Episode 122: Power Play
A day had passed since their push against the eventful Ghost Pokémon attack and Acerola had gained two new Pokémon and Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Togepi, and the Alolan nine all continued on with their journey and towards Ecruteak City.
While the group made their way through the woods they spotted a very familiar face; Ethan and his Quilava.
"Ethan!" Sora called out. Ethan turned to Sora and beamed.
"Hey Sora! It's been a little while," Ethan greeted.
"Yeah it has," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.
"Lava, Quilava, Lava!" Quilava said.
"So, what brings you here?" Ethan asked.
"On our way to Ecruteak City," Sora said.
"Going for a Gym Badge, huh? You're well on your way," Ethan said.
"What about you, Ethan?" Sora asked.
"Same with me," Ethan said. "And I'll tell you, that Whitney really gave me a real hard time the first time."
"You mean-?" Sora asked.
"Yeah. I got creamed on the first try. But, I came bouncing back in the second round," Ethan said.
"That's good to hear," Sora said.
"So how many tries did it take you?" Ethan asked.
"One," Sora simply answered and Ethan blanced at the fact it took him two tries and it took Sora just one try. "Not the answer you were expecting were you?"
"Not really, but I have to tell you, you're even more awesome than I thought," Ethan said. Ethan joined the group for some lunch in which consisted of a spicy rice curry. As Ethan took a bite of the curry, he instantly liked the taste that hit his tongue. "Wow! This is great! My mom will probably bug you for the recipe."
"Thank you, Ethan. And I don't doubt it for a second," Kairi said.
"When it comes to cooking, Kairi is the best I know," Sora said.
"But, my family's cooking is nothing to sneeze at," Mallow said.
"Totally," Sora agreed. Everyone stops eating as they all heard something roll by. It turns out to be what looks like a red shell with many holes. A yellow turtle-like head pops out along with four leg-like appendages coming out as well. "Never seen one of those before."
"That's a Shuckle," Lillie said. "And I never saw one before either." Sora became curious and used his Pokédex to scan this new Pokémon.
Shuckle, the Mold Pokémon
Type: Bug/Rock
Shuckle quietly hides itself under rocks, keeping its body concealed inside its hard shell while eating berries it has stored away. The berries mix with its body fluids to become a juice.
"Shuckle are known for that. The juice from those berries can made into medicine," Illima said. Kairi looked over to the Shuckle and her face lights up.
"I think she's very cute," Kairi said. "And a Shuckle would be good to have." Kairi took out a Pokéball and threw it. "Omanyte! Go!" The Pokéball opens to let out her Omanyte. Shuckle turns and spots the prehistoric Pokémon in front of her. "Okay Omanyte! Start up with Bubble Beam!" Omanyte fires Bubble Beam and hits Shuckle hard. Shuckle's head and other limbs went into the shell and the shell began glowing a different shade of red.
"That was a pretty good hit," Ethan said. "And that Shuckle had just used Withdraw and now using Bide."
"Omanyte! Cease Bubble Beam!" Kairi called out. Omanyte did stop using Bubble Beam, but it was too late because Shuckle had unleashed a white beam hitting Omanyte. The attack knocks out Omanyte. Kairi takes out Omanyte's Pokéball. "Omanyte, return." She calls back Omanyte and pulls out another Pokéball and threw it. "Go Ledyba!" Her Pokéball opens and lets out Ledyba. "Mach Punch!" Ledyba moved swiftly and hits Shuckle hard on the shell. Shuckle fights back with Rock Throw. "Ledyba! Dodge it!" Ledyba manages to dodge the rocks thrown at the ladybug Pokémon. Shuckle's body briefly becomes surrounded in a red aura. The aura then fades away. "Ledyba! Swift!" Ledyba fired stars right at the mold Pokémon and then Shuckle crouches its body together and a brighter red aura appears around her. Shuckle raises her head and a huge some of red energy bursts out of her body cutting through Swift and hitting Ledyba. Kairi gasped at the sight and then Ledyba started to evolve. "Ledyba!"
"Ledyba's evolving!" Kiawe exclaimed.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
Ledyba had now transformed into a moderately large, bipedal creature with a rather large head and six small limbs. She also has star patterns on its back. Sora took out his Pokédex and scanned this new Pokémon and saw it has larger antennae than the one he was looking at.
Ledian, the Five Star Pokémon
The evolved form of Ledyba
Type: Bug/Flying
It is said that in lands with clean air, where the stars fill the sky, there live Ledian in countless numbers. There is a good reason for this—the Pokémon uses the light of the stars as its energy.
"Kairi's Ledyba is now a Ledian," Sora said to himself.
"Ledyba evolved for me," Kairi said in a whisper. Her newly evolved Ledian looked at her and smiled. Kairi smiled back. "Let's do this!" Ledian nodded. "Ledian! Mach Punch!" Ledian moved swiftly and gave Shuckle a good punch. "Now use Bug Buzz!" Ledian's wings gave off a huge soundwave affecting the mold Pokémon. Shuckle used Withdraw and Bide again. Ledian stopped attacking just in time for Shuckle to fire a white beam, but Ledian just avoided it. "Great job, Ledian! Now use Supersonic!" Ledian used Supersonic and it confused Shuckle greatly. "Now Swift!" Ledian fired Swift again and the stars repeatedly hit Shuckle. Kairi took out a Pokéball and threw it at Shuckle making her flow inside. The Pokéball wobbles around and around for a bit. Stars swirls around the Pokéball confirming the catch. "I have myself a Shuckle!"
"Toge, Toge, Togepi!" Togepi chirped.
Sora's Pokédex starts buzzing and Sora hands it over to Kairi. It asks her if she wants to keep Shuckle with her or send her to Professor Oak's lab. She chose to send her to Professor Oak's lab. Kairi hands the Pokédex back to Sora whom kisses her on the lips.
"Congratulations on your catch, Kairi," Sora complemented. Kairi smiled and hugs him tight.
"Thank you, Sora," Kairi said still hugging her boyfriend not caring who's watching them. Ethan joined Sora, Kairi, and the Alolan nine for a bit and they took a stroll through the mountain and all was quiet at the most part untl...
"I don't care who you are! You are still a weakling to me!" A familiar voice called out. Sora and Kairi especially recognized that voice.
"Is that who I think it is?" Sora asked. They turned to the side and they all saw exatcly who it is. It was Silver and his Croconaw. His opponent is Gary and he stares at him quite smugly with his Umbreon standing beside him. "Silver? Gary?"
Ethan turned to Sora. and asked, "You know them?"
"Yeah I do. Gary is a rival of mine who I knew back in Pallet Town. He's also Professor Oak's grandson. Rubbing my nose into it trying to belittle me," Sora explained. "And as for Silver, he ran into us back at Violet City. Saw him again in Azalea Town after that Slowpoke Well incident." Ethan stroked his chin. He knew there was more than Sora was telling and he looked at Kairi and he could tell she didn't like him one bit.
"Silver..." Ethan said. "That's his name."
"Did you meet him before?" Sophocles asked.
"I did. I battled him and I beat him. He just looked at me and told me to stay out of his way. Didn't know what his problem was," Ethan explained.
Over to Gary and Silver, the red-haired boy looked at Gary with hate in his eyes.
"You really think that I'm weakling? Then you don't know who you're dealing with," Gary said.
"And I don't care. I will crush anyone and anything that gets on my bad side. That applies to every sinlge Pokémon and Pokémon trainer that I come across with! And I'll crush you and any Pokémon you have!" Silver said. Gary kept his cool, but he didn't like the tone in his voice.
"What's this guy's deal? I can't tell if he's trying to scare me off or he's just a plain jerk," Gary said in his thoughts. "Dosen't matter, because he'll lose." He spoke out loud, "Let's get this over with."
"Croconaw! Hydro Pump!" Silver ordered. Croconaw inhaled and fired a powerful Hydro Pump right at Umbreon.
"Dodge it, Umbreon!" Gary called out. Umbreon dodged Hydro Pump just by jumping out of the way before the water attack can hit it.
"Croconaw! Slash now!" Silver ordered. Croconaw ran towards Umbreon and swipes at the Dark Type Eeveelolution only to miss. "Get it! Get it! Get it! GET IT!" Croconaw kept swiping and swiping his claws. Gary looked at Silver but mostly his face.
"Umbreon! Use Pursuit!" Gary ordered. Umbreon's eyes glows red and a purplish aura surrounds Umbreon and hits Croconaw hard. Gary scoffs at his opponent. "Now what was that about crushing me?"
"I still plan to do so! I will show you how weak that Pokémon is! And everyone of your Pokémon as well! And how weak you are just like that pathetic old fart grandfather of yours!" Silver yelled. Gary couldn't believe how he just insulted his grandpa right in his face.
"Is insults all you've got?" Gary taunted. "That's the only thing you're going to lose at."
Sora, Kairi, Ethan, and the Alolan nine watched the battle fiercely and they could tell how bad Silver was taking it since Gary has him on the ropes.
"Silver isn't taking it laying down," Kairi said.
"I know. This wont end so well," Sora agreed. He looked at Silver's Croconaw and saw how tired he was since the battle first started.
"Finish it wth Dark Pulse!" Gary ordered. Umbreon let out Dark Pulse and Croconaw was sent flying into a nearby tree. Croconaw was defiently knocked out. "And that's how you win a Pokémon battle!" Silver didn't care if Gary was tauting him as he walked over to his Croconaw. The crocodile Pokémon stood up and walked up to his trainer and Silver just gave his Pokémon a kick on the belly. Gary didn't like what he just saw. Sora, Kairi, Ethan, and the Alolan nine were all just as appalled.
"WORTHLESS WEAKLING!" Siler shouted. "THAT'S ALL I HAVE!" Gary walked towards Silver.
"Hey! You can't just kick your Pokémon like that! A good Pokémon trainer should take proper care of his Pokémon!" Gary stated. Silver pushed gary to the ground.
"Shut up!" Silver roared. "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO BE A POKÉMON TRAINER! I ONLY CARE ABOUT HAVING STRONG POKÉMON AND THEY'D BE UNBEATABLE! I CAN RAISE MY POKÉMON HOW EVER I WANT! SO STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" Sora didn't like that one bit and he remembered Silver telling him to stay out of his way.
Sora skids down the mountain side and Ethan joins in. Silver calls his Crocnaw back insode his Pokéball and was about to take off when Gary called out to him.
"Caring about a Pokémon is the way to being a good Pokémon trainer! If all you care about is having strong Pokémon that can win battles, then you really are a loser!" Gary told him and Silver gave Gary a punch in the face.
"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME A LOSER!" Silver snapped at him giving him a nosebleed. He turned back around to leave. Umbreon ran to its trainer's side. Gary looked at Umbreon letting the Pokémon know he's fine. He was surprised to see Sora has shown up.
"Gary is right, Silver!" Sora called out to him. Silver stopped in his tracks hearing his voice. "A Pokémon can only get stronger when trainers work with them."
"That little speech again? I can't tell you how often I've been hearing that," Silver said. He turns around. Gary had to guess they knew each other. "It's kinda funny, I wa thinking of you when I lost to you when we met the second time."
"You lost because you were thinking about yourself and not your Pokémon!" Sora said. Silver turned and looked into his eyes. Silver didn't bother saying anything else and just took off. He turned to Gary helping him up.
"Didn't ask for your assist, Sora," Gary said.
"Didn't know I had to have permission to assist," Sora said.
"I just hope that winning the Indigo Plateu didn't go through your head though," Gary said.
"Like it wouldn't go to yours?" Sora shot back.
"So how do yu know him anyway?" Gary asked.
"Just like Silver said, he battled me and he lost. And he was no pushover as I saw it," Sora said. Gary turned and saw Kairi along with Sor's other friends and he still remembered how hurt he was when Kairi said those three words to him.
"I hate you!"
Those three words still made his heart shatter feeling rejected by a girl who he fell in love with only to fall in love with someone like Sora.
"Hey Kairi. You look like you're doing well," Gary simply said. Kairi simply turned away from hom not forgetting about how he just beat up Sora the way he did. Gary didn't say anything else and took his leave of the group. Ethan saw how hurt Gary must have been. "It looks like she still hates me."
Not to far away, an Uktra Wormhole opens a large creature appears out of it. It looked like a cross between a space shuttle and some bamboo. It has a small, white head with a tiny mouth and a skinny neck with three segments. On top of its head is a gray structure resembling a hat with long, flowing hair underneath. The hair reaches midway down its body and is rimmed with bright blue. The "hat" has two small blue dots and four white spikes arranged in a X-shape. These spikes resemble decorative hair sticks. On the very top of its hat is a long gray horn similar to a drill bit. It has large, disembodied gray arms that resemble bamboo stalks. At the end of each arm is a ring of bright blue, fin-like projections and a collection of smaller, black bamboo shoots. Each smaller stalk has bright blue ring with a small line extending back up the stalk. Its main body is conical and resembles a dress with four overlapping layers. The shortest and outermost layer is the shortest and appears metallic, while the inner layers are each a lighter shade of green, progressively longer, and seem to be cloth or plant material. Underneath all the layers is a white body with a light gray crisscross pattern covering it and a bright blue ring along the base. Below the dress is what appears to be a collection of six black bamboo stalks. On the bottom of each stalk is a bright blue ring with a small line extending back up the stalk; this causes the stalks to also resemble rocket boosters. It was the Ultra Beast Celesteela that has emerged.
Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Togepi, Ethan, and the Alolan nine all entered the Pokémon Center and everyone had their Pokémon checked in. Ethan went up to Sora.
"You don't mind if we have a talk do you? Just the two of us?" Ethan asked.
"Sure Ethan. Why not," Sora answered. Once Ethan made sure they were alone he turned to Sora. "I've been thinking hard since earlier with Gary and Silver."
"Yeah? What's up?" Sora asked.
"Well, when you told me some things about Gary I saw how Kairi just looked away from him. Why is she so cold to him?" Ethan asked. Sora sighed knowing there was no way out of it.
"Gary had a thing for her, but she didn't have anything for him," Sora said.
"You mean Gary had a crush on Kairi?" Ethan asked.
"I kinda saw it when Gary was flirting with her," Sora said. "And that was before we became a couple. Just when I was training for the tournament, Gary went up to me and told me that she was his. And then we ended up having an argument. I told him the reasons why Kairi would never love him."
"Could one of those reasons be when you said something rubbing your nose into things?" Ethan asked.
"It was that. And there was the fact he had to boast about being better than everyone else when it comes to Pokémon training. Also, about him being Professor Oak's grandson," Sora said.
"You also said something about Kairi being his. Why'd he say that if you and she are in a relationship?" Ethan asked.
"Because he didn't want to accept that he lost as something. Gary tried to coax me into a fist fight and I told him it was stupid even for him. So he pushed and started to beat me up. Kairi tried to pull him off me and he just pushed her off," Sora explained. Ethan just couldn't believe he'd do that. "Just when Gary was beating me up, Riku came and saw what was happening and gave him a punch in the eye." Ethan smiled a bit for Riku helping him.
"Riku must be a good friend if he saved you like that," Ethan said.
"Yeah. Just when Gary was talking crap about me Riku stuck his neck out for me and taunted to him about how he beaten Gary in a battle. What burns me up the most is the fact Gary was treating like she was a prize," Sora said. Ethan liked Riku even more since he met him back at New Bark Town. "Anyway, how do you know Silver?" Sora asked.
"I bumped into him just when I started my journey. And he's even ruder than I remember," Ethan said with a chuckle. "He took a Totodile from Professor Elm's lab and took off. That first battle with Cyndaquil ended in a draw. I never knew his name until he stormed pass me and told me to stay out of his way."
Sora wasn't surprised to hear that since Silver said that to him.
Over to Team Rocket the got work buidling a new robot greatly resembling Wobbufett.
"This is going to be the most ingenious plan we ever cooked up. Those twerps won't know what hit them," Jessie said.
"After witnessing Wobbufett using Counter to block Meowth's scratch, the idea hit us right on the head," James said.
"Yeah! For once the useless blue blob is being a symbol of useful," Meowth said as Wobbufett popped out once again.
"Wobbufett!" Wobbufett said in a salute.
"Now all we need is some power to power it up," James said.
"That powerplant in the moutain should do it," Meowth said.
"And that's where we're gonna go!" Jessie proclaimed. "Not only we'll take off with Pikachu and deliver it to the boss, we'll be the most invincible team on the face of the earth!"
"Yeah!" James and Meowth proclaimed.
"Wobbufett!" Wobbufett also proclaimed.
Just before they could put a plan into motion, they felt a vibration on the ground.
"WHAT THE?!" Team Rocket exclaimed.
They all saw a large Pokémon they seen before float by through the trees and they stood still with fright and awe.
"W-w-what is that?" Jessie asked.
"The hell if I know," James said. He looked over to Meowth. "Any ideas, Meowth?"
Meowth shrugged his shoulders, "You're asking me?"
"Whatever it is, it's going to earn us big bucks with the boss!" Jessie said with eyes having dollar signs.
"Very, very, very big bucks!" James agreed also having dollar signs.
"We're going to richer than kings!" Team Rocket all exclaimed taking out their Pokéballs and threw them.
"Arbok! Go!" Jessie said as her Pokéball opens and lets out Arbok.
"Weezing! Victreebel! Go!" James said as his Pokéballs opens and lets out Weezing and Victreebel. Once again, Victreebel chomps on James's head. "Here we go again! What is so tasty about my head?!"
"Arbok! Poison Sting!" Jessie ordered. Arbok fired Poison Sting, but the attack had no effect on the Ultra Beast. "It had no effect?!"
"Weezing! Double Hit! Victreebel! Leaf Blade!" James ordered as Weezing and Victreebel charged towards the Ultra Beast, but it fought back just by swinging one of its arms at James's Pokémon. "Wha?!"
"That thing is way strong!" Meowth yelped.
"Wobbu!" Wobbufett said feeling scared.
Celesteela moved both its arms into position and and forms a ball of white energy. It fires Flash Cannon and it heads towards Team Rocket. Jessie pushes Wobbufett in front of her.
"Wobbufett! Use Counter to block that attack!" Jessie told Wobbufett. Wobbufett's body glows orange and prepares to send Flash Cannon back to Celesteela, but Celesteela's Flash Cannon was way too powerful! The attack hits Team Rocket and destroys the giant robot in the process.
"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Team Rocket exclaimed as they go flying in the sky.
"Wobbu!" Wobbufett said as a star twinkles in the distance.
Back to the Pokémon Center, Sora and Ethan rejoins Kairi and the Alolan nine for some dinner in the messhall as Sora's communicator goes off.
"Please let it be a nice friendly chat," Sora said in a low tone. He activated the communicator and Lusamine appears on the screen along with Professor Burnet and Wicke.
"Hello Sora. I trust that you and everyone else is doing great since we last made contact," Lusamine greeted.
"We have," Sora nodded.
"Well, I didn't call for a friendly chat," Lusamine said.
"I knew it," Sora said in his thoughts.
"You think there's another Ultra Beast, mother?" Lillie asked.
"I'm afraid so," Lusamine said.
"I knew it," Sora said in his thoughts.
"We identified it to be Celesteela and it appeared just mere hours ago. And it's not too far from your current location," Lusamine said.
"Celesteela?" Sora asked.
"Yes. And we believe it came to our world in search for energy. I mean so much energy, it will launch itself on earth destroying all life in the area as we speak," Wicke said making everyone let out a collective gasp.
"Including this town," Kiawe said.
"That is anything but good," Sophocles said.
"There's no telling what kind of disator it'll bring," Hapu said.
"Y-yeah," Mina said.
"That's why it's absolutely important to capture this Ultra Beast and send it back to Ultra Space as soon as possible!" Lusamine said.
"You can count on us, Lusamine. We're on it!" Sora said.
"Thank you, Sora. And becareful all of you," Lusamine said. Sora broke contact and took out his Pokédex ato get what data it has.
Celesteela, the Launch Pokémon
Type: Steel/Flying
Celesteela is an extremely dangerous Ultra Beast that can burn down a forest from both of its arms.
"And that is something we don't want!" Sora said when he exchanged Hitmonlee for Silvally. "And since Celesteela is a Steel Type Pokémon, Fire Type Silvally will have to be a go!" And with that said the lights go out.
"Hey! The lights!" Lana gasped.
"It has to be Celesteela doing this!" Mallow said.
Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Togepi, the Alolan nine and Ethan went up to Nurse Joy was trying to make a phone call.
"I can't get through!" Nurse Joy said.
"Nurse Joy!" Kairi called out.
"What's the matter?" Acerola asked.
"I'm trying to make contact with the powerplant, but I can't seem to get through!" Nurse Joy said.
"That can't be good," Ethan said.
"Where is the powerplant?" Sora asked.
"Just up in the mountain," Nurse Joy said.
"That's all we need to know," Sora said as he and the rest went out to capture Celesteela. Over to Gary at his camp. He poured some Pokémon food for Umbreon.
"Dinner Umbreon," Gary called out to Umbreon. He looked at the town and saw it was pitch black. "What happened to the lights? There must be a blackout."
"I think it's closer," Sora said. Gary turned to see Sora and his friends going through the forest and he could tell something is up."What are they up to?"
Sora, Kairi, Ethan, Pikachu, Togepi, and the Alolan nine got to the powerplant and they saw what they were looking for. It has smashed into the powerplant. It was much bigger than any of them thought.
"There it is!" Sora said.
"An Ultra Beast!" Kairi and the Alolan nine all proclaimed. Gary and Umbreon manages to catch up and he was shocked at what he was looking at.
"What in the world?" Gary asked. He took out his Pokédex to get some information.
No sufficent data available.
"Must be a new species," Gary said. "But why is Sora here?"
"Any ideas about to deal with it?" Kiawe asked.
Sora didn't answer since he was thinking about how to get the Ultra Beast's attention.
"There might be some people inside the powerplant," Acerola pointed out.
"That's what I was thinking about. Xurkitree and Blacephalon gave us a hard time since it was the two of them. And this Ultra Beast will probably do the same thing," Sora said. "And if there is somebody inside the plant, then we should let them out of harm's way." He turns to Illima. "Illima. You, Lillie, Mallow, Lana, Mina, and Hapu head inside and make sure if anybody is inside. If so, then lead them out."
Illima nodded, "Of course."
"Kairi, Kiawe, Acerola, Sophocles, and Ethan; you're with me. We're going to draw Celesteela our way," Sora said.
"Right," Kairi, Kiawe, Sophocles, Acerola, and Ethan nodded.
"Okay Silvally! Go for it!" Sora said after he got his Premier Ball out and threw it. As soon as Silvally was let out, Gary was stunned by the sight of this Pokémon.
"How and when did he get that thing?" Gary asked. Sora took out the Fire Memory Disc and gave to the synthetic Pokémon making it a Fire Type. Kairi placed Togepi inside her backpack and took out her Pokéball and Fast Ball.
"Raichu! Raticate! Go!" Kairi said as she threw them letting them out.
"Raichu!"
"Raticate!"
"Marowak! Turtonator! Go!" Kiawe said taking out two of his Pokéballs and throwing then letting them out. Sophocles took out all of his Pokéballs and threw them.
"Togedemaru! Magnemite! Vikavolt! Flaafy!" Sophocles said as the Pokéballs opens and lets out his Pokémon. Acerola takes out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Mismagius! Go!" Acerola said as Mismagius is let out. Ethan takes out two of his Pokéballs and threw them.
"Quilava! Elekid! Go!" Ethan said letting out Quilava and Elekid.
"Now we have to get its attention," Sora stated. Kiawe stepped up.
"I'll take the plate," Kiawe said. He turned to Marowk. "Okay Marowak! You know what to do."
"Marowak," Marowak nodded and threw his bone at the giant Ultra Beast. Celesteela turned and saw the visitors standing before it. Since they got its attention, Lillie, Illima, Mallow, Lana, Mina, and Hapu went inside the powerplant while Sora, Kairi, Kiawe, Sophocles, Acerola, and Ethan dealt with Celesteela.
"Let's do this," Sora said. He turned to Kiawe. "You first, Kiawe!"
Kiawe nodded, "Gotcha, Sora! Turtonator! Flamethrower!" Turtonator fired Flamethrower right at the Ultra Beast hitting it hard.
"Raichu! Thunderbolt!" Kairi ordered as Raichu sends out Thunderbolt and combines with Turtonator's Flamethrower.
"Mismagius! Mystical Fire!" Acerola ordered. The magical Pokémon gave a small chant and performed Mystical Fire.
"Togedemaru! Discharge! Flaafy! Shock Wave! Vikavolt, Magnemite! Thunderbolt!" Sophocles shouted as the Electric Type Pokémon all fired their Electric attacks.
"Pikachu! Electro Ball!" Sora ordered. Pikachu forms Electro Ball from his tail and hurls it at the Ultra Beast.
"Quilava! Flamethrower!" Ethan ordered. Quilava fired Flamethrower along with the other Pokémon hitting Celesteela. But, little do they know, Celesteela's body is giving off a metallic glow protecting it from the combination of fire and electricity. "That should do it!"
"It should! But something's off!" Kairi pointed out. All of the Pokémon ceased their attacks and saw it was still standing.
"What?!" Acerola exclaimed.
"No way!" Kiawe also exclaimed.
"There's no way Celesteela could take all that abuse unless it's defending itself with Iron Defense!" Sophocles said. Sora took a closer look and recognized the metalic glow on its body.
"Sophocles is right. Celesteela did protet itself by using Iron Defense," Sora said. "But it dosen't mean it can't be beaten." He turned to Silvally. "Go for it!" Silvally nodded and rushed in. Celesteela swung at the synthetic Pokémon. Kairi turned to Sophocles with an idea.
"How about we try a something of our own," Kairi suggested. "Have your Vikavolt carry my Raticate and I can tell him to use Flame Wheel!"
"Works for me!" Sophocles stated smiling. "Vikavolt! Fly towards Celesteela!"
"Raticate! Jump on Vikavolt's back!" Kairi called out. Vikavolt starts flying with Raticate riding on. Once the two Pokémon got into range of Celesteela's head. "Flame Wheel!" Raticate rolled into a ball of fire and smacked into the Ultra Beast.
"Marowak! Flame Wheel as well!" Kiawe ordered. Marowak tapped his bone against head a few times igniting the green flames. Marowak twirls his bone and charged towards Celesteela. He turns to Sora. "It's your turn now, Sora!"
"Got it!" Sora said with a nod and turns to Silvally. "Go for it! Multi-Attack!" Silvally nods and went towards the Ultra Beast to deliver the attack only for Celesteela to smack it with one of its arms.
Silvally lands on its feet and skids on the ground. Gary was amazed by how Sora was able to handle this Pokémon despite being smacked away.
Lillie, Illima, Mallow, Lana, Mina, and Hapu came along with the powerplant employees and they tried to escape only for Celesteela to notice and attacked them by sending its other arm to deal with them. Seeing enough, Gary stepped in as he took out a Pokéball.
"Go Blastoise!" Gary called out as he threw it. The Pokéball opens and lets out his very first Pokémon and blocks Celesteela's arm.
Sora, Kairi, Ethan, and the Alolan nine all turned to see Gary and his Umbreon standing there.
"Gary? How long were you standing there?" Sora asked.
"Long enough. I'll have Blastoise protect the workers while we deal with that thing!" Gary said. Sora didn't know why Gary was there, but he didn't bother questioning it and allowed him to assist them.
"Okay," Sora nodded. Celesteela was about to attack again, but this time Gary had a plan.
"Umbreon! Dark Pulse!" Gary ordered. Umbreon fired its Dark Type attack hitting the Ultra Beast.
"Elekid! Thunderbolt!" Ethan ordered. Elekid fires its electric attack and it hits the Ultra Beast in the same spot as Umbreon's Dark Pulse. Celesteela rose itself into the sky and poistioned itself for an attack. Celesteela came falling down like a meteror. Gary turned to Sora.
"Watch out, Sora! It's getting ready for Heavy Slam!" Gary called out.
"That attack can cause heavy damage depending on the user's weight," Sora pointed. "And Celesteela looks like it could cause pretty heavy damage on us because of its size."
"And it's coing down fast!" Gary said.
"Everyone! Get out of there fast!" Sora called out. All of the Pokémon manages to get out of the way, but they were all close enough to dirt debris to hit them. Blastoise stood its ground protecting the workers and the other kids while Pikachu, Silvally, Quilava, and Umbreon were left standing.
"That thing is pretty strong," Ethan said.
"Much more than any of us thought. It's gotta have a weakness and I'm talking about Type," Sora said. Gary spoke up.
"I think I found it," Gary said making Sora, Ethan, and Kairi look at him. "While you getting its attention, I noticed how slowly it was moving. It may be strong in appearance, but its pretty slow at moving. But the biggest problem is its arms." That hit him.
"That's it! The arms are Celesteela's main choice of weapon. And we can have Pikachu, Umbreon, and Quilava run around and Celesteela will be focused on them," Sora stated.
"And then have Silvally move in when the time is right!" Kairi stated making Sora nod.
"And when Celesteela is at its weakest, Kairi will hurl a Beast Ball right at Celesteela and mission accomplished," Sora said. Gary looked over to Sora.
"Let's do this," Gary said. He looked over to Umbreon. "Okay Umbreon. Use your Quick Attack to make it focus on you." Umbreon nodded. Ethan turned to his Quilava.
"I know you can do it, Quilava," Ethan said petting Quilava on the head. Sora turned to his partner.
"Okay Pikachu. Go for it," Sora said as Pikachu nodded.
"Quick Attack!" Sora, Gary, and Ethan ordered as the three Pokémon ran around the Ultra Beast. It swung its arms around and they all dodged the arms due to the slick appearence and speed. Celesteela was moving pretty slow just as Gary said it was. It was too focused on the speedy Pokémon it didn't care about Silvally going behind it.
"Okay Silvally! Multi-Attack!" Sora called out as Silvally used its signature attack on the Ultra Beast. The attack was so powerful due to the Type of the Multi-Attack. It was hurt but still had enough fight. "Knew it wasn't gonna go down that easily. Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Quilava! Flamethrower!" Ethan ordered.
"Umbreon! Dark Pulse!" Gary ordered.
The attacks combines and they all hit Celesteela pretty hard making it hit the ground. It was now Kairi's turns as she threw the a Beast Ball making it flow inside. The Beast Ball wobbles around for a bit and stars swirls around the Beast Ball confirming the attack. Sora took out his Pokédex and sends the newly caught Ultra Beast right to Professor Oak's lab. He made contact with Lusamine with the communicator.
"Good news, Lusamine. The target has been captured. Professor Oak should be sending your way at any moment," Sora said.
"Excellent work, Sora. I knew you could pull it off. And thank you once again for your assistance," Lusamine said. Sora nodded and broke contact.
Sora, Kairi, Ethan, Gary, Kiawe, Sophocles, and Acerola rejoined the others who were still tending to the powerplant workers.
"Are you guys okay?" Kiawe asked.
"Yes we are. Thanks to you, kids," the first worker said.
"How bad is it?" Sora asked.
"So far it damaged our power generator," the second worker said.
"How soon before you can get it back on?" Sophocles asked.
"Well, judging by how the generator got damaged, it may take us a while," the first worker said.
"It might take us weeks to fix," the third worker said.
"And that's time we dont have," Sora said. "If we don't because if we don't get the power back to the town as soon as possible, then Nurse Joy won't be able to treat any of the injured Pokémon back at the Pokémon Center."
"But we do have a backup generator. But it hasn't been in use for years and we don't know if it still works," the first worker said.
"I think we should risk it. We can't just sit around and do nothing," Sora said.
"The kid's right. Any ideas on how to do it?" The seond worker asked.
"The water's flowing through the turbines, but I don't know if it'll be enough," the first worker said.
"Then we're going to need some extra power to help out," the third worker said.
Sora turned to Pikachu.
"I know you're probably tired from that battle with Celesteela, but you still think you still have some juice left? Sora asked his partner.
"Pika," Pikachu nodded.
The plant workers checked the systems and they saw everything is working smoothly.
"Just as I thought," the first worker said. "The turbines are working smoothly, but it's not enough power."
"And that's where we come in," Sora said. Sora got Pikachu straped in the powerlines. "Okay Pikachu. Give whatever power you've got left to help out."
"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.
"Pour on the juice, Pikachu," Sora said. Pikachu started giving off the electricity he has and gave power to the backup generator. and the whole town got their electricty back. The third plant worker came out.
"It worked. The backup power generator is taking the power and we're at peak ouput!" The third worker said.
"Okay Pikachu. You can stop now," Sora said as Pikachu stopped letting out elcetricity. Pikachu came close to falling on his back when Sora picked him up.
"You should rest up for a while, Pikachu. After a goodnight's sleep and you'll be good as new," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said in a yawn. Kairi smiled at her boyfriend as Gary was looking at her. His heart was still aching about what she said to him. Kairi looked over to Gary just as he turned around as he and his Umbreon were about to take off.
"Gary," Kairi said making Gary stop. He turned to face her. "Thank you." That surprised Gary a little, but at least it was nicer than the last time.
"You're just lucky that I was around. You wouldn't have caught that thing if I weren't," gary said.
"You're right about that, Gary," Sora said. He got wide-eyed by that. "Taking advantage of Celesteela's size and speed as a good plan on your part. So thanks."
"I'll admit this, Sora. You're a pretty good trainer. I just couldn't say it to your face. And I guess Riku is right about that," Gary said and that made Sora laugh.
"Okay, who are you and what did you do to Gary?" Sora joked.
"But you still make with the jokes," Gary said chuckling a little. "So don't be surprised when I challenge you into a battle." Sora grinned. "I'll have to hold you to that."
Just as Gary was taking his leave, his Umbreon looked up at him and wondered what was that about. Gary took a look at his Pokémon. He rubs Umbreon's head.
"Here's another thing I would never say to his face. He's a lot braver than I remember," Gary said. "A lot more than I can ever be." Umbreon looked at its trainer confused. "I know what you're thinking, it's odd to think that I'd be scared of anything right?" Umbreon nodded. "Well, I never admitted to anyone. I guess I could tell you. It started when we were little kids."
(Flasback, Sora and Gary's childhood)
It was a stormy night and the kids were all hurdled in an old cabin after getting seperated from the rest of the group. Sora in those days wore a white T-shirt with blue lining and red shorts with a maroon pocket on each leg, as well as brown sandals with yellow straps and had his father's crown necklace. Gary wore a blue shirt with a front pocket along with brown shorts and brown shoes and white socks.
"A lot of us kids were scared by the storm raging outside. I know I was and I couldn't let any of the other kids see it; especially Sora," Gary narrated. Lightning crashed as one little boy with glasses started crying. He was about a couple years younger than Sora.
"I wanna go home," the little boy cried. Sora saw him crying and Gary did too.
"But for some reason, Sora was the only one who wasn't scared. I thought he would start crying along with him, but he didn't," Gary narrated.
"Don't be scared," the younger Sora said. "Just think of it as a bunch of lights flashing on and off. And some pots and pans being thrown on the floor. It'll be okay." The little boy looked up at him. The lightning crashed again and the kids all screamed, except for Sora and Gary. "Hey! Don't be like that! Come on! We have to be brave. Lightning dosen't scare me! I can just go up to Mr. Lightning and laugh right in his face."
The younger kids all looked at Sora and saw how brave he was. Gary was especially surprised by this.
"I coundn't understand why he was always so cheerful and upbeat all the time, but I just thought he was crazy. But he managed to keep them from being scared and stopped them from crying. Sora managed to do that by telling them jokes even though some of them were pretty bad, but they were still funny. And we also sang some songs to lift our spirits," Gary narrated.
(Flasback ends, present time)
"That is one more way that I'm jealous of Sora. He is always been so positive and all the younger kids liked him for it. And many of the girls in our class had eyes for him because they all thought he was cute," Gary said. "And that his mom married a guy who is more of a man than my old man could ever be, even if he dead." Gary remebered hearing about Sora's dad and he felt sorry for him on both his birthdays and the anniversary of his death, but he could never admit it to Sora. "That brave and upbeat personality l of his probably why Kairi loves him so much."
Umbreon looked at its trainer and nuzzles his side. Gary smiled as he knew his Pokémon would never think any less of him.
On the next morning, Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, Togepi, and the Alolan nine all said their goodbyes to Ethan as they went down their separate ways and continued on towards Ecruteak City. And as for Sora, he could tell Gary had matured a little, but it didn't mean he forgave him for what happened back at Pallet Town.