Chapter 13: Hammerlocke Relaxation
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON
Otherwise enjoy!
Within the powerplant of Hammerlocke in the night, a trio of circular robot-like Pokémon soon entered the area through the window, avoiding detection from the workers who works within and outside of the powerplant, soon sparked up electricity as they went towards a large electrical device in the center of the room.
"Magne!" The Pokémon cried out, before going their separate ways.
As the morning sun rose into the air, Ash soon woke up from his bed as Gallade went over to pull open the curtain, letting the light from the sun shine into the room they were currently in, as Ash got off the bed.
The amnesiac Trainer was lucky enough to be able to get a room from the inn in Hammerlocke during the night, when they made their way to the area from the Wild Area the day before, as he got up to prepare himself for the day, with Gallade packing up their stuffs so that they are able to check out the moment Ash was done preparing.
"Thankfully there was a room remaining when we entered." Ash voiced out, as he stepped out of the washroom.
"That's true, I couldn't imagine going back to the Wild Area if there weren't any rooms available." Gallade answered, as he handed Ash his bag who took hold of the strap.
"Thanks, Gallade." Ash thanked, before strapping his bag onto his back.
Having taken all of his things, Ash and Gallade proceeded to the lobby of the inn they were residing in, before checking out at the counter, as he returned the room's key back to the receptionist's hand with a smile of gratitude.
"Thanks for letting us stay the night, here's the key." Ash voiced with gratitude, as the receptionist took it with a smile.
"You're very welcome, and good luck in your Gym Challenge." She responded, making Ash nod his head.
Both Trainer and Pokémon soon made their way out of the inn, to fully basks themselves with both the heat and the light of the sun, with the Amnesiac Trainer stretching his body, as Gallade turned his head to his Trainer.
"What's the plan, Reil? Are you planning on going straight to Stow-on-Side, for your fourth Gym Battle?" Gallade asked in curiosity, making Ash think for a while.
"As much as I would love to challenge Allister, taking a break from battle is always good. After all, you guys are the one's doing the fighting." Ash answered, planning on giving his team a break from the Gym Challenge for the time being.
"So, instead, how about we take a look around town for today, and head for Stow-on-Side the day after?" Ash suggested, making Gallade smile.
"Sounds good to me, I'm sure the other would be delighted at the suggestion too." He responded.
Deciding to take a break from travelling for the time being, Ash and Gallade decided to venture around Hammerlocke to see what they can do, and right as they arrive at a snack store, Ash could see someone familiar standing by the front of the store, thinking about what to buy.
"Marnie, now that's a surprise." Ash spoke out, catching her attention and making Marnie turn her head.
"Reil? Ain't this a surprise for us as well." She responded, too surprise to see Ash in Hammerlocke.
"Thought you'd be at Stow-on-Side by now." Marnie started, making Ash scratch his head.
"Well, I thought you'd still be in Motostoke, taking on the Gym Battle." He responded.
"Say, since we're already here, you want to hang out for a while?" Ash suggested, making Marnie think for a while.
"If ya fine with that." Her answer made Ash smile, as the amnesiac Trainer decided to join her.
As they two found a spot to eat their morning snacks, Ash decided to bring up a subject that they two of them could talk about, as they ate their food.
"If you're in Hammerlocke, that means you've defeated Mr. Kabu, right?" He asked, with Marnie nodding her head proudly.
"Sure did, can't say it was easy ya'know?" She responded, taking a bite from her half-eaten snack, mostly ate by her Morpeko.
"What about'ya? Thought ya be in Stow-on-Side fighting Allister by now." She questioned, making Ash chuckle awkwardly.
"Let's just say, I met two VERY interesting people yesterday, which got me into a Dynamax Battle." He answered, with Marnie thinking for a while.
"It wouldn't have something to do with Gloria and Hop, would it? Heard those two talking about a certain Gym Challenger, with a Gigantamax Corviknight and a Gallade." Her statement took Ash by surprise, as he looked at her with a look of surprise.
"You know those two, Marnie?" His questioned made her nod her head.
"Can't say I know two too well, did meet them after the ceremony at Motostoke and a few other times in the wild." She answered, making her familiarity with the two known.
Intrigue by her encounter with the two most interesting people he had met since his journey started, Ash and Marnie soon finished up their snacks, as the two Gym Challengers got up from their seats, with Ash looking at the apparel store within the distance.
"Ya planning to buy some clothes, Reil?" Marnie questioned, making Ash look at himself.
"Well, I do kind of want to have a change of clothes, for the absolute worst case scenario." He answered.
"I don't quite remember you having any sort of other clothes to change into, so it might be best we get some." Gallade added, making Ash sigh softly.
"Can't say I can't try out some clothes too." Marnie voiced out, agreeing to Ash's visit to the apparel store.
With their next course of actions decided, Ash and Marnie decided to visit the apparel store within Hammerlocke to see what they could find, and upon entry the two could see a wide range of outfit in display, making Ash and Marnie sweat at the sight of the dozens of outfits that was all over the store.
"I just got the feeling that picking an outfit for myself, is going to be a near impossible task now." Ash murmured, staring at the display of clothing.
"Those on display aren't the only things ya can look at, Reil." Marnie spoke out, making both Ash and his partner stare at her.
"I thought you live in Galar, Marnie? Don't tell me you've never been to an apparel store before?" His statement made her shook her head.
"I've been into some yeah, but not really this kind if ya'know what I'm saying." She responded, with Ash nodding his head in understanding.
The two of them soon split up to check the different sections of the store, in order to pick out an outfit for themselves, but the moment Ash reached the section he wanted to search, he soon found it hard to pick even one set, as there were in fact dozens of outfits casually hanging on the racks, with some even put on display.
"This is going to take a while, isn't it?" Ash said sheepishly, making Gallade chuckle.
"For you at the least, and not me." The Blade Pokémon retorted jokingly.
Gallade soon waited around the store as Ash begin to rummage through the dozens of clothes on the racks, and it wasn't long until Ash manages to found an outfit, which was mostly white in colour, before going into the changing room to try out his newly selected outfit, as he looked himself in the mirror to see how he looked.
His newly selected outfit consists of a white shirt with a buttoned collar and a red circular symbol bearing the Psychic Type within, and a pair of white long pants similar to his currently worn ones, instead with black lines around the knees and ankles, with a black jacket over his shirt.
"I wonder if the colour even fits." Ash thought to himself, as he exited the room.
The moment Ash stepped out from the changing room, Gallade immediately turned his head over to his Trainer, before noticing that his outfits were mostly white in colour, as the Blade Pokemon left his mouth hanging for a brief period, before closing it.
"So, what do you think, Gallade? Is it weird on me?" Ash asked, not knowing how he really looked in the eyes of others.
"I can't say much either, Reil. But what I can say for certain, is that you are quite bright in those clothing." Gallade responded, remarking on Ash's decision to wear a near pure white outfit.
"Is it that bright? I don't think they can make clothing out of mirrors, can they?" Ash exclaimed, as Gallade shrug his shoulders.
"We're both males after all, I don't think our fashion will have much senses." The Psychic and Fighting Type added.
"Anyways, let's go check up on Marnie." Ash suggested, before going to the section where Marnie walked off to.
Upon arriving at the section where Marnie would be, Ash and Gallade found the Spikemuth challenger viewing herself in the mirror, not noticing their presence, as the girl continued to check out how she looked to herself, dressed in a dark purple shirt with the Dark Type symbol at the front, covered by an open black jacket with two silver stars at the bottom and a pair of long black pants.
As Marnie was still viewing herself in the mirror, Gallade could hear the slight sound of clicking beside him, before turning his eyes to see Ash secretly taking a photo of Marnie with his Rotom Phone, making Gallade sigh to himself at his Trainer's actions, just hoping that Ash's secret photo wouldn't be noticed by Marnie.
"Marnie, are you done picking an outfit?" Ash called out, making his presence known to her.
"Can't say I did, what do ya think?" She questioned, hoping for Ash's and Gallade's opinion on the matter.
"Well, you look great." Ash remarked, slightly mesmerised by her appearance.
"Brighter than Reil's outfit, I'd say as much." Gallade chuckled out, making Ash sigh.
Finalising their outfits, Ash and Marnie went to change out individually, leaving Gallade and Morpeko outside, before exiting with their original outfits and going to the cashier to purchase their outfits, as the cashier handed them each of their bags of new clothes.
"Here are you clothing, please come again." He said with a smile.
"Thank you very much." Both Trainers said in sync, while taking their own bags.
As both Trainers exited the store with their Pokémon, Marnie turned to look at Ash and noticed that his hair was abruptly long, and messy.
"Didn't you cut your hair, Reil?" She asked, making Ash touch his own hair.
"I don't think I did, not that I can actually remember the last time I got my hair sorted." He replied casually, as it was in fact true that he had never gotten his hair sorted ever since he arrived in Galar with no recollections of his past.
"Then why don't ya go to a salon to get it sorted?" The Spikemuth challenger suggested, making Ash think for a moment.
"I guess a haircut about now, would be great." Ash said in agreement, while pulling down his fringe to see how long it was.
As the two had their next stop set in sight and mind, both Ash and Marnie soon made their way to the salon, where Ash could get his messy and long hairstyle sorted, as the amnesiac Trainer walked into the salon to look at what kind of hairstyle there were.
"There sure is a lot of hairstyles, I wonder if I could just go for the basic." Ash mumbled to himself, not noticing Marnie conversing with the hairstylist.
As Ash was still thinking of which hairstyle he would want, by flipping through the book of hairstyles for males, the hairstylist suddenly approached him from the side, before calling out to the amnesiac Trainer.
"Young man, your friend there has already picked out a style for you, if you're ready to have your hair done." She told him, making Ash turned to Marnie, who in turn gave him a small smirk.
Unable to decline, Ash obediently went to the seats to get his hair trimmed, as the hairstylist went to work on the hairstyle Marnie had picked out for Ash, and after a good 15 minutes of getting his hair cut and styled, the hairstylist soon allowed Ash to view his new hairstyle in the mirror before him.
Taking a moment to look at the new hairstyle picked out for him by Marnie, his fringe was slightly longer on the right side, with nearly enough length to cover his right eye while the back of his hair was neatly organised, and by all appearances had his hair dyed green.
"What do you think?" The hairstylist questioned, making Ash smile.
"It's great, I like it, thank you." Ash answered honestly, finding joy for his new hairstyle.
"I'm glad to hear it, please do come again." She said with a smile, as Ash got up to leave the salon.
Upon reaching the outside, Ash noticed Gallade, Marnie and Morpeko waiting for him, as the Blade Pokémon looked in awe at his new haircut.
"I could hardly recognise you with that haircut." Gallade exclaimed in honesty, making Ash chuckle a little.
"So, you picked a style for me without asking me, huh?" He voiced out, directing the words at Marnie who returned a small grin.
"Like how ya snapped a photo of me back at the apparel store? Ya Rotom Phone ain't soft, y'know." She retorted, making Ash recoil in shock at being caught.
"I knew you were going to get caught." Gallade sighed out, while shaking his head.
"I'm so sorry for taking a picture of you, without your permission!" Ash quickly apologised while clasping his hands together, all while Marnie sighed.
"It's fine, since ya took a photo of me in secret, and me choosing ya style for ya, so we're even." She shrugged off, not bothered by the incident.
Both Ash and Marnie soon relocated themselves to the center of Hammerlocke in order to continue their day, as the two of them were slowly walking down the street, after spending nearly half their day on clothes and Ash's hair.
"Is there anything you want to do, Marnie?" Ash questioned, wondering if Marnie had anything in her mind.
"Can't say I do, why don't we look around town more?" She responded, as Ash nodded in agreement to her statement.
Meanwhile in the Sinnoh region, Professor Rowan was looking at Professor Birch who was displayed through a video call screen, flipping through a large file which was on his hand, as the Sinnoh Professor decided to strike up a conversation.
"So, you've checked nearly every geographics of Hoenn?" Professor Rowan questioned, making Professor Birch nod his head.
"Pretty much every island we can think off, both newly discovered or those that has already been discovered but not searched." He told his fellow Professor, before lifting his head.
"Were you able to get into contact with Professor Magnolia by any chance, Professor Rowan?" The Hoenn Professor questioned, as Professor Rowan shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, I've been trying to contact her for the past two days but there was no answer." Professor Rowan responded.
This got the two Professor thinking on what their fellow Professor was up to, being so busy to where she was unable to pick up her calls, as Professor Rowan retook his stern looking face.
"But there's no need to worry, I am planning to send a Trainer to the Galar Region to search for him." He told the Hoenn Professor.
"Truly?! Then I'll relay this news to the rest of the other Professors." Professor Birch exclaimed in joy, as Professor Rowan nodded his head in agreement to his.
As soon as the call ended, a Trainer soon stepped out of the room within his laboratory while keeping a Poke Ball into his pocket.
"I'm ready to leave for the Galar Region, Professor." The Trainer called out, gaining the Sinnoh Professor's attention.
"That's good, I've already told the ferry at Canalave City that you'll be leaving the moment you arrive." He told him, as the Trainer nodded.
"I'm counting on you to search for him, Paul." This statement made Paul nod his head.
"I'll contact you the moment I step foot in Galar, and besides, I can't wait to battle him myself when I find him." Paul responded, before leaving the laboratory.
Back in Hammerlocke, a large explosion soon occurred in the plaza of said city, as a Pokémon seemingly made of wood, was soon send flying through the air before landing beside a large yellow dog-like Pokémon in front of two Trainers, right as Bisharp landed back in front of Ash beside a purple leopard-like Pokémon.
"Your Bisharp got moves, Reil." Marnie remarked, making Ash chuckle.
"I wouldn't have been able to touch Shiftry, if your Liepard hadn't intervene in its attack." Ash redirected a compliment back at his partner, as he turned his head to focus on the field.
Soon enough both Trainers were looking at their opponents, as Shiftry's Trainer soon put out his hand to give a command to the Wicked Pokémon.
"Air Slash!" Shiftry's Trainer ordered loudly.
The Grass and Dark Type Pokémon soon gathered a small vortex of wind into its hands, before firing off several blades of wind towards its opponents, as Bisharp merely guarded himself with his hands while Liepard leaped into the air to avoid getting hit by the attack.
"Boltund, Wild Charge on Liepard!" The second Trainer ordered fiercely.
Upon command, Boltund's body soon surrounded its own body with a large voltage of electricity before charging at Liepard at high speed, as Marnie looked at the Cruel Pokémon with her eyes.
"Sucker Punch!" The Spikemuth Trainer retaliated in order.
Liepard immediately rushed towards Boltund with blinding speed before sending the Dog Pokémon into the air with a mighty back kick from its legs, while getting damage in the process due to the already executed attack from Boltund.
"Bisharp, use Night Slash!" Ash ordered.
"Shiftry, you use Leaf Blade!" Shiftry's Trainer commanded.
Soon enough, both Pokémon immediately constructed their individual weapons, as Bisharp unveiled a long black blade from his arms, meanwhile Shiftry unveiled a large green blade from its own hands, right as both Pokémon charged at one another, clashing their attacks together with full force.
"Liepard, use Gunk Shot on them both!" Marnie instructed.
The Cruel Pokémon quickly leaped into the air before raising its right front paw to create a large black bag, as the Dark Type Pokémon threw the attack at both Bisharp and Shiftry, sending only the Wicked Pokémon flying back to its Trainer.
As Bisharp remained unharmed by Liepard's attack on both targets, Shiftry on the other hand was knocked unconscious by the Cruel Pokémon's attack, leaving its Trainer distraught at his Pokémon's defeat.
"Shiftry, no!" He called out.
"Boltund, use Fire Fang!" The other Trainer called out.
The Electric Type Pokémon immediately charged at Bisharp with its mouth blazing in flame, as Ash looked at his Pokémon, before giving off his own command.
"Dodge and use Night Slash!" Ash ordered while waving his hand to the side.
As Boltund got close enough to give a bite, Bisharp merely leaped to the side of the Dog Pokémon, making Boltund miss its attack, as the Sword Blade Pokémon quickly created a large black blade from both his hands, before swinging it down on the Electric Type Pokémon, sending it back to its Trainer knocked out from its battle.
After seeing that their opponents Pokémon are unable to continue battling, both Ash and Marnie immediately shared a five with one another on their combined victory in their tag team battle, right as their opponent recalled their fallen Pokémon before approaching them.
"That was a great battle." Shiftry's Trainer commented while putting out his hand.
"We should be thanking you, I'm sure this battle has been beneficial to all of us." Ash responded, while shaking his hand.
After their exchanges, all four Trainers soon departed from the plaza with Ash leaving with Marnie towards another direction which was towards the inn within the city, so that the two of them could rest for the day.
"So, ya going to continue down the road tomorrow?" Marnie questioned, as Ash nodded his head.
"That's right, I'm going to continue down the road towards Stow-on-Side to earn my fourth badge." He answered.
It wasn't long until the sun had fallen with the moon rising up into the sky, changing the day from morning to night, as Ash was inside of the kitchen area preparing dinner for not only himself but his Pokémon as well, right as a knock came from his door informing Ash of a visitor at his door.
"Gallade, can you see who's at the door?" He asked, while taking a small spoon sip of his curry.
Acknowledging Ash's order, Gallade soon made his way to the door before opening it to see who the visitor was, out of Ash's view of vision as the Blade Pokémon look at the opposite side to see Marnie standing on the other side of his door while holding onto her Morpeko.
"Is Reil in?" She asked, with Gallade nodding his head.
"Who's at the door, Gallade?" Ash questioned, while stepping out of the kitchen with a few plates of curry covered spaghetti.
Upon lifting his head after setting down the plates of food for his Pokémon and himself, did Ash see Marnie outside his room's door, before straightening himself as he looked at the girl with surprise.
"Hey there, Marnie. I thought you'd be sleeping by now, considering the time." He commented with surprise.
"Just here for a chat, y'know to kill time." She responded, unsure of what to answer.
"Come on in, I've made dinner if you haven't eaten yet." He invited, as Marnie gave a small smile.
"Then I'll take up ya offer, thanks in advance, Reil." She responded with gratitude, before entering his room.
As Marnie set herself down on one of the chairs at the table, the Spikemuth Trainer was then joined by Gallade who sat on the opposite side of the Gym Challenger as Ash entered the room to serve them their food, as he laid down another three plates in addition to Lairon's and Bisharp's own plates, before joining them on the chair.
"What did you want to talk about, Marnie?" Ash asked with curiosity, while taking a bite of his food.
"Why did you join the Gym Challenge, Reil? Did you have a goal you want to achieve?" She asked, while feeding Morpeko with the fork of spaghetti in her hand.
As Marnie's question reached his ears, this got Ash to think back to when he was dining with Rose and Oleana back at Hulbury, before chuckling softly at Marnie's question as he looked up at her.
"The reason I joined the Gym Challenge is to challenge many different Trainers and become stronger, but as for goals, you can say that I'm aiming for the world." He responded, while taking another bite of his food.
"I see, but I got to say, you're already as talented as they come, cause I've never seen anyone turn the battlefield into their backyard as much as you do." She commented, only for Ash to look at her with confusion.
"Like ya battle with Kabu in Motostoke, I kinda remember seeing you smashing the field with Metang to create traps." She interpreted, remembering Ash's battle with Kabu in Motostoke.
Ash was rather surprise at Marnie's response, because he didn't know that other Gym Challenger would be there to watch his battle with Kabu in Motostoke.
"Is that so? I didn't think other Gym Challengers would be watching my battle." He said sheepishly.
"There are about a hundred Gym Challengers apart from the both of us, so it's no surprise that others would see ya battle, of course that goes for me." She responded.
The two of them eventually ate their food in silence for the remaining duration, but as they were finishing their last bites, the lights in the room suddenly went out, shocking the two Gym Challengers as the whole room suddenly turned pitch black.
"Did the power go out?" Gallade inquired.
Ash quickly got up from his seat before making his way to the window to look at the view outside of his room, and much to his surprise everything in Hammerlocke was pitch black, which included the street lights.
"It's not just us, Gallade, I think the entire town's power went out." Ash responded to Gallade's earlier question.
"Do ya think something happened?" Marnie questioned, as Ash shook his head.
"I can't say I know, but we better find out." He responded.
The two Trainers soon navigated their way through the darkened inn, before reaching the lobby to see a whole crowd of people gathered in front of the door, as Marnie looked at the receptionist's direction.
"Why is everyone gathered here?" She asked, as the receptionist sighed.
"The door is an automated door, without power it simply won't open." She answered.
This got Ash and Marnie thinking, as the amnesiac Trainer looked around the room before laying his eyes on Marnie's Morpeko as an idea creeped into his head, as the amnesiac Trainer looked to the front of the room.
"Does anyone else here have an Electric Type Pokémon?!" He yelled out, making everyone look at his direction.
"I have a Dedenne and Manectric." A Trainer answered.
"I have a Luxray." Another answered.
"I have a pair of Heliolisk." A third Trainer answered.
Upon confirming that there are six Electric Type Pokémon in the lobby, Ash immediately turned his head to Marnie and her Morpeko.
"Think you guys can discharge enough electricity to force the door open?" He asked, making Marnie think for a moment.
"We should have enough juice to open the door, if we give it our all." She answered, before moving forward with her Morpeko.
As Marnie got to the front, the other three Trainers soon threw out their Poke Balls to summon their own Electric Type Pokémon, as all six Pokémon stood in front of the door with the rest of the crowd behind them.
"Thunderbolt!" All four Trainer ordered in synchronisation.
Immediately obey their Trainer's command, every Pokémon on the field quickly discharged a stream of electricity which in turn became a huge electric wave, as the attack collided with the door causing it to light up as the door slowly opened itself allowing the people inside the inn to exit, before fading back to black when the attack stopped.
"It opened!" A Trainer called out, alerting the rest of the opened door.
Soon enough everyone inside of the inn quickly made their way out of the building, to see the whole town painted completely black under the moonlight, without a single source of light in the area, making it hard to navigate.
"I can barely see a thing out here." Ash remarked.
"Sure enough, everything in the streets had gone out, it can't be a normal power outage." Gallade commented.
"Reil, I see someone over there!" Marnie alerted, while pointing to a figure making Ash look at the direction.
Sure enough, Ash and Marnie could see a figure of someone running towards the Hammerlocke Gym with great haste, as the two of them decided to follow the figure to the intended destination which was towards the Gym of the city there were currently in.
As both Trainer reached their destination, Ash and Marnie could hear a few people in the building talking about the current situation.
"Have you checked the powerplant yet?" A voice asked.
"Not yet, without power the elevators don't work, and without riding the elevator down to the basement of the city, we can't check the main source." Another argued.
"You got to be kidding me, can this day get any worse?" The voice murmured.
The two Trainer quickly made their way inside the pitch-black Gym, to see the city's Gym Leader, Raihan, in front of a group of electricians, with the group being in front of the elevator which had ceased to function due to the lack of power.
"Aren't you two this year's Gym Challengers?" Raihan questioned, remembering their faces from the ceremony.
"We are, did something happened? Why did the whole city's power go out all of a sudden?" Ash's statement caused Raihan to sigh loudly.
"We don't know the exact reason why, but were just planning to go down to the powerplant to check things out." He responded, before pointing his right hand at the elevator.
"But as you can see, without power, the elevator just doesn't work and with the elevator out of functionality, we can't go down to check the main source of the problem." He finished.
As the whole group stare at the elevator door, they begin to think of ideas to get down to the basement, only for Marnie to look at the elevator's closed door.
"Doesn't every elevator have a remote power source inside?" She asked, pointing at the sealed door.
"Only if you can open the door first." One of the electricians answered, making Raihan grin.
"Why didn't you just say so? Leave that to me!" The Hammerlocke Gym Leader exclaimed.
Quickly fishing out a Poke Ball from his pants, Raihan immediately threw it into the air to call out a light orange dragon-like Pokémon with a small pair of wings and a pair of antennae sprouting from the top of its head.
"Dragonite, force that door open!" Raihan commanded, pointing at the sealed door.
Taking action, Raihan's Dragonite quickly got in front of the elevator's sealed door, before placing its hands in between the door, as the Dragon Pokémon being to force the door open with its raw physical strength, eventually prying open the door without any issues to its physical health, leaving the two Gym Challengers in awe at how easily Raihan's Pokémon managed to force open a tightly sealed object.
"Great work, thank you, Dragonite." Raihan said with appreciation, before recalling the Dragon Pokémon.
"The doors open, what do we do now?" The Dragon Type Gym Leader questioned, having no clue of what to do after opening the doors.
"Young Trainer, do you think we can borrow your Morpeko for a while?" One of the electricians questioned, directing his words to Marnie who nodded.
Following the electricians inside the elevator, one of them started to open a small covered circuit of the construct, before taking out two wires as he placed them on Morpeko's cheeks, as the Two-Sided Pokémon started to discharge small sparks of electricity from its cheek pouches bringing life back to the elevator, as it started descending when one of the electricians pushed a button to get to the basement.
Upon reaching the intended level, the elevator soon stopped all movement as the doors opened to reveal a large pitch-black room, with the group stepping out into the open room only to see nothing out of the ordinary, as the electricians quickly went to investigate the issue.
"I didn't think the power plant of Hammerlocke was this big." Ash inquired with surprise.
"Of course, Hammerlocke is one of the biggest cities in Galar besides Motostoke and Wyndon. This power plant is also the main lifeline of Hammerlocke, so most of the electricity comes from this place." Raihan responded.
"Now, I wonder what or who could be causing a ruckus right underneath my city." The Dragon Type Gym Leader added, scratching his chin with a smirk.
As Raihan was wondering about who the culprit was, a sudden surge of light soon emitted from across the room, immediately catching their attention to the source of the light, before quickly making their way towards the source of light.
The moment all three Trainer made their way to the source of the light, they could see the electricians being cornered by three magnet-like Pokémon with screws, as well as a larger sized Pokémon hidden in the shade of the darkness between two power boxes.
"Who are those Pokémon?!" Ash exclaimed loudly.
"Those are Magnemite and Electabuzz." Raihan responded, identifying the four Pokémon.
"So, they're the ones causing trouble?" Marnie inquired.
Soon enough, Electabuzz's hand soon glowed in a white light, as it leaped towards the electricians, getting ready to strike them down, but before the Electric Pokémon could make contact with the people on the ground, Raihan quickly threw out his Poke Ball.
"Block the attack, Flygon!" He called out.
As the Poke Ball of the Hammerlocke Gym Leader burst open, a large green dragon-like Pokémon quickly emerged to block the attack brought towards the electricians by Electabuzz with its own arms, before rebounding the Electric Type Pokémon with its hands.
"Are you guys alright?" Raihan questioned, running up to the electricians with Ash and Marnie.
"We're fine, but it would seem the blackout was caused by this four." One of the electricians responded.
"It would appear that all four Pokémon were siphoning electricity from the power plant underneath Hammerlocke, and this siphoning of electricity is what caused the city to have a blackout." Another answered.
"You two, I need your help." Raihan voiced out, directing his words to the two Gym Challengers.
Raihan's words made the two of them look at him in confusion, as they knew that Raihan was strong enough to handle all four Pokémon on his own, as the Hammerlocke Gym Leader quickly faced the front, to continue his speech.
"I know this sounds embarrassing coming from me, but Flygon is too big to move swiftly in this confined space." Raihan told them.
"So, I'll need the two of you to handle the offence, while I handle the defences. Let's teach these troublemakers a lesson, for messing with the wrong kind of people." He finished.
"Got it." Ash and Marnie responded.
Gallade and Morpeko quickly made their way in front of their respective Trainers, as the two Gym Challengers got ready to fight off Electabuzz and the three Magnemite.
"Marnie, I'll handle the three Magnemite, can you handle Electabuzz?" Ash voiced out, as Marnie nodded her head.
"Don't worry, I'll be done with it before ya'know it." She responded with pure confidence.
Soon enough, Marnie and Morpeko brought their battle with Electabuzz elsewhere, as Ash and Gallade decided to look around the room, to see their three opponents flying about in the air, as each Magnemite started to spark in a bright yellow light.
"Dodge it and use Psycho Cut!" Ash commanded.
As soon as the three Magnemite fired off their attacks, Gallade quickly leaped into the air to avoid getting shocked, right as his blade started to glow in a deep violet light, before firing off two blades of psychic energy at a single Magnemite, who easily dodged it due to advantageous height.
"I can't get a clear hit, their too high up." Gallade told his Trainer.
"And this confined space isn't helping much either, there's just way too many breakers in here." The amnesiac Trainer argued.
It didn't take long for the three Magnemite to charge up another attack, as the three of them immediately glowed in a silver light, before gathering together while spinning in a circle as the three of them soon fired a beam of steel energy from a central point at Gallade.
"Dodge it, and use Brick Break!" Ash commanded.
Hearing Ash's command, Gallade quickly did a back flip as the beam of steel energy struck the ground, leaving behind a small hole, right as Gallade charged at the three of them with his right hand glowing in a white light, before swinging it down on the three Magnemite.
In retaliation to his attack, the three Magnemite quickly constructed a rainbow circular barrier as the Blade Pokémon slammed his fist into the barrier, before getting rebounded back to his Trainer, with no injuries appearing on either Pokémon, as the three of them appears to look perfectly fine.
"Something's wrong here." Ash her muttered out.
The amnesiac Trainer quickly took out his Rotom Phone from his pocket, before aiming it at the three Magnemite in the air, as his Rotom Phone quickly displayed an entirely different image from what he was seeing in front of his eyes.
"Magneton, the Magnet Pokémon, Electric and Steel Type. Magneton is able to gather and discharge three time the electricity, it is also capable of emitting a powerful magnetic force to dry up any moistures." Ash's Rotom phone detailed out.
"Those aren't Magnemite, its a Magneton!" He exclaimed loudly.
As soon as Magneton's identity was known, the three Magnemite quickly got together, immediately linking with another to form a triangular link, revealing their actual form to Ash and Gallade, as their trickery even shocked Raihan who was nearby.
"So, they are one, but also three." Ash mumbled.
"This is going to be tricky, do you have any ideas, Reil?" Gallade inquired, as Ash took out a second Poke Ball from his pocket.
"Bisharp, go forth!" He called out.
Ash's Poke Ball soon burst open to reveal the Sword Blade Pokémon, as the Dark and Steel Type Pokémon got ready to face off against his opponent beside Gallade.
"Bisharp, come here for a moment, and Gallade try to keep Magneton busy!" Ash ordered.
Hearing Ash's orders, Gallade quickly went to combat Magneton by himself, as Bisharp made his way towards Ash, as the amnesiac Trainer started to whisper something into Bisharp's ears, as the Sword Blade nodded his head to each of Ash's phrase.
After talking to Bisharp for a while, the Dark and Steel Pokémon quickly made his way to the frontlines to join up with Gallade, as the Psychic and Fighting Type Pokémon returned to Bisharp's side after brawling with Magneton.
"Gallade, use Psycho Cut! Bisharp, you use Night Slash!" Ash ordered.
Gallade quickly gathered psychic energy into his arms, as Bisharp leaped at Magneton with his blade expanding in a dark light, before swinging it down at the Magnet Pokémon who easily evaded his attack by splitting up, before one of its head got struck by Gallade's Psycho Cut.
"Bisharp, get behind Gallade and prepare to use Metal Claw!" Ash commanded.
As the Sword Blade Pokémon start his retreat behind his friend, the Dark and Steel Type Pokémon was soon pulled towards the Magnet Pokémon at high speed, right as Magneton fired off a large bolt of electricity at Bisharp, who unable to dodge was struck at full force.
"Bisharp!" Ash called out in concern.
"Sharp!" Bisharp groaned out, while raising one hand signifying that he was fine.
Unable to comprehend what Magneton had just did, Bisharp quickly went back beside Gallade as the two Pokémon waited for their Trainer's command to resume their battle against the Magnet Pokémon.
"Somehow, Magneton is able to pull Bisharp in, is that its Ability?" He thought to himself.
"In that case, we can make use of it." He mumble with a smirk.
Setting his plan into motion, Ash looked at both Gallade and Bisharp as the two Pokémon stood side by side, as the two of them were surrounded by Magneton's three heads, as Ash looked at Gallade.
"Gallade, take Bisharp and Teleport a distance away!" He commanded.
"What?! Wouldn't Bisharp get pull right in that way?" Gallade questioned, as Ash smiled back.
"Trust me." He responded.
Gallade soon nodded, as he took a hold of Bisharp's shoulder before teleporting away from the field of battle, as one of Magneton's head started to vibrate with its magnet-like hands releasing a pulse of vibration, as Bisharp was soon seen flying back in towards the Magnet Pokémon.
"Now, Bisharp, spin and use Guillotine!" Ash commanded.
Bisharp obeying Ash's command, quickly from a large white blade on both his hands before spinning like a tornado, and as he got pulled in closer to Magneton, the Sword Blade Pokémon immediately went through the Electric and Steel Type Pokémon, before stopping on the ground in front of his Trainer.
Magneton soon fell limb, as all three heads fell to the floor in rapid succession with a loud crash, with Bisharp kneeling on one knee from the damage he had sustained during the battle, as Gallade soon teleported back, with Ash taking out a Poké Ball from his pocket.
"Go, Poké Ball!" He yelled, while throwing the sphere device.
The Poke Ball immediately hit one of Magneton's head as the circular device proceeded to suck in its entire being in the form of a red light, before falling onto the floor as it wriggled once, two time, before giving off a clicking sound upon the third struggle, signifying Ash's successful capture of the Magnet Pokémon.
"Alright, we got a new friend!" Ash cheered, while picking up the Poké Ball.
As he celebrated his victory and capture, elsewhere in the area had an explosion catching his attention as Ash and his Pokémon quickly went to see Marnie's side of the battle, only to find out that he Pokémon had already prevailed against the wild Electabuzz.
"Great work, Toxicroak." Marnie commented, while patting a Pokémon who resembled Croagunk but of a larger version.
It wasn't long until the room was illuminated with bright light from the ceiling, as Raihan soon returned with the electricians who had managed to restore power back to not only the power plant but the entire city.
"Great work you two, because of your help we were able to restore power back to Hammerlocke." Raihan voice with appreciation.
"Shouldn't we find out why Electabuzz and Magneton were here in the first place?" Ash questioned, while pointing at the knocked out Electabuzz.
The gang waited for the Electabuzz to regain consciousness, as the Electric Type Pokémon looked flustered and shocked to be surrounded by humans, as Ash squat down to match Electabuzz sitting height in order to question it.
"Can you tell us why both you and Magneton came into the power plant?" He asked with politeness.
"Elec, buzz." Electabuzz responded, sounded both partially relief and annoyed.
Not knowing what Electabuzz had just said, Ash turned his head to Gallade as the rest of the group watch his short interrogation from behind him.
"Electabuzz said that Magneton wouldn't stop consuming its electricity, so the only solution to stop Magneton from eating its electricity is to bring it down to the power plant." The Blade Pokémon translated.
"Buzz, elect!" The Electric Pokémon sounded.
"It also said that it found a ventilation which leads into the power plant a few days ago, and that's what it used to sneak in with Magneton last night." Gallade translated.
Getting the clear story, Ash turn his head to Raihan who had been listening to the entire conversation, as the Dragon Type Gym Leader pondered on what to do with the Electric Pokémon.
"Listening to its story, I can't really hold it accountable, but at the same time I don't know how to punish it." He remarked, uncertain of what to do with Electabuzz.
"Then why don't you leave Electabuzz with us? We can use its help with higher voltage constructions." One of electricians suggested, thinking of inviting Electabuzz into their crew.
"If Electabuzz has no problem with it." Raihan responded.
Hearing the electricians suggestion, Electabuzz immediately brighten up as it went over to its new friends and employers who soon brought the Electric Pokémon out of the power plant, leaving behind the three Trainers.
"Colour me surprised that you Gallade can talk, Reil." Raihan said with a shocked smirk.
"Yeah, it's the first time for me too y'know." Marnie added, causing Ash to laugh sheepishly.
"Come on, it's not like we deliberately hid it, it's just most of our conversations in public ended to be whispers." He responded.
"Anyhow, thanks to the both of you, the crisis which could have ended Hammerlocke has been resolved. As the Gym Leader of Hammerlocke, allow me to extent my thanks to the both of you once again, Reil, Marnie." Raihan voiced with appreciation.
"If you two do make it this far, I truly look forward to our battle in the stadium one of these days." Raihan added, before turning to the elevator.
"Until you two make it this far, see you!" He said with a two finger salutation, before leaving.
"We should probably get going back to the inn." Ash suggested, with Marnie nodding in agreement.
The next morning's sun quickly rose up into the sky, replacing the previous night sky and illuminating the streets of Hammerlocke, as Ash was soon getting ready to leave for Stow-on-Side for his next Gym Battle, before getting himself to the entrance after returning the key.
"Going off, Reil?" Marnie's voice sounded, making him turn around.
"That's right, I'm going straight for Stow-on-Side to challenge Allister, what about you?" He responded.
"I'm probably going to take a detour, so, I guess I'll see ya later." She answered.
Both Trainers soon parted ways as Ash left for the west gate of Hammerlocke while Marnie left for the east gate, with Ash and Gallade setting their eyes on their fourth Gym Badge.
Meanwhile in the ocean, Paul was on a boat towards Galar's shore in his mission to find Ash on Professor Rowan's orders, as he looked out towards the open ocean with his Electivire beside him throughout the entire journey.
"Five days before we reach Galar, do you think Ash will be there, Electivire?" The Sinnoh native asked.
"Electi!" Electivire answered with an uncertain tone.
Getting that even his partner is unsure of the Kanto natives survival rate of falling into ocean from a great height, Paul merely sighed hoping that his trip to Galar would be successful.
Cheers to another chapter! Paul has been send to Galar to scout for Ash's whereabouts, and I'm planning to have more people go there.
A/N: I am planning to make all regions an open map, so Galar will be known to the public.
Otherwise,
PEACE!