After having a very fruitful experience capturing Pokemon in the forest West of the city, our heroes have entered Eterna City so one of them could challenge Gardenia. As they entered, they saw how all the buildings looked several decades old; freshened up with paint and decorations, but obvious signs of time passing no matter how much was covered up.
"Wow, look at how... historical this looks." Elaine was impressed by how it all looked. "It's like I can feel the age of this city."
"It certainly does have the feel like its been around for forever." Trace commented.
"I wonder how long it's been around?" Ash asked with curiosity, but before they could continue, an alarm at a nearby museum went off, alerting the teens.
"Ah, what is that?!" Trace covered his ears from how shrill it was.
"Let's go find out!" Ash went ahead recklessly, and this normally would've gotten extreme annoyance from his friends, the fact they ran into and survived a case like and haven gotten stronger since then made the danger seem not as high like then. Running into the museum to see what was going on, they saw guards running towards an exhibit. They also heard police sirens blaring outside, indicating good response time from local services. A glass box was broken, and they saw a man, a woman and a Sunflora having obtained a crystal ball with many flat surfaces.
"Well what do you know, it's those-" Jessie clasped her mouth on the disguised Meowth's mouth as she shut him up.
"Button it Sunflora! Keep in mind, we're supposed to be criminals with class!"
"Just say Sunflora." James scolded the Scratch Pokemon.
"What do you want with that?!" Trace questioned them. The purple haired woman smirked as she turned her backs to them.
"The Adamant Orb is quite legendary, don't you forget."
"Like us!" James told them.
"Hey, they look like Jessie and James!" Elaine recognized their hair styles and voices.
"You won't have the orb for long!" Officer Jenny ran towards the criminals with a trusty Stunky by her side, which was a purple skunk.
"Seviper, Smokescreen!" Jessie sent out her poison type snake to expel black smog from its mouth, making it hard to see for everyone below. They were all coughing from the foul stench it had to smell. Officer Jenny talked into her walkie talkie.
"Quick, seal the doors! We can't let them escape!" Doors all over closed like metal cages, barring anyone from entering or leaving. The guards tended to the citizens, trying to keep them calm while others investigated the broken display. And to our protagonists' surprise, one of them happened to be Gardenia whom was talking to one of the officers.
"They've got some nerve, those jerks!"
"Wait, aren't you the gym leader Gardenia?" Ash asked her.
"Uh, yes I am. I'm sorry, but I can't take any challenges right now. I need to help with this robbery."
"And I believe I caught suspect number 1." Officer Jenny came up to her as she pulled along a dashing young man clad in elegant green clothes and carrying a harp. "He calls himself a Pokemon troubadour, but I don't by it at all." However, this man was not under any distress of being a falsly accused criminal. He kept a smile up just as his Roselia.
"Believe me Officer, I have done no wrong. I was studying the history of this museum, when suddenly the alarm was sounded and we were surrounded by the police. Poor Sunflora became frightened and ran away-"
"Stop. Your Sunflora wasn't frightened, you let it escape." He remained smiling as he strummed his harp.
"I am guilty of nothing."
"Please, your song is full of guilt!" She kept pressing against him, but Gardenia realized it.
"Hey, I know him! He's Nando, and he challenged my gym the other day! It was awesome!"
"Yes, and I'm grateful for a fine match."
"Officer Jenny, Nando here is not the man you're looking for!" Elaine told her. "The criminals who stole the orb were Jessie and James of Team Rocket! And either they were using a Sunflora of their own or it was their Meowth disguised as a Sunflora! This man wasn't with them during the robbery!"
"And no one who loves grass types as much as Nando could be a crook!" Gardenia added.
"I'll take that into consideration, but I still need to question Nando and how he relates to this. Here's picture evidence of a Sunflora taking the orb."
"Objection!" Another officer Jenny came into the room.
"There's two Jennys?!" Gardenia gasped.
"There's more to this than meets the eye. If there's more than one person with a Sunflora about, then they all need to be questioned. Not just one."
"And what is your jurisdiction?"
"Viridian City. I've come to visit since it's my day off." Looking over, she recognized our main characters. "You three?!"
"It's you!" All three teens gasped.
"Viridian City?! You have no authority! So keep your opinions to yourself!"
"Oh relax. There must be someway I can help."
"No, we're fine. The museum has been thoroughly secured, which means all possible suspects are locked inside, so it's only a matter of time before we catch the thieves."
"You sure are confident." As they argued on how to handle the operation, Meowth gulped from how much security was on the outside.
"Bummer, they've got us surrounded! We'll never get out of here!"
"So what?!" Jessie shouted. "If need be we'll fight our way out punching and kicking!" She started kicking, but her grip slipped on the orb and all three gasped at the thing almost shattering on the ground, that is if it weren't for Meowth catching it in time, though he fumbled with getting it twice before succeeding a third time.
"Jessie, we have to make sure that thing stays in one piece if we hope to get our reward!" James warned her. Back to our heroes,
"So what's so special about this orb?" Elaine asked Gardenia.
"It's the Adamant Orb. It's been said that the Adamant orb can amplify the power of the legendary Pokemon Dialga."
"And Dialga is..." Trace questioned.
"Sinnoh's legendary Pokemon that can control the aspect of time. It's appearance is depicted as the left statue in front of the museum. It has a counterpart known as Palkia who can control space. According to legend long ago, the two created the Sinnoh region, and there's countless ancient shrines devoted to them all over the region. The Adamant Orb came from one of those shrines."
"If the sphere's that important, then we have the perfect Pokemon for the job. Clefable, let's help out the case." She told her partner. "Use your ears to listen out anything suspicious."
"Clefable!" She complied as she used her sensitive ears to listen. Droning out the voices of the security guards, and then the voices of Officer Jenny interogating Nando, she kept listening out for anything. She then heard the sound of an air duct cover being removed, from something that said the name of 'Sunflora'. "Clefable!" She pointed the way as she ran ahead.
"We've got a lead!" Elaine told her friends as she, they and Gardenia ran after her. After some running, they came across a business woman, a fat business man and a Meowth, but their hair styles didn't fool them.
"Team Rocket!" The teenagers called them out.
"What, we're just a couple of friendly buisness folk after all." Jessie lied. "Who is this Team Rocket?"
"Are they some sort of soccer club?" James inquired with a different accent, but they wouldn't be fooled.
"Clefable, Psychic!" The Fairy Pokemon's eyes glowed blue as Team Rocket's disguises gained blue outlines, before being torn to shreds revealing their villainous outfits. They gasped as they covered their private parts even though they were fully clothed.
"Hey! What if we were wearing nothing underneath you twerp?!" Jessie reprimanded them.
"Have you cheeky charlatans no shame?!" James called them out.
"Please, you'd at least be down to your underwear." Elaine brushed off. Scoffing, Team Rocket began their motto.
"Are those twerp twits I hear?"
"That whining can't fool my ear!"
"On the wind!"
"Past the stars!"
"In your ear!"
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"
"A rose by any other name is just as sweet!"
"When everything's worse our work is complete!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Meowth, now that's a name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place!"
"We're Team Rocket!"
"In your face!"
"Oh would you shut up with that?!" Trace complained as he pulled his hair. "No one cares about that lame jingle of yours!" That especially insulted the criminals.
"How dare you?! As the greatest members of Team Rocket, we have a reputation to uphold!" Jessie told him off.
"Without a motto, how can we hope to paralyze our prey with fear in the middle of our schemes and plans?!" James questioned rhetorically.
"A team with no motto is a team with no mojo!" Meowth added angrily.
"Tell it to someone who cares." Elaine responded, waving her hand dismissively. "Oh wait, I just realized, no one does when you're committing crimes!"
"We'll show you! Carnevine, Cacnea!" However, they proceeded to bite and hug James to his incredibly painful expense, confusing the teenagers.
"Wow, those are awesome grass types!" Gardenia praised his Pokemon. "I love them!"
"How about you battle them instead?!" Elaine recommended to the gym leader annoyed.
"Eh, right. Turtwig, let's go!" She sent out the regional grass starter, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon.
"Back off!" Jessie shouted as she took the orb. "A diamond's a girl's best friend but I'm not afraid to shatter it just to spite you all!"
"What do we do then?" Trace grunted from frustration.
"You haven't factored in my Stunky!" A purple ball of gas was dropped into the room, thanks to Officer Jenny and her Stunky, causing the whole room to stink and everyone to cover their noses in disgust.
"Ugh, my nose doesn't deserve this!" Jessie exclaimed as she threw the ball in the air.
"Psychic!" Elaine ordered through her shirt. Holding her breath, the fairy type telekinetically got hold of the orb and drew it in close so that Gardenia could grab it.
"Safe and sound!"
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Eevee, Swift!"
"Clefable, Flamethrower!"
"Turtwig, Razor Leaf!" Each of our heroes' Pokemon and Gardenia's, while recoiling from the smell of the air, launched their own attacks which combined at the center of Team Rocket, creating a giant explosion which sent the villains flying.
"Team Rocket's blasting off a smellllllllll!" They yelled as they twinkled in the sky. The giant hole in the ceiling allowed all the gas to escape, letting everyone breath.
"Augh, fresh air!" Ash breathed in the cool air rushing in.
"Now that's something my nose can get behind." Elaine sighed.
"Man those Team Rocket are so annoying." Trace grumbled, before thinking of something then smirking. "We should come up with our own motto like theirs, just to annoy them to hell." Elaine thought about it.
"Could we come up with something like that?" Ash laughed.
"Haha, how hard can it be? After all, they always manage to think of a variant for their dumb motto." After the two Jenny's made up for coming to heads, the Eterna one apologized to Nando.
"I apologize for falsely accusing you Nando. All evidence seemed to point at you simply for having a Sunflora."
"People make mistakes. You were just doing your job which I will not fault you for. I'm just glad the Adamant Orb is safe, along with everyone involved. Eterna City is my favorite. A city that unites past and present."
"Hehe, that's quite an elegant way of putting it." Elaine giggled, liking the sincere description of the city. She then turned to Gardenia. "Gardenia, perhaps tomorrow we can have our WCS match?"
"Sure. Come by tomorrow and we'll have our match." The gym leader agreed.
"Cool."
By tomorrow in the early afternoon, the group went to the gym which was overgrown with well maintained foilage and a mini forest which surrounded the battlefield.
"Wow, this is beautiful like Viola and Burgh's gym." Elaine noted. "So much grass and trees." One of the gardeners of the gym was letting the teenagers get a look inside as they waited for Gardenia.
"Perfect for grass types. A menagerie." Trace agreed.
"And that's what Gardenia's all about.
"Hey Elaine." Said gym leader came into the arena. "Welcome to Eterna gym. Today will be our lucky battle. Let's make it one to remember!"
"Yeah, and I'm totally going to win this!" Gladwin told her imminent opponent. A Rotom Drone appeared.
"Welcome, welcome, welcome! You have been approved for an official Pokemon World Coronation Series Normal Class battle! The challengers here are Gardenia Rogers from the Eterna City gym vs Elaine Gladwin from Pallet Town! For today's battle, you can choose two Pokemon! When a Pokemon on either side are unable to battle, that side loses! Both challengers bring out your Pokemon!"
"Alright Cherrim, let's go!" A grass type with purple leaves surrounding its body appeared, but as it bathed in the sun, the petals around it spread out to show pink inner petals and a happy yellow face and body underneath.
"Let's do this Clefable!" Elaine allowed her ace to run onto the grassy field, ready to battle with a determined face.
"Battle begin!"
"Clefable, Flamethrower!" The Fairy Pokemon breathed out a stream of fire, particularly hotter than normal, but Gardenia was not intimidated.
"Dodge it, quick!" Cherrim jumped over the stream of fire, to Clefable's surprise. "Now for a perfect move for a sunny day! Solar Beam!" Cherrim's petals glowed bright green before it fired a beam of bright green energy, and the fairy type cried out as she crashed onto her back from the explosion of the powerful attack. While the damage was good, she managed to get up with only a small grunt. "Keep it up with Solar Beam!"
"Counter with Flamethrower!" Both Pokemon charged up their attacks and fired them at the same time, thus the two attacks clashed in the middle. While the Solar Beam was certainly powerful and wasn't giving out, the fire was too powerful, being boosted from the sun as it spilled over the Solar Beam and blasted against the Blossom Pokemon, sending her flying into a tree, crying from being singed and burnt.
"Cherrim!" Gardenia gasped. It tried to get up, but a flare from its burn took up the last of its health as it fell onto its face, knocked out.
"Alright!" Ash cheered for his girlfriend. "That's how you use the sun!" Trace nodded in pride for her.
"Way to go Clefable!" Elaine praised her partner. Clefable gave a thumbs up with a smile.
"Clefable!"
"Cherrim, return!" Gardenia returned her Pokemon and thanked it for good effort. "Elaine, I'm impressed with the bond of your Pokemon. Not all of my challengers are as in tune of each other."
"Clefable and I have trained since the very beginning." The Kanto native girl told the gym leader with a grin. "So we've had lots of time to practice and get stronger.
"I see. But here's where things start going my way! Roserade, come on out!" Gardenia sent out her ace, the grass/poison type Bouquet Pokemon.
"Roserade!"
"Start things off with Stun Spore!" Spraying yellow dust into the air, Clefable got covered and instantly seized up.
"No, not paralysis!" Elaine gasped in fright.
"That's right! Now use Leech Seed!" Aiming her flowery hands at the immobilized Clefable, and sent a couple of seeds to land near the fairy type's feet, which grew vines from them and ensnared Clefable, whom struggled with them getting all over her. "Now watch as Clefable gets drained of health!" However, despite the seeds glowing, they didn't appear to be doing any damage. In fact, the vines withered away. Gardenia was shocked. "Huh?! But how?!"
"Clefable has Magic Guard!" Trace recognized it. "Indirect damage won't do a thing against Clefable!"
"Sweet!" Elaine pumped her right fist. "And with both of your defenses boosted from your healthy diet, you're super tough!"
"We'll see about that!" Gardenia boasted. "Use Weather Ball!"
"Rooooseraade!" The grass/poison type held her arms up to form a ball of fire, and threw it at the Fairy Pokemon, damaging her greatly as she was pushed back.
"Psychic!" Concentrating, evidenced by her blue glowing eyes, she captured the Bouquet Pokemon in her mental grasp and sent her flying against a tree, grunting from the hard hit as Roserade stumbled on her feet.
"We're not going down that easy!" Gardenia exclaimed with determination. "Use Mega Drain!" Her flowers opened up to allow Roserade to fire beams of red energy that started sapping Clefable's strength. She screamed from her health leaving her, before falling onto her back from being totally drained.
"Clefable, return!" Elaine withdrew her Pokemon. "You held on real good. Thanks Clefable." Putting her starter away, she thought about what to do. ("Roserade would easily beat Azumarill, and that Weather Ball could do some serious damage to Mawile. Guess its time to use her.") "Go, Swablu!" She sent out her blue bird with cotton white wings.
"Just because it's a good match doesn't mean it'll win! Use Weather Ball!"
"Fly into the trees!" The Cotton Bird Pokemon flew into the branches, letting the Weather Ball fly where it was before dissipating.
"Use Poison Sting on the branches!" Firing purple needles from her hands, she littered Swablu's path with spikes she didn't have time to avoid. She squaked with panic before flying into them, falling to the ground. She tried getting up, but the poison in her body kept her from moving very well.
"Swablu, hang in there!" Elaine pleaded. "Fury Attack!" Trying to fly in spite of the poison, she attacked the Bouquet Pokemon, but she was too fast as she sidestepped them all.
"Magical Leaf!" Blasting the flying type with point blank leaves, Swablu screeched as she bashed into a tree. "This just about wraps it up! Roserade, use Weather Ball!" Forming another ball of fire, she delivered a strong blow as Swablu cried out from the damage.
"We're not out yet! Dragon Breath!" Expelling a gust of blue draconic wind, Roserade grunted from the damage as she was pushed back.
"Roserade, don't give up! Magical Leaf!"
"Counter with Fury Attack!" Flapping her wings to gain some height, Swablu pecked away any leaves that tried to get close. "Peck!" Honing in with a glowing white beak, she landed a super effective blow against the grass/poison type right on her body. She took a few steps back clutching her abdomen, moaning in pain before falling onto her back, defeated.
"Roserade, no!"
""As a result of today's battle, there has been a change in the WCS rankings effective immediately!" The Rotom Drone announced.
"Swablu, your first gym win!" Elaine ran to her flying type and hugged the adorable bird as she chirped with glee. "That's so great!"
"Roserade, return." Gardenaia recalled her Pokemon, and looked down at the pokeball smiling.
"You did great. Take a good rest." Turning to Elaine, the woman walked towards the Kantonian and held out a hand.
"The strength of you and your Pokemon's teamwork is truly something to behold."
"Thanks so much Gardenia." The girl nodded as she shook the offered hand. "It wasn't easy, I could feel it." Taking her phone out, she checked her next challenged and gave a nod. "So my next challenge is Morty Randall in Johto. I wonder how I'll handle against ghost types?"
A/N: Sorry it took a while. My sister came to visit and spent some quality sibling time with her. I admit that the top section before the match might feel rushed and shoehorned, I'm just trying to fit whatever bits of anime that I can aside from gym battles. One thing to point out is I have already covered the forest arc in my first Pokemon adaptation, Ash Platinum, and apparently I have been unable to recapture that same level of quality again among these further adaptations. So I can't really see myself doing that again and hope to reach the same quality.
Also, thank you to the two guest reviewers who submitted that they wish Elaine to battle Gardenia. This at least deviates the story a bit from the anime to make things more interesting. Alas, I will not have Ash get Lucario again as he did in my other story, Ash XYZ. You see, I try to make a point that Ash does not have the same Pokemon twice in each of these stories for his final six to keep the roster in each fresh. While I have made an exception with his bird Pokemon of Staravia/Staraptor, that's simply because it's one of, if not the best flying type Pokemon to catch early game. So Ash won't be getting Pokemon like Greninja, Charizard, Lucario or Salamence again since they've already been used in my stories before. But don't fret, for he will still have a top notch team of mostly new Pokemon to battle with for the WCS. You'll just have to wait and see what I have in store for the end game when we finally get to it.
One more thing, and this is the most important thing I'm asking. I realized I made myself a plot hole. Team Rocket exists in this story, but this story takes place after all of the pre-gen 8 games and certain anime events, and one of them was Red dismantling Team Rocket in the original games. How can Jessie, James and Meowth be running around doing their schemes if the organization has been disbanded for years already? Can one of you help me think of a way for this? Is there a thing in the games, or does this require out of the box thinking? Please help and review.