The Linoone Dilemma
"Ladies and gentlemen I'm afraid that we have to make an unexpected stop for repairs," The ship captain announced. "Please enjoy the sunny shores and beaches of Delfino Island or relax onboard the ship as this'll take awhile. We'll try and get her back up and running as soon as possible!"
"Well more time to train Piplup and Dratini!" Zach gazed down at the Dive and Lure balls containing the newer additions to his team. Piplup had already undergone a bit of training prior to Dratini's capture but he was the one most suitable to spare with Dratini.
"Again? You've been training them practically all day on the ship, why don't you take the chance to relax for a change? Your Pokemon sure could use the rest." Marnie pointed out as Scorbunny and Lucario cried out in protest along with their trainer as none of them seemed to like the idea.
"Kabu's no joke, if I wanna beat him then I have to keep practicing! Lucario and Corvisquire won't be able to take the heat so I've gotta get Piplup and Dratini prepped and ready to take him!" Lucario and Scorbunny nodded in agreement with their trainer.
"Ya didn't even fight Nessa yet ya goof, wait until then to start worrying about him!" Marnie shouted.
"Come on, it'll be fun!" May added with a smile. "I still found time to have fun and it didn't stop me from winning Grand Festivals!"
"Besides you bailed on us back at Meadow Island, ya owe us." Marnie gave her friend a light smirk. "You're getting way too focused on your training, you need to tone it down or you'll wind up crashing and burning eventually!"
"Alright I guess." He let out a defeated sigh as he didn't see a way out of this
"Liepard, Play Rough!" Liepard sprang towards his opponent, a thick cloud of dust formed up as Liepard and the opposing side's Swampert could be seen fighting and struggling within the dust cloud before the fully evolved Hoenn starter was tossed out of the cloud and landing in a defeated slump before his trainer. The trainer let out a groan in defeat as his opponent had a sly smirk upon his face while whistling for Liepard to return to his side.
The winning had quite the bizarre hairdo as it resembled a Qwilfish! His red and white jacket was one of the latest trends in Unova fashion, mostly on account of his fans purchasing it. He also appeared to be around the group's age from the look of him, appearing to be quite the accomplished trainer as well as the familiar voice of the Rotom Drone spoke up.
"Congratulations trainer Hugh, you are now in the top 500 and officially Diamond Class!" Most would find that exciting news, heck Ash was shaking from excitement upon hearing the news as he was determined to challenge the trainer, however Hugh looked oddly frustrated at the news and emitted a light scoff.
"Impressive but we've got to keep training harder, we'll never destroy Team Rocket at this rate."
"Meow." Liepard meowed in agreement, both seeming to share a hatred of Team Rocket for some reason.
"See that edge lord over there? You don't want to wind up like him do you? He's hardly emitting any emotions!" Marnie hissed out at Zach.
"I guess you do have a point," Zach muttered.
Ash meanwhile was pulling out his Rotom Phone and soon had his finger over the challenge button before Marnie quickly yanked it out of his hand. "Not today, you're almost as bad as Zach is! You could do some relaxing too, you just advanced in ranking so it's not like taking a day off will bite you in the butt."
Pikachu covered up his mouth and snickered as he saw how shocked Ash was at Marnie's action.
"Oh come on, it's not everyday that I can face somebody like him!" Ash groaned out while Marnie slipped the phone into her bag.
"He's here in Hoenn, I'm sure your paths will cross again at some point! Now let's get going to the beach!"
Ash opened up his mouth to protest but found himself unable to, simply following Marnie and the others to the beach.
"Come on out everybody!" Zach shouted as he threw four Pokeballs into the air with Linoone, Corvisquire, Piplup and Dratini all joining him on the beach while the others did the same with their Pokemon. "We're all gonna relax today so no training."
"Noon!" Linoone growled out, his eyes narrowed while his claws dug into the sand. The Dark type didn't seem fond of the idea at all!
"Look Linoone I'm not fond of it either but we can't battle all of the time! How about you play with Piplup and Scorbunny, I'm sure they'd love to have you!" Zach tried getting through to his Pokemon.
"Pip!"
"Scor!" The two cried out in agreement as they held out their hand and flipper for Linoone to take only for the Dark type to stick out his tongue and turn his back to them.
"Linoone..."
"Or you can sit there and sulk if you want, we'll let you have privacy." Zach shrugged, if Linoone didn't want to relax then he wasn't going to force him to. Lucario carried Dratini over to the ocean and gently set him down, the Dragon type let out a happy coo as he started swimming around while Lucario watched and kept a close eye on his youngest teammate with a protective stance. Corvisquire meanwhile had taken to the skies and was simply soaring around aimlessly but not straying too far. Scorbunny and Piplup began chasing each other across the beach and were shortly joined by May's Delcatty and Ash's Oshawott.
Zach reached out and pet Linoone before turning to face the others as he heard the girls returning from getting into their swimsuits. Ash found himself locked in place as Marnie returned, wearing a bikini that had the same color scheme as her former gym outfit, her hair was also undone which made her look like a completely different person as she looked more feminine than usual. Ash's face started growing a red coloring as he couldn't help but find his eyes wondering while Pikachu stood by his side with a smirk across his face as he struggled to hold in a giggle fit.
Zach noticed the look on Ash's face and couldn't help but let out a light laugh unaware of what was happening behind him as a giant shadow flew over the island, catching Linoone's attention as his nose began to twitch. The Dark type uttered out a growl and formed a light smirk before quickly giving chase and following the creature, leaving unnoticed.
Marnie blushed upon noticing Ash staring or at least she assumed he was, she found herself a bit nervous but pushed them down as she approached Ash and formed a smile as she took his hand. "Shall we go for a swim?"
"Y-Yeah, sure I'd like that!" Ash temporarily cleared his thoughts with a shake of his head.
"Good... race ya there!" Marnie dropped her hold on him and raced for the ocean, Ash laughed before quickly rushing after her in pursuit.
Zach watched them go, feeling a bit left out seeing as the whole coming here was Marnie's idea and she just ditched him but he could tell his two friends liked each other and if this was a chance at them revealing that to each other he wasn't going to stand in their way. "Alright Linoone, let's go-" Zach paused shortly before turning around as May arrived late. He'd almost forgotten that she was there as he was so used to there only being three of them, that wasn't the only thing that got him distracted though as he'd never really had exposure to women wearing swimsuits until today. Marnie was like a sister to him so he didn't have much reaction there but May? She was new and admittingly pretty attractive he had to admit. He bit his lip as she approached in a light pink bikini, his eyes constantly flickered as he tried to look away but found his eyes being drawn to certain assets. "H-Hey..."
May noticed he seemed a bit flustered and saw his stares but brushed it off, she was a top Coordinator so she was quite used to being the center of attention like that. Not finding it weird or annoying but flattering that somebody she knew thought of her that way, there was Drew but he'd moved on to Solidad years ago. "Hey," She replied calmly while giving him a warm smile.
"Everyone else is busy with their own thing so... wanna just go into the water and splash each other?" Zach asked before mentally facepalming.
May let out a giggle. "You've never been to the beach before, have you?" She playfully teased before grabbing a hold of his arm. "Sure thing but first... tag, you're it!" May laughed before rushing off.
"H-Hey!" Zach quickly gave chase, rushing after her while emitting a light laugh.
"You know I'm glad you told us to relax, it's oddly... peaceful." Ash breathed out as he floated on his back.
Marnie laughed. "See I told ya that it'd do ya both good!" Marnie glanced towards the shore as she realized she forgot Zach in her haste to get out here, wondering if he'd snuck off but calmed down upon seeing him and May chasing each other across the beach. "A true champion needs to learn to relax but not too much obviously or else you will fall behind!"
"I guess I have been battling a lot lately," Ash stated as his thoughts drifted off. Though not very noteworthy he did face a few opponents other than Drake while in Hoenn, providing some great experience for Kubfu, Dreepy and Sobble. "I should relax after a major battle like Drake though, that took a lot out of me."
"You did give the Pokemon a rest, you deserve one too." Marnie nodded in agreement. He'd switched them all out and sent them to Oak's lab afterwards so he could continue training the Pokemon that needed catching up.
"That's a fair point." Ash breathed out.
"I only say that cause I care, we all do." Marnie patted his shoulder. "So since the boat's not leaving until tomorrow ya wanna just camp out on the beach tonight? It's been awhile since we've gotten to do that... as a group anyways." She remembered that he had to while on his Mega Evolution trial. "It'll be nice to stare up at the stars."
"Why not? I've missed it!" Ash grinned, camping was one of his favorite things to do while on an adventure and most the few two weeks he'd slept in a ship cabin.
"Great, so have you given any thought as to what you wanna do after you win the World Championship?" Marnie casually asked. She guessed that Zach was likely to get married and settle down somewhere after beating Mustard but Ash was more difficult to read which she had to admit was rather alluring.
"I haven't put much thought to it," Ash stated while closing his eyes to think. "Maybe I'll keep traveling the world, there are always more Pokemon out there waiting to be discovered and I can't imagine myself settling down some place, that seems like it'd be more Zach's thing. I get itchy when I stay in one place for too long."
Marnie thought about what he said and placed her hand beneath her chin in thought. "I think I'd like to keep traveling too, I'd like to own every Dark type someday but first my focus is on beating the Dark type masters and taking the title of strongest Dark type specialist for myself!"
"Yeah, that's the spirit! Never give up on that dream!" Ash grinned before a realization came to him. "Sidney... you'll be battling him?"
"Oh no, not yet! You already called dibs on him and I think I could use a bit more training before that. We can always come back here later, right?"
"Definitely, and I'd be happy to train with you if you want!" Ash offered.
"I'd love that..." The two smiled at one another for a moment before continuing their swim.
Dusk was soon approaching as they all gathered up and May retrieved the Pokemon chow from her bag before passing it out and filling the bowls of the various Pokemon. Zach's eyes darted around as he didn't notice the familiar black and white pelt of Linoone anywhere within the group.
"That's strange, usually Linoone is one of the first to eat." He commented before shouting out for his Dark type. "Linoone?!"
No answer came, Lucario broke apart and began walking down the beach with his eyes glowing a bright blue color as he used his aura to track Linoone's but there was nothing recent to go by, Linoone had been gone for a few hours if not the entire day! Lucario looked back at his trainer and shook his head as Zach hung his head.
"I shouldn't have left him to sulk, I should have stayed and trained with him!"
"Don't blame yourself, Linoone probably just got hungry and wandered off!" May placed her hand on his shoulder. "If it helps I'll help you look for him."
"We all will!" Ash chimed in before Marnie let out a light cough.
"You all were using a lot of energy today, ya should eat and drink something first so ya don't collapse out there!" Sure enough after she said that all three of the trainer's stomachs growled loudly.
"You're right, Corvisquire's been flying all day and I definitely need him if I have hope of finding Linoone. He's the only Flying type we've got on hand!" Seeing how Latias was busy recharging at Oak's lab. Zach quickly rushed to the food along with Lucario and Scorbunny as the three hastily began shoving food into their mouths.
"Not too fast ya goof!" Marnie sighed, shaking her head lightly as the rest went over to the food and got their own portions.
"There you youngsters are," The ship captain suddenly arrived on the scene, panting and seeming out of breath. "Y-You kids n-need... t-to get back... volcano... she's g-gonna blow!"
"Volcano?!" Zach quickly shout up and turned his head, taking note of a volcano that was quite noticeable but they were all too distracted to really notice it before. "Why is it erupting now of all times?!" The ground started shaking beneath them as smoke started pouring from the top of it.
"S-Something... something upset the guardian of the volcano... i-it's mad... o-or at least t-that's what the locals say! Y-You kids need to go!"
"I'm not leaving without Linoone!" Zach growled out, quickly shooting up while waving his hand to Corvisquire. "Let's go, Corvisquire!" He rushed off into the nearby forest as Corvisquire flew above him. "If something did attack this 'guardian', it's likely Linoone..." Linoone much like his Rotom Phone informed him did have a habit of attempting to start fights with Pokemon stronger than him, thankfully most were trainer Pokemon before now so it hadn't been anything serious but he wasn't about to lose another member of his team, not like this... if Linoone was up there he was going to either drag Linoone down or catch whatever was up there to stop this madness!
"Did he just...?" Marnie facepalmed before turning to Ash. "Alright I'll search the beach, Ash you take the forest, May you follow Zach in case he does something stupid." She sure wasn't sending Ash after him, they'd probably wind up dead if that happened.
"Noon!" Linoone's fur was scorched black, the Dark type's breath was heavy and drawn out but he continued staring up at his opponent with a look of anger and hate. His claws began glowing a bright purple coloring as he leapt up and slashed the giant fire bird with them! The bird cried out in pain but rather than weaken it, the attack only seemed to enrage it!
"Linoone there you-Oh Arceus..." Zach gasped for breath as his eyes were quick to notice the legendary bird Pokemon known as Moltres! He quickly pulled out his Rotom Phone to read up on the Pokemon.
"Moltres the Flame Pokemon, Moltres is a legendary bird Pokémon that has the ability to control fire. If this Pokémon is injured, it is said to dip its body in the molten magma of a volcano to burn and heal itself!"
"..." Zach and Lucario looked at one another upon hearing that before looking at Linoone as they pictured him arriving on the scene and attacking Moltres as he was healing. No wonder it looked extremely ticked off! "Linoone, get over here!"
Linoone didn't respond but Zach saw his ear twitch indicating that he heard, he was just being disobedient.
"Linoone we can't take on a legendary Pokemon, get out of there before it roasts you alive!" Zach shouted out, fear showing in his eyes as Moltres started firing a beam of orange, black, red and yellow fire at the Dark type. Zach clenched his fists and cursed beneath his breath as he quickly rushed down to Linoone and tackled him, taking the majority of the attack as Linoone looked up at him and growled for a moment as he hated having the battle being interrupted. However that look soon changed as he realized his trainer had taken the hit for him, Zach gritted his teeth as the attack hit, burning the back of his jacket and the t-shirt beneath right off and striking his back! Linoone's eyes began looking apologetic as the Dark type realized how selfish he'd been focusing on him and only him growing stronger, not realizing that his trainer loved him and wanted them to grow stronger together! Linoone's expression soon turned to anger as he turned his gaze towards Moltres, the moon light reflecting against his pelt as he leaned back his head and howled, a bright blue light surrounding his body as he started standing on two legs, his body becoming badger-like in shape while also growing into a more muscular figure. The light soon faded to reveal his evolved form before the badger Pokemon let out a fierce cry that sounded like a howl, Moltres flinched in place as Obstagoon lashed out at the opponent!
"Obstagoon the Blocking Pokemon. It evolved after experiencing numerous fights. While crossing its arms, it lets out a shout that would make any opponent flinch!" The Rotom Phone rang out as Obstagoon's data was registered.
"Y-You evolved...?" Zach collapsed to his side as Lucario quickly rushed to his aide.
"Car!"
"Goon, Obstagoon!" Obstagoon repeatedly howled out, blocking Moltres' window of attack as the Dark type relentlessly lashed out at Moltres with every remaining ounce of strength he had. Beating it wasn't a selfish desire anymore, Obstagoon wanted to win to save his trainer before he got killed on his account! "Goon, goon!"
"Tres!" Moltres gave Obstagoon a whack with his wing, sending the badger flying back!
"Piplup!" Piplup shouted out as he rode in on Corvisquire's back, the penguin firing bubbles repeatedly from his beak as Corvisquire circled the air above.
"Scor!" Scorbunny formed an electrical ball between her paws and dropped it, kicking it towards Moltres. The attacks seemed to just further enrage the bird Pokemon though as he blasted all of them with Incinerate, the Pokemon quickly dropping like flies as they landed in defeated slumps. Moltres soon turned to face Lucario who was looking the trainer over, Moltres thought it dumb that the weak Pokemon honestly thought that they would stand a chance against him, his anger blinding him to the truth of that the others only attacked to save Obstagoon and their trainer. Moltres opened his mouth and prepared to fire off another Incinerate before a Mega Blaziken came swooping in, his foot burning as he delivered a critical strike right to Moltres' chest, the bird's eyes widened before he fell forward and crashed into the ground with a loud thud, the lava immediately ceased movement, smoke began clearing up as the rumbles came to a halt as Moltres laid in a defeated heap beneath Blaziken!
May arrived on the scene shortly after, her eyes darting around as she examined the scene. All of Zach's Pokemon save for Lucario, who stood over him protectively and Dratini who was in his ball, were defeated and scattered about. She slowly walked over and couldn't help but scream at the sight of Zach's back, it wasn't fatal but Moltres had definitely left a mark that wouldn't be going away anytime soon! Zach let out a groan of pain as May quickly released an Indeedee, the Pokemon's hands began glowing a bright pink as she held them over his body, the injury began to heal but the scar remained and he was still in pain, the aim was to make sure she could safely move him so they could get help though.
Her scream seemed to waken Moltres as the fire bird slowly began rising up before looking down upon the scene, seeming to examine it.
"Moltres... for what it's worth, I'm sorry..." Zach muttered out, his gaze focused on Obstagoon as much the injury hurt he was still worried about Obstagoon more than his own self. Moltres tilted his head before crying out and bowing his head as he accepted the apology. May reached for Zach's belt and returned all of his Pokemon, even Scorbunny as she wasn't aware she hated it in there. Lucario remained over his trainer and growled as Blaziken approached and tried scooping Zach up.
"Lucario please, you can trust me. Mega Blaziken is far faster and stronger than you, he can get Zach back to the boat in no time!"
Lucario narrowed his eyes and growled unsurely but eventually backed off as he knew she was right.
"Thank you, I promise I won't let harm come to him."
The three headed off with Blaziken speeding ahead as he carried the injured trainer, Moltres turned his back to them and began settling down into the lava pool once more before a Rocket ball suddenly struck him from behind and sucked him in! Sierra picked up the ball and tossed it up and down.
"That fool's brave but idiotic, a perfect distraction. Welcome to Team Rocket, Moltres. Hope you survive the experience!" She cackled.
Marnie let out a gasp of horror as she entered the ship's infirmary and saw her friend stretched out on the bed, the burn mark on his back currently on display.
"I warned you it wasn't pretty," May spoke up. "But yeah long story short Obstagoon over there found Moltres and foolishly challenged it, then Zach dove in the way of an attack to save Obstagoon and he pushed an evolution in an attempt to save them both. If I hadn't appeared they'd likely be goners."
"That goofball..." Marnie facepalmed lightly as she shook her head. "At least he's okay."
"How long will he be out?" Ash looked to the Nurse.
"About a day or so, that burn mark was pretty bad. Are you his friends? I'm sorry but only one friend can remain at a time, it's too crowded in here. Especially with those two out and about!" She pointed at Lucario and Scorbunny who were resting their heads against their trainer's bed.
"I'll stay here!" May was quick to say.
"You sure, May? Cause I'll happily watch over him." Marnie offered only for the brunette to shake her head.
"I'm not even officially part of your group, go on! Get your mind off of things and clear your head!" May smiled before taking a seat by the bed as Ash and Marnie looked at one another.
"What now?" He asked in a hissed tone, unsure what they could do.
"We could check out the island, see what it has to offer." Marnie shrugged.
"Feeling up for the challenge? The one and only Scott is scouting participants for the Battle Frontier challenge, enter the Battle Frontier tournament for a shot at fame and glory amongst other prizes!"
"How about that? It could prove a useful distraction." Marnie suggested. They had been walking through the streets of Mossdeep when the announcer conveniently appeared and got their attention. It should absorb a good chunk of time and help keep their mind off of their friend, much she enjoyed the alone time with Ash it was hard keeping her thoughts off their injured companion.
"Scott!" Ash's mind instantly pictured his old friend, he had introduced Ash to the Kanto Battle Frontier which was full of some of the strongest trainers that Ash had ever faced, perhaps Scott could give him a good lead on other strong trainers that he could pair up against in the World Championship or give him an invitation to the Sinnoh branch! Ash remembered fighting Palmer, the father of one of his friends and former rival Barry. Palmer appeared to be as strong as the Sinnoh Elite Four members and perhaps even powerful enough to give Cynthia a run for her money, if he was that strong then surely the others were as well if not more!
"I'll take that as a yes then," Marnie smirked upon seeing his reaction.
"Out of the way," Ash felt somebody pushing past him and Marnie causing him to quickly dart around with a glare as he spotted Hugh walking towards the battle stadium to get registered. Ash's heartrate immediately increased as an excited look formed across his face.
"Alright, I can get my battle with Hugh!" With how powerful the trainer was a confrontation was practically confirmed at one point during the tournament! Ash was quite looking forward to testing his might against the trainer. The two started walking towards the Battle Stadium in order to get registered where Ash was immediately confronted by a familiar face.
"Why if it isn't Ash!" Though Scott still wore his shades it was quite easy to tell that he was excited to see Ash once more, the older man rushing on over to greet him.
"Hello Scott, it's great to see you again!"
"Pika pi!" Pikachu's expression matched his trainers as both looked rather pleased to see him again.
Scott reached out to pet Pikachu, the mouse Pokemon's tail twitched from happiness while he emitted out a light 'Chaaa!'
"Everyone this is Scott, he watched over the Kanto Battle Frontier back when I was challenging it, and he's a good friend too."
"Hello, I'm Marnie. Pleased ta meet cha!"
"You two sure have been busy since last we met, coming in the quarter finals at the Sinnoh League then advancing to the finals in Kalos, and now you're the Alola champion!" Scott spoke with an excited tone as he gave Ash's friends a wave in recognition, showing that the man had been keeping tabs on his friend despite them not interacting in quite some time. "So I take it ya came here to battle against one of my other Frontier branches?"
"Hold up, you own all of the Battle Frontiers?!" Marnie looked shocked as she looked the man up and down, he dressed so casual like and seemed down to earth. She'd have expected somebody of that nature to be more like Chairman Rose.
"Of course!" Scott grinned as he proudly tapped his chest. "I like to get to personally know everyone who participants in them along with the Frontier Brains themselves, most of which are former challengers like Ash here, who rejected my offer of becoming one but others after him have accepted."
"I just prefer traveling, I didn't like the idea of being permanently rooted in one place." Ash nervously laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ah don't worry, I have nothing against you for that! It was your choice to make after all." Scott placed his hands into his pockets before getting down to business. "Though you don't have to participate you know, I can just give you an invitation to whatever Frontier you desire!"
"Thanks but I'd still like to battle if it's all the same to you, I don't want special treatment simply because we're buds." Ash shook his head causing Scott to pull back his head and laughed.
"Still as humble and modest as ever I see, well then go ahead and get yourself registered!" Scott backed away, allowing for Ash and Marnie to get registered for the tournament.
The wait wasn't too long for the battles to begin as within half an hour the round one matches had been set up. Ash was set to face off against a male sailor trainer while Marnie was tasked with fighting a male punk trainer. Luck had been on their side as they hadn't been paired up against each other yet though Ash was disappointed he still had to wait to battle Hugh. Marnie's match was up first and she was currently in the midst of it as Grimmsnarl was facing off against a Shiftry.
"Grimmsnarl use Hammer Arm!" Grimmsnarl's arms glowed white as he slammed them against the top of Shiftry's head, the Grass/Dark type letting out a pained grunt before immediately dropping to it's knees and collapsing in a defeated slump as it's eyes turned to swirls.
"Shiftry..."
"Shiftry is unable to battle, Marnie and Grimmsnarl are the winners!" The referee called out as he waved his flag, signaling the end of the match. The punk trainer returned Shiftry with a sour look while a few Team Yell members were seen cheering in the crowd.
"Yay, go Marnie!"
"You rock, Marnie!"
"How did they get here...?" Marnie asked, sweating lightly at the sight of them before taking her leave of the battlefield.
A few matches would pass and Hugh had his turn, facing off against a female swimmer.
"Tentacruel, I choose you!" The swimmer threw forward a Pokeball which burst open as a Tentacruel took his place before his trainer, his eyes narrowing and focusing on his opponent.
Hugh's expression didn't change as he reached for a ball on his belt before activating as he threw it forward. "Eelektross you're up."
"Eelek!"
"Discharge." Hugh calmly ordered as he lightly waved his arm. Eelektross' body became surrounded with electricity as he unleashed multiple bolts of electricity, giving Tentacruel quite the shock and eliminating his competition with ease as Tentacruel collapsed before the attack even ceased! "Enough."
Eelektross halted his attack while the referee waved his flag.
"Tentacruel is unable to battle, Hugh and Eelektross are the winners of this match!"
"Wow that Eelektross sure is something!" Marnie eyed the defeated Tentacruel as the swimmer girl returned him to his Pokeball. "Tentacruel didn't even stand a chance!"
"Well he did face off against Alder and almost won, his Liepard had Alder's Bouffalant on the ropes!" Scott casually stated. "I've had my eye on this one for awhile, his personality could use some work but I've got the feeling that he'd make a great Frontier Brain for the Unova branch!"
"He did?!" Ash's eyes grew and widened upon hearing the news before turning his attention towards Hugh once more as he clenched his fists in anticipation. "Now I'm more eager to face him than ever!"
"Pika!"
"Well if you don't get down there you're gonna lose your chance!" Marnie gave him a light nudge as she showcased that it was his turn.
"Oh right!" Ash quickly made his way out onto the battlefield, passing Hugh along the way. Ash tried waving his hand in greeting only for him to rudely pass by without acknowledging him. Ash frowned at that but didn't let it get to him as he took position. His opponent let out a hearty laugh as he tossed a Pokeball up and down.
"A twerp? This is gonna be cake, Poliwrath let's go!"
"Poliwrath!" A Poliwrath burst onto the field and started slapping it's belly in anticipation of the upcoming battle!
Ash closely examined his opponent's Pokemon from afar before eventually reaching out and grabbing a ball from his belt. "Snivy I choose you!"
"Snivy!" Snivy did a smug pose as she appeared on the battlefield, the sailor and Poliwrath both started having a laughing fit at the sight of the small Grass type, a red vein mark appeared on Snivy's head before she lifted up her head and let out a huff.
"Don't let them get to you Snivy, Leaf Blade let's go!" Ash called out the command while throwing out his arm.
"Snivy!" Her tail became surrounded in a light green aura as she swiftly moved across the field and slashed her opponent with it!
"Poliwrath!" Poliwrath grunted out in pain, holding his leg before looking up at Snivy with a ticked off expression as he started pounding his chest. "Poliwrath!"
"Now you've done it, Poliwrath use Ice Punch!" Poliwrath's fist became surrounded in a light blue energy as he raced across the field towards his opponent.
"Hurl yourself into the air with Vine Whip, then set off a Leaf Tornado!" Snivy whipped out some vines, pressing them into the ground before hurling yourself upwards and just in the nick of time as Poliwrath punched the air where she stood mere seconds before. Snivy gazed down at her opponent with a sly smirk as she fired a tornado of glowing green leaves down upon her opponent!
Poliwrath cried out in pain as the leaves struck his body before collapsing face forward and landing with a soft thud as swirls formed within his eyes. The referee looked down at Poliwrath before waving his flag and marking Ash as the winner!
"Alright Snivy, you did it-"
"Snivy!" Snivy cried out in joy shortly before her body began flashing and glowing a bright blue color, the light blinding Ash as Snivy's body began undergoing changes The light eventually fading to reveal the form of the newly evolved Servine!
"Servine!" Servine gave Ash a smug smirk as the trainer formed an excited look before rushing over and giving his Grass type a hug!
"You did it, Servine! Emboar and Oshawott will be so happy to hear the news!"
"Servine!"
After a few more matches the first round was over and the next matchups were revealed. Ash would be facing off against a hex girl while Marnie was paired up against Hugh!
"The edge lord himself!" Marnie let out a light growl, knowing that it wouldn't be an easy fight.
"You'll do fine, Marnie! Just be careful, we don't know what else he's packing yet." Ash advised, there were quite a few powerful Pokemon in Unova that Hugh likely could own if he was as powerful as Scott said. Hydreigon, Volcarona, heck maybe even a legendary for all they knew!
"Don't worry about me, focus on yourself. If I lose than ya have to win for the both of us!" Marnie gave his arm a light punch and flashed him a smile before heading on out onto the field where Hugh was waiting. His eyes looked her over as she approached, not seeming to be impressed by what he saw as he calmly gripped a ball.
"Flygon, you're up."
"Flygon!"
The Hoenn Dragon burst from it's confinement as the crowd let out a cheer upon the sight of their native Dragon Pokemon!
Marnie looked towards Morpeko before reaching for a different ball. "Bisharp I need your assistance!"
"Sharp!" Bisharp burst from it's ball, surprising Ash as he'd never seen the Pokemon before. He could only assume that Marnie had been keeping it at home until now or caught it when he wasn't looking.
"Laser Focus!" Bisharp began concentrating intensely upon Flygon. "Follow up with Steel Beam!"
"Huh?" Ash leaned forward out of interest as he'd never heard of the move until today. A orb of silver energy began forming between Bisharp's palms as he held them together, the ball steadily grew larger before being unleashed in a powerful silver beam of energy! The attack struck Flygon and pushed him back, the Dragon letting out a grunt before opening his eyes and giving Bisharp a light glare as Hugh calmly ordered out his own attack.
"Flamethrower!" Flygon opened his mouth and blasted Bisharp with a stream of fire, Bisharp let out a pained grunt as he was blasted, gritting his teeth as he did his best to withstand the attack but found himself dropping to his knees, his breath quickly growing heavy before collapsing onto his side in defeat as the referee waved his flag.
"Bisharp is unable to battle, Hugh and Flygon win the match!"
Marnie leaned down to check on Bisharp before returning him to his Pokeball. "Ya did good, old friend. Take a rest." Marnie looked towards Hugh only to discover that he'd already left the battlefield, making no attempt at displaying sportsmanship.
It wasn't long before Ash had his turn as the hex girl took her position on the opposite end and gave Ash a creepy look that weirded him out.
"I'm gonna put a hex on you, Dusclops let's roll!"
"Dusclops!" The Hoenn Ghost type revealed itself from her shadow, making Ash visibly shudder.
"Gengar, let's go!"
"Gengar!" Ash's own Ghost type burst onto the field, giving Dusclops a sinister smirk.
"Shadow Sneak!" The hex girl called out.
"Dusc!" Dusclops's shadow began extending towards Gengar with the shadow lashing out and striking Gengar as it grew closer to the rival Ghost type!
Ash kept his cool as he examined the situation before thrusting his arm forward as he shouted out the next move. "Alright Gengar, Phantom Force!"
Gengar flashed a smirk as a purple portal appeared beneath him, the Ghost type disappeared into the portal with Dusclop's shadow striking at the air where he stood seconds before, a different purple portal opened behind Dusclops with Gengar stepping out of it before lashing out and attacking him with a surprise attack!
"Clops!" Dusclops collapsed in defeat as it's singular eye formed a swirl, the referee waved his flag before pointing towards Ash.
"Dusclops is unable to battle, Gengar and Ash Ketchum win!"
"What?! No, impossible!" The hex girl was aghast as she witnessed Gengar unleashing the powerful Ghost type attack upon her. "I've been trying for years to master that!"
The crowd cheered loudly from excitement at how quickly the match had ended, the anticipation of watching Ash and Hugh battling it out had grown as both had grown a small following from within the crowd.
"And here we are folks, the final round! Both trainers have proved themselves to be quite the skilled trainers however only one of them can be the winner, which of them will prove themselves the winner and take home the rare Cherish Ball?!"
"Good luck Ash and remember be careful, he's gone toe to toe with a champion!" Marnie hissed.
Ash nodded in response though it was a bit tricky to predict what Hugh would do, every round he had used a different Pokemon than the previous one much like Ash himself had done. It was pretty much impossible to plan a solid strategy out as Hugh could pull out Liepard, Flygon, Eelektross or maybe even an entirely different Pokemon!
Hugh already stood in place on his corner of the field as Ash began stepping out onto the field.
"So you actually made it the whole way, I heard that you're some sort of champion so you better give it all you have." With how little emotion Hugh had it was hard to tell if that was a demand or simply a desire.
"Don't you worry, Pikachu and I always give it our all!" Ash pumped his fists as he turned his head to meet Pikachu's gaze. "It's all up to you buddy, let's do this!"
"Pika!" Pikachu flicked his tail in response before leaping out onto the field, cheeks sparked out of anticipation of the coming battle.
"Pikachu, eh? Very well in that case I choose Flygon." Hugh grabbed a Pokeball and threw it forward as he released the Hoenn Dragon once more!
"Earthquake!"
"Quick Attack across the field and leap onto his back!"
Pikachu quickly darted across the field and leaped on up onto Flygon's back as the Dragon type jumped up before slamming his tail down hard against the ground, resulting in the ground shaking and causing some members of the audience along with Ash himself to nearly lose their balance. Hugh seemed in perfectly control of his own balance though seeing how he likely used the attack a lot his body had most likely adapted.
"Now use Iron Tail!" Ash shouted, taking advantage of Pikachu being on Flygon's back. They could possibly deliver a critical hit which could be a decisive factor of rather or not they win, Flygon definitely appeared to be strong so it'd take a few Iron Tail's at minimum to take him down.
"Hmp, Fly up high!" Hugh pointed upwards. "We'll see if that rat can keep holding on when you roll upside down!"
Flygon quickly flew upwards as Pikachu's tail began glowing a bright silver color, slamming it into the Dragon's back as Flygon let out a grunt in response. Pikachu then prepared to leap off only to quickly halt in place as Flygon had already flew quite high up, going as high as the ceiling would allow! Flygon soon rolled himself over much like Hugh had ordered and Pikachu would have fallen had he not grabbed a hold of Flygon's tail.
"Pika!"
"Hold on Pikachu!" Ash called up to him. "Use Iron Tail!"
"Pi!" Pikachu did his best to swing his body, his tail glowing silver once more as he struck Flygon's stomach! The Ground/Dragon cried out in agony while Hugh briefly showed a display of emotion as a frustrated look formed, gritting his teeth before looking up at the ceiling as an idea struck.
"Dragon Tail, slam that rat's body against the roof!"
"Fly!" Flygon's tail became covered in a green glow and grew in size as he lashed out with it, slamming it and Pikachu along with it against the roof of the stadium! Pikachu's eyes widened outwards as he was squished against the roof, taking damage and losing his grip on Flygon's tail. Flygon soon pulled his tail away and rolled over, regaining balance as he watched Pikachu begin falling down towards the ground.
"Pikachu!" Ash quickly dove forward with his arms stretched out, catching Pikachu just before he could hit the ground but the impact was still painful. Ash let out a grunt from the impact of Pikachu hitting his hands while Pikachu let out a faint cry as his eyes were now reduced to swirls.
"Pikachu is unable to battle, Hugh is the winner of the competition!" The crowd let out a cheer as the victor was crowned.
"A waste of my time." Hugh huffed, returning Flygon to his Pokeball. Though his eyes said differently as he gave Ash a brief glance before turning and walking off of the field, completely ignoring the prize he was supposed to receive.
Scott approached Hugh with a wave and a friendly smile. "Hello there young man, I was very impressed with your battling style. I'd like to extend an invitation to one of my Battle Facilities, I can tell you're the sort that likes a challenge so I'd like to recommend the Sinnoh branch. It has the strongest members of the entire operation like the Battle Tycoon Palmer whose gone toe to toe with Cynthia herself! Though you'd have to beat the others there in order to face off against him!"
"Sinnoh sounds perfect, give me directions to the first facility and I'll get going."
"That'll be the Battle Castle, just a ways off Lake Valor!" Scott handed him a slip of paper with instructions. "Once you beat Darach he'll give you further instructions on where to go."
Hugh grabbed the paper slip and turned to go only for Scott to grab his shoulder. "Hold up, what about your prize?"
"That useless thing? Give it to the loser." Hugh huffed, brushing off Scott's hand before taking his leave.
Scatt stared after him for a moment before eventually making his way to Ash and Pikachu who had recovered shortly after being fed a Sitrus berry. "Congratulations Ash, you've done such a stellar job that I'd like to officially extend an invitation to the Battle Frontier. Any one in particular that you have your eye on?"
Ash thought for a moment as his mind went back to Palmer once more, no doubt the experienced trainer would be in the final 100 when the time came so if Ash beat him before that time it'd be a good showing that he could fully handle the powerful trainers that would also be competing like Cynthia herself!
"Sinnoh please!"
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out in agreement.
Scott laughed before handing them a similar slip of paper. "Well then good luck, Hugh is also going to be there so I'm sure your paths will cross again soon!" Scott then reached into his pocket before withdrawing the Cherish Ball. "Oh and he didn't want this, only fair that you get it then."
"Thanks... what's so special about this ball anyways?" Ash asked as he'd never seen the ball before or even heard it's name spoken before today.
"It's a special coloring of a standard Pokeball, very few were actually made as the movement was cancelled shortly after production had started." Scott explained.
"So basically it's just a fancy Pokeball without anything special about it?" Marnie asked.
"Bingo! It's still a nice collector's item though or you could even catch something with it if you'd prefer that." Scott shrugged before waving his arm. "Now how about I buy you all lunch for old time's sake?"
Ash's stomach rumbled loudly causing everyone to sweat before he let out a laugh and flashed his familiar smile. "Sounds like a great idea to me!"
"Pika pi!"
"Obstagoon!" Zach immediately shot awake after what felt like hours later but the presence of a Servine seemed to tell him he was out longer than that. He could only assume that Ash had battled somebody with her and she evolved during that time. He soon saw the bed next to him where Obstagoon was placed, the badger's breathing was slow but he was alive.
"Your Obstagoon will be fine," The ship's Nurse Joy stated before pushing him back down. "He just needs rest... a lot of rest, he summoned up a lot of power and overexerted himself by forcing an evolution on top of serious injuries. He won't be in any condition to battle for a few months."
"A few months?!" Zach gazed towards his Pokemon with visible sadness in his eyes. He had hoped that Obstagoon and him could finally grow a proper bond and work as a team now that the badger viewed things differently. Obstagoon weakly turned his head with a look full of sorrow, letting his trainer know that he was sorry for what he'd done and hoping that he'd forgive him. "Obstagoon... is he fit for travel at least?"
"I'm afraid not, he'll need plenty of bed rest for a few weeks. Frankly he's lucky, most Pokemon don't even survive that. Do you got anywhere he can stay? We can provide room at the next Pokemon Center if not." She offered.
"Obstagoon..." It wasn't fair, a week ago he lost Butterfree and now Obstagoon wouldn't be fit for travel for who knows how long? "Maybe I should just quit... we'll try next year's Galar League, we'll go back to Wedgehurst together."
"Obstagoon wouldn't want that," Ash spoke up. "You two worked really hard to get where you are, it wouldn't be fair to either of you to give up on your dream. Obstagoon will be fighting with you again once he gets better and I'm sure the two of you will beat the Galar League together!"
"Pika pi!" Pikachu nodded, if he was in Obstagoon's shoes he'd feel the same way about Ash.
"Goon!" Obstagoon shook his head, slowly reaching out with his paw to lightly grip Zach's hand as the badger gave him a warm smile.
"O-Okay, I'll continue fighting... for the both of us." Obstagoon smiled before laying his head down and closing his eyes. "And I'll visit you as much as I can, I'll miss you Obstagoon and I want you to still feel like part of the team!"
"You did what?!" Sonia had a crazed look in her eye as she shouted out causing Zach to flinch, he was currently chatting with her on the ship's videophone. "That was so foolish, you could have gotten yourself killed!"
"Well I wasn't about to let Linoone die..." Zach quietly said in response while casting a nervous look around to see if anyone was staring after her outburst.
Sonia let out a sigh as she held her hand against her forehead. "I know, you've always had this desire to protect those closest to you." Zach saw a brief vision of the wolf with the shield mane, causing him to rub his eyes and the vision disappeared as quickly as it had came. "I'm just glad you're okay, I'll happily watch over Obstagoon for you and I'll do my best to give him company but you should really think about catching more Pokemon or sending somebody along with him to keep him company. Apart from Yamper we don't have any other Pokemon here and those months are sure to drag on for the poor guy if he's lonely." Sonia's words made him stop to think. she was right he had deliberately tried sticking to a single team but it wouldn't be fair to have Obstagoon at the lab all by himself until he was ready to return to the fold.
"You're right, I should get around to catching another Pokemon or two soon. His absence leaves a hole in my team and I do feel bad about leaving him there." Zach gazed down at Obstagoon's ball as he held it within his hands, he didn't like having to say goodbye to him but he knew it was necessary in order for him to fully heal from his injuries, it was only temporary but it still felt like it'd be forever until they got to see each other again. "Take good care of him." He placed the ball on the transceiver, resulting in the ball being zapped away as it was transferred through the vast computer network and soon into Sonia's hands.
"Got him!" Sonia showed the Fast Ball to him before placing it on the table next to her. "Just in the future try to avoid legendary Pokemon if you can please! I'd be thrilled if I was able to research one but I'd be just as thrilled with you coming back here in one piece!"
"Somehow I don't think that'd be possible, legendary Pokemon seem to be drawn towards Ash wherever he does." Zach remarked with a light chuckle
Sonia giggled in response before giving him a light wave. "I'd love to talk longer but it's getting late here and I've got to help grandma after getting Obstagoon settled. Talk to you soon I hope!"
"See ya!" Zach waved back with a smile before the screen went black as they disconnected.
"So according to the captain we should only be a few days off from Glacier Island" Marnie informed as she looked down at a map of the Hoenn region. "So pretty soon you'll be fighting off against another Elite Four member, Ash!"
Ash pumped his fists as an excited expression crossed his face. "Alright, I can't wait to battle it out with Glacia! Feels like it's been forever since I've fought with an Ice specialist!"
"Pika!"
"We have to stop at a place called Big Wave Island first though," Chloe pointed out as she looked at the map.
Marnie pulled out her phone to look up information on the island. "It's named that because it has big waves... how original. A popular surfing spot and there's even been reports of a strange looking Raichu surfing the waves lately."
"A Raichu?!" Zach's interest of the island was immediately risen, sure Scorbunny had Electro Ball but he was going to need something else to even the odds in his favor in the coming battle against Nessa. A smirk quickly crossed his face. "I'm gonna try and catch it!"
"Car!" Lucario cried out in agreement, Scorbunny grabbed her trainer's leg and hid behind it though as the thought of getting wet terrified her. She hoped they wouldn't go surfing in an attempt to catch it!
"If it knows Surf I wonder if we can teach that to you." Ash turned towards Pikachu who shrugged in response but it was sure worth a try!
And Obstagoon's out of the picture for awhile, it was the only way I could justify him actually dishing out damage to Moltres at this stage. May was the one who truly defeated him however.
I always loved Hugh and wanted to add him in, plus Ash needed a rival that wasn't going to be his friend. At least not for awhile!
Three chapters remain in the Hoenn arc then we're back to Galar, after Nessa they'll be heading off somewhere new before starting the brand new arc. Hint: Shiny Pokemon simp and giant Golurk!