AN: Wow I still get a little shocked when I see the amount of reviews one chapter will get, especially after such a long absence. Glad to see the return of some familiar names in both my pm box and reviews section.
There were a few reviewers that left recommendations for pokemon (mostly for Ash) and one of the most requested was a Beldum. With the amount of reviews that "voted" for the pseudo legend I can't say no. Others that caught my eye were Gallade, Weavile, and Milotic. I am personally a huge fan of Milotic so I shall play around with that idea. The other two sound interesting as well so I shall think on those.
Somebody recommended Dawn get an eeveelution as well and I'm thinking of giving her a Leafeon. Glaceon is a personal favorite of mine but she is still getting Mamoswine so ice typing is covered.
There were a few asking if I would include Megas and I am heavily inclined not to. I hate almost every Mega, design wise, and personally don't care for the ones they gave them to. The exceptions to this are Gardevoir (a staple on my team), Lucario, and Charizard. The rest of them just look...blegh. They could have used the chance to fix some broken pokemon (Pidgeot) but nope. So FOR NOW I will be saying no to including Megas. I may change my mind later.
Before I start ranting I will also again say that Ash will probably not be getting another electric type pokemon. With Pikachu on his team and with me planning on evolving him down the road there is just no need for another electric type unless it's fucking Zapdos or something.
That's about all I got to say so let's start the story!
"Yes mom I'm fine," Dawn spoke in an exasperated tone.
Despite her loss the previous day Ash had made sure she ended her night on a high note and after having eaten their fill of food at a local diner Ash had bought them and her two pokemon ice cream for a job well done. Buneary had healed in only a few hours thanks to the miracle that was modern medicine and had also received some cheering up from Pikachu which had the Normal type blushing up a storm for the rest of the night.
Tired and full of food they had retired to their beds to rest up for their return to the road.
Of course Ash had awoken early in the morning to get some light training done and when Dawn woke up he had given her time to get ready while he headed off to the PokeMart to refill on supplies.
While the raven haired trainer was out doing that Dawn had decided to call her mother who had no doubt watched the contest via broadcast. When Johanna had first answered the phone she was sure that she would be greeted by a saddened Dawn but was pleasantly surprised when instead she was greeted by the smiling and chipper visage of her daughter.
Curious as to what had happened to her daughter to make her so happy the mother could only gratefully smile and internally thank the heavens that her daughter had met Ash.
Dawn in a rush of happiness at remembering how kind Ash had been had been spilled not only the details of the night but unknowingly admitted to the feelings she got from the whole affair. Though there was no need as he smile and slight blush Dawn sported while talking about the nightmare it rather clear to her mother just how she felt about the gesture and even the raven haired teen responsible for it.
Even still she wanted to make sure her daughter was not faking it just to give her peace of mind which is why Dawn was reassuring her worrying mother.
As Johanna was about ready to question her daughter on other matters not related to pokemon a certain electric mouse scampered up Dawn's chair and made itself at home on her lap. Trailing behind said pokemon was his partner who smiled at Dawn and greeted Johanna.
"Hey there Mrs. Berlitz," Ash happily greeted.
Johanna smiled and greeted the teen, "Good to see you Ash and just call me Johanna. Seems appropriate after the date you took my daughter on last night right honey?"
Dawn's face lit up as a blush covered her face. Ash meanwhile sputtered as he was thrown off guard by the sneaky mother's insinuations.
"MOM!"
"What? I mean going out for dinner and ice cream? Sounds like a date to me," Johanna teased.
The two teens could only blush and sputter as they tried to form a coherent argument. Sadly for them there was no such argument to be found as there was no way that it didn't look like a date. It didn't help that as of late both had taken note of their closeness to the other. Their familiarity with each other wasn't odd itself but the fact that they were so comfortable with the other after only spending near a week together was somewhat odd.
On the other hand it made some sense. Ash was a very open person and was not someone who would act like someone else just to impress people. His outgoing and overall friendly personality made it easy to just feel at ease around the raven haired teen.
Though Dawn was a little more..."high maintenance" compared to Ash that could be chalked up to her simply being a little more socially aware than Ash. The teen had spent almost the entirety of four years traveling the world and roughing it with his pokemon and one or two friends as his only source of companionship. Dawn meanwhile was still adjusting and was more used to the rather pampered life she had gotten used to at home.
Despite that Dawn was almost as enthusiastic as Ash was when it came to pokemon, training, and traveling. Their shared love of pokemon made it easier to get along and Dawn being a pretty caring person helped as well.
With each other as the only other human source of friendship it only made sense that they would grow closer at a somewhat faster rate than was the "norm".
When Johanna had gotten her enjoyment out of teasing the two she smiled, "But on a serious note I sincerely thank you Ash. You've helped my daughter quite a bit and I couldn't ask for anyone better to watch over her. I know she's in good hands."
Ash blushed at the praise and rubbed the back of his head, "It's no problem Mrs - I mean Johanna. But honestly your daughter is a pretty smart girl. All I'm doing is offering some pointers."
Johanna's motherly smile quickly turned into a smirk and with a conspiratory wink she told Dawn, "Strong, smart, humble, and good looking? He's a keeper honey."
Dawn's face lit up with a blush once more, "GOOD BYE MOTHER!"
The bluenette hung up the phone and allowed her head to fall into her hands, hiding her "shame" from the world.
The voice of Nurse Joy coming through the intercom broke the somewhat awkward silence that had filled the room, "Mr. Ketchum can you please come to the front desk?"
Both turned a curious glance at each other knowing that neither had dropped off any pokemon to be checked. Buneary had already healed from her battle and was back in tip top shape. Shrugging the two ventured to the front desk, being greeted by the almost perpetually cheery visage of Nurse Joy.
Ash was the one to speak up, "You called for me Nurse Joy?"
"Yes and I'm sure you're wondering why," Joy asked. Seeing both trainers nod she continued, "It's about that Growlithe Pup you brought in the other day."
A look of worry quickly shined in Ash's eyes, "Is it ok?"
Joy only smiled serenely, "Very much so. It will have a few scars here and there but the little girl is in perfect condition. The only problem was what happened when we tried to release her back into the wild. She refused to leave the bed and ran around the center and ended up outside of your room and refused to leave that spot."
"Where is she now?" Ash asked.
As if being called by her master the Growlithe pup they had just been talking about ran around the corner being chased by a handful of assistant nurses and other staff members. The Fire type puppy made a beeline for Ash who was looking at the whole ordeal and trying to hold in his laughter.
The raven haired teen opened his arms to properly catch the speeding orange bullet and when the pup was safely in his arms she began to lick at his face causing him and Dawn to burst into a fit of giggles.
Joy decided to interrupt, "By all rights she is your pokemon Mr. Ketchum. You did catch her after all."
Ash nodded and turned his head to the happily panting Growlithe in his arms, "Well what do you say girl, wanna join me on my adventure?"
Growlithe barked in happy agreement, "Growl!"
Nurse Joy handed Dawn the pokemon's pokeball when she noticed that Ash was too enamored by his new pokemon. Dawn only giggled at Joy's wink, knowing exactly why she had been handed the ball.
"Boys will be boys," Joy teased.
Looking at the way Ash was fooling around with Pikachu and Growlithe Dawn could only laugh and agree.
Still laughing somewhat Dawn walked up to her raven haired companion who was smiling as he watched Growlithe, Umbreon, and Pikachu happily conversing in Poké-speech. Having spent so many years with not just Pikachu but pokemon in general he could pick up the general gist of what the three were talking about. Being the descendant of a powerful Aura Guardian as well as having his own strong Aura helped as well.
"Seems like Growlithe is already getting along well with the others huh?" Dawn asked with a smile on her own face.
Ash just nodded, "Yeah looks like it. Kinda surprises me but I guess she's just naturally friendly."
Dawn only gave a silent agreement, just as surprised at how quickly the small fire pup had warmed up to not just Pikachu and Umbreon but Ash as well considering the ordeal the Growlithe had went through to eventually end up as Ash's newest team member. However part of the young coordinator wasn't all that surprised, having seen the loyalty and passion that was shared between Ash and any of his pokemon, a sentiment they returned with all they were.
Pikachu was the greatest indicator of this. It was surprising to Dawn how often they seemed less like trainer and pokemon and more like two brothers. Even Umbreon, a pokemon Ash had openly confessed to only having for a few months, was fiercely loyal to the raven haired teen. Both Turtwig and Starly were also beginning to show signs of their immense trust in Ash. They never once questioned Ash when he gave a command, in or out of battle and both were also highly affectionate with their trainer, like any of Ash's team.
Heck she was pretty sure that her own two pokemon would more than happily obey Ash with little to no trepidation.
Taking a glance at his Poké-Nav Ash noticed the time before turning to Dawn, "Well we're a little behind schedule but we can still probably make it half way to Oreburgh." Ash then turned to his three pokemon and spoke, "Alright you three we gotta get going if we wanna make it to Oreburgh by tomorrow. Growlithe you wanna stay outside or go in your ball?"
The four legged fire type seemed to take on a thinking pose before it motioned a paw towards Ash's belt where he kept his Pokéballs. Nodding in understanding Ash reached for her ball before realizing he didn't have it on him. Sweatdropping he turned to Dawn who had a teasing grin on her face as she stretched out her hand, a certain Growlithe's Pokéball in her palm.
Dawn shook her head in amusement as Ash took the high tech device from her hand, the older teen chuckling in embarrassment.
A beam of red light later and Growlithe was safely tucked away inside her ball. Turning to Nurse Joy the two offered a smile and wave before venturing out of the Center and eventually out of Jubilife city entirely, headed towards Oreburgh where Ash would claim his first gym badge in Sinnoh.
We rejoin the traveling youngsters as they are resting up in a clearing off to the side of Route 203. Dawn not being as fit and used to walking long distances as Ash and his team were had asked to rest for a bit. Ash only nodded, more than ok with it as he had seen the young bluenette trying her hardest to not let the fatigue she was feeling show on her face.
They had of course released their pokemon, allowing them to stretch their limbs out and socialize while Ash began to make a simple lunch of berries and sandwiches for everyone.
Dawn watched with a smile on her face as Piplup and Pikachu talked, the latter seemingly mentoring the younger pokemon in something's what the help of Ash's Water type, Corphish. Buneary wasn't too far away gazing at Pikachu with adoration in her eyes which Dawn giggled at. Both Typhlosion and Umbreon were napping under the shade of a tree, his shiny Noctowl resting in one of the branches of the same tree. Primeape was off to the side meditating. Bayleef meanwhile was using her vines to play with the newest additions to the group; Growlithe, Turtwig, and Starly.
"So Ash do you have a plan for the Oreburgh gym?" Dawn asked out of curiosity.
Ash hummed in thought before nodding, "Yeah. From what I've heard the gym is a Rock type one so Turtwig is going to be used for sure. I'd like to stay away from using my older team but if it comes down to it Noctowl wouldn't be a bad choice. I'd like to use Starly and maybe Growlithe but I'd have to work em pretty hard to give them a fighting chance."
"Why not use Bayleef and Primeape? Wouldn't their type advantage be helpful?" Dawn inquired.
Ash laughed, "Oh yeah they would, but it wouldn't exactly be fair to the gym leader unless they use their main team. Primeape is easily among one of my stronger pokemon and he would just swat away those Rock types with ease. Bayleef isn't one of my stronger battlers but she is still plenty powerful and she would just as easily plow through the gym leader's team with minimal damage."
Dawn looked at Ash strangely, "What do you mean by 'main' team?"
Ash only smiled, "Well every gym leader has quite a few pokemon, but are usually restricted to a certain level and amount due to League regulations. The only exceptions are usually the higher tier gyms which are sometimes encouraged to use their main teams."
Dawn was still confused and expressed that confusion, "Why would the League restrict them to weaker teams?"
"Well because it would be almost impossible for newbie trainers to get a badge if they went all out," Ash laughed.
"Are they really that strong?" Dawn asked in surprise.
"Well Dawn think about it. The League pretty much entrusts gym leaders with the protection and safety of the town and the people they preside over. To do that they have to be both strong battlers and knowledgable in almost all areas of pokemon life. They have to be ready to defend their town from rogue pokemon, criminals, and even natural disasters. It's a pretty tough job being a gym leader," Ash concluded.
Dawn was a little awe struck at hearing about the duties of a gym leader. She had never really been into gym battling and so hadn't done much looking into it, other than what was required for her to gain her trainer's license, but the way Ash explained it put them in a league all their own.
"How do you know all that?" The young coordinator asked curiously. Ash seemed to have almost first hand knowledge of the subject which she was sure wasn't just readily available to anyone.
"Well it's kinda hard not to learn that stuff when my best friend aside from Pikachu still occasionally takes on the role of the Pewter city gym leader back in Kanto. He along with one of the Cerulean city gym leaders traveled with me through both Kanto and Johto as well so I picked up on a few things," Ash explained looking a little lost on memory lane.
Dawn could only stare in shock at the casual way Ash explained all that. To have travelled with not one but two gym leaders was not something that occurred to just anyone. Though there were still some questions that floated in her head, "Where are they now?"
Before answering Ash gathered the berries and sandwiches he had made and made sure each pokemon got their fill. He then grabbed two plates of the same and sat next to Dawn, handing her one while keeping the other for himself.
"Well Brock is back in Pewter helping his brother train to one day take on the responsibility of being gym leader. Since he's also a League sanctioned breeder he travels to help out professors and Daycare centers when they need it. Misty is back home heading the Cerulean gym and trying to improve the reputation her sisters gave them."
Dawn nodded and smiled at the fondness with which Ash talked about the two gym leaders. It seemed to her like he had been really close with the two and seeing as how the three had traveled through two regions together it only made sense. What Ash didn't tell Dawn was that the three were now more like siblings due to the various life threatening situations they had been through. While Ash's near death count was unbelievably high for such a young teen, both Brock and Misty had been with him during a huge majority of those incidents.
The two incidents that stuck out the most were their almost dying at the bottom of the ocean after the sinking of the massive luxury cruise liner the St. Anne and the whole Shamouti Island fiasco where they had confronted not one and not two but all three of Kanto's Legendary Bird Trio with a very special guest appearance by the Guardian of the Sea, Lugia.
Ash had to forcibly shake himself from that train of thought. During that time he was sure that after Shamouti he would be done with the whole Chosen One business but that didn't seem to be the case because no matter what region he travelled through he always ended up involved in a position to help and/or save a legendary pokemon. Some criminal organization was usually always involved as well.
It seemed that no matter what he could never just have a peaceful journey through a region and claim the badges. He highly doubted that Sinnoh was going to be any different. It seemed that the stakes kept getting raised though.
Hoenn had seen him meeting the ancient titans of the sky, land, and sea; Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre, the latter two which involved him stopping both Team Aqua and Magma from achieving their respective goals. From what he had learned about Sinnoh's legends they were even more powerful than those three, pretty much being deities. Palkia, the master of space, and Dialga, the master of time. That was not even counting the likes of Darkrai and Cressilia.
Ash sighed to himself wondering when danger and trouble would come to seek him out.
Looking at the looks of happiness not only on his and Dawn's pokemon but on the young coordinator's face as well caused him to throw those thoughts into the back of his mind. Right now he had a gym battle to worry about.
With that in mind he whistled and called out, "Growlithe c'mere real quick."
The fire dog was quick to obey and made her way over to Ash, plopping herself at his feet. Pulling out his PokéDex Ash scanned her and waited. What he heard had him whistling in slight surprise.
"Growlithe the Puppy Pokémon. Extremely loyal, it will fearlessly bark at any opponent to protect its own Trainer from harm. This Growlithe belongs to trainer Ash Ketchum. Level: 16. Gender: Female. Ability: Flash Fire. Known moves: Bite, Crunch, Ember, and Odor Sleuth."
"That's pretty interesting Growlithe," Ash commented, making the the Fire type bark in happiness at the compliment.
Dawn turned a curious glance towards Ash, "Why is it interesting? Seems like she's a pretty normal Growlithe."
Ash scrolled through his PokéDex and explained, "The Growlithe line don't naturally learn Crunch and Flash Fire is a pretty rare ability among Fire types."
"So that means that one of Growlithe's parents knew Crunch then right? And what does Flash Fire do?" Dawn questioned.
"You're right about one of her parents knowing the move. Probably a Houndoom which may explain why we found her being chased out of the pack. As for Flash Fire, well it's a pretty awesome ability that completely negates the effectiveness of Fire type attacks. Actually instead Fire type attacks will only increase the power of Growlithe's own Fire type moves," Ash spoke with a giddy grin, excited to test out the ability. None of his three Fire types had the ability, Charizard and Typhlosion having Blaze and Torkoal had White Smoke so the prospect of seeing the powerful ability in action and its uses excited him to no end.
Dawn on the other hand was a little shocked at the luck Ash seemed to have. While Fire types usually did very little damage to each other, more so than other types, there was still the possibility of a stronger Fire type dealing heavy damage to a weaker one. However with Growlithe's ability the possibility of her taking damage from any Fire type move was absolute zero.
Ash looked down at his PokéNav and said aloud, "Well it looks like we're not too far out from Oreburgh so we can probably just go ahead and stop here, train, and then setup camp later tonight."
Dawn just grinned, "Are you saying that because you wanna rest or because you wanna see your Growlithe's ability?"
Ash blushed at being caught, "Well I mean I've never had a pokemon with the ability so I wanna see what it can do, but we can keep moving if you want to!"
Dawn only giggled, "It's fine Ash. Besides I wouldn't mind the rest and time to train with Piplup and Buneary. Maybe even see if I can catch another pokemon while we're here."
Ash smiled as Dawn spoke with a tone full of determination. It seemed that instead of putting a damper on her mood, her loss at the Contest had instead ignited a flame to get even better in the girl.
"Well just remember if you need my help just come and ask."
Dawn responded by throwing Ash the peace sign as she walked off, "No need to worry Ash!"
Ash smiled before a serious look quickly replaced it as soon as Dawn was out of sight. He had a bad feeling in his gut, something was going to happen soon. Turning to his Noctowl he spoke, "Noctowl go keep an eye on her. If she gets involved in something she can't handle come get me ok?"
"Noc!" The Flying type hooted before taking off in the same direction Dawn had went.
Pikachu along with the rest of Ash's older team only spared their trainer the briefest of glances, knowing that when their trainer felt something was off, chances were there was. Knowing exactly what he wanted from them already they got to their respective training routines, the only ones exempt from this were his newer pokemon and Typhlosion.
"Well Typhlosion we still don't know exactly where you stand since you evolved so I want you to have a quick spar with Primeape, no flames just fists. After that work with Pikachu and Umbreon on speed. By then I should have these guys setup and be able to help you work on some other stuff."
Typhlosion gave his trainer a nod and made his way over to Primeape who was busy beating some poor boulders to death.
Turning to his remaining team Ash spoke, "Starly I want you to keep on working on Aerial Ace. I know you're pretty close to mastering it and after you do that we'll work on Steel Wing."
Starly flapped its wings and flew off to grab the targets he would need for practice from Ash's bag.
Normally he would have done it for his pokemon, but he had realized how often he would be separated from his pokemon and while they were all capable battlers they relied a little too heavily on his own strategies to help them out of tough spots. He also noted that higher tier trainers like Lance and Steven rarely directed their pokemon in a battle unless it was a really intense one and so he had begun to train his pokemon to be a little more self sufficient. His older team members whom he had been with for years easily adapted, knowing many of the strategies he used for them by heart.
His close bond with Pikachu meant that the little mouse was easily the quickest learner and had even taken to helping him train his newer pokemon, acting as a sort of older brother and mentor for them. Seeing as how Pikachu, aside from being his oldest pokemon, was also close to being his strongest it only made sense. The only pokemon who could take the title of strongest from Pikachu was Charizard who stood head and shoulders above almost all his pokemon.
The same could be said for any of the pokemon he had from his first trek through Kanto really. Despite Bulbasaur and Squirtle still being in their first stage the experience and unnatural amounts of power they had kept them ahead of the rest of his team. He could only imagine the kind of power they would come into when they chose to evolve. Heck together the two had been an integral part of his victory over the Orange Crew's leader Drake, a feat none had done before him. That had only been about two years into his journey with them.
Coming back to the present Ash turned to the newest additions to his team. Growlithe looked eager to join the others in training, her fluffy tail rapidly wagging behind her. It seemed like she was going to join some of his other pokemon who enjoyed battling more than others. Among that group were Primeape, Charizard, Tauros, Totodile, and Kingler.
"Alright Growlithe I wanna see what you can really do so I'm gonna have you spar with Pikachu. Don't take it easy on him and go all out, he can handle it."
Growlithe seemed a little uneasy with the idea of fighting the pokemon she knew was Ash's first and her superior, but acquiesced in the end knowing that if what she had heard from the others about Pikachu she should be more worried about what the Electric mouse could do to her.
"Turtwig I want you to work with Bayleef on Vine Whip and Razor Leaf."
The Grass type turtle grinned in its own unique way before racing over to his fellow Grass type starter, the two picking a boulder that would be their training dummy.
Looking around him Ash had to smile seeing both his new and old pokemon working together to get stronger and better themselves. It had made him feel like a royal ass when he had realized just how hurt almost all of his pokemon were when he would just leave them at the Oak Ranch. Now it was time to make it up to them. He wouldn't be using most of his older pokemon in any of the early gym battles just because of how strong they were but some could use the experience. The aspiring Master was also a little paranoid and wanted to keep at least two of his powerhouse pokemon with him just in case of anything.
Ash was pulled from his thoughts when a slightly bruised Typhlosion trotted up to him with a grin on its snout. It amazed the raven haired teen when he thought about how when he had first met the Johto starter he had been a shy little thing and now as a somewhat fully grown Typhlosion it had that same love of battle most Fire types were notorious for. Or maybe he had been influenced by some of Ash's other battle loving pokemon back at the Ranch.
Either way the change was pretty shocking. Then again most of Ash's pokemon seemed to reach beyond the limits of their species. Pikachu of course damn near broke the supposed "rules" for how strong a pokemon of his size should be frequently.
"Alright Typhlosion we're gonna work on-" was as far as Ash got before the speeding form of Noctowl tore though the trees that surrounded the clearing. With a hoot bathed in urgency Ash's stomach dropped realizing that this could only mean Dawn was in trouble.
Without a thought Ash turned and instantly began sprinting in the direction Noctowl had come from, mentally cursing up a storm as he went. The Flying type quickly took the lead, guiding Ash through the foliage with Starly attempting to keep up with the more experienced flyer. Pikachu was by Ash's side in seconds, Umbreon not too far behind. Surprisingly the next pokemon to catch up was Growlithe who was easily keeping pace with the Dark type eeveelution. Bringing up the rear with Corphish riding on her back was Bayleef. Primeape was on Ash's other side, its powerful leg muscles powering it forward, Turtwig held in its arms. Typhlosion pulled a surprising maneuver and ducked itself under Ash's legs, lifting the trainer onto its back. Having ridden his fair share of pokemon Ash was quick to settle into a semi-comfortable position.
With Ash on his back comfortably Typhlosion sped up, using its four legs to propel it forward at a faster rate. The other pokemon took this as their cue to speed up, Noctowl and Pikachu leading the pack.
'Almost there Dawn. Just hold on.'
Dawn had to curse her bad luck. She didn't know what it was about her that caused her to be put in these damsel in distress situations, but she was not at all a fan of whatever it was.
She had been enjoying her time in the forest with Buneary and Piplup when they had stumbled on a small lake. Dawn saw this as a great opportunity to practice some possible combinations with Piplup and so had taken to practicing with the Water type. Buneary sat back just in case they bumped into any less than pleasant company.
The bluenette hated that she had been right when a pair of dueling male Luxios stumbled into the clearing. With the amount of electricity the two were giving off in their fight Dawn decided it was best to stay away and not interfere.
As she and her pokemon tried to sneak away from trouble that's when things went from bad to worse. It seemed the dueling Electric types had drawn the attention of a pair of poachers looking to make a quick buck.
Dawn was starting to gain a strong dislike for Dark types as the pair of poachers called out a Skuntank and Cacturne. The two Luxio were easily beaten and caught. By the much stronger pokemon, both not being all that affected by Electric type attacks.
She knew neither Buneary or Piplup were anywhere near strong enough to deal with the two dual types and had tried to make a run for it with Piplup's Bubblebem as a cover. It seemed the plan had worked until Dawn was stopped in her tracks by Cacturne's Pin Missle.
And now here she was, Cacturne making its way to her with that menacing grin on its face and Skuntank behind her, making sure she could not escape.
The leader of the poacher duo stepped forward with a hand outstretched and a sinister grin on his face, "Now how's about you hand over those two pokemon you got and we can all leave here without anyone getting hurt?"
Panic was starting to set in as Dawn realized the predicament she was in. They probably wouldn't kill her but if she didn't give them her pokemon she didn't doubt that they would use force if necessary. On the other hand giving up Piplup and Buneary to these scum wasn't exactly something she wanted to do either.
In the end though her love for her pokemon and their well being won out over her self-preservation.
"No! You're not taking them!" Dawn cried out as she took up a stance in front of the battle ready pokemon. The two small pokemon looked on in shock as their trainer put herself between them and the unsavory characters before them. She was willing to risk herself for their safety, something not many would do in her situation.
The poachers "nice" grin instantly dropped, morphing into a twisted snarl of anger.
"Whatever your funeral then. Skuntank use Sludge Bomb."
The massive skunk obeyed launching a large glob of toxic liquid at the young coordinator. To Dawn's surprise Buneary reacted quickly, firing off an Ice Beam and freezing the toxic sludge solid. Piplup followed suit and launched a barrage of bubbles in the form of his Bubblebeam attack.
The glowing bubbles harshly impacted with Skuntank, stunning the larger pokemon. Before hope could begin to bloom, Cacturne intervened, slamming a powerful Needle Arm into Piplup.
The small penguin was sent rolling back towards Dawn's feet, the young trainer gasping in horror at the sight of her starter pokemon in such terrible shape. The needles on Cacturne's arm had pierced through Piplup's skin, coloring his down with a ruddy red color. But even still the Water starter struggled to rise to its feet in a show of sheer will power.
Buneary however was quick to retaliate, sending a powerful Ice Beam at the Dark/Grass type. Cacturne was caught off guard and took the attack with a grimace, the Ice type attack freezing one of its "arms" and sending a cold chill throughout the rest of its body. As a sentient plant the quick drop in temperature was doing a number on its body and causing more pain than most other attacks would.
As Skuntank was about to attack and allow its partner to recover when a cry of berserker anger came from the trees, drawing the attention of everyone. Down from the canopy came an enraged Primeape, fists aglow with power.
Before Skuntank had time to grasp the situation the Primeape was on him, gravity aiding in the Fighting type's devastating haymaker. The dual Dark/Poison type gave a loud cry of pain as the powerful fists plowed into its back, the sounds of something breaking under the force of the hit echoing. Primeape did not allow any room for recovery, slamming another glowing fist into the jaw of Skuntank with enough force to send the much larger pokemon flying into the air. When the impromptu flight was over Skuntank crumpled to the floor in an unmoving mass.
Before anyone else could really gain their bearings another cry of anger came from the trees, this time the imposing form of a Typhlosion came plowing through the tree line. With the flames on its neck roaring with such intensity that the air around it was distorting and the greenery around the Johto native darkening from the heat, Typhlosion encased itself in flames before rolling at breakneck speeds. Cacturne was barely able to gather its wits before the searing wheel of flames that the Volcano pokemon had become was upon him. To everyone's surprise Typhlosiom cancelled the attack, using the momentum to propel him into the air where he tackled the stunned Cactus pokemon and pinned the living cactus beneath him.
With a vicious grin flames broiled in Typhlosions maw and that was all the warning Cacturne got before the Fire type bathed it in flames.
The poachers knowing that whoever these...monsters belonged to outclassed them in every way turned and tried to make a run for it, leaving their pokemon in their haste to live another day. They got as far as the edge of the tree line before burning red eyes glared at them from the shadows the trees created. Glowing yellow rings shined and revealed the snarling form of an Umbreon, the toxic sweat the species we're known for beginning to leak onto the grass.
Where the drops of corrosive liquid fell, the grass and plants began to wither and die near instantly.
Turning they began to sprint off to the side, hoping that they could still escape with their lives.
That notion was crushed when a Pikachu appeared as if from thin air. Normally no one would fear such a small and adorable pokemon like Pikachu but this particular Pikachu did not look happy, bolts of white and yellow electricity arcing all over its body with such speed and intensity that the sound of minor cracks of thunder could be heard.
Turning around once more they were confronted by the very angry visage of one Ash Ketchum. Arms crossed the teen stood before the two poachers, his intimidation factor bolstered by the Typhlosion and Primeape flanking his sides. The various other pokemon surrounding them, even the small Growlithe and Corphish, only served to imprint on the poachers that they were not getting out of the situation scot free like they had thought.
Dawn herself was torn between rushing to give Ash a hug and turning and running. What she saw before her was not the goofy and fun loving trainer she had come to see Ash as. No instead in front of her was a veteran trainer who looked to have dealt with situations like this far too often.
She would later find out that she had hit the nail on the head with that assessment.
Right now though she was shocked to see the state of Ash's pokemon as well. Gone were the caring if not insanely strong pokemon and instead there were now monsters of their trade. Pikachu, the small adorable mouse, looked like he had been born of lightning and thunder itself. Typhlosion looked as if he would incinerate the entire forest with just his mere presence alone. Primeape had taken on the brutish and fearsome look of a true Fighting type, ready to shatter bones into dust at the command of his trainer.
Even Ash's more docile pokemon looked truly fearsome, none more so than Umbreon though. The normally calm Dark type looked as feral and frightening as any Mightyena or Houndoom, the glowing rings and searing red eyes striking the image of a beast who had been freed from its collar.
Growlithe, despite only being Ash's pokemon for a few hours, looked ready to pounce and tear into the poachers, needing only the word of her trainer as the go ahead.
Casting shadows from above were the two Flying types, Noctowl and Starly. Even the normally energetic and bubbly Bayleef had taken a stance of power, vines waving to and fro like snakes under the spell of a snake charmer.
The only sound that could be heard was the occasional loud snap of Corphish's pincers closing. The sound served to unnerve the poachers even more, knowing that even the tiny Water type could easily snap bones with those pincers of his.
Ash finally broke the silence with his voice coming out in a dangerously low tone that spoke of his anger, "You hurt my friend's pokemon and you were gonna hurt her. That is not ok with me."
The poachers could only whimper, "We're sorry! Just please let us go! We swear we're done with this life! We'll never poach any pokemon ever again!"
Without tearing his gaze away Ash spoke in a slightly gentler tone to Dawn, "Dawn. How is Piplup?"
Dawn simply could not find her voice and was thankful when her pokemon spoke for her, "Pip!"
Ash finally turned to look at Dawn and she was relieved to see the warm honey brown eyes she had grown so used to seeing every day.
"You really are a trooper Piplup. Good job protecting Dawn. You too Buneary."
Both pokemon smiled at the praise from the elder trainer.
Turning a cold gaze back to the poachers Ash spoke in that some dangerous tone, "Scum like you deserve nothing more than to be locked away forever and if the coming Rangers and Officer Jenny have anything to say about it that's exactly what is going to be happening to you."
Realizing that the teen before them was not bluffing in the slightest the poachers gave a last ditch effort at escape.
"Dark Pulse Honchcrow!"
"Machamp Brick Break!"
The large crow and multi-limbed pokemon were called from their PokéBalls, immediately obeying the orders of their trainers.
Ash was not at all fazed by the attempt at escape. Deciding to show them why they weren't getting away Ash uttered a phrase that a certain trio of Rockets had come to fear for good reason, "Pikachu. Thunderbolt."
Not even a second later the cry of, "Pika CHU!" rang through the clearing. Accompanying it was a massive bolt of electricity that looked like Thor or Zeus themselves had been called upon instead of a small Pikachu.
The massive bolt of lightning blinded those caught unawares causing them to close their eyes lest the intensity of the attack burn their eyes.
When the attack ended Dawn could only gape at the sight before her. Neither pokemon had a chance to launch either of their attacks and Honchcrow was either dead or unconscious, she couldn't tell as the burns that covered the dual Dark/Flying type were still smoking. She would have guessed it was still conscious by the slight twitches of the body if she didn't know that it was probably the various shocks of electricity running through the pokemon's nervous system that was causing them.
The massive muscled form of Machamp was standing, if barely, but one needed only to glance at the Fighting type to tell how much pain it was in. Like Honchcrow, Machamp's body was badly burned and spasming from the jolts of electrify coursing through neutral receptors in its body. It was only thanks to the very thick and hardened hide that Machamp was still conscious and able to stand.
Honchcrow had no such protection.
Not willing to take any chances Ash spoke, "Pikachu. Iron Tail."
In a burst of speed Pikachu was gone from normal human eyesight, only reappearing mid spin with its lightning bolt shaped tail glowing a bright silver. The tail slammed into Machampw with such power that the four armed pokemon was sent sailing through the air where the now unconscious pokemon's body was stopped only by crashing into the sturdy bark of a tree.
Pikachu landed without making a sound. Some pokemon may have been winded after unleashing such powerful attacks but the small yellow mouse looked as fresh as if it had not just devastated two pokemon and called down the wrath of Zeus in the form of an extremely over powered Thunder Bolt.
Dawn was both awed and a little horrified to see the brutality with which Pikachu had just destroyed two high class pokemon. And there was no other way to put it. Pikachu hadn't merely defeated the two pokemon, no he had destroyed them, not even allowing them to fire off a single attack.
Dawn suddenly recalled that Ash was only two years older than her. She was also reminded that he was an Elite class trainer. That meant despite this display of strength and power there were still the Champions, trainers whom Ash readily claimed outclassed him in every sense of the word.
The young coordinator shuddered to think of the monsters the Champions commanded. Ash had Pikachu for four years. What kind of power did the pokemon the Champions wield with the decades they had to train them?
AN: and that is a wrap folks! Got to show off a little of the power Ash's pokemon have which was fun. No not all of his pokemon are that strong nor will Growlithe and any other new pokemon he catches instantly become that strong right off the bat.
Pikachu has been with Ash literally through everything since the age of 10. After the shit they went through during the course of four years it stands to reason that Pikachu is insanely strong, something we've seem I'm the show countless times. Now if only they would stop making him weaker...
Also you have to admit Ash managed to catch some powerhouse pokemon in his early years. Primeape was already a damn strong pokemon when Ash caught him. So a little dedicated training and voila.
Keep in mind though that even though Ash has received this "boost" (I think it's where he should logically be) so have the gym leaders, legends, and Elite Four. I hinted at all that throughout this chapter.
Yes this was a sort of eye opener for Dawn that not everything is gonna be fine and dandy on her journey, especially if she's with Ash.
The pokemans! Some wanted me to give Dawn her own version of Ash's Charizard (a disobedient pokemon to show her being a trainer isn't easy) and I was going to but my fellow PokéNerd friend, Vic, pointed out that Mamoswine was that pokemon for Dawn. So there.
Being a fellow PokéNerd she helped me with a few things and in return she requested Dawn catch a certain Pokemans. She gave some pretty good reasons (aside from her personal bias) so Dawn will now be getting a Bellossom at some point!
Here's a list of the new additions to Dawn and Ash's teams
Ash: Growlithe (already caught), Beldum, Lucario (it's a must), and Weavile.
(Being considered for Ash are: Gardevoir/Gallade, Milotic, and Poliwrath)
Dawn: Absol, Bellossom, Leafeon, Ponyta, and Altaria
(Possibles: Milotic and Politoed)
Keep in mind that they will still be getting the pokemon they catch in the show as well. Also Ash will be calling in a certain prankster pokemon of his as well as the first stage of a dual Psuedo Legend he met in Johto.
Still free to leave recommendations in my pm box and in reviews.
On another note I'm plugging my YouTube channel because I've started a series with my friend Vic where we do different themed battles twice a week on Pokemon Showdown, a battle sim for those not in the know. If you're a fan of The Dex, it's like that.
First episode goes up today and it'd be awesome if you guys would go give it a watch and possibly a like!
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and the - in my opinion - improved writing.
Until the next chapter
PEACE
OUT