"Come on I feel like Lairon was really close to a breakthrough against Greta." Brendan pled.
"No, I'm not going to send my Pokémon out one after another for him to unlock a new move." Ash said. "There's a contest coming up here in town and I still need a new appeal."
"Then let us train with you." Brendan said.
"Why don't you go train with Wally?" Ash asked.
"I think he's a bit busy." Brendan said.
"Why do you keep hitting me, I'm making lunch!" Wally exclaimed at Farfetch'd.
"Just train with Farfetch'd, he could use the exercise and is a good opponent." Ash said.
"Fine." Brendan said walking off.
"Okay, so Milotic and Cyndaquil have already done appeals, and I don't really have any new moves to work with." Ash said.
"Gro! Vyle!" Grovyle said, leaping back and forth.
"What's up Grovyle?" Ash asked.
"Gro! Vyle!" Grovyle said again.
Now that Ash was in range he could see Grovyle was actually practicing Fury Cutter.
"You want to do the appeal round Grovyle?" Ash asked.
"Gro!" Grovyle said affirmatively.
"Okay then, let's get practicing." Ash said, digging into his bag. "We used these with Swablu for the Grand Festival but let's try using them as platforms to reach this." Ash said, grabbing the rings from his bag, and a rock from the ground.
Ash tossed ring after ring into the air, each going a bit higher as Grovyle barely touched them before slipping on the final one, losing balance and falling back down.
"Grovyle! Are you okay?" Ash asked.
"Gro." Grovyle said in a daze.
Over with Brendan
"Alright Lairon use Rock Tomb!"
Farfetch'd flew out of the way of the falling rocks, finally taking his focus off of Wally for a bit. As the wild duck moved, his leek spun and swapped around.
"Lairon get ready with an Iron Defense, he's coming in hot!" Brendan called out.
Farfetch'd swung his leek at Lairon, only causing the flying type to flip over its opponent.
"Use Iron Tail!"
Lairon spun around, swatting Farfetch'd away with ease.
"Strange, I could have sworn you were ready for something big." Brendan said in confusion.
Back with Ash
"Are you sure Grovyle?" Ash asked.
"Gro!" Grovyle said, finally standing back up.
"Okay, let's try this again. And up we go!" Ash said, tossing the rings.
As Grovyle leapt, it seemed there were multiple of him, this time failing as soon as he hit the first ring.
"I think Grovyle is using a new move but can't do it with the rings." Brendan said, walking over.
"I said I'm not up for battle training." Ash said.
"Not entirely why I'm here." Brendan said. "Lairon needs a tougher opponent, and Grovyle needs more ground for that."
"Gro!" Grovyle said, taking an offensive stance.
"Man, I just can't get you today." Ash said in disbelief. "Alright Brendan, let's do this! Grovyle use Double Team!"
Grovyle rushed forward as another Grovyle appeared on either side of him, all three rushing towards Lairon.
"Lairon use Iron Tail!"
Lairon swept himself around, dispersing the two clones as Grovyle leapt over him.
"Grovyle use Leaf Blade!"
"Lairon use Iron Defense!"
Grovyle sliced down Lairon's back, as the armor plating shimmered.
"Grovyle use Dig!"
"Lairon don't let him get away use Rock Tomb!"
Lairon slammed his front legs on the ground but it was too late as Grovyle had already disappeared.
"Face it when it comes to speed, you can't match Grovyle." Ash taunted.
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu said angrily.
"Okay you can beat him." Ash said.
"So could my Arcanine, Swellow, and Raticate. Also your Tauros probably could." Brendan listed off.
"Not helping." Ash countered.
"Wasn't trying to." Brendan said, looking around the battlefield for any sign of Grovyle. "Come on where are you?"
"Grovyle now come up and use Leaf Blade!"
Grovyle launched out of the ground directly beneath Lairon, sending the heavier Pokemon into the air from the super effective damage.
"I'd run if I were Grovyle." Brendan said, as he saw a shadow beginning to drop.
"THAT'S NOT LAIRON! GROVYLE GET OUT OF THERE!" Ash shouted.
'NO TIME!' The Primal Force said, shooting out an aura tendril and pulling Grovyle out of the way of the impact.
'Aggron, the Iron Armor Pokemon, a Steel and Rock type. While seeking iron for food, it digs tunnels by breaking through bedrock with its steel horns.' Brendan's Pokedex said as the dust cleared.
"Okay, as cool as that is, we need to talk about the fact that your powers are being used. I thought you said you couldn't use them?" Brendan asked, only to see Ash wincing.
"I can't, not exactly." Ash said. "Wally should hear this too."
Back at their campsite
"Okay Ash, we're listening, how did you use your power?" Brendan asked.
"I didn't. When I merged with the Red Orb, something was left behind." Ash said.
"Yeah, you said it was poisoning your aura." Brendan said. "And that you couldn't use it until you found a cure."
"That's still true, to an extent. But what was left behind wasn't a poison exactly. It calls itself Primal Groudon. It says that the Groudon we faced is just a shell, and that it's the soul of the legendary." Ash explained. "It's tapped into my aura, and when it uses my powers, it hurts." Ash said, wincing slightly.
'I AM ALSO AGAINST BEING CURED!' The Primal Force said.
"Oh yeah, and he doesn't want to be cured." Ash added.
"Okay, Battle Frontier, and Contests are now on a hold. You said you knew of a place that could heal you." Brendan said.
"Yeah, The Tree of Beginning, it's near Rota town." Ash said. "But we can't drop everything, that's way out of the way."
"Not for you it isn't." Wally said. "You'd do anything to help us, so we're going to help you get there." Wally declared. "So how do we get there?"
Brendan's Current Team and their moves
Marshtomp: Ice Beam - Rollout - Muddy Water - Mud Shot
Shiftry: Razor Wind - Faint Attack - Leaf Storm - Extrasensory
Aggron: Headbutt - Iron Defense - Rock Tomb - Metal Claw
Rhydon: Mega Horn - Crush Claw - Aqua Tail - Rock Blast
Arcanine: Extremespeed - Fire Blast - Dig
Ash's Current Team and their moves
Pikachu: Thunderbolt - Quick Attack - Shock Wave - Iron Tail
Grovyle: Double Team - Leaf Blade - Dig - Fury Cutter
Milotic: Attract - Dragon Breath - Water Pulse - Ice Beam
Swablu: Peck - Mirror Move - False Swipe - Heal Bell
Cyndaquil: Flamethrower - Smokescreen - Flame Wheel - Swift
