Keldeo is Crushed
Hall of Fame Chat
MyCapeisSponsored: Guys, you know how Ash is in my region?
DragonbutactuallyFlying: I know where this is going. See Leon, what did we tell you?
QueeninBlack: Heh, what happened this time?
MyCapeisSponsored: (picture of Ash, Goh, Chloe, and Bea along with the Swords of Justice)
DragonGirl: Hahahahahahahahaha!
DragonbutactuallyFlying: Yup, about what I expected.
QueeninWhite: I'd say oh dear, but is that a Keldeo? He's so adorable!
QueeninBlack: And the newest member of the Swords of Justice, or so I heard.
DragonGirl: He is, I was there when they accepted him.
MyCapeisSponsored: Bea told me Keldeo is traveling with them now. He let himself be captured by Ash.
DragonGirl: Ahahahahahaha! This is just like the time a Meloetta traveled with us in Unova!
QueeninBlack: Hello Iris, congratulations on your win against Alder. He's not shirking on his administrative duties again, is he? You may be in the Hall of Fame, but he should know that he's still the appointed Regional Champion.
DragonGirl: Thanks, Miss Cynthia! Shauntal told me she's been doing his job ever since she became an Elite Four.
QueeninBlack: I'm going to have a few words with him after this. Oh, just Cynthia, dear. Calling me Miss makes me feel old.
StonesofSteel; You are old.
QueeninBlack: I know who you are and where you live, Steven. Expect Garchomp to come knocking on your door soon.
QueeninWhite: You've met Ash and Keldeo before, haven't you Iris?
DragonGirl: Yup! Those were fun times. We saw so many legendary Pokemon! Hey, is Ash in this chat? What's his username?
DragonbutactuallyFlying: Pikapi. We sent him an invitation, but he hasn't posted anything yet.
DragonGirl: Pikapi. Typical Ash.
QueeninBlack: What happened back then?
QueeninBlack: Keldeo, I mean.
DragonGirl: Keldeo was fighting Kyurem but lost and ran away. Kyurem didn't like that so he went on a mad chase against Keldeo while he was recovering in the city.
DragonGirl: Well, long story short, he still lost the rematch but earned Kyurem's respect and became an official Sword of Justice!
Fabulous: Let me guess. "Rather than pursue victory, you protected your friends. You have a fine sword." Did he say something along those lines?
DragonGirl: Wait, how did you know that?
Fabulous: I try, darling.
MyCapeisSponsored: Moving back, Bea also said one more thing. A Pokemon named Eternatus is starting to awaken. The musketeers think it's because someone is trying to wake it up.
DragonbutactuallyFlying: Great, another maniac who has no idea of the powers they're disturbing. I'll get the G-Men on it.
StonesofSteel: Keep us posted Lance. This is exactly the type of problem we've supposed to solve.
DragonGirl: I took part in some of those too!
QueeninBlack: And we are forever grateful for your help, Iris. Who knows what would have happened if you and your friends weren't there during the incident with the Forces of Nature.
DragonGirl: Thanks!
QueeninBlack: Unlike Alder.
Fabulous: Lol
StonesofSteel: Should we tell the League? I don't feel comfortable telling this to the Galar League Chairman, to be honest.
MyCapeisSponsored: Chairman Rose? Why?
StonesofSteel: I met the man twice a couple of years ago. Once at one of our company's events and another at a Steel Enthusiasts Convention. He seemed nice and is a competent businessman and trainer, but I just couldn't shake this creepy feeling I got from him.
DragonbutactuallyFlying: Let's keep this to ourselves for now. We don't want to cause unnecessary panic when we don't even know where this Eternatus is.
Pikapi: My phone just pinged twice, what'd I miss? Oh, hi everyone!
"This curry is out of this world!" shouted Ash as he ate another mouthful. Bea had taken them to a rather fancy-looking restaurant that was famous not only for curry, but more so for its desserts. Promising that she will pay for the meal, they went inside.
"Pikachu!"
The Galar region was famous for its curry, a curious blend of spices and meats, served over rice, that has left many a foreigner swooning. The curry they ate with the Swords of Justice was good, but cooked by a professional, it was nothing short of heavenly.
"Yeah, it's really good!" agreed Goh and Chloe. Their Pokémon had the same sentiment.
"I'm glad our region's cuisine didn't disappoint," said Bea, smiling herself, having already finished her own curry and had moved on to dessert, a heaping pile of cake.
"I could eat this all day! I'm so glad I went to Galar!" said Ash.
"You already eat all day," said Goh, earning a snicker from Chloe.
Bea tilted her head. "Wouldn't you be disappointed? Entering Galar's gym challenge meant you couldn't enter the World Coronation Series where Leon is also participating."
She and Ash had tried to enter, but because they were already registered to another tournament, they were refused.
Leon, being the current number 1, had special privileges.
"There's always next time," said Ash, shrugging. "I'll just have to train harder for when I do get to compete."
Bea nodded, echoing the sentiment. She stood up. "Very well, shall we go? We don't want to keep Kabu waiting."
"Yeah!"
We'll leave it to the readers to imagine how the fight with Milo and Nessa went. It was totally epic and the audience all jumped to their feet in a standing ovation for everyone, though.
They saw the line of disappointed gym challengers first.
"Whoa, Milo and Nessa didn't have this many trainers who failed them," remarked Goh.
"Kabu is known as the first wall," replied Bea. "He's stronger than what his order in the gym challenge would imply, but him and League have both decided he will always be the third gym leader to be fought."
"Fire-type, right?" asked Ash.
"Yes, and just like Milo and Nessa, he won't be pulling his punches for either of us. I hope you're prepared."
The only caused Ash to smirk. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Pika!"
"I wouldn't be too worried. He has a water-type legendary with him, right Keldeo?" Goh asked, turning to the musketeer.
Who was nowhere to be found.
"Keldeo?" said Chloe. Eevee started looking as well.
"Over here!" said Keldeo telepathically. "I found one of Ash's friends!"
Ash turned, seeing Keldeo conversing with a familiar-looking Prinplup, as well as brown-haired girl wearing a blue and white outfit.
"Verity!" he shouted, rushing to his friend, Pikachu behind him running to Empoleon.
The girl in question reacted to the sound of her name. "Ash! What a surprise!" she exclaimed, also rushing to meet him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm participating in the World Coronation Series! But before that, I'm going to the Wild Area for a bit of training." said Verity. "How about you?"
Ash hung his head, comically sad.
"Ash?"
He waved her off. "Sorry, me and Bea tried to apply too, but since we were already in the Galar gym challenge, we couldn't enter."
"Don't they know how tenacious Pokemon trainers are? This is nothing to us." said Verity, slightly frowning. Prinplup agreed, earning a laugh from Keldeo.
"Our sentiments exactly," said Bea, who had moved closer, followed by Goh and Chloe.
"Hello, friends of yours Ash?" asked Verity.
"Yup!" said Ash. He waved his hand over his companions. "Verity, this is Goh and Chloe from Vermillion City, and this is Bea from Stow-on-Side! And yeah, we're traveling all over Galar for the gym challenge."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Verity from Twinleaf Town. Me and Ash, and another friend named Sorrel, traveled in Kanto a few years ago," replied Verity.
"I thought you traveled with Misty and Brock back in Kanto, Ash?" asked Goh.
"I did, but we split up for a bit in Celadon City since Misty had to take care of a few things back home and Brock was jailed for harassing multiple Officer Jennys and Nurse Joys."
"Wasn't Brock still a minor at that time?"
"Which was why he was only inside for a few weeks and at a youth facility instead of an actual prison."
"Pika pika pika! Pi pika! (Jenny, oh Jenny! Joy, oh Joy!)"
Ash gave his partner a sideways glance. "Yeah, what Pikachu said. Anyway, so I traveled with Verity and Sorrel for a while back in Kanto to find Ho-oh. Long story short, bad things happened, I died and was brought back to life, we actually met Ho-oh, and we actually got to battle him!"
Ash finished his explanation with a flourish.
"Oh, and me and Pikachu actually won! Well, Ho-oh, might have been going easy on us, but still."
"Pikachu!"
Everyone but Verity looked at him.
"Yup, that's what happened," she nodded. Prinplup crossed her arms and nodded beside her.
"Ash, you're telling us you've already died and been brought back to life?" said Bea.
"Yeah, it was the first time it happened."
"The first time?"added Keldeo.
Ash nodded. "Mm, it was the first time I was turned to stone too."
Bea opened her mouth and closed it. Then opened her mouth again. "I've thought about this a few days ago. Ash, do you know how many legendary Pokemon I've met before I started traveling with you?"
"Uh, one or two?"
"None. That's why they're called Legendary. Seeing even one is a once in a lifetime event. In just a few days of meeting you, I've met four legendary Pokemon, I'm now traveling with one, and heard the name of a few more."
"You're welcome?"
Bea sighed. A second later however, she smiled. "Still, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything, and I have a feeling that things are just going to get stranger from here."
Ash smiled, nodding.
"That's Ash alright!" chuckled Verity. "Hey, you said you were in the gym challenge, right? If you're here in Motostoke, you'll be facing off against Kabu, can I watch?"
"Sure!"
"You must be Ash Ketchum," said Kabu when it was finally Ash's turn for the gym challenge.
Ash strode into the field with Pikachu and Keldeo by his side, to the whispers of the crowd at the presence of the never-before-seen Pokemon and to the excited announcers as they introduced the trainer who was endorsed by six Regional Champions.
Kabu eyed the Pikachu, supposedly strong enough to defeat Legendary Pokemon, and the musketeer.
"Keldeo was not of your lineup in your League profile, was he?" he asked.
Ash shook his head, smiling. "No, we just met a few days ago. He wanted to travel with me."
"And it's a partnership of mutual respect as well, impressive," said Kabu. "It's not every day that I get an opportunity to face a mythical Pokemon in battle. Thank you Ash, I must give it my all!"
G-Max Centiskorch proved to be Keldeo's toughest battle so far, Kyurem notwithstanding. The titanic centipede Pokemon coiled around the battlefield, encircling him from all sides.
Torkoal and Arcanine fell without much trouble, but Kabu immediately Dynamaxed Centiskorch, with the gym leader's ace managing to take all his hydro pumps and keep going. This not being the games where trainers stood right in front of their colossal weapons of mass destruction, this presented a few issues.
"Crush him!"
Like Kabu, figuring his opponent could take it, having no problem ordering his Gigantamaxed Pokemon to straight up squash him flat.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Keldeo evaded several stomps, slashing some with his horn, before he gave Ash a look, choosing not to use telepathy to keep things fair.
'Ash, I'm surrounded!' His expression said.
"Good! Now you can fire in every direction! Hydro Pump!"
Keldeo smirked. Water jets sprayed from his hooves. He directed them to Centiskorch, the fire-type hissing at the cold water, steam rising from where it hit.
"Not so fast! Centiskorch, turn up the heat!" Shouted Kabu.
Centiskorch's body temperature began rising rapidly, turning the battlefield into a veritable oven. The titanic fire and bug-type directed this heat to its very center, where Keldeo stood.
Keldeo gritted his teeth. As a water-type, he was resistant to the heat, but the sheer amount of it emitted by his opponent was starting to make him feel woozy.
"Keldeo, try spraying it with water again!"
He did so, but the water evaporated before it even made contact with Centiskorch's body.
Ash frowned.
"Dynamax won't last long now, hang in there!" he called. The musketeer nodded and took a defensive stance, letting out a breath.
"He won't last long enough!" said Kabu. "G-Max Centiferno, then follow with Max Overgrowth!"
"Secret Sword, Keldeo, get ready!"
Keldeo's horn glowed, and a blade of energy, less ornate than what he used against Kyurem, emerged from his horn.
Centiskorch roared. Suddenly, it stopped surrounding Keldeo, returning to its side of the field. With speed belying its massive size, the centipede coiled itself very tightly and let loose a single, gigantic fireball.
"Focus Blast! Accelerate it with Hydro Pump!"
Keldeo nodded, a ball of energy forming in his mouth. He released the Focus Blast and immediately sprayed it with Hydro Pump, pushing the sphere of energy into Centoskorch's Centiferno.
BOOM!
A ring of fire burst through the shockwave, surrounding Keldeo and causing him to cry out.
"That's Centiferno's special effect! Slice through it with Secret Sword then use Hydro Pump!" shouted Ash.
Keldeo did so. With a swing of his horn, he slashed the ring of fire…
"Hold Centiskorch!" Shouted Kabu. "Stop Keldeo from moving with your body first!"
But before he was able to escape, Centiskorch's massive body pinned him, stopped only with Secret Sword.
Keldeo gritted his teeth. A GMax Pokemon was extremely heavy.
"Now, Max Overgrowth!" exclaimed Kabu.
"Keldeo, I got it! Let yourself be crushed!" shouted Ash.
Keldeo almost broke his no-telepathy rule when he heard that. He looked at his trainer with very wide eyes.
'What?!' his eyes said.
"Just trust me!"
Knowing that he'll feel it the next morning, Keldeo deactivated Secret Sword and stopped resisting.
With an almighty thud, he disappeared underneath Centiskorch's body.
Centiskorch roared again, aiming directly underneath him. Gigantic seeds pierced through the smoke. They crashed into the field, sprouting into equally gigantic fungi and plant-life.
A second later, the Max Overgrowth exploded.
Centiskorch's Dynamax energy finally dissipated, and the centipede Pokemon shrunk down to his usual size.
Kabu thought of ordering his Pokemon to immediately use Power Whip, fully aware that his opponent was not a mere trainer. In a private match, he would have done so, but it did not seem sporting to do it in front of a massive audience.
Still. "Power Whip, Centiskorch, get ready for anything!" he shouted.
"Throw that rock at Centiskorch, Keldeo! Then Focus Blast-Hydro Pump again!"
A large rock was hurled through the smoke.
"Block it!" shouted Kabu.
Centiskorch slashed the rock with Power Whip, but the Focus Blast, boosted with Hydro Pump, slammed into it head on.
"Your Keldeo does not have Rock Throw registered in his official list of moves, does it?" asked Kabu after the battle.
"Nope, he just threw an ordinary rock." Replied Ash as he gave Keldeo berries and potions.
"Thanks, Keldeo, that was great work," he said. The musketeer grumbled about being turned into a pancake, but accepted the bribe nonetheless.
Kabu shook his head, smiling. "Sometimes even we trainers forget that the environment is just as important as the Pokemon themselves. Your strategy to survive against Max Overgrowth was something I've never seen before."
Ash smiled brightly. "Centiskorch was a Bug/Fire type, that means grass is really weak against him. That made him the perfect shield against Max Overgrowth. Keldeo would actually take less damage being crushed underneath it than with the Max Move."
"Using my own move against me, well! You've certainly taught me something today, Ash Ketchum," said Kabu. "No wonder you are the Champion of Alola."
"Thanks!"
Kabu handed him his badge. "Not only did you win against me, but you also did so against my championship team. You have more than earned your victory here, Ash, and with it, this badge."
"Thank you, Kabu."
Ash showed Pikachu and Keldeo his badge. "I got my third badge, guys!"
"Pika!"
Keldeo smiled but didn't reply, too tired to talk.
"And thank you, Keldeo, for a well-fought battle," said Kabu, bowing to him. Keldeo returned the gesture, then asked Ash to return him to his Pokeball.
"Crazy off the wall strategies and Pokemon tougher than steel, that's the Ash I know!" said Verity as Ash met them on the stands to watch Bea's battle, Keldeo finally healed up thanks to the Nurse Joy on standby.
"That battle got me pumped!" She said. "Hey, Ash, let's have a battle tomorrow, we never got to finish the last one, did we? And don't be a gentleman this time and not use electric attacks. Me and Prinplup have gotten really strong!"
Pikachu and Prinplup gave competitive glances at each other while Ash grinned.
"Sure!"
"It's like every gym leader you fight, the crazier the battles become," remarked Goh. Chloe agreed with the sentiment.
"Hehe, it's just fun, you know, facing strong trainers like Kabu, right Keldeo?"
'It was until you ordered me to be crushed by a Dynamaxed Pokemon.'
Verity, Goh, and Chloe shot him disapproving looks, and Ash melted under their glares.
Pikachu patted his partner on the head.
Author's Note
After a couple of years, this story updates again! I hope you enjoy it, thanks for reading!