Part CXXIV: Changing in Tandem
"This looks as good a place as any to set up camp." May said as the group exited the forest to find themselves on the edge of a series of rolling grassy plains and meadows as far as the eye could see. "Best to keep to the forest edge and set up camp for the night I think. We should reach the town with that fighting competition in it tomorrow afternoon and still have the better part of a week to prepare for it."
It was a week after their unexpected run in with Iris and her new friends on their way to Laverre City and were nearing their next destination, a town that hosted an annual Kalos fighting type tournament. They had learned about it from Adam, a guy from Hoenn who they knew through his traveling companion Emily who was one of the favorites on the Kalos Contest Circuit this year and a friend of Misty's. It had sounded interesting, so they had decided to go enter the tournament as they all had at least one fighting type on them.
In fact, there was no limit to the number of fighting types one could enter, Adam as a fighting type trainer was entering all 6 of his Pokémon on him as they all had a fighting type, as the only rules that they knew of right now were that the Pokémon had to fight with their raw strength and fighting skills, not their moves. Ash was going to enter the 3 fighting types that he had on him while Misty, May, and Serena all had only one each to enter into the tournament.
It was a surprise discovery, one of many in a field of surprises that had happened after they met Iris. First off they learned that she was now studying at a Pokémon School in Alola and was actually in Kalos on a month-long class trip to promote Kalos with her new friends and classmates. They then met the 5 Alolan classmates either before or in one case after they gave their presentation on Alola to the town and learned what Iris had been up to since going to Alola.
During the presentation Emily had actually been called up to the stage to battle one of the Alolans, a girl called Mallow, as she was Kantonian, and the two regions had a lot of ties due to the regional variants of Kantonian Pokémon on Alola but that surprised Ash as he hadn't heard of Alola until the year before. Regardless, the Kanto girl had won and as a result received an egg that Misty hoped had hatched so that she could find out what it was when they reached the next town. And reunited with them.
Emily and Adam had headed out right after the egg was confirmed healthy by Nurse Joy as Adam wanted to reach the town as soon as possible to maximize his training for the tournament, so Misty hadn't had a chance to catch up with her friend. She planned to do so before the fighting tournament though as she had a feeling that something she'd been suspecting regarding Emily for a while was now coming true.
Instead of following their lead, Ash and his group had stayed to catch up more with Iris, really get to know her friends as knowing Ash he was likely to end up in Alola one day so knowing the locals was a good thing for when that day came, and of course to battle them. That had been arranged that after the presentation and finalized details just before the battles took place the next day where Ash faced off against the two guys Kiawe and Sophocles who used their Turtonator and Togedemaru against Ash's Pikachu and Charizard respectively.
The match between the men had been slated to go last and for good reason as it had devolved into a friendly, full-blown masculinity show down between Ash and Kiawe after Charizard took out Togedemaru with a Flamethrower that was super effective against the part steel type and Pikachu was then pulled to let the two fire types duke it out. Ash had the clear advantage with Charizard, so Kiawe had tied to even the score with a Z-Move, the first that Ash, Misty, May, and Serena had ever seen. Of course, in response to it Ash Mega Evolved Charizard again.
Thankfully Ash did not do what he did to Kenny's Mega Alakazam. Instead, Mega Charizard took the Z-Move like a champion and was still standing before he ended Turtonator with a super effective Dragon Tail that buried the Alolan fire and dragon type several feet in the earth behind Kiawe, punching it through the stone wall that bordered the sunken battlefield in the process. That had gotten Nurse Joy's ire and Ash had spent two days fixing it hence why they were delayed leaving the town while the Alolans and Iris moved on the day before them.
As for the other battles, they were much less destructive though no less interesting to watch. The battles started with Lillie verses Misty as the Alolan girl had requested the chance to face Misty's Kantonian Vulpix with her Alolan one despite Misty's type advantage and that they face off in a Contest style battle so that Lillie could learn more about it.
Misty had won when Lillie's ingenious and clever strategy failed thanks to Misty using a Flamethrower counter shield and showed that she would win thus forcing Lillie to forfeit. However, Lillie had displayed a great amount of skill and tactical acumen in the battle which had earned her Misty's praise for how she used everything she could to negate Misty's advantages. Lillie certainly had potential, that was for sure.
After that one Serena and Lana faced off in another Contest style battle for practice for both of them with Serena using Meowstic for experience against Lana's Popplio. That had a surprise outcome though not in the way people were expecting. Rather Meowstic refused to actually fight after taking a hit and ended up losing it following a Surf attack and a continual refusal to follow orders leading to Serena's disqualification.
It turned out that Meowstic had a rather vane personality and didn't like fighting, only looking good so Serena was now dealing with that issue. Still, it was something that she could work on and a first for the Kalos girl, so she was ready for the challenge her Meowstic posed her.
The third battle of the day was May with her Phantump against Mallow and her Steenee in another Contest style as all the Alolan girls wanted experience facing that style and May and Misty were great teachers for that given their pedigree in it. That battle should have been more even as May was using her new Phantump against Mallow's experienced Steenee who was her starter, but Phantump knew a move that negated Steenee's Magical Leaf's advantage. Add in a few normal type moves, and a successful Will-o-Wisp and May forced a surrender as well.
Still, Mallow showed promise in her battle with May and Steenee showed off a lot of grace that would be useful going forward. Add in a move that didn't miss like Magical Leaf and some other good moves that would work against all but a ghost type and the Alolan would do well with more experience in Contest style battles according to May.
There was one more battle before the guys squared off though as Iris wanted to face Ash with her new Drampa against his relatively new Goomy in what was the latter's first ever battle with Ash. That match had ended in a tie, and a pissed off Piplup on a wild Sludge Bomb from Goomy which led to the expected Malamar slap of Misty and Machamp getting involved to Iris and the Alolans surprise. Still, it had been a good one for both dragon types.
That had all been a week ago and after Ash had fixed the damage he had caused to a second Pokémon Center now they had hit the road and made their way towards the next town where the fighting tournament was. Now they were out of the forest in this part of Kalos and a day's walk away from the town they needed to reach so a good place to rest. Plus, with all this space they could start some training with their fighting types.
"I saw we all get our fighting types out and go over the coming tournament with them while our other Pokémon rest up and then we have dinner once we've worked up an appetite." Ash said suggested as they found a spot to claim for their camp. "It's a little early for dinner anyway so this makes the most sense and they should know about what to expect when the time comes."
"That's a good idea." Misty said with a smile. "Trust you to have them when it comes to training Ash."
"Well, I want to win this tournament and claim that special prize that they are advertising for it." Ash said with a grin as he pulled out his Poke Balls and tossed them into the air. "Alright guys, come on out."
The balls burst open and Lucario, Conkeldurr, Hawlucha, Goomy, and Fletchinder appeared before Ash. With the fighting tournament coming up and a potential fire festival in a village near Laverre afterwards that they'd heard about Ash had decided that at least until the tournament was over he'd have his fighting types and Fletchinder on him, though Charizard would likely come back for the fire festival.
Goomy was still new, and Ash was considering using it in Laverre given the type of Valarie's gym, so he kept Goomy on him as well to keep his training his dragon type. He wanted Goomy to grow stronger and a fairy type gym would be a great challenge for him so Goomy should be as ready as possible for it.
The rest were back with Professor Sycamore at the moment but after the fighting tournament Ash was likely going to send Conkeldurr and Hawlucha back to Lumiose City for a break and bring in Charizard and Frogadier through the fire festival before Charizard went back again. Charizard was only really brought here to deal with Kenny, but Ash liked having his old friend around and with a festival dedicated to his type he couldn't not let Charizard enjoy the festival.
After that Ash wasn't sure who he'd have with him, though he'd already decided on at least one of the Pokémon who'd face Valarie in his battle with here, but he planned on keeping up the rotating in and out as often as he could to give his Pokémon as much time with him as possible. He was even planning on bringing in Dunsparce and Sigilyph for a bit after Laverre as he hadn't spent much time with them since catching them which he really should be doing so at the first opportunity they were coming back to him.
"Alright guys, let's head over there." Ash pointed to a place about 50 yards away from their camp before he began to head there. "Fighting types with me, we have a tournament in a week's time, and I need to explain it to you. Pikachu, Fletchinder, Goomy, you can watch if you want or do your own thing, but I will work with you lot as well once I have an idea what the other three can do. Plus, I could use your help in training Lucario, Hawlucha, and Conkeldurr as we are a team."
"Pikachu." Pikachu said in agreement as they followed their trainer ready to help their teammates out for this proposed tournament. "Pi, Pikachu."
Ash proceeded to explain to his team what was going on and what was next up for them on their trip. With the fighting type tournament thing was the next adventure they were dealing with; the fighting types got a priority.
In addition, Ash was also working with Lucario to learn a steel type move, as well as another move of any type but fighting so as to broaden his move set going forward for when Lucario next faced a gym leader. This was essential as two of the remaining three used types that were resistant to fighting type attacks and Ash was considering using Lucario against at least one of them to really challenge his fighting and steel type.
"Well, I guess that means we are out training as well." Misty said tossing her balls in the air as she found her own spot while Ash was explaining things to his own Pokémon. "Come on out guys and listen up."
A second later Vulpix, Machamp, Malamar, Litleo and Skrelp were in front of Misty in a line as Piplup joined them from his usual perch on Misty's head. It had been a tough decision who to have with her for the moment, but Misty had decided that her fire types and the new Skrelp were best for the trip to Laverre given what was coming up on the way.
Well, that and the fact that Machamp and Malamar refused to be sent back so they were basically part of her permanent Pokémon at the moment though with the fighting festival Machamp was needed regardless. When she got to Laverre Misty planned on changing things up as she had a plan for her next Showcase that would require a change in her roster, but this was her squad until then.
"Ok there is a fighting type tournament coming up in a week's time, so we are going to work to get Machamp into the best shape ever." Misty said to her Pokémon. "We aren't going to let Ash beat us, so we are going to work together to ensure that."
"Machamp." Machamp said grateful for the trust his human was putting in him to represent her in this tournament thing.
"Malamar." Malamar said a little reluctant to help out her rival but Misty was prioritizing them over her mate for this so she would do her part, plus it likely meant that she would get to slap Machamp during training, so she was happy, but she was concerned for the others and pointed to them. "Malamar?"
"Yes Malamar we are all helping, and we can all do so." Misty said to her Overturning Pokémon. "While Piplup, Vulpix, Litleo, and Skrelp are small, they are agile, as are your tentacles, so they will be able to help Machamp with his finesse moves and mobility. Raw strength won't win this alone, but we all know how strong Machamps are so that isn't an issue. It will get us far but remember, not all fighting types are pure muscle, some are lither and more agile so we will focus on boosting Machamp's weaknesses during training."
"Machamp." Machamp said with a nod as he cracked all of his knuckles and took a fighting stance.
"Malamar." Malamar said understanding and turning and slapping Machamp to make sure he was ready; he wasn't as she landed the slap much to her joy. "Malamar."
"Machamp." Machamp grunted as he punched her, but she twisted away from his upper right fist before his lower left on caught her in the gut as she hadn't seen it. "Machamp."
"Good let's keep this up." Misty said with a smile. "Vulpix, Skrelp, use Flamethrower and Acid to work on Machamp's footwork right now while Malamar tries to slap him and test his spatial awareness and multitasking. Litleo, hold back with me for a moment and switch in with Vulpix when he gets tired with your own Flamethrower. Can you handle that Machamp?"
"Machamp." Machamp said with a grin as he made a come at me gesture at his teammates, using a different hand for each one. "Machamp."
This was just what he was looking forward to with his human, a unique form of training and he set about it with relish. As did Malamar who was more than happy to start slapping Machamp as much as she could, or at least trying to.
May and Serena just chuckled as they took out Blaziken and Pancham for their own training. Their other Pokémon were already out and watching and supporting their teammates or sleeping in the sun if you were Meowstic who was still upset with Serena for that battle the week before.
The two girls had decided to try and simulate the conditions of the tournament against each other in a mock battle that tested Pancham's agility against Blaziken's precision and strength. It would give them a gage for what their Pokémon could do while also giving Pancham a chance to see how he faced off against a bigger opponent while Blaziken got to see how he could counter a Pokémon of Pancham's size.
Yup everything was looking good for them and their training for the upcoming fighting tournament that they were all looking forward to. Little did they know that they were currently being watched by three sets of familiar eyes.
"Well, well, well, looks like we've stumbled upon the twerps as we make our way to Jessie's fourth ribbon." Meowth said with a grin from the forest as he watched the twerps training with all their Pokémon out through his high-powered binoculars. "What a fortuitous encounter. This is the perfect time for us to strike."
"Are you sure?" James asked looking through his own binoculars. "We are only passing by, not following them this time. It is a bit out of our way for once."
"Yes I am as we finally have good gear so why not try it out now on the group that always breaks our stuff." Meowth said as Jessie pouted nearby wanting to get to the town where the Contest was in a few weeks' time as she was going to milk her presence as Jessilina there for a bit, but they'd stopped the moment that they'd passed the twerps thus delaying her. "We will be using it once we are done with the Contest anyway so why not try it out now to make sur it works. If it catches that Pikachu and all those powerful looking Pokémon then it does."
"Good idea." James said understanding Meowth's idea now. "We did just buy the best and improved it because we had the cash after the Coumarine Contest and Jessilina's photoshoot for that new Kalos homemaking magazine."
"Yes, my photoshoots as both Jessilina and Jessilee so it is my money not yours." Jessie huffed. "It was not yours to spend. I was going to reinvest it to continue improving my look to keep the money flowing."
"You've blown enough of our money on that already and besides, any money you earn is for all of us cos we're a team." Meowth retorted. "Anyway, it is high time we actually got back to our day jobs, so we picked up those compact net guns and high-end capture nets from the poachers' black market for that end. Then all I had to do was tinker a little with it to make it work better and bring it up to Team Rocket's high standards."
"Relax Jessie, this is just a usual run and then we can go and milk the suckers for Jessilina merch and Jessilee photos." James said patting his partner on the back to reassure her. "We do still have to answer to the boss so this will assuage him and allow us to get back to the real moneymaking schemes."
"Fine but let's make this quick." Jessie said with only a slight growl. "Remember that I am the moneymaker here and my beauty is in high demand."
The Team Rocket trio hadn't planned on ending up here, but they had gotten a little lost after getting the gear from the black market to the east of Coumarine and ended up in lost in the forest. After a little stumbling they found the twerps as they were walking through it and tailed them to this point as it helped them get out of the forest and get their bearings.
Besides, they still had a few weeks before the Contest that Jessie was heading to for her 4th ribbon after she'd been robbed of her 4th one in Coumarine by the Kalos twerpette, so they had the time to spare. It just meant that they wouldn't get to the Contest as early as they wanted but they would still be there in time to make a big Jessilina splash for cash.
However, they couldn't pass up this opportunity to steal the twerps Pokémon now that they were all out and ready for the taking right in front of them. This time for sure they'd succeed, Meowth could feel it. Nothing would go wrong for once.
"Alright when I give the signal Jessie you take the Hoenn and Kalos twerpettes' Pokémon." Meowth said.
"Why do I have to take that lot?" Jessie asked still sounding annoyed, more so now that she had multiple targets. "That's half their forces for me alone to deal with."
"Because that lot has the only ground type on them, as well as a rock and dragon type." Meowth pointed out referring to the Rhydon that had defeated Seviper in the recent Contest final and the Tyrantrum there. "And your Frillish is the best Pokémon to subdue both of them as the nets won't work on the Rhydon beyond catching it, it won't knock it out or at least prevent it from attacking, and the Tyrantrum is resistant, but Frillish just learned that offensive ice type move in addition to her water type move so she is perfect."
"Fine but only for the revenge it brings me." Jessie said getting her net gun out and waiting for the signal. "That Rhydon will pay for denying Jessilina her fourth ribbon."
"Good." Meowth said. "James, your job it to go after the twerp's Pokémon while I take the Sinnoh twerpette's Pokémon."
"Sure." James said getting his own net gun ready. "I can handle this with ease."
"Alright then let's do this." Meowth said as he grabbed his gun and they got into position. "Go!"
It all happened so quickly that Ash and the girls were taken completely aback by it. One minute they were training and the next there was the discharge of 3 high powered net guns and their Pokémon were suddenly ensnared by large, metal looking nets that easily captured all of their Pokémon. Well, there were multiple discharges as some Pokémon were caught separately due to their sizes.
Team Rocket had aimed and hit their targets with precision. Jessie had easily taken her Pokémon with 4 well placed shots, one for the two fighting types sparing, one for the Tyrantrum, one for the Rhydon, and one for the rest that were between the two larger ones.
Meanwhile James had only needed one shot to take 5 of Ash's Pokémon with his net. The three fighting types had been practicing their moves while using Fletchinder's speed to work on their precision blows as they tried to hit him as Pikachu nipped at their feet with sparks from his cheeks at the same time to work on their footwork.
All 5 were close together so James easily got them in one net that had the added bonus of making it to cramped for the Pokémon to escape from. Only Goomy was spared as he had gone back to Ash to practice his Sludge Bomb with his trainer rather than aid the others as he wasn't fast enough to keep up just yet.
Lastly Misty's Pokémon had all been taken by one of Meowth's nets that caught them as they all surrounded Machamp and worked with him as Misty instructed thus causing the same issue as with Ash's Pokémon. Piplup was there too barking encouragement to his teammates. Only Litleo was spared as she was still sitting patiently at Misty's heel waiting her turn to switch in and help her teammate.
"Go Frillish, hit that Rhydon with Bubble Beam and then that Tyrantrum with Ice Beam." Jessie ordered throwing a Poke Ball as Meowth hit a button and the nets discharged an electricity into the Pokémon frying them and activating the nets to do so should the Pokémon try to break out of them, a feature he'd added to ensure the nets were guaranteed to work. "Make sure that they can't break out either."
"We gots your Pokémon and there's nothing you can do about it." Meowth said with a grin at the twerps as Frillish did her job and wounded her opponents before returning to her trainer as they tried to register what had just happened. "At last, they are finally property of Team Rocket as they should be."
"Consider this revenge." Jessie said as she shouldered her net gun and grinned at them.
"Yes time to avenge." James said mimicking her.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie said beginning their motto for the twerps to enjoy.
"And make it double!" James added as they fell into their traditional routine for it.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth that's right!" Meowth from his position in front of them.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet added bursting out of his ball.
"Mime, mime." Mime Jr. said doing the same thing.
"Team Rocket." Ash said gritting his teeth as his Pokémon cried out and were fried again. "We thought we'd seen the last of you back when you tried to steal that food a few months back."
"We were just passing through and couldn't resist trying out our new toys." Jessie said as Frillish took an offensive position in front of her. "You were just the perfect victims for us."
"And they worked like a charm." James said with a grin. "We got all your Pokémon now."
"I just need to prep the balloon and we will be off." Meowth said pulling out a different remote control and hitting the red button on it. "Sit tight or else the Pokémon get another zap. The nets are programed to do so if they struggle or use a move. We just had to deal with the resistant or immune ones separately."
"You don't have all of them." Ash said with a grin at his old antagonists. "Goomy, let's defend our friends."
"You too Litleo." Misty said realizing that Litleo was free as well as she'd been with her and not her other Pokémon when the attack had happened. "I know you can do it girl."
"So, it looks like a few are free, but they are weak compared to what we have." Jessie said. "James, send out Inkay and let's capture the last two quickly."
"Right, go Inkay." James said throwing the Poke Ball out. "Psybeam on Litleo."
"Ice Beam on Goomy." Jessie ordered. "That's a dragon type so easy to beat for us and we'll take it as they are worth a lot even if it is weak like that Goomy is."
"Goomy, Bide." Ash ordered. "I know that you can withstand it."
"Dodge and use Flamethrower Litleo." Misty said.
Goomy took a breath and braced himself as the blow hit him and staggered him back. It was super effective as it was an ice type attack, but he resisted it, barely. He was storing that damage as he got ready to release it against his opponents with twice as much power as he'd just taken.
Meanwhile Litleo tried to leap out of the way, but Inkay had already released the Psybeam at her and she was struck by the peculiar ray of psychic type power and thrown into the ground before she could move. It was regularly effective but still it hurt to be hit by it.
"Malamar." Malamar chided her teammate for being hit by her pre-evolved form before launching a tirade at the Inkay for dishonoring their species. "Malamar."
"Inkay, Inkay." Inkay said back as Meowth hit the button to shock the Pokémon again and shut up the Malamar that the Sinnoh twerpette for some reason had, she really had some good Pokémon for them to take though which was good. "Inkay."
"Keep it up, wes gots this." Meowth said with a grin. "We are going to make da boss so happy with all these strong and rare Pokémon."
"Come on Goomy, I know you can do it." Ash said encouragingly.
"You too Litleo." Misty said.
Litleo groaned as she got up and looked at Goomy. He wasn't looking too good after the hit he'd taken, but he was hanging in there. She knew that she could do it and what she had to do to win, she'd been at this level for a while now, since before meeting Misty in fact but she was waiting for the right moment to do so. Now when her team, human, and all her friends, and her Pikachu, were in need she knew it was the right moment. However, even with it she wasn't sure that she could win this on her own.
"Litleo." Litleo called out to Goomy to see if he was ready as well. "Litleo?"
"Goomy." Goomy said confirming that despite his loss to that evil fairy before meeting Ash that he was able to do so but had wanted to get stronger with Ash first before he did so that he was sure that he could defend his friends, which was why he realized that now he had to do so in order to do just that. "Goomy."
"Litleo." Litleo said with a nod confirming it was time before roaring. "Litleo."
"Goomy." Goomy said loudly as at the same time Pokémon suddenly turned bright white where they stood.
"You have gots to be kidding me." Meowth said in shock as the Pokémon began to change. "This is such a twerp thing to happen to us and at the same time no less."
"They're evolving in tandem with each other." Misty said her eyes wide. "I've never seen that happen."
"I have, once when I was in Hoenn and once in Unova, though the latter time was the special, strange, trade evolution thing two species there do." Ash said. "The time I saw it happen naturally like this was when my Treecko evolved at the same time as another trainer's Loudred after we had a battle. There were some issues with his Exploud I believe but we resolved it in the end."
As they were talking the Pokémon before them were changing. Litleo grew taller by about a meter and filled out more as the mohawk on her head flew out in a narrow mane, her tail grew longer, and the fur on her hindquarters and chest expanded. Meanwhile Goomy more than doubled in size as stubby arms sprouted from his chest, a small tail formed, a weird shell-like thing came out of his back and his second set of antennae grew back. Then the light faded, and the two new Pokémon were before their trainers.
Pyroar roared as she shook her long, thin, red mane that streamed out from her head in a wave that passed her ass and had a yellow streak in the center. Other than that, the only real change was that the light brown fur that had been on her feet as a Litleo was now on her full legs while her chest was also the same color.
Meanwhile Goomy's evolved form, which Ash actually didn't know the name of yet, kept the same color scheme with a darker purple belly and lighter purple face and back, the shell thing seemed to just be part of his body, with wide green eyes and another new green spot below the first ones on his cheeks though they were lighter now. At once Ash pulled out his Pokedex to scan it.
"Sliggoo, the Soft Tissue Pokémon and the evolved form of Goomy." The Pokedex chimed helpfully. "Its four horns are a high-performance radar system. It uses them to sense sounds and smells, rather than using ears or a nose."
"Alright sweet you evolved Sliggoo." Ash said pumping his fist in the air. "I knew that you could do it."
"You too Pyroar." Misty said pulling out her own Pokedex to scan Pyroar. "Let's see what you're all about now."
"Pyroar, the Royal Pokémon and the evolved form of Litleo." Misty's Pokedex chimed showing pictures of male and female Pyroars so that Misty could see the clear gender difference in the species. "With fiery breath of more than 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, they viciously threaten any challenger. The females protect the pride's cubs."
As the Pokedex was speaking Pyroar began glowing a bright red all through her body. Misty looked up in time to see the change in her Pokémon.
"What's happening?" Misty asked. "Pyroar is preparing a move, right? It looks familiar I think but I don't know what it's called."
"It's Overheat." Ash said. "My Torkoal knows it and Charizard used to know it so I can recognize it. It's most powerful the first time it's used similar to Draco Meteor."
"Oh ok, Pyroar, Overheat." Misty ordered.
"Unleash Bide Sliggoo." Ash said at the same time.
"Uh oh." Team Rocket said in unison as the two attacks were released. "This didn't go according to plan."
The blast of intense fire from Pyroar and the normal type energy that was twice as strong as the Ice Beam that had hit Sliggoo when he was still Goomy and slammed into Team Rocket and their Pokémon before they could react. As usual with the hits there was a massive explosion, and they were blasted into the sky with a wail of pain.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again." They wailed as they disappeared as a star on the horizon with one last word reaching them as they disappeared from sight. "Wobbuffet."
"You guys did it." Ash said rushing forward to hug Sliggoo as Misty did the same with Pyroar while May and Serena set about freeing all the Pokémon starting with Rhydon as he could help due to not taking any damage from any electricity that may still go off.
"That was amazing." Misty said as their Pokémon all mobbed them and congratulated their teammates and friends on winning and evolving in the process. "I wasn't expecting that but who am I to complain."
"Never a dull day with Ash, or whenever Team Rocket show up for that matter." May said with a chuckle as everyone gathered together and Ash's stomach roared to let them know what time it was. "I think its dinner time though so let's get to it."
"Agreed." Ash said with a laugh as they began to start preparing dinner for themselves and their Pokémon.
It certainly hadn't been what they had been expecting when they had set up camp but then again this kinda stuff did happen from time to time when one traveled with Ash. It was going to make a great story and change up some training ideas as they all gathered to enjoy the meal and continue bonding with their Pokémon as they made their way to the next stop on their journey through the Kalos region.
