Last Time, the gang plus Cody got stuck in a cave in Twist Mountain due to the sudden appearance of a blizzard, while in the cave Krokorok and Oshawott talk it out and Oshawott agrees to let Krokorok be his wingman, they talk to Eelektross to see if he'll put in a good word for them, he says yeah if they get him some food, so they go digging for Durant caves to find some, they do, forming a strong team as they do so, they put their feud in the past, and move on to a new future.
The gang plus Cody had finally reached Iccirus City, which means that they'll join the Clubsplosion tournament that's happening there, and that I'll soon lose my job again, stupid announcer, him and his tangibilityness.
"Well we made it" Iris said.
"A full day before the Clubsplosion begins" Cilan said.
"Well I guess we better register" Ash said.
"Alright, you guys go do that" Cody said.
"You're not coming with us?" Iris asked.
"Yeah, I've got a couple of things to take care of first" Cody said. "See ya" Cody walked away. Now I just gotta get a lead on this second half of the Light Stone.
"That was rather abrupt" Iris said, unamused.
"Well, let's go already, I'm sure Cody will be back soon" Ash said.
Ash and the gang headed to the local stadium to register for the Clubsplosion, they ran into some very familiar faces along the way.
A blond hair girl came running in, this time however Ash dodged out of the way, but then she turned right around and slammed into him anyway.
"Daaaaaaaag nabbit Bianca, I'm beginning to think you're doing this on purpose!" Ash muffled out, hardly able to breathe.
"Sorry, I just thought I was gonna be late registration ends today!" Bianca said, getting off of Ash.
"Today at midnight, it's noon" Cilan said.
"Oh, well better early than late right?" Bianca said.
"Yo Ash! It's me Stephan!" Stork said. "Oh I see we're doing this again okay, alright"
"Hey Steffen, nice to see you again" Ash said.
"Nice to see you too, although it be nicer if somebody could say my name right" Stepstool said.
"You!" A purple haired girl shouted from halfway across the field, no it wasn't Iris.
"Burgundy, nice to see you again" Cilan said, recognizing the connoisseurette immediately.
"Oh I might have been eliminated too early last time, but this time you're going down! Down I tell you, down down down!" Burgundy said.
"Well best of luck to you I guess" Cilan said.
"Yeah good luck to you too! Cause you'll need it!" Burgundy said, walking away grumpily.
"Hahaha! We're gonna win this alright! We're gonna win this!" A blond boy said.
"Trip hey, it's good to see you" Ash said.
"Yeah it is, how was the lost, eh? I beat you fair and square" Trip said, crossing his arms.
"I wouldn't say fair or square" Iris said, scowling.
"It seems Trip has gone from crazy to incredibly arrogant, and I don't know which is worse" Cilan said.
"Well, see you later I suppose" Ash said.
"Oh you will, when I beat you again! Trophy in hand! Haha!" Trip said, marching away like a buffoon.
After registration Ash and the gang decided to go grab some grub.
Meanwhile with Cody…
"Hmm, where could I possibly find this thing?" Cody said, he wandered the streets of Iccirus endlessly, asking people about the Light Stone, but just about no one's heard about it, let alone about it's whereabouts. "It's gotta be here some where, huh what's this?" Cody said, stumbling upon a flyer, it had a massive tower on it, surrounded by a lake in the middle of nowhere. "I swear I've seen this place before, I don't know where though"
"I know, why that's Dragonspiral Tower" An old man said.
"Really? The supposed oldest tower in Unova" Cody said. "Home of the two 'legendary' dragons, I don't even think a tower like that exists"
"Oh yeah it exists and it sure is old, you know, I heard some pretty strange stuff has been happening over there"
"Really? Like what?" Cody said, intrigued, he had always wondered what was up that rickety tower.
"Well a couple of months ago there was this huge pokemon flying towards it, but when someone went to check it out it was gone"
"No way, could it be? What else happened?" Cody asked, eyes widening.
"Now that you mention it, you're not the only one who has taken such an interest in that tower, some weird guy with green hair asked about it a while back"
That must be N "Do you know where the tower is?"
"Yeah I know, although you'd be stupid to go out there, especially now, it takes at least a day's walk to get to that accursed tower, not that you'd want to, nothing but a bunch of ruins anyway, it's probably the coldest highest place in these mountains, lots of strong pokemon up there too"
"I don't care, just tell me already"
"Well alright, I will, for a few hundred pokedollars"
"Ugh here, now give me directions"
The old man drew out a map for Cody, and Cody, ecstatic, ran to prepare immediately.
Back to Ash and the gang…
"Man that was good" Ash said.
"Well we still got a while before the Clubsplosion starts" Cilan said. "What should we do now?"
"Isn't it obvious, we're gonna train!" Ash said, a determined look on his face.
"Alright then, well let's go" Iris said, standing from her chair.
The gang payed and went on their way, they headed to a local motel and checked in, then they went to find a nice little field.
By the time they got there, it was already late afternoon.
"Alright, well I guess we better get started" Ash said.
Suddenly Cody ran in, more excited than usual.
"Guys I'm gonna be gone for a bit, sorry, I've gotta go pack up my things and go on a little trip" Cody said.
"Oh alright" Ash said. "Hey before you go, would you like to train a bit?"
"Uh, hmm, I don't think I can" Cody said, he thought for a bit then he asked. "You guys will stay here a while right?"
"As long as the Clubsplosion's going on" Ash said.
"It should last for at least three days" Cilan said.
"It starts tomorrow too" Said Iris.
"Alright then, here take these" Cody said, handing Ash two pokeballs. "They're Mienshao and Druddigon, I don't exactly need them during this trip, you can train with them for a bit" Cody said in a rush, he really did not think this through, he was too excited, this was his big break after all.
"Well okay then, what if they don't cooperate?" Ash asked.
"Let out Mienshao first, she's more understanding, once you've got her on your side, release Druddigon, she'll convince him, he's easily influenced" Cody explained.
"Well if you're absolutely sure" Ash said.
"Yeah I'm sure, good luck, I'll be back in a couple days, take good care of them, bye!" Cody said, he left in a huge rush, not really thinking straight.
"Well that was something" Iris said.
"I guess we can start our training" Ash said.
Ash decided to release Mienshao and Druddigon first, so if anything goes wrong their pokemon will be fine at least.
"Do you think you can handle them?" Iris asked.
"Well, maybe, here goes nothing" Ash said, he released Mienshao, the fighting type looked around for Cody, a confused expression on her face.
'What's going on?'
"Well, Cody's off on a little trip, and he's trusted me with taking care of you and Druddigon, sorry for the unexpectedness, he kinda just rushed in and gave me your balls" Ash said, scratching the back of his head.
'Oh alright then, fair enough'
"Are you gonna release Druddigon now?" Iris asked.
"Yeah, hopefully he will cooperate" Ash said, soon releasing Druddigon.
'Huh? Hey where's Derik? What did you do!?' Druddigon said, he looked pretty peeved, and primed to attack.
'Calm down Druddigon' Mienshao said. 'Also don't mention his real name' Mienshao whispered. 'Cody's just left us with them for a bit, he's got somewhere he's gotta be'
'So we're stuck with them?'
'Yeah, pretty much, it's more Cody's fault than there's, so just try to be nice'
'Okay fine, I'll try'
"Looks like Mienshao's calmed him down" Cilan said.
"I suppose we should start training then" Ash said, releasing all his mons, Iris and Cilan did so as well, after a brief explanation, training started up.
"Wow, I never seen a Druddigon up close before" Iris said, walking up to Druddigon. "You mind if I train with you for a bit?"
'Uh I guess not?' Druddigon said.
'Hey Oshawott, look' Krokorok said to his teammate.
'It's her' Oshawott said, looking at Mienshao, eyes gleaming.
'Yeah it is, alright, let's do a fake battle, I'll pretend to get into a fight with you' Krokorok explained.
'And I'll knock you out in one fell swoop' Oshawott continued. 'Sounds like a plan'
'Alright let's do it then, ahem, oh Oshawott I bet you can't beat me in a battle!' Krokorok shouted, although it didn't sound completely genuine.
'Oh well, uh, I bet I can! Yeah' Oshawott continued, although it was a little quieter than it should've been.
At this point a few heads turned, some expressions were worry some, a few were excited, others confusion filled their faces.
'Take that!' Krokorok said, purposefully missing a Brick Break. 'Oh so fast'
Oshawott didn't dodge, in fact he didn't even move, he just sweated. 'Ha, you'll never beat me!' Oshawott said, slicing at Krokorok with a Fury Cutter.
'Oh right in the chest, oh, it hurts so bad! Oh so strong, I think I'm gonna faint, ah!' Krokorok said, way too dramatically, he twirled a bit, before flopping on the ground.
The previously turned heads, turned away, Mienshao didn't even notice.
'We gotta do better than that' Krokorok said.
'But how?' Oshawott asked.
'I haven't a clue' Krokorok responded bluntly.
Over to Servine, who was chatting with Mienshao…
'You know I feel like I've met you before' Servine said.
'Really, how come?' Mienshao asked.
'I don't know really, I just feel some sort of connection with you, and not just you either, with all your teammates as well, well except Druddigon'
'Except Druddigon? Why him? I mean he's our newest member, but he joined a few years ago, and you guys only really met us a week ago' Apart from those little scuffles with you guys and Derik, even then I don't think you'd build much of a connection
'It can't just be coincidence can it? There's gotta be some reason why, I can think of one, but that would be preposterous'
'Well whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be that bad' Mienshao said, unaware that yeah it was pretty bad.
'Oh well, me and the other girls are gonna train, wanna come?' Servine asked.
'Sure, I could use some practice'
Servine and Mienshao met with the other girls, being of course Whirlipede, Braviary, Emolga, and Petilil, Axew was there too.
'Alright girls, and Axew, Mienshao will be joining us for a bit, so let's all welcome her, and get training' Servine said.
'Let's do this!' Braviary said.
'Hu hey girls, look at this cool dude!' Krokorok said, coming in suddenly, he was missing his sunglasses.
'Yeah I'm cool' Oshawott said, swearing said missing glasses.
'So let's get started then' Servine said, ignoring the two.
'Well I thought it would work' Krokorok said, shrugging.
'Oh well, at least we tried' Oshawott said, taking the glasses off.
The girls got to training, Axew and Braviary took to tree abuse for training, Whirlipede and Petilil were having a battle, and Mienshao was acting as referee, Servine and Emolga, went to do some training of their own in the forest, which we always seem to be near one, even in a city environment, it's almost like the writer can't come up with any location ideas.
'Booya! Take that tree!' Emolga said, Discharging a tree singing it a bit.
'Nice one' Servine said, although she wasn't really paying attention, she was just thinking.
'Man, what is with you and thinking?' Emolga asked.
'I don't know I just like thinking' Servine said.
'Or is it that you have something in mind?' Emolga asked.
'A little bit, Cody, he helped me learn Leaf Storm a few days ago, it was kinda out of nowhere, he really didn't have a reason to'
'That is pretty weird, but it was just a training session, I don't think it be that strange'
'No it wasn't that he helped me, it was how, he seemed awfully degrading which reminds me of, not only that but his pokemon seem really familiar'
'Yeah, I can see what you mean by his pokemon, he's got a Bisharp, Eelektross, Gothitelle, Volcarona, Druddigon, and Mienshao, I've seen that Team Rocket guy, Missile, use all those pokemon before, I suppose some people would have the same teams as each other, so I guess it's just a coincidence though'
'Yeah you're right, but that's not it, my old trainer, also had all those pokemon, but some of them weren't fully evolved, and Druddigon was never part of the team'
'Wait, so you mean that three guys, have nearly identical teams, and at least two have similar training styles, that can't just be pure coincidence right?'
'No, in fact I don't think it's possible, I mean think about Cody and Missile can't possibly be the same, they're both in different places at the same time'
'Well, we've never seen them side to side before, right?'
'Yeah but I don't think Missile would be dumb enough to join us without a reason, I think he knows enough that being a spy isn't very useful'
'What about your old trainer Derik?'
'Well, I can recognize his face anywhere, and I can tell you Derik and Cody look nothing alike, Missile though, I've never seen his face, and I can't tell anything from his voice, and plus Derik may have done some, questionable things in the past, but I don't think he would actually become a Team Rocket member, that's just not him' There was a brief pause, then Servine stood up. 'Oh well, maybe some things are best left unanswered' She went back to training.
'Ah, man I'm getting thirsty, hold on I'll go get some water, I'll be right back'
'Alright, see you later Emolga'
With Emolga…
'Alright, rivers or lakes, anything will do' Emolga said, soaring through the air, she was looking for a nice source of water to drink out of. 'Here we go' Emolga found a nice little pond to take a sip from, she flew down went to the bank, and took a massive mouthful of fresh water. 'Mmm tasty'
Just as she was about to take off, she heard voices. 'I just don't understand why we're here?' Why that was Druddigon's voice.
Intrigued Emolga decided to get closer in the trees, she was good hearted, usually, although when she overheard something, he couldn't pass up the chance to listen in.
'Look, I know Derik's choice at first was a little weird' That was Mienshao's voice. 'And him leaving us here is a little weirder, but still'
Wait Derik? But that's Servine's old trainer! Emolga thought, she had to do a double take, the information was shocking to say the least.
'Still? You still haven't answered my question, why are we here, saying because he had to go on a trip's too vague, where is he even going?!' Druddigon argued.
'I don't know exactly, but it's gotta be somewhere important' Mienshao said back.
'Is it for that Light Stone thing?' Druddigon asked.
'Maybe, we weren't given that much information about it' Mienshao said.
'Grah, Team Rocket, they never give Derik a break, he doesn't deserve all this torment' Druddigon said.
Wait what!? Team Rocket!? Emolga had to cover up her own mouth to avoid alerting the two to her presence.
*sigh* 'I know, it can be hard being part of Rocket, but we don't have any choice, and Derik can't even leave, it's a lifelong contract' Mienshao said.
'I just wish, he hadn't tread down this path, if things happened a little differently none of this would have ever happened' Druddigon said. 'It's all that stupid Snivy's fault! None of this would have happened if it weren't for her!'
'Druddigon calm down, someone might hear you, and besides it wasn't completely her fault, I understood her actions, I just wish we could go back, and talk it out when we had the chance'
Emolga was gobsmacked, Cody is Derik, Derik is Missile!? Even worse his pokemon seemed to resent Servine, and even even worse Emolga now knew everything, what was she to do. I can't let anyone find out, if they do, Servine could be in danger, those, those brutes they could kill her! We need to stay away! Emolga flew away, neither Druddigon nor Mienshao noticed her, but what they just said, changed everything for the worse.