Despite the difficulty of the climb, Akari and Ash didn't give up and hiked all the way up the path until they finally reached the top of the cliff. Akari wiped the sweat from her forehead as Ash panted a little to catch his breath. Once the two had sufficiently recovered from their climb, they scanned the area until Akari eventually spotted their target.
"Look over there." She got Ash's attention as she pointed to the end of the cliff where they saw a woman at a headstone with two Growlithe at her feet, one larger and one smaller.
"That must be Palina." He realized. She nodded in agreement and the two of them walked toward her cautiously. "Excuse me are you Palina?"
"I am." The woman replied as she turned around. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ash and this is Akari. Irida sent us here to meet with you." He explained.
"Irida did? For what reason?" Palina wondered.
"She said something strange has been going on where the Lord of the Cobalt Coastlands used to live. Is it true?" Akari asked.
"I certainly have been hearing reports of strange sounds and shadows coming from those who have traveled to Firespit Island…but I myself haven't seen anything." The Warden explained.
"Do you know when it started? Maybe around the time your Lord passed away?" Ash suggested.
"Come to think of it I think you're right. Oh, it was such a horrible day...the Lord's child was swept into the sea and he went in to save his child...but the waves swallowed him even as he saved his son..." Palina recounted the story on the verge of tears.
"That's just awful…I'm so sorry.." Ash frowned as Pikachu too drooped his ears.
"Now as my final gift to him, I've been looking after his son." She added as she smiled down at the two Growlithe at her feet.
"The late Lord's son huh?" Ash wondered as he too looked at the two Growlithe.
"Yes." Palina nodded as a small smile crossed her face. "Tell me, which of my Growlithe here do you this is the Lord's child? The larger one, or the smaller one?"
"Oh…gosh I'm not sure…" Akari said as she looked between the two Pokemon. Ash carefully examined both Growlithe and thought about what he knew about Nobles and Lords from his journey so far.
"Well, all the Lords we've seen so far are so much bigger than normal Pokemon. So is it the bigger one?" he guessed. Palina smiled at the two of them and gave a shake of her head.
"Actually no. Most people believe it's the larger one like you did. But this little one is actually the Lord's son. But the poor thing has been traumatized by watching his father's death...unfortunately that has kept him from stepping up to take his father's place..." Palina explained.
"I can certainly understand that...watching your parent die would traumatize anyone..." Akari agreed.
"Yeah...there certainly needs to be some time after such a loss…" Ash sighed.
"I certainly think so, but many in my clan believe that I'm being lazy and coddling this little Growlithe. Since he isn't a Lord yet they've all grown antsy and anxious, but truth be told I refuse to push him until he's ready." Palina added.
"That's really great of you Palina. I'm sure your Lord would thank you for all you're doing for his son." He tried to assure her.
"Thank you, Ash." The woman smiled softly.
"But to get back on topic." Akari piped up. "If there's no Lord on the Island, what are the strange shadows and figures people are reporting?"
"I'm afraid I don't know either…" Palina sighed.
"Well, we'd like to investigate the Island if you don't mind." Ash's partner offered.
"I certainly don't mind, but you will have to cross the sea to get there." She reminded them.
"How can we do that? Is there a boat?" Ash questioned her.
"There is not, unfortunately. However, you could speak to Iscan of the Diamond Clan. He'd be able to help you two obtain a Basculegion." She suggested.
"A Basculegion?" he wondered again.
"A Basculegion is the evolved form of Basculin." Akari informed him.
"Iscan is a Warden for the Diamond Clan's Noble Basculegion. He knows all about Basculin and Basculegion. He can teach you how to catch one and evolve it so you can go to Firespit Island." Palina explained.
"That's a great idea. Thank you Palina." Ash smiled.
"Not a problem. Iscan lives in that hut just over there." She added, pointing to a hut on the beach in the distance.
"Oh boy..." Ash sighed in realization.
"Back down again…" Akari sweatdropped with the same realization. "Well, let's get to it then."
"Right…" he sighed as he and Akari started heading back down the path once again.
After another long climb and walk through the area, the two trained breathed a sigh of relief once they finally arrived outside the sole hut in the area.
"Here we are. Finally." Ash sighed in relief.
"That's great…" Akari said with a small smile. Ash took the lead and knocked on the door. "Hello? Iscan?"
"Just a moment!" a voice called from inside. Akari and Ash listened to the sound of someone flitting around and knocking things over inside the hut before a man with dark skin and short blue hair opened the door for them. "Yes? Can I help you?"
"Hi there. I'm Ash." The young man introduced himself.
"And I'm Akari." She followed his lead as the Warden suddenly recognized their uniforms.
"Oh you're...both from the Galaxy Team?" he wondered.
"We are. We want to ask you about Basculin and Basculegion." Ash explained.
"Oh? What about them...?" Iscan asked.
"You see, we need to get to Firespit Island as soon as we can. So we were hoping you could teach us about them so we can catch one to take us to the Island." Akari chimed in.
"I see...well a Basculegion is certainly powerful enough to carry you both there...very well I'll tell you all I know."
"Thank you so much, sir." Ash smiled.
"Well then, I suppose then the first step would be for one of you to catch a Basculin." Iscan began.
"Right. We can do that." Ash said confidently.
"While I appreciate the enthusiasm, it won't be an easy task. Basculin are very skittish and will run at the first sign of humans." Iscan cautioned him.
"Really?" Akari questioned him.
"Oh yes. From what I've learned they're quite different from the aggressive Basculin in other regions." Iscan nodded.
"Well, we can still do it." Ash assured him.
"Alright. The best spot to try would be at the end of this cove." Iscan said as he pointed to the edge of the cove further out from his hut. "There are several long stretches of land that you can use to get close to the water to try and catch them. Once you catch one, bring it back here and we'll work on its evolution."
"Thanks so much. We'll do our best." Akari promised. Ash nodded in agreement and the two of them headed down to the cove as fast as they could.
"Oh wow! Iscan wasn't kidding, look at them all!" Akari gasped as they arrived at the edge of the cove, known as Sand's Reach according to her. In the water near the shores were dozens of Basculin. Ash noticed that just as Iscan said, these Basculin acted much differently from the ones he had seen in Unova. They all had white stripes on their bodies and seemed to be much more docile.
"Wow..." Ash echoed Akari's surprise. It was then that she stepped towards the water to get closer, but as soon as she did all the Basculin near that side of the shore quickly swam away from her.
"Oh shoot…how are we going to do this...?" she wondered.
"I don't know..." Ash responded as he tried to come up with a plan. He scanned the area and suddenly noticed that some Basculin had swam into the water between the long thin strips of land. "That's it! Akari if you chase those ones over there towards me on the other side, they'll swim towards me and I'll be able to catch one!"
"That's a great idea!" she smiled as she looked over to where Ash was implicating. "And there's a crate over there you can hide behind."
"Exactly." Ash nodded as he ran over to get into position, careful not to venture too close to the water. Once he was in position, Akari ran towards the Basculin, flailing her arms and making a nuisance of herself. Ash watched carefully as several Basculin swam towards him trying to get away from Akari. He zeroed in on the one at the front of the school and grabbed a pokéball from his pack. Aiming carefully, he threw the pokéball at the Basculin.
"Bas?!" Basculin gasped as the ball hit him in the side and he was sent inside in an instant. The pokéball landed in the water and scattered the rest of the Basculin as Akari ran over to check it. The ball shook before firing up a firework.
"Alright!" Ash cheered. "I caught a Basculin!"
"We did it!" Pikachu cheered.
"Great work Ash!" Akari grinned.
"Thanks, Akari!" he smiled back.
"Now we just have to get him to evolve. Let's get back to Iscan and figure out our next step." She reminded him.
"Sounds good to me." He agreed. He picked up the pokéball that contained his new friend and the two of them started heading back towards Iscan's hut.
Once they returned to Iscan's hut, they found him outside, cooking some food over his fire pit. Upon hearing their footsteps he looked up and smiled at them.
"Hey, you two. How'd it go?" he asked.
"I caught a Basculin." Ash smiled proudly.
"Really? That's very impressive." Iscan replied.
"But now how do we do the next step? How do we evolve a White-Striped Basculin into Basculegion?" Akari asked.
"He'll need to master the move Wave Crash." The Warden replied.
"Wave Crash? I've never heard that move before." Ash commented with a tilt of the head.
"It's Basculin's signature move. It causes recoil damage that will build up power inside his body. And once he master's the move, he'll evolve into Basculegion." Iscan explained.
"Sounds like we need to have him battle." Akari remarked.
"It does, but won't using a move like that a lot really hurt Basculin?" Ash wondered.
"Don't worry. I can craft more Potions if need be." Akari promised him. "And you can battle with me until he evolves."
"That's great. Thanks, Akari." He smiled. Akari smiled back and grabbed a pokéball from her bag.
"Go Oshawott!" she called as she tossed it into the air, releasing her partner.
"Osha!" Oshawott cheered.
"Let's go Basculin!" Ash also called as he threw out his own pokéball and released his new Basculin. Basculin appeared in the water near the shore and faced down Oshawott.
"Bas!" he roared.
After a few hours of intense training between Ash and Akari under Iscan's watchful eye, Oshawott and Basculin were in the middle of what must've been their tenth battle together. Basculin leaped out of the water and coated himself in surging waters. He dove right in and struck Oshawott with his Wave Crash once again, causing Oshawott to fall backward onto the sand.
"Osh!" he yelped. Basculin landed back in the water and panted a little as the recoil damage took its toll on his body. However after the pain had faded, Basculin suddenly felt a strong power within him.
"Basculin!" he yelled out as his body started glowing a brilliant white color, catching everyone's attention.
"Whoa! It's time!" Ash gasped. Oshawott meanwhile got back up and suddenly started glowing as well.
"Oshawott?!" Akari asked in shock. Both Pokemon glowed brightly and began to change shape. Finally, the glow around both Pokemon faded and revealed their new forms.
"Dew!" Dewott announced himself.
"Oh wow! It's Dewott!" Akari cheered.
"Bascu!" Basculegion roared proudly.
"And I've got Basculegion!" Ash grinned.
"A most rare occurrence. To see two Water Types evolve at once is just amazing." Iscan chuckled. Both trainers ran to their newly evolved Pokémon like kids to new toys. Akari happily knelt down and hugged her partner.
"Dewott I'm so proud of you!"
"Dew dewott." Dewott smiled at her. Ash meanwhile ran into the shallow water and places his hand on Basculegion's head proudly.
"And you did great too Basculegion." He grinned.
"Bas!" the Water type replied with a smile of his own.
"Looks to me like you two have everything you need to head to Firespit Island." Iscan commented with a sense of pride.
"Wonderful Iscan. I knew you could help them." A familiar voice said, drawing everyone's attention. They all turned around and the two Galaxy Team members were surprised to see Palina walking up to the group with both of her Growlithe trotting along beside her.
"Palina?" Ash wondered aloud.
"Palina what are you doing here?" Iscan asked with a hint of surprise.
"I missed you." She replied simply. A deep blush crossed Iscan's cheeks, which didn't go unnoticed by the two Galaxy Team members.
"Palina we have to-"
"I believe these two can keep a secret." She interrupted as she planted a soft kiss on his cheek, leaving no doubt for Ash and Akari about what they were hinting at.
"Wait...are you two...?" Akari wondered.
"Yes, we are." Palina nodded.
"Whoa…but I thought the people of the Diamond and Pearl Clans didn't get along very well…" Ash questioned them.
"Well you see, when Lord Arcanine passed away two years ago, I dove in to try and save him. Not only did I fail, but I began to drown as well. The waves were just too high and too rough for me to fight against. That's when Iscan came into the sea on the Nobel Basculegion and rescued me...ever since then we've been together in secret." She told them the story.
"Wow. That's really cool you guys." Akari smiled.
"Sure is." Ash also smiled. He could tell they loved each other just as much as he loved May. He couldn't even imagine the pressure that must've been on them. After all, it was essentially like their families were at war while they wanted to be together. He was thankful he never had to deal with that with his girlfriend, but he remembered the fear of it when they decided to first tell her father. So in a way, he could understand their situation.
"Thank you both. We really think that someday-"
"Excuse us folks!" a new voice suddenly interrupted.
"Huh?" Ash asked as he turned around to face the new voice. Everyone followed his lead and came face to face with a familiar trio of women. "You guys?!"
"Not again!" Akari glared.
"Don't worry children. We have no quarrel with you today." Charm said as she turned towards Palina "Hand over that Growlithe lady."
"I beg your pardon?" Palina gasped.
"We're going to get some strong Pokémon on our side so no one can stand against us! Now hand over the child of the Lord!" Clover smirked.
"Not happening!" Ash growled.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed from his shoulder.
"You don't have a choice. Now Toxicroak!" Coin suddenly called. In the blink of an eye, a Toxicroak came in from out of nowhere and grabbed the larger Growlithe before bringing him back to the trio of bandits.
"Growlithe!" Palina gasped.
"Don't worry. We'll make him a great Lord for you." Charm taunted before she threw down some smoke bombs. The smoke that was released covered the entire area, forcing everyone and their Pokemon to cough and struggle to see through the cloud.
"Come back you cowards!" Ash yelled in between his coughs. Finally, the smoke began to clear, and just as everyone feared, the bandits and Growlithe were nowhere to be found.
"They're gone..." Palina said as she put a hand over her heart, fearing for the safety of her Growlithe. Ash looked at the young Growlithe and saw the same look of sadness on his face as well.
"Looks like they didn't even know which Growlithe was the Lord's son…" he commented.
"We have to find them and bring Growlithe back. Palina do you have any idea where they would have taken him?" Akari asked.
"Lords are always crowned in their arenas. I imagine they've gone to Firespit Island." The distraught Warden answered.
"But they took the wrong Growlithe. Won't it just not work for them?" Ash wondered.
"While you are right Ash, I imagine what they'll do to try and force him to become Lord will hurt my poor Growlithe badly..." Palina countered.
"Then we need to get to Firespit Island right away. Palina stay here with little Growlithe. I will ride Nobel Basculegion to the Island and save your Growlithe." Iscan assured her.
"Thank you Iscan…" Palina said with a small but loving smile.
"Ash we should go with Iscan." Akari suggested.
"Right. Iscan, Akari and I want to help. We can follow you to the island on my Baculegion." Ash offered.
"Legion!" Basculegion agreed.
"Alright. Just be careful." Iscan nodded.
"We will." Ash promised. Iscan then pulled a flute out of his bag and played a soft melody upon it. After a moment, a Basculegion much larger than Ash's surfaced from below the water and roared.
"Whoa!" Ash gasped.
"Noble Basculegion…" Akari whispered.
"Right." Iscan nodded as he mounted the Noble Pokemon. Palina walked over and kissed Iscan gently.
"Stay safe my love." She said in a soft voice. Iscan gave her a nod and then gave one to Basculegion. The Noble Pokemon understood and swam off at a blinding speed. His departure prompted Ash to get onto his Basculegion with Akari getting on behind him and holding onto his waist. Pikachu meanwhile secured his hold on Ash's shoulder and gave him a nod that he was ready. Basculegion roared and took off after the Noble Basculegion with a blast of speed of his own, cutting through the ocean like butter.
"Wow! Basculegion is fast!" Akari exclaimed.
"He sure is! Heck, the Noble Basculegion is even faster!" Ash smiled. Both Basculegion swam as fast as they could toward the volcanic island, only slowing down every once and a while when a large wave threatened to throw them off course. One such wave hit Ash's Basculegion off guard, causing Akari's grip to loosen slightly.
"Eep!" she yelped as she clung tighter to Ash's back. Ash fought off a blush as he held onto Basculegion just as tightly.
"Hang in there Akari…We're almost there." He promised her. He felt her head move back and forth against his back in a nod as they continued on. Suddenly, one of the Gyarados in the water near them dove under the water abruptly, sending a much bigger wave their way unintentionally.
"Bas!" Basculegion warned his passengers as he then jumped up into the air, then used his ghostly powers to jump once more for more air.
"Eek!" Akari yelled as they soared through the air. Ash laughed happily, enjoying the ride, when all of a sudden, he felt Akari press her chest to his back to hang on even tighter. His eyes widened while a deep blush crossed his cheeks as Basculegion landed back in the water. Akari refused to move from her position even as they completed the last leg of their journey, forcing Ash to try to ignore the sensations she was bringing out as they soon arrived on the coast of Spitfire Island.
To be Continued...