Chapter 14: Fossil Mania
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON
Otherwise enjoy!
After leaving the west gates of Hammerlocke, Ash and Gallade found themselves walking by a large structure with a sealed heavy door at the front, as the two of them took a few short minutes to look at the sealed door.
"I wonder what's on the opposite side of this large door?" Gallade inquired, wondering what could be behind the door.
"Maybe some ancient sculptures?" Ash responded.
"Or maybe it's what the people use to store their stuff, you know, like crates of food and such?" The Blade Pokémon added.
"Either way, we won't be able to do much just standing in front of this door. Let's head to Route 6, and make our way to Stow-on-Side." The amnesiac Trainer remarked.
As both Trainer and Pokémon agreed that their next best course of action was to reach Stow-on-Side before night, both Ash and Gallade quickly left towards the gate further west of Hammerlocke, before arriving at what seems to be a rocky desert-like terrain.
"It would seem this is Route 6, the images match." Ash spoke up.
"Then let us hurry on towards Stow-on-Side before nightfall, it would be bad if we have to stay out here during the night." Gallade responded, making Ash nod in agreement.
The pair soon made their way across the rock made bridge in order to access the grounds of Route 6, before making their way across a rather rocky ledge as the amnesiac Trainer struggled to climb up an even higher ledge, one which Gallade easily reached by jumping from one ledge to the other.
"Must be good to be a fighting type!" Ash groaned out as he continued to climb.
"Well, I am a Pokémon after all." Gallade said with a chuckle, while letting out his hand.
Catching onto Gallade's hand, the Blade Pokémon quickly pulled his Trainer up onto the ledge, as Ash started to pant a little, before looking over the small cliff he had just climbed up with Gallade, as he noticed that it would be quite a disaster if he fell down.
"It's just cliff everywhere I turn my head, how does anyone even cross here?" He muttered out.
"They must have used their Pokémon to cross, after all this terrain is not something everyone would want to cross with their own two feet." Gallade responded, before looking at his Trainer.
"Speaking of which, why don't you use Corviknight to fly towards Stow-on-Side?" The Fighting and Psychic Type questioned.
"If I did, wouldn't it defeat the purpose of us training for our battle again Allister? Even if it's just us, crossing such a troublesome terrain, would definitely benefit our physical health." Ash retorted.
After resting for a short while, Ash soon got up from the floor and back on his feet, as both Gallade and himself continued to make their way towards Stow-on-Side, with Gallade dropping off the cliff they were on, as Ash slowly climbed down the cliff before reaching the floor, after a few minutes of climbing.
Though, the moment Ash's feet touched the ground, something suddenly burst out from the ground, sending Ash and Gallade flying a few feet away, as the unknown assaulting Pokémon soon landed on the ground, as Ash lifted his head to see that the assaulting Pokémon was a grey-blueish matis-like Pokémon, with two long mantis-like hands.
"MALDO!" The Pokémon roared out, as Ash took out his Rotom Phone.
"Armaldo, The Plate Pokémon, Rock and Bug Type. Armaldo uses its wings to swim, its claws are capable of piercing through steel while its plates are strong enough to withstand attacks. Armaldo is theorised by scientist to be the ancestor of Bug-Type Pokémon." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
"An ancient Pokémon?!" Ash exclaimed out in an uproar.
"Here it come!" Gallade retorted with vigilance.
Armaldo's claw suddenly glowed in a dark green light as it leaped towards Ash and Gallade in pure fury, as Ash quickly looked at Gallade in order to give the Blade Pokémon an order to defend against the Plate Pokémon.
"Psycho Cut!" Ash ordered.
Gallade's hands soon extended out a blade of psychic energy as he quickly went to block Armaldo's attack, clashing his Psycho Cut with Armaldo's unknown Bug Type move, as the Blade Pokémon pushed the Plate Pokémon back towards the wall.
"Please, don't let that Armaldo get away!" A voice shouted from a distance, as Ash looked at Gallade.
"Brick Break!" Ash commanded.
Gallade's hand soon glowed in a white light, as he teleported in front of Armaldo before slamming his fist into the abdomen of the Plate Pokémon sending it into the wall, as the Plate Pokémon fell unconscious on the spot.
"Thank you so much for stopping Armaldo!" The same voice spoke up, making Ash turn his head to see the source of the voice.
Eyeing at the source of the voice, Ash noticed a man dressed in a scientist's outfit with black long pants, panting as if the air in his lungs has been completely depleted, as he quickly took out a Poké Ball from his pocket before recalling the fallen Plate Pokémon back into its Poké Ball.
The man soon kept Armaldo's Poké Ball back into his pocket after taking in a bit of air to stand properly, as he properly stood before Ash and his Gallade.
"Was that Armaldo yours, sir?" Ash asked, as the man nodded.
"My name is Polis, and I'm a Fossil researcher. That Armaldo just now was one of my many specimens, may I ask for your name young man?" The man, Polis, responded.
"My name is Reil and this is my partner, Gallade, and I'm currently taking on the Gym Challenge." Ash greeted, while introducing his partner as well.
"What happened just now? Your Armaldo suddenly came out from the ground and attacked us out of nowhere." The amnesiac Trainer asked, as Polis sighed loudly.
"The truth is, while Armaldo is technically my Pokémon, I've only just restored it back to life using one of its fossils." Polis admitted, confusing the amnesiac Trainer.
"Every Fossil Pokémon can be restored back to life using a specific Fossil, and for Armaldo would be the Claw Fossil. After I had restored it back to life as an Anorith, it quickly evolved into Armaldo and after an explosion nearby my research point, the Fossil Pokémon that I had resurrected went on a rampage." Polis explained, sounding rather dejected.
Hearing the news from Polis about his rampaging Fossil Pokémon, the amnesiac Trainer soon thought of the possibility that the rampaging Pokémon might have attacked other Trainer who are on Route 6, as he lifted his head to look at Polis.
"How many Pokémon have you resurrected? If you like, I would be glad to help you stop them." Ash offered.
"That would be of great help young man, the Pokémon that are currently going on a rampage are Bastiodon, Cradily, Archeops, Tyrantrum and a Dracozolt as well as the Armaldo you just defeated." Polis explained, before taking out five Poké Balls from his pocket.
"If you happen to come across and defeat them, recall them back into their Poké Balls in the meantime, I have to restore my research point." Polis finished, before handing Ash the five Poké Balls.
"When you got all five of them back into their Poké Ball, come and find me. My research point is on the cliff with the large tree, over there." The Fossil Researcher finished, before pointing at a single direction.
Taking Armaldo with him, Polis soon left for his research point, as Ash kept the five Poké Ball given to him by Polis into his pocket, as both Gallade and himself went on to search for Polis's missing Fossil Pokémon.
While they were searching for the rampaging Fossil Pokémon, an explosion suddenly occurred somewhere nearby, making them turn their head to see smoke behind a certain cliff, as the duo quickly made their way there to see what the commotion was about.
Upon reaching the area, Ash and Gallade could see a boy with platinum blond hair the same age as Hop and Gloria, wearing a magenta coat with white pants, and a single Dynamax Band on his right hand, and in front of him was a large unicorn-like Pokémon with a pure white body and fluttering multi-coloured hair, while in front of them was a large dinosaur-like Pokémon the size nearly the same as the cliff near them.
"Rapidash, Dazzling Gleam!" The boy ordered.
The boy's Rapidash soon enveloped itself in a bright rainbow light, as it charged at the large Pokémon who it had struck dead center in the body, only for its larger sized opponent to throw it off itself using the sheer force of its large body, as Rapidash quickly returned to its Trainer's side.
"Tch, that Tyrantrum is so persistent." The boy voiced with annoyance.
Tyrantrum soon lifted its leg before slamming it down to summon several pillars of rocks at Rapidash, who without time was struck in its underbelly, as it got send back to its Trainer, slightly injured as the boy recalled it back into its Poké Ball.
Deciding now is the time to help, Ash took out his own Poké Ball as he ran towards the boy to aid him in his battle against the rampaging Tyrantrum.
"Bisharp, come forth!" Ash called out.
As his Poké Ball burst open to reveal the Sword Blade Pokémon, the boy looked rather surprised to see another Trainer nearby his area, as the boy took out another Poké Ball from his pocket, before looking at Ash.
"I didn't ask for your help, whoever you are." The boy scoffed, before throwing his Poke Ball.
From the boy's Poké Ball came a black humanoid Pokémon, wearing a sort of gothic outfit, as it stood next to Ash's Bisharp, in order to combat the Despot Pokémon.
"It doesn't matter to me if you asked or not, someone requested me to recapture this Tyrantrum." Ash retorted.
"Bisharp, Night Slash!" He commanded.
Bisharp's blade soon glowed in a black light, before growing in size to create two large blades, as he leaped towards Tyrantrum, before striking the Despot Pokémon in the body, making it roar loudly in pain.
It didn't take long for Tyrantrum to retaliate as it tail glowed in a green light, before swinging it at Bisharp who got struck in the face, as the Dark and Steel Type Pokémon returned back into his Poke Ball, only for Magneton to take his place on the battlefield, confusing the amnesiac Trainer at what had just happened.
"Gothorita, use Psybeam!" The boy commanded.
Gothorita quickly fired a multi-coloured beam from an orb in between its hands at Tyrantrum, who took the attack without backing down, as the Despot Pokémon's head soon turned into a large brown concrete glowing in a blue light, as it charged at Gothorita with incredible speed, as Ash lifted his hand to command his Pokémon.
"Magneton, use Reflect!" He ordered.
The Magnet Pokémon quickly got in front of Gothorita before creating a large rectangular rainbow shield, right as Tyrantrum slammed into it with full force, only for the shield to rebound the Despot Pokémon, causing it to suffer momentary confusion, as the large Pokémon stumbled around the area.
"Gothorita, use Shadow Ball!" The boy ordered.
"Magneton, Flash Cannon!" Ash commanded.
Both Magneton and Gothorita soon fired off a beam of steel energy and a ball of shadow energy together, only for their attacks to fuse into one, as it struck the Dragon and Rock Type Pokémon in the face, fully knocking it down as it caused a slight magnitude upon striking the floor with its body weight.
Seeing the opportunity to recall the fallen Despot Pokémon, Ash quickly took out its Poké Ball before recalling the Pokémon back into its spherical device, before keeping the contained Despot Pokémon back into his pocket.
"That's one out of five, let us continue the search, Gallade." Ash commented. as he turns to leave.
"Hey, you! You're the other Gym Challenger endorsed by Chairman Rose, aren't you?" The boy called out, making Ash stop in his tracks.
"That's right, my name's Reil." Ash introduced, making the boy scoff.
"The name's Bede, since you're also endorsed by the chairman, let us have a battle to see which one of us is more capable of helping the chairman." The boy Bede, introduced with a challenge as Ash simply shake his head.
"As much as I would like to accept that challenge, Bede. I have other business to take care of, until I'm done searching for the missing Pokémon, I'm afraid I won't be challenging you." Ash responded, refusing Bede's challenge for a battle.
"Then what if I lend you a hand in recapturing this Pokémon? That way its faster, and the faster you get this done, the sooner we can battle." Bede offered.
"Very well, once I'm done recapturing this Pokémon and returning them to their owner, we'll battle." Ash said in acceptance.
Deciding to recapture the four other missing Fossil Pokémon with Bede, the two Gym Challenger soon made their way around Route 6 to find the other Fossil Pokémon, but as the two of them reached a rather tall hill, a flying silhouette above their heads suddenly swooped down at the two Trainer, forcing them to jump to the side to avoid being hit.
As they lift their heads to see who their assailant was, it was revealed to be a flying reptilian bird-like Pokémon with a snake like head, as the Pokémon's wings started to glow in a white light, before firing off several blade of wind at Ash and Bede.
"Magneton, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
The Steel and Electric Type quickly fire off a stream of electricity, as it shattered through the Pokémon's unknown Flying Type move, only for it to quickly evade Magneton's attempt to harm it by flying slightly higher than before.
"An Archeops, is this one of the four?" Bede voiced out, as Ash nodded his head.
"Yeah, now we just need to bring it down." He responded, before taking out a Poké Ball.
"Metang, use Bullet Punch!" Ash called out, while throwing his Poké Ball.
Ash's Poké Ball immediately burst open to reveal the Iron Claw Pokémon, as Metang's hand started to glow in a bright light before charging at Archeops, and starting its assault on the First Bird Pokémon, who in retaliation challenged Metang's Bullet Punch with its own hand which was glowing in a bright green light and had formed two large claws.
"Rock Tomb!" Bede commanded.
Upon Bede's command, four portals suddenly opened up above Archeops' head as large boulders soon started to fall from each portal, forcing the First Bird Pokémon to evade the attack, giving Metang the chance to slam its Bullet Punch attack into Archeops' abdomen, and onto the ground below, as the Rock and Flying Type Pokémon hit the ground with a loud crashing sound.
Noticing a pale green Pokémon encased within a darker green shell beside Bede, two Trainers soon made their way to see if Archeops was really knocked down, as the cloud started to clear to reveal Archeops laying on the ground, still conscious though the First Bird Pokémon looked as if it is sulking from having lost the fight.
"Arch..." Archeops let loose a dejected sound, as Ash took out its Poké Ball.
"Archeops, your Trainer is waiting for you." He told the First Bird Pokémon, before recalling it back into its Poké Ball.
"That's two, three more to go." Ash mumbled, before keeping Archeops' Poké Ball into his pocket.
"Who else are you going after? Don't tell me their all Fossil Pokémon." Bede asked, as Ash nodded his head.
"We're still left with a Bastiodon, Cradily and Dracozolt." The amnesiac Trainer answered, naming the remaining three targets.
Continuing their search, Ash and Bede continued throughout Route 6 to search for their remaining three targets, and reaching upon a small pond, Ash and Bede could see a green coloured plant-like Pokémon resting near the lake with its eyes shut, sleeping rather soundly being unaware that there are two Trainers near its location.
"That's a Cradily, and it doesn't look like it spotted us just yet." Bede told Ash, who nodded his head.
Ash quietly took out Cradily's Poké Ball from his pocket, as he enlarged it in his hand however, the sound from enlarging the device woke Cradily up from its slumber, as the Barnacle Pokémon quickly turned its head to the source of the voice to see Ash and Bede hiding behind a few bushes, as its eyes turn from calm to rage in a split second.
"Cra!" Cradily roared out, before summoning a ring of rocks, as it fired the attack at the two Trainers.
Seeing the attack flying at them at high speed, Gallade quickly grabbed both Ash and Bede before leaping to the side to evade the attack fired by the Rock and Grass Type Pokémon, as Ash looked at his partner Pokémon.
"Psycho Cut!" Ash ordered.
Gallade's hand soon glowed in a bright purple light, as he fired off two blades of psychic energy at Cradily, who in retaliation turned the tenacles around its head green, before firing off eight green whip-like attack at Gallade, smashing through his Psycho Cut attack with ease and forcing the Blade Pokémon to evade the attack, only for Cradily to send down another whip, as Ash threw out one of his Poké Ball.
"Lairon, use Iron Defense!" He called out.
Ash's Poké Ball soon burst open to reveal the Iron Armor Pokémon, who was let out in front of Gallade as he immediately turned his entire being into steel, easily fending off Cradily's unknown Grass Type move.
"Sand Tomb!" Ash ordered.
Lairon soon glowed in a brown light as he slammed his forelegs onto the ground, causing a swirling quicksand to appear underneath Cradily, causing the Barnacle Pokémon to spin around in Lairon's attack, as Ash looked at Lairon.
"Superpower!" Ash commanded.
Lairon's body soon bulked up in size while glowing in a bright red light, as he charged at Cradily who was still trapped within his Sand Tomb, before slamming his entire being into the Barnacle Pokémon, sending it flying into the pond with a loud splash, as the Rock and Grass Type Pokémon soon float onto the surface with swirl for eyes.
"That was over rather quickly." Bede pointed out, seeing that Cradily was defeated in just two attacks.
"I'm not surprised, they were just restored back to life not long ago." Ash responded.
"It's already a surprise that they can put up a fight, despite having just been restored to life." The amnesiac Trainer added, before taking out Cradily's Poké Ball from his pocket.
He then proceeded to recalled Cradily back into its own Poké Ball, before storing the shrunken device back into his pocket, making it three down and two more to recapture, right before the bushes near them started to rustle loudly, catching their attention.
"Gallade, Psycho Cut, and Lairon, Sand Tomb!" Ash commanded.
Both Pokémon quickly acted in response to Ash's command, with Gallade firing off two blades of psychic energy at the rustling bushes, with Lairon laying down a swirling quicksand at the same location, but all did not work as plan, as Gallade's Psycho Cut quickly vanished right as a shiny silver ball quickly flew back at the Blade Pokémon, knocking him into a wall.
"Gallade!" Ash called out in concern.
"Lairon, use Superpower!" Ash commanded.
Lairon's body quickly bulked up in size, as he charged at the rustling bushes only for a slightly larger Pokémon with a rectangular face to charge out of the bushes, before slamming into Lairon with its face glowing in a bright blue light, easily sending Lairon flying back to Ash's location.
"Bastio!" The Pokémon roared out in pure rage, as Ash recalled Lairon back into his Poké Ball.
Ash soon kept Lairon's Poké Ball back into his pocket, before taking out another from within, Bede soon proceeded to take out his own Poké Ball from his own pocket, as both Trainer enlarged their devices before throwing it into the air.
"Metang, come forth!" Ash called out.
"Kirlia, let's get this over with!" Bede called out.
From Ash's Poké Ball came his white Metang who appeared with a glittering spark, before being joined by Bede's Kirlia, who emerged from the his own Poké Ball, as the Emotion Pokémon stood ready to combat the Fossil Pokémon alongside Ash's Metang.
"According to the Pokedex, Bastiodon's face are extremely tough, guess we'll have to watch out for its face." Ash spoke out, before keeping his Rotom Phone back into his pocket.
Bastiodon's mouth soon burst forth fire, as the Shield Pokémon opened its mouth to fire off a large fire kanji at the two Pokémon, who self-evaded the attack without any commands from their Trainers, as Ash waved his hand to the side.
"Metang, Gyro Ball!" Ash commanded.
Metang's hands soon formed a silver orb each, before rotating at high speed towards Bastiodon, who merely used its face to guard against the Steel Type attack, easily withstanding Metang's attack at full force, as Bede looked at his Kirlia.
"Grass Knot, go." Bede ordered calmly.
As the two Steel Type Pokémon continued to clash with one another, Kirlia's eyes soon glowed in a green light, with two green orbs forming beneath Bastiodon's body, as each orb projected out a small vine, which tied themselves to Bastiodon's right foreleg, before tripping the Shield Pokémon, allowing Metang to land a clean hit on the Rock and Steel Type Pokémon.
"Bastio!" Bastiodon roared out, while getting back on its feet.
Bastiodon's body soon glowed in a silver light, before charging at the group with a rather angry face, as Ash looked at Metang from where he stood.
"Psychic!" He commanded.
"Kirlia, you follow suit." Bede told his Pokémon.
Following their Trainers commands, both Metang's and Kirlia's eye soon took up a faint blue glow as both Pokémon fired off a wave of psychic energy at Bastiodon, easily restraining the Shield Pokémon's movement, right as both Pokémon lifted it off its feet, before throwing it into a wall right next the pond, knocking out the Rock and Steel Type Pokémon, with their combination effort.
Ash quickly took out Bastiodon's Poké Ball from his pocket, before recalling the fallen Shield Pokémon back into its Poké Ball, and with its recapture successful, Ash simply put the containment device back into his pocket, leaving them with only one Pokémon left to recapture.
"All that's left with is Dracozolt, do you happen to know what it looks like?" Ash voiced out, as Bede shook his head.
"Never seen or heard of it before." The Gym Challenger responded.
Bede's response made Ash fish out his Rotom Phone from his pocket to find out information about their last Pokémon, as he started to search the Pokémon by name, right before his Rotom Phone gave him a concrete picture to go by on how Dracozolt looked like.
"Dracozolt, the Fossil Pokémon, Electric and Dragon Type. According to scientists, Dracozolt is capable of generating powerful electricity by utilising their tail muscles, its electricity is powerful enough to overgrazed plantation." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
"So, this is how a Dracozolt looks like?" Ash voiced out, looking at his Rotom Phone.
"It can't be that hard to search, if it looks that weird to begin with." The Psychic Type user responded.
Continuing their search through the Route for the still missing Dracozolt, the two Trainers soon climbed up a tall cliff, before reaching the top to see nothing in sight, other than the sound of a battle happening near their location.
"You hear that?" Bede questioned, with Ash nodding his head.
"Sounds like a battle, let's go and see." The amnesiac Trainer answered.
Ash and Bede soon got closer to the source of the voice, to see a Dracozolt leap out of from beyond the tree that was west of the middle of the route, right as its peak burst forth a large amount of electricity, but before the Fossil Pokémon even execute its attack, a beam of ice energy immediately shot out from beyond the woods, before striking Dracozolt in the body, sending it to an adjacent tree.
The force of the attack not only knocked out the Fossil Pokémon who was encased in a large block of ice, as well as freezing the tree it was struck onto, as well as two other trees beside it, creating a small icy landscape, with Dracozolt's frozen body slamming onto the ground, breaking the ice encasing it while displaying its unconscious face.
As Bede went to check on the Fossil Pokémon, Ash could see a small silhouette in the woods with a four-legged Pokémon silhouetted by the wood's shade, as the figure walked off with the Pokémon, revealing a strange backpack resembling an Eevee from the glow of the sunlight, as the mysterious person disappeared from view completely.
"How's Dracozolt, Bede?" Ash asked, snapping himself out of his dazed.
"Pretty good and pretty bad, its overall condition is good but it doesn't look like it'll wake up anytime soon." The Gym Challenger responded.
Ash quickly pulled out Dracozolt's Poké Ball from his pocket before recalling the fallen Fossil Pokémon, and upon its successful capture shrunk the Poké Ball in his hand, before placing it back into his pocket for safekeeping.
"That's all of them, let me return them to their rightful Trainer, and I'll battle you as promised." Ash told Bede.
"Though, who was the Trainer who took down Dracozolt in one hit?" He thought to himself, wondering about the mysterious Trainer's identity.
Following Ash back to Polis' research point, the amnesiac Trainer soon entered the building where Polis was waiting with his Armaldo, as the Steel Type Gym Challenger fished out five small Poké Ball from his pocket before handing them to Polis.
"I've recaptured Tyrantrum, Archeops, Cradily, Bastiodon and Dracozolt, Mr. Polis." Ash told the researcher, who looked delighted at his return.
"Thank you so much, Reil. I'm very sorry for the trouble, it must have hindered you on your Gym Challenge." Polis responded, feeling quite apologetic for delaying Ash's journey.
"Well, it would have taken even longer if not for a helping hand." Ash voiced out, before looking at Bede.
"Is there a place we can use for a short battle, Mr. Polis?" He asked, as Polis nodded his head.
"Of course, please, follow me." The Fossil researcher gestured.
Polis soon led Ash and Bede to an extremely open field near his research point, as he gestured for both Trainer to go ahead and use the field to their liking, with both Ash and Bede taking a spot on the field, as Ash looked at Bede's direction.
"Is four-on-four alright with you, Bede?" He questioned, only for Bede chuckle.
"That's fine by me, I'll show you that only I am worthy of being endorsed by the chairman." He retorted.
Both Trainer soon took out a Poké Ball from their respective pockets, as both Trainer enlarged the device in their hands, before throwing it into the field to call out their respective Pokémon for battle.
"Bisharp, come forth!" Ash called out.
"Rapidash, go!" Bede called out.
Both Poké Ball soon burst open with a bright blue light in succession, as Ash's Bisharp appeared before his Trainer with Bede's Rapidash appearing before its own Trainer, with both Pokémon eyeing at one another getting ready for battle.
"Rapidash, Megahorn!" Bede ordered with confidence.
Rapidash's horn soon glowed in a dark green light before expanding in size, as the Unique Horn Pokémon charged at the Sword Blade Pokémon at high speed, with its menacing looking attack, with Ash looking at Bisharp from where he stood.
"Iron Defense." He commanded calmly.
On Ash's order, Bisharp's body soon turned into steel and greatly increasing his defenses, as the Dark and Steel Type crossed his arms, with Rapidash slamming its horn into his body and with Bisharp's heightened defenses, the Sword Blade Pokémon easily withstand the attack, before rebounding the Unique Horn Pokémon back to its Trainer.
"Night Slash." Ash ordered.
Bisharp's right hand soon expanded out a blade of darkness, as the Sword Blade Pokémon charged at Rapidash with great speed, only for Bede to come up with a counter strategy to Ash's attack.
"Highhorse Power." Bede ordered, maintaining his calmness.
Initiating Bede's command, Rapidash's body soon took up a light brown glow with its body bursting forth a large amount of earth energy, before charging at the Sword Blade Pokémon with both Pokémon clashing their attacks against one another, with Rapidash seemingly gaining the upper hand due to the Unique Horn Pokémon's super effective attack against the Sword Blade Pokémon.
"Bisharp, do it!" Ash commanded.
Confusing Bede with his unissued move command, Bisharp's left hand soon expanded out a large white blade, as the Dark and Steel Type quickly retracted his Night Slash before spinning a full circle, slashing Rapidash with its left hand before landing on the ground, only for the Unique Horn Pokémon to stay standing for a couple of seconds, before falling onto its side, unconscious from Bisharp's Guillotine attack.
The display of command shocked Bede as Bisharp returned to his Trainer's side of the field, as Ash smiled at his Pokemon, before taking out his Poké Ball from his pocket.
"Great work, Bisharp, return." He praised, before recalling the Sword Blade Pokémon.
"You got lucky in that fight, don't think I'll fall for it again." Bede scoffed out, while recalling his Rapidash back into its Poké Ball.
Bede proceeded to keep his Poké Ball back into his coat, before taking out a second one to continue his battle against Ash, before enlarging the device as he threw it out into the open field.
"Duosion, go!" Bede called out.
From his second Poké Ball came his Duosion, as the Mitosis Pokémon stayed afloat, waiting for Ash to summon his second Pokémon onto the field, as the amnesiac Trainer took out his second Poké Ball from his pocket before enlarging the device in his hand.
"Magneton, come forth!" Ash called out.
From his second Poké Ball came the Magnet Pokémon, who stayed afloat before Ash and directly across Bede's Duosion, as the two Pokémon remained in the air, eyeing at one another, getting themselves ready for battle.
"Duosion, use Future Sight." Bede ordered.
The Mitosis Pokemon soon glowed in a bright blue light as did its eyes, before summoning several purple orbs around itself before sending them into multiple portals directly above the field, as Ash looked at Magneton from his perspective.
"Magneton, Thunderbolt." Ash commanded.
Magneton's body soon spark out a great amount of electricity on his command, before firing off three waves of electricity at Duosion, who looked quite unfazed at the incoming Electric Type move which was drawing so ever closer with each passing second.
"Light Screen." Bede commanded.
Duo quickly executed the attack by forming a rainbow rectangular wall in front of itself, as Magneton's attack passed through its newly made Light Screen, before striking the Mitosis Pokémon only for it to suffer reduced damage, thanks to the effects of its newly laid out Light Screen.
"Hmph, with our Light Screen, your Magneton's attacks aren't even going to lay a dent on us." Bede remarked with arrogance, as Ash merely chuckled.
"That may be so, but don't you think you're looking down on us a little too much?" Ash retorted, making Bede eye at him.
"What do you mean? Unless you have any ways to get pass our Light Screen, you're not going to win this fight." The Gym Challenger barked out, as Ash merely smiled.
"Allow me to show you what I mean, Magneton, do it!" Ash ordered.
Magenton's body simply spark out a large amount of electricity, before blasting it all across the field, covering the entire field in electricity as the whole field was covered in a bright yellow light with Ash looking at Magneton with a grin.
"Thunderbolt, go." He commanded.
Magneton simply fired off the same attack it had fired when it first came into battle, however the attack was now amplified by the status of the field and had an increase in power, growing to twice the size, as Magneton's Thunderbolt easily crashed through Duosion's Light Screen, dealing quite the damage to the Mitosis Pokémon, shocking Bede at the outcome.
"In battle there's both offense and defense, just because you focused in defense doesn't mean I can't focus on offense." Ash told the shocked Trainer.
Soon enough, several portals opened above Magneton before dropping off several purple orbs from within directly down at Magneton, as Ash look at Magneton.
"Dodge it!" He commanded.
Obeying Ash's command, Magenton simply split apart from one another before dodging the Future Sight attack laid by Duosion, each dodging the attack individually shocking the Psychic Type Gym Challenger, as his plan failed to hit its target, as Magneton simply combined back into one.
"Magneton, finish it off with Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.
Magneton simply fired off a stream of electricity at Duosion, who unable to react in time, was struck by the Electric Terrain enhanced attack, knocking it out from the sky as it fell onto the ground unconscious, despite having the damage reduced by Light Screen.
"Great work, Magneton, come back." Ash praised, before recalling the Magnet Pokémon.
"There's no way I've lost two rounds without doing much." Bede growled out in frustration.
Ash soon took out his third Poké Ball before enlarging the device in his hand, as he threw it up and down with his right hand, while looking at Bede's direction.
"Would you like to continue, Bede?" Ash questioned, only for Bede to take out his third Poké Ball.
"I'm not going to quit so soon, not when there's still two rounds left." He retorted.
Bede quickly threw out his third Poké Ball to call out a small humanoid Pokémon with a small pink body and blue mass of hair covering its body resembling a witch's hat, with two ponytails reaching the floor, as the small Pokémon stood ready to battle Ash.
"Lairon, come forth!" Ash called out.
From Ash's third Poké Ball came the Iron Armor Pokémon as the Rock and Steel Type Pokémon stood on the ground opposite of Bede's Pokémon, as the Psychic Type Trainer raised his hand to command his Pokémon to deliver an attack.
"Hattrem, use Brutal Swing!" He commanded.
On Bede's command, Hattrem's ponytail started to glow in a black light as she leaped at Lairon, before swinging down her hair at the Iron Armor Pokémon, who stood there to take the attack, easily withstanding the attack delivered at him by Hattrem.
"Take Down!" Ash ordered.
Being able to easily withstand Hattrem's Brutal Swing due to his tough body and Hattrem's physically weak body, Lairon simply rammed his entire body again Hattrem, knocking her flying back to Bede's side of the field, as the Serene Pokémon landed on her feet.
"Magical Leaf!" Bede told his Pokémon.
Hattrem's hair soon took up a green glow, as she leaped into the air before firing off two rainbow-coloured leaves at Lairon at high speed, as Ash simply looked at the Iron Armor Pokémon before waving his hand.
"Iron Defense!" Ash told his Pokémon.
Initiating Ash's command, Lairon's body turned into steel as Hattrem's Magical Leaf attack simply bounced off Lairon's steel-like body, dealing not as much as a scratch to the Iron Armor Pokémon, only for Bede to continue his assault.
"Dark Pulse!" He ordered.
Hattrem quickly formed an orb of darkness in front of herself, before firing off a beam of black rings in purple light at Lairon, as Ash looked at his Pokémon.
"Superpower, go!" He commanded.
Lairon's body soon bulked up in size, as he charged at Hattrem's direction, easily smashing through her Dark Pulse with his body, before ramming his entire being into Hattrem, sending her flying back to Bede who landed in front of her Trainer with a loud crash, unconscious from her battle against Ash's Lairon.
"Great work, Lairon, come back." Ash praised, before recalling his Pokémon.
As he kept his Pokémon, Ash could see that Bede was visibly frustrated at the lost he had just received, with the Gym Challenger recalling the Serene Pokémon back into her Poké Ball.
"I won't forget this defeat, Reil, the next time we meet, I'm winning." Bede declared, making Ash chuckle.
"I'm ready any time, you're more than welcome to challenge me again." He responded.
Bede in frustration left for the direction of Hammerlocke to heal his Pokémon back to health, but before Ash could leave, Polis soon approached the young Trainer.
"Thank you again for recapturing my Fossil Pokemon, Reil." He thanked, with Ash nodding his head.
"You're welcome, but I'm afraid I got to leave for Stow-on-Side." Ash responded, making Polis laugh softly.
"Then I shouldn't keep holding you, I wish you luck in your Gym Challenge." Polis told the amnesiac Trainer.
Parting ways from Polis towards Stow-on-Side in order to have his battle against Allister, Ash and Gallade continued down the road towards their next destination, with the Blade Pokémon looking at his Trainer.
"You seem to be very adaptive in battle, Reil, were you this experienced before you lost your memories?" Gallade questioned, making Ash shake his head.
"I'm not too sure myself, without any of my memories my battle skills are mainly done by instinct." Ash answered, before looking at the sky.
"Sometimes I wonder if the skills I have right now, is obtained when I lost my memories or before I lost them. I want to learn more about my past, but there's nothing I can really go by." He added, feeling uncertain about his past.
As Ash continued to worry whether or not he would regain his old memories, Gallade soon placed his hand on his shoulder, making Ash turn his head to his partner.
"I'm sure one of these days, you'll regain them, Reil. It can be one year or even ten, but I'm sure one of these days, you'll get them back." He reassured, making his Trainer smile.
"Thank you, Gallade, I'm sure one of these days they'll come back to me." He voiced out.
Feeling a little better in his heart, Ash who was accompanied by his Gallade, continued down the road to Stow-on-Side, in order for them to obtain their fourth Gym Badge from Allister.
Meanwhile in a laboratory within Wedgehurst, Professor Magnolia soon got seated in her chair before turning on her computer after a long while of absence, only to realise that she had multiple miss calls from not only Professor Birch but multiple regional Professors at that, which included Professor Kukui and Professor Oak.
"Hmm?" She hummed out, before opening an email she had received from Professor Oak, which was dated months ago.
The Galarian Professor soon read through the content of the email, before widening her eyes at the contents, as she looked at a picture which resembled Ash, before remembering her encounter with Ash at Motostoke, before shrugging it off.
"This Ash kid looked a lot like Reil, but Reil could have just been a doppelganger that resembles this kid." She thought to herself, before leaning back on her chair.
"They have different names, so it's possible that Reil just happens to resemble Ash." She continued her thought, being unaware that Ash and Reil were in fact the same person, and was also unaware of the fact that Ash had lost his memories.
Deciding to give Professor Oak a short reply back, Professor Magnolia soon typed a few words on her computer, before sending the email back to the Kantonian Professor after months of inactive replies, as she got up to leave the laboratory.
A new chapter! Apologies for the long wait, and thank you all for the support on the story!
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