Chapter 10: Dream On
A man hidden in a dark corner of a quiet town hid himself under a black coat and hood. He held an Xtransciever in his hand and spoke to the image of another man dressed like him through the device.
"You know what do, the superior needs this machine for our allies," the figure from the Xtransciever told the figure holding it.
"Since when do we take orders from petty thugs?" the man leaned against the wall while still holding the device.
The man on the screen chuckled, "It is all part of the plan, the deal was to help each other tie loose ends, take over Unova, get rid of anyone that stands in our ways, and you know the rest."
"I do," the man leaning against the concrete placed his foot against the wall and smirked evilly.
"Good, there isn't time to waste, we must keep advancing," the man on the screen ordered and then disappeared from it.
The man put away the Xtransciever, "Not even a goodbye? Disappointment," he sighed. Then he proceeded to take out a Pokeball, "Guess it's my turn to get involved in the action, humph, there's nothing 'The Scarlet Rage of the Majestic 12 can't get done'!" The strange figure jumped incredibly high and landed on a building, then began dashing through the rooftops, ready for his mission.
"You know Ash; we didn't stop by Luxuria Town just for you to skim through a computer for the last 15 minutes," Iris crossed her arms and frowned at him.
"Iris has a point Ash, I'm getting kind of bored watching you on that thing," May hung her head in boredom.
Cilan chuckled at the girls and spoke, "The Battle Club will do that to any trainer that comes by, and a place dedicated to training only makes a trainer much hungrier for battle, like pouring hot sauce on a jalapeño." The green-haired male used a simile to describe Ash.
"There's so many trainers Pikachu, I can't decide which one I would like to battle, what do you think pal?" Ash ignored the girls and focused on the screen.
"Pi pika pi," the mouse told his trainer to tap the screen again.
"Alright, maybe the next one will definitely be good," Ash tapped the smart screen and the image of a familiar face appeared. He wore an orange hoodie with khaki pants, and had dirty-blond hair. When Ash and May saw the trainer they exclaimed, "Trip!"
Iris raised an eyebrow when she saw the commotion and asked, "Who's Trip?"
"He's the first person I battled in Unova back when May and I arrived in Nuvema Town, he was pretty experienced for someone who had just started out his journey, it was incredible," Ash recalled the memory of his fight with Trip.
"He also wasn't very nice, he said Ash and I were from the boonies and called him 'weak' after beating him during their battle, which is certainly not the case," May crossed her arms and frowned while remembering Trip in a less fonder way than Ash.
"I'm also familiar with Trip, if you don't mind me stating," Cilan told the group.
Ash and May turned to Cilan with puzzled looks. "Cilan, you know Trip too?" Ash questioned his older friend.
"Of course, we stopped by the Striaton Gym and defeated Chili without almost any trouble, he proved to be an exceptional trainer," Cilan explained how he was aware of Trip.
Iris turned to Axew, "This guy sure sounds strong, doesn't he Axew?" The dragon nodded, intimidated by someone who could beat Ash and a Gym Leader with ease.
"I have to battle him and beat him this time; I'm going to prove that I'm no weakling!" Ash declared and began tapping random buttons on the screen in hopes of finding a way to battle Trip.
The other five members of the traveling party laughed at Ash's actions. "I don't think pressing random things will help you battle Trip, Ash," Cilan chuckled and grinned.
"Then what do I do?" Ash turned to his friend, confused.
"Why don't you let me help you with that?" a man called out and the group saw a very tall, thick yet muscular man with a moustache and very short hair. His uniform resembled the kind of clothing a martial artist wears and he had a blue belt wrapping around his waist.
"Who are you?" May looked up the tall man; the brunette was clearly very small in front of the stranger.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Don George and I run the Battle Club here in Luxuria Town," Don George introduced himself to the gang.
"Nice to meet you!" the four teens greeted the man simultaneously.
Ash then spoke, "So since you run this place, then you might know how to work this thing," the boy stood next to the machine with the image of Trip still on it.
"Of course, all you got do is call Trip's Xtransciever, it's the device you two kids have on your wrists," Don George told the boy and took note of the Xtranscievers on Ash and May's wrists.
"That sounds pretty cool, but how does it work?" May placed her finger on her chin as a sign of wondering.
"Just watch," Don George kept his stern look on and tapped a button on the screen. The screen then displayed the word CALLING.
After a few seconds of waiting, someone finally picked up and Trip appeared. "Hey Don George, what's up?" Trip answered with his usual serious tone.
"Trip, I have a young man here, who would like to challenge you to a battle," Don George informed the young man.
"Hey Trip, remember us?" Ash and Pikachu appeared on the screen, in front of Don George. The pair gave the Unova boy cheerful smiles while Trip just raised an eyebrow.
"Do you remember me?" May also popped up on the screen of Trip's Xtransciever with a grin on her face.
Trip chuckled when he saw the trio covering his screen, "Of course I remember, you're the couple from the boonies with the weak Pikachu," the boy said and gave the trio a smirk.
"Heeeey!" Ash and May frowned at him in protest.
"Hey Trip, do you remember me?" Cilan popped up on the screen as well.
Trip raised his eyebrow again in surprise, "Cilan, what are you doing in Luxuria Town?"
"Hey I'm Iris, Ash and May have told me all about you, especially about your battle with Ash," Iris also appeared on the screen, the teens now becoming crowded while speaking to Trip.
"Cilan and Iris decided to tag along on our adventure and it's been like that for almost a month now," Ash turned to his two Unova friends and smiled.
Trip sighed and spoke, "That's nice, but can you get to the point. Don George told me that you wanted to have a battle, is that true?"
Ash made a fist and grinned confidently, "You bet it is! I'm ready to prove that Pikachu only lost to Snivy because Zekrom had disabled its electric attacks."
"Zekrom, the Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon?" Cilan became surprised when he heard Ash mention the name of the Legendary Pokémon.
"That's right; Ash and I encountered it at the start of our journey. It was a scary, yet mystifying kind of experience," May recollected memories of Zekrom and explained it to Cilan.
"Sounds like an interesting start to a journey, it must have been a rare sight," Cilan smiled at May and pictured the dragon in his mind.
The group turned their attention back to the conversation between Ash and Trip. "Look Ash, I'm flattered that you would want to have a battle with me, but I can already see the outcome from a mile," Trip told Ash with a stern voice.
"What outcome would that be?" Ash raised his eyebrow, wondering what Trip thought would happen if they did battle.
Trip formed a cunning smile and spoke again, "Me coming out as the victor. You're just far too weak and inexperienced to have a battle with; I'll only accept a battle from you once I've seen that you've learned the basics."
"What, I'm inexperienced and weak? Then how do you explain this Trio Badge I won!" Ash smiled confidently and showed his badge to Trip.
"You only have one badge? I've already gotten two badges. That just proves you are not the opponent I'm suitable for, you're nothing, but a slacker," Trip mocked his rival aggressively.
Ash's jaw dropped when Trip called him a slacker, but quickly gained his composure and glared at Trip, "If you come over here right now, I'll show you that I'm no slacker and I can beat you!" the auburn-eyed trainer exclaimed with pride in his voice.
"Sorry Don George, but I don't want to waste my time on such a worthless opponent, I hope I get a call from a more exceptional trainer next time," Trip apologized to Don George, who stood in the background and just nodded at the boy as Ash began blabbering about winning.
Just when Trip was about to hang up, May came out of nowhere. "Hey, Trip! You know, I think you're all bark and no bite, Pikachu has gotten better since Nuvema Town and Ash has gotten many new Pokémon that are surely strong enough to beat you," the brunette defended Ash while he stared at his girlfriend affectionately, in his mind thanking her for defending him.
"Besides, anyone who just rejects a battle with an all-knowing, arrogant attitude like yours makes me think that you're just a kid who likes to talk," Iris appeared on the screen again and gave Trip sly eyes while defending Ash.
Trip felt insulted and glared at the girl, "Kid who likes to talk?" the boy spoke with an annoyed tone.
"I agree. If you battle Ash it would serve as a great chance to put your Pokémon's to the test. It could be end either sour or sweet, but it will no doubt have a tasty and spicy feeling to it," Cilan also stepped in, giving Trip a reason about why he should battle Ash.
"Pikapi pikachu!" the mouse also yelled at Trip, defending his friend and urging the Nuvema boy to battle them.
Trip looked at Ash and his friends for a few minutes, but then hung up, leaving the screen black on both sides. "He hung up," Ash felt insulted and clenched his fist.
May and the others sighed, feeling sorry for the boy. The sapphire-eyed girl grabbed his shoulder and smiled warmly, "Don't worry Ash, there's plenty of other trainers out there that are probably stronger than Trip, trainers waiting to battle someone like you," the coordinator tried to cheer her boyfriend up.
Ash turned to May and squeezed her hand in affection until they heard a voice. "You're whining could be heard across town, I figured I should settle this and show that you really are not worth my time," Trip appeared at the door of the Battle Club.
"Trip!" the gang yelled out, surprised to see the boy.
Ash let go of May's hand, but not before caressing it with his thumb and then ran up to Trip. "So I guess we should get started," Ash grinned confidently and made a fist.
Trip sighed and looked at Ash, "I guess I have no other choice, but this will be a six-on-six battle, got it?"
Ash began laughing nervously and answered, "Sorry, but I only have five Pokémon with me right now. Can we have a five-on five battle?"
Trip raised an eyebrow, "Only five Pokémon and we want to have a five-on-five battle with me?" the boy said, prepared to insult Ash again.
"Yeah, will that be a problem?" Ash also raised an eyebrow.
I should walk out on this guy right now, but after being called "kid who likes to talk and all bark, but no bite", I have to show that is not the case, Trip thought in his mind. "Fine, we'll have a five-on-five battle, Don George can you get us a stage?" Trip announced and turned to Don George.
May, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, and Axew, grinned when Trip finally accepted Ash's challenge, but was Ash really up to it? The group walked behind Don George and took them to a traditional battlefield where Ash and Trip would battle.
May and the others sat down on benches, preparing to watch the battle. "I'm so excited, I can't wait to see what Ash is made of when it comes to battling Trip," Iris spoke with enthusiasm.
"You said it, the best ingredients for a great battle are in our eyes, I'm ready for some excitement," Cilan was also very interested in the battle.
May just sat quietly, thinking, Ash lost to Trip last time, but there is no way he can lose again. Pikachu wasn't feeling well and all his other Pokémon are pretty well-trained, he's going to win! The brunette smiled and got ready to watch.
"Let the battle between Ash and Trip begin!" Don George declared after stating the rules.
"I'm going all-out, got it Trip, go Oshawott!" Ash smiled confidently and released his water Pokémon.
"Osha oshawott!" Oshawott had his arms crossed and grinned just as confident as Ash.
"Fine by me, Tranquil, it's time to battle!" Trip threw his Pokeball and released a rather large bird. The bird's feathers were gray and black while its beak and eyes carried a yellow color with a hot pink marking above its eyes.
"What's that Pokémon?" Ash took out his Pokédex to hear the automated voice.
"Tranquil, the Wild Pigeon Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pidove, it is believed that a peaceful place without conflict exists deep in the forest where Tranquil live," the machine stated with its robotic voice.
The raven-haired trainer grinned, "Even if it is an evolved Pokémon, there is no way we are going to lose, Oshawott use Water Gun!" Ash wasted no time in starting.
"Humph, use Double Team Tranquil, and then use Aerial Ace," Trip coolly commanded.
"Oshawott!" the otter cried out and shot out a stream of water, but Tranquil quickly multiplied to avoid the attack.
Oshawott panicked when it saw the multiple birds that flew over it. The Tranquil then charged at it full speed to use Aerial Ace. Ash smiled calmly and spoke, "Oshawott, use Counter Shield just like we practiced!"
"Counter Shield?" Trip raised an eyebrow.
The Water-type placed its scalchop on the ground and Oshawott placed its back on top of the shell. Without another moment's waste, it began spinning itself and started sliding on the ground thanks to the shell. When the Tranquil got near, Oshawott released a Water Gun that enveloped it like a twister.
All copies of Tranquil vanished the moment they came into contact with the water, allowing the otter to figure out which was the real Tranquil. The water Pokémon spotted the real copy of Tranquil backing away from the charging copies and once the shield decimated the imposters, Oshawott quickly stopped its defense.
Ash grinned confidently, figuring out his next step, "Now, take it out with Water Gun!"
Oshawott used Water Gun, but Trip showed no sign of worry. "It was smart of you to come up with a cheap trick like that, but it'll take more than defense to win. Tranquil use Work Up and then Aerial Ace!"
"That's not good," Cilan stated when he heard Trip's command.
"What does Work Up do?" May asked about the move, confusion in her eyes.
"Work Up, increases the Pokémon's Attack power with each turn, meaning Tranquil is going to get a power boost with every attack it uses," Iris explained the move to May.
May listened to Iris and then turned to the battle. Although the move sounded tricky, she felt that Ash would know what to do.
Tranquil easily broke through the Water Gun and flew towards Oshawott with great speed. "Oshawott, use Counter Shield again!" The otter quickly got into a defensive position and used Water Gun to shield itself.
Trip smirked at Ash's attempt to counter and surprised everyone when Tranquil broke right through Oshawott's shield and sent the otter flying. "It got through Counter Shield!" May gasped in disbelief, having just seen the best form of defense be broken by Tranquil.
"Oshaaaawott!" the otter flew into the air and then crashed onto the ground roughly.
Ash frowned at Tranquil and Trip, whom stared at him with blank looks, but then formed a smile. "That's a clever power-up Trip, I've never seen Counter Shield smashed through like that."
"Basics," Trip shrugged while smiling smugly. Oshawott grinded its teeth as it got up and glared at Tranquil. "Tranquil, use Air Cutter!" Trip ordered and the bird began cooing loudly.
Tranquil released a barrage of the attack and aimed it at Oshawott. Ash remained calm and made a command, "Fight back with Razor Shell and try to get close to Tranquil in the process!"
"Oshaaawoott!" Oshawott turned its scalchop into a blade and managed to counter Tranquil's powerful attacks even though it clearly struggled.
Trip raised an eyebrow when he saw Oshawott fighting back and frowned. "Now that we're close enough, use Water Gun!" Ash ordered.
The otter jumped and used Water Gun, but Trip ordered to dodge that very second. Tranquil surprised everyone when it managed to dodge such a close-range attack by going under Oshawott.
"That was too close for Trip!" Iris stated the obvious, amazed by the skill the boy displayed.
"Yeah, so how did Tranquil dodge it?" May was just as shocked with the result.
"Tranquil is faster than we thought, it's amazing speed and movements give it an upper hand in this battle. Ash will need to come up with something unpredictable to win this battle," Cilan clarified the situation for the girls.
Ash grinded his teeth, having hoped that this time Water Gun would have hit. Trip didn't waste another minute in making his next move, "Tranquil, use Double Team, Work Up, and Aerial Ace by that order!"
"Wha?" the auburn-eyed teen and Pikachu eyes widened when they heard Trip.
Tranquil multiplied again and powered up again. What can I do, Counter Shield can't save us this time, Ash thought about a way to fight back. He saw Oshawott struggling against the dashing Tranquil, hardly able to avoid Aerial Ace without the aid of its scalchop. An idea then sparked in the boy's head, "Oshawott, jump on to one of the Tranquil and begin steering it by holding on its feathers!" Ash extended his arm to the left while crying out his instructions.
"Do what?" Trip raised his eyebrow again.
Oshawott nodded and jumped on top of the next Tranquil that came by. The otter began steering it by pulling its feathers, causing it coo in annoyance as the other Tranquil chased them around the field like hawks.
"Now, use Water Gun on all of them while still steering!" Ash pumped his fist in the air.
Oshawott continued riding Tranquil like a knight riding a dragon. The otter shot out Water Gun on all the Tranquil that approached them until they were none left. "Enough games, Tranquil improvise by shaking off Oshawott while flying towards the dirt!" Trip ordered sternly.
Tranquil began diving down, accelerating as much speed as possible while attempting to shake off the persistent Oshawott. "Oshawott, let's give it a hand by letting go and using Razor Shell!" Ash smiled confidently while speaking.
"Ash sure has a bizarre way of battle, I've never seen an Oshawott ride Tranquil like that before," Iris said as she watched the two battle it out.
Cilan chuckled at her statement, "His methods are unorthodox, but they always seem to work."
"It's those same goofy, spontaneous strategies that give him the upper hand, look!" May answered and pointed at the Pokémon pair in excitement.
Oshawott let his grip on Tranquil go and caused the Wild Pigeon to plummet towards the dirt. Tranquil hit the ground violently while Oshawott dropped down on its feet, smirking arrogantly while holding out his scalchop.
Tranquil's eyes were swirl, clearly showing that it was unconscious. "Tranquil is unable to battle, the first round goes to Ash!" Don George declared as Trip returned his Pokémon.
Trip glared at Ash, Guess there's more to him than I originally thought, but still. I'm going to win this and prove who the weakling is. The boy reached for his next Pokémon while smirking smugly.
"Ready for Round 2?" Ash grinned arrogantly as he pressed the button on his Pokeball, enlarging it and preparing to throw it.
Trip ignored Ash's question and brought out his next Pokémon, "Go, Servine!"
"Servine?" Ash looked in question, seeing the resemblance between Snivy and Servine.
"That's right, this is the Snivy that defeated your Pikachu weeks ago. It was pretty good then, but now it is much more powerful, prepare yourself," Servine's trainer spoke highly its power.
"Yeah that's definitely it, it's even got that arrogant look in its eye," May looked Trip's Servine and pictured it as the little Snivy that took down Ash's Pikachu.
"That Servine is an exceptional battler; Trip used against Chili and came out victorious. Any of Ash's Pokémon will face a hard time battling against Servine," Cilan spoke about Servine's high abilities.
Iris crossed her arms and frowned, "Then why isn't he changing Oshawott, it will only make things much more difficult!"
I don't know much about Servine and certainly looks strong, I'm going to stick with Oshawott for now, so I can see what kind of abilities Servine can use and then prepare my other Pokémon, Ash spoke in his mind, immediately recognizing the challenge in front of him.
"Servine, use Leaf Tornado!" Trip ordered and the snake Pokémon began spinning to prepare the attack.
At this point there isn't much I can do, but I still have to do something, Ash kept thinking to himself and then made a command, "Oshawott, defend yourself the scalchop!"
Leaf Tornado rushed at Oshawott, who protected itself with the shell, but it clearly was unable to defend the otter and sent it flying. The otter wailed as it flew and then crashed down. Ash's Water-type wasted no time in getting to battle, although it had seen better days.
"Looks like Oshawott can't keep up much longer, why don't I make it easier for? Servine, use Cut!" Trip ordered loudly.
"Oshawott, you use Razor Shell!" Ash shouted out.
The two starters began charging at each other high-powered attacks. Oshawott's scalchop turned into a blade while Servine's hand began to glow a bright white. Servine and Oshawott clashed with each other in a samurai-style fashion where they both ended on different ends after the quick attack exchange. Servine grinned smugly as Oshawott dropped to the ground showed its swirled eyes.
"Oshawott is unable to battle, the victory goes to Trip," Don George declared Trip as the victor this time. Trip chuckled arrogantly as Ash returned Oshawott and thanked it for its good job.
Ash shifted his auburn eyes to Trip and grinned, "That Servine is something else, but I wonder if it's fit enough to go up against my, Snivy!" Ash quickly threw his Pokeball and summoned the pre-evolved form of Servine.
"I see, you got a Snivy, but I doubt that'll change anything. Enough chatter though, Servine use Leaf Tornado!" Trip extended his arm outward.
"Snivy…" Snivy smirked coolly with Ash as they let Servine approached them.
"Snivy and Ash aren't doing anything, is there something they're preparing for?" Iris became puzzled by the cool state the pair displayed.
"I don't know, but a battle between Snivy and Servine should contain many bitter, sour, and spicy elements that will end in a blast," Cilan spoke, using a metaphor to describe the battle.
May sat quietly and smiled, she knew that everything Ash did was part of his strategy so she had nothing to worry about.
When Leaf Tornado came close, Ash spoke, "Snivy, use your vines to push you sideways and then smack down Servine with Vine Whip!"
Snivy quickly dodged the Leaf Tornado with its vines and then extended another to smack down Servine. When its vine hit Servine, the Grass-type Pokémon lost control of the Leaf Tornado and got cancelled out.
Trip stared at the result blankly and made another command, "Servine, rush at Snivy with Cut!"
"Snivy, you counter with Leaf Blade!" Ash countered with his instructions.
Bolts formed when the pair clashed, causing the two to reach a standstill. "Snivy, grab Servine by the leg with a vine and send it flying!" Ash instructed with determination.
Snivy used a vine to grab Servine, stopping the clash in the process, and then threw Servine. "Servine, stop your crash with Leaf Tornado!" Trip instructed and the attack stopped Servine's launch, landing safely in front of Trip.
"Snivy, finish this with Leaf Storm!" Ash commanded with the intention of ending the battle now.
"Servine, counter with Leaf Tornado!" Trip ordered. The two powerful Grass-types released a barrage of leaves that created a powerful storm of leaves in the middle of the field.
Trip chuckled and spoke, "If you want to make progress then you should make that Snivy evolve once and for all, it would serve of some us. It's a basic rule in Pokémon Battles and progress."
"There's more to victories than evolution, Snivy now's your chance, try to get yourself as high as possible with your vines and use Attract while Servine is distracted!" Ash made a fist and grinned confidently.
"What?" Trip's eyes widened when he saw Snivy leap high into the air and unleash a ring of hearts.
Servine turned its attention to the hearts engulfing it until they fully enveloped him and turned his eyes into hearts. Trip frowned, but smiled coolly afterward "Snivy used Attract, not bad."
Snivy dropped on the field and smiled when it saw Servine. Ash smiled with Pikachu and made the final command, "Snivy, toss and slam Servine around with your vines to end this one."
Trip made no attempt to counter, knowing full well that it would make no difference. Snivy grabbed Servine with its vines and began slamming Servine back and forth with its vines against the ground. The Servine didn't seem to care about the pain inflicted upon it while its eyes were still shaped like hearts. When Snivy had enough fun, it finally tossed Servine against a wall and ended the battle.
"Seeerviiiine…" the Grass-type's eyes were now swirling instead of hearts.
"Servine is unable to battle, the victory goes to Ash," Don George proclaimed like he did before.
Ash and Trip returned their Pokémon, this time Ash decided to switch to mix things up a bit. "Ok Pikachu, you're up, let's win this pal," Ash turned to his friend and smiled.
"Pika!" the mouse cheered and got on the battlefield.
Pikachu, so now I'll have to decide if I'm sticking with the plan or improvising. I don't usually enjoy doing this, but I also like things going according to plan so I'll take the risk, I will win anyway, Trip thought to himself and grinned. "Frillish, you're next!" Trip threw his next Pokeball and a jelly-looking Pokémon similar to the one Ash and May had seen at Nuvema Port appeared, except this one was blue.
"Who's that Pokémon?" May rushed to get her Pokédex, finding Trip's Frillish incredibly charming.
The automated voice began to speak, "Frillish, the Floating Pokémon. Frillish can constrict its foes using veil-like tentacles and numb them with poison. It is said to live in dens some five miles below sea level."
"Numb them with poison? It sounds a little lethal too," May responded and then looked at Frillish.
"Hey, Trip's already lost two Pokémon while Ash has only lost one, that means he's winning," Iris smiled, happy for her friend's current victory.
Cilan looked at Frillish and Pikachu, "It is a good thing, but even though Ash has the type advantage. Frillish is known to have many abilities that can leave the opponent at the brink of defeat, even if it is an Electric-type. Ash should be careful for this one."
"Let's get started, Pikachu use Volt Tackle!" Ash ordered with a significant amount of confidence.
"Already starting with a powerful attack? How cliché, Frillish stay put," Trip crossed his arms and commanded calmly.
Ash raised an eyebrow as Pikachu kept charging. The mouse was successful in striking Frillish, but the Ghost-type seemed to be smirking rather than feeling pain. Suddenly, a dark aura covered Pikachu and the mouse stepped away from Frillish in fear.
"What's going on?" Ash and May both asked when they saw the aura and the fear in Pikachu's eyes.
"I knew it, Frillish used Cursed Body. This must be what Trip had planned since the start," Cilan mentioned.
"What's Cursed Body?" May became confused when she heard the name of the ability.
"Cursed Body is an ability that disables any attack used on Frillish, especially a physical one. Meaning, your Pikachu can't use Volt Tackle for the rest of the battle because of Cursed Body," Trip informed Ash about what happened, in the process also informing May.
Ash grinded his teeth and spoke, "Guess we'll just have to use other attacks then, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu snapped out of its fear state and unleashed a bolt of electricity at Frillish.
Trip grinned smugly, "Protect." At that moment, Frillish formed a barrier that blocked Pikachu's Thunderbolt, cancelling it out. "You make this too easy Ash, why don't you just give up," the Unova boy kept speaking arrogantly.
"Don't count on it," Ash grinned. "Pikachu, use Double-Edge!" Ash commanded and the mouse charged at Frillish.
Iris got on her feet and yelled, "What is he doing?!" When she heard Ash's command, even Cilan and May became confused by the action.
Pikachu charged head-on, but just passed through Frillish, not even leaving a dent on the Pokémon. Ash raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"
Trip smirked and looked at Ash with pity, "Seriously, just stop it, you're degrading yourself. Frillish is part Ghost, so how can you expect a Normal-type attack to have an effect?"
"Darn, I forgot," Ash grinded his teeth when he realized his error.
"Well then, this will make you keep that in mind in the future, Frillish, use Hex on Pikachu!" Trip commanded.
Frillish gave Pikachu a frightening look as the mouse backed away. It formed an attack shaped like an eye, preparing it for Pikachu. "That's one scary-looking attack," May said as she felt chills crawl up her spine.
"Blow the mouse away!" Trip ordered fiercely.
"Pikachu, counter Hex with a Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed so that Pikachu could hear him.
Pikachu saw the attack charging at him and wasted no time in countering; the mouse released the attack and yelled "Pikaaachuuu!"
Suddenly, they heard the sound of a large wall break. Pikachu opened its eyes and saw that he had countered Hex, but what was that noise. The entire group turned to a hole in the wall that was large enough for a grown man to get through.
There standing by it, was a man in a black coat, hiding his face under a hood. The entire traveling gang recognized the figure and widened their eyes. "You people again?!" Ash glared at the stranger.
"You guys are almost as bad as Team Rocket!" May yelled out the figure.
"What do you want?" Iris also shouted at the figure.
"Who's this person?" Trip and Don George turned to the friends, asking simultaneously.
"That person is a member of the Majestic 12," Ash answered them, still glaring at the figure who just stared at them.
"A nefarious organization we've run into a couple of times who work with crooks and are up to no good," Cilan informed the Don and Trip about the new guest.
Trip turned to the figure and raised an eyebrow, "Majestic 12?"
The figure began chuckling and started to walk towards them. "I'm just unhappy about this as you are. I mean, of all the towns, of all the battle clubs, of all the battlefields, you kids just had be hanging out in this one," the figure spoke with a sort of youthful voice, but with a wise guy attitude in his tone.
"You mean you're not here to attack us?" May tilted her head in confusion.
"Of course not," the figure answered and dropped his hood. It revealed a man with long red hair and a scar on his left eye. His smile spelled sinister and his gaze meant trouble. "I'm just here for this little ol' thing," the male showed them a small, metallic disc-like device with codes written on it.
"What are you doing with that? It's illegal to steal from the Battle Club!" Don George got in front of the kids, recognizing one of the facility's devices.
The man rolled his eyes, "Sorry, I guess I didn't get the memo."
"We've seen you before, in Nuvema Town, but your name is…" May tried to remember the intruder's name
The man placed his hands on his hips while still holding on to the device, ignoring Don George. "Oh nice, you can remember Archer's name, but not mine and I'm certainly the better one between us. The name's Silver, this goes for the rest of you, it's Silver, have it memorized?"
"That's right, Silver…" Ash started to remember the Majestic 12's introduction of its members along with May.
"Now, why don't you hand over that device you stole, it doesn't seem to belong to you," Trip approached Silver, showing his sense of justice.
"How on earth did you get your hands on that, these devices are locked away deep in Battle Clubs, I'm sure you don't even understand the value of the device," Don George glared at the thief.
Silver chuckled at him and smirked, "Of course I understand the value of this device and I even know the history of it, after all, I have been doing my homework. Four score and seven years ago, a couple of no life Unova scientists created this baby and intended to use it to enhance a Pokémon's abilities. Unova was supposed to be the first region to have it and was the only region to have it until Battle Club members realized that the use of this machine not only make their Pokémon stronger, but it turn them into a pack of rabid dogs who disobeyed their masters and blew everything up. The device became banned and sealed deep within Unova's battle facilities, never to be seen again. Well, guess what Don, the Majestic 12 has solved the problem to this little malfunction and intends to use it for some activity, so I'll be taking this and get one my way."
"Hey wait, if that's not yours then you have no right to take it, especially if it's a dangerous item and is in the wrong hands," Ash stepped up to play hero as all his friends got beside him.
Silver rolled his eyes, "Is that what you learned from fighting the big baddies in Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto?"
Ash was taken back by Silver's comment and asked "How do you know about that?"
"Intuition, have it memorized?" Silver tapped the temple of his head.
"Well, you're still not stealing anything," Iris glared at the enemy.
Silver looked around and then checked the time on his Xtransciever. "Let's see, it's past noon and it's five against one and my ride isn't here…sure I got time," Silver placed the device in his pocket and reached for two Pokeballs.
"Come out and play kiddies!" Silver threw his Pokeballs and summoned two Pokémon.
Two bright red Pokémon appeared before the group. One of them was a Scizor and the other was a Red Gyarados. "Where did you get a Red Gyarados?" Ash glared at him, recalling that only Lance owned a red Gyarados.
"I stole it, what was your first clue?" Silver smirked at him.
Ash glared at Silver even more and spoke, "May, Iris, Cilan, Don George, evacuate the Battle Club. Tell them there's been an emergency, Trip and I will handle this."
"But Ash!" May called out, worrying for his safety according to the tone in her voice.
"No buts May," the boy answered and turned to her. Ash smiled at her and squeezed her hand, "Don't worry about me, everything will be fine, now get going."
May nodded at him and grinned warmly. May and the others exited the room while Trip and Ash stayed with Silver. Ash turned to Trip and smiled, "Ready Trip, this will make good practice."
"Whatever," Trip answered coldly without looking at Ash.
"You'll be lucky if you make out of here alive, your girlfriend wouldn't be too happy about having a dead boyfriend, would she Ash?" Silver taunted.
Ash grinded his teeth and released his other Pokémon, "Pidove, Tepig, Snivy, I need you here with Pikachu! Trip, you should also send out the rest of your Pokémon, I've battled these guys before and they're stronger than some of the Elite Four members."
Trip's eyes widened when he heard Ash say how strong they were and nodded, "Lampent, Vanillite, Timburr, I need your assistance!" Trip threw his Pokeballs and summoned the other three.
"8 against 2? Talk about unfair, but enough games. Get ready to burn!" Silver smirked savagely at them.
"I'll handle Gyarados," Ash told his rival and they prepared to battle.
"Gyarados, use Flamethrower on all of Ash's Pokémon!" Silver commanded.
This would be easier if Oshawott were conscious, but I'll have to make do with what I have, Ash thought as he grinded his teeth in frustration. "Pikachu block with Thunderbolt! Snivy use Attract, Tepig use Tackle and Pidove use Air Cutter!" Ash ordered.
Gyarados's Flamethrower cancelled out thanks to Thunderbolt, but Silver had other tricks. "Gyarados send Tepig flying with an Aqua Tail and use Hyper Beam to blast away Pidove!" the red-head commanded.
As Tepig charged at Gyarados, the red creature aimed its tail at the pig and released a stream of spiral water that sent it flying against a wall, knocking it out. The Atrocious Pokémon easily cancelled out Air Cutter with Hyper Beam and sent Pidove flying against a wall as well, leaving it unconscious while Snivy's Attract had no effect on it.
"Darn it," Ash glared, acknowledging that this Gyarados was a girl.
Trip focused on his battle as Silver leaned against a wall and watched, making commands from time to time. "Frillish use Water Pulse, Lampent use Flamethrower, Vanillite use Ice Beam, and Timburr use DynamicPunch!"
"Scizor use Double Team and move using Agility. Then follow up with Metal Claw on Vanillite, Night Slash on Lampent and Frillish, and Aerial Ace on Timburr," Silver calmly ordered.
Scizor multiplied into about 20 copies, causing Trip's Pokémon to miss. Agility boosted the fast movement of the Scizor and each copy made quick work of each member of Trip's Team. Frillish tried to use Water Pulse and Hex repeatedly, but the many Scizor overpowered her and sent her crashing against the ground with a powerful barrage of Night Slash. Other Scizor slammed Vanillite against the dirt with Metal Claw, knocking out the Ice-type while Timburr was also made quick work of with a fast moving set of Aerial Ace. Lampent was also sent crashing against the ground with Night Slash, but it and Frillish were the only two Pokémon Trip had that could keep going.
"Well what do you know, you two actually lasted more than a minute. I think it's time I picked things up a notch. Gyarados use Blizzard on Pikachu and Snivy, Scizor keep using Agility and use Night Slash," Silver ordered.
"Pikachu, try to fight back with Thunder and Snivy you use Leaf Storm while Pikachu is distracting Gyarados!" Ash commanded.
"Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu yelled and tried to hold back Gyarados's Ice-type attack.
"Sniiiiivvvvyyy!" Snivy also shouted and unleashed a barrage of leaves at Gyarados, but the Atrocious Pokémon was somehow able to still tolerate the pain and focus on Pikachu.
Ash clenched his fist and spoke, "Keep at it Snivy!"
Snivy tried to stop Gyarados, but the Leaf Storm kept getting weaker because of its effect and Gyarados still didn't pay attention while Pikachu continued struggling against Blizzard. Suddenly, a loud explosion occurred because of the power collision and a cloud of smoke covered Ash's side of the battle.
"I can't see," Ash tried to see through the smoke with Snivy and Pikachu while coughing.
All of a sudden, the large serpent emerged from the smoke and constricted Pikachu and using Flamethrower on a shocked Snivy. The Grass Snake Pokémon was burned into the ground and left unconscious as Gyarados constricted Pikachu.
Trip was still busy facing the Scizor copies and no matter how many times Frillish and Lampent defeated a copy, more would multiply thanks to Double Team. At that moment, the Scizor's pincers began to glow purple.
"They've used Sword Dance, they're power has increased even more now," Trip's eyes widened in horror.
"That's right," Silver chuckled and snapped his fingers. At that sudden moment, all the Scizor attacked Trip's Ghost Pokémon and knocked them out, sending them crashing against the ground below.
Ash saw that Trip had been defeated and now the only Pokémon conscious was Pikachu. "Pikachu use Thunder now!" the boy called out.
"I don't think so," Silver laughed at Ash and also snapped his fingers at the boy. Before Pikachu could use the attack, Gyarados swung the mouse and used Hyper Beam, sending Pikachu crashing against the wall, and leaving it in an unconscious state.
"We lost…" Trip murmured and turned to Silver, the two teens glaring at the older opponent.
Silver began clapping and laughed, "Tooo bad looks like you didn't make it to five minutes, better luck next time."
"I don't care, give us back the disc!" Ash charged up to the boy, but Silver sent him flying back with an Aura Sphere.
The attack wasn't strong enough to hurt Ash, but it did fly him back against Trip and the two fell hard on the ground. Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard and the teens saw a truck that had broken the wall.
"Oops, sorry, that's my ride. I had fun, catch ya guys later," Silver smirked at them and motioned his index finger from his forehead at them as a form of goodbye. The member opened the backdoors of a container on the truck and got in. Within seconds, the truck began to move and drove at a fast rate.
Ash and Trip grinded their teeth as they saw Silver waving bye at them as the truck drove off, the man was clearly mocking them. The two teens quietly got up and returned all their fainted Pokémon, except for Pikachu, which Ash carried in his arms.
"I'm sorry pal, no matter how hard we try, we never seem to be able to stop those guys," Ash stared at Pikachu with a sad expression.
"Pi…." Pikachu answered with a weak smile, telling Ash that they would get them some day.
"Did you say their name is the Majestic 12?" Trip called out to Ash.
The raven-haired teen turned around and responded, "Yeah, why?"
"Looks like I have a new form of training, a side-mission would be a better word. I'm going to learn more about these guys and I hope I run into them again, because they'll pay for what they did here today, besides battling and beating them will make for good practice," Trip informed the boy about his plans with a stern tone.
Ash sighed, "You're lucky if you don't, but careful Trip, you saw what they can do. Good luck with your progress," the auburn-eyed teen told his rival.
"Right," the boy replied. "And Ash, you may have won today because of interruptions and luck, but next time I'll win," Trip told Ash one last thing before he left through the broken wall, continuing his personal journey.
"I'll look forward to it!" Ash yelled while smiling, even after the disastrous result the boy could still put a grin on his face. I didn't beat Trip the way I wanted to, but at least I had the upper hand on him most of the time and I got to see what it's like battling with him. This day didn't turn out so bad in the end…Ash thought to himself about what happened to him during his time in Luxuria Town.
"Ash!" a voice called out and a person embraced him in a hug. "Thank goodness you're alright," the boy saw that it was May.
Iris, Cilan, and Don George also arrived with the brunette. "We evacuated all of the people from the Battle Club," Iris informed a dirt-covered Ash.
"But we heard the loud crash and knew we had to come back. Where's Silver and Trip?" Cilan questioned his friend.
"Trip just left, he said he couldn't waste time and continued on his journey. He also wanted to learn more about the Majestic 12. Silver…escaped with the disc, even the two of us were no match for him. It was like fighting a member of the Pokémon League. The loud crash you heard was a truck breaking through that huge hole you see on the wall, Silver got in and escaped. I'm sorry Don George, we tried all we could," the boy apologized and showed an exhausted Pikachu in his arms.
Don George sighed, but then smiled, "It doesn't matter Ash. You two tried your best. I can already picture it. After seeing the two of you battle, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to defend the Battle Club in such a time of crisis and I thank you for that, please also thank Trip if you ever see him. From here, I'll notify the police about those thugs and they'll retrieve the disc."
Ash smiled and thanked Don George for everything. Then May spoke, "Look at the bright side, technically you beat Trip since you won 2 of the battles and he only won once," May comforted him and held his arm in affection.
"That's true, but next time it will be a real battle and I'll win that one too. Nothing will stop me then, but before we'll have to go after my next gym badge," Ash formed a confident smile and used his free arm to make a fist.
"Don't forget my ribbon," May grinned and giggled a little.
Ash laughed nervously and said, "Oh right, sorry I forgot."
The group laughed at Ash's forgetful mind and May pecked his cheek as a way of accepting her boyfriend's apology. After Ash getting a quick shower and having recovered his Pokémon from the Pokémon Center, the gang said goodbye to Don George continued their travel to Nacrene City.
Hope you enjoyed it! What did you guys think of Silver? He's the first member of M12 to battle Ash or any of his friends. Feel free to leave your comments in your review and Chapter 11 should be up sometime between Sunday and Tuesday. If any of you are interested in knowing, I read on Bulbapedia that Ash only got to the Top 8 in the Unova League -.-, it certainly was a WTF moment, can't the writers just let the guy win at least one league?! Also, Generation VI has been announced and the starters and legendary Pokémon of that Gen have also been revealed, it's called Pokémon X and Y, and it seems ok, the Pokémon don't look that look, except for the legendary, the graphics are also pretty cool since now its full 3D and stuff. Generation VI could also be useful for a future story, maybe even for this one, but it's too soon to say anything, so that's it for now. See ya!