Episode 23: Goodbye Ancient Johto! Rescued by the Ultra Recon Squad!
Ashton awoke when Rockruff licked her face, the girl finding herself in Ryujin's house back in the Village of Black Thorns. "Ah, you have finally awakened, young warrior," the elder said. "Get up and meet us outside. Your friends are waiting for us."
Ashton did as she was told, the Rockruff happily jumping around her feet as she stepped outside the door. Almost immediately she was met by Kris socking her hard in the arm. "Okay, I think I deserved that one," Ashton said dryly.
"Dylan got to punch you once, so it's only fair I get to do it too," Kris said. She then gave Ashton a hug. "And it's nice to see you didn't die. I made sure that your other Pokémon got rest as well while you were out."
"I'm glad that all of you survived your fate as well," Delphi said. "It's always nice whenever someone changes the fate I see in them for the better."
"Oh, it's you," Ashton said. "When did you get here."
"Delphi appearently came here to rescue us," Dylan explained. "And she brought some new friends to do so."
Ashton looked to see two people in strange armor talking to Ryujin and Dokyo. The first was a tall man with a strand of pink hair peeking out between his eyes, while the second was a little girl with orange hair held in a braid. The two strangers made their way over to the trio, doing a weird wave with their hands before speaking.
"Greetings. I am Dulse, and this is my companion, Zossie," the man said.
"Hey there!" Zossie greeted enthusiastically.
"We are part of the Ultra Recon Squad, an elite team from Ultra Space tasked with protecting the multiverse from dangerous Pokémon called Ultra Beasts," Dulse explained. He pulled out a strange blue Poké Ball and summoned forth Solgaleo. "The Legendary Pokémon known as Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma are used by us to open up Ultra Wormholes to travel the multiverse."
"Yeah, and we were just doing our duty when BOOM we picked up a weird energy spike in your world," Zossie jumped in. "So we went all ZOOM and found that the energy created a temporary Space-Time Rift, which is like an Ultra Wormhole but way more unstable. Then there was a POOF and we met the fox lady over there."
"Zossie, the 'fox lady' is in fact a Pokémon herself," Dulse corrected.
"Either way, I was trying to find you three to warn you about the danger you were going to be put in, but I was a bit too late," Delphi sighed. "Luckily, these two popped out on this magnificent beast and offered to help me find you."
"Well thanks for looking out for us, Delphi, and thank you two for that as well," Dylan said.
"Darling, it was nothing," Delphi blushed.
"So does this mean we can go home now?" Kris asked.
"Indeed it does," Dulse nodded.
"Before you leave, however, there is something I must know," Ryujin interrupted, turning to Ashton. "Did you defeat the Hydreigon, without any assistance."
"Yes sir," Ashton nodded. She pulled out the Poké Ball that held Hydreigon and opened it, the Brutal Pokémon letting out a roar as it was summoned. "I have completed my training."
"There is one step you must complete, however," Ryujin noted. "You must show the village the bond you two forged in combat."
"It is tradition," Dokyo said. "The villagers are already setting up the festivities for tonight."
Ashton turned to her friends. "Well, think we can stay until after the ceremony?"
"I don't see why not," Kris shrugged. "It'll be nice to see a traditional rite of passage."
"I always wanted to see one of these festivals," Rei said excitedly.
[***]
As the evening light fell over the village, the streets were lit up with lanterns as the villagers celebrated into the night. Kris, Dylan, and Rei all were given traditional kimonos to wear for the festival, with Kris wearing a Totodile mask, Dylan a Riolu mask, and Rei a Pikachu mask. Delphi and Aurora also got their own kimonos, though theirs were tailor made to fit their Pokémon bodies.
"Oh, I feel so fancy in this," Delphi cooed. "It's been so long since I was fully clothed like this."
Yes, it is a nice change from just being in bare fur, Aurora mused.
"Glad you two are enjoying yourselves," Dylan chuckled.
The gang all gathered in the center of town, where Ryujin stood on stage. "People of Black Thorn, tonight we celebrate one of our own. She was lost for a long time, but she returned to us as a mighty warrior and conquer of the fearsome Hydreigon. Performing the traditional Dragon Dance, here is Ashton of the Kage Clan!"
Ashton came on stage, now wearing a battle-style kimono alongside her Hydreigon. The nearby musicians started to play an upbeat fighting song, with Ashton performing Kung Fu moves mimicking Hydreigon. The human and dragon moved in sync across the stage, with Aurora noting how their auras quickly became on the same wavelength once more. Once the dance was complete, Ashton and Hydreigon bowed to each other, followed by cheers from the crowd.
"And with that, you are no longer just a member of our village, but a Dragon Master," Ryujin said. He held out a small bundle of cloth to Ashton. "This is a gift from us to you."
Ashton opened the bundle, revealing within it a wooden Poké Ball with a purple top. "A Master Ball…?" she said in awe.
"Our forger Gantetsu made it for you," Ryujin explained. "It has a mystical property about it, allowing any Pokémon to be caught by it. I take it that you will use this tool well in your travels."
Ashton smirked. "Thanks gramps." She left the stage, going over to her friends and placing the Master Ball in Dylan's hands. "I think you'll be needing this more than me."
"But Ashton, this is a Master Ball, maybe even the first one ever made!" Dylan said. "I can't just take a gift from you."
"But if it wasn't for you I would have died on Mount Silver," Ashton said. "Just take it so we can be even for that."
Dylan looked at the ball, then nodded, placing it in his bag. Kris took a picture of the group at the festival, with the trio soon changing into their regular clothes and exiting the village to meet with the Ultra Recon Squad was waiting.
"You guys ready to go home?" Zossie asked.
"Yeah, it'll be nice to have internet reception," Kris said.
"And air condition and proper plumbing," Dylan added.
"Don't forget not having to worry about deadly diseases as much," Ashton laughed.
"WAIT!" Rei called, running up to the trio with Rockruff behind him. "There's something I wanted to give you guys." The boy handed over a bundle of scrolls to the group. "This is a copy of the Agile and Strong Style scrolls, so that you can use those battle styles in your world. Sorry I can only write in my language, but Ashton should be able to decipher them for you."
"Thanks Rei," Dylan said, handing the scrolls to Ashton for safe keeping.
Rockruff barked sadly, with Kris kneeling down to pet it on the head. "I know you want to come with us, Rockruff, but Delphi said that you're needed here. I'm sure Rei will take good care of you, just as you'll take care of him. Can you do that for me?" Rockruff looked back at Rei, then licked Kris' face, its tail wagging happily. "Good girl."
"So Rei, where are you off to next?" Dylan asked.
"I'm going to take Rockruff with me to Ecruteak Village to see the Bell and Brass towers," Rei said. "Don't worry, Rockruff will be in good company with some of my other Pokémon as well."
The trio looked over to see Rockruff playing with some of Rei's other Pokémon, a Shinx and an Eevee. They smiled, knowing their friend was going to be okay. With some help from the Ultra Recon Squad, the trio got onto the back of Solgaleo, with Delphi using her psychic powers to help them all stay secured on the beast's back.
"Well then, big boy, let's get home," Delphi said, scratching Solgaleo behind the ear as she chuckled.
With a mighty roar an Ultra Wormhole appeared in the sky, with Solgaleo hopping through it, the trio crying out in excitement as they warped through space and time back to the present.
[***]
With another Ultra Wormhole, Solgaleo came to a stop on Earth in the present day, with the trio and Delphi saying their goodbyes to Dulse and Zossie as they had to leave back to their own dimension to continue patrolling the multiverse. "Don't be a stranger, okay?" Zossie said with a smile.
"And try not to get trapped in another dimension, on accident or otherwise," Dulse added.
Once the Ultra Recon Squad left, Kris immediately pulled out her Pokégear, giving a big sigh of relief as it finally functioned at full capacity. "Thank Arceus this thing works again. Okay, it looks like they dropped us off in… Spain?" She held up the map to her friends. "Yeah, we're right outside their capital city of Madrid."
"Hey, there's a Gym there as well," Ashton noted with a grin. "Well, why don't we head there now? It'll be nice to get back to gym battles and all that. We have to make up for lost time."
"She never changes," Dylan sighed with a smile, shaking his head as Ashton ran towards the city. "Well Delphi, I guess this is where we part ways again."
The Delphox gave a hum. "Actually, I was wondering if I could tag along with you three. I've been slacking off on my battle skills, and I really need to stretch those muscles in order to stay at the top of my game." She gave a sly grin. "Plus I know a certain bird that would love my company too."
'She's going to flirt with Joker again, isn't she?' Dylan thought dryly. "Okay, you can come with us. But if you're going to battle, you do know you have to be officially registered to one of us, right? I don't know if I'd be comfortable 'owning' a Pokémon with as much autonomy as you."
"You don't have the problem with Aurora," Delphi pointed out.
"Aurora is like my sister, and the only reason she has a Poké Ball is so others can't steal her away from her freedom," Dylan responded.
"Then just think of me like that," Delphi said. She used her powers to pull Dylan's bag over, rummaging through it to find a ball. "Oh, I'll take this one! It matches my hat!" Pulling out the Master Ball, Dylan didn't have time to stop her as Delphi tapped its button, the ball pulling her in and sending out a little firework to show that she had been captured. Delphi then popped out to a stunned Dylan and Kris. "Ta-da! Now I'm one of your Pokémon, darling, which means we're closer than ever before!"
"That was a Master Ball," Kris said. "The first Master Ball ever. And you just used it on yourself."
"DELPHI!" Dylan shouted, angerly running after the Delphox as she laughed at the chase. "That was a gift and you just wasted it!"
The trio were back action, with a few new friends in tow, ready to get back to the Gym Challenge to prepare for the World Tournament.
Author's Note
Ashton's outfit is inspired by the player's battle attire when on the Isle of Armor in Sword and Shield.
Gantetsu is the ancestor of Kurt the Poké Ball crafter in Gold and Silver. It makes sense that his ancestor would be the first person to make a Master Ball.
Rei's Pokémon will be important in the future, so keep an eye out for that.