World of Pokémon #2
Over one hundred and fifty years ago a group of powerful Pokémon trainers decided to come together to form a club. At first, they would have fights to the death between their Pokémon, while placing bets on the outcomes. This sport caught on, later sold on pay-per-view, and Pokémon were bred to win these death matches. It wasn't until a trainer, later known only as the Master, stormed into one of the death matches and defeated every Pokémon in attendance with his own Pokémon partners.
By befriending his Pokémon and training them, they became stronger and evolved to their final forms making quick work of the other savage and unevolved Pokémon. Seeing that the way that they were raising their Pokémon was inferior to the Master's way, the powerful trainers disbanded their club. Under the Master's leadership, they formed an organization for anyone to join. The powerful trainers went to their hometowns to form the first-generation Gyms.
The Master went down in history as the founder of the Pokémon League and the first ever Champion. Not much is known about him but that he had a Charizard as his partner and Strongest Pokémon.
The Pewter City Gym was a huge building with a large domed roof. The inside there was a waiting room that looked more like a lounge. There were vending machines with regular food and Pokéblocks for trainers and Pokémon. On the walls were TVs playing the PLN and a large staircase leading to the second level where the arena was.
Ash wondered why there wasn't anyone else in the lounge and decided to walk right up the stairs towards the arena. Standing on the staircase leaning on the railing was a large man who looked more like a mountain hiker than a trainer. He was typing into a Pokégear and looked up when he noticed Ash walking up the stairs.
"Hey kid, you here to challenge Brock?" Asked the man staring down at Ash.
Nodding, Ash continued to climb the steps towards the gym. The man's hand rose, and he stopped the rookie trainer.
"Brock isn't here, he went to solve a problem at the Pokémon Center. Apparently, some kid got lucky and caught a Gyarados and it started a rampage when Nurse Joy tried to heal it." Explained the man with a shake of his head.
Ash groaned but shook his head and turned around to leave the building. Even though he wanted to challenge his first gym and move on, another day of training certainly wouldn't hurt. He could run some more drills and practice all of his team's moves a few more times.
With that settled Ash made his way out of the Pewter Gym toward the wilds surrounding the city. Rather than south to Viridian Forest, he turned east toward Route three towards Mt. Moon.
The route heading toward the caves of Mt. Moon were inhabited by many Pokémon. He saw several Mankey fighting with each other in the trees. An occasional Pidgey would squawk at the fighting types but were ignored by the rowdy monkeys.
Bug types were suckling tree sap and several trainers were training their Pokémon in little clearings making sure not to disturb each other. Ash went towards a shady area and released Eevee, she had the best nose and was good company. Eevee would be able to tell him if any Pokémon were sneaking up on them looking for a fight.
As he idly stroked Eevee's fur he started thumbing through the move list for his Pokémon that he could teach them next.
Hydro could learn Iron Defense and he increase the power of his water attacks. Ice beam and Blizzard were obvious choices but Squirtle didn't have the raw power necessary to use the non-water type moves. Only Wartortle and Blastoise could use those moves without an incredible amount of training, that would likely evolve Squirtle before it was over anyway.
Eevee would need to decide what she wanted to evolve into before he taught her anything more than Iron tail and bite. Take down was possible but she didn't have the constitution to use it in a battle with another strong Pokémon. Pidgeotto had many moves she could learn, but for now he would have her working on Roost while she was at Professor Oak's Lab for the time being. Blast was easy, he would have him working on Thunderbolt. Since he already knew Thunder Shock it shouldn't take too long for him to generate more power for the powerful electric attack.
"Eevee, I think it's time we looked into what you want to evolve into." Announced Ash while looking down at her with a smile. He went through his Pokédex and pulled up pictures of all her possible choices. "Half of these need stones but the others need particular environments to trigger the evolution."
Eevee bent her head down and nuzzled the picture of Umbreon. Ash grinned and clicked on the information page.
"Umbreon, an excellent choice. Your dad was an Umbreon right?" Eevee shook her head and yipped getting Ash to understand. "Right it was your mother, that explains your attachment to Umbreon and drive to learn shadow ball. Well it says here that you need to feel attached to me and train under moonlight. Not difficult, not to seem forward but I already think of you as family so for now it's nighttime training until you evolve. The Pokédex data says it shouldn't take too long, some Eevee accidentally evolve since the only requirements are to be happy and train at night."
Eevee nuzzled Ash's cheek and yipped once more. She walked off of him and went to a shady spot to lay down, when she sniffed the air, she lowered herself and began growling at the bushes. Ash quietly approached making sure to not startle whatever was in the bushes. From the bushes came a yellow rodent who looked at Ash curiously before noticing the growling Eevee and started to produce lightning on its red cheeks.
"Whoa calm down everyone!" Shouted Ash getting Eevee to calm down and Pikachu to turn back to him curiously. "Hi Pikachu, would you like to have a battle?"
The Pikachu got down on all fours and readied itself while its cheek pouches started to crackle with powerful lightning, which got a grin out of Ash.
"Well Eevee, let's go!"
Pikachu sped off in an impressive Quick Attack catching Eevee off guard with the speed. Eevee tried to move but Pikachu was able to coarse correct fast enough to hit the normal type with a solid Quick Attack. With the physical contact, Pikachu's ability activated and paralyzed Eevee getting a whine out of her.
"Eevee, shadow ball and get in close for a tackle!" Ordered Ash trying to retake control of the battle.
Eevee tried her best and powered up a Shadow Ball, a swirling orb of ghostly energy manifested before Eevee blasted it toward her opponent. Pikachu was surprised by the attack and took it head on. Eevee took advantage of Pikachu's stunned state and closed distance with Quick Attack landing another hit on Pikachu.
Unfortunately, with the static ability activated again, Eevee fell down from the paralyzing effect, unable to continue the battle. Ash recalled Eevee and released Blast, the dragon sized up his opponent before lowering his head using Leer without a command.
"Blast hit it with dragon rage! Stay away from it at all costs." Shouted Ash getting a low growl from the dragon.
Blast didn't need to be told twice and charged up his signature move. Dragon Rage charged and a fiery orb of draconic energy shot toward Pikachu with speed that eclipsed Eevee's Shadow Ball. Before the Dragon Rage could land it was met by a large crackling lance of yellow lightning. The two attacks met with an explosion of power that had Ash shield his eyes from the brightness of the explosion.
Pikachu's was apparently capable of using the move Thunder Bolt, a powerful electric type move that – when used by a master – could end flying and water type Pokémon in an instant. It would seem that Pikachu was far from a master of the move, but the attack was naturally strong enough to cancel out Blast's attack.
Pikachu – despite looking tired from using Thunder Bolt – was able to move into an impressive Quick Attack. Ash could only see a blur of yellow that shot toward Blast in a zigzagging motion.
Blast didn't wait for Ash to order him and roared as he called upon draconic energy to use Twister. The widespread attack caught Pikachu in the draconic energy storm getting a cry of pain out of the mouse. Pikachu, at the epicenter of the tornado, was trying to ground itself so that it could fire off an attack but the constant hits from the Twister wasn't allowing it to focus.
"Finish with another dragon rage!" Called Ash, the Pikachu was strong but Eevee weakened well enough and Blast was more than enough to finish the battle.
Loving that his trainer wanted to finish the battle with a bang, Blast charged up a powerful Dragon Rage and fired it directly into the Pikachu's chest ending the battle with a critical hit.
Ash smirked down at the dragon. "You certainly have some impressive power, good job Blast." Praised Ash before he recalled the dragon.
Ash tossed a Pokéball at the yellow rodent and with the unconscious rodent unable to struggle, it was caught immediately without issue. Ash pulled out a couple berries and used a revive on the Captured Pikachu before scanning the ball.
Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. It can generate electric attacks from the electric pouches located in both of its cheeks. This Pikachu is male.
Known Moves - Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Growl, Quick Attack, Electro ball and Thunder Bolt. Ability - Static and Lightning Rod.
Ash tossed the Pokéball containing his newest member and was met with a yellow tail slapping him in the face by an irate Pikachu.
A series of squeaks and growls were shouted at Ash by Pikachu while waving his arms around and slapping his tail on the ground over and over.
Ash shook his head trying to decipher the game of charades. "I know your telling me something, something important." He said lamely.
Pikachu walked over to Ash's belt and grabbed its Pokéball, tossed it onto the ground and began hitting it with its tail.
Ash now thought he understood the problem, "You don't like your ball?"
The yellow rodent jumped up with a happy squeak and Ash nodded his head with a sigh. "Well I guess you can stay out of it; I don't mind having company to walk with. Strange though since all my other Pokémon like to be in their ball since it lets them relax."
Pikachu squeaked happily as he jumped up to Ash's shoulder and rubbed Ash's cheek with his own. Ash laughed at his new friend and gave Pikachu's head a pat soft pat.
"Well I guess we should head back to the center to have you and Eevee checked on, then I'll introduce you to the team." Ash said to the Pikachu. "Also, tonight you and the team will get in a night session, mostly for Eevee but I want to see what your other moves are capable of."
It turned out that the Gyarados issue took three days to settle. Brock managed to put an end to it with his Steelix but the damage to both the Pokémon Center and innocent buildings around the area was enough that the Gym closed until for three days while Brock helped the city recover.
Ash had taken the time to train his team. During the days everyone would be working on new moves while Eevee battled and trained at night. So far, he had her working on the move Moonlight, a healing move that worked on drawing energy from the weather and worked best at night. He was sure that in the next week or two of this training, Eevee would evolve.
Eevee's didn't take much at all to evolve after all, half the battle was finding out what they wanted to evolve into. If Eevee had wanted to evolve into a form that needed a stone, then Ash would have been out of luck for a long time. Not even the Department Store in Celadon had stones for sale very often and when they did, they were extraordinarily expensive. Water stones – the most common and cheapest – went for about ninety thousand dollars.
Ash was glad that Umbreon didn't need anything other than training to reach, although becoming Umbreon was the easy part seeing as how she would have an all new typing to work with and her form would completely change.
Moving on, with Pikachu's help Blast was able to make progress on Thunderbolt, teaching Blast gave Pikachu the perfect opportunity to further practice the move to get it down. Right now, Pikachu had enough power to use Thunder Bolt, but it wasn't very controlled and lost power soon after leaving Pikachu. Ash was confident that Pikachu and Blast would have the move down by the time they got to Cerulean to face the Water Gym.
Hydro still hadn't evolved but his tail was getting bushier and his skin was getting darker. Pidgeotto was working on Roost, a great move for her to learn as she would be able to recover and would remove her flying typing for a few minutes. This meant that Pidgeotto would only be weak to fighting moves while the effect lasted. But all that aside, Ash just hoped that she wasn't lonely at Oak's corral.
Team training was for Iron tail; Blast, Eevee and Pikachu were working on it together. The move was a good close-range steel type move that would be useful to gain distance with an opponent that got too close. He was happy with his team's progress, Blast was the furthest along with Eevee and Pikachu were hot on his tail with their own progress.
Ash found himself once again at the entrance to the Pewter City Gym and this time he'd get the challenge and hopefully a badge.
Ash walked inside the Gym, through the lounge waiting area, and up the stairs. The arena wasn't well lit, but he could make out the rocky field and viewing stands on either side. The arena was enormous, ceiling was over thirty feet high and the battlefield itself was over fifty yards long and thirty yards wide.
At the other end of the arena Ash noticed a man was standing on his trainer square with crossed arms watching him approach from the shadows.
"A challenger! May I have your name, I of course am Brock Slate." Introduced Brock and when he spoke the entire Arena lit up and the whole place became visible. Ash was able to make out cracked and shattered boulders with the hard-stone ground cracked with scars of previous battles.
"Ash Ketchum!" Called out Ash, he stood firm and Pikachu on his shoulder squeaked out a call of his own.
"I hope you don't plan to use that Pikachu." Commented Brock as Ash stood in his trainer square mirroring Brock.
Ash gave Pikachu a pat and shook his head, "No, I have other Pokémon to use. What are the rules?"
"This will be three on three; you can switch during battle, but I cannot. If you don't have three Pokémon, I will go down to two on two but nothing less. No time limit and either trainer can forfeit." Explained Brock before tossing a Pokéball containing his first Pokémon.
The Pokémon that emerged was a dog-like Pokémon with bright blue eyes. It seemed more curious than prepared for a battle. However, Ash wouldn't underestimate Brock's choice, so he took out his Pokédex to check.
Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon. A Rock-type. Rockruff have lived with humans since ancient times. They train themselves by running around.
"He was a gift from my cousin who lives in the Alola region." Came Brock's input seeing the boy's expression.
Ash shrugged and tossed out Eevee Pokéball and his girl took the field. Pikachu gave a shout of encouragement and so did Ash.
"I'll give you the first move." Offered Brock.
"Agile Ball and keep the movement up." Called Ash.
"Howl then Take Down." Responded Brock.
Eevee utilized the move Agility and began charging up a Shadow Ball as she moved. Eevee's form shown with a white energy as her speed tripled for a short moment as black ghostly energy formed into an orb and grew in size as she moved.
Rockruff's howl filled the arena before it shot forward in the powerful Take Down attack. Eevee's natural speed added to by the move Agility made her nearly untouchable by the rock type as she blasted the rock type with a Shadow Ball that caused it to yelp in pain before Rockruff growled angrily. Eevee kept up the movement managing to avoid the follow up attacks from the rock type.
"Rock tomb." Shouted Brock.
"Keep the movement up and shadow ball again." Called Ash, he was confident in their win as long as Eevee avoided and of the hard-hitting physical attacks.
Unfortunately, Rockruff's anger added to its ability, the ground beneath Eevee exploded with rock spears knocking Eevee back. Eevee yelped in pain before she glowed as she used Quick Attack to move and reposition behind the rock type to launch another Shadow Ball. The ghost attack hit the Rockruff between the shoulder blades knocking it to the ground.
"Rock Polish then take down." Brock shouted.
"Eevee keep up the movement and bite." Ash was sure that the Rock-type was close to being taken down but didn't want to keep the same attack up, Brock was sure to be able to counter such a simple tactic despite using an inexperienced Pokémon.
With Rock Polish added speed effects, it blasted off with a powerful Take Down. Eevee used Agility in conjunction with Quick Attack and managed to avoid the initial Take down, she then punished the miss with a Shadow Ball. Rockruff used another Rock Tomb catching Eevee off guard causing a good amount of damage, but Ash knew that she wasn't going down that easily. Eevee managed to shoot a last Shadow Ball that hit Rockruff in the face before falling unconscious. Rockruff tried to shake off the pain but succumbed to its injuries and fell to the ground.
"Both Eevee and Rockruff are unable to battle. Good fight Ash." Praised Brock before tossing out another Pokéball as he returned his first Pokémon. This time a large Graveler took its position with Ash following his lead and calling out Blast.
Brock seemed shocked at the dragon type, likely rarely seeing a challenger use one against him. Ash was hoping for his Pokémon's rarity to throw Brock off, which was exactly why he used him.
"Twister and keep a distance with Dragon rage." Called Ash, it was a standard strategy between them, and Blast followed through without hesitation.
"Rollout." Called Brock confidently.
Graveler tucked its limbs in and started rolling towards the dragon, as it started picking up speed it was sucked into a draconic twister causing repeated damage. The twister wasn't enough to completely stop the heavy rock type and Graveler righted itself then started closing the distance at surprising speeds. Blast didn't hesitate to let loose a powerful Dragon Rage knocking Graveler off course causing it to impact a large boulder, destroying it in the process. Dust and pebbles exploded from the rock type impacting the boulder making it impossible to see the battlefield.
"Aqua Tail!" Shouted Ash.
"Magnitude!" Was Brock's order.
Before Blast could build up enough water energy, the ground of the arena began to violently shake. Ash guessed the attack was about a six maybe a seven but that was still powerful. Blast didn't care about the damage and finished charging the aqua tail. The water enhanced tail smacked the rock type across the face getting a groan of pain out of the gravel Pokémon.
Graveler tried to get out of the danger zone but Blast let loose another Dragon Rage knocking Graveler out of the battle. Blast roared out in victory, happy that he could prove his superiority to the dumb rock type Pokémon. Ash didn't bother being shocked as he shook his head, Dragon rage was a natural move, so it did more than the normal damage it would by any other non-dragon Pokémon.
"You've done well, that Dratini of yours is pretty strong, but I think this is where the battle ends." Praised Brock as he released his thirty-foot rock snake. Its boulder like body was shiny and the Pokémon look well taken care of. Onix let out an ear-piercing roar nearly causing Ash to cover his ears while Brock stood stoic on his trainer platform. The proud dragon didn't flinch in the face of the massive rock snake, Blast was more interested in if he could take on the massive boulder beast.
"Keep distance and use the new move if it gets too close." Called Ash.
"Onix Rock Polish then Rock Tomb." Brock's tone was more confident than before and Onix answered his orders with another ground shaking roar.
Blast let out a powerful twister that managed to consume the rock snake, but Onix didn't care as it launch boulders at the dragon. The area shook when the massive boulders slammed into the ground picking up large amounts of dust. Despite taking damage from flying shrapnel, Blast didn't flinch and shot towards the massive Pokémon while its tail took on a metallic glow. Under Brock's orders, Onix went to wrap its body around the blue dragon but as it got close Blast smacked it with a perfect Iron Tail.
Onix roared as it suffered from the super effective move but was experienced enough to push through the pain. Coiling, then launching its massive body into the air, Onix slammed itself down on top of Blast knocking the dragon out. The rookie trainer grimaced at the attack, a what had to be several thousand-pound Pokémon landing on Blast had to have caused some serious damage.
Ash recalled Blast, "Impressive as always, now rest up we'll pick up training starting tomorrow." He knew that saying anything else would just annoy the dragon.
Ash pulled out his starter's Pokéball and released Hydro who stared up at the Rock snake without a shred of fear or worry. Brock grunted quietly as he looked upon the impressive Squirtle, water and grass were massive weaknesses for Onix, but this wasn't the first time he's faced such odds.
"Hydro remember the plan. Onix is a sturdy one so don't back down until it's down for good." Ordered Ash.
Brock narrowed his eyes and grunted out, "Earthquake."
Ash's eyes widened at the powerful earth attack, "Hydro rapid spin away!"
Hydro withdrew into his shell and spun his body away from the area towards one of the nearby boulders. The entire arena began to shake as the extremely powerful ground attack was used. Ash wasn't certain, but he expected that this move was similar to Pikachu's Thunder Bolt. Onix was able to use it but it wasn't to the level it should be at. Brock likely gave it the TM and kept it as an ace.
Hydro was hit by the attack but with his constant movement was able to avoid being hurt too badly. He stopped and steadied himself on top of a boulder before focusing on Onix.
Filling his chest with water, Hydro blasted the rock snake with a compacted and high velocity stream of pressurized water in a masterful Water Gun attack. Onix, despite its size managed to avoid the attack and went on the offensive. Utilizing its massive size to its advantage, it slammed its tail down on the boulder that Hydro was standing on. The Squirtle withdrew once again and spun under the rock snake away from the damage.
Ash smirked as he watched his plan work. Hydro's main problem was that he wasn't extremely fast. Not his fault, his line isn't known for their blistering speeds. But using rapid spin on the ground Hydro is able to effectively cartwheel away from damage. Although it only works in a straight line.
"Now! Use Water gun!" Shouted Ash, he could see the badge in his mind's eye as the battle continued.
"Rock Polish and wrap!" Brock ordered.
The two Pokémon listened to their masters and used their respective moves. Hydro was obviously quicker than Onix and built the aquatic energy within his body and released another water gun this time hitting the Rock Snake in the bolder right next to its face. Onix couldn't avoid the pain this time and roared out.
"Onix Dragon Breath!" Shouted Brock in desperation.
"Finish this Hydro!" Cried Ash with a grin starting to form on his face.
Both Pokémon readied their attacks and released them at the same time. The two beams met, and it was obvious which was the stronger of the two. Hydro was overtaken by the draconic energy attack making Ash yell out in worry for his starter.
Brock nodded to himself, that Squirtle packed a serious punch, it almost took out Onix with that powerful water gun. Luckily water gun was still water gun, no matter how perfectly executed, and the low-level attack was nothing compared to the dragon breath attack. Once the smoke cleared from the attack both trainers looked to see if Squirtle was still able to battle, he wasn't.
For Hydro was no longer a Squirtle.
He was a larger purple turtle with white fluffy tuffs of fur on his head and a light blue fluffy tail curled behind him. He was no longer the foot-tall turtle he was, now three times larger and twice as heavy. He was now a Wartortle.
"Amazing Hydro! Now finish this with Water Pulse!" Ash had heard his Pokédex notify him of Hydro learning the move after evolving.
Hydro released a pulsing orb of water that hit with enough power that Onix spun round as if it was slapped across the face. Instead of the roar of pain Ash was expecting the rock snake fell to the ground unconscious. The newly evolved Pokémon's added power using a natural move that did double damage mixed with the four times effectiveness, Ash was sure that even a fresh Onix would be out after that hit.
Ash didn't return Hydro and instead ran down to him with Pikachu following excitedly next to him. "That was amazing! You're so much stronger now Hydro!" Shouted Ash all the while sporting a large face splitting grin. Pikachu chittered his own congratulations to the newly evolved Wartortle.
Hydro puffed his chest and proudly received the praise; he was happy that he took out the large rock snake but more so that he managed to evolve.
The Pokémon and rookie trainer both turned to the sound of clapping.
Brock walked toward them with a small smile, "That was an impressive battle. My Onix hasn't been defeated in a while, you've more than earned this badge." He presented the boulder badge to Ash who took it and immediately showed it off to his Pokémon.
"Now Ash," Started Brock, "For beating me you get the badge, two thousand Pokédollars and I'm also giving you this." He handed a small disk that had the number thirty-nine on it. "This is the move Rock Tomb, congratulations again Ash." With that Brock walked back towards the other side of the gym and exited through one of the doors.
Ash smiled once again at the badge, it showed that he wasn't slacking off and wasn't wasting his time.
"I'm so proud of you Hydro as well as of Eevee and Blast, you three did amazing. Let's get you three over to the Pokémon Center so you can get looked at." Ash recalled Hydro and gave Pikachu a pat as he jumped up onto his shoulder.
"Let's get out of here buddy." Pikachu squeaked out his approval and settled on Ash's shoulder.
Ash was about two days out from Mt. Moon, so far, he wasn't met with any trainers who were interested in battling, so he was moving through the area quite fast. The occasional wild Pokémon that challenged them was swiftly dealt with by Pikachu or Hydro.
He decided to let his team rest for the past two days and Pidgeotto was back at Professor Oak's. Ash was sad that one of his team members was away from him but understood that it was for the best, he needed to get stronger before he let her be seen too often. With that in mind, Ash set down his bag and released all of his Pokémon, Pikachu jumped down to sit next to the others.
"Okay everyone, we're going to do some hard training today. Hydro I want you to try to learn Scald, it is a water attack that utilizes extremely hot water that can burn targets. Practice for now by heating up your Water Gun attack." Ash watched as Hydro walked over to a secluded area to begin working.
Turning to his dragon, "Blast I want you to begin trying to learn ember. It's the easiest fire move to learn and will give you an idea on how to channel fire. I'll be close by to help coach you in a moment." Blast, ever the serious dragon slithered away and began working on channeling the fiery energy.
"Pikachu, I want you to work with Eevee on how to use Iron Tail and I want you both to work on swift after that. Pikachu, from our earlier training with Iron tail I know that Eevee will have you doing it in no time." The two Pokémon nodded and started working, Eevee took her role as instructor seriously and started barking at Pikachu like a drill sergeant with Pikachu nodding along rapidly.
Ash went and walked over to Blast and popped open his Pokédex to look up the move ember. It said that for a non-fire type to learn a fire type move it was best to start with Ember. It said that a Pokémon should first try to channel its natural aura in its chest then begin heating it. After a while, if the Pokémon is capable of the fire type energy then it should naturally begin to understand how to produce the fire type energy.
As Ash relayed this to Blast the small serpent payed rapt attention then closed his eyes in focus as he began putting the human's words to practice. In the weeks since coming under the human's possession - oh how he hated calling it that - he was happy to say that he wasn't forced to do anything he didn't want to do. While Hydro was a suck up to the Human and Eevee was a total brat he was finding himself enjoying their training sessions. Not to mention he absolutely loved battling. Beating the gravely loser at the gym was the most fun he's ever had. He was beginning to like his time under this human. But the human still had a ways to go before he would start to like him or even learn his name.
Ash nodded, happy that Blast was working so diligently. The little dragon was more than happy to focus on becoming more powerful. While he was thrilled about that he still got the feeling that he wasn't trusted by the dragon completely yet, sadly he understood. Dragons were proud things and wouldn't submit unless given a good reason. But Ash was nothing if not persistent and would never stop showing Blast that he was willing to push him all the way to his final form and to surpass all his current limits.
Seeing that Blast wasn't going to need any further instruction he walked over to Pikachu and Eevee. If Blast's ability to focus on a task was impressive, then Pikachu's ability to learn under instruction was equally so. Eevee sat by Ash's feet as they watched Pikachu charge up his tail and smack the nearest rock. While it wasn't a full Iron Tail, there was far more power behind that hit than normal meaning that some steel type energy was starting to flow into his tail.
"Great Pikachu! You're already making progress, now that you have the gist of it you can work on it by yourself. For now, I want the both of you to start on Swift." Both nodded and sat next to him while Ash looked up the move in his Pokédex.
"Okay you two, it says here that you're supposed to build up normal type energy and while you're doing that picture your opponent as your form the move. Once the attack is ready it should already have the programming to seek out the target. The heatseeking part of Swift should be natural for the attack but focusing on your target as you create the attack should make it easier to start out." Instructed Ash, Pikachu and Eevee began trying to form the normal type energy. Both having mastered Quick attack already had a grasp on using the normal type energy.
That was why he wanted them to learn the move, it was a ranged attack that could deal damage and in the case of Pikachu, it gave some variety. Eevee had Shadow Ball but that didn't damage normal types so this would give her better coverage. Also, the never missing aspect of the attack was very beneficial.
Pikachu started chittering at Eevee who barked back in response, it didn't seem hostile, so Ash let the team members bond as they trained.
Walking over to the last of his team and his starter Pokémon, Hydro. While all of his team were talented; Blast had his extreme focus, Pikachu was a fast learner, and Eevee didn't quit until she mastered a move. Hydro was the fastest to master a move from scratch, evidence being that he already used a semi-perfect Scald at his tree target.
"Wow Hydro, I was going to give you some tips, but I guess you've got it." Commented Ash, Hydro smiled up at his trainer and growled out happily.
"So, you've been practicing before you evolved, I see." Nodded Ash while Hydro went back to practicing Scald. It made sense that this wasn't the first time he practiced this move, even for Hydro that would have been fast.
Seeing that his team was pretty self-sufficient he went over to his bag and started making lunch. He wasn't a cook but putting out bowls with his Pokémon's favorite Pokéblocks was easy enough. He also crushed up some vitamins and rare candies and sprinkled them over the food. Some people thought using the Poké vitamins was like steroids and didn't like using them. Ash, however, knew that they were perfectly healthy and could help his Pokémon grow stronger, since he had only a bit over a year to get his team to elite level he do whatever it took.
Of all the Elite and extremely powerful trainers in the world Bruno of Kanto's Elite four was the biggest advocate of the using Vitamins and the rare one-time boosts like Rare Candies. His Machamp being nearly a foot taller than the average certainly showed that his methods were working. Ash didn't think his battle style matched the muscle head of the Elite four, but he wouldn't disregard anything that could benefit his team's development.
"Lunch time everyone!" Called Ash who was then nearly bowled over by four Pokémon who dove into their food. "I want to thank all of you for your hard work, we'll train for a couple more hours then turn in for the night."
His Pokémon sounded their approval making Ash smile at the hard workers. "Eevee, you are close to mastering Moonlight, while it's a fairy type move, using it under a full moon - which it will be tonight - should be enough."
Eevee yipped happily that she should evolve tonight. luckily her evolutions didn't require massive amounts of training but rather weather conditions or evolution stone or states of minds. She was strong and loved her trainer, now she needed to train under the full moon, and she'll evolve to Umbreon like her mother.
Ash smiled seeing that his Eevee was happy and went into his own lunch, a humble sandwich, as he thought of what to do next on his journey. Mt. Moon would be a full day of walking if he could navigate the caves effectively.
He was confident that he would get through quickly, and while catching a Clefairy was appealing to him he was confident that he wouldn't see one. He was sure his luck all went into catching Pidgeotto. Clefairy were immensely rare in Mt. Moon and that was the only place they inhabited!
Hours of training later both with major and minor success he put everyone back into their Pokéballs, except for Eevee and Pikachu as one was going to train and the other was Pikachu.
"Okay Eevee, I want you to battle Pikachu. When you get to the point where you're about to collapse use Moonlight, that should do it, if not we'll continue training like this every night until you do." Ordered Ash and took his position behind Pikachu who was on all fours at the ready.
Eevee started off with a Quick Attack hitting Pikachu with the full brunt as he was unable to move in time. Pikachu waited for the follow up and released a powerful Thunder Bolt. The area smelled of ozone and yellow lightning crackled around Pikachu before it shot towards Eevee at blistering speeds. The brown canine couldn't fully avoid the attack and her tail was hit by the attack. Unlike normal and other elemental attacks, lightning was an all or nothing type, fire and other elements only burned or hurt what it hit but lightning… if lightning hit, you it completely affected you and Eevee yelped in pain as the powerful electric attack hit her.
"Pikachu follow up with Quick Attack and Eevee go for an Iron tail, close distance with Agility! Pikachu follow up with Thunder Shock rapid fire!" Ash couldn't hold himself back from dictating the battle, he did notice that in an actual battle Pikachu took a little too long to charge up a full Thunder Bolt at his current power. They'd definitely work on that in the next training session.
Quick to follow orders, Pikachu rushed in with an impressive Quick Attack becoming a blur under the technique's effects. As the yellow blur approached Eevee, she pushed energy to her tail and coated it in the metallic shroud. The two Pokémon met with a loud boom with Pikachu's momentum and strength winning the clash but not without taking damage. Eevee however, after suffering a Thunder Bolt and Quick Attack was feeling sluggish and injured, not to mention after two physical contacts with Pikachu she was quite paralyzed.
Knowing it was now or never Eevee closed her eyes in concentration. Pikachu and Ash watched hopefully as Eevee utilized Moonlight under the full moon.
The move Moonlight revitalized a Pokémon's stamina and health depending on the weather conditions. If it was cloudy it would recover a little over half the user's health, a bright strong summer day it was about four fifths. At night, especially under a full moon the effects were doubled. Soaking in the moon's rays, Eevee felt incredible, she wasn't tired she felt ready to fight, she wasn't hurt she never felt better.
Once the move ended the glow around Eevee didn't stop, rather its intensity picked up and she began to evolve. Ash and Pikachu rushed over, giddy with excitement over the plan working.
Eevee felt her body triple in size and she felt smarter and sharper, her body felt stronger and far tougher like she could take a hyper beam from a Snorlax and shake it off. When the bright light of evolution wore off, Eevee was no longer he small brown self but a larger sleeker black Umbreon.
"Amazing Umbreon! It worked; wow you look beautiful!" Praised Ash, he was instantly jumped on by Umbreon and unlike when she was an Eevee he was sent to the ground with the sixty-pound Moonlight Pokémon licking and nuzzling his face.
"Let's head forward towards Mt. Moon, the Pokémon Center by the entrance isn't far from here."
The Mt. Moon Pokémon center was the same as all the other centers Ash's seen, with the only exception being that there was a sales desk that reminded him of a Poké Mart that he would definitely take a look into later.
The Nurse behind the desk was a dark-haired man with a doctor's coat and glasses. Ash's eyes were wide as saucers as he approached the nurse that wasn't a nurse Joy.
"Uh, is there a nurse Joy here?" Asked an apprehensive Ash.
The man gave a polite smile. "She turned in for the night, and while she is the face of Pokémon Centers, she isn't the only Pokémon healer in the world. Now how can I help you?"
Laughing in realization, Ash presented the man with three Pokéballs and Pikachu hoped off his shoulder and onto the table. "Could you have a look at my Pokémon, they went through some serious training today. Also, my Eevee just evolved into Umbreon can you make sure that she's healthy."
The man smiled and nodded before he carried the tray of Pokémon to the back with a Chansey following him. Ash went over to a booth and sat down to relax, it was late, so he'd wait until tomorrow to call his mom to show her Umbreon and to tell Professor Oak that using the move Moonlight at night was perfect for evolving Eevee. He'd likely want to know that it was a pretty sure way to trigger the evolution.
For now, he'd look through his Pokédex for Umbreon's information. He'd scan her tomorrow to see if she learnt anything after evolving. On the Pokédex it said that Umbreon were tanks with very high health and defense, both physical and special. Mixed with the move Moonlight and natural hardiness she'd make an excellent Pokémon to start battles off with, she could last long enough to see what an opponent was capable of and with her dark attacks could take some down as well.
Also, she had a decent move pool, Dark Pulse was a stab move or natural move as they were usually called meaning that the powerful dark attack would do double damage when used by her no matter the opponent. She had the capability to learn psychic which meant that with tutoring and hard work she could manage other psychic type attacks with enough training. Overall with Thunder Fang the moves she would learn by getting stronger and the ones that she could learn gave her decent coverage.
For now, he'd relax and wait for his team and tomorrow begin his journey into Mt. Moon.
"Oh, I just love her so much she is so shiny and healthy looking!" Gushed Delia Ketchum as she looked at Umbreon on the video call, Ash however was under his now much heavier Pokémon who didn't seem to notice as she basked in her trainer's mother praise.
Managing to push Umbreon off of him he picked the phone back up. "Thanks mom, I make sure she stays healthy and give her a brush every day." Responded Ash while petting Umbreon who was sitting next to him, with her new size she could still see the video screen.
"Oh, I can tell Ashy, she's beautiful. Now onto your Pidgeotto, she is very beautiful herself and is work Ponyta. She's been practicing and perfecting all her moves and managed to learn Roost thanks to Professor Oak's Pidgeot that's on the ranch." Said Delia. "Also, we ran blood work on her and did several tests and she is perfectly healthy, her abilities seem stronger than average but nothing on the scale of being an immense advantage. Though it is too early to tell as she is still young, by our estimate she is only six years old."
Ash nodded, Pidgeotto seemed in her younger years but the average wild Pidgey usually evolved around five to seven years old. "She seemed pretty strong, I mean she took down a Grotle who's a grass type and an evolved one at that while she was a Pidgey. Well she evolved towards the end but yeah still counts."
"Good news is she can be sent back if you want her back as we're done with the tests we wanted to do." Delia said happily before she turned her gaze to Umbreon. "Now I wouldn't mind looking at her, she would be a wonderful research subject."
Stopping his mother before she could really start, he interrupted. "And you will mom, but I still need her. When I come back home you can look at her, I plan to come home after I get my eighth badge which should only be in a few months"
Delia seemed disappointed but understood, her baby didn't want to part with a friend if he could help it. "I understand Ash, so will you want Pidgeotto back?"
"No, I'm going into Mt. Moon today, so I'll get her afterwards, she'd hate to be clumped in a cave." Answered Ash before he and his mom said their goodbyes.
Dialing the next number, he didn't have to wait long for someone to answer. "Ah Ash it's good to hear from you." Greeted Professor Oak with a smile. "I would like to thank you again for lending me Pidgeotto."
"It was no problem," Waved off Ash. "I wanted to introduce you to Umbreon, the plan worked perfectly, she battled with Pikachu under the full moon and when she was toward the end of her rope used Moonlight and immediately evolved. I bet if she did that during the day, she would have evolved into Sylveon or Espeon."
While Ash spoke Professor Oak was typing into a device while nodding along. "That's excellent Ash! I will send these notes over to Professor Sycamore in Kalos, while most of his time now is on Mega Evolution, he'll love to hear about this. He may even give you a call to ask you questions."
Ash was excited at the prospect of talking to the world's foremost mind on mega evolution, maybe Professor Sycamore would tell him if anyone on his team could mega evolve and how. Just the thought of it filled him with excitement.
"You still there Ash?" Questioned an amused Oak.
Ash shook his head to clear his thoughts, "Sorry Professor, please continue." He said while scratching the back of his head.
"It's alright my boy, now is there anything else you needed to talk about?" Asked Oak.
Ash thought for a second, "Do you know about any tournaments coming up? Also how is Gary doing, I just got my first badge a few days ago where's he at?"
"Well Gary has caught nearly ten Pokémon; he's been rotating through them pretty frequently and he told me your Squirtle beat his Bulbasaur." Praised Oak making the boy blush. "Now as for tournaments, I think there is one in Cerulean sponsored by Devon Corp. as that is the first major location of theirs in Kanto. Also, if you manage to beat Lt. Surge in Vermillion within the next two months you will win a ticket onto the SS. Anne which will hold a large tournament, the whole thing is sponsored by Silph Co."
"Great! I can't wait!" Cheered Ash, "Also tell Gary that we can have a much better battle next time. Bye Professor! I'll get Pidgeotto after I get out of Mt. Moon." Professor Oak nodded and hung up.
"Well you two, ready to get out of here?" Asked Ash getting a squeak and yip in response.
"Great, well let's get going." The three of them exited the center and made towards the entrance of Mt. Moon.
Inside the cave was exactly what he'd thought a cave would be, dark and full of Zubat and Golbat. He was sure that he heard some Geodude bouncing around but didn't see any of them. What he knew so far was that there were several basement levels but not many knew if there was a way to climb the mountain.
Wait.
Didn't that strange man in Viridian tell him about entering a moon and he should go up or something? 'Once you enter the moon head up rather than straight…' That's what he said all right. Then something about water and fire and being smart or something but he couldn't remember the rest, that was weeks ago.
Looking around he didn't see and vertical paths. "Umbreon could you give us some more light. Also, both of you look for paths leading up." Ash ordered Pikachu and Umbreon. Pikachu squeaked as he jumped from Ash's shoulder to look around.
The Moonlight Pokémon barked before she lit up her golden rings giving the room more light to work with. Ash thanked her and started looking around himself.
So far, he hadn't found anything out of the ordinary. Pikachu was sniffing around and curiously enough Umbreon was sniffing and scratching the cave wall, Ash disregarded it and continue looking around.
…Young one...
Ash paused as he thought he heard a voice in his head. After another couple minutes when he didn't hear anything he continued to look around. For some reason he decided to walk towards the south wall where he noticed it began to incline. Calling his Pokémon to him he began to proceed with the light from Umbreon leading the way, the three of them continued onward or upward rather.
The next level up was eerily similar to the ground floor but with no other Pokémon around to bother them. Matter of fact, the cave seemed devoid of life other than his small group.
Then the three of them heard a loud bang and the sound of a battle taking place. Looking towards his Pokémon Ash moved towards the noise with Pikachu perched on his shoulder while Umbreon lost her glow and stalked forward, almost invisible in the dark cave.
"Take that thing down and blast them with more fire!" Came a vicious snarl from further up. "Take them all, the boss will love them!"
Ash stopped walking and started tip toeing forward. When he rounded the corner the sight in front of him filled him with fury.
Men and women in black jumpsuits with red R's on them were attacking Pokémon viciously with poison types. Further shocking was the group with fire types burning a group of Beldum into a corner before throwing them in cages. Ash felt incredible Fury consume him but knew that he was outnumbered by the assholes attacking and caging innocent Pokémon.
Young One!
Ash knew for sure that he heard a voice in his head and this time Pikachu heard it as well as both his ears spiked up into the air. Another compelling thought popped into his head and he snuck away and toward another upward level, this one was narrower and darker causing Umbreon to reignite her glowing rings.
The third level was much smaller than the one before and unlike the path actually held light that was shining through holes in the roof that kept the room well lit. Ash would have looked around the room when he felt a presence behind him.
From the shadow of the cave came a huge figure, when it hit the light Ash's jaw fell to the ground. A Metagross levitated toward him with its psychic power, however even more shocking was its coloration. Not only was this an incredibly rare Pokémon that usually stayed near Hoenn, but it was Shiny! The steel body was silver instead of the normal blue Metagross had and the normal silver was gold.
'Thank you for coming young one. I am in need of your assistance.'
"So that was your voice!" Responded Ash in shock, Pikachu and Umbreon were noticeably tense in the presence of the powerful Pokémon.
'Yes, I need you to help remove the cages our young ones are being held in. I would be able to destroy the humans, but those cages are special, and my power would not safely destroy them without killing the Beldum within.' The Metagross' voice was odd, Ash thought it was akin to a human speaking into a voice modulator, but deeper and with a slight echo.
Understanding the task Ash nodded, "I get it, we'll help you save them for sure!"
Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he squeaked out his agreement. Umbreon growled out furiously and nodded towards the massive steel and psychic type Pokémon.
Touching it's four massive limbs to the ground Metagross readied itself. 'This will be done quick; you will initiate the attack and I will teleport in once you start. Free the Beldum and they will help assist you against the Poison ones. I will deal with the rest.'
"Understood." Saluted Ash with his two Pokémon following suit. The three of them walked towards the exit but before he began walking down, he released Hydro and Blast and quickly told them what was happening.
Both seemed less than pleased with the Pokémon's treatment one floor below and sounded out their agreement in the attack.
"I want Hydro and Blast front and center and Umbreon in the shadows attacking, Pikachu you're coming with me to free the Pokémon. Now let's go, quietly." Ordered Ash letting Umbreon lead the way.
Petrel wasn't hating his job today. He and his crew stormed Mt. Moon under the boss's orders to take the recently discovered Metagross hive. Their secret weapon was able to sense them in the mountain, giving them the drop on a large group of Pseudo legendary Pokémon with unpredictable migration patterns.
His boys managed to not screw up the raid and he himself caught a Metang for his personal team. He sent word to the boss that they would be done in the next couple of hours then they will go down to the secret bottom floor to take the moon stone and Clefairy. Unfortunately, there weren't any fully evolved Pokémon here, Metang was the strongest here by far as Beldum could only use Take Down.
Their Magmar and Houndoom make quick work of the Steel types. So far it has been one of the few operations that he's led that hasn't turned into a mess, nothing could go wrong today!
Bang!
'Dammit!' Mentally groaned Petrel as he released his Crobat. The Poison flying type waited for its orders as it seemingly floated mid-air.
Across the room Ash let his team loose. The front runner was Blast who released a perfect Thunder Bolt toward the Golbat and Koffing. Hydro was next to him and was scalding anything in range. In the shadows of the room, Umbreon waited until the right opportunity before pouncing and using bite to take down her prey.
Ash and Pikachu made it to the cages. "Don't worry all of you, we'll get you out right now." Ash heard the Beldum hum in appreciation as they hovered to the other end of the cage to allow Ash and Pikachu to break open the cage.
Shaking his head at the telepathic Pokémon that stared at him blankly he turned to Pikachu. "Iron tail buddy, get that lock open."
The yellow rodent squeaked as he charged his tail with power and slammed it down on the lock breaking it in half.
The Steel types filed out of the cage all humming angrily. "I need all of you to take down the poison types, I will take care of the fire types." Ordered Ash, when he finished speaking a huge explosion happened over by the fire type Pokémon that were rushing toward him.
In the confusion the Beldum all rushed into the battlefield, some of them in the excitement evolved into Metang giving them more power to work with.
In the middle of the explosion across the room was the Shiny Metagross. It just used Giga Impact to crash down from the floor above them to surprise the Pokémon. Both front legs charged up silver metallic energy before slamming them into two Magmar who were blasted across the room. All five of the Houndoom released a Flamethrower towards the Metagross the streams of flames converged on the steel type with terrifying speed.
A hum filled the room and the world seemed to bend around Metagross. The powerful wall of fire seemed to stop midair and shrink until it ceased to exist before Metagross, leaving it completely unharmed.
The hum sounded again, and the fire type Pokémon were all lifted off the ground. Orange energy began to build in front of the Metagross' mouth that grew until it was twice the size of a basketball. Ash realized that the attack was an incredibly powerful Hyper Beam.
The second the attack was charged, the beam was released and once again the world seemed to warp, and the beam was ripped into several parts all hitting one of the fire types in the chest. Even with the powerful attack landing they didn't even move a centimeter as Metagross' psychic abilities held them perfectly still.
Looking around, Ash noticed that most of the men and women were unconscious and the Poison types were taken out by the Metang and Beldum, all of which were immune to the Poison attacks making it quite easy. Pikachu had jumped down from his shoulder and helped with the raid while staying close to make sure that no Pokémon attacked Ash while he was alone.
Lightning tore through the air towards the enemy Pokémon from Pikachu. Blast was firing Dragon Rage left and right taking out the near endless supply of Zubat and Golbat. Ash was sure that most of them at this point were just wild that were attacking just to be a part of the war zone. Hydro let loose Water Pulse after Water Pulse right next to Blast who would sometimes electrify the water attacks, adding to the offensive power when he had the chance.
While Ash couldn't see Umbreon in the dark cave, he was sure that she was out there taking down her prey like a predator in the wild hunting it's dinner.
"You Bastard!" Came the furious shout from one of the few people still conscious on the enemy side. The man wore the same jumpsuit as the rest, but he had a gold trim around his red R, marking him as a leader Ash supposed.
Ash turned to him with an angry expression on his face. "Who are you people? Why were you attacking these Pokémon!" While attacking Pokémon wasn't bad, the way they were doing it could be called poaching or hunting, both very punishable by the police.
The man calmed his anger with a slow and deep breath before he swaggered closer to Ash completely unthreatened, not worried in the slightest. "We are Team ROCKET!" He shouted proudly.
Ash and his Pokémon gathered together, all looking to one another in confusion. "I don't know what that is but we're going to stop you!" Promised Ash, the man merely rolled his eyes in response.
"How do you not know who we are?" The man muttered in disbelief before returning to his confident smirk and condescending tone. "Even if you have that freak Metagross helping you, this situation is still in my favor. I came here prepared for Metagross which means I'm more than prepared for the freak and your little beasts."
Ash wasn't the only one angry by the man's words, his Pokémon all prepared to attack but before they could he tossed out three Pokéballs.
The first was a large lava and fire covered Pokémon that was well over five-foot-tall, instead of arms it had two cannons and the sheer heat given off by the Pokémon caused Ash to start sweating. Ash recognized the Pokémon as Magmortar, a fire type Pokémon so powerful that they lived within volcanoes.
The second was a very powerful and large Houndoom, unlike the others that were a part of the battle so far this one seemed calm and ready to attack at the slightest movement.
The last Pokémon was a surprise to him, luckily, he recognized it as it was one of the few Pokémon that he's seen in person from a different region. It was a large bipedal cat-like Pokémon that had red and black fur with a belt made of fire. The Pokémon was Incineroar, the final evolution of the Alolan starter Litten. What Ash knew about it was that it was a Fire and Dark type, meaning it was the Metagross line's worst match up, much like Houndoom. They would be immune from its psychic attacks for the most part while being capable of hurting it with powerful fire attacks.
"Looks like I got here just in time." A man's voice came from the other side of the room behind the only standing Team Rocket member.
Ash felt relief fill him at the new voice and looked to the new arrival. He was average height and looked to be in his twenties. He had on a black tuxedo with a red tie, his cuffs were made of crown-like steel bands and he wore several silver rings. Most notable was a large Metagross walking behind him who looked very powerful as psychic energy hummed around it.
The Team Rocket man must have recognized him as he grunted angrily before sending Incineroar toward him. "You take down that Metagross, Houndoom and Magmortar will take down the freak one."
"Not if I can help it! Hydro use Water Pulse! Blast, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Shouted Ash to his Pokémon who jumped into the fight without hesitation.
The two Pokémon on the opposite side of the room met the incoming barrage with two matching Flamethrowers that increased the rooms temperature several times over. Ash's Pokémon's attacks were destroyed instantly, despite one having the type advantage and the others being complementary to said attack. Not only were the attacks vaporized but the Flamethrowers continued toward him and his Pokémon. Hydro, Blast and Pikachu all yelled out in agony as they were burned severely.
Right as the fire was going to hit Ash a blue Pokémon popped up in front of him and managed to divert the attack around him with psychic energy. Ash looked thankfully at the Metang that saved his life and reached out to pat the steel type.
"Thank you Metang." Ash said softly trying to keep the shaking out of his voice, he had very nearly just died right there.
'No, it is I who owe you.' The same distorted echo of the wild Metagross sounded in his head.
As the voice filled his head, Ash turned to the enormous shiny Metagross that levitated next to him. The two fire types, despite having a major type advantage were dispatched without a moment of hesitation. The Magmortar was hit by a focus blast that launched it through the cave wall out of the mountain and the Houndoom was blasted by a Hyper Beam that instantly took it out of the fight.
Ash stood still as the immensely powerful Metagross took down the enemy Pokémon that made his look like babies in comparison, with frightening ease at that. He also couldn't believe that there was such a difference in power between him and the criminal trainer Ash would guess that he was on par with a Gym Leader maybe even elite level. Ash wasn't sure just how powerful the wild Metagross was to compare the Rocket's Pokémon to.
The rookie was broken from his thoughts when the Alolan Pokémon flew past him, landing on the ground unconscious. Seeing that the criminal's trump cards were all defeated Ash looked to see what he'd do next.
The man in the tuxedo calmly walked forward with his Metagross walking next to him protectively.
"What will you do now Petrel?" He asked Petrel who was now sweating and glaring at the man.
The man turned to Ash to see that he was flanked by a Metang and the freak shiny Metagross while all the other Metang and Beldum were quickly surrounding him. Seeing that he was defeated he closed his eyes and screamed out. "We lost get us out of here now!" Right as he finished speaking all the Pokémon and criminals were gone in a teleportation.
Ash looked around completely confused but then crouched down to his Pokémon and recalled them to spare them from any more pain. The Pokéball stasis would allow them to rest without pain and would make it easier for the potions he had to heal them. Ash even recalled Pikachu as he didn't want his little buddy to suffer any pain if he could help it and its burns looked pretty bad.
As he recalled his team, he felt a large Pokémon rub his leg and looked down to see that it was Umbreon who was nuzzling her head on his leg. Ash patted his Pokémon's head and thanked her for her work.
The well-dressed man came forward, his Pokémon still trailing behind him. "That was fine work rookie!" He praised with a grin.
Ash smiled slightly but voiced his main question. "Who are you?"
Chuckling the man extended his hand. "My name is Steven Stone and it is nice to meet you Ash Ketchum, and before you ask the Metagross behind you told me your name."
Ash numbly shook the man's hand as he realized that this was a former Champion standing in front of him. He had so many questions and he would have asked them if he wasn't beaten to the punch by said champion.
"I want to thank you for stepping in while I was on my way. The Metagross behind you told mine telepathically what was happening here, and we had a League Alakazam teleport me to Mt. Moon, but it would seem that I was still a bit slow. So, thank you for taking most of them down while I was on the way. You did far more than we would ever ask of a rookie, no matter how promising he may be." Steven said while eyeing the rookie up and down trying to measure the teen.
Ash blushed at the praise and rubbed his neck. "Thanks, uh Sir. But I just did what was right and if I were to be honest, without this Metagross I would have lost pretty quick and likely be dead without this Metang." The teen reached out again and patted the Metang who let out a hum in reply.
Steven nodded but didn't lose his smile. "Well while that is likely true, it still takes a special person to run in to a hopeless situation to do the right thing."
The former champion looked at the shiny Metagross with a serious look. "I apologize for those humans; they are evil people who will be punished. Your hive will be safe, but it might be best for you all to relocate."
'You are right Stone; we have lingered here for too long. I am not one to stay in a single nest for more than a few weeks. We will return to Hoenn for a few a while to meet with the rest of us.'
Ash, despite not being a part of the conversation could hear it clearly. He just kept patting the closest Metang who he was sure was the one to save him.
"Well I apologize again, also the Stone plantation is always open to you should you wish to stay for a while. We ourselves house dozens of Beldum and Metang, you and your hive are more than welcome." Said Steven with a nod to himself, his family were probably the only ones in the world who were able to house so many of their species comfortably.
'That is what we must do. We will leave soon, all that is needed is for the remaining Beldum to recover.' The Shiny Metagross told him before turning to Ash. 'I would like to thank you once again; I wish you luck on your journeys to come.' With that Metagross walked off toward the Beldum and Metang.
"You did a good thing here, and I would like to escort you to the Pokémon center in Cerulean to make sure your Pokémon are alright. If those other Pokémon were as strong as that Incineroar then they will need to be checked." Steven said to the rookie who nodded gratefully.
Ash was about to respond when he heard the familiar hum from the Metagross and his fellow species. The Pokémon began to glow slightly before they were gone in a flash, Ash turned to Steven with a questioning look.
Steven turned to his fellow trainer to explain what happened. "That Metagross is old, very old. It is not the first time I've met it. Unlike other Pokémon, Metagross share a sort of hive mind, which is why it was able to tell my Metagross that they were in trouble." He explained to Ash but then he spotted something behind them and tapped Ash's shoulder and pointed behind him.
Ash turned and smirked at the sight, in front of them looking ready to battle was the same Metang that saved him from the Flamethrowers from earlier.
Turning to Umbreon, "You think you can do one more battle?" He asked the Moonlight Pokémon who jumped in front of him who's golden rings glowed in preparation for combat. Steven stood off to the side hoping to get a feel for Ash and his battle style.
"Umbreon, Agility then Shadow Ball!"
Both Metang and Umbreon shot off into battle, the steel type's arms lit up and began attacking in a barrage of metal claws. Luckily, Umbreon was the faster with Agility and managed to maneuver for enough time to use a shadow ball that hit the Metang's body. Umbreon kept up the pace but was caught by a metal claw throwing her back. Metang pushed the attack and its eyes lit up to use Confusion but Umbreon stood up unaffected.
"You're immune to psychic type attacks! Use another Shadow Ball and finish with Pursuit!"
Metang noticed that it's psychic attacks wouldn't work and readied Metal Claw again. Umbreon used Agility once again to avoid the powerful swings while preparing Shadow Ball. Once Metang swung again she shot under the Pokémon and blasted a Shadow Ball up at the steel type's body. With the attack landing and having another opening, Umbreon used Pursuit.
The super effective natural move was several times stronger against Metang making it crash to the ground unable to continue fighting. Umbreon howled in triumph and patted over to Ash who rubbed her head affectionately.
Taking out a Pokéball he tossed it over at the Metang which was captured immediately. Pulling out his Pokédex he scanned the new Pokémon.
Metang, the Iron Claw Pokémon. Metang is the evolved form of Beldum. Its highly developed intellect and strong magnetic force allow it to create powerful psychic energy.
Known Moves - Take Down, Metal Claw and Confusion. Ability - Clear Body.
Ash held up the Pokéball and whooped in happiness. His team was getting stronger by the day and with Metang it was getting some real power houses. He couldn't wait to have Blast and Metang battle each other when both of them had more moves, both of them held immense potential.
"Congratulations, I will tell you from experience that the Metagross line is very powerful. From what your Pokédex said it must have just evolved. They learn metal claw and confusion by evolving and it seemed pretty weak during its battle with your Umbreon." Steven patted his Metagross and pulled out a blue Pokéball with the league symbol on it.
"Let's get out of here Ash." Said Steven as he threw the ball and released an Alakazam that stared at them with a bored expression.
'How may I assist you, former champion and trainer?' Unlike Metagross who sounded like a robotic and distorted human. Alakazam was like monotone man speaking softly in his ear. While it wasn't as unsettling as Metagross' voice it was still weird for Ash to have a voice in his head that wasn't his.
"To the Cerulean City Pokémon Center please." Answered Steven as he returned his Metagross. "Return your Umbreon Ash and we'll leave."
Listening to the Champion, Ash returned his Umbreon and walked closer to the Alakazam.
"Don't worry it'll be over—"
The world distorted and Ash watched as his entire reality warped in on itself and in the next instant, he was standing right outside of a Pokémon center.
"—before you know it and we're here." Steven said with a chuckle.
Ash shook his head and looked at the psychic Pokémon, "Thank you Alakazam, I really need to get my Pokémon looked at." The boy said before running inside to the Nurse Joy that was behind the desk. Steven returned the League Pokémon and followed Ash into the center.
"It is unfortunate that we only managed to capture three Metang and four Beldum but that is enough for each executive at least to have one. I will keep the Beldum to assure they evolve soon." Giovanni said to Petrel on the video call.
The Team Rocket Executive nodded and hung up the call. Giovanni clenched his fist several times, each time he shook with more and more anger. In a blur he slammed his fist down on the desk causing his monitors to fall to the ground and a crack to form on the wood from the force of his fist.
'I knew that it would be risky to attack a Metagross Hive but to think a former champion would show up! Apparently, this gives merit to the research papers that hypothesized that Metagross share a sort of hive mind that they could call that man to assist them that quickly.' Giovanni thought trying to break down the situation logically.
Though the way Petrel escaped was also going to be a problem. 'I gave him permission to escape in a situation should it turn out like it did but having Mewtwo do it in front of two people, one of which being a champion is a problem. We'll have to have Mewtwo lay low, instead of having him raid the boat, I'll have Ariana do it she doesn't have enough to do at the moment as it is.'
So far, his organization managed to law low the past few years, but this put them on the map for sure. They'll have to be careful in the Kanto Region for the time being, until Mewtwo was more under control. He was still do as he pleased when Giovanni didn't expressly order him not to. It wouldn't be long before Mewtwo was too powerful for them to command without Silph's newest and secret project,
In the meantime, they had work to do. A lot of work to do.
Authors Notes
Edited 12-1-19
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Current Team.
Hydro/Wartortle (Male)
Blast/Dratini (Male)
Umbreon (Female)
Pikachu (Male)
Metang (Genderless)
Pidgeotto (Shiny) (Female) (At Oak's Ranch)