Noble Crisis, Frenzied Arcanine!

"I know Adaman will come if trouble arises in the Highlands but what of the Coastlands? Aren't they your territory?" A few weeks passed since Zach defeated Avalugg and there hadn't been any signs of a frenzied Pokemon in the remaining two lands as of yet.

"Zora!" Zorua let out a light yawn while laying in his trainer's lap, his tail wagged lightly as his ear was scratched. "Zora..."

"Our territory," Irida offered her friend a warm smile. "You're part of Pearl Clan now. And yes, we are in charge of the Coastlands noble but..." Irida gazed towards her feet as a frown became visible. "He passed a few years ago."

Zach twitched but Irida's saddened tone prevented him from lashing out at her. "W-Well if there's no noble then how are we supposed to close the space-time rift?"

Irida looked towards him with a guilt ridden expression. There was a part of her that wanted to keep quiet about it, fearing that once the crisis was over he'd head back to wherever it was he came from and leave her behind. She was silent for a moment before speaking up. "I-It's not my fault, a-at least not directly. The warden there is the daughter of the previous one who-who perished alongside the noble, she's refused to raise a successor to fill the noble's empty seat. Some around here even question her worthiness. Not me though, Palina is a good friend of mine and was in the running to become leader of Pearl Clan. We strove to surpass each other but she also taught me a great deal too."

"Well I can't say I blame her, she's probably still trying to overcome the loss of her father. It's not easy getting over the loss of a loved one, I still have nightmares about that day..." Irida frowned and placed her hand atop his shoulder while giving him a sympathetic expression. She knew that all too well given she had the cabin next to him.

"And that just might make you the perfect candidate for helping you move on, we've got to get her to raise a replacement for the noble. Once it's gotten frenzied and you help quell it, that'll leave Diamond Clan's noble as the last."

"Then the portal will close and this crisis will finally come to an end!" Zach exclaimed, more concerned with putting an end to the crisis than he was towards returning home. "I think it's best we head there immediately, more of those time distortion rifts appear as time goes on. Won't be long before something dangerous comes out of one of them!"

"Right is way, Peonia adventure awaits!" A man that greatly resembled Chairman Rose could be seen hiking up a mountainside while a young girl climbed after him with a bored expression, her outfit didn't look suitable for adventure at all as it honestly resembled a school uniform. Her skin was a similar tone to her father and her eyes matched though it appeared she had her mother's hair as blonde hair sat atop her head with parts of it dyed pink.

"Whatever you say, dad." Peonia rolled her eyes. She'd much prefer battling over embarking on these silly adventures.

Peony soon reached the top of the mountain and let out a gasp of amazement as his eyes took in the sight of an usual colored Moltres. It's appearance was rather nightmarish and could possibly scar young children. Sharp black tons were visible on it's feet while fierce black and scarlet flames were visible all across it's body! It's color scheme matched it's flames while a sharp red curved beak was visible before it's piercing blue eyes!

"TRES!"

"Incredible, a Galarian Moltres! I knew the legends were true, I've got to get a pict-What the hell?" The man could only freeze in place, fear visible within the former champion's eyes as a large purple rift suddenly formed around the Moltres causing it to disappear from sight, then just as quickly as the rift had formed it faded away leaving Peony staring at an empty mountainside as his daughter climbed up.

"Why were you so excited? Nothing's up here!" Peonia huffed while giving her dad an impatient glare.

Peony sweat dropped as he wasn't sure what to say, heck he didn't even believe it himself! Perhaps the mountain air was simply making him delirious. "I-I think we should head back down, I need to lay my head down for a bit."

"About time..." Peonia smirked as this would be the perfect opportunity to sneak off and find somebody to battle!

"Growlithe!" As Zach and Irida approached the makeshift gravesite of the former Warden, a rather unusual fluffy Growlithe turned around to bark at them. It's tail wagging as it's gaze focused upon Zach, sensing a canine Pokemon lover.

"Zora..." Zorua wagged his tail and barked back in greeting.

"Hello there, you're a rather cute Growlithe!" Zach greeted the canine with a light wave while feeling a desire to catch one for himself. He always had a fondness for canine Pokemon.

"Grow!" Growlithe panted out while the Growlithe next to it, a larger one, turned around to focus it's attention on the newcomers.

"Grow!"

"Hush now, settle down." The woman standing between them quieted her companions before turning to face Zach and Irida, revealing quite the beautiful young woman. She was a few years older than the two of them and had short mousy brown hair along with vibrant purple eyes. "Hello Irida, is this the boyfriend I keep hearing about?"

Irida's face shot bright red while a light tint of red formed on Zach's cheeks. "N-No! Zach's just a good friend!"

Palina's eyes shifted between the two. "Uh huh..." Being older she recognized the signs of love all too well, especially as she had personal experience. It didn't take much time to process that Irida viewed him as more than 'just a friend'. "I must say from all the talk, I'd honestly have expected somebody more bulky and taller and not somebody so... average looking."

"Hey, Zach's perfect the way he is!" Irida blurted out.

Palina flashed a light smirk, revealing that she'd merely baited Irida. She truly didn't care what he looked like. "I'm guessing you're here to quell our noble's frenzy? Well I'm sorry to say but we don't have a noble, the last one died quite some time ago and it's heir isn't ready yet. He deserves to have a childhood before those responsibilities are pushed onto him!"

Zach's gaze focused on the smaller of the two Growlithe as Palina spoke, watching as the Growlithe turned towards a large volcano on the distant island.

"Y-You sure about that? Irida told me that the noble lives on Firespit Island and that Growlithe is staring right at it." Zach spoke while gesturing towards the smaller Growlithe.

Paline jumped lightly as she was surprised he knew which was the noble's descendant, most assumed that it was the larger one. "Er-Yes well I-"

"If Growlithe wishes to take over then that should be his decision to make, I mean aren't we supposed to respect the noble's decisions?" Zach questioned.

Paline bit her lip as sweat began to pour down her face. "I-I..."

"And there needs to be a frenzied noble here so we can put a stop to that nonsense." Zach gestured towards a space-time distortion that opened up down on the beach which soon faded to reveal a rather stunned Slakoth. The Slakoth blinked with visible confusion before shrugging as he quickly resumed his lax state. "So far nothing's bad has come through them but who knows how long it'll be until something goes wrong, Fire types being dropped in the ocean, Ice types appearing in that volcano, or something simple as an enraged Pokemon appearing in a settlement or area populated by weaker Pokemon. We can't let this drag on!"

The two Growlithe turned to face him and let out a bark as their tails began to wag, signaling that they agreed with him.

Palina clenched her fists as she didn't want to do this to Growlithe though she had to agree with Zach, at least his intentions were more noble than the other villagers who insisted that she evolved Growlithe simply so they don't appear weaker in comparison to Diamond Clan! "Alright fine, if Growlithe truly wants this then I suppose it isn't right to deny him that right."

"Grow!"

"Alright so how does this work?" Zach turned to Irida. "Do we just take him to Firespit Island and he'll do the rest?"

"Not exactly but residing there should do him some good." Irida nodded.

"Then let's get him there, Garchomp!" The large land shark burst from his ball and towered over the group causing the larger Growlithe to whimper and edge away. "Well that's going to be a problem, one of your Growlithe don't appear to like Garchomp."

"Garrr..." Garchomp hanged his head while his trainer comfortingly pet the side of his neck.

"Don't worry about it, I have other means of getting there." Palina spoke with a casual wave of her hand before suddenly freezing up. "Though it just occurred to me that my boyf-er Iscan hasn't been able to bring Basculegion it's proper offering as of late so I'm not sure that it'll be willing to aid us."

"Proper offering..? Is the food not in season or something?" Zach questioned.

"Oh no, Iscan actually has plenty of ingredients it's just... complicated. You see, Dusclops' Dark Pulse attack helps give the food the proper edge it needs to appease Basculegion's appetite. However Iscan has always been a bit... timid when it comes to Ghost types. He used to not have too much trouble but ever since running into an alpha Dusknoir, he's been scarred and refuses to go anywhere near the Dusclops' territory!" Palina explained with a worrisome expression. "I'm honestly worried that Adaman and the others will lose their patience and strip him from his position if he keeps this up."

"I see," Zach frowned for a moment before offering a light smile. "No need to worry, I'll simply go out and catch a Dusclops! If I can introduce it to Iscan and get the two to form a bond then he'll never have to venture out there again, problem solved!" Alternatively he could seek out Dusknoir but he wanted to help and from the way it sounded, if he brought back Dusknoir then Iscan would likely have a heart attack!

"You'd really do that for him?" A light smile formed as Palina started showing signs of respect towards him. "I'd appreciate it!"

"Duskull!" Zach and Irida silently watched from the bushes as a swarm of Duskull flew past them, unlike most Pokemon the Ghost types were hostile so they kept themselves hidden to avoid conflict as they didn't want to hurt any Pokemon unless they had to.

"Clops!" After awhile of sitting around a lone Dusclops came into view, Zach and Zorua shot a quick look around before sharing a smirk.

"Alright Zorua let's strike with Bitter Malice!"

"Zora!" Zorua leaped out from the bushes and uttered an intimidating growl.

"Clops?" Dusclops quickly turned around before breaking out into laughter at the sight of Zorua. "Clops clops, Dusclops!"

"Zora..." Zorua growled out while proceeding to tackle Dusclops with spine-chilling resentment! Dusclops shivered as Zorua leaped away, appearing to have been left with frostbite! Dusknoir shivered off once more before firing off a pulse of dark-purple energy at Zorua!

"Dodge with Shadow Sneak!"

"Zora!" Zorua howled as his shadow extended across the field with the wolf pup soon disappearing into it, avoiding the attack as he resurfaced behind Dusclops where he immediately proceeded to headbutt him from behind!

"Clops..." Dusclops groaned as he fell to the ground, a swirl formed within his eye indicated that Zorua had knocked him out!

"Way to go Zorua, you were awesome out there!"

"Zora!" Zorua wagged his tail in response before leaping up onto his trainer's shoulder to give his cheek a quick lick.

"Heh," Zach let out a light laugh and gave Zorua a quick pat before tossing a ball at the downed Dusclops, the Ghost soon shrank as he was sucked into the ball which shook about a few times before crackling to indicate the capture a success! "Alright, now we can focus on helping Growlithe!"

"Zoraaaa!"

"Y-You were actually serious about that?! N-No, don't let him release it!" Palina's boyfriend, a rather bulky dark skinned individual clad in Diamond Clan robes, hastily shook his hands with an anxious expression full of fear visible upon his face.

"Come on Iscan, you can do it! Basculegion deemed you worthy of being his warden, he's a Ghost type and we've rode him together! Surely you can make friends with one more Ghost type?" Palina pleaded.

"N-No, I can't..." Iscan shivered, his eyes never leaving Dusclops' Pokeball.

"Please for me?" Palina pleaded, her hands wrapped around his while her ears stared into his. Iscan shivered as he diverted his attention to her, his demeanor calming as he looked into the eyes of his lover.

"I-I suppose... t-that I can try..."

"Dusclops!" The Ghost type cried out as he burst from the Pokeball. Iscan shivered as Dusclops silently stared at him, the two stared at each other in silence for a brief moment before Iscan summoned up enough courage to approach Dusclops. Dusclops beamed at Iscan as he approached but made no other sort of reaction. Iscan slowly reached out and gave the Ghost type a hug which Dusclops was quick to return. "Clops!"

"See? It's not so bad!" Palina smiled.

"Y-Yeah, I s-suppose not." Iscan laughed.

"I'm glad you two are getting along cause I think Dusclops' ideal home is here with you, that way you can feed Basculegion without having to venture off into the woods!" Zach exclaimed.

"Clops!" Dusclops nodded in agreement.

Iscan stared at Dusclops for a brief moment before a smile formed on his face as he reached to take Dusclops' ball. "Yes, I think I'd like tha-"

A loud yelp was heard from behind causing Zach, Irida, Palina and Iscan to quickly turn. "Oh no, not them again!" Zach groaned as the Misfortune sisters could be seen running off with the two Growlithe.

"Hahaha, we'll soon have a noble at our side!"

"People will have to respect us after that!"

"Right!" The three hopped into a boat and began hastily rowing towards the distant Firespit Island!

"Oh no, Growlithe!" Palina gasped out.

"Those thieves!" Iscan clenched his fists as he glared at them.

Zach grabbed at a ball and held onto it with a tight grip as he turned towards Irida. "I'm going after them, Garchomp!" Garchomp burst from the ball without it needing to be pressed, the alpha uttered out a loud roar that caused Iscan to cower for a brief moment.

"Ah!"

Zach quickly leaped onto the alpha Pokemon's back. "Head towards that volcano, that has to be where they're taking the Growlithe!" He wasn't going to risk intercepting them, if the Growlithe fell overboard they'd likely drown!

"Garrr!" Garchomp took off into the air and soon soared across the ocean before arriving on Firespit Island, several Magmar, Magby and even a lone Magmortar could be seen wandering about as the two scanned the ground below.

"The boat's here but I don't see them... try the volcano, they must be inside already!"

"Garrr!"

"C'mon, do something!" Charm and Coin cried while poking the two Growlithe with a stick.

"Grow!"

"Lithe!" The two Growlithe merely barked in response.

"Ugh this is pointless, neither of them are going to evolve!" Clover growled out. "I told you that we should have forced that Warden to tell us how Growlithe evolve!"

"Grow? Growlithe!"

"Grow grow!" The two Growlithe began uttering out a series of excited barks as they saw their friend descending towards the ground.

"You three again? Release those Growlithe at once!"

"Garrrr!"

"Eeeep!" Clover quickly hid behind her sisters upon spotting the fully evolved alpha.

"Oh hey, it's that kid!" Coin exclaimed before Charm nudged her arm to silence her.

"Hey kid, been awhile. We heard about your girlfriend and offer you our condolences but I'm afraid that's the most we can do, you see we're tired of not being respected like you and those Diamond and Pearl Clan Wardens but if we manage to capture a mighty noble? Then we'll be respected across the land!" Charm smirked.

Zach shot a quick look back towards Garchomp before looking back towards the three sisters. "You three really want to do this? I beat you last time and I've gotten stronger since then."

"Nope!" Clover shivered while trying to evade Garchomp's intimidating gaze.

"Shut it Clover," Coin sighed.

"If that's what it takes, let's make things more interesting this time... I bet you can't take on the three of us at once with just Garchomp helping you!"

"What?!" Clover gasped. "Please don't make me do this, he's scary! He could swallow us whole if he wanted!"

"Oh please, that kid won't kill us. He's too honorable to do so." Charm laughed. "So what do you say kid? You down?"

"If you promise to leave the Growlithe alone then yes, I have faith in Garchomp!"

"Garrr!"

"Well then let's do-"

"TRES!" A loud screech echoed throughout the volcano as a space-time rift formed above with the Galarian Moltres soon coming into view with a mighty screech!

"Ahhhhh!" Clover pointed up and screamed at the approaching Legendary.

"What the-?!" Coin nearly fell over into the lava, thankfully she managed to find balance though her foot accidentally kicked the small Growlithe right into the lava!

"Yelp!" The Growlithe whimpered as he disappeared beneath the lava.

"Sinnoh almighty..." Charm gasped while staring up at the bird. "Girls let's move out! Something tells me that bird ain't here to make friends!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Clover bolted off.

"Wait for me!" Coin raced after her sister.

"Kid you should get out of here too, it ain't worth it!" Charm growled.

Zach was frozen in place as his eyes set upon Moltres, it was an entire different entity than the one he met on Delfino Island but that didn't stop images from flashing through his head as he felt a sense of deja vu. He could see himself rushing to aid a black and white racoon Pokemon that was at the bird's mercy before later seeing himself at Moltres' mercy with the raccoon evolving into a badger to fight the fiery bird off before one final picture appeared in his brain with what appeared to be Irida crying over him as he laid unconscious in a hospital bed. Zach began shivering as he recalled the events and every bone in his body was telling him to run and get the heck out of there but he knew he'd be leaving the Growlithe at Moltres' mercy if he did that and he wasn't going to pull a stunt like that.

He clenched his fists and took in a deep breath as Moltres quickly swooped towards the ground below, a golden glow formed around him as he swooped towards the large Growlithe!

"Garchomp use Giga Impact!"

"GARRRR!" Garchomp raced across the clearing before slamming his body up against Moltres, slamming the large bird against the volcano walls which seemingly made the entire thing shake while lava bubbled up.

"Growlithe, get over here! I'll keep you safe!" Zach petted his knees as he called out to the Growlithe. The larger Growlithe looked towards him and barked before making his way over only to freeze in place as a loud howl echoed across the volcano. Zach quickly shot his attention towards the source and froze up as a large Arcanine emerged from the depths of the lava. At first it appeared like he'd have some assistance in the battle against Moltres but his heart soon sank as the golden lightning fired from the sky above, striking Arcanine before the familiar frenzied golden glow appeared around his body!

"Aroooo!"

"Well this isn't good..." Zach muttered as he found himself trapped in quite the predicament, both Moltres and Arcanine were clearly after him but also going after each other as Arcanine could be seen aiming a Hyper Beam at Moltres! He could just grab Growlithe and retreat but he'd be leaving one of the Pokemon to their doom as Moltres and Arcanine were surely fighting to the death and would only stop if one or both of them stopped breathing!

"Hey, stay calm. Check behind that rock!" It had been awhile but there was that voice again! Zach shot a quick glance towards a nearby rock before peering around it to see a basket full of balms!

"Balms?! But who put these-"

"I'll have an explanation for everything soon, just throw the balms!"

"If you say so,"

Garchomp shot a quick look towards his trainer as he heard the voice coming from his satchel. "Garr?"

Zorua however didn't hear it and merely tilted his head as he wondered what the others heard. "Zora..?"

While Arcanine was busy firing off a series of Hyper Beams at Moltres, Zach steadied his hand as he took aim at Arcanine before pulling back to throw it across the fiery volcano!

"Arooo-Ack!" Arcanine coughed as he turned right as Zach threw it, resulting in the balm going down his throat!

"Oops, sorry about that!" Zach sweated as the golden glow faded from Arcanine's body. "Luxray, Sliggoo lend Garchomp your assistance!"

"Luxray, lux lux!"

"Sliggoo!"

"Garchomp, lead Moltres towards Luxray so he can strike with Wild Charge!" He could use Discharge but he'd be putting Sliggoo in harm's way and he needed Sliggoo out as he was the only one with Water attacks!

"Sliggoo hit Arcanine with Hydro Pump!"

"Sliggoo!"

Arcanine was busy firing off another Flamethrower at the Moltres and Garchomp so he didn't notice the incoming water attack, the water soon splashed onto his rocky pelt causing an annoyed expression to form as he turned to face Sliggoo. "Aroooo!" The canine fired off a stream of fire towards Sliggoo as the slug temporarily retreated into his shell to lessen the damage.

"Garrr!"

"Lux!" Garchomp swooped towards Luxray while Moltres was hot on his trail, the bird let out a loud screech as he fired up a Hyper Beam. Luxray's cheeks fired off blue electricity shortly before he raced across the field to slam his electrified body up against Moltres! Moltres let out a pained screech as the electricity surged through him, the Hyper Beam missed Garchomp and went flying straight towards Growlithe!

"Grow!" Growlithe uttered out a frightened yelp as he froze in place.

"I got you!" Images of him laying injured on the hospital bed briefly flashed through his eyes once more as he saw the incoming attack but he managed to push himself to dive forward, knocking the large Growlithe to the ground as the energy beam whizzed above their heads and just narrowly missing them!

Irida, Iscan and Palina arrived at that moment and tensed up at the sight of the strange demonic looking bird and the frenzied Arcanine.

"Gah! What happened...?" Iscan exclaimed.

"I-I'm not sure but I think Growlithe just became a noble." Palina stated while Irida silently watched on with a fearful expression as Zach was stuck between the two powerful Pokemon!

"Almighty Sinnoh protect him..." Irida prayed.

"Garchomp use Earth Power on Arcanine!"

"GARRRR!" Garchomp raised his arms up as a large section of the ground shot up and pierced the underside of Arcanine's belly! The canine let out a yelp before growling out as rocks appeared above Moltres, Sliggoo, Luxray and Garchomp before dropping on top of them! Moltres grunted out before uttering an enraged screech as he fired a Hyper Beam at Arcanine!

"Sliggoo use Rain Dance and follow up with Water Pulse!"

"Luxray leap up and bit Moltres with Ice Fang, Garchomp use Giga Impact on Moltres!"

"Sliggoo!" A heavy downpour began raining upon the battlefield as Sliggoo fired off a large geyser of water, much larger than the previous one while his body became surrounded in a bright blue glow! His shell enhanced in size while his body became more solid though still remained his slime and gooey appearance as apart from his shell and the color of his slime, he looked like a regular Goodra! "Gooodra!"

"Aroo..." Arcanine uttered out a pained howl as the water splashed against his body, pushing him back as the canine temporarily dropped to it's knees.

"Lux!" Luxray leaped up and sank his icy fangs into Moltres' legs causing the bird to emit a pained screech as a cold sensation flowed throughout his body. Garchomp took the opening and blasted through the sky before slamming into his target and knocking him right out of the sky!

"Tres..." Moltres let out a pained groan as he fell towards Arcanine before landing on the canine's back with a loud and heavy thud that kicked up lava, dust and dirt making it impossible to see what had happened!

Crack! The golden lightning shot back up into the sky, indicating that Arcanine had been taken out causing Irida, Palina and Iscan to cheer.

"Alright!"

Zach silently stared at the dust cloud as it began to fade before uttering out a gasp as a dark pulse fired out of it! Moltres flew back into the air and let out an angry screech as he remained able to battle! The Legendary fired off another Hyper Beam and twisted his neck so he could strike Goodra, Luxray and Garchomp while appearing to be much more berserk than before!

"Bide!" Zach was quick to shout before a red aura formed around Goodra's body!

"Ray..." Luxray groaned out as he collapsed against the battlefield, Goodra grunted out but remained standing while Garchomp dropped to his knees before collapsing beside Luxray as the long battle with the legendary appeared to have worn him out!

"Garr..."

"Return!" Zach hastily returned the two to their Pokeballs while Goodra remained standing, waiting for Moltres' next attack! "Zorua you up for this? We could use your Sludge Bomb!"

"Zora!" Zorua smirked at his trainer and gave a quick nod as he leaped onto the battlefield. Zorua gazed confidently up at Moltres before hacking up a large poisonous blob that hurled through the air before making contact with Moltres' face! The legendary let out an enraged screech as a purple tint formed across his cheeks. Moltres then turned his attention towards Zorua with a look full of rage as he fired off a pulse of dark energy!

"Hide behind Goodra, he can take it!"

"Gooo!" Goodra lightly nodded in agreement.

"Zora!" Zorua quickly hid behind Goodra's body, allowing the pseudo Dragon to take the hit! Goodra uttered out a pained grunt, a tired expression formed as the red aura intensified around him. Goodra let out a shout as a massive red energy beam erupted from his throat and shot across the field before making direct contact with Moltres' stomach! The legendary uttered out one final screech before closing his eyes as he dropped towards the ground below, falling head first towards the lava!

"Alright Zorua, Goodra! You were-" Zach paused as he came to the realization that Moltres wasn't a Fire type! "Oh crud, Decidueye get out here and catch this Pokeball!"

Zach released Decidueye with his left hand while his dominant hand pulled back and fired off an empty ball towards the falling Moltres!

"Hooot!" Decidueye's eyes widened at the sight of the falling bird but he obeyed his orders without question, swooping towards the Pokeball as it absorbed Moltres before grabbing it with his talons just at the nick of time as the ball grazed the lava for a brief second! The ball visibly shook within Decidueye's talons before crackling to indicate the capture a success!

"Almighty Sinnoh, he caught that... that thing!" Iscan breathed.

"And saved Growlithe!" Palina smiled as she watched the large Growlithe join in on Zach and his Pokemon's celebration.

"We beat Moltres this time! That was way better than last time, nobody got hurt!"

"Gooodra!"

"Hooot!"

"Zora!" Zorua excitedly barked.

"Growlithe..."

"Moltres?" Irida questioned with a tilt of her head before quickly shrugging as she figured that Zach had named Moltres much like that Rei kid named Purgly out of spite after the plump feline scratched him! She then performed a light shrug before racing forward to embrace her friend as she threw her arms around him. "Praise almighty Sinnoh, I was so worried that you weren't going to make it!"

"Same here..." Zach admitted with a light chuckle while his eyes glanced towards Growlithe who was staring up at him with a rather fond expression. "But I wasn't going to just run off and let them destroy each other or Growlithe!"

"Arooo!" The noble soon rose back up from the lava before proceeding to drop a red plate in front of Zach.

"Y-You're really trusting me with this? I misplaced the last ones, we never found them!"

"Zach, that's not your fault. You were too depressed about... you know who, and Kamado kicked you out without giving you enough time to find them! Heck Kamado probably has them far as we know." Irida shrugged before taking hold of her friend's arm as she nodded towards the plate. "Just take it, Pearl Clan's noble deems you worthy and so do I!"

Zach stared at the plate for a moment before accepting it with a light bow. "Thank you Arcanine, I promise not to lose it."

"Arooo!" Arcanine howled out.

"Grooo!" Growlithe was quick to join in before shooting a longing glance towards Zach and Irida as the two began making their way out of the volcano. Palina noticed the look on Growlithe's face and turned to watch Zach as he and Irida took their leave, she really didn't want to see Growlithe go but the canine appeared to have more of an interest in Zach than he did with the volcano. Palina's eyes darted between Growlithe, Arcanine and Zach as her mind tried racing to a decision before it was too late.

"Aroo..." Arcanine approached Palina and lightly bowed it's head as if to say she should let Growlithe go with them.

"Growlithe will be okay, Zach's the strongest trainer around and he already appears to have a fondness for Growlithe. Arcanine found his place in the world, now it's his brother's turn to do so." Iscan wrapped his hand around his girlfriend's.

Palina offered him a smile and kissed his cheek before quickly turning to Growlithe. "Go get him."

"Grow?" Growlithe tilted his head before letting out an excited pant, he leaped up to give his former caretaker one final lick across the face before turning to rush after Zach and Irida who were attending to Garchomp's injuries as they prepared to head back home.

"Groooo!"

"Growlithe?" Zach turned to see the fluffy canine Pokemon racing towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"Growlithe, groooo!" Growlithe responded by nuzzling up against Zach's leg.

"Aw, I think he wants to go with you!" Irida gushed while wiping sweat off her forehead. "You should take him with you, you and canine Pokemon seem to get along fairly well!" And she wasn't wrong as Chloe's Yamper took a near instant liking to him, though perhaps that was simply due to Sonia's Yamper scent lingering on his clothes.

"Is that true, Growlithe? You want to travel with me?" Growlithe hastily nodded his head. "Just so you know, Irida and I live somewhere far away from here and it's cold, very cold! You still okay with coming with me knowing this?" Zach felt it was fair to warn Growlithe what he was getting into.

"Grooo!"

"Well okay then, welcome to the team!"

"Grooo!" Growlithe headbutted a ball that was offered to him before disappearing into the ball, it shook once within Zach's hand before crackling out to signal the capture a success!

Irida smiled for a brief moment before quickly pulling on Zach's arm as she guided him towards the waiting Garchomp. "Speaking of the cold, I'd like to get back to that please!"

Originally it was just going to be a battle with Arcanine but upon realizing that this was chapter 50, I felt I needed to do something special and given the current events I couldn't do something like have Ash meet Entei or battle former champions Alder and Diantha. Had I been thinking I'd have placed the Suicune chapter here instead... oh well!

So I decided to alter things slightly without destroying my plans, Zach was always destined to battle Galarian Moltres just not at this moment so I adjusted some things and think it came out pretty well!

Anyways gen 9 got revealed today! The region looks amazing and the Grass starter instantly won my heart, Sprigatito will most definitely be the main Pokemon of the sequel and now that we know it's going to be this year, I have officially chosen the ending of the story I'm going for! :)

Next time, Ingo and the final noble!