About an hour after taking a nap near each other, they woke up to the sound of another girl crying off in the distance. The sky was bleak with dark clouds.
"Heh, perhaps another kid needs our help." Ash chuckled.
"If it's in a tree again, leave it to someone with a ladder." Dawn slightly pouted. This made Ash chuckle even more. "Go on then, I need to put some of my clothes back on." Dawn yawned as she moved away from him. Ash nodded before standing up and walking with a slight limp. Once he reached the other crying girl on the edge of town, he knelt down to her level and spoke calmly.
"Hey hey, it's okay. What happened?" The girl calmed down enough to whimper.
"He-help! I ne-need to see my daddy! We-we live in the Valley Windworks, but then a whole bunch of people dressed as space men came."
("Space men?") Ash thought, reminded of the Team Galactic grunts.
"They kicked me out and are making my papa do something. The police tried getting in but a really strong Pokémon is holding them off. We're waiting for an Officer coming from Eterna City to take care of it, but he hasn't arrived yet. Please, help us! I miss my papa!" She pleaded.
"Don't worry, I'll see what I can do." Ash promised. Dawn then caught up to him.
"Ash, what's going on?"
"You remember those Team Galactic grunts we encountered a couple of days ago?" Ash asked with a tone of seriousness.
"What is it?" She asked, suddenly fearful.
"They've taken her dad hostage, and the police is having trouble dealing with them. It's up to us."
"Ash, if the police can't handle them, how can we? We may have defeated two grunts, but they were weak and alone. This is likely a whole gang taking that place. We agreed to leave it to the authorities." Dawn reprimanded. Thinking about it, Ash asked the girl,
"How long have they been there?"
"Th-three days." She said with a sniffle.
"Waiting for the police may take too long. Even on birds, they could take a week or less if they're coming from Eterna City. We have to do this or they'll get what they want. Besides, they use glameow and stunky. We can take them." Ash affirmed with determination, and seeing how he was too determined to not let this go, Dawn groaned.
"Fine, fine. I'll go with you."
"Don't worry. Nothing will go wrong." Ash assured. "Where is the Windworks?" He asked her.
"Head East. It's a straight path so you can't miss it." The girl said.
"Thanks. Let's go." Ash thanked as he and Dawn went off to the Valley Windworks.
When they finally found the place that was surrounded by windmills, they noticed a grunt that was guarding the front door.
"Hey, what are you doing here? I've been ordered to keep everyone out if they're not Team Galactic." He proclaimed, but he was simply stared down. "So you want to get in anyway? Ok then, you'll have to battle me for it! Go, Glameow!" He shouted as he released the same cat as one of his comrades used.
"Turtwig, I choose you!" Ash showed his grass starter.
"Glameow, use hypnosis!" The cat's eyes started to glow.
"Close your eyes and use razor leaf!" Ash reraliated. Turtwig closed his eyes and shot a flurry of leaves at the cat, cutting it up. The cat hissed in pain before growling at the Tiny Leaf Pokémon.
"Use scratch!" The grunt ordered. Extending its claws, it leapt forward to strike. It landed a blow, leaving three red lines on Turtwig's head, making it growl.
"Razor leaf!" Ash instructed. Turtwig shot more leaves at the cat Pokémon, beating it. The grunt returned it and scoffed.
"Isn't that just great, being owned by some teenager. But you can't do anything if I lock the door!" He sprinted inside, and locked the metal door. Ash turned to Dawn and they both grinned.
"Onix, I choose you!" Dawn called out as she summoned her rock snake. "Onix, please knock down that door." Dawn politely requested. The rock snake growled as it aimed its tail at the door, and shoved it at the door busting it off its hinges, raising the alarm. "Thank you Onix. Return." She thanked as she returned Onix in exchange for another Pokemon. "Piplup, I choose you!" She called, summoning her blue penguin. It spotted the scratched Turtwig.
"Piplup?" She asked in concern. He simply shook its head and held his head high.
"Turtwig." He said with confidence. Piplup nodded her head in acknowledgment and faced towards the building.
"Let's go." Ash concurred.
"Yeah." Dawn replied as they ran in.
There wasn't that many grunts as they were expecting. Just two guards which they easily defeated their zubat, glameow and stunky. In fact...
"Turtwig, what's happening?" He noticed his starter suddenly going still.
"Piplup, is something wrong?" She asked to her trembling starter. It was then that both began to glow white and growing larger. Turtwig's shell grew bigger as it now covers his head and tail. The shell turned yellow and grew two bushes on the sides pointing up. His lower jaw became bigger and his feet became wider to better support his weight. While Piplup's body shape didn't change all that much, her round head and body slimmed out so that her whole head and body were about the same width. From her beak, it grew two ridges extending over her head and meeting at the nape of her neck. The glowing stopped, showing two new Pokémon in their place.
"Grotle!" The Grove Pokémon roared.
"Prinplup!" The penguin chirped confidently.
"Wow, our Pokémon evolved at the same time." Ash gasped in amazement.
"Let's see what data they have." Dawn suggested as they scanned their Pokémon with each of their Pokedex's.
"Grotle, the Grove Pokémon. It can tell where pure water wells up. It carries fellow Pokémon on it's back."
"Prinplup, the Penguin Pokémon. Because every prinplup considers itself the most important, they can never form a group."
"So, Prinplup's got an ego now?" Ash joked.
"Maybe a mild one. She's never been egotistical or boastful." Dawn remarked. Prinplup nodded in agreement as she pointed a flipper forward. "Yeah, we need to keep moving."
"Yeah." Ash confirmed as they ran forward, but Grotle tripped when it tried to run. The others stopped as it saw getting back up and running again but fell forward again. "Grotle, wait a second." Ash softly ordered as he scanned Grotle with the Pokedex. "Whoa, 213 lbs. You're almost ten times heavier aren't you?" Grotle made a combination of a grunt and a gasp hearing that. "Your power and defense has risen, but you're completely unused to being this heavy. I'm sorry, but you need to be benched until we can figure out a new training regiment for you." Ash apologized to the now miserable Grove Pokémon as he was returned.
"Oh. I feel so bad for him." Dawn said with sorrow.
"Yeah, but he'll recover. There's more to battling then speed. Let's keep going." Ash recommended as he stood up and walked past Dawn and Prinplup. They followed him until they entered a very large room that looked like a science office. Aside from a grunt, there seemed to be a couple of Galactic people with actual unique features on them. One looked fat, old man with lavender hair and rose tinted glasses. The other was a young woman with short red hair, and her Team Galactic came with a white skirt. She was overseeing a stressed out, messy professor. As the teens entered the room, the woman turned to them.
"So, you're the kids who've been interfering with our glorious plans. I am one of four Commanders. My name is Mars."
"Mars? What are you doing and what kind of name is that?" Ash asked sort of confused. This set her off real easily.
"You dare make fun of the great Commander Mars! We've been trying to create a new world that's better than this one! But people have little understanding about what we do. You don't understand either, do you? It's sad how much nobody knows. So, let's have a battle to decide what we do. If we win, you're under my mercy. If you win, we'll leave peacefully." She offered with an excited grin.
"I accept your challenge. Let's do this, Prinplup." Dawn encouraged, Prinplup walking forward with a quiet yet confident look in her eyes.
"Go, Zubat!" Mars yelled as she released it. "Use Supersonic!" Zubat screeched a high pitched noise that confused Prinplup.
"Prinplup, no! You've got to focus!" Dawn cried out.
"Now use bite!" Mars commanded. Zubat zoomed in and bit onto Prinplups neck, causing her to chirp in pain. In response, it's wing grew shiny and grey, and batted away at the Bat Pokémon, knocking it off.
"Wow, you learned metal claw! Use bubble over a wide range!" While Prinplup was still disoriented, it was able to shoot out a barrage of bubbles that for the most part misses, but some hit the enemy.
"Use leech life!" Mars demanded. The bat got into the air and tried to get in close.
"Spin around using metal claw." Letting her wings grow shiny gray and trying to use her disorientation to her advantage, she spun around like a steel blue top, which managed to hit zubat, pounding it away to Mars, defeated. "Alright, Prinplup! You did so good! Return." Dawn congratulated before returning her blue penguin. Mars frowned as she returned her bat.
"So you overcame the confusion by making sure it's attacks were hitting at all ranges and directions. Clever for a kid, but here's my ace. "Go, Glameow!" Mars shouted showing another cat like the others. Dawn smirked as she took out a Pokeball.
"Onix, I choose you!" Dawn called as her huge rock snake came out, growling once it materialized. Mars paled.
"An Onix?! You've got to be kidding me!" The Galactic Commander pouted quite angerly. "Well, this kitty cat know more than just scratching! Glameow, use faint attack!" The Catty Pokémon ran up to the rock snake before disappearing outright, confusing Onix.
"Onix, use rage!" Dawn instructed. Onix tensed just before being struck on the top of its head, the cat's claws swiping into its rock skin with dark energy, leaving marks on its stone skin. It growled in annoyance but wasn't too bothered as it pushed it away with its head., paying it back pain in kind. It didn't look too hurt though. Mars laughed at this.
"Hahaha! You call that a counter attack?! It barely did anything. Let me show you how its done! Faint attack again!" Glameow was on the move before disappearing again.
"Keep countering with rage, no matter what!" Dawn yelled. As the minutes passed, glameow progressively did more and more damage, but with each counter, Onix hit back harder and harder, with glameow looking more battered each time.
"What are you doing to my Pokémon?! Mars roared in outrage. "Your onix wasn't this strong from the first hit!"
"I guess you haven't heard of the move called rage. The more my onix is hit by physical attacks, the stronger its physical attacks are." She explained.
"Damn you! You played me for a fool, didn't you!" She screamed as she returned her Pokémon. "I will not suffer a defeat at the hands of a kid! You may have beaten us, but we've gotten more than we needed! It's time to take our leave for the time being." Mars scoffed as she, her scientist, and the one grunt left, leaving the father impressed.
"Onix, return." Dawn called as the scratched rock snake came back to it's Pokeball. "You did great, Onix. We'll get those scars healed up." She whispered before approaching the scientist. However, she backed away from him holding her nose and gagging. "Ugh, what's that smell?!" She complained. Ash came up to her only to smell the same she did, reacting the same.
"Team Galactic... they said they had to gather Pokémon and energy. They wanted to create a new universe. I didn't understand a word they were saying. I can't express enough how grateful I am. I can finally see my family again!" He cheered.
As they left the building, they saw a little girl and... Looker coming towards them. When she saw her dad, she ran ahead of Looker and yelled,
"Daddy!" But she stopped before she could jump at him, recoiling.
"Yucky! You smell! You go shower now!"
"Ah, a shower after three days without sleep? That sounds wonderful." He sighed joyfully.
"Thank you trainers! You helped make those bad men go away!" The girl thanked.
"Yes. I heard Team Galactic was here, but you've beaten them once again, based on you walking out?"
"Yeah. Dawn beat one of their commanders easily." Ash told the detective, making Dawn blush.
"Still, I should go investigate inside. Still, though you are young, the both of you are quite the strong through and through! Superb! Well done! Once I'm done operating here and have a conversation with this father, I'll be heading to Eterna City. Maybe we can team up." He offered.
"Uh, let's keep the party number low." Dawn suggested sweating. "Two is company and three's a crowd. I think that's how it goes."
"Hmm, a clever way of thinking. Very well! I shall leave you to it!" Looker concluded before heading in.
"Run." Ash whispered. They both ran as fast as they could imitating Barry.
As they were having their Pokémon healed in the Pokémon center, Ash and Dawn were talking.
"What do you think will happen with Grotle?" She asked worried.
"I don't know. He's always been the brave type, charging into battle with such a passion. But now he probably can't do any faster than walking. It's almost like being crippled of all but basic movement. I don't know if I can cheer him up after this." Ash pondered out loud. Dawn had her head low thinking before raising it to meet him at eye level.
"Well, I'm sure we'll think of something. We're some pretty smart duo." Dawn winked, holding up a hand. Ash lightly smiled while gently high fiving. Just then, a mother and the little girl came in, the mother holding a driftloon.
"There they are mommy!" The girl directed. The two saw the mother and child walking to them.
"Thank you so much for returning my husband to us. Little Dianthus has been worried sick these past few days. As we were leaving, this drifloon tried to pick up my baby girl but I caught it in time."
"And I thought you could have it as a reward!"
"Really? You're giving us a Pokémon?" Dawn inquired a little baffled.
"Yeah! As we walked, I told it all about what you did, and it seemed happy to be going to a nice trainer!" The girl explained.
"I'm not a trainer. I'm a researcher... but drifloon, would you like me to capture you?" She asked the Balloon Pokémon. It nodded its body and cried out,
"Drifloon!", happily.
"Ok then." Dawn smiled widely as she tapped a Pokeball on it and it went into the sphere, wobbling back and forth and clicked. "Thank you so much for the gift." Dawn thanked Dianthus.
"You're welcome!" She returned before walking away with her mommy.
"So, you got something too from defeating Team Galactic. We could become bounty hunters." Ash chuckled. Dawn turned to him disapprovingly.
"As if. I want nothing more to do with them. It was that one time. I want this handled by the police." She objected. Ash sighed.
"Like it or not, we're probably on Team Galactic's radar now for stopping their commander. We're stuck in this now." Ash pointed out. Dawn stared at him a few seconds before pouting.
"This journey became so much harder, hasn't it?" She asked in despair.
"Yep."
A/N: What did you think? We all know that in some parts of the game Team Galactic had Pokémon shouldn't have been there, like Purugly at level 16/17 or Skuntank at level 20. I'm going to make sure that their Pokémon represent their actual power correctly. Yet at the same time, I will be making them even more tougher than the game, since they only carry three Pokémon through the whole game. Leave not only reviews but also what 6 member Pokémon team you want for Cyrus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter. You can't change what they already have, you can only fill in the remaining slots, though. Sayonara.