Chapter 8: Fans of Darkness
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON
Otherwise enjoy!
It's been weeks since Ash had went missing after the Alola League, Professor Juniper was walking down the beach of Undella Town in hopes of clearing her head, after getting words of hope from Professor Oak that Ash might still be alive somewhere, Professor Juniper as well as the rest of the Professors had been restless in their search for the young Trainer.
"it's been roughly four days since Professor Oak suggested that Ash may have drifted, but there's still no signs of him." She mumbled to herself, as a footstep appeared from behind her.
"Could there be a isolated part of Unova that we haven't learn about, Professor?" A young man's voice asked.
"If there were, we'd be the first to learn about it. However, your point does have it's own validation if it was isolated, Trip." She responded.
After the conversation they had, Professor Juniper had sought out help in skilled and trustworthy Trainer and had found help in Trip who was one of the many Trainers that responded to her calls for help, as the dirty blond overlooked the sea of Unova by standing at the edge of the cliff near Undella Town.
"I've already gotten my Jellicent to search the water, I'm sure he'll find something." Trip reassured the Unova Professor, as she nodded.
"That's true, and we still have Cameron's Samurott and Marlon's Water Type Pokémon searching the water for any clues." Professor Juniper added.
Soon the waters near them started to bubble catching their attention, as Trip's Jellicent emerges from the water with Trip making his way to his Water Type Pokémon.
"You found something, Jellicent?" He asked, as the Floating Pokémon stretched out his hand.
Taking a closer inspection of what Jellicent had in his hand, Trip could see a sparkling object as he took it off of Jellicent's hand to take an even closer look, and upon a much closer inspection, Trip noticed that it was a black coloured ring with a yellow crystal embedded in the center, before tilting his way side ways.
"Did Jellicent find anything, Trip?" Professor Juniper's voice asked, as she made her way to him.
"I'm not sure if this is of importance, but Jellicent did something in the water." Trip answered.
As Professor Juniper reached his location, Trip turn around to hand her the ring Jellicent had found, as he placed the wet object in Professor Juniper's hand, as she took a closer look at the ring in her hand, before widening her eyes at what the ring was.
"This is a Z-Ring, and if Jellicent found it in the ocean, it must belong to Ash." Professor Juniper theorised, as she started to turn around.
"I'll have to get a hold of Professor Kukui to make sure, think you can handle searching Undella Town alone?" She questioned, as Trip chuckled.
"No problem, I'll be done when you get back." Trip answered with confidence.
Professor Juniper nodded, as she ran up the hill in order to enter Undella Town to contact Professor Kukui, as Trip started to oversee the ocean with Jellicent submerging into the water, in order to find more clues.
Meanwhile inside the mines of Galar, Ash and Gallade had continued their way towards Motostoke in order to challenge Kabu, as he watch Gallade clash with a wild Scraggy as both Pokémon's hand were glowing in a white veil.
"Now, throw it backwards!" Ash commanded.
Upon hearing Ash's command, Gallade quickly grabbed both of Scraggy's shoulder before bending backwards as he send the Shedding Pokémon flying to a wall with a mighty kick, as the Fighting and Dark Type Pokémon fell to the ground upon impacted with the wall, before getting up to run away.
"The Pokémon here sure are feisty." Gallade commented, as Ash chuckled.
"You don't say, that's the sixth one and they're all Fighting Types as well." He responded, giving Gallade a Sitrus Berry.
Ash and Gallade had been onslaught by several Fighting Type Pokémon after they have crossed midway into the mines, though the reason for they're attack is unknown, Ash and Gallade had been using this opportunity to help Gallade train up, in hopes of gaining back his psychic powers.
"They might be coming after us, because I'm part Fighting Type. After all, Fighting Type Pokémon's are one to train restlessly." Gallade theorised while taking a huge bite out of his food.
"I guess, but do they have to come out once every two minutes? It's as if that we're being watched from somewhere." Ash exclaimed, making Gallade chuckle.
"If they do come out so often, we might be able to use this channce to Train Pawniard as well, I'm sure he'd love it." Gallade said jokingly.
Taking a look around to see if they were in the clear, Ash decided to sit on a large rock after finding no traces of other Pokémon in the area, as he took out the rest of his Poke Balls from his pocket before tossing them into the sky.
"Come on out and take a break, everyone!" He called out.
One by one, Ash's Poke Balls burst open to reveal Corviknight, Pawniard and Lairon as the three Pokémon started to stretch their bodies, making it seem that it had been forever since they last came out of their Poke Balls.
"Due to us not being in a more open area, we'll have to eat normal meals for now." Ash told them, as he placed down bowls of Pokémon Food he had bought before entering the mines.
Upon being served their food, Ash's Pokémon started to eat the food they were given as Ash himself took out a sandwich from his bag, before taking a huge bite out of his food, while scrolling through his Rotom Phone to find information about Kabu, the next challenge that they needed to overcome.
"Several Trainer since last year had pulled out upon losing to Kabu, huh? If he can make so many people quit, then I'm sure his on his own league." Ash mumbled softly, as Gallade chuckled.
"Though its not something that we can't win, if we use the right tactics that is." He told his partner, who nodded in agreement.
The group continued to spend the next few minutes taking a break, before continuing on their journey towards Motostoke as Ash decided to recalled everyone but Gallade back into their individual Poke Balls, as he kept them into his pocket.
"Alright, let's continue towards Motostoke, so that we can win our third badge!" Ash exclaimed loudly, while stretching his hand.
"I know we'll win, Reil." Gallade responded.
While Gallade had sounded enthusiastically positive to him, Ash knew too well that Gallade still felt the helplessness he bears in his heart, knowing that he can't expand his psychic powers in actual battles as the amnesiac Trainer was still thinking of ways to help his partner regain his strength, but no matter how many times he had thought of a plan, all sounded ineffective to him.
As his head was still running with ideas as to how he could help Gallade, the Blade Pokémon suddenly stopped Ash in his tracks, snapping him out of his train of processing ideas, as the amnesiac Trainer turned his head to Gallade, wondering why he had stopped him in his tracks.
"What's the matter, Gallade?" He asked with curiosity.
"Look, over there!" Gallade said in a whispering tone, pointing at a certain direction.
Poking his head out to see what Gallade was pointing to, Ash could see the same goons he had saw on the bridge to Hulbury, this time in larger numbers as one of their female members was swaying some sort of a banner in the sky with her hand, while the others were shouting through their makeshift horns like some sort of rock stars.
"Team Yell is gonna stuck all Gym Challengers here, YEAH!" One of them yelled, as the others started to blow through their horns.
Ash was mentally sighing as he wanted to get out of the mines to face Kabu without needing to get into any unnecessary troubles, but Team Yell's actions was making it impossible for him to just skip out without getting into a fight, as he looked at Gallade who nodded.
"Guess we're going to have to do this the hard way." He sighed loudly.
"Getting pass them without fighting seems impossible, after all, the one and only exit is behind them." Gallade responded, eyeing at the glimmer of light behind the group of Team Yell members.
As both Trainer and Pokémon let out an annoyed sigh, Ash and his partner Pokémon decided to make themselves known by walking out into the open, as they were immediately noticed by the Team Yell members who were blocking the exit of the mines.
"Guys, I found myself a Gym Challenger!" One of the male member yelled, catching the rest of his gang's attention.
Soon enough, Ash and Gallade found themselves surrounded by a mob of Team Yell members, though they were mostly surrounding him from the front, as if preventing him from running pass them, as Ash sighed softly before clutching his head in his hand.
"Didn't I gave two of you a beating last time?" He asked, vaguely remembering defeating two of them alongside Kole.
"The last time was the last, and this time won't be the last!" One of them yelled, as he took out a Nest Ball.
After taking out his Nest Ball, the Team Yell member decided to throw it into the air, as the ball burst open to reveal black hound-like Pokémon, with a arrow-tip tail and two horns, only for Ash to take out his Rotom Phone for information.
"Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon, Fire and Dark Type. Houndoom's flames can be combined with the acid in its body to make it even lethal, because of its frightening howl, Houndoom is called the Grim Reaper." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
"Now, Houndoom, use Fire Fang!" The Team Yell member ordered.
Initiating its Trainer's command, Houndoom quickly leaped at Gallade with its mouth blazing in flames, as the Blade Pokémon stood ready to receive Houndoom's attack, with Ash waving his hand to the side in order for Gallade to counterattack.
"Dodge to the side, and use Brick Break!" He ordered.
Gallade quickly shifted his body to the side, as Houndoom bit down on nothing, before having its side hit by Gallade's arm which was glowing in a bright white veil, sending the Dark Pokémon back to its Trainer as the Fire and Dark Type Pokémon growled loudly, obviously not happy at being out matched.
"Dark Pulse!" The Team Yell member yelled.
The Dark Pokémon quickly fired off a beam of darkness energy at Gallade who used his hands as a shield, creating a small cloud of dust upon impact, as Ash looked into the cloud before putting his hand out to give Gallade a command.
"Shadow Sneak!" He instructed.
Soon enough, a large shadow stretched out towards Houndoom, confusing the Fire and Dark Type, as Gallade leaped out of the shadow before giving the Dark Pokémon a hard kick to the side, making it growl in pain, as it started to slide back to its Trainer's side of the field, with Ash waving his hand.
"Now, use Brick Break!" He commanded, not giving the Team Yell member a chance to recover.
Immediately after hearing Ash's command, Gallade quickly slammed his right hand into Houndoom's head, before using his left hand to strike its chin, sending the Dark Pokémon back to its Trainer this time unconscious, as Gallade leaped back to Ash's side of the field.
"This ain't supposed to be how it go..." The Team Yell member said in disappointment, as another two stepped forward to challenge Ash to a fight.
"Even if you go down, his still got two more to take on until he is done!" One of the female member yelled, as the other male member started to blow through his horn.
Soon enough, both Trainers decided to toss our their individual Nest Balls to call out their Pokémon as a large black dog appeared in front of the female members, where as a white and black badger-like that greatly resembled a Obstagoon, as both Pokémon snarled at Ash and Gallade, only for the amnesiac Trainer to take out his Rotom Phone.
"Mightyena, the Bite Pokémon, Dark Type. Mightyena lives in packs and are very coordinated in their attacks, when hunting down preys, Mightyena will release a signal to attack by growling at its pack's location." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out, before changing pictures.
"Linoone, Galar Form, the Rushing Pokémon, Dark and Normal Type. Linoone's are reckless and rash and will challenge opponent's stronger then itself, by running at 60 miles per hour, Linoone can deliver a headbutt strong enough to knock over a car." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
After learning about both Pokémon, Ash decided to keep his Rotom Phone back into his pocket as he signalled for Gallade to return, before taking out another two Poke Balls from his pocket.
"If its a double battle, then Pawniard and Lairon should do the trick!" Ash yelled, as he threw his Poke Balls into the sky.
Both devices burst open to reveal both the Sharp Blade Pokémon and Iron Armor Pokémon, as both Pawniard and Lairon got into a battle ready position, in order to take on their opposing opponent's, as the male Team Yell member lift up his horn.
"Snarl, let's go!" He screamed, while speaking through his makeshift horn.
Linoone immediately fired off a black ball sparking with purple electricity at both Pawniard and Lairon, only for Pawniard to quickly run towards the side with Lairon jumping to the other end away from Pawniard, making the attack miss its mark, as the female member put out her hand.
"Crunch!" She commanded.
Mightyena quickly rushed at Pawniard with its jaws wide open while creating an after image of a pair of white jaw with sharp teeth, as the Bite Pokémon slammed down its mouth, with its attack slamming shut on Pawniard, creating a small explosion as the Sharp Blade Pokémon flew back to Ash with scratches on his body.
"Pawniard, you alright?" Ash asked in concern, as he looked at Lairon's location.
As his attention was fixed on Lairon's battle, the Iron Armor Pokémon was having a hard time fending off Linoone, who was extremely swift on its feet, until the female member started to swing her banner in the air.
"Fire Fang!" She yelled out in excitement.
Mightyena quickly charged at Pawniard with its mouth blazing in flames, only for the Sharp Blade Pokémon to instinctively jump backwards to avoid being hit as Ash looked at Pawniard from his perspective.
"Pawniard, get on top of Lairon!" Ash ordered.
Listening to Ash's command, Pawniard quickly made his way to Lairon as he hastily hopped on top of the Iron Armor Pokémon, confusing the Team Yell members as well as his Pokémon, as Ash gave a huge smirk.
"Now, use Sand Tomb below yourself, Lairon!" Ash commanded.
Ash's command made both the Team Yell member jump, as Lairon slammed the floor with its forelegs, before creating a spiralling vortex beneath its own feet, causing both Pawniard and himself to start spinning in circles as the Ground Type attack slowly swallowed up both Pokémon, that was until Ash looked level of depth they were in.
"Now, Lairon, throw Pawniard off with Superpower!" Ash instructed.
Obeying its Trainer's absurd command, Lairon's body started to turn bulky before using all of its strength to throw Pawniard towards both Mightyena and Linoone, after spinning for a final time, as the Sharp Blade Pokémon flew at both Pokémon with incredible speed.
"Now, Metal Claw!" Ash commanded.
As Pawniard's blades turned silver in colour, the Dark and Steel Type Pokémon quickly gave each opponent a hard slash, catching them severely off guard with his speed of flight as he landed on the ground, before watching both opponent fall to the ground, completely knocked out.
"Yikes, this guys tough!" The female members shrieked, before taking out her Nest Ball.
"True to that, there be no way we'd win!" The male member said in agreement.
With quick haste, both Team Yell members recalled their Pokémon back into their respective Nest Ball, as they quickly crowded around one another in a large circle, confusing Ash and his Pokémon, as the amnesiac Trainer decided to recall back both Pawniard and Lairon.
"What are we gonna do now? There's no way we can be this Gym Challenger, his too strong!" One of the members said with exaggeration.
"Calm down, even if we can't win this Gym Challenger, I'm sure we can still block plenty of them, if we just ignore this one." A second member responded in a whispering tone.
"How are we gonna do that? Won't that guy follow us and beat us down flat?" A third member exclaimed.
While the Team Yell members were having a quiet discussion, Ash soon bended his body to the side, before noticing a clean road pass the Team Yell members out of the mines, as he turned his gaze towards his partner Pokémon, with both Trainer and Pokémon grin slightly.
"You know what I'm thinking, Gallade?" Ash asked, making the Blade Pokémon nod his head.
"Clean as a sheet of paper, Reil." He responded.
All while the Team Yell members were having a discussion, Ash and Gallade quietly made their way pass the group of ruffians, who were too heated in their discussion to even notice them sneaking by them, as both Trainer and Pokémon soon disappeared out of the mines.
After Ash and Gallade had vanished, the Team Yell members were finally done with their discussions before looking around to notice that the person who they were in trying to block from exiting the mines a few minutes ago had already disappeared.
"Hey, where did that guy go?" A male member asked, as the rest looked around completely clueless.
Meanwhile outside, Ash and Gallade soon emerged from the exit if the mines, just after having snuck pass the group of discussing Team Yell members, as the two of them sat underneath a tree to relax, being able to finally take a breather since entering the mines a few hours ago.
"Fresh air at last!" Ash exclaimed loudly, before leaning back against the tree with his bag beside him.
"After being continously attacked by Fighting Type Pokémon, and was blocked by a few people trying to stop us from exiting the mines? I can safely say, its finally good to relax!" Gallade responded, before stretching his arms.
Taking the chance to have a small break, Ash started to browse through his Rotom Phone to see if he could get any information about Team Yell, presuming they were some sort of gang in Galar as he started to scroll through the pages of articles that appeared on his screen, all while Gallade was digging through his bag to search for something to eat.
"Spikemuth? That's where Team Yell's from?" Ash asked in curiosity, as he failed to notice Gallade taking a huge bite from the sandwich he had left in his bag.
Choosing to look up on something else, Ash decided to stretch his hand into his bag for a bite, only to feel nothing but berries and other necessities, before finally turning his head to see Gallade holding what seems to be a small piece of the sandwich he had leftover, and was already about to take the final bite out of his food.
"I was starving?" Gallade said with a cheeky smile, making Ash sigh softly.
"At least there's berries that I can eat." Ash responded, before taking out a few Sitrus Berry from his bag.
Taking his time to eat his tiny treats, Ash decided to try and look up on information about the rest of the Gym Challengers from the website that held most if not all of their information, before seeing a few faces on the page which included Marnie's and several other people.
"I see I'm not the only one from Postwick, Gym Challengers Hop and Gloria are from Postwick as well, huh?" Ash mused out, which chewing on his Berry.
"It would also seem that they were endorsed by the Champion himself, they must be quite the Trainer I guess." Gallade added, noticing the special information below their names.
Thinking it was about time they got to Motostoke, Ash got up from his spot before placing his bag on his back as his partner Pokémon followed suit from behind, the amnesiac Trainer then kept his Rotom Phone into his pocket, before making his way towards the bridge which connected the city and the outskirts.
Meanwhile in the Pokémon Center of Undella Town, Professor Juniper was having a conversation with Professor Kukui about the Z-Ring Trip's Jellicent had found within the shores of Undella Town, as the Alola Professor took a closer look at the ring from his side of the computer.
"Well, yes, that is Ash's Z-Ring. You said one of the Trainers found it within the waters of Undella Town?" His statement made Professor Juniper nod her head, as she leaned back on her chair.
"That's right, could it be possible that Ash is near Unova?" She responded, only for Kukui to think for a moment.
"It's not impossible, but at the same time, the Z-Ring might have just slipped out of his hand and got drifted away. Since we have no visible evidence of him being there, it is hard to say for sure." The Alola Professor responded.
"Though, this does give us a little bit of hope, doesn't it? Now, we just need to find the landscapes near Unova and we'll be able to find him." She exclaimed, as Professor Kukui nodded his head.
Ending the call, the Unova Professor walked out of the Pokémon Center, with Professor Kukui leaning on his chair from his side of the computer.
"Ash, just where in the world can you be?" He thought to himself, while looking at the five Poke Balls that Ash had left for him to safekeep.
I realise that it has been many weeks since the last update, and I know this chapter was shorter then most if the other chapter of the story, and I apologise for the hideous long wait for a new Chapter...
A/N: The next Chapter will be Ash vs Kabu, and I'll do my best to keep it long and entertaining for you guys, and to try and upload more often...
Otherwise,
PEACE!