Part CXVI: Fear of Fairies
"Goomy!"
Ash heard the cry as a flock of what he thought were Swannas flew overhead. Looking up he saw a small dark blob falling down to earth behind the flock. Squinting, he kept looking at it as it approached him trying to determine what it was and ignoring the girls' cries for him to move.
That was because the blob was falling directly towards him and a second later it hit him full in the face and floored him where he stood. It was a light weight but the force and surprising sliminess of it got him as Ash fell on his ass on the path through the woods that they were currently in.
It was the day after Serena had caught her Meowstic and they were making good progress towards Coumarine City. They just had to traverse the woods and they'd come out to the southwest of the city.
It shouldn't take them more than 2 days to reach it from where they were at the moment, plenty of time to get in before the Pledging Festival week when both the Contest and Showcase would be held. That was of course so long as they didn't get distracted multiple times along the way.
Naturally said first distraction came from the sky and landed right on Ash. It had been a while since he'd been responsible for one of their distractions or delays, the last one that had been his fault had been the aftermath of his battle with Kenny, so it made sense that Arceus would decide that now would be Ash's time again. The girls just turned to see Ash on his back with small Pokémon sitting and quivering on his face.
The Pokémon looked like a large, short, purple slug with a slightly darker purple on its lower part and a lighter purple half. It had 4 antenna things, one large and one small pair, on its head right above its black eyes. Oddly, the only other color on it was a pair of green cheek sacks.
It was currently shaking and clearly scared as it shivered on Ash's face. Given the viscous membrane that it seemed to have it must not have been pleasant for Ash who groaned from beneath it. Misty had no idea what it was but presumed that it was some Kalos bug type that she'd never seen before given its appearance. As such, she pulled out her Pokedex and scanned it.
"Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokémon." The Pokedex chimed as soon as it identified the Pokémon. "The weakest Dragon type Pokémon, it lives in damp, shady places so its body doesn't dry out."
"Wait that's a dragon type?" Misty asked her eyes wide in confusion. "It looks like a bug type to me."
"Bug types tend to have carapaces and this Pokémon definitely doesn't have one." Ash groaned as he sat up and Goomy skid into his lap shivering but as he touched it he felt it start to dry up which the Pokedex said wasn't good. "But we can discuss all this in a moment, it's drying out. We need water for it. Now!"
Ash didn't hesitate as he pulled out his water bottle and doused Goomy in it. The Pokémon in his arms stopped shivering and seemed to enjoy the water soaking it and Ash's lap but it clearly wasn't enough. They needed a larger body of water and they needed it now.
"There's a tributary to the river near here." Serena said her device that told them about the local area they were in out and looking at it. "Follow us."
Serena turned and ran into the woods, Ash getting up and rushing after her with Goomy in his arms. Misty and May just looked at each other and just shrugged. This was normal for them, so they turned and followed the others towards the water source Serena had found.
It didn't take long for them to reach the small stream and Ash didn't hesitate in falling to his knees at the edge of it and putting Goomy into the water. In moments Goomy smiled and it regained its strength as it absorbed the water into its body. It was now slick and slimy, just as it should be, and Ash was able to put it on the bank next to him as May and Misty arrived.
"It is quite icky." Serena said looking down on it. "Especially now that it is all wet and slimy."
"Goomy." Goomy said indignant at the insult and looked at the human who'd insulted him.
Before any of them could react a storm cloud appeared over Serena's head. She looked up confused for a second before the rain hit her in a torrent directly to her face. She yelled as May and Misty tried not to laugh while she ran around getting soaked due to the rain cloud always staying above her head.
"I guess Goomy didn't like being called icky." Ash said standing and looking at Goomy as Pikachu came over to say hello to the new Pokémon that had dropped from the sky. "I don't think you're icky Goomy."
"Goomy." Goomy said with a smile, it's mouth appearing to be between the two cheek sacs it had. "Goomy."
"Pika, pi." Pikachu said as he greeted the other Pokémon.
"Ok now that that is over and Serena is wet, can we get back to what is going on this time." Misty said. "Also, what was that move?"
"Rain Dance." Ash said simply having identified it almost right away. "Likely Goomy knows it to help with its need to be damp as an emergency just in case. Still, I am surprised that this is a dragon type. It's a lot smaller than most I have met other than Dratini."
"I've heard of Goomy, but this is the first I've seen one." May admitted as Serena let out Braixen to dry her as soon as the Rain Dance ended she was left standing there in soaking wet clothes. "I know little about it, but I think it's this region's version of Bagon as it can evolve twice, and its final form is considered quite strong."
"That would make sense." Ash said looking at it. "Most regions have at least one dragon type, or part dragon type, that is three stages and really strong when it is fully evolved. Unova actually has two in Axew and Deino. The only region I don't think has one, not including Alola or Galar as I don't know them, is Johto but it has something similar."
"Which one?" May asked curious.
"Larvitar." Ash said. "I once found a Larvitar egg while I was traveling there. It hatched with me and liked me, but it didn't like Dawn at all."
"Why do I get the feeling that Dawn was jealous of the attention Ash gave it." Misty whispered to May. "We know how Ash can get with Pokémon."
"This is Dawn, assume yes." May replied. "But we can ask her about it at the Wallace Cup when she shows up for it. That said I've never heard this story."
"Neither." Misty said as the girls looked at Ash in anticipation of yet another strange story of his travels that they'd not been told yet. "What happened to that Larvitar? Usually when you hatch a Pokémon you catch it. That's what happened with Cyndaquil for me, and Brock with his Happiny. I believe you told me about Scraggy being given to you as an egg before you caught him."
"Same with me and Eevee." May said with a nod. "Which is why I'm surprised that you don't have it. Did you release it or something?"
"Well, it was a wild egg and not one that was given to me like Scraggy's, so we brought it to its mother as it had been separated from her." Ash said. "A Tyranitar by the way so we couldn't really defy that Pokémon. It would have been nice to keep though seeing as Tyranitars are considered on the same plateau as Dragonite, Salamence, Metagross, Hydreigon and Garchomp."
"Which means that whatever Goomy's last stage is it would be like them as well." Misty said her eyes wide at that list. "I can see a Pokémon like that being quite powerful."
"Probably, and if it is like the others then it might be a dual type as all of those are as well." Ash said with a shrug. "I always wondered what happened to Larvitar, but we returned it to its mother as that was the best place for it and left it there."
"I don't doubt it." May said. "But still, that is a full story for another day as I want Dawn's side to it as well. First we need to figure out why there is a Goomy here in the first place. They are a rare Pokémon to begin with and this isn't the environment for it, it's too dry away from the rivers here. Based on that Pokedex entry, it is probably native to the wetlands."
"Wetlands?" Ash asked confused. "Where are those?"
"They're an area of swamps and marshes to the north of Lumiose City that lie between there and Laverre City." May said simply. "We will be going around them as they aren't between Coumarine and Laverre, nor Laverre and Anistar, so our journey won't visit them."
"Then I guess Goomy came from that area." Ash said looking down at Goomy who seemed to be happy talking with Pikachu and Piplup who had also joined them. "It fell from the sky, so something probably happened to it to cause it to end up on a flying Pokémon before it finally fell of here."
"Probably something territorial between two strong Pokémon who live in the wetlands and Goomy was accidentally in their way." May said with a shrug. "It likely didn't know what was going on until now. We can't leave it here though."
Before Ash or Misty could reply, Serena rejoined them looking ruffled and her hair was all poufy thanks to the impromptu drying method she'd used. She clearly wasn't happy but there was nothing she could do about it. Instead, she just let her Pokémon out and decided to set up lunch for them as it was around that time, and they wouldn't be moving on until they figured out what to do with Goomy. That was when everything change, and it occurred the moment Sylveon came out.
"Goomy!" Goomy screamed in terror and dove behind Ash's legs quivering in utter terror to everyone's confusion as it refused to look at Sylveon.
Sylveon for her part blinked in surprise and hurt at the reaction from the strange new Pokémon that was with them. She was a gently, shy soul so a Pokémon being terrified of her was new and she cowered in shame at whatever she'd done and hugged close to Serena's legs.
"What is going on?" Misty asked confused but Ash already knew exactly what had happened given the Pokémon involved.
"It's a type fear." Ash said. "Goomy is a dragon type and unlike most its apparently a weak dragon. What is the one type a dragon type would fear?"
"Fairy types." May said already knowing she couldn't take out Slurpuff if Goomy had a negative reaction. "They're completely immune to dragon type attacks but how can Goomy identify one? Until recently Sylveon was considered a normal type before the sudden change."
"Yes but that change occurred at least 18 months before the official discovery." Misty said remembering what was said. "About 2 years ago at this point I think."
"And Pokémon sense things on a different level to humans." Ash said. "It's likely Goomy instinctively knows that Sylveon is a fairy type. Well, that or it's already encountered one and knows from first hand experience that Sylveon is immune to dragon type attacks. I think Goomy has had a bad experience with at least one fairy type. Either it used a fairy type move on Goomy or Goomy tried to hit with a dragon type attack and it failed."
Goomy was just shaking in fear at the fairy in their midst. He'd only encountered one of their type before, back in his home with his best friend and the others who had accepted him there. He was the only of his kind that he knew about in the little niche of the wetlands they lived in, but they had all accepted him regardless, well the water types had at least, and he'd had a lot of fun with them.
That had all changed recently when that evil fairy came for them with her sinister bug minions. Goomy had no idea why she had come down from where she lived on the other side of the wetlands to their calm area, but she had, and she'd been in a fury when she'd shown up. She'd used her minions to clear out and take command of Goomy's area. Goomy had tried to defend his friend, but his Dragon Breath failed to even harm her. He wasn't aware it could until then.
The invader just laughed at him and that was when the explosion happened. Next thing he knew he was on the back of a Swanna far from his home and beginning to dry out. He'd fallen from Swanna in his weakened state but thankfully a kind human had been there to catch him with his face.
That human had saved his life, though a different one had insulted him and been punished for it, so he was eternally grateful to the male human who'd saved him. Add in that his Pikachu, clearly a small Pokémon that was really strong, was just as kind and helping him out right now. He could learn a lot from this Pikachu and had already decided that he would at least follow them to get stronger so that he could one day save his friends back home.
Then that fairy had arrived, he could tell that it was the same type as that invader based on its scent, and he knew he was weak to it. That was when his natural fear sense had kicked in and he'd hidden behind the kind human who'd helped him to get away from the fairy.
"Goomy, it's ok, Sylveon is a really nice and sweet Pokémon." Ash said getting down on one knee and gently placing a hand on Goomy's back to reassure it as it quivered there. "She's a performance Pokémon, she loves to dance for her friends and look good. She doesn't mean you any harm at all."
"Sylveon, calm down." Serena said at the same time getting down to Sylveon's level and stroking her to reassure her now upset Pokémon. "This isn't your fault at all. That Goomy has been traumatized by a bad fairy type that's all and you are a good fairy type. It's an already weak Pokémon and especially weak to your kind so after a bad experience with a fairy type it is afraid of all fairy types. It is just as you were afraid of humans back when you were an Eevee. You can understand that, right?"
"Sylveon." Sylveon said turning her blue eyes to her human. "Syl."
Serena was right, Sylveon knew what it was like to be weak and scared of everyone and everything. She'd been a really timid Eevee, terrified of humans and Pokémon alike but she loved her dancing, and did it when she knew she was alone. It had been that that had brought her human to her and taught her what it meant to be strong in her own special way and that others would love to see her dance for them.
She could now see that in this Goomy. It was clearly a Pokémon that wasn't naturally strong but had a good heart and was protective of those it cared about. However, if it encountered a strong Pokémon of her type, a type that she somehow knew was new even if she'd still be an Eevee when the change happened though she didn't know why it was new, and used a dragon type move that failed, well if could be bad for it. That was why she had to make sure to put it at ease.
"Sylveon." Sylveon mewled as she slowly walked forward to the Goomy and held out one of her ribbons to it while keeping her distance as she explained everything and apologized for one her type's actions to him, that had been wrong of that Pokémon to use its power like that. "Syl, Sylveon."
"G, Goomy." Goomy said looking around Ash's legs at the fairy type offering him a ribbon thing that was part of her but staying at a respectful distance from him. "Goomy?"
Sylveon was explaining to him that she'd been scared and little once too, that she'd been weak and unable to show off what she loved because of her fear. However, she found a caring human who brought out her inner strength. A human who she trusted so much that she evolved for her though she was surprised that she ended up as a Sylveon as it was night and expected to be an Umbreon until the ribbon appeared, not that she was complaining as she preferred being a Sylveon. That part brought a smile to Goomy's face.
They got back to talking and Sylveon continued, saying that she was sorry a fairy type like her had done that to Goomy as a Pokémon shouldn't use its advantages to bully weaker ones. She didn't understand her type very well, it was a strange new thing that even the humans didn't fully get, nor did she understand why it was so powerful against dragons like Goomy, but she promised not to use it against Goomy. However, she did say that strength came from within and with help, Goomy could get strong.
Goomy knew this but was still shaken by what he'd recently been through at the hands of a fairy type. Regardless, he was at least understanding this particular Pokémon and knew it wasn't fair for his fear of her type to be put on her when she'd done nothing wrong. She was innocent and understood his fear so he would give her a chance. Besides, she was right, he did need to get stronger and based on the Pikachu here he knew who to turn to.
"Goomy." Goomy said as he took Sylveon's ribbon in mouth and nodded before releasing it. "Goomy."
"I think they're getting along." Serena said with a sigh of relief. "Honestly, Sylveon is probably the best Pokémon here to talk about fear, she was so timid back when I met her."
"I think it will be good for Goomy to see that not all fairy types are bad." Ash said thinking on the situation before an idea began to form in his mind. "Though I think I should help Goomy out."
"Of course, that is what you do Ash." Misty said with a smile at her love being himself as always, it was one of the many reasons why she and so many other girls had fallen for Ash. "But how?"
"I got it." Ash said pounding a first into his hand as the idea came to him in full force. "I can teach Goomy a move that will help it against a fairy type."
"That is a good idea." May said. "Really good in fact. The best way to counter a type weakness is to know a move of a type that is strong against the type that the Pokémon is naturally weak against."
"It's just like with that Dratini." Misty said realizing. "You helped him learn Thunderbolt to deal with Azumarill."
"Precisely though there is one problem." Ash said as his idea hit a snag due to a sudden lack of knowledge regarding this new type. "Er, what is super effective against a pure fairy type? I don't know the type well beyond the immunity to dragon type attacks and honestly I should probably know given how there is a fairy type gym here in Kalos that I will have to face pretty soon."
"Well one type that definitely works is poison type." Misty said. "Remember how Emily's Granbull fainted against your Gengar's Venoshock when none of us expected it. That was because poison type attacks are apparently super effective against fairy types. It was an important data point for Professor Oak."
"Oh yeah I remember that." Ash said recalling the moment the next level of strangeness hit them the year before that would ultimately lead to the discovery of fairy types. "We still don't understand it, but it seems as if there is some balance to the emergence of fairy types."
"Balance?" May asked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Think on it." Ash said as his Pokémon knowledge kicked into overdrive. "Dragon types aren't the strongest offensive types, those are fighting or ground types, but it has a lot more nuance to it which is why it was considered the most powerful type out there. Only ice and dragon type attacks are super effective on dragon type Pokémon, which given how uncommon both type attacks are gives dragon types an advantage. In addition, dragon types are resistant to fire, electric, water and grass type moves. This is pure dragon types of course."
"That is still pretty powerful." Misty said realizing just how strong a dragon type was and with those resistances the dual dragon types had further advantages negating their second type's disadvantage. "No wonder they are so prized as Pokémon. Add in the type's rarity in non-legendary Pokémon and it makes sense."
"That's not all." Ash said continuing his current train of thought. "Before the fairy type suddenly appeared, only steel types were known to be resistant to dragon type attacks. While a dragon type attack is only super effective against a dragon type, their attacks tend to be really powerful on average and with only one resistant type it gives them an edge in battle."
"And fairy types nullify that to an extent." Serena said realizing. "They are immune to dragon type attacks while also their attacks, the few we know of, are super effective against a dragon type. They really balance the type out."
"True but how does poison play into this?" May asked confused. "Or fire and steel for that matter as I recall that those two have at least a resistance to fairy type attacks or are strong against fairy types."
"I can't speak to those types, or why steel is also super effective apparently." Ash said recalling what Professor Oak had told him about the newest Pokémon type. "But on the poison front, it strengthens the type considerably. Before the sudden appearance of the fairy type, only grass was weak to poison and even then a lot of grass types, especially in Kanto, are dual types with poison as their secondary type negating poison's one type advantage."
"Wait, poison types are that weak?" Misty asked confused. "Seriously? I never realized that."
"They aren't a strong offensive type." Ash said. "Though a truly talented specialist can make it a hard to fight against. I only know of one poison specialist at that level though. Other than her, most don't specialize in poison types because they aren't offensively strong and have notable defensive weaknesses to ground and psychic type attacks. They're only strong defense is that they are resistant to fighting type attacks."
"Wait but Lucy has a Seviper as her main Pokémon which is a poison type." Misty said recalling her battle against it. "And she's all about offense."
"She is but her Seviper only knows one poison type attack if I recall the last time I saw it in action." Ash said. "And Lucy's specialty is serpentine Pokémon so she can make her poison types strong by teaching them other types of moves. Similarly dual poison types, especially if they are paired with dark types like Drapion and Skuntank, are tough Pokémon to beat but only due to their type combos. It's likely one of the reasons why Janine has a Drapion given her specialty in poison types. Pure poison types aren't strong normally on their own."
"Wait if you weren't talking about Lucy then who is the strong specialist?" May asked confused. "I don't actually know any specialists in that type if Lucy isn't one."
"Roxie, the Virbank Gym Leader out in Unova." Ash answered. "She's considered one of the two hardest out there along with the dragon type leader they have there. She's so confident that she lets challengers use all 6 of their Pokémon while limiting herself to only 3 Pokémon and even cures poisonings between matches. I faced her and two of her Pokémon are pure poison types. It was a really tough match that took all my Pokémon, 5 of whom fainted, to beat her."
"Damn." May said her eyes wide. "That's impressive."
"Yeah she's maximized how poison types work." Ash said with a nod, that battle with Roxie had been an epic duel. "But before fairy types came along, the type lacked offensive strength. Sure, Roxie and other status attackers like Erika employ moves to poison their opponents as it is a powerful status inhibitor but that is the only way to truly use poison in battle, to give yourself a boost in a prolonged match. I rarely use it for that reason and only have two poison types, Muk and Bulbasaur, and the latter doesn't even know a poison type move."
"I see, that does explain a lot." Misty said understanding it more now that Ash had laid it out for them. "So, there is a balance now with a check on dragon type attacks being overpowered by fairy type Pokémon which in turn is checked by poison type attacks thus giving the type a whole new advantage. This is all too much to be a coincidence."
"It is but I doubt we'll ever find out why fairy types came into existence all of a sudden." Ash said turning back to Goomy now that he was done with his explanations. "So, let's focus on Goomy for now. Goomy, can you learn a poison or a steel type move? Preferably an offensive one that does damage rather than one that only poisons the opponent like Toxic does."
"Goomy." Goomy said cocking his head at the nice human's question. "Goomy?"
"Pikachu." Pikachu said explaining it the way only a Pokémon could explain to another Pokémon. "Pi, Pikachu."
"Goomy." Goomy said with a nod when he got it, he could learn at least two he felt, but he had no idea how to do them. "Goomy."
"Great." Ash said stroking his chin. "I don't think it's steel type moves though given your body type, so I think it's poison type."
"Why don't you check your Pokedex." May suggested. "It should list what a Goomy can learn."
"Oh yeah it should." Ash said pulling out his Pokedex and going to Goomy's entry to see the relevant information. "One sec Goomy, I need to decide what is best."
Ash scrolled through the list of moves a Goomy could learn. Likely there were more if it evolved as some moves required certain appendages or body types to learn but for now he was limited to what a Goomy was capable of performing.
He was right, there were no steel type moves on the list of confirmed moves that Goomys had been seen using but there were two poison type moves: Sludge Wave and Sludge Bomb. One look at Goomy told Ash what move to go with.
"Alright Goomy, I am going to teach you Sludge Bomb." Ash said getting up and heading over to a clear area that would be good for practice. "I don't have a Pokémon that knows it on me, but we can learn it if you try. Are you up for it?"
"Pikachu." Pikachu said encouragingly.
"Goomy." Goomy said with a nod of determination in his mind, he needed this to get stronger so that he could one day liberate his friends from that evil fairy, and he had the mental capacity to learn one more move so he was ready to go. "Goomy."
Goomy slithered over to Ash and Pikachu determined to learn this move. No matter how long it took, this was a move that he instinctively knew would work well against fairy types and if he knew it then he could at least counter them when he faced one as he built up his strength to take down the one who'd attack him and his friends. That wouldn't fully assuage his fears, but it would at least help him face them when he faced a fairy in battle again.
"Looks like we'll be here for a while." Misty said knowing exactly what was about to happen. "May as well set up camp for lunch, horrible pun unintended there May."
"We have the time, and nothing would stop Ash anyway." May said with a smile and ignoring the pun her name created relatively frequently. "So, let's get to it."
The other girls nodded as they began to set up and let out the smaller Pokémon to run around for a bit, the woods prevented the bigger ones coming out. The Pokémon either relaxed, or in Piplup and Sylveon's cases went to watch the training while the humans prepared lunch.
"Alright Goomy, this is what the Pokedex says to do." Ash said looking at the entry for teaching Sludge Bomb to a Pokémon. "Imagine your stomach filling with poison from your body and then release it in bomb of sludge. Really hard to picture I know but you can do it, I'm sure of it."
"Goomy." Goomy said with a nod as he imagined what the human had said.
The first time was a failure, but Pikachu encouraged him to keep trying. It would take a while as it wasn't a move he was naturally going to get due to not having the type affinity for it as a dragon type. He just had to keep trying and it would come to him though. It would make him stronger, and he could feel the love and encouragement from Ash and Pikachu, so he continued to try it, determined to learn the move.
It took several attempts but after a suggestion from Pikachu, Goomy imagine the sludge as all the toxins in his body that he had absorbed from slithering around but that didn't affect him. Then, when he moved the toxins to his stomach, the move came into mind. It was tough but on the 6th attempt he spat up a ball of sludge that instantly poisoned the grass in front of him.
"Goomy!" Goomy said shocked and surprised at his success at a weak version of the move.
"That's it now think of it as more." Ash said. "Do what you did but on a larger scale."
Goomy wasn't sure why, but somehow producing the sludge was enough to show him in his mind how to do the move correctly. Now he knew how to do it and formed the sludge inside him. It was a lot and with a yell he unleashed it in a series of balls of sludge.
"That's it!" Ash said leaping in the air. "You've got it Goomy."
Ash was so focused on the move that he didn't notice a slight problem with the move. Sludge Bomb had a habit of sending out a few balls of sludge. In Goomy's case the balls were larger than his light weight could handle and the recoil of the first few threw him off. As such, and his eyes were closed from the sudden disruption to his body and Goomy didn't see where the last ball fell.
"Piplup!" Piplup wailed just before he ball of sludge hit him in the face and blasted him cursing back and into a tree in yet another example of his human's mate's dragon type move hitting him, and he had no idea what he'd done to deserve this kind of treatment.
"Goomy." Goomy said with a smile as he looked at Ash did not notice the pissed off penguin growling near him that Sylveon was looking at in confusion but wouldn't help with a poison type attack still on him. "Goomy."
"See I knew you could do it Goomy." Ash said with a smile. "You have the move to counter fairy types now, all you need is training to get stronger."
"Pikachu." Pikachu said with a nod. "Pi, Pikachu."
"Goomy?" Goomy asked looking at Ash with wide eyes at what he thought the human male was saying.
"Do you want to join me and my team?" Ash asked with a smile at the little dragon type. "I have a full team now so you will be sent back to the lab for the moment, but I promise the moment I reach Coumarine City I'll send back a Pokémon to bring you back to me. I've already sent Charizard back for one I promised to use in the gym there, but I don't mind sending another one back to get you by my side for a bit. What do you say Goomy? Will you join me so we can get strong together."
"Goomy!" Goomy said excitedly and leaping up in agreement.
This was just what he wanted and needed. This human had saved him and helped him get stronger already. He knew that with him and the strong Pikachu who was already a role model to him that he could get even stronger and one day be able to help his friends and stand up to a that evil fairy and free them from her clutches.
"Great, let's do this." Ash said with a smile as he pulled out an empty Poke Ball and held it out to Goomy.
Goomy slid forward and headbutted the ball. It opened and he was sucked into it in a flash of red energy and the ball closed. It then twitched and flashed in Ash's hand for several seconds before it clicked in confirmation of a successful capture. Then it shrunk and vanished, heading for Professor Sycamore's lab but Ash promised to call Goomy back as soon as possible.
"Alright I just caught a Goomy." Ash said doing his capture pose as the girls looked on.
"Pi, Pikachu." Pikachu said leaping up and joining in the celebration of a new teammate and friend joining them.
"That's great Ash." Misty said with a smile at her boyfriend and not noticing that Piplup was hurt and pissed, a fact that Malamar suddenly appeared to rectify. "Now come and get lunch and…"
Misty didn't finish her sentence before Malamar slapped her hard across the face and Machamp appeared to restrain her while she yelled at both the fighting type and her trainer while gesturing to a hurt Piplup who immediately came to her side for her support. He was grateful that the team had a mother figure again like Togekiss who could protect him and put their foolish trainer in her place whenever she needed it.
Ash just smiled at the scene as he rejoined the camp and got a serving from Serena while Misty tried and failed to corral her Pokémon before getting dragging into a fight with them. He was hungry after all the work he'd done but he was glad for it. He couldn't wait to bring in Goomy and train it some more as part of the team this year.
First though, he had to focus on his upcoming battle at the Coumarine Gym and the team he had prepared for it. Soon they'd been in Coumarine City and there was a lot to do. None of them could wait as they got ready to see the city that had something for all of them. It was going to be an interesting week for sure, one that they'd all remember for a long time to come.
