Before getting on with the next chapter I'd like to announce that there is a poll on my profile that will have an impact on this story. The otcome will determine an event that will take place later, so make sure to vote and let me know what you'd like to have happen.
Now, on with the story.
Chapter 45: Bolstering Their Strength
Morning arrived, and just as Ash had promised the previous day he and his Pokémon were ready to do their best to help Dante and Lando's Pokémon get stronger. Ash already had his Pokémon out, which consisted of Pikachu, Charizard, Sceptile, Buizel, Absol and Pupitar. Dante and Lando also had their Pokémon as the awaited Ash's instructions.
"Okay, let's start off with some one-on-one sparring," he said. "Pikachu, you spar with Absol. Pupitar, you're with Buizel. Charizard, you spar with Sceptile. In the meantime I want to see a match between Charmeleon and Grovyle."
"Will we be issuing commands to our Pokémon?" Dante wondered.
"No. I find that you learn more about a Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses if you let them battle on their own," Ash explained. "The most I'll do is tell them what to watch for."
"I see. A most unique training method," Lando commented.
"And yet one that has produced favorable results," Dante added, referencing the strength Ash's Pokémon possessed. Now that things had been explained the sparring matches got underway.
"Pikachu's fast, Absol, so try and keep up with him," Ash said. "Pikachu, Absol has strong attacks, so make sure to work on dodging those."
"(Right!)" Pikachu replied.
"(Understood,)" Absol said.
"Pupitar, Buizel has a type advantage over you. Look for ways to overcome it," Ash instructed.
"(Okay,)" Pupitar responded.
"Pupitar has a few tricks up her sleeve, Buizel. Don't fall for them," Ash advised.
"(I'll do my best,)" Buizel said.
"Sceptile, try and find a way to overcome the aerial advantage Charizard has over you," Ash said.
"(I'll try,)" Sceptile replied.
"Sceptile is one of the fastest Pokémon I have, so don't lose track of him," Ash advised.
"(Gotcha!)" Charizard replied. Now that his own Pokémon had been instructed on what they needed to focus on it was time to observe the match between Charmeleon and Grovyle.
"Alright, you two. Let's see what you got." With a nod from their trainers Charmeleon and Grovyle began their sparring match. At first neither wanted to make a move, each one waiting for the other to attack first. Eventually Grovyle took the initiative, charging forward with blinding speed. As he neared Charmeleon the Flame Pokémon spewed an intense flame at him, forcing him to change his path.
"That was a Quick Attack from Grovyle and a Flamethrower from Charmeleon," Ash mused. As he looked on Grovyle once again charged, this time using his Leaf Blade, but Charmeleon used his Flamethrower again to force Grovyle to back down. The Flame Pokémon then glared at Grovyle with a frightening glare.
"That's Scary Face. Charmeleon used that to cut down on Grovyle's speed," Ash commented. Now that his opponent had been slowed down Charmeleon went back on the attack, spewing another Fire attack at Grovyle. This one, though , was more of a spiral than a stream.
"Now he's using Fire Spin," Ash said. Even though he had been slowed down Grovyle was still able to dodge using Quick Attack. Once he was safely out of the way he flexed his muscles. His body seemed to buff up a bit as a green aura surrounded him.
"That looks like Growth," Ash assumed. After the quick strength boost Grovyle dashed forward as fast as he could and swung his head forward, using the leaf on his head as a blunt weapon. Charmeleon responded by striking with his claws. The two attacks met in a stalemate.
"That was Pound and Slash," Ash said. After the exchange the two Pokémon resumed their stand-off. By now, though, Ash had seen enough and called for them to stop.
"From what I can see they have some good moves. Charmeleon being able to cut his opponent's speed with Scary Face and Grovyle having Growth as a way to strengthen his attack power can be useful tactics in battle," Ash praised. "However, their remaining moves are limited. Charmeleon knows Flamethrower, Fire Spin and Slash, showing that he prefers to attack from long range. Grovyle knows Pound, Quick Attack and Leaf Blade, showing that he has to get in close to attack."
"What would you recommend?" Dante asked. Ash brought a hand to his chin and thought for a bit.
"Well, I think they would benefit from learning some new attacks," he said.
"What attacks would you suggest?" Lando asked. To find the answer for that question Ash consulted his Pokécomm. It only took him a few minutes to find a pair of attacks that would benefit Charmeleon and Grovyle the most.
"Let's try having Charmeleon learn Metal Claw and have Grovyle learn Hidden Power," Ash suggested.
"Will learning those attacks truly benefit them?" Dante asked.
"Absolutely. Teaching Charmeleon Metal Claw would give him a move that would help cover one of his weaknesses, and it's a more powerful close range attack than Slash. For Grovyle, having him learn Hidden Power would give him a long-range attack he could use against opponents that won't let him get in close," Ash explained. Now that he explained the reason behind the chosen attacks it made sense to the two knights.
"Are you able to learn these attacks?" Lando questioned. The two Pokémon nodded. Then, as if to show proof, Grovyle managed to summon a small cluster of light blue orbs that hovered around him. At the same time Charmeleon slashed at a nearby rock, leaving three small cuts on the surface.
"Whoa, that's incredible. Have you tried teaching them those moves before?" Ash inquired.
"We have not, though their current knowledge of the attacks is most intriguing," Dante said.
"Perhaps they have attempted to learn them on their own," Lando assumed. The three of them looked to the Pokémon in question who nodded, confirming their theory.
"This is great. Since they've been trying to learn these attacks on their own this will make helping them learn go smoother," Ash said.
"That truly is wondrous news," Dante said.
"Indeed. With these new attacks our Pokémon will be better suited to protect Her Highness," Lando added. While the three of them were helping Charmeleon and Grovyle learn new attacks Nikki was practicing for her next Pokémon Contest.
"Okay, Ninetails. Use Energy Ball," she called. The Fox Pokémon formed the ball of Grass energy in her mouth and fired it towards Buneary.
"Use Dizzy Punch to juggle it," she instructed. Being careful not to burst the attack Buneary caught it and began bouncing it into the air using her ears.
"Now toss it back." After a few more bounces Buneary sent the attack back at Ninetails.
"Now you do the same using Iron Tail," Nikki said. Just as Buneary did before her Ninetails caught the Energy Ball and flawlessly bounced it between her nine tails.
"Now toss it into the air," Nikki instructed. With a flick of her tail the Energy Ball was sent skyward.
"Now hit it with Hidden Power!" Nikki shouted. Buneary formed a cluster of orbs and hurled them towards the Energy Ball. The two attacks hit and burst into a shower of green sparkles, just as Nikki had planned.
"That was awesome! Nice job, you two," she praised.
"(Oh yeah!)" Buneary cheered.
"(We preformed that perfectly,)" Ninetails bragged. Off to the side Princess Susanna had been watching with her Glameow. After witnessing that performance she applauded them.
"Bravo. That was a most wonderful performance," she praised.
"Thank you. I'm hoping this will help us win our first Contest," Nikki said.
"Your first? I would have assumed you had already won your first," the princess commented.
"Well, I'm confident we would have won our last one… had we been able to participate," Nikki sighed.
"Did something happen to keep you from competing?" Princess Susanna inquired.
"While we were preparing for the Pokémon Contest in Lobo Valley I hurt myself and wasn't able to compete," Nikki said.
"Oh dear. That must have been very disappointing," Princess Susanna commented.
"It was, but what bothered me the most was the fact that I knew we would have won. My Pokémon and I had perfected our routines and we were confident that no one could have beaten us, but then I had to ruin everything by getting hurt," Nikki said, her voice filled with disappointment. "That's why for this Contest I'm making sure nothing goes wrong. This time… we're going to win."
"I am confident you shall succeed," the princess stated. While this was going on a certain trio was watching from a distance, hidden from view by some bushes.
"Looks like the twerps stopped for some training," Jessie commented.
"Yeah, and they're with the royal redhead and her two armored bodyguards," James added. "That's certainly going to make things a bit tricky."
"We've been in tighter spots than this and came out fine in the end," Meowth stated.
"Really. And when were these times exactly?" James questioned.
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that we go out there and do what we do best," Jessie declared.
"And being bad is what we do best," Meowth added. The trio remained where they were and continued watching, waiting until they felt the time was right for them to strike.
"Okay, everyone. Gather around." All of the Pokémon ceased their training and gathered around Ash. Nikki and Princess Susanna, who had been observing from a distance, also joined them along with their Pokémon.
"I'm very impressed with the progress everyone has been making," Ash praised, a huge smile on his face. "Now, we're going to take a short break and then I'm going to switch up the pairings." All the Pokémon nodded.
"Will that include ours as well?" Lando inquired.
"Yes. They're making good progress in perfecting their new moves, but I find that the best way to really test how much they've learned is in an actual battle," Ash explained. "Also, by having them face a different opponent it gives them a different style of battle to train against."
"A sound training tactic indeed," Dante commented. "Our Pokémon will surely benefit from this."
"I agree," Lando said.
"I am eager to see how Charmeleon and Grovyle do in their future battles," Princess Susanna said. Suddenly the entire area became blanketed by a thick cloud of smoke, completely obscuring everyone's vision.
"Where did this smoke come from?!" Nikki shouted.
"I don't know!" Ash replied.
"Princess! Are you unharmed?!" Dante called.
"Yes, I am fine!" the princess responded. Shortly after that the air was filled with the panicked cries of their Pokémon.
"We have to do something!" Nikki shouted.
"But with all this smoke we can't see what's happening!" Ash responded. At that moment a powerful gust of wind began blowing the smoke away. When it was clear they looked around to see if their Pokémon were okay. Charmeleon and Grovyle were, as was Princess Susanna's Glameow. For Ash and Nikki Ninetails, Absol, Sceptile and Charizard were fine as well with the latter being responsible for blowing the smoke away. However Pikachu, Buneary, Pupitar and Buizel were missing.
"Where are they?!" Nikki asked.
"What is that?!" Princess Susanna shouted. Floating in front of them was a massive Weezing robot. The main body looked like a standard Weezing, but the smaller head was a clear glass container, and held within were Pikachu, Buneary, Buizel and Pupitar.
"Our Pokémon!" Nikki shouted.
"Meowth, you missed some of them!" a voice shouted, one that sounded familiar to them
"Give me a break! It was hard to aim through all that smoke!" a second refuted.
"Though in hindsight we may not have been able to fit them all," a third stated.
"Then we'll just go out there and do this the normal way." The next thing they knew a hatch opened up on the top of the machine and three individuals appeared.
"I should have known you three were behind this!" Ash said as Jessie, James and Meowth emerged from the opened hatch.
"Let our Pokémon go now!" Nikki demanded.
"Come now. I'm sure you already know the answer to that," Jessie responded.
"Fine then! Pikachu, break free with Thunderbolt!" Ash called.
"(You got it!)" Pikachu replied. He began charging up his trademark attack and was prepared to fire when…
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Meowth warned. "Any attack you try will just get turned back on you." That revelation made Pikachu immediately power down his Thunderbolt. If it were just him inside the pod he wouldn't have hesitated, but he had his fellow Pokémon to consider. Pupitar, being a Rock and Ground type, was immune to his Electric attacks, and with Pikachu being an Electric type himself he wouldn't take that much damage. Buneary, on the other hand, would have taken the full force of the attack, and because he was a Water type Buizel would have taken twice the damage. However, Ash remained undeterred.
"If we can't attack from the inside then we'll attack from the outside!" he said. He and Nikki were about to call on their remaining Pokémon when Dante and Lando stepped forward.
"Please, allow us to deal with these miscreants," Lando requested.
"Are you sure you're up to it?" Ash questioned.
"Yes. This will allow us to test the skills our Pokémon recently obtained," Dante said. Ash and Nikki were apprehensive at first, but after seeing the looks of determination in the eyes of the two knights and their Pokémon they had no doubt that they were ready.
"Okay, they're all yours," Ash told them. The Team Rocket trio appeared unimpressed as Dante, Lando and their Pokémon prepared to engage them in battle.
"We demand that you release the Pokémon you have stolen!" Dante ordered.
"And why should we? We stole these Pokémon fair and square," James retorted.
"Yeah, so go and try your 'high and mighty' act on someone else," Meowth spat. By now it was clear to the two knights that no amount of words would make Team Rocket return the stolen Pokémon.
"We shall not suffer you villains any further," Lando said. "Prepare yourselves!" Charmeleon and Grovyle stepped forward, eager to test themselves after training alongside Ash and his Pokémon.
"Time to make short work of you two," Jessie said. "Get them, Seviper!"
"You too, Weezing!" Two Poké Balls flew through the air and opened, revealing Seviper and Weezing.
"It matters not who you send at us! You will still fall in defeat!" Lando declared.
"We'll see about that! Give them a taste of your Poison Tail!" With a loud hiss Seviper lunged forward, his tail giving off a purple glow.
"Intercept with Metal Claw!" Lando called. As Seviper swung his tail Charmeleon jumped forward, powered up his Metal Claw and raised it. Seviper's tail made contact with Charmeleon's claw, but due to the Steel-type properties of Charmeleon's attack the Flame Pokémon took no damage. Seviper, on the other hand, recoiled from the failed attack.
"Now strike with Flamethrower!" Lando continued. Charmeleon opened his mouth and spewed forth a massive flame, completely engulfing Seviper in fire. When the attack was finished Seviper was struggling to remain upright.
"James, do something!" Jessie demanded.
"Right! Weezing, use Sludge Bomb!" James ordered. The Poison Gas Pokémon started firing off multiple balls of poison at both Charmeleon and Grovyle, forcing them to remain on the defensive.
"We cannot remain on the defensive! Grovyle, use your Hidden Power!" Dante called. Grovyle dodged one last Sludge Bomb before quickly forming multiple light blue orbs in his hands. Then, before Weezing could target him again, he hurled the Hidden Power at the Poison Gas Pokémon. Some of the orbs managed to intercept the incoming Sludge Bomb attacks while the remaining ones struck Weezing, stunning the Poison Gas Pokémon and putting an end to his assault.
"Quickly! You must free the other Pokémon while theirs are down!" Dante shouted. Both Charmeleon and Grovyle charged forward.
"Hey, you two! Get up and stop them!" Jessie demanded. Despite her frantic shouting neither Seviper nor Weezing were in any shape to stop anyone, meaning that Charmeleon and Grovyle had a clear shot at the pod containing the captive Pokémon. A combination of Metal Claw and Leaf Blade was all they needed to shatter the pod and free the captive Pokémon.
"Alright! They did it!" Nikki cheered.
"Now it's our turn!" Ash said. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" After making sure the other Pokémon were a safe distance away Pikachu unleashed his Thunderbolt on Team Rocket. The voltage he was producing caused their Weezing robot to overload, resulting in an explosion that sent them hurtling through the sky.
"Why does this always happen to us?!" Jessie whined.
"You'd think we'd be used to this by now," James commented.
"This is something I'll never get used to!" Meowth shouted.
"We're blasting off again!" they screamed.
"And there they go again," Nikki commented.
"They appear to be a most troublesome bunch," Dante said. "How do you manage to tolerate them?"
"I've had years of experience," Ash answered. "And speaking of experience it looks like Charmeleon and Grovyle got the opportunity to use their new attacks in a real battle situation."
"Indeed, and I must say they performed must admirably," Dante commented.
"I agree. Their new attacks have proven incredibly useful," Lando added.
"Since it looks like everything's worked out how about we give the Pokémon the rest of the day off," Nikki commented.
"Yeah. After dealing with Team Rocket I'm sure they'd appreciate a break," Ash agreed. The trainers then recalled their Pokémon and set about packing up their campsite.
Later in the day the two groups found themselves at a split in their path. Ash and Nikki's journey would take them one way while Princess Susanna, Dante and Lando would be traveling another.
"Looks like this is where we part ways again," Ash said.
"Yes, though I did once again enjoy your company," the princess said.
"As did we," Lando added.
"We are also grateful for your assistance with our Pokémon," Dante said.
"It was my pleasure," Ash replied. "Besides, you two saved our Pokémon, so I'd say that makes us even."
"I really hope you enjoyed your stay in Legenda, Princess," Nikki said.
"I did, and I hope to once again visit someday," she responded. "I would very much like to see you participate in a Pokémon Contest."
"And I'd be honored to perform in front of you," Nikki said. The groups then said their final goodbyes and went their separate ways. After only a few minutes Princess Susanna had a thought.
"Dante, Lando, there has been a change of plans," she announced.
"A change, Your Highness?" Lando asked.
"Yes. There is one more place I wish to visit before returning home," she said.
"Of course. Where is it you would like to go?" The princess remained silent and looked out of her carriage in the direction that Ash and Nikki were traveling.
Thanks to Ash's help Dante and Lando's Pokémon have new attacks at their disposal, which they used to rescue Ash and Nikki's Pokémon and defeat Team Rocket. Now that the two groups have gone their seperate ways what lies in store for Ash and Nikki next? And just where does Princess Susanna want to go? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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