SZ: Hey guys. We….I….I...don't have anything to say really. GT?
GT: *appears in a plume of smoke, dressed as a ninja in dark blue*
SZ: Hmm...oh! Well..we're close to Cross Tag Battle's release date.
GT: *still unnoticed, approaches the ropes for the curtains*
SZ: gonna preorder it before it comes o-what's that noise?
GT: *hides behind a potted tree*
SZ:...*shrugs*oh well. On with the story. We don-ok seriously, where is he? GT?! Where are you?!
GT: *puts a sign on the curtains reading 'We do not own anyone but our OCs. Nintendo and Game Freak own Pokemon while Arc System Works owns Blazblue. PS: I preordered Spyro ReIgnited. Very excited'. Hides behind the tree once more while pulling the rope, sending the curtains down*
Entry 033: Hello. Mai Natsume reporting yet again. We...had a rather interesting day...no no. More like stressful. You see, we were heading to Fuschia City, and were about to take the Bike Path...but we didn't have bikes. Furthermore, due to some needed supplies-and a buffet-, we were low on cash and only had enough for three two-seater bikes...and there are eight of us. Luckily, Nurse Joy was willing to help us out, in exchange for carrying some medicine to a sick Pokemon in the Pokemon Center on the other side of the bridge. Seemed simple enough...at least, until Tsubaki collapsed.
It turns out that what we all thought was Tsubaki having a bit of an off day, what with her not really eating anything at breakfast and her spacing out, was not exactly that. It turns out that it was her appendix and she needed surgery to get it removed. Lucky for us, Kajun has two Psychic-Types with Teleport on the ready. Kajun went with Tsubaki to the hospital once Nurse Joy called the hospital on the other side of the bridge, but Tsubaki asked Luca to stay behind to help get the medicine to the Pokemon. ...Even when she's sick, Tsubaki's thinking about others.
Once we were ready, we made our way through the bridge, hurrying as fast as possible to the otherside. Luca stayed with Ash in the basket on his bike, keeping the medicine close to him. He was the one out of all of us that wanted to get to the other side as fast as possible, but we still had to stop to get a drink. Biking ten miles is a pain! And just we were leaving, we encountered a Bike gang...correction. A BICYCLE gang...I...I...what? *inhales deeply and exhales slowly* Alternate world, Mai...alternate world. The leader sent out a Golem and challenged us to a battle, so Ash first sent out Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur ended up in a big pickle with how strong Golem was and was going to switch him with Charmander when Luca came to fight instead, having given the medicine to Pikachu. Luca made swift work of Golem and then this girl in the gang sent out a Cloyster. Misty decided to tag in and sent out Sta...well...Psyduck came out instead of Staryu.
It was, uh...Right...I think Noel felt really bad for Misty, so she tagged in and one-shotted the Cloyster with Umi. That is one dang strong Water-Type...and she was even using a Dragon-Type move so it didn't have a normal boost to the attack like normal. Guess all the Training Schedules Kajun and Tsubaki have been having us go through is doing some good. And, of course, what else could go wrong on a stressful time...then the arrival of Team Rocket on unicycles, performing their motto. Dammit, has it been that long already?! Oh...and apparently they were former Bike...excuse me, BICYCLE gang members...still can't get over that. There was going to be a bigger fight now that they convinced the bikers to join Team Rocket when sirens went off. Oh thank god that Officer Jenny arrived and scared them off! But then we had to explain why we were there.
She was gonna give us an escort, but an accident down the road needed her there. Plus it was about to storm out, so...things weren't looking good. But Ash and Luca were both determined to get that medicine to the Pokemon Center on the other side of the bridge. Of course, when we were getting close, who else show up but Team Rocket. And, well, I gotta admit...in that storm with their Pokemon out like they were...it was kinda intimidating. Aside from Pikachu, Cherry, Berry, and Luca, we wouldn't have enough time to get anyone else out and they even threatened to attack us the moment one of our Pokemon tried anything. After that, well...I think Luca had a bit of a mental break for a few moments based on how Meowth noticed he was repeating Tsubaki's name. And then they insinuated that Tsubaki would abandon Luca and the rest of us! Their Hitmonlee must have added something to it because whatever it was added with what Meowth added in was the straw that broke the camel's back...or in this case, broke the mental restraint on Luca's evolution.
I've seen evolution before what with Butterfree, Needles, and Umi, but...just whoa. I mean, he turned from this little adorable puppy-like Pokemon into a badass jackal with telepathy! And I'm not exaggerating either. Luca...he….I...woah! He had us go on ahead while he went to town on them! I think I was still hearing Luca roaring over the storm as we neared a bridge that was rising up due to a boat. Ahem...a-anyway, we were almost there, but the bridge was raised up...so Makoto did the most reckless thing possible..she jumped over! Ash kept going and jumped over, but he started to fall...until Makoto, spinning her tail like a propeller, grabbed the bike and threw him to the other side! She felt that later… We had to wait until the bridge went down to continue and when we finally got to the Pokemon Center, Ash was outside with Pikachu, having just delivered the medicine, and well...they just saw Raikou! This is getting insane! First Ho-Oh and his Rainbow Wing, then Entei, then Noel and Suicune with a Shaymin, and now Raikou?! What is going on with that trio! A...Are they following us?!
*sighs* S-Sorry...needed to vent there. After Ash told us that, Kajun arrived and told us Tsubaki would be okay. Turns out that the medical technology they've got here...is pretty darn advanced, even for where we're from. I mean, Tsubaki was all set to go and was discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health in just a day from a big treatment that has a longer recovery period back home! Now I'm wondering if we could find some blueprints to the medical tech here to bring home...Eh, it probably needs something a Pokemon can lose without concern to fully use. And then...Luca arrived. Everyone...Right...we were all afraid now. Kajun went into full blown Science Mode upon seeing him and learning he knows telepathy now! We spent nearly an entire night trying to snap her out of it and leave the poor guy alone wherever he hid himself!
*sighs* Well...here's hoping things go well now that we're nearing Fuschia City.
"...Where exactly is this Gym anyway?"
"We really should've asked Red while we were in Saffron," Tsubaki sighed.
"Right..because he failed to mention that it was in the middle of FOREST RIDDLED MOUNTAINS!" Makoto complained, "...The tree part I'm not complaining about. It's the fact at how hidden the gym is...which I will complement on a bit, but still!"
"Brock, I know you can't really do spoilers on Types for Gyms, but do you happen to know anything about Koga?" Mai asked.
"Well, he's a bit of a quiet man," Brock noted, "He always puts up videos of Gym Battles with Trainers that he notes have potential, but not those who he feels are far too arrogant."
"..Anything on what types he uses?"
"Like Mai said, I'm not going to spoil the Typing. It's a bit on an unspoken rule between Gym Leaders," Brock replied.
"Right…" Makoto slumped before her stomach grumbled, "Ah...Think we can stop for a break?"
"There's a spring up ahead," Kajun noted, looking at the map.
"YES!" Makoto whooped.
"Mmm…" Misty muttered, sitting on a rock as Psyduck stared at her, "Honestly, Psyduck…."
"What happened now?" Makoto asked.
"He got into cold water, which makes headaches even worse," Misty explained before an idea popped into her head, "Hey Makoto...how about a trade? Booster for Psyduck?"
"Huh? Why? Aren't you….you don't want to deal with Psyduck, do you?"
"...No…." Misty slumped, "...Oh! Noel, how about trading Umi to me for Psyduck?!"
"Eh?! N-No thank you, Misty!" Noel replied, hugging Umi as the Milotic finished eating.
"...Brock? Vulpix f-"
"Nope," Brock replied, currently brushing his Vulpix' fur.
"...Mai? Maybe Aqua for Psy…"
"Bui…" said Buizel growled, a glint in her visible eye.
"Nevermind," Misty squeaked, hiding behind Makoto.
"Why are you so bent on trading Psyduck, Misty?" Mai raised a brow.
"...Be...because...because just looking at him is giving me a headache!" Misty snapped.
"Psy?" Psyduck tilted his head.
"Psyduck can be a bit of a handful, but they get better with ti-" Kajun began.
"EMOL!"
"Psy?" Psyduck blinked, wearing Cherry's glasses with one of the lenses missing.
"Psyduck, I told you not to….why do I bother?" Misty groaned.
"Emolga…" Cherry growled, cheeks lit up with electricity.
"Duck?" Psyduck tilted his head, causing the other lense to pop out.
"EMOLGA!" Cherry screeched.
*BZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!*
"Not just...a headache now…" Misty groaned as everyone aside from Pikachu, Berry, and an irate Cherry twitched on the floor.
"...Psy?" Psyduck blinked.
"...Okay...maybe Psyduck will take a bit longer to handle…" Kajun groaned.
'(Try a whole lot…)' Zorua, taking the guise of a Spearow, deadpanned as he watched from a tree branch.
"Veno…" Zorua looked to his left see a purple bug-like Pokemon covered in purple fur, a red nose with two tiny fangs beneath, and large red bug eyes watching them as well, "Nat."
Zorua raised a brow at the Venonat.
"Emol~" Cherry sniffled, hugging her broken sunglasses up to Makoto with large tears in her eyes.
"Oh, there-there, Cherry," Makoto assured, "We'll get you some new lenses for those when we get to the city. Promise."
"Emol~"
"...I think it may be best to keep Psyduck away from Cherry for a while…" Tsubaki suggested, noting the Emolga shooting a dirty glare at Psyduck's Pokeball, even giving a growl.
"If I can get Psyduck to stay in his Pokeball…" Misty sighed.
"My suggestion? Psyduck tape," Makoto giggled.
*CLONG~!*
"Emol! Emol-mo-em-ga!" Cherry ranted as her tail stopped using Iron Tail as steam came off the large bump on Makoto's noggin.
"Ow~Okay, okay...no more Psyduck jokes for now…" Makoto groaned.
"I think Cherry's had enough of that Pokemon for today," Mai sweatdropped.
"Cha…" Pikachu sighed before looking ahead, "Pi?"
"Something up, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"Pika-pi, pi-pikachu-cha," Pikachu replied while pointing ahead, seeing a large Japanese clan complex on the other side of a deep canyon...with a log sliced in two acting as a bridge.
"...Well...that's big…" Mai noted, "Right, Tsuba...Tsubaki?"
Tsubaki said nothing as she looked on at the complex, stars in her eyes.
"...She's not going Science Mode too, is sh-" Ash began in a worried tone.
"Such….such...such detail!" Tsubaki exclaimed as she shot before the group, "I need a closer look!"
"Tsubaki's kind of a bit of a...nutter...when it comes to the older times," Makoto explained as Ash, Misty, and Brock slowly looked at the others.
"Makoto and I found out how bad it was when we had to give a report on the Sengoku...she had us stay up all night for three days straight to make sure everything in the report was perfect…" Noel groaned.
"So...many...meals...wasted~" Makoto whined.
"...It wasn't that bad, was it?" Mai blinked.
"Mai...it was almost as bad as Kajun's Science Mode!" Makoto exclaimed.
"...Okay, we're going to need Hikari and have her use Hypnosis then," Mai sweated a little.
'(Well that was...weird. I thought with having a Riolu, she'd be the most sane of them,)' Zorua thought, 'flying' along the branches in his illusion after them, '(Guess not.)'
After getting across the log 'bridge'-taking a few moments after convincing Ash that they wouldn't fall off...which was believable given their record with wooden bridges over deep areas-, they soon arrived at the structure. Tsubaki was carefully looking over the walls while Izayoi floated around her, Soren sniffed about as Astrea was riding on Soren's back sound asleep, and Luca was trying to keep up with Tsubaki's speech on the kind of style the structure had...and was just ending up with a headache from all the information.
"Oh...such detail...such..so much history in these walls…" Tsubaki whispered.
"Uh...Tsubaki?" Ash asked.
"Not now, Ash. I'm researching," Tsubaki waved off as she looked around, "...Scratch that. Make sure to take note of everything you see in here."
"Huh?!"
"She's in a big study mood…" Makoto gulped before bringing her tail in front of her, "Cherry, Berry, if she gets a maniacal gleam in her eyes, zap her."
"Chi/Mol!"
"Oh nonsense. I…" Tsubaki began when she put her hand on a part of the wall, nearly tripping as it began to rotate, "Gh?!"
"A secret passage?" Kajun pondered.
"Secret passage...oh! Like what shinobi used for missions!" Tsubaki beamed as she examined it, "Oh this is so exciting~"
"Okaaay...Tsubaki's starting to creep me out a bit…" Misty muttered.
"It's just starting," Makoto shivered as Noel hugged her, both shivering.
"I'm scared," Noel whimpered.
"M...maybe if w-" Mai began as she stepped back, only to get shocked by something, "GAH~! Pikachu, why~!?"
"Pi?"
"Mai, Pikachu's on my hat," Ash noted.
"...But...then what…?" Mai began.
"Mai….step...away...slowly…" Kajun advised.
"Hmm?"
"Voltorb!"
"?!" Mai slowly looked down to see what appeared to be a Pokeball big enough to reach her knees in height...with a pair of eyes on the red half, "Oh...this is not good, is it?"
"No...that's a Voltorb...very tempermental Pokemon known to self-destruct."
"...Self...destruct?"
"Vol…" Voltorb began to shine/
"RUN!"
*BOOM!*
"Ow…" Mai groaned as the group laid on the floor, covered in dust and soot.
"...I see...in place of smoke bombs and mines, Voltrb are used a-" Tsubaki began.
"NOT NOW!" everyone barked.
"Venonat."
"Huh?" Misty looked up-being flat on her back-before her eyes widened and her face paled.
"Veno-veno-nat?" the purple bug Pokemon tilted its head.
"BUG~!-!-!" Misty screamed, jumping up before hiding behind Makoto with Noel.
"...What the…?" Makoto blinked as she looked at the purple bug, "Uh...Ash, Kajun, Poke info please?"
=Venonat, the Insect Pokemon. Originally known by ancient Kantonians and Jhotonians as 'Kongpang,' Venonat is said to have evolved with a coat of thin, stiff hair that covers its entire body for protection along with a poison it secretes when it feels it is in danger. It possesses large eyes that never fail to spot even miniscule prey. This is due to the fact that its big eyes are actually clusters of tiny eyes. Its eyes also function as radar units. It catches and eats small bugs that hide in darkness=
"What's it doing here?" Brock pondered.
"I'm not sure…" Kajun replied.
"..Oh! A scout!" Tsubaki realized, earning a look from the others, "Usually a ninja clan or lord would send a scout out if anything suspicious was spotted within the area."
"Really?" Mai pondered.
"Ah! Wait!" Ash yelped as Venonat began to run off into the building, "Where's the owner of this place?!"
"A-actually, let's just ignore it, Ash," Misty suggested in a nervous tone.
"Mmm-hmm!" Noel whimpered in agreement.
"No way! Not until we…!" Ash began as he chased after Venonat, turning the corner before he ran into something invisible facefirst, "?!"
"Eh?" Makoto blinked as the others ran over to him, "Uh...what just happened?"
"...Hmm…" Tsubaki pondered as she 'tapped' the air a bit, earning a knock in return, "...I knew it. An 'invisible' wall set up to trap intruders."
"An invisible wall?" Misty repeated as Ash fell onto his back.
"It seems to be made of a Light Screen," Kajun noted, tapping on the wall with the back of her knuckles.
"Most likely set up by Venonat," Tsubaki guessed.
"Come on...let's see if we can back…" Brock began as Ash got up...only to slam face first into another invisible wall, "...track."
"And like that, we're trapped," Mai gulped.
"...Brock, next time we're in a Pokemon Center, we may need to look up videos on Pokemon using Brick Break to start training some of the Pokemon we have in using it," Kajun noted.
"Agreed," Brock nodded.
"Ugh...there's gotta be someway out of here…" Ash grunted as he stood up, rubbing his sore face before looking at a nearby wall, "Maybe we can climb out the win-"
"Spear~"
"Gh?!" Ash tensed as he slowly looked up the wooden barred window, seeing a Spearow flying outside, "Oh crud…"
Spearow rolled his eyes a bit before squeezing right through the bars, popping a few of its bones a bit as it shifted into a familiar black-fox like Pokemon.
"Zoru…"
"A Zorua?" Noel blinked as Ash and Pikachu sighed in relief that it wasn't an actual Spearow.
"...Hold on…" Makoto began as she looked down, a slight annoyed frown on her face, "I think this is the same one that pranked us a few weeks ago."
"Zorua…" Zorua snickered a bit before using one of his hind legs to kick the wall, causing it to fall over to reveal the outside...and the large cliff the mansion was on.
"Of course! A Zorua is perfect for this place!" Tsubaki exclaimed with glee, scooping up the fox and cuddling it, "They're known for illusions and trickery!"
"Zoru?" Zorua blinked.
"You're just the perfect Pokemon we need to get out of this trap!" Tsubaki continued, looking down at the fox in her arms, "...I think you'll be a perfect choice for my team!"
"Zoru!?"
"Hold it, Tsubaki," Kajun spoke up, earning the redhead's attention, "That's not fair."
"Eh? H-"
"Because I want to catch it," Kajun finished, a glint in her eye as she held up a Dusk Ball, "I've been meaning to study about Zorua and their evolution Zoroark."
"Zor?!"
"Veno-nat."
"?!" everyone turned to see Venonat standing behind them beside a partially-opened revolving wall.
"There you are!" Ash snapped as he ran after Venonat, the wall closing behind him, "Now where did you g-WOAH!"
*THUNKTHUNKTHUNKTHUNK!*
"Ashton!" Kajun gasped, dropping the Dusk Ball and shoved the door open, revealing an empty room, "?! Ashton, wh-"
"Help me~" Ash's voice begged, making Kajun look over to see him embedded in the wall, held up by a series of shuriken.
Tsubaki pulled one out, "Ah...A Manji Shuriken. Its hooked ends can act as a climbing tool or how to help hold up traps."
"Tsubaki, not now," Makoto frowned as the others ran in, "Alright, who…"
Laughter soon echoed within the room as a shadowed figure landed before them. The figure was a young woman around Tsubaki's age. She wore a form-hugging black outfit with purple bracers on her lower arms and lower legs with a pink ring at the two ends. She had a pink band around her waist while she sported a long red scarf around her neck, covering the lower half of her face while exposing her short purple hair pulled into a spiky bun on the back of her head and her violet eyes.
"Born in darkness, living in darkness, such is the fate of a ninja," the woman informed.
"But don't you think that pink and red is a little bright for a ninja?" Misty asked.
"Actually, it would be fitting more for a kunoichi. They're meant to hide in plain sight," Tsubaki noted as Kajun continued to pull the Shuriken out of the wall.
"Correct," the kunoichi nodded before smirking a bit under her scarf, "Tell me, did your friend there enjoying my Ame no Shuriken treatment?"
"You weren't cut, were you?" Kajun asked as she looked over the places where the shuriken had been caught in Ash's clothes once she got him down.
"No, I'm okay," Ash replied.
"Are you seriously ignoring me?!" the kunoichi exclaimed in shock before regaining her composure, "No matter. You idiots are at fault for intruding on our training ground."
"Training ground?" Mai repeated.
"Correct," she nodded as Venonat poked out from behind her, "Venonat informed me that a bunch of bakas intruded in here."
"Ba-what?" Ash blinked.
"It means idiot."
"...Hey wait! We're not idiots!"
"And yet your friend fell for the Voltorb trap and ran into my sneak attack like rookie genin," the kunoichi countered, "And you are forbidden from leaving this mansion unless you battle me. One on One."
"Venonat," Venonat spoke up, peeking out from behind the kunoichi.
"Oh that thing again…" Ash growled before Kajun turned around to look at the kunoichi.
"I accept your challenge to battle," Kajun informed, a sharp look in her eyes, "Bring out your Pokemon of choice."
"Fine! I ch-!" Ash began.
"Ashton, I said I accepted her challenge," Kajun informed, her eyes focused on the kunoichi.
"Hoo boy…" Makoto blinked twice, "I don't think I've seen Kajun this upset outside of that one time back in gym class."
"Why? What happened?" Misty asked.
"You don't wanna know."
"I'll be going with Venonat of course," the kunoichi informed as Venonat moved to before her.
"Very well. Koko, research," Kajun informed as she tossed out Koko's ball and sent her out.
"Espeon!" Koko rowled as she landed.
"A Psychic Type..not a bad choice…" the kunoichi admitted, "However, while Venonat is part poison, he is still a Bug Type, and Psychic are weak to Bug. Venonat, Signal Beam."
"Veno…!"
"Koko, Method 1," Kajun ordered.
"Esp," Koko replied.
"Nat!" Venonat fired a spiraling red and green beam at Koko, who vanished with a Teleport, "Veno?"
"Behind you!" the kunoichi called before Koko's glowing tail slammed into Venonat, sending him bouncing across the room before being blasted with a Psybeam in midair.
"Our training schedule doesn't solely include Psychic-Type moves," Kajun informed.
"Stun Spore!"
"Psychic, Koko," Kajun counted.
"Esp~"
Koko's eyes turned blue as Venonat sprayed a wave of yellow spores at her. The spores glowed before shooting right back at Venonat, engulfing the bug in its own attack and causing sparks to come off Venonat.
"Considering his typing, Venonat isn't immune to Stun Spore," Kajun noted, "Please try a little harder. Koko and I have barely even begun with basic exercising."
"B...barely…?!" the kunoichi began before quickly regaining her composure once more, "Noted…"
"Koko hasn't been hit once," Ash noted.
"Kajun's already done it," Mai noted, earning Ash's attention, "The moment she got angry, she's already Sherlock Scanned the whole area and them."
"Sherlock Scan?"
"Named after Sherlock Holmes," Mai explained, "It's when you observe and deduce things almost instantly."
"Oh…"
'Hmm...her hand is twitching...she's going to attempt a Double Team into Infestation, followed by Stun Spore into a Sludge Bomb,' Kajun thought as she observed the kunoichi a bit, "Koko, Method 4."
"Venonat, Double Team into Infestation."
"Veno…" Venonat began.
Koko's gem flashed before releasing a blue sphere of light into the air. It popped and black clouds formed before it began raining on the two Pokemon.
"Rain Dance!" Misty realized before Venonat split into clones.
Koko glanced just once to see that the one to her far right was the only one having the rain bounce off while it passed through the others. Before Venonat could do anything else, Koko spun and fired a pink beam at the bug. Once it hit, Venonat groaned as it stumbled around with its antennae spiraled around.
"Rain Dance exposed the real Venonat and then she fired off a Confuse Ray to stop its Infestation," Brock noted before a Shadow Ball blew up in Venonat's face, "And then it ends with a Shadow Ball learned as an Eevee."
"St….stop that…"
"Hmm?"
"Stop that! Stop...predicting my moves!" the kunoichi snapped before quickly calming down, "I-I mean...desist these cowardly actions this instant."
"...Oh, I get it now…" Makoto grinned, "She's trying to act serious, but in truth...she's a little goober. You're a little goober, aren't ya?"
"I am not! I-I mean...No. Silence..." she began before a Manji Shuriken made of water stabbed into the ground between Koko and Venonat, "?!"
"You still have much to learn, Janine," a voice spoke before everyone turned to see a Greninja standing on the ceiling, wearing a dark-blue sash around its waist...baring the official Pokemon League Gym symbol on it.
"Did that Greninja just talk?" Tsubaki asked before a figure fell down behind Greninja and landed on their feet in a crouch.
The figure was an older man with short black/violet hair. Like the kunoichi, he wore a scarf but it was dark-blue much like his ninja-like outfit. It was barely visible, but some of them could make out light chainmail beneath the clothing.
"Ack! F-Father…" the kunoichi, Janine, gulped.
"A ninja must always remain calm in the face of battle, no matter the situation," the ninja informed as his Greninja landed beside him, "Even predicting your opponent's moves before they can make them is a part of becoming a ninja. Predictions lead to clouded judgement, further exposing your moves to the opponent. She was able to predict you were about to go into Double Team and use Infestation, followed by a Stun Spore into Sludge Bomb. Most likely from just how your hand twitched."
"?!"
"If you are to inherit this Gym one day, you must hone your skills further and become a true shinobi."
"...O...of course…father," Janine nodded as she got down on one knee.
"Grenin," Greninja's tongue shot out and picked up Venonat before bringing it over, allowing Greninja to pull out a yellow bottle from its sash and start spraying it on the bug.
"That symbol...Are you...Koga, Gym Leader of Fuschia City?" Ash asked.
"I am," Koga replied as he frowned at them, "Though my daughter is correct that you are intruders on our personal training grounds."
"...Well to be fair, we were kinda trying to find the Gym," Makoto explained before muttering a bit, "Especially in this freakin' dense forest.".
"We're really sorry, sir! Please don't enact that Article on me!" Ash pleaded, bowing repeatedly, "We got lost and were just trying to find your Gym!"
"Hm?"
"I...think he means what happened at the Celadon City Gym, father," Janine explained.
"Ah yes. The controversy on two of the Gym Trainers performing Article 37-E without the Gym Leader's presence due to Trainers that they considered were insulting Erika," Koga recalled before looking at Ash, "It is fine. I will not enact Article 37-E considering the situation. My Gym is to the west of here just beside the Pokemon Center for Fuschia City."
"...I told you we should've gone straight for the city," Misty frowned at Makoto.
"What? I thought it'd be in the forest," Makoto argued.
"Who'd heard of a city being in the forest?!"
"There is one in Hoenn," Janine brought up, "Home to the Fl-"
"Janine," Koga spoke, making her shut up, before he looked at them, "Have you all come for a Badge? It surprises me that you would, Brock."
"You know him, Brock?" Ash asked.
"No, but I guess you take note of things, huh?" Brock asked.
"Information is power," Koga replied.
"Then you probably already know that Ash is the only one taking the Pokemon League Challenge in our group," Brock noted.
"Indeed. The videos shared by your father on your battle, Lily of Cerulean when her sister whom you travel with did battle with him using a Three Badge Team, Lt. Surge's surprisingly praising commentary over his video of his battle against him, Erika's battle against his Charmander, Primeape, and Pikachu, and...then there was Sabrina…"
"Wait. That's the kid that made the Psychic-Type Gym do a temporary shut down for the rest of the season and had the Fighting-Type Gym get back up to replace her Gym?" Janine gawked.
"And kicked out the sexist-temporary Gym Leader there with my help," Makoto added.
"Yes! Girl power f-!" Janine excitedly began before Koga frowned at her, "...A-ahem! W..well done you two."
"Come," Koga ordered as he turned to a wall, Greninja sliding it open to reveal a large outdoor gym field, "Considering you are already here, then we will do battle for the Soul Badge here."
"The Soul Badge?"
"Gren," Greninja spoke as he pulled out a scroll, opening it to reveal a pink heart-shaped badge.
"Should you best two of my father's Pokemon, it is yours," Janine stated.
"However, you will not be going up against my Five Badge team," Koga informed, "Considering your battle at Cerulean despite its interruption, it shows your Pokemon are much stronger than a normal equivalent can handle. Therefore, you will be handling my Seven Badge Team."
"?!" Ash tensed a bit at that.
"Do you or do you not accept, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town?"
"...I do," Ash nodded, a determined look on his face.
"Good. You will have ten minutes to prepare the two Pokemon you will do battle with," Koga informed, glancing over at Kajun, "It would normally be a thirty minute period, but your friend has a Pokemon that knows Teleport and has performed exchanges for your Team at times."
"Ahh...Alright then," Ash nodded.
"Mm…" Team Rocket whimpered as they cautiously followed Kira down a metal hall, the trio staying far away from her as possible without it being considered rude.
"It has been a while. Has it not, Meowth?"
"Y-Right...It has been," Meowth noted, "H-how was d-da trip, Lady Velvet?"
"It was quite nice. If you are still on base later, I'm hoping we can trade stories," Velvet noted with a small smile.
"...W-well…"
"I bought your favorite specially imported catnip for you to enjoy…"
"Eh? R-Really? Ya didn't have ta do dat…"
"Oh, nonsense. Given how stressed you look, you deserve it."
Kira approached a pair of doors and slammed them open.
"Ack!" Karai fell over...wearing a maid's outfit.
"..."
"Heh…heh heh….h-hey, sis…" Karai laughed nervously, "J...just cleaning the place up for ya…"
"P1 Grand Prix betting against Aorio again, Karai?" Kira frowned.
"...Yes," Karai slumped while muttering, "No good Primeape…"
"S-Sister!" Kira looked to see Aoiro approach, Serenade beside her, "W...we thought you wouldn't be back until another year."
"Yes, it would have been that," Kira informed before pulling out the folder, "But given the latest report from father, I decided to end it early...shame. The food in Kalos was tres magnifique."
"I brought some souvenirs for everyone later," Velvet smiled.
"Velvet...what have I said about spoiling your fellow Rocket members?" Kira frowned.
"Well, they all tend to seem quite stressed at times…" Velvet admitted, poking her fingers together.
"...Noted."
"...S-sister…." Aoiro spoke up, "C-care to explain why those three are with you?"
"Hmm?" Kira raised a brow before looking at Team Rocket, who tensed up at her gaze, "I encountered them when I got off the ship I was travelling on...subpar steak, but admittedly good Tiramisu." her eyes narrowed, "Furthermore, they are the team that tracks down one of the current developing thorns in our operations, so they have the first-hand reports I require."
"Don't hurt us!" Team Rocket freaked as they hugged each other in fear.
'Maybe I should give the catnip to Meowth sooner…' Velvet thought to herself.
"Reports? O-On what?" Karai asked.
"Mu," Kira replied, showing Noel's photo.
"?! "the two younger sisters' eyes widened.
"...So you noticed it too…" Kira frowned a bit.
'Mu?' Team Rocket thought in confusion.
"You three wait outside…" Kira ordered the trio, "Velvet, soundproof the doors and air ducts. I don't want anyone to listen in on this."
"Yes, Lady Kira," Velvet curtsied before tapping her staff on the floor, sending the trio out with a yelp before a crash was heard just before the doors closed shut and glowed blue for a moment, "Oh! S-Sorry!"
"...Now…" Kira began as she put the picture of Noel on a nearby table, "Would you mind explaining to me how this is possible?"
"...We...We don't know," Karai replied, "We...We were all there when…when that thing took her…"
"Then how is she here?!" Kira snapped, "We all saw it happen...FATHER saw it happen…" she paused, "Has he even noticed the picture? Have you even told him about this?"
"...No…" Karai whispered.
"We're...afraid he'll revert back to that state if he found out…" Aoiro added, "We've told the information squads to never report her to father either for that reason."
"...I see," Kira noted as she took a deep breath, "Have...either of you manage to encounter her?"
"...Sis did," Karai pointed at Aoiro, "During the Saffron City Incident, she teamed up with those kids 'Mu' is with so they could get me and the others back from Sabrina."
"...What was her behavior? How did she act?"
"..."
"...Answer me, Aoiro," Kira frowned as she reached for a PokeBall, "Do not make me call out my Volcarona, Mars."
"...She's shy, timid, caring for her Pokemon…" Aoiro paused before shuddering a bit, "Makes food only Poison-Types and a friend of hers eats."
"We're still trying to recreate her pancake recipe since it seems Poison-types are highly attracted to her cooking and it's even caused a mutation in a Beedrill to give it a new appearance and the ability Corrosion," Serenade noted to just Velvet.
"...Anything else?"
"...She was able to injure Serenade while she had Protect up."
"Her Pokemon?"
"No...just her," Serenade admitted, "She...She can summon transforming guns...named Bolverk."
"?! Bolverk?" Kira repeated, "Wasn't that her Arcanine's name?"
"...?!" Aoiro and Karai's eyes widened at that.
"R-Right! I remember him!" Karai recalled, "He…" she frowned, "That thing tore him into two…even..."
"It...it could be that she named them after him on a subconscious level?"
"...Any idea where they'll be heading?" Kira asked.
"Considering the last known location...they would probably be in the vicinity of Fuschia City at this time," Karai replied, "Why?"
"...We're heading out. All three of us."
"?!"
"If it truly is her…" Kira paused as she looked at a shadowed picture in the room, "I need to make sure for myself. And we're bringing those three along with us since I still need their reports of their first hand experience with them."
'I got a bad feeling…' Team Rocket thought on the other side of the doors, covered in trash.
"This Gym Battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Koga of the Fuschia City Gym will now commence!" Janine declared, "This will be a two-on-two Pokemon Battle with only the Challenger being allowed to switch Pokemon!"
"Think Ash is good and ready?" Makoto asked as the others stood on the sidelines.
"Considering Koga is going to use a team meant for Trainers with Seven Badges while Ash has only five? He better be ready," Brock noted in concern.
"Come, Salazzle!" Koga ordered, tossing a dark-blue/black Pokeball out.
It bounced off the ground once before releasing a plume of smoke. The smoke dispersed to reveal a dark grey Pokémon resembling a salamander or a lizard. It had a thin dark grey body with a purple underside. Its head was dark grey with purple eyes and slit pupils. There were several tooth-like protrusions on the lower jaw. Its body had three pink markings resembling flames, one on the chest, which split to form a 'U' shaped design, and the other two on the abdomen, forming two 'f'-shaped patterns. Salazzle had a long, dark grey tail with a pink underside and two protrusions came out from the tail's base. It had hands and feet with five digits each that were long and thin.
=Salazzle, the Toxic Lizard Pokemon, and the evolved form of Salandit. For some reason, only females have been found. Salazzle lives deep in caves and creates a reverse harem of male Salandit that it lives with through the utilization of special pheromones inside of its poisonous gas. It can be diluted to be used in the production of luscious perfumes= Dexter informed.
"Oh...So he uses Poison-Types…" Noel noted before sighing in relief, "For a minute, I thought he was a Bug-Type Gym Leader…"
"Are we gonna ignore the fact that Dexter said Salazzle more or less makes reverse harems?" Makoto brought up.
"Choose your Pokemon," Koga called out to Ash.
"And just like that, I'm ignored…" Makoto deadpanned.
"Okay…" Ash nodded before pulling out a Net Ball, "Squirtle, I choose you!"
"Squirtle~!" the Water-Type declared as he came out, adjusting his sunglasses a little in his pose.
"Heh...Salazzle~" Salazzle chuckled with a light purr.
"Begin the battle!" Janine declared.
"Squirtle, Water Gun!" Ash called.
"Squir-TLE!" Squirtle shouted, firing a blast of water at Salazzle, who sidestepped with grace, "?!"
"Salazzle, Attract."
"?! Squirtle, Withdraw quick and go into a Rapid Spin!"
Salazzle gave a wink, sending out a chain of floating hearts at Squirtle. The Tiny Turtle Pokemon withdrew into his shell before spinning rapidly. The hearts bounced off the spinning shell before Squirtle finished spinning and popped back out.
"(Heh...that all you got sw-)" Squirtle began before looking up, seeing Salazzle inches above him, "?!"
"Salazzle...Toxic Rage."
Salazzle's eyes flashed as the flame-like markings on her glowed. She opened her mouth and released a purple energy in the form of a dragon from it. Squirtle cried out as the attack hit and sent him bouncing backwards. Squirtle got up and started to cough, a purple blush forming on his face.
"That was a Dragon Rage mixed with Toxic," Kajun realized, "Ashton, Squirtle's been poisoned!"
"Crud. Squirtle, u-!"
"Salazzle, Venoshock."
The flame markings glowed once more on her body. Salazzle flicked her tail at Squirtle and a barrage of poisonous needles erupted from the tip and slammed into Squirtle, sending him into the air for a bit before crashing onto his face.
"Ahh! Squirtle!" Ash freaked.
"Quiet like the shadow, swift and fierce like the wind. That is the true nature of a ninja…" Koga stated as Salazzle moved back in front of him, "It is always best to pay attention to your surroundings, otherwise your Pokemon will end up defeated before a command can be given."
"When a Pokemon is poisoned, Venoshock will deal twice as much damage," Brock noted with a frown.
"Doesn't help that Salazzle are extremely fast," Kajun added.
"Come on, Squirtle! Get up!" Ash encouraged as Squirtle managed to push himself up...and a lens popped out of his sunglasses.
"SQUIRT?!" Squirtle freaked.
"(Oh? Did your little glasses break?)" Salazzle teased, standing over the tiny turtle, before Squirtle grabbed her tail, "?"
"(These...were a gift,)" Squirtle growled before popping into his shell while pulling in her tail still in hand.
"Salazzle, ve…" Koga began before Squirtle shot into a Rapid Spin, causing Salazzle to be pulled with him until he shot a burst of water onto the floor to go up into the air and slammed her down on the now wet ground.
"Was that Seismic Toss Squirtle Style?" Makoto blinked twice.
"I...think it was…" Mai slowly blinked.
"(For the glasses!)" Cherry cheered.
Squirtle popped out of his shell before snorting in deeply and spat out a glob of purple gunk that hissed upon hitting the grass. Salazzle got up, growling while a bit of mud was on her.
"Squirtle, shoot the ground with more water!" Ash called.
Squirtle inhaled deeply before firing a stream of water at the ground, sending up more mud at Salazzle, who yelped and moved to the side before getting hit with some that Squirtle made when he turned his spray towards her direction as she jumped.
"(Ugh! My skin! This is not beauty shop mud!)" Salazzle exclaimed before growling, "(You're becoming Squirtle Soup for my dinner tonight!)"
"Salazzle, Will-O-Wisp and Nasty Plot," Koga commanded.
"...Not good," Tsubaki whispered, earning the others attention, "Kajun, What other stat is Salazzle best at?"
"Special Attack," Kajun replied as Salazzle spun her tail around and a ring of ghostly blue flames appeared.
"I thought so...Nasty Plot doubles a Pokemon's Special Attack," Tsubaki noted
"And considering we saw Squirtle hacked out the poison, Will-O-Wisp will give Squirtle a Burn Status if it hits," Brock observed as the ring of flames shot out at Squirtle's neck.
"Ah! Squirtle, Burst Shell!" Ash called.
Squirtle ducked into his shell before rocketing up into the air through a Water Gun fired from the hole where his tail was pulled in through. The ring missed him just barely and hit the muddy ground, fizzling out upon contact.
"...not bad...but a fatal mistake," Koga gave an almost invisible grin, "Salazzle, Sludge and Heat Wave on the field."
Salazzle inhaled before releasing a wave of purple gunk onto the field. She inhaled once more before releasing a wave of visible red heat onto the gunk. It fizzled into a purple gas that Squirtle fell through on his way down. He bounced once before popped out, looking a bit pale and had a purple tinge on his face once again.
"Oh not again…" Ash whispered in worry.
"It's like he has control of the entire field itself…" Tsubaki noted
"End it Salazzle...Venoshock."
"Rrr…" Ash grit his teeth before recalling what happened, "Squirtle, I think Luca told me earlier that Salazzle thinks your sunglasses are a ripoff of anime!"
"?!"
"Wait, what?" Luca blinked.
Squirtle's tail shined silver before he swung it around and batted away the Venoshock, "(She said what?)"
"(Come to think of it, they do look like the glasses a silly human wore on a show Lady Janine watches when she thinks we're not looking. By chance are you a fan?)" Salazzle pondered.
Krabby paused in his game of tag with Eevee, "(Huh...Someone's a goner. Must've mocked the glasses...)"
"(I didn't ripoff anime…)" Squirtle growled before inhaling deeply before firing a large burst of water in the shape of a cannonball, "(Anime ripped off ME!)"
"SA-" Salazzle began before the blast collided with her, making a large explosion of water.
"(Was...was that Hydro Cannon?)" Aqua gawked.
"I think it was," Luca replied with a nod.
"(...Okay, I am so glad that none of my girls mocked the glasses they wore)," Aqua cringed.
Salazzle gurgled up some water as she twitched on the muddy ground, swirls in her eyes. Squirtle chuckled before falling over after a last cough, swirls in his own eyes.
"?!"
"...S...Salazzle...and Squirtle are unable to battle…" Janine whispered with wide eyes, "The first round is a d-draw!"
"Hm...Quite impressive," Koga noted as he returned Salazzle before tossing Ash a Pecha Berry, "I was not expecting a Squirtle of all Pokemon to know a move that it should only learn as a Blastoise."
'Neither was I, but I'm glad he did…' Ash thought as he picked up Squirtle and brought him over to Tsubaki.
"Squirtle may have shot his throat with that move," Kajun noted as Ash went back to his side of the field, "Once we're done here, we should make way to the Pokemon Center immediately."
"They're both down to their last Pokemon then," Brock noted.
"Come, Muk!" Koga ordered, throwing a Pokeball out before it opened, releasing a multicolored Muk with white stone-like teeth in its mouth.
"MUK!" the Pokemon roared.
"Gah~! The smell's back!" Makoto freaked as she covered her nose, "Wait...why's it multi-colored?" she sniffed, "And no stink?"
"This is a Muk from the Alola Region," Koga informed.
"Interesting…" Kajun noted, "Should anyone use a Psychic Type, his Muk would be perfect to throw them off considering the Alolan variant is Poison/Dark."
=Muk, the Sludge Pokemon, and the evolved form of Grimer. This Muk is of the Alolan variety. Its vivid coloration is a result of the garbage it eats, which causes chemical changes in its body; these same chemical changes are thought to be the cause of its unending hunger. Its body contains over a hundred different kinds of poisons. The white stones growing out of its body are actually crystallized poisonous shards composed of all those poisons=
"Cal out your last Pokemon," Koga ordered.
"Right," Ash nodded before tossing a Dusk Ball into the air, "Gengar, I choose you!"
The ball bounced twice before opening up. Shadows spilled out of the ball before they reformed in Pikachu's shadow. Gengar gave an eerie screech of a cackle.
"PIKA~!" Pikachu yelped, jumping up in the air before landing on his face.
"Gen-gen-gen-gen-gen…" Gengar chuckled before seeing the marble Pikachu found in the Pokemon Tower fall out, "Gar?" he slurped up the marble and it appeared on the center of his forehead, "Gen~"
"Gengar, stop scaring Pikachu! We have a battle!" Ash called.
"Gengar!" Gengar replied with a salute and floated over to the field...before pulling out a pair of boxing gloves and began to make punches at Muk's direction.
"Aw c'mon, Gengar…" Ash sighed as he facepalmed, trying hard to not chuckle.
"B...begin..ahem! Begin the battle!" Janine shouted, trying her best to not laugh.
"Toxic!" Koga ordered.
"Muuuk!" Muk roared as it released a multicolored cloud of gas at Gengar.
"Gen-gen?" Gengar raised a brow before it washed over him...causing him to collapse onto his knees, groaning as purple bubbles began to float out of the top of his head once it dissipated.
"Gengar, no!"
"Wait...but Gengar's part Poison," Makoto blinked, "How'd he get poisoned?"
Ash pulled out Dexter, "What's up with that Muk?"
=This Muk knows the Ability Corrosion through the Ability Power of Alchemy= Dexter informed =Power of Alchemy is a recently discovered Ability found in the Alolan Grimer and Muk. It copies the Ability of a Pokemon that fainted recently in a battle=
"...Oh no..." Tsubaki gasped as her eyes widened, "Koga's previous Pokemon was Salazzle…"
"Which, in turn, has Corrosion…" Kajun finished.
"Come on, Gengar, you can do it!" Ash encouraged.
"Gen…" Gengar groaned.
"Noellie's gonna make a big buffet if ya win, Gengar!" Makoto called.
"Zu/Drill/Eee~!" Mai, Zubat, and Needles cheered, the latter two popping out of their balls at the mention of Noel's food.
"?!" Gengar gasped before jumping up and held up his dukes while hopping in pace, "Gen-gar-gar-gen!"
"Muk, Crunch."
"Gengar, Sucker Punch!" Ash called.
Muk roared as he charged at Gengar, the poison shards shuffling around into a row of teeth glowing with a dark energy. He bit down hard...only to freeze and groaned while covering his mouth. Janine leaned a bit before gawking at the anvil where Gengar had been, some of Muk's 'teeth' stuck in it.
"Is that the anvil from the forge?!" Janine gawked as Gengar popped out of Muk's shadow and delivered a pair of punches covered in a ghostly energy before going back in Muk's shadow while coughing a bit from the poison.
"Not bad...but the battle is far from over," Koga stated as Muk slightly shook off the attack, Muk,, Minimize."
"Minimize?" Noel repeated before Muk's body condensed to a quarter of its original size, "Oh! H-he shrank!"
"Like Double Team, Minimize increases a Pokemon's evasion, making them nearly impossible to hit," Kajun explained.
"Shadow Blitz, Gengar!" Ash called.
A Shadow Ball erupted from Ash's shadow. Muk made his body go flat on the ground to dodge it before shooting to the side to avoid one coming from Koga's shadow. Muk became a multicolored blur as he began to dodge a barrage of Shadow Balls from all the shadows in the area until Gengar finally emerged from Ash's shadow, rasping and gasping for air while as white as a sheet while stumbling onto the field.
"(That...that's one...mean...dodgy sludy...guy…)" Gengar groaned before covering his mouth and pulled a trashcan out of Ash's shadow to empty into.
"Aw come on! How'd he get the kitchen trashcan?" Janine threw her hands up.
"(TRASH!)" Muk exclaimed, shooting over and smacking Gengar into the air before turning the can over and proceeded to eat the contents, "(Ah~Good snack in the middle of a battle.)"
Gengar crashed into the ground before Koga. He groaned as he got up, finally managing to hack up a glob of poison as his white coloring turned back to normal.
"Did he...just hack up the Toxic?" Mai slowly blinked.
"Come to think of it, Squirtle did as well," Kajun noted.
"Oh! La-san told me about this! Sometimes when a Pokemon really cares a lot for their Trainer, they can sometimes break out of a status effect on their own," Noel explained.
"Really?"
"She's had it happened with a lot of her Pokemon before, especially after she recently fed them some PokeBeans," Noel nodded.
"Muk, Toxic once more!" Koga ordered.
"Ah! Gengar!" Ash gasped, "Dodge it quick!"
"Gen!" Gengar yelped as he flattened himself into the floor, causing the gas cloud to fly over him, "Phew…"
"MUK!" Muk roared as he was upon Gengar, 'teeth' glowing with a dark aura once more.
"Gar?!" Gengar panicked, barely going into Muk's shadow before he could get bitten and then came out of Ash's shadow, "Phew!"
"Can you keep going, Gengar?" Ash asked, kneeling down to his Ghost-Type.
"Gen…Gar," Gengar replied with a nod after thinking for a moment.
"Okay! Le…" Ash began before noticing the marble in Gengar's forehead, "When did you get that?"
"Gengar," Gengar replied with a shrug, chuckling a bit.
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu barked, shaking a paw at Gengar.
"It kinda looks like…" Ash pondered before looking at his Mega Glove, "...Gengar, do you trust me? I think I've got an idea what that is, but I need you to trust me on it."
"Gengar," Gengar replied with a grin and a thumbs up.
"Okay!" Ash grinned as Gengar jumped back onto the field.
'The boy's stance has changed. He's feeling confident once more for some reason,' Koga pondered, "You are sure you wish to resume battle? Your Gengar is on its last legs from the Toxic," Koga noted, "Should Muk laid just a single blow, there's more than a large chance for defeat."
"I know...but there's no way me and Gengar are quitting now," Ash stated, a determined look on his face, "My dream is to become a Pokemon Master, and to obtain that dream, I need to enter and win the Pokemon League with my Pokemon and friends by my side...There's no way we're gonna give up now!"
"I wonder what Ashton is…" Kajun began before Ash held up his Mega Glove, "..." she pulled out her Mega Evolution Notebook quickly, clicking her pen's tip out.
Ash put two fingers on the Mega Stone in his glove and four bolts of white lightning shot out of it. Gengar cackled as four orange bolts of lightning shot out of his revealed Gengarite and collided with the four white lightning bolts. For a moment, neither seemed to want to combine before they settled and became a single silver bolt of lightning that was pouring into Gengar.
"Gengar, Mega Evolve!" Ash called.
Gengar's body erupted in power as he began to spin around into a dark-purple tornado. The tornado became crimson in color. After a few moments the spinning stopped, revealing a bulkier Gengar that had sunk halfway into the ground. His arms were much longer and thicker while he now sported a greater number of sharpened spikes along his back with much longer ears that pointed back.
"(Sssssmmmmmmmmokin'~!)" Mega Gengar exclaimed, pulling a hand out of the shadows to reveal it to have four claws to snap them and point at Muk while all three of his eyes were curved into 'smiles.'
'I see...so that's why…' Koga thought, "Muk, do not falter. Minimize!"
"Muk!" Muk roared as he shrank in size.
"(Hmm...a pest problem, huh?)" Gengar noted before pulling out a cartoonishly large hammer and began to laugh like a lunatic.
"MUK?!"
"(Pest Control at your service,)" Mega Gengar greeted in a thick Cockney accent, "(FORE!)"
"..." Muk said nothing before he frantically began to dodge the multiple hammer strikes from Mega Gengar.
"(Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo~! I just loves me some Whack-A-Diglette!)" Mega Gengar cheered before winking at the Readers, "(Even if it's an Alolan Muk.)"
"Wh….what's...going on…?" Misty blinked in utter confusion.
"I'm...not sure," Brock replied.
"Interesting...Could that be a solid construct made from shadows instead of something he just pulled out from the nearby area?" Kajun pondered, scribbling in her Mega Evolution Notebook, "And then there's the third eye...Perhaps enhanced eyesight? Or, perhaps a way to see into the future if it's meant to represent the metaphorical 'third eye?'"
"I dunno...but...snkr! It's...funny…" Makoto snickered at the scene.
"MUK!" Muk roared as he appeared before Mega Gengar.
"(AHHHHHH!)" Mega Gengar screamed, his skull, eyes and tongue sticking out, startling Muk in turn, "(SLIME MONSTER~!)" he whipped out a super soaker twice his size and adopted a heroic voice, "(I shall stop the menace! Eat Dawn Dish Soap-infused water!)"
"(GAH! NOT SOAP!)" Muk freaked as the two resumed their chase, this time with Gengar firing blasts of soapy water at Muk instead of a sledgehammer.
'What is with this new form? His body's movements are completely erratic to the point I can't predict a single move!' Koga thought in surprise.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHHA!" Makoto laughed with a few of the other Pokemon, "Oh...Oh my Arceus! That is hilarious!"
"Th...this won't stop us...Muk, Venom Drench."
"(Uh oh. Outta soap,)" Mega Gengar groaned, pulling the trigger and getting nothing but dust.
Muk turned around while glowing purple. He let out a roar before firing a wave of purple venom at Mega Gengar...who whipped out an umbrella.
"(Well, I must say, dearie,)" Mega Gengar noted in a feminine voice while dressed in a victorian era women's clothes, "(The local weatherman must be feeling quite under the weather if it's raining when it was supposed to be sunny all day.)"
"How's...How's he even doing that…?" Misty asked with a sweatdrop.
"I...don't know…" Brok admitted.
"You're doing great, Gengar! Use Shadow Blitz!"
Once the Venom Drench ended, Gengar threw the umbrella to the side...revealing the buff physique of Mega Gengar in full Rambo gear with plastic machine guns in each hand.
"(A-boom-boom-boom-boom~!)" Mega Gengar sang in a deep voice before pulling the triggers and releasing a machine gun fire of Shadow Balls from both plastic guns.
Muk screamed as he began to try to dodge them all frantically. After several moments, the last was dodged and Muk sighed in relief. He growled at he turned to Mega Gengar...only to see him gone.
"Muk?" Muk raised a brow before he felt plastic on the back of his head, "?!"
"(A-bang-bang-bang-bang~)" Mega Gengar, now dressed as a mafioso, sang in a deep voice before pulling the trigger of the plastic revolver, blowing the upper half of Muk apart.
For a few moments, nothing happened. Then slowly, Muk's blown up upper half reformed. Muk groaned as he swayed back from Mega Gengar.
"(Oh look. I think he wants to communicate…)" Mega Gengar grinned at the readers before pulling out a...small horn with a tag reading 'squeeze me gently' hanging off it?
"What's he doing now?" Tsubaki asked.
"...Hoo boy," Makoto realized before covering her ears, "Those with sensitive ears may want to cover them! NOW!"
"Chi/Mol?!" Berry and Cherry quickly grabbed their ears and pulled them down to cover them tight.
"Pi?" Pikachu blinked.
"(I'm-a go...I'm-a gonna...keep-a on...and…)" Muk slurred before Mega Gengar gently squeezed the horn.
*AWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH~~~~~~~~!-!-!-!*
Muk twitched once. He twitched a second time. After a third twitch, he groaned before sliding down out of the hole in the wall he made on the other side of the field, his eyes replaced with swirls.
"...What...WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Misty exclaimed, her hair blown back.
"WHAT?!" Brock yelled, "I can't hear you!"
"MUK IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!" Janine called, raising an arm towards Ash...who was twitching on the ground with swirls in his eyes, "THE CHALLENGER WINS!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" nearly everyone asked as Mega Gengar chuckled while reverting to normal.
"I SAID THE CHALLENGER WI-"
"WHAT?!"
"I said th-!"
"WHAT?!"
"Oh brother…" Makoto rolled her eyes, "Cherry, Berry, you girls know what to do."
The two Squirrel Pokemon saluted as the pulled out a pair of signs before the group, one showing a 'V' for victory and the other a picture of Ash.
"OH~!"
"Wh...What is that?" Janine asked, blinking a few times with wide eyes as she looked at the censored creation in the large pot Noel was using.
"I'm...still unsure…" Brock answered.
"Oh! It's lo mein!" Noel informed the two, "You see, I wanted it to be as good as normal, but also a bit sweet and sour so I added some chocolates, strawberry powder, a bit of lime juice, and a lot of salt to balance it all out."
"...I...I don't….what?!" Janine exclaimed, "Have you...ever tasted your own food?"
"Oh no. I make it a rule not to."
"..."
"Veno-nat?"
"Eep!" Noel squeaked as she jumped to the side as Venonat looked in the pot at the censored food.
"Ack! Venonat, what are you…" Janine began before Venonat grabbed a fork and pulled some out before eating it, "Venonat?!"
"Wait for it…" Brock held up a hand.
"...Veno~" Venonat began to cry happily.
"What...Is...wha?"
"Noel's cooking is a favorite of Poison-Types from what we can gather," Brock explained, "It's why Needles, the Beedrill that Makoto has, looks so different since she was fed nothing but Noel's cooking since she was a Weedle."
"...wait...really?"
"Drill~"
"?!" Janine tensed once she saw Needles, who was happily joining in the feast, "...I...have several questions."
"We have absolutely no idea how she does the censored part," Brock replied.
"..."
"...you okay?"
"...I...I just need a moment to let this sink in…" Janine sighed.
"You did well today, young Trainer," Koga spoke as he and Ash stood away from the others, "In all honesty, this battle was as difficult for me as a Trainer going for their final Badge a month ago."
"Really?"
"Yes. Her Greninja was as skilled as my own," Koga replied, said Pokemon landing from hanging upside down from the ceiling.
"Your Greninja is one of your Eight Badge Pokemon?" Ash asked.
"Yes. He's the final one that I use in those battles," Koga replied, "The battle was fierce and neither of us could truly give a verbal command to our Pokemon due to it. At times, I couldn't even get a true reading for the battle, much like you and your Gengar when it Mega Evolved." he looked at Greninja, who nodded before pulling out the scroll and unfurled it to reveal the Soul Badge, "In recognition of your victory today, I present to you the Soul Badge. May those who see you with this Badge know you earned it with honor and skill."
"R...right…" Ash nodded as he took the badge, "Just two more...next stop, Cinnabar Island."
"Cinnabar Island? Ah, my apologies then," Koga informed.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Ash asked.
"We are currently dealing with Gyarados sightings near shore, so we have closed the port in Fuschia City," Koga explained.
"What?!" Ash gawked.
"However, there is a ship that goes to Cinnabar Island on the other side of the Raizen Mountain Range," Koga informed, pointing to the east, "If you stay on Route 15, you should arrive to the town in, at least, two weeks."
'The Raizen Mountain Range…' Ash thought, feeling the tiny weight of the Rainbow Wing in his pocket at the mention of that range, "...Alright. Thank you, Koga."
"You may stay here for tonight and in the morning, I can have my Venomoth Teleport you and your friends to Fuschia City to resupply there," Koga informed.
"Sounds like a plan…" Ash nodded.
"Sounds fair," Makoto shrugged, "Though...a nice hot bath would be nice."
"There's a special hot spring for rookies to relax in after a long day of practice," Janine spoke.
"Janine…"
"What? It's the least we can do for what happened...even if they intruded in here."
"Again, by accident," Makoto argued.
"Still intruded."
"Says the goober."
"I am not a goober!" Janine snapped.
"Greninja, 200 flips," Koga stated.
"Oh no," Janine squeaked and began to run when Greninja's tongue shot out and wrapped around her with keeping her arms pinned to her back before the Pokemon walked off in a direction, "Mmm~~"
"...You mentioned something about her inheriting the gym earlier…" Tsubaki spoke up, earning Koga's attention, "Care to explain?"
"It is because this is my last year as a Gym Leader," Koga informed, "That is all I will say."
"Oh...fair enough, I suppose," Tsubaki nodded a bit.
"...Wonder what's keeping them?" Ken wondered as he and La were waiting at the Pokemon Center, "...You think they ended up getting lost?"
"If it wasn't for Takuma finding us, we'd be the ones lost," La reminded before rubbing the side of her head, "Honestly...That was insane, wasn't it?"
"I still have no ideas how you guys got that lost," the taller male trainer spoke up, returning with drinks, "You realize I watched you go in a circle five times." Takuma chuckled, handing the drinks out as he sat down.
"To be fair, we had headaches still from the Kangaskhan Kid and his parents…"
"No kidding. I had to keep La back from those two…'parents'..." Ken added.
"Well, at least it's over now." Takuma chuckled, "Still that was an odd day to be sure. Though I feel like I lost a chance to catch a Kangaskhan...I've always wanted to train one."
"Trust us...if you tried catching one, that Kangaskhan Kid would've hurt you for trying to take one of his 'family'," Ken stated.
"A man can dream…" he chuckled in response, "So...what trouble did you two get into while I was busy?"
"Legendary Pokemon," La replied.
"Ooh~" he smiled, "Like what?"
"Entei...and we learned that those kids we met also encountered Suicune and Raikou...along with a Shaymin with the former," Ken answered.
"Wow...those kids are either blessed with incredible fortune...or have some rather unfortunate luck." Takuma chuckled, "Either or, I bet they will have some amazing adventures." he smiled happily.
The doors to the Center slid open and earned their attention. La smiled upon seeing that it was Ash and the others.
"Man...Not even Saffron could top that," Makoto noted as she stretched a bit, "I'm loving Kanto more and more."
"And the food was top notch, too," Tsubaki added before smiling brightly, "Ah, oh….and so much...history…"
"Hey~!" La waved to them.
"Yo!" Takuma cheered, waving to them as well.
"Oh! Hey guys!" Ash waved as he ran over, "Sorry for being late. We...eh heh."
"Got lost…" Misty muttered, shooting Ash the stink eye.
"We almost got lost as well had it not been for Takuma," La admitted before seeing Luka, "Oh! Congratulations on evolving into a Lucario!"
"Thank you, Miss La," Luka bowed a bit.
"Oh! And he can speak mentally as well."
"Oh...he must be a strong one." Takuma spoke up, "Only Lucario with the highest potential can do that so early."
"Thanks. Let's just say...a certain trio pushed the wrong buttons." Luca frowned.
"...Team Rocket again?" Ken guessed.
"Team Rocket again," Mai sighed.
"I've never heard of such a persistent team before…" Takuma sighed, "Don't they have hobbies or something?"
"So why did you want to see us, La?" Tsubaki asked.
"I wanted to discuss this," La replied as she pulled out an old leather bound book, "I found it in a shop. It talks about a certain story you all should be familiar with by now."
"?! The Ra…" Ash began before La covered his mouth.
"Not out here," La whispered before motioning to a lone table on the far side of the building.
"Eh...I missed out on something big, didn't I?" Takuma blinked.
"Big time..including possibly the complete opposite of Ash here," Ken stated.
"...eh?"
"He believes things like bonds and friendship are worthless, and that power and survival only matters."
"Soka…" he nodded at hearing that while they moved to sit down, "Another lost kid, huh…?" he muttered to himself.
"How is Ventus, by the way, Mai?" La asked.
"Much better," Mai smiled.
"Hmm?" Takuma raised a brow.
"A Rufflet that used to belong to the trainer we talked about...tied him up to a tree to 'get him stronger'...only to end up destroying his Pokeball, dubbed him worthless...and even hit him," Ken frowned.
"..." Takuma shook his head at that, "Try not to bring it up if you can. It might be easier on the little guy. Looking towards a better future is better than looking back on a pain filled past."
"So what did you find in the book?" Brock asked while Mai nodded at Takuma.
"It goes into better detail on the Legend of the Rainbow Hero," La explained as she opened the book, "It's said that the Rainbow Hero is watched over by Ho-Oh's 'children' and tested by each of them if possible."
"Tested?" Takuma and Ash blinked confused.
"...I think she means the enouncters we had with Entei, Raikou, and Suicune," Kajun guessed quietly, "Correct?"
La nodded, "A sign that they believe the one given the Rainbow Wing is meant to be the Rainbow Hero, they will leave a gift. The Fire Stone from Entei that evolved Makoto's Eevee, the Mystic Water from Suicune left for Noel…" she looked over at Ash, "Did Raikou leave anything?"
"Pika!" Pikachu pulled out the ball.
"That's a Light Ball," Kajun noted, "When a Pikachu holds it, it's said their power increases drastically."
"Pi-chu pika pi!" Pikachu explained, earning a nod from La.
"That means all three have performed their tests," La noted, "Have you been checking the Rainbow Wing in the mornings or at sunset?"
"Yeah. It's still pointing at the Raizen Mountains," Ash replied.
"I guess that's your next spot to go." Takuma offered.
"Actually...I was hoping to ask, considering how close the range is, if that I may accompany you there," La asked.
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm hoping to meet Ho-Oh and listen to his side of the legend of how he revived the Legendary Beasts," La explained.
"Oh La, don't think I'm letting you check this out on your own!" Takuma smiled, "This sounds like a real once in a lifetime thing. I'm tagging along!"
"I wouldn't mind joining," Ken added, "A chance to see the Legendary Ho-Oh? Who wouldn't want to see that?"
"Sweet!" Ash beamed a bit.
"Ugh...our poor food budget…" Tsubaki sighed a bit.
"Oh don't worry. We can help with that," Ken assured.
"We can more then pay for our own share." Takuma added, "It'd be rude to tag along and not contribute."
"Of course. I don't mind splitting the bills for resupplying," La assured as she smiled.
"...Oh thank you merciful god and Arceus…" Tsubaki sighed in relief.
"Ah but would you mind if I challenged the gym here first before we head out?" Takuma quickly spoke up. He even clapped his hands together and bowed his head, "Please."
"No problem," Ash grinned, "Man...I can't wait to see G...oop!"
"Don't spoil it, Ash," Brock advised, his hand covering Ash's mouth.
"You've fought Koga already? But his Gym was closed until this morning," La noted.
"Wild adventure?" Takuma asked with a teasing smile.
"You could say that," Misty sighed.
"..."
"...Back to the Gym?"
"Back to the Gym!"
"Oh this is gonna be fun." Takuma laughed happily.
"Zoru?"
"Hmm?" Kajun blinked as she looked down, seeing Zorua looking up at her, "...Oh! It's you again."
"A Zorua?" Ken blinked a bit, "Wow..that's rare here in Kanto."
Zorua snickered at that.
"Did you sneak on one of us to get Teleported?" Kajun asked, kneeling down a bit.
"Zor."
"Uh, La? Luka?" Makoto asked.
"He hid in Brock's bag when he got distracted by trading recipes with Janine since Noel doesn't write her recipes and he tends to make note of everything she uses for when we need to resupply," Luka translated.
"Oh...sneaky little guy."
"Well. he is one of the most clever pokemon out there after all." Takuma chuckled.
"Zoru," Zorua chuckled at that before looking up at Kajun again.
"...I think he's challenging you, Kajun," Misty guessed.
"Hmm?"
Zorua began to speak and Luka translated, "'I have been following you all for the last month or two since we met in that town near the dumb Human-speaking Ghastly lives…' I like you a lot right now."
"Luka," Tsubaki spoke.
"Right, right. 'The orange-haired girl and the blond-haired girl would more likely cuddle me than I'd be comfortable with. The blue-haired one's tongue ability weirds me out. I don't agree with sharing a Trainer with a Fire-Type Vulpix due to an incident with one over a Chesto Berry. The red-haired one was a good choice...then terrified me when she rattled on upon going to the Poison User's domain.'"
Tsubaki had the decency to blush.
"'And while the boy is fun and attracts all kinds of things, I'd rather not stay at wherever he keeps Wild Beast Primeape or that kooky Gengar.'"
"...And me?" Makoto pointed at herself.
"'Your tail is quite fluffy, but I would rather not share with two to three girls, depending on the Flareon being out, since it would feel awkward to me. That and I have a chestnut allergy.'"
"Oh…"
"'In short...I want to go with the smart one. So long as she doesn't do the creepy thing like she was gonna do to the Lucario…'" Luka translated...while moving behind Tsubaki.
"Little guy knows what he wants." Takuma shrugged.
"...What were planning to do to a Lucario?" La asked as she slowly looked at Kajun with wide eyes.
"Oh nothing. Nothing at all…" Kajun assured.
"Word of advice, beware of her Science mode...just trust me…" Makoto whispered to the trio.
"...huh?" they all blinked confused.
"'However...if she wants me to join her...she needs to outrick moi, the Phantom Trickster!'" Luka translated, "...Really? Phantom Trickster?"
"(I like to have a personal flare to my tricks…)" Zorua smirked.
"So a battle of wits then?" Kajun asked, "Very well."
"'Perfect. Then let's meet outside...now.'"
"This is an odd but interesting way to catch a Pokemon…" the older trainers muttered.
"Not the oddest thing we've dealt with," Ash shrugged.
"Alright..who shall I use…?" Kajun pondered to herself as she stood outside, the others standing nearby, "Zorua's a Dark Type, and has proven to be quite the trickster...hmm…" she smirked, "I got it."
"Zor…" Zorua hopped a little in place, ready for a battle.
"Hikari, come out," Kajun called as she let out her Shiny Kirlia.
"Kirli?"
"Hikari, we've been challenged to a battle of wits. Shall we prove him who is better?"
"...Kirlia," Hikari nodded.
"Perfect. Then le-" Kajun began before she and Hikari were suddenly exploded, the smoke dieing down to reveal them covered in flour, "...a flour bomb….clever."
Zorua just smirked as he hopped into a nearby tree.
"Hikari, be ready for anything akin to Gengar's antics," Kajun advised.
"Kirli."
For a few moments, nothing happened. It was broken when Hikari used Confusion to throw a rock at a tree at the same time a pulse of dark energy came out of it, taking the hit for her. Zorua jumped out of the left...and the right sides of the tree to avoid another rock thrown at it.
"Hikari, Magical Leaf!" Kajun ordered.
"Kirlia!" Hikari called out as she spun around in a pirouette, releasing glowing leaves that shot off at both Zorua.
Both yelped as the one on the right was hit...before passing through it and going for the one on the left. Zorua landed and began to run around as fast as he could, trying to stay ahead of the leaves.
"Hikari's not copying Sabrina's Kadabra, is she?" Ash gulped.
"No, that's Magical Leaf. It's the Grass-Type version of Swift, a move that never misses," La explained.
"Pretty useful too, especially against Dark-Type Pokemon like Zorua," Ken added.
"Zor!" Zorua yelped, barely avoiding the leaves before they spun around and came at him again, "Ura?!"
"Perfect. Now…"
"Zoru…" Zorua grinned before a barrier appeared around him, causing the leaves to hit it.
"...Protect...Clever little fox," Kajun frowned a bit.
His paws glowed before he jumped into the air. His form glowed before turning into a black and red drill that went into the ground.
"Did...he just turn into a drill?" Mai blinked.
"Well...Zorua's have been known to transform into anyone and anything," Ken stated,"Some say that they rival that of Ditto."
"So they know Transform?" Brock asked.
"No. It's their Ability that lets them do that," La replied, "With Trainers, a Zorua often uses its Ability to give off the illusion that they're another Pokemon in their team."
"Or another person if they're being playful," Ken added.
"Hikari, Anti-Eevee and Terra Maneuver Delta-1-Gamma," Kajun ordered.
"Kirl…" Kirlia nodded before jumping into the hole...before a large barrage of leaves erupted out of it with Zorua screaming before he erupted out of the ground near Kajun, clutching his behind where some sharp, glowing leaves were stabbing into it.
"Ohh~ That's gotta hurt," Takuma cringed a bit.
"Ashton, Dexter please!" Kajun called.
"Huh? Dexter?" Ash pondered, but tossed it to her anyway.
Kajun smirked before pulling out a Typing Ball and linked it to the PokeDex, "Z-O-R-U-A, Zorua." The ball glowed blue, "Typing Ball, go!"
"Zor?" Zorua blinked, turing at the last second before the Typing Ball smacked him in the face, "?!"
The ball opened up and Zorua turned into a red light surrounded by the letters making up his name. They pulled the light into the ball before it snapped shut. It began to rock once it landed on the ground before it clicked shut.
"Ohh~ a critical throw...perfect," Kajun smiled.
"A critical throw?" Ash repeated.
"Sometimes there's a chance you'll catch the Pokemon after one shake," Ken explained.
Hikari climbed out of the hole Zorua made at the end, "Kirlia?"
"She caught him," Luka confirmed.
"Kirl…" Hikari smiled as Kajun picked up the Typing Ball.
"Hmm...for a name...Houdini."
"Houdini?"
"A famous magician from back home long before we were born," Makoto explained.
"He was also known as a master illusionist," Kajun added, "Much like Zorua's evolution, Zoroark."
"Makes sense," La nodded.
"And with this done, shall we make our way to Koga's Gym? I'm excited to see what he uses for an Eight Badge Challenge," Kajun smiled.
"Oh yes! Let's!" Takuma beamed.
SZ: Well...looks like the group just got bigger for a bit.
GT: Eeyup. Now it's almost time for the Raizen Mountain Range and...Ho-Oh. And congrats to Kajun for now having a Zorua!
SZ: Yup. About time Kajun got herself another Pokemon.
GT: Apologies for no Tager ministory this chapter, folks, but at the moment…*shows a video of the quartet lost once more in Viridian Forest*...yep.
SZ: Mm hmm.
GT: So tune in next time, everyone, when we rearrange episodes to delay the mountain range just a little bit longer. But in the meantime, we are authors, you are readers. So please Read and Review!