Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter nineteen: Aura Action
The heroes, having resolved the problem at Canalave City's harbor, were able to leave for Iron Island, from which they'd take another boat to get to Chocovine Town. "Hey, if we're heading north, we ought to swing by Snowpoint City," Ash suggested, "That way, we can challenge the gym there."
Dawn and Kenny both nodded in agreement with Ash's plan of challenging the Snowpoint City gym. The trainers were about to get going, but they stopped short when they heard some other people over a ways talking. "What's up with all of the wild Pokémon over on Iron Island?" one girl asked.
"It's not all of them," one boy pointed out, "Just the steel type Pokémon."
Hearing that, Dawn had a hint of seriousness on her face. "Oh, I remember those episodes." Looking to the boys, Dawn said, "It sounds like that there's trouble afoot over on Iron Island with the local wild steel type Pokémon."
"We can help out there when we get there," Ash pointed out, "It's on the way anyway." The heroes all nodded in agreement as they proceeded to head off to take the boat to Iron Island.
When they arrived on Iron Island later, the heroes checked in at the Pokémon Center and asked around a bit to get some info. Knowing that steel type Pokémon were acting up, Dawn and Kenny, respectively worried about Leni and Cell, swapped them out of their parties; Dawn swapped in Jack and Kenny swapped in Slick. Once the reborn trainers were ready, they joined Ash and Brock in looking around to see what was going on there at Iron Island.
As Dawn and the boys looked around, they saw a lot of wild steel Pokémon hurting themselves, and some occasionally tried attacking the humans. However, the Pokémon with the heroes fought all of the wild steel Pokémon off. After Jack and Germany fought off a pair of wild Lairon who got too close to Dawn for their comfort, the heroes saw some wild Geodude, Graveler, and some Diglet all trying to run away from the rampaging steel Pokémon.
"What could be making the steel Pokémon act like this?" Brock asked out of worry.
Dawn and Kenny, due to their knowledge from their previous lives, looked on with grave looks on their faces. "...I don't know what to tell you," Dawn said, "But whatever it is has to be-"
"Oh crud!" Kenny cried out in alarm, making the heroes all turn to see a wild Aggron come running their way, clearly aiming to attack them in its rampaging.
"Jack!" Dawn called out, making her Gallade ready to fight, "Fight that Aggron off with Bri-" Dawn stopped short when Germany rushed in and made the Aggron reel back by striking it up on the chin with Iron Head. As the named Gabite landed back, Dawn said, "Germany? What are-" Dawn was cut off when Germany held his right arm fin out, then he turned his head and gave his trainer a look that told her that he needed her to trust him.
Dawn could tell by the look her Gabite was giving her that he felt he had to do this. Wanting to respect her Pokémon, Dawn said, "...Alright, Germany. But at least let Jack back you up on-" Dawn was once more cut off when a Lucario came in and knocked the wild Aggron away, knocking it out. The heroes turned to look to see whose Lucario that was, and as such they saw Riley come walking on over to them, his Lucario coming with him.
"Are you kids alright?" Riley asked, "Sorry about dropping in like that just now."
Gently shaking his head with a small smile, Ash said, "No worries. Thanks for the save, mister."
Riley nodded his head in acknowledgement. "No problem. Anyway, I believe introductions are in order." Gesturing to himself and then his Lucario in that order, Riley said, "My name is Riley, and this is my Lucario."
"Hey wait," Dawn began, "Riley? As in the same Riley who left a Pokémon egg at the Pokémon egg care facility in Canalave City some time ago?"
Riley looked surprised by that. "How do you know?"
"That nice lady Moinko who runs the facility gave me a Pokémon egg she said was left there by a fellow named Riley," Dawn explained. Giving Riley a wry look, Dawn went on, "Would that be you, by any chance?"
Smiling, Riley said, "Yeah, that would be me. How are you caring for the egg?"
"It hatched into a Riolu that has since evolved into Lucario," Dawn replied, "However I swapped my Lucario out before coming here as I heard steel Pokémon are acting weird here, and I didn't want to risk anything happening to her."
"Similarly, I swapped my Scizor out before I came here," Kenny supplied.
Riley nodded in understanding. "I can see the caution you two are taking."
"Hey wait a minute, Riley," Brock began, "If steel Pokémon here are acting up, why isn't your Lucario acting up as well?"
Nodding once, Riley began to explain, "You see, I have figured out that some manner of waves is the cause behind the steel Pokémon acting up here. Lucario can use his aura to detect these waves and alert us to when steel Pokémon living here on Iron Island are coming by. Additionally, Lucario can also use his aura to protect himself from these waves." Turning around, Riley said, "Anyway, I ought to take you back to the Pokémon Center. It's too dangerous."
"What?!" Ash exclaimed, "We can help out here! Come on!" Dawn, Brock, and Kenny all nodded in agreement with Ash.
Riley gave the heroes a considering look. "...You'll have to be willing to act without even a moment's hesitation."
"I don't even know what hesitation means," Kenny replied, making Dawn sigh mildly.
The heroes, following behind Riley and his Lucario, continued making their way through Iron Island. They occasionally had to fight off wild steel Pokémon, with Germany insisting on taking part in every encounter. "...Your Gabite seems very energetic, Dawn," Riley remarked.
Sighing, Dawn said, "He seems very determined to prove something, and I can tell from the looks he gives me that he wants to fight off any wild Pokémon who bothers us." Dawn looked to where Germany was walking ahead of her with Jack. "At least Germany is letting Jack back him up like I had asked of him."
Riley gave Germany a look of consideration. "...Yes. I can sense that he's acting with a very singular purpose as well. Considering that Gabite is a ground Pokémon, he'll be useful in fighting off the wild steel Pokémon who bother us." Eventually, the heroes made their way to a large crater, although they approached with caution when Riley's Lucario indicated that he sensed the auras of people nearby in the crater.
Peeking out slowly, the heroes saw a bunch of Team Galactic members down in the crater, working to uncover some manner of ruins from the looks of it. Among the Team Galactic members was Commander Mars. "Hey, she's the jerk muffin who stole the Lustrous Orb from Dawn back over in Celestic Town," Kenny harshly whispered to the others while pointing at Mars.
Riley saw the uniforms of the Team Galactic members. "Team Galactic..."
"They're criminals who want to exploit the space-time legend of the Sinnoh region," Brock said, "We've dealt with them before." Riley turned back to look down at where Team Galactic was clearly up to no good.
...
Down in the crater, Mars looked confident that everything would go flawlessly. She opened the case that held the Spear Key, then took it over to an etching in the wall that looked like the Spear Key could fit right on in to. It did, and upon Mars putting in the Spear Key, the ruins began to take on a bright glow, unleashing a beam that flew to point at near the top of Mt. Coronet.
The heroes, from where they hid, saw all of this. They even looked to the giant statues of the legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia, the latter of which Dawn focused on more. The heroes were cut off when a wave blast emanated from the ruins, knocking Riley's Lucario back. "Lucario! Are you okay?!" Riley called out.
Lucario looked to be struggling as a dark aura surrounded him, before his eyes glowed like those of the rampaging steel Pokémon. With a cry, Lucario charged up an Aura Sphere attack and threw it at the heroes, with Riley running in to take the brunt of it, using aura powers of his own to mitigate a lot of the damage. "Don't give in to it, Lucario!" Riley called out to his Pokémon partner, "We're Aura Guardians in training, remember?"
"Hey, is someone up there?" Mars called up from where she and the Galactic grunts with her were milling about.
The heroes turned to face the direction that they heard a bunch of footsteps come from. "...We're going to have to fight them off it would seem," Dawn said grimly. Looking to where Riley was trying to calm his enraged Lucario, Dawn went on, "Can one of you boys help Riley calm his Lucar-"
"I'm on it!" Ash declared, running in with Pikachu at his side.
Dawn then turned back to look just in time as a few Galactic grunts began appearing. "Kenny, Brock, we're going to have to keep these guys occupied while Ash helps Riley calm his Lucario."
"Go Croagunk and Sudowoodo!" Brock said as he sent in his two main battling Pokémon.
"Zarbon! Go cover Slick from the rear!" Kenny said as he sent in his Machamp.
"MAAAAAAACHAAAAAAAMP!" Zarbon cried out in aroused, sensual pleasure as he came out of his pokéball.
Dawn looked to Jack and Germany, who she already had out. "...You boys ready for this?" Jack and Germany both nodded in the affirmative as the Team Galactic grunts got close enough to see the heroes and send out Pokémon to fight them. It was a horde of Golbats, but that's nothing that the heroes weren't familiar with already.
The fighting was nothing short of chaotic. Croagunk and Sudowoodo took out a few of the Golbats with powerful physical strikes, Zarbon shot a few down with Stone Edge, Slick actually grabbed a few in a bear hug before jumping up and belly flopping on the ground thus crushing and smothering those Golbats. Jack took a few down with Psycho Cut, but Germany really stood out, shooting down some Golbats with Rock Tomb, then slamming another one down with Iron Head, then slashing down two more with Dragon Claw.
Looking around, Germany spotted Mars down in the crater with her Purugly; the named Gabite vaguely recalled that Purugly from the attack that occurred at the Historical Research Center over in Celestic Town. He could tell that Mars was a notch above the Grunts who dared to challenge his trainer, so Germany used Dig to burrow underground, although he wasn't aiming for any of the many Golbats who flew overhead.
Ash and Riley continued to try to calm Lucario down, but it was slow going. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out, prompting Pikachu to cast a Thunderbolt attack at Lucario, who reeled back but was otherwise still in it and acting angry.
Lucario conjured another Aura Sphere attack, but when he cast it Riley got in the way and used his aura powers to block the attack and dispel it. "Lucario, please calm down!" Riley called out, as if he were pleading, "This isn't like you! This isn't you! Remember your aura training!"
As the enraged Lucario stood there, he began trying to struggle with the waves that were messing with his head. He held his hands to the sides of his head as he cried out in pain while trying to fight off the power that was messing with him. "...We need to knock Lucario out for the time being," Riley said grimly.
Nodding in understanding, Ash said, "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu charged at Lucario while sparking wildly with electricity, right before he rammed himself right into Lucario's stomach, scoring a strong hit that knocked Lucario out. "...I'm sorry about that," Ash said.
"Don't be," Riley replied, "We can revitalize Lucario after we deal with whatever's making the steel Pokémon here on Iron Island go crazy." Ash nodded in agreement as he and Riley proceeded to go down into the crater, with Riley carrying Lucario on his back.
...
Mars looked up at where all of the fighting was taking place, her Purugly and Golbat out with her. "Feh, meddling fools," Mars scoffed, "Think they can play hero again like they tried to do and failed back at the Center in Celestic Town? We've got more than-"
*CRASH*
"Purugly!" Mars's Purugly cried out in pain as Germany burst out from the ground right underneath it, striking it hard and sending it flying until it landed on its back.
As Purugly struggled to get up, Mars turned to look at the named Gabite, who already was using Rock Tomb to strike down Mars's Golbat. Mars, growling in frustration after her Golbat was knocked out, ran up to Germany and pushed it away with a foot shove to its stomach. "Stupid beast!" Mars snarled angrily, "How dare you fight back against Team Galactic!"
As Germany reeled back after being pushed away by that foot shove, Ash and Riley came onto the scene right as Mars's Purugly was barely able to get itself back up. "Team Galactic!" Ash called out, "I have no idea what you're up to, but it's going to end here and now!"
"Like you brats can stop us now," Mars spat, "Purugly!" After Purugly came to attention, Mars pointed at Ash and Riley as she ordered, "Beat those would be heroes back with Slash!"
Purugly's right claws glowed as it rushed at Ash and Riley, and Ash was primed to have Pikachu strike Purugly down with Thunderbolt; Purugly looked like it would go down to one more attack, so anything from Pikachu would suffice. However, Purugly ended up being struck not by a Thunderbolt from Pikachu, but by a Rock Tomb from Germany, who was looking winded.
"Ah! You again!" Mars screeched at Germany. Mars moved to go strike the named Gabite again, but she was cut off when Germany cried out at her angrily and challengingly, making her stop in her tracks out of surprise. Then, to the surprise of Ash, Riley, and especially Mars, Germany began to glow brightly in white. His form shifted and grew taller as he glowed, causing everyone to look on in wonder to the miracle before them.
The glowing then faded after Germany was finished shifting and growing, revealing that he had evolved from Gabite into Garchomp. "Woah!" Ash exclaimed, "Dawn's Gabite has just evolved into a Garchomp! Wait until she sees this!"
Mars took a step back out of worry, then tensed up when the now Garchomp turned to face her. Germany by no means looked amused with Mars, and he showed that by raising his clawed arms up before pulling them back down quickly with the elbows shooting past his sides, causing an earthquake to trigger and shake the entire area. Some of the ground broke away, and a wild Steelix came out of the ground, carrying Team Rocket on its head.
Team Rocket fell off and landed on the ground near Ash and Riley. "Team Rocket!" Ash yelled, "What are you guys doing here?"
"No time, twerp!" James yelled, "We need to deal with Team Galactic and soon because oh geez is that a Garchomp?!"
"He's Dawn's," Riley said, "Having just evolved from Gabite before that Steelix brought you lot up here. He also demonstrated a very powerful Earthquake attack just now."
"The Sinnoh champ's strongest Pokémon is a Garchomp!" Meowth said, "And now we got one here to help send Team Galactic packing!" As Ash, Riley, and Team Rocket began cornering Mars, Riley's Lucario woke up suddenly. He got off from Riley's back and stood at attention.
"Well alright," Riley said, "Lucario's no longer acting riled up. Whatever must have been making the steel Pokémon here go crazy must have stopped."
Mars looked alarmed at that, then turned to see that the machine Team Galactic had making the steel Pokémon on Iron Island freak out was wrecked by Germany's Earthquake. "No!" Mars yelled, "This can't be!" Mars took out a scanner and looked at it. "Tch. We only scanned sixty percent of what we needed to-" Mars stopped short as she heard something in an earpiece that she wore, even holding a hand to the side of her head. "...Got it, sir. We're pulling out."
Ash and the others tried to stop Mars, but a few Team Galactic grunts were able to hold them off with attacks from their Pokémon as Mars recalled her Purugly and Golbat, took the Spear Key, then ran off with the grunts going after her. "I've also rigged Iron Island with bombs, you fools!" Mars yelled as she got into her helicopter with her grunts, "In a few moments, all of Iron Island will be nothing but a pile of rubble!"
"You fiend!" Riley yelled as the Team Galactic commander got away. As the helicopter carrying the Team Galactic commander flew off, Dawn, Kenny, and Brock all came running down into the crater to meet up with Ash, Riley, and Team Rocket.
"All of the Team Galactic grunts are fleeing," Kenny said, "We need to Oh snap Team Rocket's here! Let's kick their bu-"
"We're fighting against Team Galactic too, twerp!" Jessie snapped at the reborn trainer, "Their goals run contradictory to what Team Rocket wants! Team Galactic is primed to bring ruin to the world if they aren't stopped!"
Germany cried out skywards, making everyone turn to look at him. "Yeah Dawn, that's probably why your Gabite was acting very energetic," Ash remarked, "He probably felt like he was getting close to evolving, and wanted to pass the threshold as soon as possible. He also learned Earthquake."
Dawn, for her part, looked surprised to see that Germany had finally evolved into Garchomp. With a powerful Pokémon like Sinnoh's native pseudo-legend in her rotation now, Dawn felt confident that she'd be able to make it in this new life she and Kenny had both been reborn into. Dawn nodded once in acknowledgement to her now Garchomp. "...You actually had me worried a bit there for a moment, Germany," Dawn remarked, "But I'm glad to see that-"
"You all need to get out of here!" Riley said, "Team Galactic has rigged the place with bombs! They'll probably blow them any second!"
Turning to Dawn, Kenny said, "Dude! Have your Garchomp use Dig to get us out of here!"
Seeing Germany shake his head, Dawn took out Germany's pokéball and scanned it with her pokédex. "...He doesn't know Dig anymore," Dawn said, "He must have forgotten it so that he could focus on learning Earthquake." Dawn, in the video games in her and Kenny's previous life, would have made the same call, have Garchomp forget Dig to learn Earthquake as his ground STAB. But here, where it's real life now and they needed to escape from a bomb blast zone? Not exactly the most convenient timing in the world.
"You all just run!" Riley yelled, "Lucario and I will use our aura powers to try to contain the explosion!" The heroes and Team Rocket all took off, with Germany even throwing Dawn onto his back, making her curve around his back fin, before he jumped up and flew off quickly like a jet, leading the rest of the group in running as fast and as far away as possible.
As the Team Galactic helicopters were at a safe distance, Mars looked out the window of the helicopter that she was in. "...Those meddling fools had shown up a second time," Mars remarked, "And that Gabite who evolved into Garchomp, I recognize him as the one belonging to the girl who had her Mothim protect the Lustrous Orb." Holding up a remote, Mars said with a sinister smirk on her face, "This ought to blast away some of Team Galactic's troubles."
Mars then pressed a button on the remote. She saw some very slight tremoring down below on Iron Island, but ultimately there was no big explosion like what she was expecting. "...Huh?" Mars said in confusion, "Where is the boom-boom?" Looking at the screen read out on her remote, Mars saw that the explosion did indeed occur. "...The detonation did go off. So where is the boom-boom?"
...
Down in the cave Team Rocket was trapped in prior to being saved by hitching a ride on a wild Steelix who was rattled by Germany's Earthquake, Riley and his Lucario were both using their aura powers to contain the explosion. They had it in a giant sphere that they shot skywards, making it fly high up into the air. It was close to above a mile above the highest point on Iron Island before the aura around it released, letting loose the explosion harmlessly above Iron Island.
Near the edge of the crater, the heroes and Team Rocket looked on in concern as smoke came billowing out. After a while, Riley and his Lucario came walking out, with the only thing wrong with them being that they were both a little winded. "Riley!" Ash said as he and Pikachu ran over to Riley and his Lucario, "Are you guys alright?"
"We... could both use a good rest," Riley replied with a tired smile, "Maybe a meal as well. But aside from that we're both as solid as ev-" Riley stumbled forward out of exhaustion, only to be caught by Ash before he could hit the ground. Similarly, Dawn rushed forward when she saw Lucario stumble as well and caught him before he hit the ground.
Riley let out a tired breath and a chuckle. "...Yeah, let's head back to town, everyone." The heroes and Team Rocket stopped short when they heard wild Pokémon crying out in what sounded like thanks. Looking around, they saw all of the wild steel Pokémon cheering for them, expressing thanks for stopping the guys who were making them freak out. The heroes and Team Rocket smiled, then they all took off to head to the Pokémon Center.
As Riley relaxed in the Pokémon Center while his Lucario was being treated, the heroes saw Team Rocket off at the Iron Island harbor. "So yeah, we'll still try stealing Pikachu again sometime in the future," Jessie admitted, "But for now we'll leave you twerps be. And if we all run into Team Galactic again, we'll set aside everything else to help deal with them."
Ash, although looking a bit annoyed that Team Rocket is still aiming to steal his Pikachu, relented a bit because they were leaving peacefully and swearing to set aside their thieving goals if and when they run into Team Galactic again. "At least you guys aren't all bad."
"Team Galactic has goals that don't align with what Team Rocket wants at all," James said, "And there's more than just that." Clenching a fist that he held at roughly pec level, James went on, "It is also a matter of pride and revenge for us. We won't rest until Team Galactic is out of our way." Team Rocket then got into their Magikarp submarine and dove off, leaving the heroes be.
With Team Rocket having taken off, the heroes went back to the Pokémon Center. While in there, Dawn and Kenny, now that the disturbance messing with steel Pokémon had been dealt with, got Leni and Cell back into their respective parties, rotating Jack and Slick back out. After the reborn trainers were done with that, they went over to where Ash and Brock were sitting with Riley, who was eating a small meal as he waited for his Lucario to be treated.
As Riley relaxed, he told the heroes that Professor Carolina from the Celestic Town Historical Research Center was coming over to Iron Island, due to the disturbance that had occurred there just now. If the heroes waited around for a bit, they could see her before they took off for their next destination in their adventure. Wanting to see Professor Carolina again, the heroes all decided to stick around to see her arrive.
...
A short while later, after Professor Carolina arrived on Iron Island via private plane, she and some assistants were in the ruins Team Galactic were in earlier, researching what the ruins were about exactly. "...Remarkable," Professor Carolina said, "Apparently, the ruins and the island itself are both made of the same material as the meteors over in Veilstone City."
"That would explain why Team Galactic tried stealing those meteors a while ago," Ash said in an unamused tone, folding his arms over his chest.
"Yes, my granddaughter Cynthia heard about that and told me about it," Professor Carolina remarked. Turning to look at Riley, Professor Carolina asked, "Riley, would you mind sticking around to help me out with my work here?"
Smiling calmly, Riley replied, "It'd be my pleasure." As Riley and Professor Carolina shook hands, Riley's Lucario looked on, only to stop short and turn to look when he felt another Pokémon sniff at him. When he turned to look, Riley's Lucario saw that it was another Lucario who was sniffing at him. When Riley's Lucario turned to face the second Lucario, the second Lucario saw it and backed up, standing straight as it stuck out a small bit of its tongue while making a sort of blep sound.
Walking up to the two Lucario, Dawn said, "Leni, please leave Riley's Lucario alone. He's had a very long day, as well as Riley himself." The second Lucario, revealed to be Dawn's Lucario Leni, nodded in obedience as she turned to go with her trainer. Everyone laughed in good natured amusement at the scene with the two Lucario. With everything settled, the heroes all waved Riley and Professor Carolina goodbye before heading to the Iron Island harbor to take the next boat to Chocovine Town.
Given what all adventure the heroes had just now, they all wanted to unwind. Dawn especially so as she wanted to have Germany treated and relaxed. He may be a powerful Garchomp now, but he had still put in a whole lot of effort today, and as such Dawn wanted him to have some relaxation time for a bit. Luckily, the heroes heard that a festival was going to be starting up in Chocovine Town by the time they got there, and Dawn figured that a fun event like a festival would be the perfect place for all of them to wind down for a bit and have some fun.
END, CHAPTER NINETEEN
Author's notes;
The events of the Iron Island episodes needed to be covered because of how integrated they are in Team Galactic's activities in the anime. It was also a good chance to have Dawn's Gabite evolve into Garchomp, given all of the Team Galactic members that had to be fought off, and it also allowed Dawn to discuss with Riley about the Pokémon egg that he left in Canalave City, with Dawn ending up getting said egg in return.
Anyway, the next chapter will skip straight to Chocovine Town, where the events of the Phione episode will be covered some in order to show Ash some love. Really, the next chapter more or less will be focused on growing Ash here, with some of said growth being needed for a certain battle that Ash will be having later with a certain someone, also said growth will give Ash a chance to try out other aspects that come with being a Pokémon trainer. Take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Cyrus (male Staraptor), Germany (male Garchomp), Coupins (male Mothim), Akiza (female Roserade), Leni (female Lucario)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Goofy (male Houndoom), Juan (male Pikachu)
Ash's Pokémon: Pikachu (male), Grotle (male), Monferno (male), Staravia (male), Swampert (female), Buneary (female)