60 chapters! Yowza, this thing's long, isn't it? Not as many chapters as other stories I've seen, but...man, this guy took a while to write.
Chapter 60 - Stark Mountain
Khrista ducked as a Flamethrower was blown in her direction, only for her to blast a Hydro Pump at the Magmortar the Fire Attack had come from.
"Magmortar didn't used to live in these caves! The only Fire-Types I had to worry about were Slugma, Magcargo, and the occasional Torkoal." She nodded in approval to Vapor as he forced a Graveler back with a Hydro Pump of his own. "And the regulars have gotten tougher, too."
"This is tough?" Vapor asked, amused. "That Graveler attacked with the power of a Geodude, and you call him tough? I'll believe that when I start seeing Golem."
"Don't say that too soon," Pikachu warned. "You've probably just jinxed us."
"Try to relax, Pikachu," Ash responded. "There's no way a Golem could live here."
As if on cue, three Golem fell from the cave ceiling and landed in front of them.
Khrista let out a sigh of annoyance. "Vapor, let's take these guys."
Spacial Break
"Hit it with Ice Punch!" Red ordered his Poliwrath, pointing at the Graveler in front of him. The Water/Fighting-Type complied instantly, slamming into the Rock/Ground-Type with enough power to send the wild Pokemon tumbling backwards, completely encased in ice.
Red nodded in approval to his Pokemon, then glared at Joshua. "You could be of more help, you know. Out of all the Trainers I've worked with, you have to be the laziest."
"I'm simply waiting for the most opportune time," Joshua responded coolly. Tossing out a PokeBall, he stated, "Caleb, use Heal Pulse on Poli."
There was a bright green flash as the move emerged with the Pokemon, hitting Poli and allowing the Kanto Pokemon to recover some energy.
"Heal Pulse?" Red asked, curious.
"A recently discovered move. Very handy if you don't have any Potions with you." Joshua nodded to the Lucario. "We're going to need your help against these Rock-Types that are wandering around."
Caleb nodded. "Rock-Types are nothing to a Pokemon like me." A smirk appeared on his face.
"You have any idea how close we are to the Legendaries?" Red asked as he looked deeper into the cavern. "I've heard that Lucario can sense the aura of both people and Pokemon. If you can tell how far away they are -"
"I may be an Aura Seer, but I'm afraid that I can't." Caleb shook his head. "There's something blocking me from seeing anything with my Aura Sight."
Poli grumbled something under his breath that no one could decipher, but Red had a pretty good idea of what his first Pokemon was saying.
"There isn't much we can do about that right now," the Kanto Champion reasoned. "We should keep moving - we don't want to stay in the same place for too long."
"Right," Joshua agreed. He promptly began to move forward, Caleb at his side, ready for an attack from anywhere.
Spacial Break
Khrista let out a low growl, glaring at the Golem that had decided to take a nap in their path. "Hydro Pump!"
The blast sent the Pokemon rocketing down the tunnel, coming to a stop only when it hit a wall.
"These guys are becoming as common as Zubat," she muttered. "Now you see what Pikachu meant, Vapor?"
The Water-Type standing behind her nodded. "Yeah. Note to self: don't say anything stupid while in Stark Mountain."
Ash nodded. "You're not the only one with that problem. Everywhere I go, I jinx something."
Pikachu chuckled knowingly in agreement.
Khrista smirked, then motioned for the group to continue on, taking a few steps forward as she did so. "We probably don't have far to go. If the Golem have begun to appear more frequently, we could be pretty deep in already."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Khrista jumped back as a Rhyperior jumped down and landed where she had been standing a second before. The Pokemon looked like it had gone though a few buckets of paint, because it was almost completely white, except for a golden horn, bright yellow armor pads, and green eyes.
Khrista's eyes widened. "What happened to you?"
"A second chance." The Rhyperior took a step forward, one hand outstretched. "My master has offered me a second chance to once again live among my brethren. All he asks is that you come along quietly with me to meet him."
"Trap," Pikachu muttered under his breath.
Khrista, hearing what Pikachu said, let out a short chuckle. "Come quietly? First, you must inform me of where we're going."
The Rhyperior seemed confused. "We? I only came for you. Master Palkia only has an interest in you."
Khrista was taken aback by this. "Only interested in me?" She shook off her shock and stated, "Look, buddy, I'm not going quietly to your master, whether he has an interest in me or not. We came here to free him from the Red Chain. So there!"
The Rhyperior's eyes narrowed. "He has learned much from that which binds him. Behold my power!"
The Pokemon raised his arms above his head, and, much to everyone's surprise, a ball of electricity formed above him. Without any problem, the Rhyperior threw the ball at Vapor, who was saved from being KO'd by Ash jumping in the way and absorbing the attack.
"Have a taste of your own medicine!" Ash barked, throwing a smaller ball of electricity at the Rhyperior.
It hit its mark, and the large Pokemon flinched back and held a paw over his stomach.
Khrista's eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself and grabbed two PokeBalls from her belt. "Vapor, return! Raichu! Get out here!"
The Water-Type disappeared in a flash of red as the Electric-Type appeared.
Raichu stiffened as soon as she saw the Rhyperior, which was being pushed back by Pikachu's spontaneous Volt Tackle. "Why did you bring me out against a Rhyperior?"
"He's part Electric," Ash called out. "Palkia probably did something to him."
"And it looks like he's weak to it, too," Khrista added. "Think you could try giving him a good zap?"
Raichu cocked her head to one side, then gained a sinister grin as her cheeks started to spark. "I've been meaning to try this one out for a while now!"
She raised her tail and started to swing it around, releasing a ring of electricity that promptly went flying through the air and down around the Rhyperior.
As soon as the electricity touched the Rhyperior's body, the former Ground/Rock-Type let out a scream of pain that caused the attacking group to flinch back and cover their ears.
It didn't take long for the scream to peter out, though, and the Rhyperior collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily, still trapped in the electric coils.
Khrista gave Raichu a look of surprise. "Where did you learn that?"
Raichu shrugged. "I taught myself it while I was trying to figure out a way to turn Shock Wave into a binding attack, too."
At the back of Khrista's mind, something shuddered, but Khrista put it off as a chill breeze moving through the area.
Khrista nodded in approval, then turned and looked at Ash, whose hands were letting off sparks. "Well, it looks like your powers are up and running."
Ash nodded in agreement, lifting up his hands to get a better look at the sparks. "But how am I going to turn it off?"
"Focus on disconnecting from it," Pikachu suggested. "Either that, or find something to release it on."
Ash frowned, then closed his eyes tightly, clenching his fists tightly.
Raichu moved to face the electrically-bound Rhyperior as the Trainer concentrated. Grace, who had been standing off to the side, flew over to her as Khrista, shifting her shirt to a bright orange, moved over and started to push the Rhyperior out of the path with the Angeleon's and the Electric-Type's help.
"Master Palkia will make you wish you hadn't done that," the Rhyperior snarled at them.
"Shut it," Khrista responded. "We'll see him soon enough."
Spacial Break
Meanwhile, Red and Joshua were facing the same sort of problem, but not in the form of a Rhyperior - it was a Dusknoir instead.
"You mere Trainers are no match for my Master," the Pokemon snarled, tossing Joshua's Lucario at a cave wall. "They have more power than you can possibly imagine."
Red rolled his eyes in boredom. "Gee, where have I heard that before? Pika, finish him off."
The Electric-Type nodded. "Right. Thunder!"
The attack zipped towards Dusknoir and smashed into it, causing the Pokemon to howl in pain.
Joshua raised his eyebrows in surprise, watching from where he knelt next to Caleb. "I didn't think that move would affect that Pokemon so much." He handed his Pokemon an Oran Berry, giving the Fighting/Steel-Type enough energy to get back up on his feet. "Moves like Shadow Ball and Shadow Claw have been known to be super-effective."
Red frowned. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe this one is part Flying."
"Doubt it. All Dusknor have the same Typing."
As Pika halted his attack, the Dusknoir fell to the cave floor, breathing heavily, arcs of electricity moving from one section of the Pokemon's form to another.
As it wheezed, the Pokemon said, "Master Palkia changed me and my fellow agents. My original 'Typing,' as you call it, has been exchanged for a different one. I have access to incredible...power..." The Pokemon trailed off as he lost consciousness.
Caleb shook his head. "The gods are mad," he declared. "No Pokemon should have their abilities changed - truly, it would drive me mad."
"Just to change a Pokemon's Type alone goes against nature," Pika agreed.
Joshua nodded. "We need to keep moving. If we ran into a Pokemon like this here, the others are probably having trouble with them, too. And where there's one, there's probably more." Returning Caleb to his PokeBall, he dashed off, ignoring the looks Red and Pika were giving him and each other.
Spacial Break
Khrista and Ash kept moving forward down the corridor and nearly turned a corner in tunnel when Grace suddenly spoke up.
"Wait!"
The two Trainers turned to look back at the Angeleon, who had both her ears straight up.
"There's something coming from down that tunnel," Grace stated urgently. "We'd better be careful - it could be another Pokemon like that Rhyperior."
"Rhyperior?" a voice repeated.
Joshua and Red stepped out of the darkness of the tunnel ahead of them, a Lucario to Joshua's right and Pika on the Champion's shoulder.
"We were attacked by a Dusknoir," Red continued. "Palkia messed up its Type so badly, Pika's Thunder attack was super-effective."
"We fought a Rhyperior that was part Electric," Khrista explained. "Electric-Types were super-effective on him, and Ash has been sparking on and off ever since."
"I've held it back for the most part," Ash muttered. A few sparks jumped off the Trainer's fingers. "That Rhyperior's Electro Ball is still trying to get out." He looked around the tunnel. "Where's the end of all this?"
"Just up ahead," Joshua replied, pointing with his thumb behind him. "We were about to climb a set of stairs when Caleb was finally able to use his Aura Sight and found you."
"Really?" Khrista blinked in surprise. "Could you show us?"
The boys gave a nod, then turned and walked into the tunnel again. Khrista and Ash followed after them with Grace, Raichu, and Pikachu.
The group soon arrived in a small cavern with multiple tunnels branching off and roughly-cut stairs leading up from the floor in the center of the room.
Khrista walked over and tried to peer up the stairs. "It looks like the passageway up ahead has been blocked off by a trap door..." She looked at Ash. "You want to release some energy and blow it open?" The teen moved clear of the stairs to allow Ash a clear shot at the blockage.
The Kanto Trainer moved to stand in front of the stairs, eyeing the object at the end. "It looks like a Golem dropped a large boulder up there," he remarked.
Pikachu let out a groan. "Don't start."
Khrista shook her head, chuckling. "Can you blast it? Or do I need to call on Linoone and have him use Strength?"
"No; I think I got it." Ash got ready to fire an attack. A look of intense concentration on his face as he held his hands out in front of him.
The electricity in his body responded instantly, sparking from his hands as it formed into a ball. When it got to the size Ash wanted it to be, the Kanto Trainer pushed. The Electro Ball responded instantly, zooming up the stairs.
The boulder didn't stand a chance - it exploded on contact with the electricity.
Ash jumped back as a few small rocks tumbled down the stairs. "Looks like we can head up."
Pikachu nodded in agreement. "What do you think is past here?"
Khrista was about to answer when she felt a presence brush against her mind, and she stiffened. "I'm getting the feeling that they know we're coming."
"We've been trashing this place for the past what, half an hour?" Joshua sighed with annoyance. "Of course they'd know we're coming."
Khrista shuddered. "That wasn't what gave me the hint. I think...one of the two is mentally searching for where we are."
-You are correct-
Everyone jumped at the sound of the voice, except for Ash, who stared at the ceiling.
"Palkia," the Kanto Trainer muttered.
-Greetings, Ketchum. My brother and I have awaited your arrival since you set foot on the island-
Khrista got in front of the stairs. "Well, we're coming up to knock the Red Chain loose whether you like it or not!"
-Hold-
Everyone (minus Ash) jumped as a new voice resounded.
-We must first test you. If you are prepared to face us, face the last three of our agents first-
Joshua frowned. "That was Dialga, wasn't it?"
Ash nodded. "The agents he mentioned must be like the two we fought earlier - the Pokemon with the messed-up Types."
"And they weren't the only ones."
The group turned quickly in order to find the source of the voice, only to find themselves staring at three Pokemon - a Skuntank, a Weezing, and a Golbat.
Khrista's eyes narrowed. "Great. Team Skull got messed with, too."
Ash gave her a curious look. "You know these guys?"
"Maria complained about them every time she played her Mystery Dungeon game." Khrista pulled out two PokeBall and tossed them out. "Vapor, hit Golbat with Aurora Beam! Linoone, you've got Skuntank - use Rock Smash!"
Vapor reared back and unleashed a colorful beam of cold at the Golbat, who ended up getting a mouthful.
Linoone let out a howl and was about to run forward when Caleb stepped in front of him.
"Don't; I've got this," the Lucario stated. He got into an iconic stance and started to form a ball of blue energy between his paws.
Golbat spat out Aurora Beam and let out a laugh while the Weezing unleashed a raspberry. "That stuff doesn't hurt us anymore!"
Khrista gritted her teeth. "Hydro Pump him."
Vapor didn't even look back or cry out this time as he fired the attack. A large blast of water was sent out and slammed into Golbat's mouth again while a small spurt from the main section slipped into Weezing's face.
"Aura Sphere!"
Bam! Skuntank was hit in the face by a large blue orb of energy. The Dark/Poison-Type shook his head and growled weakly before collapsing. The comic swirls that took the place of his face signaled that he'd been hit with a one-hit KO.
"ExtremeSpeed into a Close Combat," Joshua added, motioning to the Weezing. "That should take it out."
Caleb nodded, then dashed forward and started punching and kicking Weezing, sending the Pokemon into a cave wall.
Vapor and Khrista, meanwhile, were still glaring at Golbat, who was reeling about like a drunken sailor, his mouth full to the brim with water. Finally, the water was spat out, and the Pokemon made as though to attack the Vaporeon, but he collapsed before getting there.
"That was way too easy," Vapor muttered, frowning.
"Don't let your guard down," Ash warned. He looked up the stairs at the cavern above them. "We still have a couple Legendaries to take out."
Khrista nodded in agreement as she returned Linoone and Vapor to their PokeBalls.
"Let's go," Joshua stated. He started for the stairs, and the rest of the group followed.
You have to wonder...what if Tony Stark found out that a volcano with his name on it actually existed?