Brock]
"What is it, Brock?" [Ash]
"Do you ever feel that I am not important for your journey?" [Brock]
"No! What made you think like that Brock?" [Ash]
"Nothing. It's just that I'm supposed to be the older one between us yet you never seem to need my help in anything." [Brock]
"Oh, Brock! Don't think like that okay? While I might be a bit mature for my age, I very much enjoy your company. If I were to travel alone, I will be pretty lonely all the time on the road. You being here for me mean a lot more to me than you think." [Ash]
"Really?" [Brock]
"Yes." [Ash]
"I guess that's fine then." [Brock]
"That's more like it." [Ash]
"Thanks, Ash. I needed that." [Brock]
"You're welcome." [Ash]
We soon reached the Pokémon Centre where I sent a call to Professor Oak to learn about the new Pokémon. After conversing a bit with Mewtwo who had spoken to them, I ended the call after making the appropriate decision regarding them.
"So, what happened?" [Brock]
"Well, the Aggrons were brought here by Pokémon Poachers from Hoenn to sell to some rich guy as trophies. They escaped and hid in the nearby mountain. Long story short, they mated while they were hiding and the kids needed to grow so they took over some small abandoned mines on the other side of the mountain. Once more kids were born, they needed more ore so they decided to take over the mine here." [Ash]
"So what'll happen to them now?" [Brock]
"Since I am their trainer now, I gave Professor the ok to raise them at the Ranch. They won't be joining my team but they acknowledge me as their trainer. Frankly, after what they have been through, those poor Pokémon deserve at least this much. They'll be pretty safe there." [Ash]
"I see. That's a good thing then. Good night Ash." [Brock]
"Good night Brock." [Ash]
Ash' team
Charizard
Level 55 [stats is 32% more compared to a fully maxed out Pokémon of the same level]
Moves: Slash, Rock Slide, Bite, Ember, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Flamethrower, Wing Attack, and Earthquake.
Pidgeot
Level 52
Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, Steel Wing, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Wing Attack, and Double Team.
Alakazam
Level 50
Moves: Teleport, Thunder Punch, Disable, Psybeam, Reflect, Recover, Future Sight, Psychic, Toxic, Hyper Beam, Dig, Double Team, Rest, Thunder Wave, and Psywave.
Venusaur
Level 52
Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Petal Dance, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent, and Toxic.
Blastoise
Level 52
Moves: Tackle, Bubble, Water Gun, Mirror Coat, Bite, Rapid Spin, Protect, Rain Dance, and Ice Beam.
Gengar
Level 50
Moves: Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Shadow Punch, Destiny Bond, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Toxic and Mega Drain.
Gyarados
Level 28
Moves: Tackle, Bite, Dragon Rage
Dratini
Level 25
Moves: Wrap, Thunder Wave, Twister, Dragon Breath, Body Slam, Agility.
Bagon
Level 1
Moves: Dragon Dance, Dragon Rage, Thrash, and Twister.
That's that.
How's it going, everyone. I know it's been a long time since I posted anything but in my defense, writer's block and Real-life have been kicking my ass for quite some time now. Even now, I don't know when I'll be able to post next but the only thing I guarantee you is the fact that I'll never drop this story. Even if it takes me years, I will finish this.
That said, let's talk business. Most of the stories I have written are written in a narrative form with a minimal conversation between characters happening. So I decided to try something new this time around by using a conversation-focused form. Tell me which form you liked cause I want to try new things without ruining the story. Another important notice is that Ash's team for Kanto is now final with the addition of Bagon and there will be no new Pokémon added.
Anyways, stay safe and I'll hopefully see you soon.