Candela sighed as she walked through the sliding doors. "Good news: they gave the USB drive back." With that, she tossed the device over to Blanche. The leader of Team Mystic caught the item and placed it into the computer of the room. Their tech genius didn't even waste a second before doing whatever they needed to do with the data stored in it.
Spark looked back at Candela then noticed the annoyed look on his fellow Gym Leader's face. "They gave you an ear-bending, huh?"
"Yeah, but it's not just that," The other two Viridian City Gym Leaders looked at Candela. "The kid that got caught in this mess wants in."
"So? Let him in." Spark fished for—then tossed Candela a soda pop from their fridge.
"Spark," Blanche kept their eyes on the screen. "We're already disobeying the Kanto Government for getting involved with this case. The last thing we need is to involve our members."
"But he's already a part of it." Spark opened another soda can, but he gave it to the newborn Caterpie on his shoulder. "He fought off those dudes."
Aside from shaking her head at Spark calling the trained agents 'dudes'. Candela found it hard to refute the logic. Blanche also conceded their previous point. "Spark might be on to something, Candela. It's better we keep him close so that he doesn't go rogue by himself."
With that, the Team Valor leader relented. "Alright, I'll bring him in and give him a briefing of what we know."
"How unfortunate that we don't know more than him." Team Mystic's leader said. "If only there was someone who knew what these mysterious people are."
All things considered: Ash and the rest of Team Luckless could have looked worse. Being covered by dirt and mud was preferable over being crushed by boulders from a cave-in.
Also, if anyone asks, the Diglet Cave cave-in was because of a crazed, posh-accented, bowler-hat-wearing Alolan Dugtrio bent on world domination.
And people did ask.
Yes, they regretted it after.
Poor Ash had another problem other than needing a bath. He lacked a ground type for his 4th gym battle. He wanted the Trio Holmes to help out, but he and the others lost sight of the ground type when Dug Moriarity's plot to rule Vermillion City failed. This was a shame as he needed help in fighting Lt. Sergio.
Ash did not realize he forgot the name of the gym leader and will continue to forget his name.
According to the Team Instinct Databases, Lt. Sugar is a powerhouse of a gym leader that moved and struck as hard as his type. Most of Ash's Pokemon were tough, but he needed a more defensive Pokemon to help out. That is why Ash wanted to train in Diglet Cave before he got arrested by the Diglet Conclave.
He did have a backup plan of finding a moonstone for Prince Nidorino.
'What!? I am the rightful King of The Mountain Lake of Luna! I will not ascend with anything less than a Moon Lake Ceremony! Not some misshapen rock you plebians gorge yourselves with!'
Ash got the gist of what his friend said despite not understanding most of the big words: no. But he respected his wishes mostly since he had no idea where to find a Moonstone.
But this brought him back to his first problem: he needed a good defensive Pokemon.
Feeling a pull on his pants, Ash looked down at Riolu. The small fighting type pointed towards a crowd. 'Hey, Ash, what are they doing?'
It was some kind of event going on. The young trainer and his team moved closer to find out that there was a boxing ring in the center of the crowd. Was a battle going on? But Ash didn't see many Pokemon in the arena.
But the teen did spot a referee wearing...a mask?
The referee inhaled before he let loose a scream that would make an Exploud proud. "MUUUUCCHHHHAAA! MUCHA LUCHA!"
As soon as he said this, two men dressed in exotic tights and elaborate masks jumped from the corners of the ring and proceeded to grapple with each other. Yet as they did, the crowd burst open in a way that would put geysers to shame.
'Ooo! What is this ritualistic combat? And why have you not mentioned it until now!?' Spearow asked while Ash found himself moving to a free spot in the benches.
"Is this wrestling, but why are they wearing colorful masks?" The young trainer asked out loud.
"Ah," Ash and his mon turned to an old man with a twinkle in his eyes. "Have you never heard of Lucha Libre?"
"Lucha Libre?"
"It's more than wrestling: it is tradition."
Ash was about to ask what the mysterious man meant, but the crowd ended up cheering while the match went on. Ash and his mon watched as one of the masked men performed what looked to be a Braviary dive despite not looking athletically fit. It was a moment, but time slowed down for Team Luckless as they beheld one of the most glorious maneuvers they ever saw a human perform.
Ash fell in love with Lucha Libre.
Sabrina felt a migraine. Worst of all, she had no idea what caused it this time. Instincts told her Ash was doing something stupid again, but her migraine could also be because of the person she currently spoke with. Her recent luck made her consider both at once.
"So," If one didn't know Lt. Surge, they might guess he would be a fighting-type gym leader because he was muscular and intimidating. To be fair, he thought much like a fighting-type: hitting things hard and never hearing about subtlety. "Who's the brat dragging you along?"
"He's not dragging me along." Sabrina did something Lt. Surge did not expect. She took the root beer he offered her when he knew she never drank anything else but tea and the likes. "He's a potential recruit of mine."
"You think a wide-eyed brat like that is Team Rocket Material?"
Lt. Surge found himself staring as he watched Sabrina down her drink with ease he didn't expect from her.
"I didn't say Team Rocket." Sabrina's mind played with the idea of a free spirit like Ash inside the cold and insidious workings of Team Rocket.
Perhaps it was the non-alcoholic drink, but Sabrina started to imagine Ash accidentally giving those faceless goons headaches.
Still, Lt. Surge boomed with laughter akin to thunder. "Hey, you do you." His tone relaxed but turned smug. "So, I bet you haven't heard the news, huh?"
By his tone, Sabrina noted that he must be talking about something Giovani must have commanded. "Apparently not, if you're about to tell me."
"The Boss issued all hands on deck. He's called in all cells to hunt down and find these yahoos making a mess of Kanto."
The thought of Giovanni, the most powerful man in the underworld, massing his forces meant nothing short of apocalyptic happening. Sabrina didn't expect that he was already moving his forces.
Unless... "He knows something about these attacks, doesn't he?"
Lt. Surge shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, he's the head honcho. But don't worry, you and I have usual orders of helping out the league." Lt. Surge cracked his knuckles. "That means your brat is coming over soon, right? And from what I hear, he's in Spark's team?"
Sabrina did not realize the connection between her new student and Lt. Surge's nephew. She wanted to do as little with the obtuse man as possible.
"He'll be here after he trains."
"Come on, El Zebbstrika~!" Ash threw his hands up in the air when El Zebbstrika performed his Rolling Spark maneuver on the Great Diggersby. Now as much as he was enjoying the match, the teen could not help but feel something was amiss. Was he forgetting something?
'Whooooo!' Riolu did phantom punches as if pretending he was in the fight.
Eventually, the match did end with thunderous applause. But soon, a masked referee holding a mic came out.
"And now, it is time for our bonus event! Witness our Local Champion!" He pointed to one entrance where flashes of something moving at the speed of a blink passed through the crowds. The speedy being made a trail of light towards the sky. There, a bright flash forced everyone to cover their eyes briefly; after it faded, a small electrical Pikachu wearing elaborate spandex somersaulted into the ring and landed with a pose.
"Let me introduce: The Great Storm!" The crowd cheered after the referee cried out the name of the Lucha Libre Pikachu. "Here comes the open challenge! The Great Storm will take on any challenger for her champion belt! Who will step up and face The Champ!?"
Ash was surprised and not to see all of his Pokemon getting ready to move to the stage. However, a Drowzee already climbed up into the ring. This Drowzee did not wear a mask but what looked like stolen boxers with tears for his eyes and nose. Many were surprised, but Ash noticed the determined look on the mon's face.
"And we have a challenger!" The referee welcomed the newcomer despite how he looked. "Where's the challenger's trainer?"
Everyone turned around but didn't see anyone coming closer to the ring. Regardless, the referee went on and allowed the match to continue. Meanwhile, the Drowzee started to speak.
'Senorita!' The psychic shouted before he pointed to the sky. 'Behold! I, The El Almohada, have come to win the prized belt! For my dream shall become reality!' He said in a passionate accent. Though, Ash knew "El" and "The" meant the same thing. So, the Pokemon called himself "The The Pillow."
Granted, he was the only one who understood the Pokemon, but still.
'Oh ho ho?' The Pikachu huffed with pride. 'Do you think you can take on these bad boys? The Thunder!' She lifted one of her arms to flex before doing the same with the other. 'And the Other Thunder!?' Ash raised his brow when she said the same thing twice. But people cheered on the local champ nonetheless.
"Let us begin the match!" The hype-man/referee raised his hand. "Muuuchhha Muuuchhaaa Lucha!"
The match had started, and the Drowzee broke into a sprint!
...For about two seconds before he stopped at the middle of the ring while gasping for air and tried to support himself from his knees.
'Un momente, por favor," The Drowzee wheezed. Unfortunately for the guy, the reigning champ ran up to him with a head bash. The champ tumbled with the challenger before she landed with her under him and tossed him high into the air. Electricity gathered around her before she leaped into the air in a showy storm of thunder and crashed back down into the ring after slamming into the tossed psychic type.
Talk about ending with a bang.
As the dust settled, the poor psychic type was out cold.
"We have our winner!" The match bell rang as the referee screamed. Soon, the crowd cheered while the local champ stood with one foot over the downed challenger.
"Let's give a hand to our challenger! Will the trainer please come and pick him up?"
Silence filled the arena as everyone looked around. Ash kept watching the downed Pokemon and felt confused. Every time he's been with Sabrina, and ever since he's had his psychic powers working, he would always sense psychic energy from both Sabrina and her Pokemon. Yet, he sensed nothing of the Pokemon currently in the ring. But those thoughts faded when he saw the way its eyes looked during the first part of the battle. It was like it forgot about how bad it was physically and focused solely on the challenge.
Ash got up from his seat and made his way towards the ring.
"Ah!" The referee leaned in from the ring. "Kid, next time, ya gotta be up here with your Pokemon. What's your mon's wrestling title?"
"El Almohada." Ash allowed the man to hand him the unconscious Drowzee.
The man turned and shouted, "Give it up for the challenger, El Almohada!" Ash was able to leave with the unconscious psychic while the rest of his team followed after him.
'I did not know he was one of yours, vassal.' Prince Nidorino looked up.
"He isn't, but there's something I wanna ask him." Ash took a good look at both him and his team of Pokemon: they were still covered in dirt and grime from the collapse of Diglet Cave.
"And I think we all need a bath." An astute observation made hours after he was supposed to notice.
The El Almohada, a name that strikes fear into all challengers, hope onto the impressionable orphans, and passion onto the beautiful women of the world.
That is the name Drowzee gave himself.
The first thing the psychic heard waking up was the sound of a manly-voiced bird. 'Is that what the name means? I take it back: his name sounds as weak as his bloodline!'
The Drowzee snapped his eyes open. 'How dare you! That name has been passed down by my ancestors!' He paused with dramatic effect. 'After they lost a bet!' He hurriedly added that last part.
It took a second for the psychic to realize he was on a nurse's bed with comfy pillows and warm blankets. That, and there was a human with four other Pokemon all staring at him.
'Good morning, friendly friend!' Jigglypuff floated into the bed and hugged the injured Drowzee.
Jigglypuff, the natural Strength user, hugged a weakened psychic type.
It was amazing that they still heard the bone-crunching sound over the psychic's screams of pain.
One nurse visit and scolding later, the Drowzee felt nothing but air hit his face. He pressed his hands on it and found a lack of identity.
'Where is my mask!? Dios mío!? This es muy horrible!'
'I like the way you talk, psychic mon.' Riolu blinked twice while the hospitalized Pokemon started to panic.
Ash stepped forward. "Hey! Hey! It's alright. Nurse Joy removed that when we gave you to her." She also gave strange looks when a teen and his Pokemon were covered dirt came in with an injured Pokemon wearing underwear on its head. But she obviously was an experienced enough person to know not to get involved with bizarre trainers, and Ash was certainly topping her list.
'I must be off! The El Almohada must return to the ring at all costs!' The psychic threw away his blanket before he jumped heroically out of his bed and made a daring escape through the window.
In his head.
What actually happened was that he didn't properly push off the blanket and tripped on it, which led to him falling off the bed. Luckily, his face took the brunt of the impact, protecting the rest of his body. Wait, no. That's not a good thing.
One more nurse visit later, the crew did allow the Drowzee to return to the ring. Yet when they got there, the only people present in the area were them. Ash found out that the area had set dates for the Lucha events. The next one would be later this afternoon.
'Oh,' El Almohada's voice showed much less energy and passion than before. 'Uhh, now what?'
'Ooo!' Riolu lifted a paw. 'I wanna do this Luchadore, too! It looks like fun!'
'Yay! More fun!' 'This ritualized battle does interest me.' 'Prince Nidoriono will allow you to elaborate on this bizarre yet intriguing notion.' The rest of Ash's Pokemon agreed.
El Almohada stared at the four other Pokemon as if he was hit by a Confuse Ray and an instant freeze attack. After taking in a second, he coughed into his mouth and huffed. 'O-Of course! I will teach you all the ways of Lucha, which I know intimately! Sígueme!'
'Bless you.' Ash's Pokemon all said, not even realizing the new Pokemon before them didn't sneeze.
'¡Dios mío! I'm going to need it.' The psychic type put a hand on his head. '¡Vamos!' He waved his hand as he started to lead the Team Luckless to their epic training of becoming Luchadors!
Ash and Team Luckless carried the exhausted El Almohada after he lost breath four steps into his charge. They were in the outskirts of the city, Route 12: a place that neared the southeastern seas. As such, even though they were near the forest, water Pokemon were common.
Eventually, the group did reach the area El Almohada picked out for them. (After he regained his breath.) Wearing a leaf that he poked holes through for his snout and eyes, Almohada cleared his throat.
'To begin, you must first know the rules. It is different than that of regular battles.' He looked away with his hands behind his back. 'One must learn how to grapple. I will need a volunteer!' As soon as he turned around, Riolu was already there, mere inches away from his face. '¡Dios mío!'
He yelped before he fell backward.
'Me, please!' The fighting type waved his paw with energy.
'Sí! Err! Yes!' The Psychic dusted himself off. 'Now, the first lesson is to do a Supplex." The Hypnosis Pokemon explained the process of it. 'Now we will put it into practice!' As soon as the psychic type said this, he felt arms locking around his stomach. He looked forward and saw the Riolu was no longer standing in front of him, and everyone else was looking behind him.
'Alright, here I go!' Faster than he could say no, El Almohada got German Supplexed by someone who wasn't even two months old.
However, Ash spotted something that caught his attention. Before Almohada's head hit the ground, he saw the Pokemon's eyes glow before he shut them. At the same time, he felt a power spike of psychic energy that felt different from both him and Sabrina. The teen wondered what that was... before realizing their Luchador teacher was not getting up and snoring.
Wait, snoring?
'Why is he asleep?' Spearow flew over to the psychic and tapped his belly, which jiggled from her poking.
Everyone watched the stomach jiggle before the other three Pokemon of Ash closed in on the sleeping Pokemon and started to paw on the jiggly stomach. Even Ash wanted to try.
As one would imagine, Almohada reacted in a way absolutely no one could have ever guessed.
'STOP PLAYING WITH MY ESTÓMAGO!'
Almohada looked at the four other Pokemon. "You all need new names."
"Names?" Ash repeated from the side as he realized that he called his partners by their species name.
'¡Sí! You must choose a name that will mark themselves upon the moldable minds of whoever hears it! To prove to yourself that you are more than what you were born for!' Ash raised his brow. The way the psychic said that second part felt more personal than he tried to make it sound.
'Ha! My name already commands respect. For there are none great as I, Prince Nidorino!' Somehow, the poison type was sparkling as he made a pose.
'Hmm, while my presence alone should strike fear into my enemies,' Spearow began. 'Perhaps I should take on a new moniker. Trainer, choose a name worthy of the next Chieftan of the Spearow Clan!'
The raven-haired trainer got put to the spot. While Spearow meant him no harm, she will make it a problem for him if he didn't pick a name that she liked. But what exactly could he pick? Luckily for him, his mind remembered one time Mary was studying the mythology of old Legendary Pokemon. One time, she was talking about the previous names of the Unovian Sky-Trio. There was a name that stuck with him.
"How about, Notus? It's an old name of a sky god?" Ash offered aloud.
'Notus? Notus.' Spearow let the name roll off her tongue several more times. 'Ah-ha! I shall take that moniker! Notus, the Chieftan of the Spearow Clan! Yes, a fine name!'
'Ooh! Ooh! Me next! Me next!' Jigglypuff, who somehow found and played with an apple on his head, was sthenic despite staying in one spot. 'Call me, Mr. Jigglypuff!'
'Isn't that your name already?' Riolu tilted his head as he looked at his energetic round friend.
Ash had to think of one again. He couldn't do the same for Jigglypuff as he did with Notus. Jigglypuff was just very friendly and an adventure seeker. What name could fit that combination? Then again,
"Why do you want to be known as Mr. Jigglypuff?" Ash asked his sthenic friend.
The little one stopped dancing before he said, with honest eyes, 'Because of Mr. Armaldo! He was my master! And the one who got me adventuring to this day!'
Ash smiled as he heard that. He wasn't mature enough to understand what it meant to honor a teacher, but he recognized the emotional weight behind Jigglypuff's wish. "Alright, Mr. Jigglypuff it is. Maybe we can even shorten it to Mr. Puff."
'Yaaayyyy~!' Mr. Puff, the Jigglypuff, began to happily twirl as the apple juggled on his head.
Which then left Riolu. Ash's starter folded his arms and started to think hard. Ash owed more to Riolu than he thought he did. The little guy is the reason why they could go on this adventure in the first place and meet all these amazing people and friends. But what name could Ash give the guy? It had to be something that would stick for a long time.
"Hey, Riolu, what kind of name do you want?" Ash asked.
'I like your name, Ash! I want a name like that!' The fighting type smiled as he said this.
The teenage trainer didn't expect such an answer to the question, as anyone could tell by his stunned silence.
'Ooh! You know,' Mr. Jigglypuff let the apple land on his head before continuing. 'I heard of a human name called Astro. It sounded really cool! And it sounds like Ash!'
Riolu gasped after hearing that. 'I like that name! Okay, I can be Astro!' The fighting type huffed up.
So Notun, Prince Nidorino, Mr. Puff, and Astro. Some names didn't change while the other half did. It was somewhat fitting considering how diverse Ash's Pokemon were.
'Excellent! Excellent!' Almohada clapped his hands together. 'Now we must find you a mask! A face shield of honor to represent your soul and protect your identity from those of ill intentions.'
'I have a better idea!' Notus flew to the air. 'We shall give our new identities a test of will!' Soon, she gathered energy while the other three of Ash's Pokemon shifted into fighting stances.
'Uhh! ¡E-Espere!' Almohada's cry came too late as all four fired their long-range blast that collided then sent the psychic type flying.
Ash, looking over to the psychic, saw that the Hypnosis Pokemon was asleep once more. He was curious because now he started to feel psychic energy coming off the being.
Sometime later, Almohada decided to move the group over to the beach area. It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted a softer area if— read as "when"—things got dicey.
'Okay!' El Almohada shouted from ten feet away from Ash and Team Luckless because this was part of his lesson and not an excuse to get hit by them. 'Now, we need to work on signature moves.'
"What!?" Ash screamed back.
'I said, we need to work on signature moves!'
Astro cupped his hands. 'What do you mean, bark at big furniture grooves?'
'¿¡Mart at fig future soothes!? ¿¡You make no sense!?'
After screaming about the moon and mature boars for about seven minutes, they all got together and learned about Signature Moves.
'The signature move is one that represents the soul! You must be one in both mind, body, and mask to pull it off.' One of those things was not like the other. Sadly, no one in this group seemed to notice.
But for once, everyone else looked confused for a different reason. Astro raised his paw out. 'Why don't you show us yours for an example?'
The Drowzee nodded. 'I see. I will tell you the tale of how I came upon my signature move.' He started to pose dramatically. 'I had traveled through many lands, seeking the knowledge of the masters before me. Then, I came across a Bellossom mired in ancient history. After completing her challenges, she told me, in her old lady voice, "Trust the Power Within and unleash it upon your foes." Invigorated by her words, I ran towards the human city...' El Amohada trailed off as he realized what happened yesterday.
'You do not have a signature move?' While blunt, Prince Nidorino cut to the chase.
'I-I do!' Almoahda looked at his feet and kicked some sand away. 'I just could not access this power. The Bellossom is a sage of the people! She knows what she's doing!'
At that moment, something caught the fighting type's attention. Astro turned and pointed behind El Almohada. 'Is that her over there?'
Team Luckless saw near the shore a hunched-over, wrinkled, stick-wielding Bellossom moving an inch per minute. When her walking stick hit a slightly bigger pebble, she turned her head in the direction of where the stone was. 'You have great power within you, rocky.'
Everyone turned back to El Almohada. The psychic type gapped as if he also wasn't expecting that of a sagely Pokemon.
'P-Perhaps she does see greatness in the rock?' The Hypnosis Pokemon tried to convince himself more than the others.
'Hey, everyone, look!' This time, towards the forest, Team Luckless saw a group of Pokemon nearby that consisted of Ekans, Raticate, Gloom, Weepinbell, and a Farfetched. The one that spoke was the Raticate. 'It's the psycho loser!'
Team Luckless noticed the mocking tone from the normal type. Spearow spread one wing out.
'How dare you mock his honor!' The daughter of the Chieftan barked. 'What provokes this slander?!'
'Slander?' The Ekans looked like she was about to laugh again. 'If we were lying, we'd be doing that poor sod a favor. That Drowzee over yonder can't even use a normal psychic move!'
Everyone turned to El Almohada. The usually boisterous and passionate Pokemon looked horrified to hear this out loud.
'You... you can not even perform a move of your own type?' Prince Nidorino asked as if he could not believe the own words coming out of his mouth.
'W-Well... I...'
'Vat is that despicable thing yuh are vearing?' The Weepinbell pointed a leaf towards the psychic's attempt at a new mask. 'Do not tell me you are zill on about those human battles you see every now and again. They're all just an act. None of it is real!'
The new group of Pokemon started to laugh, unaware of how they trampled on someone else's dreams. Feeling shame, combined with the shock from learning everything he did was a misunderstanding and mistake, El Almohada ran away.
"Hey!" Ash tried to call out to their new friend, but he moved faster than he looked.
At that moment, both Notus and Prince Nidorino took fighting stances and started gathering a dangerous amount of energy.
'You have nerve for mocking those I deem worthy to spend my time with! Let us see if that nerve survives this rocky tomb!' His Life Orb started to shine.
The group of natives started to panic at the glares of both Pokemon. It seemed like they at least could move as fast as their mouths with how they scrambled away from the two Pokemon.
'If you think fleeing will spare you, then you are mistaken!' Notus unfurled her wingspan and aimed her lift towards the fleeing group.
'You're all soo energetic these days,' What snapped the two out of their battle mentality was the old Bellossom that had somehow crossed the distance and was now beside the Spearow without even Ash, Puff, and Astro noticing. 'But there are better things to use energy on. I seem to have lost my way and could use a bunch of kind strangers to help me to my humble home. Err, now where was it again?' The grass type put a limb underneath her mouth and tilted her head. 'Ooh, I'm sure it'll be fine. You young ones always love an adventure.'
'Hmmm,' Mr. Puff started to think. His mind starting to see what might be going on under the surface. 'Does Almohada know where you live?'
'Oh? That nice psychic type? Why yes. He does.' The little old Bellossom stood still as a shaky grass type could. 'Then maybe we should find that nice mon again with the sleeping powers.'
Ash's eyes widened with realization. "She's right! We gotta find El Almohada! Astro, where'd he go?" Then, his mind played back the last words of the Bellossom. Sleeping powers? Wait, did that have anything to do with...
The Riolu closed his eyes and put a palm on his chest. 'Hey! I can't sense him! I don't know why!'
'Maybe he's back near that cave.' They turned back to the old Bellossom. 'The one with that nice Diglet Conclave.'
"He's near the Diglet Cave?" Ash asked even though he already had a good idea she wasn't lying. "Alright, let's go!" But Ash froze after he took his first step. Then he turned back to the grass type. "So, do I need to carry you, miss?"
'That's so kind of you, young human. Let me get on top of you.' Instead of Ash, the Bellossom walked over to Spearow and climbed onto her back. 'My! Your hair feels a lot like feathers, human!'
'What?! I am not the fleshy!' Notus initially started before calming herself down. 'Fine. I will accompany this elder.'
With that, they were all off.
Ash and the team split up to search for Almohada when they got to Route 11. Although the Bellossom said he would be around the cave, she didn't know where specifically.
That, and she fell asleep while riding atop of Notus. At least, they hoped she fell asleep. She was unresponsive for ten seconds until she started to snore.
Anyway, Ash realized something after he had separated from the rest of Team Luckless. Almohada loved to watch wrestling. If he kept watching the ring, then he might have a vantage point somewhere nearby. Thinking back, he did notice a place in the distance that would look like it could have a great view down on the ring.
There was a part of Diglet Cave that remained intact. You could see parts of the city from that vantage area, and Ash had a good grasp of the cave during his adventure with the Trio Holmes. True enough, as Ash reached the top, he saw the leaf mask Almohada had on the floor, discarded and unwanted.
Ash kept walking and saw the psychic type curled up in a corner.
'Why are you here?' The psychic's tone was no longer filled with passion, but Ash found out how much he preferred the former to the current state of his new friend.
"Look, you shouldn't let those people get to you." Ash's friends were always the odd ones out. It is how they became close in the first place.
'But they speak the truth! I was born a failure. I could not even do a psychic move my whole life and have been ridiculed for it. What was I thinking in trying to Lucha!? I... am worthless...'
Ash really did not like how hopeless Almohada sounded. Yet, the teenager found himself sitting down next to the sad Pokemon. His mind didn't know what to say, but his heart stirred his lungs.
"You know what? I've been having troubles with my dreams and goals too."
'What?' Almohada looked up. 'You also feel like you can not reach your dreams?!'
"Well, it's more like I don't have a reason to chase my dreams." The teenager sighed. "Don't get me wrong: I want to be a Pokemon Master more than anything in the world! But... so far? My dream is... well... it's more selfish than I realized. And I don't like that. At least with you and my friend, Gary. You two want to your dreams because you want to prove to others that you're more than who you are. And that's really cool. But me? I don't have a strong reason for becoming a Pokemon Master other than the fact I really, really, really love Pokemon. And even my Teacher is saying it might not be enough." As Ash said this, he realized he didn't tell anyone this, not even Astro, his Riolu. "So I have an idea of what you're feeling: like I'm not enough for the dream I love."
El Almohada stared at Ash as the teen opened himself up for the miserable psychic. 'What are you going to do?'
Ash looked up. "I do know one thing for sure. I love being with you guys. It's fun to go on these adventures. It's great to meet new people and Pokemon. And the battles keep getting better and better! So I'm not going to give up my dream! Maybe... maybe that's it. I have to keep chasing my dream, and I'll find my real reason for wanting to be a Pokemon Master." He looked at Drowzee. "I know it's your choice, but even without your normal powers, you showed me determination that I envied. When you were up the ring, I believed you might beat the champion. You looked so into it."
'B-But I...' The memory resurfaced, but Almohada's wasn't remembering anything honorable. Instead, shame and arrogance filled his thoughts as he got into that ring believing that he could achieve what others had earned before him.
Ash put his hand on the Pokemon's back with a gentleness that the Hypnosis Pokemon wasn't expecting. The teen was about to say something about the weird power that Bellossom mentioned. However, the two heard a loud crash of thunder and looked back towards the ring. It looked like the Great Storm was battling someone again for the champion belt. However, even after the signature move, the battle looked like it was going on.
'Wait. That does not look right.' El Almohada walked up and started to run towards the ring. Ash followed after the psychic type back towards the Lucha arena.
As the two got there, shock crossed both of their faces as they realized what had happened: The Great Storm lost her title belt. A Machoke laughed as he held the champion belt over his head. However, Ash noticed that this evolved Pokemon didn't have a mask at all.
"Haha!" Ash turned to see a man who looked like a cross between a rich merchant and a cowboy. "That'll teach these people underwear goes down not on the head! Way to show these people god old northern wrestling is superior!"
The man's southern accent and over-the-top hat signaled to the teen that Ash did recognize that man: his name is Mane McPersonGuy. Ash saw the guy was the owner of the main Wrestling Warriors cable in Kanto and Johto. What is he doing here?
"Alright, since we beat your local champ and all other challengers, that means you gotta join up with the Wrestling Warriors program!" The man turned to the masked referee.
However, even while wearing a mask, the man seemed apprehensive to do so. The teenager overheard the two about how McPresonGuy was going to move this local arena to Unova for expansion. The budding telepath told El Almohada.
'W-We can not let them take away the arena!' The psychic type began. He looked around as if searching for Ash's Pokemon, who were busy still looking for him. El Almohada knew that maybe if one of Ash's Pokemon were to fight, they would win and prevent the arena from leaving Vermillion City. It had to be one of them—anyone but him.
'Young man,' Ash and El Almohada turned behind them. Against the odds and even logic, the Elderly Bellossom stood right behind them with no sign of Notus around. Was she really magic after all? 'Both of you should help out.'
'I-It can not be me! I... I am worthless!' He couldn't even do a simple psychic move. How could El Almohada even fight someone who defeated the person who barely broke a sweat in beating him?
'The ring is not a place of worth.' The Bellossom huddled closer to the psychic type. 'It is a place of welcome. Do not let them take that away from these fine folks.'
She pointed to the crowd, and both Ash and Almohada saw anxiety, doubt, fear, and sorrow all across the faces of the spectators. To El Almohada, this place made them happy as much as he did. If it were to leave, how many more people would be miserable...like he was?
To drown in misery was one thing, but Almohada's soul screamed with every ounce of his being that it refused something like that come to pass to other people.
'You forgot something.' When Almohada turned, the old and unbelievably mobile grass type held something in her other hand. It was an ornate orange and purple mask. 'I meant to give it to you after you cleaned my home, but then you ran out after I told you about your inner power.'
Almohada looked at the mask. As he put it on, he looked at the Machoke basking in his victory. 'Ash, get the bell ready.'
"Uhh, hey!" Ash walked up to the man and referee. "I-Is the open challenge still up?"
"Sure, son!" McPersonguy huffed. "I mean, we already beat the champ here. What's one more fight for this here old ring?"
"And if we win?" When both of them turned back, Ash had a look in his eyes that neither could look away from, one that held an almost hypnotic hold over them. "If we win, can you let the place stay?"
The moment passed though as the man wearing a ten-gallon hat shook his head and laughed. "Alright, why not? I ain't an unfair man. If you and your last wrestler can beat my up-and-coming champ, I won't force yall to move."
"Thank you, sir." Ash smiled before turning to the referee. The masked man gave one nod of quiet thanks before calling out a new challenger.
El Almohada went into the ring, his heart pounding louder than any cheers he heard over the times he's watched the ring from afar. His opponent looked ready to turn his body into playdough, and only the fighting type would have fun doing so.
Yet, El Almohada knew that this time, he could not lose. He wouldn't let other people fall into despair with the arena leaving his home. The Hypnosis Pokemon looked back at Ash, knowing that at least he was not alone.
Time stood still as both Pokemon took to their corners.
"Just so you know, kid," McPersonGuy tipped his hat upward and looked to Ash. "The Choke over there has trained himself against all his weak matchups. Flying and psychic moves don't do squat against that tough boy."
Ash silently thought that wouldn't be a problem: El Almohada couldn't use psychic moves in the first place.
The bell rang, and the one known as The Choke rushed forward with speed no one expected from the bulky fighting type.
El Almohada stood his ground and thought to himself, (Come now, inner power! It is time to come out and be outer power as weELLLL!?)
Ash winced as The Choke's starting move was to El Almohada up, grab him, and flip several times back into the air before slamming the psychic type to the ground with an even worse Supplex than what Astro did to him.
However, even after the move, El Almohada refused to get knocked out this time. Although his body felt like fire and was barely responsive, El Almohada rose from the pain—
"Dodge!" Ash's warning was excellent, but the Drowzee could not move fast enough even if he was at full capacity. The teen could only wince again before El Almohada got subject to more powerful submission moves that he doubted his own Pokemon could take on.
"Come on! What was that inner power that you saw in—" The teen trailed off after looking at Bellossom. The old grass type was snoring while standing up. "Please don't fall asleep!" Ash's eyes widened.
Sleep?
Ash's mind flashed backed to those strange moments when El Almohada went asleep. He sensed a spike of psychic energy each time that he did. He also remembered the words Bellossom said about the psychic type.
-Then maybe we should find that nice mon again with the sleeping powers.
Ash, hoping against all odds that this wouldn't be a mistake, shouted faster than he ever did before. "Almohada, go to sleep! Use Rest!"
After getting up the 4th time in less than five minutes, the psychic looked confused for one half-second before trusting Ash and letting his body fall asleep. Psychic energy started to heal the wounds of the Hypnosis Pokemon.
Yet, The Choke didn't hesitate to move to perform another Submission move on the sleeping Psychic.
Ash had to believe that this next move had to exist within this Pokemon for the Bellossom to believe in El Almohada so much. "Use Sleep Talk!"
Although snoring, El Almohada's eyes snapped open with purple lights. With a speed that he never showed, El Almohada rolled under the legs of the Machoke.
Understandably, the entire arena aside from Ash and the Bellossom was speechless at the sudden change.
'Now you got it, sonny,' The old Bellossom managed to say in her sleep with a smile. 'We're in for a treat.'
Ash gripped his fist before punching the air, "Alright, El Almohada, keep using Sleep Talk!"
They watched in awe as El Almohada moved with grace the Pokemon was never known for before. If only El Almohada was awake to see the crowd's reaction. Before they felt nothing but pity for the guy, but now? All of them had shock on their faces that slowly turned into realization.
And realization started to turn into hope.
El Almohada moved like Astro did, light on his feet to avoid the fast punches of the Machoke.
"El... Almo... hada..."
Then, he avoided the last punch by throwing his whole body and landing on all fours before taking a stance that mirrored the proud Prince Nidorino. Ash was pretty sure that El Almohada moving with great speed to ram into the fighting-type's stomach was not a normal thing for the psychic.
"El Almohada."
The psychic changed stances again. But this time, he started to dance not unlike a certain apple-lover among Ash's Pokemon. It was amazing to see that even though Machoke threw attack after attack, it felt more like the opponent was missing on purpose rather than dodging his attacks.
"El Almohada!"
As if sensing a weakness in his opponent, Almohada summoned a Reflect barrier behind him before he backflipped and landed on top of the psychic wall. Ash and everyone else watched as El Almohada summoned more and more barriers that condensed and formed into brilliant psychic wings behind the Hypnosis Pokemon.
"El Almo~ha~da~! El Almo~ha~da~! El Almo~ha~da~!" The crowd soon erupted into cheers and chants the psychic's chosen name.
With a dive that left some people speechless, El Almohada used his barriers to crash down on Machoke with all the force of a tractor.
But El Almohada wasn't finished. He quickly entrapped the Machoke in barriers of Reflect, trapping the fighting type before he went in for the pin.
"UNO!" The referee shouted as the sleeping Pokemon pinned down the fighting type.
"DOS!" The Choke tried to fight back, making the pin wiggle, but not enough to free himself.
"TRES!" The referee whistled and rang the bell, signaling the new victor.
"We have a new winner! EEELLLLLLL AAALLLLMMMOOOHADA!"
If the cheers normally could silence geysers, the audience was so loud that a volcano could erupt, and no one would ever notice. El Almohada gasped into waking up, seeing himself on top of the downed fighting type.
'Oooh. I had the strangest dream...' He looked down. 'Wait, what happened!?' To say El Almohada was confused would be an understatement. However, his eyes widened as he saw then received the championship belt that he so desired.
'Ash!' The teenager turned around to see his Pokemon, all wearing strange clothes.
Astro, wearing what looked to be a black hat that allowed his ears to poke out while he wore a black cape with orange trimmings, pointed to the ring. 'Old Sage Bellossom asked us to put on costumes to help out El Almohada! We're here too—wait. Is it over already?' The young fighting type went slack.
'Aww! I liked wearing this costume!' Jigglypuff moaned as he played with the nightgown and cap he wore.
'I say we keep this! This cloak matches my brilliance!' Prince Nidorino wore what looked like a detective trench coat and hat that looked a little too big for him.
Notus concurred. The Spearow wore what looked like an aviator vest with googles.
Ash would have to ask the people about it later. But he did like the costumes his Pokemon had.
It gave the feeling of his Pokemon united.
After being allowed to keep the clothes as a thank you for keeping the Lucha Arena in the local's hands, Ash turned to El Almohada, who held the belt with disbelief.
"Congrats on achieving your dream, El Almohada!" Ash felt happy for the guy; they all did.
However, why did it look like the psychic was unhappy?
'Senior Ash,' The look on the Pokemon's face seemed lost. 'W-What do I do now?'
They all stared at him.
'All my life I have dreamed of winning the championship belt, to earn the respect and cheers of the people. And now? I have earned them at last... but now I do not know what to do with the rest of my life?' He looked at the reflection of his face on the belt before looking back to Ash. 'What do I do now?'
The small question shook the teen to his core. It was almost unfair how such a simple question seemed to shake his worldview. he started to think about his own goals. What is there after attaining his dream? Even if he were to become a Pokemon Master, what would he do after?
'How about,' Astro's voice snapped Ash out of his stupor. 'You come with us! I wanna learn more about Luchadors!'
Hearing about it, El Almohada started to smile. He gets to travel with people that liked him before he became the Lucha Champion? Then again, if it was anything like today, he might get hurt more often than he would like.
But a small price to pay to travel with friends as genuine as this.
'Very well! I, The Great El Almohada, will journey with you noble warriors in your epic quest!'
'Yaaayyy! New friend!' Mr. Puff yelled before getting close and giving a great big hug on—why does this feel familiar?
Crack!
'¡Ay Dios mío! Me duele la espalda!' The psychic screamed before Astro, Notus, and Prince Nidorino ran up to pry the hugger off the panicking psychic type.
On the other hand, Ash kept thinking about Drowzee's question. What would he do if he even got and achieved his dream? He also thought back to when Sabrina asked for his reason for wanting to be a Pokemon Master.
Why did he want to be a Pokemon Master? And if he did achieve it, what would he do next?
All Ash wanted was to chase his dreams, so why were such innocuous questions giving him such grief? Why did it feel like everything was questioning him?
... His friends were right, maybe he wasn't cut out for this complicated stuff.
Well, for now, he'll have to put it aside again. He really hoped he didn't hear a spine pop from his new Pokemon.
Finally, Professor Oak thought, a quiet and peaceful day. Most of Ash's sent Pokemon were quiet.
So today was the perfect day to eat that cupcake he had been saving for days. It was imported from Kalos and was a delicacy of its kind. As Professor Oak put the delectable down during the downing duration, he realized he didn't get a kitchen knife. But that was no problem for him as he left quickly and came back to—an old, wrinkly Bellossom eating his cupcake.
'These berries taste better than I remember them.' The Bellossom sounded nostalgic.
Sometimes, Professor Oak hated how he could now understand Pokemon because of Ash's Clefairys. Thinking of the boy, this new Pokemon's apperance had Ash's influence written all over it.
"Please don't tell me Ash sent you here?" Despite how much he tried to restrain himself, Professor Oak couldn't help but feel a groan coming up to his throat.
'Ask? Ask what?' The little Bellossom trembled in her old body while trying to point her ear closer to the famous researcher.
Professor Oak raised his brow. "Wait, you don't know Ash?"
'Ooohhh! Ash, what a sweet human he was, helping me get home. Dear me, did he clean the place? It's brighter than I remember.' The Bellossom looked around.
"Umm, miss? T-This isn't your home." Professor Oak tried to say.
'What's that, sonny? You have boring moans? Well, you whippersnappers these days~!' She waved her walking stick with all the speed of a Slugma. 'Sit down, sonny, while I tell you a story from my younger days~.
Professor Oak sighed before he leaned into his desk.
He was really looking forward to that cupcake.
[Author notes]
Man, what is it with me and silly old people? Last Chapter was a human and this chapter was Bellossom (That may or may not be magical).
It's been almost a year since I've updated this story. But I haven't given up on it yet. And it's doing pretty well. Nearly 400 follows within 17-ish chapters?
So a couple of notes: I've been wanting to give the guys names for a while, but I didn't really know how to until this chapter.
-Next, after playing Pokemon Unite a lot, I've decided I'm going to give Ash's Pokemon Costumes. Jigglypuff (Mr. Puff) and Riolu (Astro) are easy enough to imagine since they have neat costumes as of right now. (BUT ARE SUPER EXPENSIVE! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THAT GAME!)
Spearow (Notus) has the Talon Flame gear, while I gave Prince Nidorino the Garchomp detective costume. It's more fun seeing everyone style themselves in costumes, and I thought it would be cool to imagine Team Luckless being more expressive.
-Man, a lot can happen since this last update. Ash officially has a Dragonite and a Riolu that eventually became a Mega Lucario. This latest season is turning out to be Ash's most stacked team ever in the series.
I also have some announcements. Recommendations for other fics.
I've been doing a lot of Yugioh GX recently. I got interested in that fandom after rediscovering my love for the series. And I've gotten into a Yugioh Discord too, so I promised to help recommend some other people's fics too.
As such, aside from my Yugioh Fic, which is on my account here in fanfiction, I would like to suggest some other stories too, if you're willing to read them. I thank you if you do and reading this far in the first place.
Here's a list.
-(Romadrox8975) Yugioh Arc V Lost Pendelum
-(Witchymagnolia) Citrus (This Author also helped me gave me a fanart that I use as an icon now. So I'd like to return the favor and would appreciate you giving this author a chance at their works.)
-(And me!) Tag Force: Heroes and Villains. (I put a lot of work into this story, so it would be cool if anyone here would like to give this one a read.)
And with that, I've said all that I've need to say. Hopefully, the next chapter won't come out in another year. Thank you all for reading this far. Stay safe, and we'll see you soon!