Chapter 69: Absol Absolved
A few days later, the four of them were off to the Hoenn Region. Professor Cerise had to close the lab for renovations for a few days, so Ash, Lillie, and Goh decided to visit their friend Hodge in Lavaridge Town and check out his Uncle's hot springs.
"Man, after all the work we've been putting in, we need this break!"
"Tell me about it."
"Thanks for inviting me, guys. School's really been taking a toll on me. I can't wait for Summer!"
"Of course, Chloe. Happy to have you along!"
They soon reached Lavaridge Town and headed for the hot springs. But when they got there, they were surprised to find them dry as a desert.
"Well, so much for a relaxing soak."
"Hey, you're those guys from the Battle Resort!"
Just then, Hodge came up on his Hariyama. He tried to bend down to greet them, only to fall off and faceplant into the dirt path.
"Are you ok?"
Luckily, Hodge was quick to bounce back up and shake Chloe's hand.
"I'm good! I don't remember seeing you last time. Name's Hodge, and you are?"
"Chloe."
"Chloe. A pretty name, for a pretty lady."
"I have a boyfriend."
"Yeah, so back off!"
Hodge threw his hands up and did just that.
"Hey man, don't worry! It's cool."
"What happened here?"
"I don't know. One day the springs are running, the next they aren't."
"It's that Absol! I tell you boy, it's bad news!"
Just then, an older man came running up to them. Hodge just sighed in frustration.
"Oh, great. Guys, this is my uncle."
"Nice to meet you, sir."
"I have no time for pleasantries, boy! I have an Absol to catch."
And the man marched off without another word.
"Well, he seems pleasant."
"What's that he said about an Absol?"
Hodge sighed, and told the story.
"An Absol's been spotted in the town lately, and he first appeared when the springs began drying up. Of course, everyone thinks that its responsible for it."
Goh nodded in understanding.
"It is commonly accepted that Absol's are harbingers of disasters."
"Yeah, well I don't believe it for a second! But unfortunately, my uncle is super superstitious, so I'm going to need evidence to convince him. Our springs get their water from Mt. Chimney, so that's the best place to start. Do you guys think you can help me out?"
The four of them were more than happy to help him.
"Great, let's go!"
After getting some supplies from the Pokemart, the group began their trek up Mt. Chimney. They didn't get far, though, as the path ahead was blocked by fallen rocks.
"Well, this is a problem."
"Don't worry, there's another way up."
Hodge was just about to lead them up a different path when they spotted the Absol standing on a ledge above them.
"Right, now's our chance!"
"Don't hurt him too much."
"Right. Go, Scyther! Hit him with an Furry Cutter!"
"Aura Sphere, Lucario!"
"Ice Beam, Snowy!"
"Copycat, Eevee!"
"Mightyena, use Dark Pulse!"
Lucario, Snowy, Eevee, and Mightyena launched their energy attacks at Absol, who swiftly jumped out of the way before fighting back with a Night Slash, knocking the four of them back. But this gave Scyther an opening, and he got in close and swiped Absol across the chest, making the disaster Pokemon cry out in pain. But before they could do anything else…
"There it is, grab it!"
Absol looked up to see a large net coming flying towards him. Using his head crest, he swiftly tore the net in two before fleeing. Hodge's uncle and his pose came running up, a net canon in his hand.
"Drat! The blasted thing escaped."
"Don't you worry, it'll be back. And when it is, we'll take care of it for good!"
Hodge, refusing to let them do this, blocked their way forward.
"Uncle Jack, stop! You don't have to do this!"
"Out of my way, Hodge! I don't want to hurt you, but if it means putting a stop to this menace then I will!"
"You don't need to do this! Please, just give us some time to prove Absol is innocent. If we can't, then I won't stand in your way."
"Hodge!"
His uncle Jack was silent for a moment, but relented.
"One hour, that's all I'm giving you."
"Thank you."
After Jack's group left, Lillie turned on Hodge.
"Hodge, are you really going to let him capture Absol?"
"He won't have too, because we're going to prove him wrong!"
"How? We don't have any idea of where he went."
Hodge walked over to where Absol landed, finding a clump of fur that had been sheared off in the scuffle.
"No, but we do have a way of finding out."
He then walked over to his Mightyena, and held it out to him.
"My Mightyena has the best nose of anyone I've seen. If anyone can pick up the scent, it's him."
Sure enough, it only took one whiff of it for Mightyena to pick up the scent and start leading them in the direction. In only a few minutes, they found Absol. When Absol saw them coming, he ducked into a nearby cavern.
"There it goes!"
"After him!"
Sliding down the small cliff, the five of them followed Absol into the cave with Mightyena leading the way. Everytime they got close to it, though, it ducked down another tunnel. This got Goh's attention.
"Hey guys, is it just me or is this Absol leading us somewhere?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah."
"But where?"
Finally, they cornered Absol in a deeper part of the cavern with no other way out.
"Gotcha!"
"Good job, Mightyena."
Mightyena smiled, and growled happily as Hodge stroked his fur. But Absol didn't move, instead gesturing for them to come closer. When they did, they found a huge underground water reservoir, completely frozen over.
"No way, this is the source of our hot springs! It's all frozen over!"
"But how?"
That question was answered immediately by a Snorunt coming in and ice skating over the frozen lake, happily clapping as he flipped and twirled. A few other Snorunt, and even a few Glailie and Spheal joined him.
"Well, I guess there's your answer."
"I don't know how they got here, but I can understand them wanting to make their new home more comfortable."
"Let's call the wildlife services, they'll relocate them safely."
Once they were called, a group of Pokemon Rangers came and safely relocated the Ice Types to a more appropriate habitat before using some fire types to melt the ice. Once this was all done, the water flowed back to the town, and the hot springs were full once more.
A while later, everyone was enjoying a nice soak in the hot springs. Even their Pokemon, aside from Snowy, were enjoying a nice dip.
"So your uncle apologized?"
"Yep. Got the mayor to give Absol an official pardon and everything."
"Well, all's well that ends well!"
Unbeknownst to Chloe, Goh had gotten a sneaky idea, and splashed her real hard.
"Goh! Oh, you are asking for it!"
She splashed him right back, leading to a big splash fight between the two of them. Unfortunately, they got Lillie in the crosshairs, leading her to splash Ash.
"Hey, what did I do?"
"Its splash or be splashed, Ketchum!"
Taking her words to heart, Ash started to splash her back. Even their Pokemon got in on it, until all that could be seen was hot water and steam. Hodge just chuckled and shook his head.
"How immature."
That was until someone splashed him right in the face.
"Oh, it is on!"