Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon or any stuff related to it
Hello everyone, and welcome to the eleventh chapter of The Journey. Sorry for the late update, but I am in my final year of graduation in the field of engineering and I have been very busy in keeping my grades up. Also, this particular chapter I have deleted two times because I didn't like the plot, and this is the third plot I am uploading.
So, with that being said, sit back and enjoy…
Chapter 11: A Blast from the Past
"Jangmo-o is in the very beginning stage of learning Iron Defense. The concentration of mineral ions underneath its scales have increased dramatically", Professor Kukui replied.
Ash and Ilima is now engaged in a conference call with Professor Kukui. When Ash has called Professor Kukui regarding the new developments, professor requested to send Jangmo-o to him for a study.
"So, Jangmo-o will be able to use Iron Defense now! That's great", Ash said excitedly.
"About that, hey you wouldn't mind if Jangmo-o stays with me, for let's say, for a month", Kukui asked.
"I don't have a problem", Ash said with slight confusion, "but may I ask why?"
"Well, see, pokemon learning Iron Defense have a sudden need for a heavy mineral diet and some other medicinal needs. Now either due to lack of knowledge or due to high budget requirement, most trainers tend ignore these factors. But my research indicates that if all these parameters are met, then the defensive power of Iron Defense can be amplified many times, so much, that they will be able to shrug off super effective moves from ACE or Elite level pokemon with relative ease".
"What?", Ash asked with confusion, "A Jangmo-o? A Jangmo-o can be that strong?".
He was met with a double facepalm from both Professor Kukui and Ilima.
"What Professor meant was when Jangmo-o will fully evolve to a Kommo-o", Ilima explained.
"That too, if your pokemon is healthy enough and properly trains every day, which I believe they will", Kukui added.
"Ohh!", Ash exclaimed, feeling like an idiot, "In that case I am fully onboard with it!"
"Marvelous! I can guarantee that in one month your Jangmo-o will be a lot stronger than he is now. I will have my Kommo-o to personally look at him", Kukui exclaimed, "Now for the next part, I would like both of you to participate in the tournament that will be organized in Saffron, just the day after Championship event".
"Ash taking part makes sense, but why me Professor?", Ilima asked.
"Because, the specialty of this tournament is that it will be a tag team tournament. This tournament will help you to practice coordination between yourselves, making battle strategies with another trainer, debating and deriving at a common plan has a charm of its own. Not only that, Ash will also pick up quite a few things while working with an experienced trainer like you. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose… the experience you will gain matters…. So, what do you say?"
"I never had any tag team battle before, sounds like it will be fun, what do you say Ash", Ilima said.
"I am already all for it", Ash replied agreeing with the proposal.
"Well then, you have three days to prepare yourself, and the last date to register is one hour before the tournament begins, same Vista Dome Stadium", Kukui informed.
"We will keep that mind", Ilima said, "So, Professor, how's everything in Alola… any new developments?", Ilima asked.
"As a matter of fact, quite a few", Kukui nodded his head, "We are in advance stages of setting up the league, we are putting the final touches. The construction work of the stadium has picked up pace, renovation of Po Town has begun…. So, expect a call back home in the next three to four months for the inauguration ceremony. And let's see, oh yeah, Elio, Selene and Hau got their starters".
"Elio made it? That's a surprise. So, what did they pick?", Ash asked.
"Elio picked up Litten, Selene choose Rowlet while Hau got Popplio. They are all preparing for the Island Trials. Though Selene wants to take part in Silver Conference. We are also planning to modify the Island Challenges by adding some hands-on activity to it. The Kahunas are still drafting the list of activities to be performed. But whatever they decide, I am pretty sure it will be educational, challenging as well as fun", Kukui said.
"Will that will decide who will participate in the league and who will not?", Ash asked.
"Absolutely! You see Ash, the main idea behind these changes is to create quality trainers in Alola without sacrificing its core values. Alola always believed that nature is the best teacher, a trainer can get a lot of experience from nature, a value which is sadly being eradicated from the rest of the world. The Alola League however is firm in preserving this belief. In these Island Trials, the task given to the trainer can vary, it may be related to survival skills, knowledge, memory, coordination and the battle with the Totem pokemon will ultimately decide whether you have passed the trials or not, unlike gym battles where the gym leader has the final say. There will be no restrictions and anybody is welcomed to test their skills. After Island Trial will come Grand Trial. The Alola League Committee have decided the challenger must complete atleast 6 out of the 18 Island Trials and atleast 1 Grand Trial to participate in the Alola League. We have firm believe that trainers who will complete most of the trials will have no problem as establishing themselves as strong trainers in the world".
"Do I have to go through the trails for participating Professor?", Ash asked.
"That can be decided later", Kukui said, "But even if you have to do, I believe who shouldn't have any trouble in clearing most of the trials, both of you I shall say. Anyways, I shall leave you both to come up with a battle plan for your future tournament. May both of your fighting spirit burn like Blast Burn".
"Oh! And Professor, before I forget, could you arrange for an appointment with Mr. Morrison please. I mean, I cannot just walk into his office without an appointment, it won't look good", Ash asked.
"Definitely, I will have Lusamine or Mohn to contact him. You will be surprised to hear it, but Scott was raised in Alola only, before moving to Kanto for higher studies. He is not a great battler himself, but very interested in spreading the "Art of Battling" in his words. But he is a fantastic entrepreneur that's for sure", Kukui said.
"Thanks a lot Professor, you are a life saver", Ash said.
"No need to thank me, take care of yourself Ash, you too Ilima. I will see you later", Kukui said before ending the call.
After Kukui had ended the call, Ash asked, "Now what?"
Ilima sat on the opposite bed and asked, "Meaning?"
"Means, my only pokemon which stands a chance in this kind of tournament is Wyvern. And even he got beaten badly in the first round of one on one. His fire attacks are still like a Charmeleon, not counting Blaze of course. I did say to Professor that I will participate, but really don't know how will I pull it off"
"Hmm, why don't you use Charizard's other moves?", Ilima asked.
"Wyvern doesn't know a lot of other moves. If he had a trainer before, then they have done a terrible job", Ash with slightly narrowed eyes.
"I have several TMs you can borrow", Ilima offered, "On which spectrum does your Charizard lie?"
Ash thought on the question for a bit and then replied, "Do you think using TMs is safe?"
"For fire moves it is less risky to wait for Charizard's to fully develop naturally, but for non-fire moves it's completely safe. Which moves you want"
"Just a minute", Ash said before fishing for something in his backpack. After a while he took out three diaries, one looked very old with almost yellowish-brown pages, and the rest two in quite decent condition.
"What are these?", Ilima said picking up and opening one of the newer ones. It seems contained various information on Charizard species.
"Notes", Ash replied turning the pages of the old looking diary, "Full Charizard notes of five generations. It contains Charizard biologies, psychologies, training methods, move sets…. In two words, Charizard Encyclopedia. It was a family tradition, Dad left it for me. I used to read it before I started pokemon training…. Here got it!"
Ilima left his own one and looked down on the page Ash opened. There paragraph on several pokemon moves and a detailed explanation on it. The heading was given Lizard of Oz.
"This is an entry by my grandfather, Sir George Ketchum. When he was a trainer, he had encountered a pretty strong charizard trainer who had totally devasted his entire team with just one charizard. Here it says the charizard knew a variety of moves, but the most notable was Fire Blast, Solar Beam, Focus Blast, Dragon Pulse and Overheat"
"A Solar Beam charizard? And Focus Blast? That's something new", Ilima said.
"Exactly, there are one two entries more in the diary of charizard capable of Solar Beam, but it's not very common. Grandpa had sent out his Ryhorn against it, and he was met with this nasty surprise. Worse, those moves were further boosted by sun and Solar Power. No doubt it has nuked the entire team"
Ash then again began turning the pages before stopping at another one," Here is another," This charizard had Dragon Dance and Belly Drum along with other moves like Dragon Claw, Thunder Punch, Flare Blitz to steam roll over its opponents. In one of the entries made by Dad, Champion Lance uses a Belly Drum charizard in his team, though Dad wrote that charizard was blood red instead of regular vermilion. Other entries suggest common moves like Fire Punch, Fire Spin, Tail Wind, Roost, Blast Burn, Heat Wave etc. etc."
"It seems you have quite a collection there. It doesn't seem that you would need advice in this department"
"Sometimes analyzing so much can be a pain", Ash remarked, "Anyways, I like the Solar Beam concept very much. It will take out a lot of opponents by surprise. They will not be prepared for this one. Though I have noticed Dragon Pulse is pretty common. Focus Blast, fairly uncommon, people go for Seismic Toss mostly".
"Tell me Ash, if you are given a chance to mega evolve your charizard, which form would you choose?", Ilima asked.
"Wait? I get a choice in mega evolution", Ash asked back.
Ilima nodded his head and said," Unlike other mega evolved pokemons, charizard has two mega forms. One is called mega charizard X while other is called mega charizard Y. Both forms are actually quite different in their fighting styles. Mega charizard X has the ability Tough Claws, which increases the physical muscle power of the pokemon, making them hit harder, making it an ideal physical attacker. Mega charizard Y has the ability Drought, I think you know what Drought does. Also, a study had shown that charizard Y boasts a far greater fire firepower over its X counterpart is more balanced in terms of its fire and muscle power"
"Which means I would have to choose one side to make full use of the mega power, if I ever get my hands on one", Ash theorized considering the fact deeply, "Damm, it is becoming harder to decide, both sounds awesome"
"What's your charizard's egg move? If it is something like Dragon Rush, then we must assume your charizard lies on the physical side"
"I don't think that's the case, the notes says that a physically powerful charizard is generally more stubborn, adamant, a lone wolf but Wyvern seems more calm, modest to me. Also, I am not sure about its egg move. Professor never told me, or I didn't ask. Also, Wyvern is not registered under my name that I can open my pokedex and check it".
"In that case, I think it is safe to go with the range side of things, atleast for now", Ilima said, "We can check the facts later"
"So, Solar Beam…. Dragon Pulse… Focus Blast?", Ash asked.
"I would say Solar Beam, Dragon Pulse and Air Slash. This way you can make better use of charizard's secondary flying type. And fortunately, I have all the three TMs. Three days practice is enough to make even a novice pokemon learn a move using TM"
"Well, then its final, I will use Wyvern. Either way, these competitions are the only way for Wyvern to get some battle", Ash said, "So, which pokemon would you use?"
"Kangaskhan…. of course. Charizard being a flier can provide crucial support while staying out of opponents reach, while Kangaskhan is strong enough to engage them allowing charizard to get unhindered shots"
"It will take a bit of practice though. I mean making sure Wyvern or Kangaskhan does not come in between each other's way or their attacks doesn't hit each other instead of the opponent", Ash said raising some doubts.
"Valid concerns, the rhythm needs to be worked so that they complement each other. We have some time; we shall see tomorrow how things work out. Let's do the brainwork now, like what kind of approach shall we take, should we work to knock out one opponent and focus on the other or both of our pokemon should engage one opponent they see fit"
"Look, I am the worst person you could ask the question. I don't plan anything in advance, especially in these competitive tournaments. Nobody knows what will happen and twists can happen anytime. Anything can happen and one may have to forsake all the planning to tackle it. I don't plan for future, I prepare for them", Ash said.
"You don't plan? Preparing for something also involves planning", Ilima asked with curiosity in his voice.
"Nope, by preparation, I mean I don't have any specific plans. My planning is very general, and I work on this plan on the field itself based on the challenges I face. I cannot decide what kind of strategies I will employ when I don't even know what kind of pokemons my opponent will use. A proper strategy can be made only when you have full information on the situation. The only thing I can do right now is make a general plan like which pokemon to use or not and prepare for the worst, so that I may overcome the challenges on the field, or atleast I hope to in future"
"You know Ash, I have always planned for my battles in advance. Be it gym battles, be it league battles, or be it field challenges, I have always planned a number of strategies chalked out in advance. And it worked, most of the times. Really there were times, I must admit, when certain developments occurred which, I didn't account for. And it ruined the perfect model I have worked so hard to build" Ilima said taking a pause, then again continuing," But I always kept planning…. with the help of the experience I have gained, from what I have studied so far in Kalos. But this time Ash, I am willing to try your theory out. Let's prepare, not plan". Ilima had been a calm and very calculated person all this time. But now, Ash could see a tiny bit of excitement, like the ones he would feel when he tried to know the unknown, in his eyes. As if he had introduced randomness inside a perfect mathematical model. A big smile began to creep in his face,
"Now you are talking my language. So, tomorrow morning?" he said extending his fist.
"Tomorrow morning", Ilima replied fist bumping.
Early next morning, as first rays of the sun shone over of Saffron, Ash and Ilima had reached the top of the plateau at the outskirts of the city. This area mostly grassy and rocky, perfect training ground without causing much damage.
"Ah! Nothing better than training in the morning", Ash said as he inhaled lungs full of fresh air. Dartrix who was perched on his head, hooted in agreement. He then walked toward a tree were Ilima was waiting for him. He actually had fallen a bit back during the trek up, Ilima was a lot fitter than him.
"I believe you have never used a TM machine before", Ilima said.
"Nope", Ash said putting his bag down.
Ilima handed Ash a device which crudely resembles a CD drive, a TM machine and the required three TMs. Then he began instructing, "First enter the TM drive in the required slot. Just like you put a DVD".
Yup, so it was an overglorified CD drive after all. The mechanism was exactly same as he inserted the Dragon Pulse disc at the extended slot before pushing it back.
"Now press this button and insert the pokeball here after miniaturizing it"
After pressing the required button, a mechanical lid popped open and Ash put Wyvern's pokeball inside the slot given.
"Now press start"
Ash pressed the start button and the machine came to life, giving out a wave of vibrations. He could even here the disc rotating at extremely high speed. From what he can understand, it is a very old model. In this digital world there seemed to be too many mechanical parts.
After a few moments, the vibrations stopped and the lid once again opened pushing the pokeball partly out of the case.
"That's it?!", Ash asked.
"What were you expecting, stars will flash out of pokeballs", Ilima joked," Now get down with the others".
Ash repeated the process two more times and boom, Wyvern can now use three new moves, theoretically at least. To be honest, Ash was feeling a little weird. Normally when one of his pokemon would learn a new move, he would be excited. This time though, he felt no emotions on the incident. Maybe because he took a short cut, his inputs as a trainer in helping his pokemon to learn a move was missing.
But again, there is nothing he could have done. They plan to go far in the competition, if possible, win it. And there isn't much time left though. Maybe he will get over it soon.
Without wasting a second, he quickly released Wyvern from his pokeball. Wyvern materialized with a powerful roar, more powerful than before.
"How do you feel?", Ash asked. Wyvern stretched out a bit and gave an affirmative growl, indicating he was fine. Was it just him, or he was feeling a bit more powerful than before? That's when Ilima spoke up,
"I believe when everything is fine, we can test Charizard's new powers. I have brought a special opponent for him to go against"
"What do you say Wyvern, ready for some early morning workout", Ash asked though knowing what the response will be. Wyvern of course gave his consent by unleashing a stream of flames, which slightly surprised Ash.
"Wow! That might have been the best flamethrower you have delivered till date", Ash complimented.
Wyvern himself was a bit startled by the sudden power. Maybe he had put a bit more effort in excitement. Whatever it was both Ash and Wyvern decided to move on and get ready with the battle.
Since there were no psychic barriers for protection, Ash and Ilima kept a significant distance from the fighting area, so that one pokemon does not hit a trainer with its attacks by accident. They have agreed that this will be treated as a serious battle with almost no holding back.
Taking their respective positions, Ilima released his pokemon, a Snorlax… the biggest Snorlax Ash had ever seen. Snorlax lazily got up from ground and gave a big yawn while scratching his massive belly. He seemed to be too much disinterested in the battle.
"Snorlax is the heaviest hitter in my team", Ilima said from the other," So, can you break this wall"
"We will. If Snorlax is a wall, Wyvern will be a wall breaker", Ash answered back, "Wyvern into the skies!"
Charizard with a roar immediately flew up taking the upper ground. Snorlax gaze tracked Wyvern's every movement but maintained the drowsy bored expression on its face.
"You can have the first move", Ilima said.
"Alright, let's start with Dragon Pulse", Ash said.
It took a while, but Wyvern managed to fire a multicolored dragon shaped beam of pure draconic energy at Snorlax.
"Brace yourself", Ilima said in response. Snorlax casually raised its arms and blocked the raging energy dragon with little effort. Almost immediately after contact the energy beam exploded which sent a minor shockwave across the field.
"Not bad for first try", Ilima said, "But you need to do a lot better than that. And Snorlax will be pushing you to your limits"
"Alright let's try Solar Beam", Ash said. He quite didn't understand how a charizard can learn Solar Beam. They cannot store solar energy like grass pokemons. But here it was, a yellow light began to emerging from Wyvern's throat into its mouth. Whatever was happening, was just awesome.
To his surprise, Solar Beam didn't take as long as it normally takes. In a few moments after initiation, Wyvern finally fired a high intensity photonic laser beam, and this was powerful, a lot powerful than Dragon Pulse was. So powerful, that the explosion caused was enough to knock Snorlax back.
"Bravo! I actually had my doubts regarding charizard using Solar Beam, but you proved me wrong. Now the real match begins" Ilima said as Snorlax got back to his feet, now looking as it was willing to fight, "Snorlax use Rock Slide"
Snorlax gave roar as rocks began materializing out of thin air and with mysterious force were directed towards Wyvern.
Ash was however having none of it, "Dodge them! Break as many you can with Slash! Then use Dragon Pulse". As told, Wyvern claws glowed as he began to shatter the rocks with clean swipes, while performing a spectacular evasive flight evading most of the rocks. Not a single rock had hit its mark. Once Wyvern was done, he let out another multicolor draconic beam, which unfortunately was blocked by Snorlax's protect.
"Snorlax, use Rain Dance. You know the rest", Ilima ordered.
Snorlax gave a loud yawn as dark clouds formed on the sky and soon the rain began, drenching everyone present.
"You could have given a warning", Ash said, fully annoyed at being drenched," I would have brought my raincoat".
"Grow up Ash", Ilima scoffed, "You want to travel around Kanto and become a pokemon master, yet cannot handle a little rain. Think of it as a part of your training. You never know what kind of situation you may fall"
"Yeah, if I fall sick… that's on you", Ash replied back. His wanted to say more, but the clouds above rumbled and a massive bolt of lightning emerged from the cloud and struck Wyvern before he could dodge it. The thunder made him loose his balance as he fell in the ground with a big impact.
"Are you alright?", Ash asked with worry. The rain was already a problem for charizards, and getting hit with an electric move that too in rain was not a good sign.
Wyvern tried to get up, but as if his body is not responding to him. His muscles ached as he laid and twitched on the wet muddy ground. He could feel electricity running in him and each rain drop falling on him felt like spears piercing his skin.
"He is paralyzed", Wyvern could hear the other boy say while his trainer kept on encouraging to get up.
Paralyzed, Wyvern thought. No, no, he refuses to just lie down helplessly and allow the big fat thing take an easy win. With every bit of effort, he fought through the effects of paralysis and pushed himself up to face the thing. He could feel the earth shaking as the thing came running towards him with glowing fists. He won't back down though.
Before Snorlax could hit Wyvern with a Power-Up Punch, Wyvern grabbed Snorlax's fist with his own glowing claws and prevented it from hitting him. Though he had severely underestimated his opponent's strength. Snorlax grabbed him up and slammed him on the ground and went for a full Body Slam.
Wyvern roared as he was being crushed by a pokemon who weighed atleast half a ton. He could hear his trainer asking to get out, but he just couldn't, he couldn't even breathe properly and feared he may pass out soon. He thrashed against the fearsome Kanto juggernaut violently but couldn't make it get off him. Very soon he could feel his muscles relax and go numb.
Eventually the thing removed himself from over him, but the rain was keeping him down. Those damm droplets, he felt like he was being crucified on the ground, unable to get up. He didn't know how long he lay that way, but as if luck finally smiled on him, he could feel the rain slowing down… the clouds clearing up… and the first ray of warmth from the sun which embraced his body was enough to give him the power to fight back.
He allowed the new surge of power wash over his body as he tried to get back up. He could feel rage building in him, but he didn't give himself to the feeling, as he knew how to harness it as a weapon. His trainer was there with him, encouraging him… and he internally thanked himself for the support. He clearly remembered; his previous trainer wasn't supportive at all and had sold him off when he was just a Charmander, because he found him to be disappointing. He won't disappoint his trainer now.
As the power built inside him, he let out a deafening roar which can make anyone tremble. One death glare was enough to make the thing take a step back, but it still kept a very challenging face, matching his glare with his own. He shall see how long he can put up that face. His tail fire had already grown into a big roaring flame.
"Hyper beam Snorlax", was the call from the other end as the thing began producing a glowing orange orb in his mouth.
"Counter with Solar Beam", came from his trainer. Ah! The new move, he loved the feeling of it, the power was something he had never felt before.
He instinctively allowed himself to generate strong photonic energy within him. He could feel something powerful happening inside him, the heat and energy was unmatched, as if he was forming the sun inside him… building up at inside him, begging to be freed.
As soon as he felt the energy buildup was enough, he instantly fired it at his opponent, almost at the same instant his opponent fired his attack at him.
Both the insanely powerful attacks collided in midair, and after a brief fight for dominance exploded releasing a massive shockwave along with a cloud of smoke and dust. The shockwave was so powerful that Ash and Ilima struggled to stay on their feet. Both the attacks were equally powerful. Wyvern brushed of the impact from the explosion and readied himself for the next instruction, but Snorlax remained still.
But Ash quickly composed himself, he knew the secondary effects of Hyper beam, Wyvern was under the influence of blaze… he wouldn't get a better opportunity to attack.
"Now's our chance Wyvern", Ash said, "Snorlax wouldn't be able to move for an instant. Use Flamethrower with everything you have got!"
Wyvern allowed a devious grin to form in his face as with as flapped his giant wings to take a position angle suitable so that this things trainer doesn't get hit. Then with one breath, with the sun now up, with the power surging in him, let out a massive torrent of red-hot fire from his mouth.
If the flamethrower he released before the fight was surprising, this one was totally devastating. All those who had witnessed it was stunned with the sheer power it carried. The torrent of swirling flames roared through the air and engulfed Snorlax as a whole who couldn't do anything to stop it. Wyvern didn't stop the flames, holding the fire until he was totally out of every ounce of his breath.
As the fire died, everyone could see the damage it caused. Snorlax was still standing, no doubt in it, but he was covered from head to toe with nasty burns. In some places the skin was totally burnt off and the inside fatty tissues could be seen… making the sight not at all pleasant to look. Even the slightest movement caused Snorlax to visible winch, and that's all he could do at that time. And that's not the end, the grass on the ground was scorched which was expected, but the hard rocks which would have just heated up before have now fully melted down like butter. Wyvern cherished the sight as long as he could, before he could feel the energy leaving him and being replaced by the pain of paralysis.
"Wyvern?!", Ash finally said as got over the initial shock," That was a blast! Where were you hiding such power before?"
To be honest, Wyvern didn't know himself. Internally, he was as confused as others. But he was happy how things turned out, he felt good, he felt complete.
Ilima quickly returned Snorlax back in its ball and walked over to Ash who was yet to return Wyvern. "Let's call it a draw. Snorlax is badly burnt and Charizard is paralyzed. We must get them to the center"
Wyvern didn't like being called paralyzed and blew a cloud of smoke and gasses at Ilima's face. This did earn him a look from Ash who returned him in the next second, but he was overall satisfied.
"I can agree with that", Ash responded, "You wait here and look after the training of my other pokemons while I make a quick trip to pokemon center".
Ash then released all his pokemon who greeted him with their respective cheers and addressed," Listen everybody. I am going to the city for 15 mins. That does not mean its free time for all". This did earn him quite a few whines but he ignored it, "Ilima and his pokemons will be here looking after you. You all know the drill by now, so get going. For all those people who will make progress by the time we will reach the next city, I will take them out for shopping".
Well, it worked, everybody agreed to the proposal… when you deal with a bunch of whiny kids, just tempt them with rewards to get the job done.
"And no mischief, and definitely no sneaking out elsewhere… yes, I am telling you Duskull", Ash nodded. Duskull however shamelessly let out a sound which he could interpret as a laughter.
Ash couldn't help but feel amused, yeah, Duskull is a trouble maker, but he is a wholesome character, and he loved it for what he was. He shook his head and asked Ilima," Can I borrow Vela from you?".
The sun was now on the path of setting, and Ash was lying down on the bed, reading his Charizard journal. Ilima was down, attending to Snorlax, while Wyvern had been sent back to Professor Kukui for examination. Luckily though, Wyvern would return by tomorrow.
Today had been a very productive day for his team. They are all now resting in their pokeballs after the day of hard work out.
Ralts got better in his psychic abilities. He can teleport accurately over short distance, mostly the area which an average battle field will cover, and his confusion attack grew stronger. If he can learn hypnosis and psybeam by the time they reach Celadon, he may even consider using him as his lead in gym battle. And given at the pace Oranguru is preparing Ralts, he won't be surprised if Ralts manages that as well. He still has around two weeks of time.
Mimikyu got had got hang of Hone Claws. He would have to decide what he would do next later. Also, Mimikyu is getting thirsty for some real battle.
Goomy, Poipole, Dartrix were all getting better in their own respect.
The least amount of progress was shown by Duskull. He was having trouble in learning attack moves. That's when he realized he was doing it wrong all this time. Different pokemons have different fighting styles, some fight head-on while others especially ghosts have a way trickier style. And Duskull belongs to the latter category. He is a prankster; his main tools would be what is called status inflicting moves. He would have to make a new plan for him.
But the star of all this was definitely Wyvern. Even yesterday he wasn't that good. And he is trying to find a logical reason for it. But his search has not yielded anything yet. He kept on turning the pages, trying to find some sort of explanation. He had this gut feeling it had something to do with using those TMs, especially Solar Beam.
First of all, a charizard learning Solar Beam had only been mentioned in the journal, nowhere else, not even the internet. Now, a possible reason can be that this entry was made almost six seven decades ago, when communication and technology were not as advanced as today's. And even if some records were there, like his, those must have been forgotten.
Now with learning Solar Beam itself, a few rare Charizard's have the ability Solar Power. So, learning Solar Beam can be linked to that ability. But Wyvern has the ability Blaze, so he could feel this theory going down in drain.
As he continued looking through the records of biological organs and their functions, he found a note which could be helpful. The title of the note was, Biological Analysis of Charizard learning Solar Beam. Ash eagerly sat up and read everything there was. Though this note didn't explain how Wyvern got his power up boost, but this gave him a very solid idea of how Wyvern used Solar Beam, and how this process is different from the ones.
At that moment Ilima walked into the room and upon seeing Ash said, "Seems like you found some answers".
"Kind off", Ash said, "Atleast solved the mystery of Solar Beam".
Ilima nodded as he sat down on his bed, "I have talked to the Professor, he said he will be examining your Charizard soon. In the meantime, Charizard is being treated in the Aether Paradise Sanctuary. Now tell what you have found out"
"OK", Ash started, "I think we can agree that charizards cannot trap sunlight like grass types".
When he got a nod from Ilima he continued, "Well, looks like they don't trap sunlight, but they create sunlight! The same nuclear reaction that occurs in the sun to generate heat and light also occurs in their pulmyronarius, their equivalence of human lungs. This organ is the one responsible for the fire breathing moves. Not only that, since the heat generated by these nuclear reactions is significantly higher than their regular tolerance value, these organs evolve to conduct the process safely. Once enough light energy is generated, they release it like a beam similar to any other pokemon. But it does not explain how Wyvern can use the fire attacks so well. Can it be the evolution of the organs responsible?"
"That's for Professor to explain once he finishes his examination. But from what you said, there is one advantage of this Solar Beam", Ilima said.
"That it can be used even in the absence of sunlight, and it gets stronger when the sun is up. Yes, I guessed it once I read the explanation", Ash said again lying down on the bed. He then changed the topic, "So, you have any plans for the evening? Because when I called Professor, he said Scott is on an urgent business trip to Sinnoh and I would have to wait for an appointment".
"We can hit the Silph Corp. chain store", Ilima said, "Or we can take a tour of Saffron gym"
"Sounds good to me, because I am getting bored", Ash said.
"One thing Ash, you said these notes and diaries were in your family for five generations. Have you written anything in it?", Ilima asked.
"Nah! There is nothing I can add to it which is already not present", Ash replied staring at the ceiling. Then a small smile crept on his face, "But one day, maybe I will".
And that wraps the eleventh chapter. Thanks everyone for reading, and I will see you in the next chapter. Comment if you have any suggestions or review.
Suggestions and Criticism are welcomed.
Fafnir Out ~~~
