Ash had run for his life many times during his journeys.
Territorial Pokémon. Agitated Pokémon. Practically every type of Pokémon. Even sometimes from his own Pokémon.
But nothing exactly matches his current predicament.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"PIIIIKKKKKAAAA!"
"Visssssh!"
Ash and Pikachu were running… from a new revived Frankenstein creature. The Frankenstein creature was a blue fish head on top of a green tail with legs named Dracovish.
Ash, Goh, and Chloe were invited to a digsite and given the opportunity to dig up fossils and revive them. He and Goh accepted the chance, the latter thinking of catching a fossil Pokémon for himself while Ash was interested to see what Pokémon he could revive.
He had encountered many fossil Pokémon in the past but never caught one due to the fact he didn't find one he wanted. Aerodactyl would have been nice but he fell asleep when the dreaded Jigglypuff sang. Cradilies and Armaldos were under the protection while on Wales Island. He never came across any Sinnoh or Unova fossils to revive except those adventures he had with the prehistoric Pokémon. And Kalos had those laboratories to research Amauras and Tyrunts.
But this time, Ash and his friends were given the chance to evacuate fossils with some help from two scientists: Cara Liss and Bray Zenn. They found incomplete fossils and Cara insists that they can still be revived. After a quick meal, they restore the fossils into their true forms…
Which matched nothing in Pokémon history.
Besides Dracovish, there was a yellow raptor head in a large icicle with blue flippers and a tail that was called Arctozolt. Ash attempted to meet the Water/Dragon abomination but narrowly avoided its jaws and was chased around. Goh, on the other hand, readied his newly captured Boldore to battle Arctozolt.
Which brings us back to our current scenario.
Ash and Pikachu continued to run for their lives as Dracovish continued its chase. The trainer was thinking about attacking it again but after Pikachu's Electroweb mishap, he thought about just running for now. It was no surprise that the mismatched fossil was great at running with them being the only appendages to move.
Ash and Pikachu eventually caught their breath near a river before Dracovish crashed into them and knocked them in, landing in the river.
"Gahhh!" Ash gasped for air before realizing he was on the Fossil Pokémon with Pikachu. Both trainer and modern-day Pokémon flinched before realizing that the abomination was swimming peacefully.
"Oh, you just wanted to go for a swim?" Ash realized and Dracovish agreed through its cry, "Vish! Vish!"
A little while longer, Dracovish seemed to be at ease from its leisure swim. Getting out of the stream, Ash patted Dracovish on its… tail.
"Guess a nice swim made you calm down," Ash put together. It wasn't too odd for him, after all, revived Pokémon tend to not be adjusted to modern day.
"This is unexpected."
Ash and Pikachu heard a voice before trying to locate the source but Dracovish just swayed back and forth to its own rhythm.
"Who said that?"
"That would be me." A light brown blur appeared in front of the trainer and the Pokémon. It was revealed to be a light brown bear cub with a white ribbons on his head and a serious expression. "Chosen One," the cub greeted with a traditional karate bow.
"Umm… hi?" Ash said, confused. Could this be a Legendary?
"Forgive me," the cub said, "I know we have not officially met before but my name is Kubfu."
"Kubfu?" Ash tried to place where the Pokémon came from. He hadn't encountered one like this before.
"I have searched for you, in order to give you my gift."
Ash was puzzled, "But I never helped you."
"Yes, while true, you have accomplishments and feats that I would like to test."
"You know about those?" Ash said surprised. He never really considered thinking about how Legendaries or Mythicals viewed him. To him, he was just some trainer but with all the Chosen One talk recently, he felt as if he was revered as a legend among them. Even Arceus probably.
"Yes," Kubfu said, "An Articuno mentioned how your Charizard bested her, your Pikachu taking on Tapu Koko, your Battle Bond Greninja saving Kalos," the cub listed off before finally ending, "Which is why for my gift will be the one of a battle!"
"Oh, you want a battle?" Ash asked with a grin. Though he never encountered the Wushu Pokémon, he was always up for a battle.
"Yes! One of your mighty warriors to battle would be for my training!" Kubfu exclaimed.
"Uhhhh… okay?" Ash replied, "Though honestly I don't really have any major heavy hitters or warriors with me right now."
Kubfu comedically fell over, "Well, who do you have on you, then?"
Ash brought out his current party: Gible, Oshawott, Corphish, Glalie, Buziel, Quilava, Totodile, Butterfree, Donphan, Swellow, Talonflame, Rowlet, Muk, Haunter, Kingler, Scraggy, Lapras, and Pikachu (already on his shoulder.)
Dracovish, who had been swaying, stopped before announcing its arrival to the team. Ash's party -expect Pikachu- turned around before recoiling at the sight of the Frankenstein fossil.
"Vish!" The incorrectly revived fossil greeted Totodile, who shrunk back in fear. Even Buizel, Haunter, Swellow, and Rowlet back away in fear. Being met with fear, Dracovish sighed before hanging its head down at the sight of its appearance.
Kubfu saw the line-up before shaking his head. "None of your current team will match my strength."
"What do you mean?" Ash said, trying to contain his anger at the cub. Who was he to say that about his team? He was just praising them a few seconds ago.
"What I mean is I want a challenge," Kubfu explained, "Your mighty Charizard, your agile Sceptile, your headstrong Heracross, your fiery Infernape, even your Dusk Lycanroc! Not them. And your Pikachu wouldn't last a chance. Every Legendary and Mythical knows about how the mouse is practically on a power trip now with Zekrom's gift."
"Well, how about this then," Ash offered, "I battle you with one of my Pokémon of my choosing on my team. Not one of my powerhouses to prove to you that they are just as strong as those one you think are stronger than the rest." He never expected a Legendary to deem certain Pokémon worthy. Maybe it's based on the fact he hadn't had an adventure with the Wushu Pokémon yet.
Kubfu thought it over, "Hmmmmmm… Alright, I will allow it. I want a worthy opponent. After all, it is my gift. The gift of battle."
"Ok, then." Ash agreed before selecting his choice. Everyone had something to bring.
Then Ash saw how the rest of the Pokémon were weirded out by Dracovish upon its introduction, leaving the Frankenstein fossil dejected. And it pained Ash to see a Pokémon left out.
"Okay… Dracovish, I choose you!"
The mismatched revived Pokémon perked up at being chosen and was happy. "Vish! Vish!"
"The abomination?" Kubfu phrased before rolling his eyes, "Fine. I guess I can battle it." Kubfu posed in a fighting position as Dracovish stomped onto the field for a battle.
(PokéSpeech enabled)
"He's going with the fish-face?" Buizel exclaimed as Oshawott became colorless.
"I would have thought it would have been me at least," Swellow chriped, "I want to fight a Legendary again."
"We don't have as much experience when it comes to Legendaries but I would have been interested," Kingler clicked, mentioning him and Muk.
"I've never seen such a Pokémon like… it before?" Lapras admitted, trying to distinguish the gender.
"Great, the newbie is going to battle the martial artist," Talonflame said, "Kiss the world goodbye."
Pikachu vouched for the Frankenstein fossil, "Hey! Lay off them! Dracovish may not look like an ideal Pokémon but they are one nonetheless!"
Ash's team looked at the starter with uneasy looks.
"Just watch," Pikachu said with his arms crossed, "Dracovish will show you what they are made of."
(PokéSpeech disabled)
"My years of training on the Isle of Armor will show you how strong I am," Kubfu said to himself before blitzing forward with a brown glowing fist.
"Dracovish, dodge!" The Frankenstein fossil attempted to move but the cub was faster and struck the leg. Dracovish cried out in pain at the attack.
Ash couldn't help but feel concerned. He rushed into the battle headfirst and didn't consider what moves Dracovish had. He knew about Water Gun and potentially Bite but that was it.
The Frankenstein fossil growled before a faint aura surround him. It generated fossils around it and threw them towards the martial artist. Kubfu glowed with a faint aura himself before destroying the fossils with ease.
"That was Ancient Power!" Ash recognized before taking action again, "Use Water Gun!"
The Frankenstein fossil fired a stream of water but the Wushu Pokémon dodged with ease before charging with white streaks covering him. The legendary landed his Aerial Ace into the face of Dracovish before slamming a Brick Break into the tail portion.
"Vish!"
Kubfu landed before commenting, 'This is my opponent? A mismatched Magikarp? I'm almost insulted.'
"Cut it some slack! This is its first battle since it had been revived!" Ash growled at.
'This is rather pointless.' Kubfu dismissed, "I wanted a battle. A battle with the Chosen One. Someone who is revered by Legendaries and Mythicals alike. Whose bonds with Pokémon are so strong they can overcome anything. Yet I'm fighting something that is incorrect to the Pokémon world."
"Knock it off!" Ash snapped, his temper now noticeable as Kubfu glanced at him. "So what if Dracovish doesn't look like any Pokémon known to date? You wanted a battle, I accepted! And I'll tell you right now, even if I didn't choose Dracovish, I would beat you with any of my other Pokémon!"
"PIKA!" Pikachu cheered with his trainer.
The other Pokémon that were watching the fight began to feel bad. They had misjudged Dracovish through appearance rather than personality. The Frankenstein fossil may not look correct, but it's a Pokémon nonetheless. And Ash's Pokémon. Its apart of the Ketchum family regardless.
"OSHA!'
"BUI!"
"GEOT!"
"FLAME!"
"SWELL!"
"KOOKIE!"
"MUKKKK!"
"CORP!"
"HAUNT!"
"LAVA!"
"GIBLE!"
"DILE!"
"GLALIE!"
"DON-PHAN!"
"FREE!"
"SCRAG!"
"LAAA!"
"ROW!"
Dracovish heard the Pokémon cries and felt determined, its friends were cheering them on. The Fossil Pokémon let out a roar that even Kubfu felt.
'His encouragement even affected the fossil. And now his current Pokémon are cheering them on.' Kubfu thought, 'Maybe… maybe I don't need a perfect opponent, the Chosen One has taught me there is no such thing as the perfect opponent. Every battle, trainer, rival is worthy of his might.' And that made an idea spur with his mind.
"Alright, Dracovish, Ancient Power again!" Ash called. The Fossil Pokémon fired a cluster of fossils again and Kubfu avoided them again and planned to land a Rock Smash.
"Catch the fist with Bite!" Dracovish managed to Bite the fist of the Wushu Pokémon. "Now Water Gun!" With no way to dodge, the cub was hit with a stream of water from the Frankenstein fossil.
Kubfu landed on his feet, albeit soaked, before he had a grin.
'This fight has been quite nice,' the Wushu Pokémon said, 'But now is the time to end this. And if I can be honest… I have enjoyed this fight.'
Ash's anger faded and was replaced by his usual grin. "Glad to be of service. Dracovish, Ancient Power to Water Gun again!"
The Fossil Pokémon summoned fossils and threw them and Kubfu nimbly avoided them with Aerial Ace, closing just as the mismatched fossil fired a stream of water.
Pushing through it, the Wushu Pokémon nailed a ferocious Rock Smash into the face. The final attack from the Legendary was successful and the fossil fell over.
"Draco…"
"Dracovish!" Ash ran over to the Fossil Pokémon, the Water/Dragon-type weakly got up before slumping down. It felt like it didn't do well enough.
Ash comforted it, "Hey, it's alright. It was your first battle and you didn't have much experience. Plus, Kubfu here is a legendary, very difficult to match right now."
"Indeed," Kubfu approached before bowing, "Forgive me for my insolence. I was hoping for a worthy fight and I suppose I was a bit carried away. However, your… Dracovish is it? Yes. It will make a fine warrior of the Chosen One."
Ash nodded at that, "Yeah, it will! I promise to help Dracovish become stronger for a rematch." The other Pokémon began to crowd Dracovish, the Frankenstein fossil quite happy that it was accepted into a new family.
Kufbu agreed, "And seeing your Pokémon encourage your chosen warrior has ignited something in me."
"It has?" Ash asked.
"Yes. I wish to study under you."
"You want to join me?" Ash questioned before internally sighing, 'These Legendaries and Mythicals are going to be the death of me with these gifts.'
"Yes. To be a mighty warrior!" Kubfu exclaimed, excited for the chance to be a Chosen One's Pokémon, "I will be able to battle many opponents and become stronger myself. Even meet the Legendary destroying warriors themselves!"
Ash just shook his head, amused by the Wushu Pokémon's determination, "Okay, then." He pulled out a spare Pokéball and captured Kubfu. The Pokéball shrunk, signifying his limit capacity.
"Ash!"
The trainer turned to see Goh, Chloe, Cara Liss, Bray Zenn, and Arctozolt -who has calmed down- all out of breath.
"There you are! With Dracovish!" Goh let out.
"Yep, turns out Dracovish just wanted to go for a swim," Ash explained and left out the mention of Kubfu.
It pained him to lie to his friends, even after his Legendary encounters with Goh, but how was he exactly going to explain that he was the Chosen One, a title revered by all Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, and was receiving gifts from them. He knew one day that he would have to.
The rest of their fossil excursion ended with Dracovish being successfully caught by Ash and Arctozolt being caught by Goh. Cara and Bray admitted they had all the data they needed before the trio left. Ash, for one, was very thrilled. He had caught his first Fossil Pokémon and another Legendary.
This made him more excited for future ranking battles and what other gifts he would have.
A/N: No flames.