Chapter 24: Into the Valley of Fire
Ash and the gang were now back on the road, and they intend on going back through the canyons to the next destination, where they heard that the next Herba Mystica was supposedly located. Only this time, they also had some added company, as Brassius decided to join them for a bit. "So where do you think is the nearest Pokemon Center on this route?" Gus asked, not sure about where they were going "Well, if we follow this map correctly, there should be one up the canyon trail" Nemona answered while holding the map that said so.
"So Brassius" Zeke started a question "Do you really go here? I don't think it's much in the way of beauty" "That would be correct my young fellow" Brassius answered "But my Pokemon need to keep their strength up, and the Pokemon here display a, let's say a spicy disposition."
As the grass type gym leader chuckled to himself, Ash could only wonder what he meant by 'spicy disposition'. He had faced a myriad of foes before, ranging from common thieves, to dangerous super-criminals, but sometimes, he comes across a foe that he's not really used to, or is even well prepared for.
There are times where the Pokemon out in the wild are activiely malicious and intend to harm both him and his friends, good examples include the fiendish Togepi back in Sinnoh, or the Spiritomb from the same region.
However, there were also Pokemon that were merely the victims of circumstance, such as the Malamar back in Kalos or the Darumaka of Unova.
"Hold on a minute" Penny started "If I recall correctly, this is where the Valley of Fire is located" "Valley of Fire? Why's it called that?" Gus asked. "As far as I can tell, there isn't any fire out here" He continued on as he pointed to the open landscape seen in front of them.
Ash knew very well they could be walking into dangerous territory, the Valley of Fire sounded a lot like the Valley of Steel back in Hoenn, where he caught his Torkoal, and if the name stays true, they may have to face some very powerful Pokemon.
As they walked forward, they heard multiple screeching sounds, and they looked up to see a flock of Fletchinder and Talonflame circling above their heads.
"Wow, Fletchinder and Talonflame!" Vanny said with sparkles in her eyes "I'm so gonna catch one of them." But as she was going to pull out an empty Pokeball, one of the Fletchinder dive-bombed the group, and they barely got out of the way.
"I don't think they're ecstatic to join your team Vanny" Arven said as he took out his Quaxly and Lehconk to fend off the fiery birds. Ash sent out his Dunsparce and Finizen while Vanny sent out her Nacli, Carla sent her water types out, Gus sent his Shellder out, and Penny her Vaporeon.
Shellder was firing off Icicle Spears and a bunch of Water Guns were let loose, dousing the birds and forcing them away.
"Now I get why this place is called the Valley of Fire" Felia breathed out "Yeah, this place is home to many fire types, and they aren't what you would call the welcoming type" Nemona said.
"That is why I like to train here, it allows my grass types to build up a tolerance to their most well known weakness" Brassius said as he recalled his Dolliv.
As they continued onward, they then saw a Flareon slamming into what seems like a rock of sorts. However, as they got closer, they saw that the rock was actually a Klawf trying to defend itself from the constant Flame Charge attacks.
"We gotta save that Klawf!" Carla said as she sent out her Dondozo, and swept away the Flareon, allowing for Penny to catch it with ease.
"Another eeveelution for the Eevee girl, how fantastic" Vanny said with obvious sarcasm in her voice "What's wrong with eeveelutions?" Carla asked, to which Vanny replied "I just think they're so overrated, it's like everywhere there's a girl with at least one eeveelution!"
Somewhere in various parts of the world, a few girls along with their respective Glaceon, Sylveon, and Eevees all sneezed.
Ash then approached the cowering Klawf, clearly shaken up from the attack with was subjected to.
"Hey, are you alright?" Despite the crab's giant size, it was still afraid, clearly not having the best self confidence. "Wow, what a big soft shell" Felia mused to herself "Considering that this place is filled with many aggressive fire types, it would make sense that he would be scared, he must have wandered into this place by accident" Brassius deduced while stroking his chin.
Meanwhile
Team Rocket were trudging through the Valley of Fire in search for Ash and the gang, surrender is not in their vocabulary it seems, even after 8 regions they still follow Ash for his Pikachu.
"Ugh, it's so hot here!" Jessie complained as she wiped the sweat from her forehead "We could have just waited until nighttime to look for the twerps but no, you said we needed our exercise right now" James ratted out his partner while fanning himself.
"Ahh shut up, it's not like we'll find them out in this wasteland" Meowth said trudging along. However, as they continued onward, they were set upon by many Fletchinder and Talonflame, along with a giant canine shadow.
"Well lookey here, if we catch all of these fire types we are sure to make the boss happy" Jessie said as she sent out her Gimmighoul, with James sending out his Varoom.
"This will be a piece of cake" James said with arrogance in his voice, but as he said that, a giant Arcanine came into view, and stared them down. The Rockets turned a shade of white as they were met with the fierce dog Pokemon, and soon enough, they were sent blasting off with a powerful Fire Blast attack.
Over with Ash and his friends, they were helping Klawf trying to find his way out of the valley, so that way it wouldn't be so scared. However, that would prove to be very tricky, as they were constantly getting attacked by returning Fletchinder and Talonflame who won't leave them alone.
However, they were proven to be quite cowardly, often flying away when hit by a single Rock Blast attack from Nacli or a Water Gun from Quaxly.
"Ugh, this is getting more annoying than difficult" Gus groaned as he and Shellder sat down on a rock "Yeah, but we have to get this Klawf to safety" Zeke reminded "That's right, if we don't guide him back home then this will be a botched masterpiece" Brassius agreed.
Eventually, they made it to a clearing where they saw a lake, and they decided to get some water to drink. As they drank some of the water, Klawf sidestepped into the lake and relaxed in it.
"That's weird, Klawf is a rock type, so why is he enjoying the water?" Thomas questioned "Typings don't apply to all situations, my Lycanroc for example likes getting baths" Ash said as he filled up his canteen with water.
Klawf then stepped out of the lake before turning his claw blue and swinging it around. "Woah? It knows Crabhammer!?" Carla shouted in surprise. "It must be an egg move" Nemona speculated before they continued on their way.
Eventually, they found themselves by a cliffside, where they were ambushed by Arcanine, which caused Nemona and Gus to fall of the cliff. Thankfully, they were grabbed by Klawf, whom began to pull them up while the others fended off the fire type.
Once Nemona and Gus were back up, they then stared down the Arcanine.
"What's with this guy?! It's not like we chose to come here anyways" Carla said with anger in her voice "Some Pokemon just don't want to be reasoned with" Arven said while he and Quaxly got ready for battle.
"No, let Klawf handle this" Ash said while standing by the ambush Pokemon's side. Arcanine sped into battle with Extreme Speed, slamming into Klawf, but the latter slugged the former with Crabhammer. Arcanine then fired a Fire Spin attack that trapped Klawf, making him flinch form the intense heat until Arcanine bit down hard with Fire Fang. This had the unfortunate side effect of burning Klawf, reducing his attack power in the process.
"This is bad" Nemona said "Yeah, Klawf is going to get fried" Gus said.
"Come on Klawf, fight through the pain, and show him your true strength!" Ash roared with encouragement. Klawf opened his eyes and broke through the Fire Spin and began to glow orange. He then charged into Arcanine, dealing massive damage, and sending the fire type back into the canyon somewhere.
"Increcible! Klawf knows Giga Impact!" Felia marveled with sparkles in her eyes "That was a masterpiece to be remembered" Brassius said with tears in his eyes.
They eventually made their way out of the valley, where they bid farewell to Brassius before Klawf then approached Ash.
"What is it Klawf? Don't you want to go back home?" Klawf then let out a cry, and Ash could tell what he wanted. "I guess you want to join us right?" Klawf nodded yes, and Ash tapped a pokeball on his head. Klawf was sucked in, and was captured.
"Wow, he's catching so many Pokemon I'm having trouble keeping track" Penny said "I'm not even sure how many Pokemon he has at this point" Zeke said while he treated his Azumarill's wounds.
End of Chapter
Penny catches Flareon, Ash catches Klawf