The Sleeping City
"Corvi!"
"Latiii!" Corviknight and Latias landed on the outskirts of Canalave City allowing for their trainers to disembark, Ash and Marnie climbed off of Latias' back while Zach got down from Corviknight before turning around to help Dawn down. Dawn gave him an appreciative look and a warm smile as he helped her off Corviknight's back. Marnie smirked at the sight before turning her attention towards Ash.
"Alright that Darkrai's around here somewhere, how about we start looking for it?"
"Sounds good to me, it was spotted around the outskirts of the city so why not start there?" Ash suggested.
"You two go on ahead, I'm going to help Zach train Ninetales and Scizor." Marnie noticed Dawn giving Zach a rather warm look as she said that. It was obvious she wanted to spend time with him and she wasn't going to get in the way of that, if he was going to move on completely from Sonia he needed to find another girlfriend and she was fairly sure that Dawn would be perfect for him!
"Yeah sure, you two go ahead and have fun!" Marnie gave Zach a light push before waving the pair off with a smile.
"Heh, good luck!" Zach cast off a light smirk before turning to head off with Dawn, leaving the two of them to find Darkrai on their own.
Ash stared off into space for a moment as he wondered how he'd find Darkrai. He didn't want to let Marnie down but he didn't have any clue how to get started, he was certainly no Tobias or Brandon as those Pokemon tended to have a habit of finding him! He could simply ask Gardevoir to read the minds of wild Pokemon but that was too intrusive. Eventually he recalled how Lucario often translated Pokemon speech for Zach, Ash couldn't outright copy them as he didn't have a Lucario of his own but he did own one Pokemon that he understood perfectly!
"Latias I choose you!"
"You called, Chosen One?" Latias questioned with a light tilt of her head as she burst from her Pokeball.
Ash uttered out a light groan as he gently pressed the palm of his hand against his face. "Please stop calling me that..."
"Sorry master, force of habit please forgive me!"
Ash chuckled as he gave off a light wave. "It's not a big deal, I'm just asking for you to stop is all. There is one other thing I'd like for you to do though,"
"You want me to find you a Darkrai, master?"
"Yes I-Hey!" Ash's face went slightly red as he realized that Latias read his mind without permission.
Latias giggled. "Sorry master, I forget you humans prefer your privacy."
"I-It's fine just don't read my friends please," Ash lightly sweated. He couldn't really blame her as Latios ensured that she had minimal contact with humans. "But yes, we'd like to track down Darkrai. There have been sightings of one around these parts and Marnie would like to challenge it to a battle!"
"Ah right, you like that Marnie girl..." Latias' tone saddened as her gaze flickered towards the ground.
Ash shot bright red as he shot Marnie a quick glance before sighing out in relief as her gaze was focused elsewhere. He then gave Latias a sympathetic look as he placed a hand atop her wing, it appeared that Latias had fallen for him just like Bayleef, Aipom and a few other female Pokemon had in the past.
Unbeknownst to Ash, Marnie glanced back as Latias said those words. A smile crept across her face as a dark red tone filled her cheeks, she said nothing though as she'd prefer hearing Ash reveal that information himself.
"So what do you say? You up for asking one of these Pokemon if they saw it and-"
"Master, nearly everything within a five mile radius is fast asleep and feeling a great amount of anxiety and stress!" Latias exclaimed with an alarmed expression.
"Hold up something ain't right, it's the middle of the freaking day." Marnie crossed her arms as she turned around. "Darkrai may feed off nightmares but he doesn't force people to go to sleep!"
"Marnie's right, I've met a few Darkrai. They can learn Hypnosis but I doubt a singular one caused the entire city to fall asleep, a few people sure but not an entire population and certainly not during the middle of the day!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
"You're right buddy, I think somebody's after Darkrai again."
"Well it makes sense if we know one's around here there's no telling who else does." Marnie commented. "Could be those Team Rocket clowns that stalk you?"
"Nah, I don't think so... it's probably somebody else which means that we need to hurry up and find Darkrai before whoever set the trap does!" Ash exclaimed while punching the palm of his hand with his fist. The people having nightmares were fine for the time being, they didn't have time to track down whatever was causing the town to sleep as the culprit could be chasing down Darkrai right that second! "Latias?"
"On it master," A red blur whisked across the field as Latias blasted off, the eon Pokemon vanished from view before returning just as fast as she'd disappeared. "According to this Bidoof, he saw a Mega Salamence chasing Darkrai out of the city a few minutes ago. If we hurry we might be able to catch up to them!"
"Well then what are we waiting for? Sounds like the perfect chance to take Gardevoir's new form out for a trial run!" Latias flashed her trainer a smirk upon hearing his response, she then lowered herself closer to the ground to allow Ash and Marnie to climb onto her back before she took off into the air. Ash threw his arms around Latias' neck for support while Marnie wrapped her arms around his chest to keep herself from flying off. Her head leaned slightly against the back of his as the red color returned to her cheeks. Morpeko hid inside Marnie's jacket while Pikachu bit Ash's hat to prevent it from flying away as he dug his feet into Ash's shoulder.
"Hold on master Ash, mistress Marnie..." Latias suddenly swooped towards the ground below before coming to a screeching halt in front of a familiar looking Mega Salamence who had his fangs sank into Darkrai's neck!
"Sala..."
Ash thought the Salamence looked familiar but he wasn't going to bother thinking where he recognized it from as now was the time to act! "Gardevoir use Moonblast!"
"Gardevoir!" Gardevoir burst from her ball and quickly fired off a pink energy sphere towards Salamence. The Mega Dragon Pokemon gasped out as the attack struck him in the chest causing him to lose his grip on Darkrai as the weakened Mythical dropped towards the ground.
"Grimmsnarl drag Darkrai out of the way!"
"Snarl!" Grimmsnarl snarled out as her burst from his ball, the demon Pokemon grabbed a hold of Darkrai's waist before hoisting the Mythical over his shoulder. "Snarl..." Grimmsnarl gave Mega Salamence a glare before quickly racing off the field as Ash reached for his Mega Ring.
"Thanks Marnie, now Gardevoir let's show this Salamence what true power looks like with Mega Evolution!"
"Gardevoir!"
"Crikey!" Pokemon Hunter R exclaimed as he stepped out from behind Mega Salamence. "You actually caught that beauty?"
"Voir..." Mega Gardevoir's expression turned fierce as she realized who exactly Salamence belonged to.
"You again?!"
"Pika pi?!"
"A-Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Marnie questioned.
"Snarl..." Grimmsnarl cracked his knuckles as he cast the Pokemon Hunter a threatening look.
"Please it'll take more than a bit of water to take me out," Pokemon Hunter R dismissed them with a wave of his hand as his gaze fixated upon Gardevoir. "I must say it's mighty kind of you to bring her back to me, somebody was willing to pay big bucks for her. Darkrai will fetch me a pretty price on his own but she's worth four of him!"
"Gardevoir!"
Ash placed his hand upon his Mega Pokemon's shoulder as she angrily shouted out. "Relax Gardevoir, I won't let him touch you!"
"So it was you who made the city go to sleep!" Marnie exclaimed.
"Eh? Partly true, I had a bit of help as some poacher was hoping to harvest Cresselia's feathers. I don't typically work with poachers but they had the money while I had the brains, but I won't need to work with them again once I get that Gardevoir and Darkrai to my clients!"
"Cresselia?" Ash clenched his fists as he realized that Darkrai wasn't the only one in danger after all! He could only hope that the others were dealing with that issue. He shot Pokemon Hunter R a harsh glare as he extended his arm. "Alright Gardevoir use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Garde!" The rainbow sphere formed around her body as she uttered out a fierce cry before throwing herself at the Mega Salamence, she certainly wasn't holding back and Ash couldn't help but feel as if Gardevoir knew what the mysterious client wanted with her and something told him that he didn't want to know. Thankfully Gardevoir's personality wasn't anything like Latias' so she wouldn't be sharing that knowledge!
Salamence grunted out as Gardevoir slammed herself against him, his world went dark for a quick second before his vision swiftly returned to him. Salamence shook his head and snarled as he shot her a harsh glare.
"Crikey such power! And to think we best her with a singular attack the previous times we met!" Pokemon Hunter R exclaimed, his eyes remained hidden behind his visor but it was clear the man was in shock!
"Gardevoir's no pushover, we've been training together ever since she joined my team and she's quickly become one of my strongest Pokemon!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hey master don't forget about me!" Latias spoke up from behind him.
Ash let out a light chuckle. "Don't worry, I'd never forget about you! You're pretty strong too!"
"Strongest? Well we'll see how she reacts to this, Flamethrower!"
"Sala!" Salamence opened his mouth and unleashed a powerful steady stream of fire upon his opponent!
"Protect!"
"Voir!" Mega Gardevoir raised up her arms as a protective blue barrier formed around her, the flames struck the barrier and bounced right off leaving her unharmed!
"She didn't know that before!" Pokemon Hunter R gritted his teeth as Salamence uttered out a growl of annoyance.
"Sala..."
"Gardevoir's full of surprises, finish them with Psychic!"
"Garde..." Gardevoir's eyes glowed bright blue as a similar blue glow surrounded Salamence, hoisting the Mega Evolved dragon off the ground before throwing him towards his master!
"Gah!" Pokemon Hunter R grunted out as Mega Salamence came crashing down on top of him, knocking the man out cold as his head slammed against the ground! A bright pink glow enveloped Mega Salamence's body as he reverted to his normal appearance, swirls formed within his eyes as he laid in defeat atop his trainer.
"Way to go Gardevoir, you were amazing!"
"Gardevoir..." Mega Gardevoir flashed her trainer an appreciative smile while Marnie began tending to the injured Darkrai, she stuffed a Sitrus berry into his mouth which the Dark type mythical promptly swallowed as she began spraying his injuries with a Max Potion.
"R-Rai..." Darkrai's eyes slowly opened allowing him to take in the surprising sight before him. The Pokemon Hunter who'd been pursuing him mere moments ago laid in defeat while one of his apparent saviors was tending to his injuries! Marnie's gaze soon turned to his as she examined the rest of his body, she tensed up for a brief moment before offering Darkrai a warm and silent smile as their eyes met. Darkrai flashed her a brief smirk before giving her a respectful nod, silently thanking her and allowing her to continue tending to his wounds.
"You're quite welcome..."
"Alright Scizor, Ninetales I think that's enough for now."
"Scizor."
"Nine!" The two Pokemon backed off from Togekiss and Mamoswine, their sparing partners for the training session. Ninetales offered the opposing side a friendly smile and seemed appreciative of their assistance while Scizor gazed on with a serious expression.
Zach and Dawn made it to the training field without coming across a single person but didn't pay much mind to it at the time as their minds were focused elsewhere. "You all were great out there but it's time we stopped and refuel your energy with some food!"
"Nine!"
"Ace!" Ninetales and Cinderace excitedly cried out.
"Scizor..." Scizor crossed his arms as he shot Mamoswine a glare which the mammoth Pokemon was quick to return with one of his own.
"Mamo..."
Zach cast a cautious look towards Scizor as Dawn began setting up food bowls for the Pokemon. Thankfully Scizor merely appeared to be battle hungry rather than disobedient as once the food was prepared he made his way over and began eating with the others without fuss! Dawn blushed lightly as she brushed her hair aside, the two of them were alone and she never felt as much excitement as she currently felt. She was crushing on Zach yes but was it possible she'd already fallen for him?
Zach didn't notice her looking at him as he was making sure his Pokemon all got along fine as this was Obstagoon's first day back with the group, the large badger hastily scarfed down his food but seemed much more mellow compared to how he behaved prior to the Moltres incident as he didn't attempt to steal anyone's food and even stepped in to prevent a fight breaking out between Cinderace and Scizor as the armored bug had caught her taking food from somebody else's bowl!
"Ace ace!"
"Scizor!" The two Pokemon glared into each other's eyes as they stared each other down.
"Obstagoon!" Obstagoon snarled out as he forced his way between them, his hands pressed against their chests as he pushed them away from each other while Ninetales and Porygon 2 continued eating their own food undisturbed. "Goon Obstagoon?"
"Scizor!" Scizor pointed towards the food dish which strangely had nobody sitting next to it.
"Ace ace!" Cinderace hastily pointed towards Lucario before tapping her chest with a boastful expression. "Cinderace ace ace!"
"Huh?" Zach turned to look towards his best friend, he hadn't noticed he wasn't sitting with the others as his attention had been unusually focused upon Obstagoon. He was quick to notice Lucario's focused expression as the jackal stared off into the distance. "Lucario what's up?"
"Car..."
"You sense trouble? I-It's not Ash and Marnie is it?" Zach anxiously asked. He'd have felt terrible if something happened to them and he wasn't there to help stop it!
Lucario swiftly shook his head before pointing towards the direction he'd been staring at as he uttered out another growl. "Lucar..."
Zach went silent as Lucario explained what he felt before forming a serious expression as he swiftly returned Porygon, Ninetales, Obstagoon and Scizor to their Pokeballs without a word. "Alright Lucario, lead on!"
"Carrr!"
"Ace!" Cinderace eagerly grabbed a food dish before racing after the two of them. "Ace ace Cinderace!"
"Where is he going...?" Dawn questioned to herself as she watched him suddenly rush off.
"Pip Piplup!"
"Of course we're going to follow him Piplup."
Zach and Cinderace rushed after Lucario who swiftly guided them through the city as he locked onto the aura trail belonging to the periled Pokemon. As they rushed through the city Zach began taking notice of several people slumped against the sidewalk and entrances to stores, fast asleep from the look of things and what was most strange was those were the only people they came across! "Weird it's as if the whole city is fast asleep..."
"Ace!" Cinderace licked her lips as she saw a pretzel vendor cart unattended, the steaming pretzels just sitting there and begging to be stolen! "Ace Ace!"
"What?! No! Now's not the time for that, I promise I'll buy you one after we find out what's going on!" Zach grabbed a hold of Cinderace's paw as he continued following Lucario's trail. Lucario continued guiding them through the city before coming to a halt as they stood in front of a fairly large machine that had a Hypno wired up to it.
"Hypno, Hypno..." Hypno waved his pendulum back and forth as he chanted into microphone.
Zach's eyes flickered about the machine as he slowly began piecing it together. "So this machine is causing everyone to fall asleep? But why...? Why would somebody do that?"
"Because I want to turn Cresselia into a feathery coat!" A feminine voice exclaimed from behind him. Zach and the Pokemon turned to see an older woman that wore a black leather jacket and although they'd just met her there was something familiar about her. Zach tilted his head lightly as he wondered why that was, she certainly wasn't his mother as she didn't look old enough and her skin was naturally tanned while his was light colored. The sight of a caged Pokemon was quick to catch his attention and regain his focus, he'd never seen the Pokemon before but based on it's crescent moon shaped head he had a pretty good idea that it was Cresselia. The Pokemon shivered from within the cage and cast him a frightened pleading look. "It is strange how you weren't infected though... by chance are you an insomniac?"
"Yep, well sometimes!"
"Well I guess that explains it," The poacher rolled her eyes. "Look kid I'm not in the mood to fight you so why don't you run off to your girlfriend or whatever and give them some attention? I've got a Pokemon to slice and dice!"
"Yeah that ain't happening, nobody rather it be a Pokemon or a human is going to die on my watch!" Zach narrowed his eyes while Lucario and Cinderace were quick to get into a battle stance.
"You're gonna regret this kid, Alakazam let's destroy him with Mega Evolution!" The poacher reached into her pocket before tossing a Pokeball up into the air. The ball burst open to reveal a Alakazam which promptly got into a battling stance before a pink glow surrounded his body.
"Oh that ain't good..." Zach muttered as sweat began pouring down his forehead. Another pink glow appeared out of the corner of his eye and caught his attention as a sense of relief flowed through him. "Thank Arceus, maybe Dawn's caught up to us."
"META!" A Mega Metagross came flying into view!
"Not Dawn, not Dawn!"
"Car..." Lucario growled out.
"Ace!" Cinderace matched her trainer's state of alarm.
"Oi kid, how come we keep crossing paths?" Pokemon Hunter A scowled beneath his parka as he came into view. "I'm not about to let out chase me away from Cresselia, her feathers would fetch me a good mine once I create something fabulous for my client! And you better think twice about attacking me, you see Drapion found your girlfriend and we've caught her!" He pointed towards Drapion as the large scorpion stepped into view, his tail wrapped tightly around Dawn and Piplup who were now fast asleep, his pincer pressed dangerously close to their necks!
"Dawn, Piplup!" Zach's expression turned to that of horror as his heart started racing, rage started swelling inside of him but he kept that emotion in check as he didn't want Dawn to get hurt. He couldn't live with himself if that happened!
"Get in line brother, I was here first!" The fellow poacher glared at her brother.
"Brother?! I knew you looked familiar!"
"Yes, we're related..." Poacher A let out a sigh of annoyance as he shot his sister a glare. "Br-I mean B here is a whole minute older than me and never lets me hear the end of it!"
"Not my fault you were too slow coming out brother, if you were faster then you could make jokes at my expense!" B teased while sticking her tongue out in a childish manner.
Pokemon Hunter A's eyes twitched as his hands began clenching shut. "You b-"
Zach's gaze flicked between the two siblings as they began angrily shouting at one another and seemingly forgetting about his presence! He shot a cautious look towards Drapion and Dawn as she and Piplup remained within the scorpion Pokemon's grasp. If he had a Ghost type then setting her free would be incredibly easy but unfortunately that wasn't the case! His gaze returned to the arguing poachers as they continued shouting out.
"You know, I don't think Metagross is strong enough to fight Alakazam on his own. Why don't you use Drapion and double team her?" Zach spoke out as he hoped the poacher would forget he even had Dawn trapped!
"Heh, I'll show her I don't even need a Mega to beat her!" A threw his arm forward. "Drapion use Night Slash!" Drapion's grip on Dawn loosened as the scorpion threw her aside, Zach quickly dove beneath her to break her fall while Cinderace leaped into the air to grab hold of Piplup. Drapion's tail glowed a black-purple color as he slashed at Alakazam, the Mega Pokemon teleported away causing Drapion to slash at the machine instead! The machine promptly exploded upon impact causing Hypno and Drapion to fall unconscious as the two Pokemon were trapped within the blast!
"Look what you did you idiot, now his girlfriend's going to wake up and I'll have to deal with both of them!" B angrily shouted. "You never should have brought her here!"
Dawn's eyes slowly opened as she landed atop of Zach, a deep blush quickly formed across her cheeks as her head pressed up against his neck. She quickly closed her eyes as she pretended to still be asleep, feeling the situation too awkward to confront him with at the current time. Zach gently rolled Dawn off of him before standing up to carry her out of the way, her eye briefly opened as her cheeks turned a darker shade of red while a large smile formed across her face. Zach set her down and quickly turned his attention back to the arguing siblings as they shouted at one another.
"Yeah well it's your fault for existing, we wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't exist!" A angrily shouted.
"Why you-"
"I hate you!"
"I hate you more!"
"I hate you times infinity!" A and B snarled at each other as Mega Metagross and Mega Alakazam clashed with one another.
Zach tossed four Pokeballs into the air as he released the rest of his team, he shot the sleeping Dawn a quick look before giving A and B a harsh look. Normally he wouldn't do something like this but it wasn't a real battle and they threatened Dawn, could have killed her too! The kid gloves were off.
"Lucario use Aura Sphere, Cinderace use Pyro Ball! Scizor use Hyper Beam, Porygon use Tri Attack! Ninetales use Blizzard, Obstagoon finish with Cross Chop!"
"Nine!" Ninetales cried out as a fierce blizzard blew across the field, freezing the two Mega Pokemon and the poachers in a block of ice! Scizor then took aim at the frozen Alakazam and fired off an orange-yellow beam of energy while Cinderace began kicking a fire ball back and forth before sending it flying towards Metagross! Porygon fired another beam of ice towards Mega Metagross as the Mega was thawed out by Cinderace's attack, freezing the Mega once more before he was promptly struck by an electrical blast and a flamethrower! Lucario fired an Aura Sphere towards Alakazam while Obstagoon charged forward with his arms crossed in an x-formation, the badger struck out and sent the frozen Metagross flying towards Alakazam! The ice shattered as the two Megas collided head first against each other before swirls promptly filled their eyes as a bright pink light engulfed them, returning them to their basic forms as the two poachers turned towards Zach with a look of shock, ice remained within their hair as their bodies lightly shivered.
"T-That kid is stronger than I thought..." B muttered.
"N-No fair kid, you needed your entire team t-to beat me..." A shivered.
"Yeah well you shouldn't have threatened Dawn!" Zach growled out. "If you want to threaten or hurt me, that's fine but leave my friends and loved ones out of it!"
"Ace!"
"Car." Lucario and Cinderace chimed in.
"Scizor." Scizor pointed his pincers at the poachers in a threatening manner.
"Goon!" Obstagoon crossed his arms as he stared the two sibling poachers down. The two poachers sweated as A began hastily bowing in an apologetic fashion.
"Y-Yeah sure kid, I'll leave your girlfriend out of our next conflict I promise!"
"What he said," B honestly didn't expect to see Zach again so she had no problem agreeing before uttering out a light gasp as her hands were suddenly pinned behind her back before a pair of handcuffs slapped her wrists together.
"You're under arrest for threatening the peace and poaching!"
"Ha!" Pokemon Hunter A laughed as he saw Officer Jenny handcuff his sister, a male cop raced forward in an attempt to tackle him but the poacher quickly dove out of the way before making a break for it! "Enjoy jail sis!"
"After him!" Officer Jenny shouted out.
"Growl!"
"Arca!" Growlithe and Arcanine raced after him.
"Gah, you better watch out bro cause once I get out I'm coming for you!" B howled out as she was escorted towards a waiting squad car, Pokemon Hunter R could be seen passed out in the back as Jenny picked him up a few minutes prior to arriving.
Dawn's cheeks burned brightly as she shot Zach a silent look of affection. Her endangerment made him snap like that? She must be special to him! Zach shot her a quick look and smiled at her upon seeing she was awake, his gaze didn't linger on her for long though as he quickly rushed towards the caged Cresselia. "Obstagoon rip the bars off this cage!"
"GOON!" Obstagoon happily obliged as he grabbed hold of the bars before giving them a good pull, yanking them right out bringing the roof of the cage along with them! "Obstagoon!"
"C-Cresselia..." Cresselia flashed the pair an appreciative look as a weakened smile formed across her face.
"Keep calm Cresselia, we'll heal you right up!" Zach reached back into his bag and quickly retrieved a Full Restore before spraying it across Cresselia's injuries, the Legendary Pokemon gritted her teeth as she flinched but she remained where she was as she trusted her savior. If he had any ill intentions then he'd have already done them.
"C-Cress..." Cresselia let out a sigh of relief as he finished before looking up as she heard footsteps walking away from her. Cresselia's eyes drooped lightly as she spoke out with a saddened tone. "Cress..."
"You're awake, great!"
"Thanks to you," Dawn spoke with a light smirk before going silent as their eyes locked with one another. A heavy blush formed across their cheeks as they gave each other an awkward smile. Neither said a word to each other until Scizor ruined the moment by angrily shouting out, fetching his trainer's attention as he wondered what upset Scizor this time. Scizor aimed his pincers at Cresselia and cast her a challenging look as she stood a few feet away from them.
"Scizor..." Scizor narrowed his eyes as he gave her a challenging look.
"C-Cress..." Cresselia looked away with a timid expression.
"Scizor!" Zach groaned out before leaping in the Bug type's way as he prepared to strike with Bullet Punch! Scizor immediately halted his attack upon his trainer getting in the way.
"Zor?"
"Sorry Scizor but I can't let you fight her, she's too injured!"
"Scizor!" Scizor huffed out as he crossed his arms.
"Heh, I promise I'll find you an opponent soon!"
"Scizor..." Scizor cast his trainer a light smirk.
"Cresselia why are you here? You're free, the poachers are either in jail or a long way from here by now you don't have to worry about them! Go be free!" Zach waved his hands as he motioned towards the distance.
Cresselia shook her head as her gazed fixated upon Zach causing him to begin nervously sweating. "Lucario please tell me she doesn't want what I think she wants."
"Car."
Zach swore beneath his breath before locking eyes with Cresselia. "Cresselia look, I think you're an amazing looking Pokemon but I don't think I'm ready for the responsibility of owning a Legendary Pokemon. Heck I don't think I deserve to own one..." Zach shot a quick glance towards Dawn. "But if you want to join somebody... why not Dawn? She's amazing-I mean she's a good friend and I know for a fact that she'd take good care of you! I-I'm sure that your attacks will suit her performances quite nicely too!"
"Cress..." Cresselia smirked from amusement as she gave Dawn a quick look before giving Zach a nod of approval. "Cress!"
"Wait w-what?!" Dawn's cheeks turned bright red. Did he really just turn down the opportunity to own a Legendary so she could have it?!
"Cress!" Cresselia nudged her head against her shoulder causing Dawn to laugh out.
"Alright alright, I'll capture you!" Dawn smiled at Cresselia as she reached for an empty Pokeball before gently tapping it against her head. The Legendary Pokemon disappeared in a beam of red light and the Pokeball began shaking within the palm of Dawn's hand before chiming out to signal the capture!
"Cresselia the Lunar Pokemon, those who sleep holding Cresselia's feather are assured of joyful dreams. It is said to represent the crescent moon!"
Dawn gave Zach an appreciative look before shooting Cresselia a quick glance. Cresselia gave an approving nod shortly before Dawn plucked out one of her feathers, Dawn smiled before making her approach towards Zach where she was quick to throw her arms around him, pulling him in for a tight hug as she gently placed the lunar wing within his hand. "Thank you so much... for saving me and this!"
"Y-You're quite welcome, Dawn..." The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment as Dawn closed his hand around the feather.
"Keep the feather with you, that way you can think of me whenever you look at it..."
"I don't need the feather for that, I'm always thinking about you!" Dawn rolled her eyes lightly at his response before planting a kiss upon his cheek. His face turned a bright red color as a goofy grin formed across it.
"Pip Piplup!" Piplup tapped his chest and cast Lucario a boastful expression while the jackal grumbled out and handed him a chocolate bar.
"Now how about we get back to the others? I'm sure they're missing us!"
"Rai.." Darkrai rose to his feet as he fully healed from his injuries shortly after Officer Jenny arrived to arrest Pokemon Hunter R.
Marnie was busy looking at her Rotom Phone as she received a text message. "It's Zach, he says they're coming back."
"Well then sounds like you'd better get ready to battle, look whose up!" Ash excitedly exclaimed while pointing towards Darkrai whose gaze was fixated firmly upon Marnie. Despite Ash being the one to rescue him his attention remained upon the one that helped him recover from his injuries as he sensed a kindred spirit within her.
"Hey you, you're finally awake!" Marnie offered Darkrai a kind smile as the Dark type began making his approach. "Look I know you just went through a whole ordeal but it'd mean a lot to me if you were to have a Pokemon battle with me, what do you say?" If Darkrai said no then she'd back off and try again with a different Darkrai, she wasn't going to be pushy about it. There was more than just one Darkrai out there after all!
"Rai!" Darkrai nodded his head in acceptance to her challenge causing a smirk to form upon Marnie's lips. Ash and Pikachu formed a smile of their own as they began backing up to make room for the battle. Marnie reached for a Dusk Ball before hurling it into the air. "Grimmsnarl I need your assistance once more!"
"Snarl!" Grimmsnarl snarled out as he burst back out from the ball.
"Rai!" Darkrai didn't waste anytime on getting started as a dark energy pulse formed between his hands shortly before it was fired upon Grimmsnarl, striking the demon Pokemon directly in the chest! Grimmsnarl held where the attack struck and uttered out a pained growl.
Marnie let out a surprised gasp, she wasn't expecting it to be easy but Grimmsnarl was one of her strongest Pokemon and Darkrai just dealt him a significant blow! Marnie quickly shook her head as she regained focus. "Crush his spirits with Spirit Break!"
"Snarl!" Grimmsnarl lunged forward and lashed out with immense force as he grabbed hold of Darkrai, he quickly slammed the Dark type Mythical against the ground before releasing him solely so he could leap up and deliver a harsh body slam against his backside! Darkrai's eyes widened as the breath was knocked out of him. He was quick to spring back to his feet as a crimson and black ball of energy formed between his hands.
Ash recognized the attack but he didn't call it out as he expected Marnie to already be in the know.
"Dark Void!" Marnie clenched her fists for a moment as she feigned frustration before flashing Darkrai a sly smirk. "Uproar."
"Grimmsnarl!" Grimmsnarl beat his hands against his chest as he roared out before lashing out in an uproar!
"Heh, clever girl." Ash smirked at the sight of Marnie's strategy.
Darkrai uttered out a huff of annoyance as electricity crackled around his body, the dark type quickly lashed out and gave Grimmsnarl quite the electrical shock the next time the demon Pokemon lashed out at him! Grimmsnarl uttered out a pained growl as electricity surged through his veins, he momentarily dropped to a knee before swiftly recovering as he got back to his feet.
"Snarl!"
"Alright Grimmsnarl use Play Rough!"
"Snarl!" Grimmsnarl leaped into the air and lunged towards Darkrai shortly before a cloud of dust covered the two as slapping noises and strikes could be heard as Grimmsnarl's fists and Darkrai's legs stuck out as the two Pokemon rolled about before the Dark type Mythical was thrown out of the mess! Darkrai flew through the air before landing in a slump before Marnie.
"Alright, now let's try a Dusk Ball!" Marnie smirked as she shot a glance towards the orange sky as the sun began to set. There were certainly advantages to waiting on challenging him to a fight, made it easier to catch him! She grabbed hold of an empty Dusk Ball before tossing it across the clearing, the ball whisked through the air before opening up as it sucked Darkrai into it. The ball began shaking back and forth before breaking open as Darkrai burst out!
The Dark type's body crackled with electricity as gave Grimmsnarl another electrical shock! Grimmsnarl gritted his teeth as the electricity flowed through his veins, he felt himself tiring out but he refused to let Marnie down! "Now strike him with Hammer Arm!"
"Snarl!" Grimmsnarl's fist became engulfed in a bright blue glow as he pulled it back before striking out at Darkrai as he lunged forward, striking the Dark type Mythical in the chest and knocking the air right out of him! Darkrai's eyes widened as he gasped out before dropping to his side as swirls began to fill his eyes.
"Alright we did it!" Marnie excitedly exclaimed before letting out a laugh as Grimmsnarl pulled her into his arms and spun her around!
"Snarl!"
"Heh, l-let me down you big oaf! I've still got ta catch him!"
"Snarl!" Grimmsnarl quickly released her as Marnie reached into her bag for another Dusk Ball.
"Alright now this one has to work," Marnie closed her eyes as she silently prayed before pulling back her arm as she gave the Dusk Ball a good hurl! The ball flew towards the downed Darkrai before opening up to absorb the Mythical Pokemon, the ball closed up and dropped to the ground before it began shaking back and forth. Marnie closed her eyes and clenched her fists as she couldn't bear to watch while Ash silently watched on with anticipation as he hoped that she'd succeed in capturing Darkrai. After what felt like an eternity the ball chimed out to signal the capture before the ball whisked away in a beam of white light as it was transported to wherever it was that Marnie kept her Pokemon, Ash really ought to ask her that sometime.
"Oh wow, Marnie caught a Mythical!" The female Team Yell grunt gasped out.
"I knew she could do it, Marnie's the best!" The male Team Yell grunt exclaimed as hearts filled his eyes.
Marnie sweated as the two revealed their presence. 'How do they keep finding us?'
"Go Marnie!" The two eagerly shouted as they leaped into the air.
"Congrats Marnie, that was an amazing battle and I'm sure Darkrai will love being part of your team!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
Marnie flashed the two an appreciative look. "Thanks you two, I'm not sure how he feels about it but I can't wait to get to know him!"
"Snarl!"
"Morpek!"
"So you actually caught Darkrai?! That's awesome." Zach exclaimed with a smile before his attention was diverted by the arrival of a Corviknight. At first he thought that perhaps his had flown back from the lab in Galar before realizing how absurd that was as he sent him there a few hours ago, there was no way Corviknight could have gotten across the ocean in that time! A letter was tied to the Corviknight's left leg revealing that it was one of Galar's many messenger Corviknight! He tilted his head lightly as he wondered who in the world was messaging him this way as anyone that cared knew his number.
"Yeah, he sure gave me and Grimmsnarl a run for our money too!" Marnie laughed out. "He almost beat us!"
"But Marnie did it!"
"Yeah, Marnie can do anything!" The two Team Yell grunts chanted out.
"Oh will you two go home already?!" Marnie shouted out while shooting them a look of annoyance.
"Home?" Ash tilted his head at Marnie's choice of words. He wondered what she meant by that.
Dawn meanwhile peered over Zach's shoulder as he read the letter, a scowl quickly formed as she read it herself. "Whose Chloe and why did she sign her name with a smile?" Dawn couldn't help but growl out in a jealous tone. The two weren't together yet so she felt a bit threatened.
"Huh? O-Oh Chloe and I aren't-We aren't a thing!" Zach quickly laughed it off before flashing Dawn a reassuring smile. Dawn smiled back as she sensed the sincerity in his words but she wasn't completely at ease about it, little did she know she was worried about the wrong girl! "I'll even read it aloud to show you, 'Hello Zach, I'm sorry to write you like this but I dropped my Rotom Phone and a Carkol rolled over it, crushing it! I haven't had the time to get a new one yet but when I do I fear it'll be too late to ask you, could you come back to Galar and help me out with a fossil expedition? I'd like to dig up some fossils but I'm afraid I don't have much experience doing so and trying something new is so much easier when you have a friend to try it with, signed Chloe... with a smiley face.'" Zach sweated lightly before turning to face Dawn. "See? You've got nothing to worry about!"
"Well it sounds like we should go and help her out," Marnie spoke. Chloe was a nice girl and she didn't want to leave her hanging like that, if she wanted Zach's help then she'd receive it!
"Yeah, we can head back to Galar as soon as I beat the Battle Factory!" Ash excitedly exclaimed while shooting a glance towards the towering building that stood in Canalave City's factory district. "Just you wait Frontier Brain number two, I'll beat you and earn the symbol!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
A certain canon capture will be joining Ash's team within the next few chapters ;)