Chapter 6: Mysterious Encounter
A/N: Here is a double update to make up for the long wait!
Otherwise enjoy!
After winning his first ever Gym Challenge, Ash and his newly evolved Kirlia were now walking through the forest of Route 5 to see if they can find any new companions to accompany them on their journey, as Kirlia was visibly slowing them while slouching slightly.
"Reil, can we get something to eat? I'm starting to starve." Kirlia voice in a begging tone, as Ash look up at the sky.
"Well, I suppose we can camp out here, it is about to turn dark." Ash said in an agreeing tone, before taking out two Poke Balls.
"Corvisquire, Pawniard, come out!" Ash yelled out, while throwing the two devices.
Both of Ash's Poke Ball soon burst open to reveal the Raven and Sharp Blade Pokémon, as both Pokémon quickly moved towards Ash's location, with the amnesiac Trainer taking out his tent pitching equipment.
"It's about to be dark soon, so we'll need to camp out here for the night. Corvisquire, please help us get some firewood, while Pawniard will help us to take the berries we need." Ash instructed, as the two Pokémon nodded, with Kirlia looking at Ash from his height.
"What about me, Reil?" Kirlia questioned, making Ash chuckle.
"You'll help me prepare the tent, while the rest goes and get the things we need." Ash answered casually.
Corvisquire and Pawniard soon ran in two different directions as Ash managed to pull out the entirety of the tent pitching material with Corvisquire returning with a small batch of firewood every so often before entering the forest once again to collect more, as Pawniard was still scuffing through bushes in search of berries.
It wasn't long until Ash and Kirlia finished setting up the tent as Pawniard finally returned with a handful of Pecha Berry, Leppa Berry, Sitrus Berry and Chesto Berry, before putting them down next the cooking table with the rest of Ash's ingredients, as the young Trainer chuckled at the berries brought back by Pawniard.
"My only guess is that you only brought back the Sitrus, Chesto and Leppa Berry for the curry didn't you?" Ash said with questioned, making Pawniard scratch his head with a small laughter.
"Alright, take a rest while I prepare the curry for the spaghetti." Ash instructed, while putting the spaghetti into a pot of boiling water.
The three Pokémon nodded as they quickly went to sit by the smaller bonfire to heat themselves up from the cold wind, as Ash was preparing to make the curry in order for his Pokémon and himself to enjoy for dinner, and it didn't really take long until Ash had finished making the curry, with the aroma attracting both Pawniard and Corvisquire who quickly went to sit on the table with Kirlia sighing softly while following his friends from behind.
When the curry was done Ash decided to take out the spaghetti before putting it on four plates, while pouring his handmade curry all over it, before putting it onto the table for his Pokémon to enjoy, only to notice that all three of them were already at the table waiting for their food to be served.
"You guys just can't wait for the food to be served, can you?" Ash teased as both Corvisquire and Pawniard were staring at their food with stars for eyes.
"Those two really can't live a day without your curry, they were already sitting here even before it was finished." Kirlia added, as Ash was finally done putting both his own and Kirlia's plate on the table.
"Alright, let's eat." Ash told his Pokémon.
All of his Pokémon soon started to eat their own plate of curry filled spaghetti, with Pawniard and Corvisquire devouring their plates as if they hadn't eaten for days with Ash and Kirlia watching in shock with their own food in their mouth, watching as both Pawniard's and Corvisquire's plate were already half way done, just when Ash and Kirlia had just started to eat their own food.
It didn't take long until they were done with their own food, as Ash and Kirlia were washing the plates with Pawniard slicing apart a few of the firewood Corvisquire had gathered for training, meanwhile the Raven Pokémon were watching the group from a tree, and just when Ash and Kirlia were done keeping away the plates and utensils, the amnesiac Trainer then turn his head to his team.
"Alright guys, let's get some rest!" He called out.
Pawniard quickly stopped his training before running into the tent with Corvisquire landing on top of the entire structure with Ash and Kirlia entering after Pawniard, before turning off the light which was in the tent in order to rest for the night.
As the night progressed, the sleeping Trainer was slightly tossing around in his sleep, as a strange dream was enveloping his mind, making him sweat slightly at the sheer pressure of his strange dream. It was filled with voices he did not recognised or even remember the slightest calling him another name.
"A...sh..." The voices called out.
However, before any of the words could become anymore clearer, Ash soon jolted up from his sleep with cold sweat falling off his head, as he decides to wipe from off, before holding his head as pain quickly enveloped his body, the moment he tried to remember the dream or the voices inside of it.
"What was that? A dream?" He mumbled to himself in question.
Thinking that it was best for him to not think about the dream, as the pain was still unbearable for him to entirely endure, and without waking any of his Pokémon from their slumber, Ash decided to exit his tent to sit on one of the logs there was around the area before looking up at the stars above his head.
"I wonder who I really am? Will there ever be a day I'll remember my name?" Ash mumbled to himself, while thinking about the dream he just had.
Wondering what the dream was all about, Ash quickly rose from the log as he sighed softly, thinking that it was yet of no use to try and remember it, as the pain he had earlier would sooner or later tear his head apart, before turning around only to notice that his surroundings were gone, while the area was covered by nothing but a thick fog.
"What the? What's going on?" He burped out in wonder and shock, before looking left and right for any signs of his Pokémon.
The moment Ash took a single step forward, a black silhouette quickly leaped pass him from the right, making him turn around as another silhouette leaped by him from the left, shocking the young Trainer as Ash was now anxious about what was going on, as both silhouette leaped pass his head, before landing in front and behind of the amnesiac Trainer, making Ash look at the Pokémon in front of him first.
In front of him was a large cyan coloured lupine-like Pokémon with visible battle scars on the side of its body, it also had a long pink braid going across the side of its body, as its yellow eyes shone brightly within the mist of thick fog, as the unknown Pokémon stood in front of Ash in a stationary manner, only for the young Trainer to turn around to see what was behind him.
Sure enough, it was a Pokémon similar to the one in front of him, instead the one behind him was coloured magenta and had a much more bulkier fur build compares to the one in front that somewhat resembles a small magenta shield, as its yellow eyes shone in the thick fog, making Ash feel uneasy at the two Pokémon, before taking out his Rotom Phone to scan the Pokémon in front of him.
"No Pokémon data found, this Pokémon does not seem to have been registered or discovered." His Rotom Phone burped out loudly.
Ash was visibly shocked at the fact that both Pokémon in front and behind him were not discovered, as the cyan coloured Pokémon soon took two steps forward to closer the Ash who stepped back in response, as it soon stopped after taking two steps, confusing the young Trainer as of what was going on.
Soon enough, the magenta coloured Pokémon then took two steps forward closer to him from behind, making Ash move the side where both Pokémon were in view to him, as the cyan coloured Pokémon soon join the magenta coloured Pokémon, as both unknown Pokémon looked at Ash.
"Awooooo!" Both Pokémon then let out a loud howl, causing the fog to thicken covering Ash's view.
"What is it that you want?!" Ash demanded, as both Pokémon were barely visible at this point.
As the silhouettes of the two Pokémon were still in sight, Ash tried to reach forward to reach them as both Pokémon ran by Ash at high speed, charging straight into the thicken fog, at the same time releasing a bright shine of light on their wake of movement, blinding Ash forcing him to cover his eyes.
An unknown amount of time soon passed, as Ash opened his eyes, finding himself getting knocked out by the blinding light as he got up, from his spot, wondering what the event with the two unknown Pokémon was all about.
"What was that? A Pokémon?" He asked in question before feeling something hard within the palms of his hand.
Taking the time to check what was in the palm of his hand, Ash could see that he was holding a small yellow crown-like object, where a shiny rainbow rock was embedded in the center of the crown, making Ash blink twice as he stared at the rock in his hands.
"Did they give me this rock? And if I remember correctly, it's called a King's Rock." Ash mumbled to himself, before taking a closer look at the King's Rock.
"Why would they give me this for? It's not like I have any Pokémon that can use it to evolve." He added, getting extremely confused as of why he would get such an item.
Figuring that it was better if he don't think about it for now, Ash decided to keep the King's Rock in his bag, as the bushes to his right started to rustle catching his attention, as Pawniard burst out of the bushes, before jumping at him in joy.
"Niard! Pawniard!" Pawniard screeched out, as Kirlia and Corvisquire soon burst out of the bushes.
"We finally found you! Did you know how worried we are when we found you missing?" Kirlia barked in both worry and anger, making Ash chuckle a little in apology.
"Sorry for making you worry, but as you can see, I'm still fine." He apologised before getting up on his feet.
The group soon made their way back to their campsite, as Ash decides to not think about the events last night, as he packed everything into his bag and camping equipment bag, before counting the amount of berries he had leftover, in order to make sure that he had enough to make curry for the next time he had to camp out.
"It seems like we better restock in Hulbury, otherwise we're going to have nothing to eat the next time we camp out in the open." Ash burped out, before keeping the Berry Pouch in his bag.
"Well, let's continue our journey to Hulbury. Corvisquire and Pawniard, return." Ash told his team, before recalling both the Raven and Shark Blade Pokémon, as he kept their Poke Balls into his pocket.
After keeping his Poke Ball, Ash and Kirlia soon got out of the forest to access the main road of Route 5 in other to make their way towards Hulbury, but as Ash got closer and closer to what seems to be a long and never ending stone bridge pass a small Pokémon Nursery, and the closer to got to the bridge, Ash could see two weird man wearing a punk-like attire with face paint on their faces, while holding up sone sort of "Y" shaped horn.
"Who are they suppose to be? A band or something?" Ash questioned with confusion, as Kirlia looked as stun as he was.
"If they are really from a band, I rather say they belong to the alley then a stage." The Emotion Pokémon burped out on sarcasm.
Deciding to watch from a distance, Ash could see that the two man were blocking off people from crossing the bridge, with a few Gym Challengers amongst them and one of them being oddly familiar to him, as one of the man stared at boy in front of him.
"Yo! You Gym Challengers aren't getting pass, so turn your tail and go the other way!" He screamed through his makeshift horn, infuriating the person in front of him.
"Oh yeah? You won't be so noisy once I beat you to a pulp!" Kole roared in anger, obviously not haply at being obstructed from his Gym Challenge.
As Ash watch Kole argue with the two man in front of him, the young Trainer decides to join him in dealing with the two people dressed in a punk-like attire, as he turn his head to see Kole.
"Didn't expect to see you here, Kole. What took you so long to get here?" Ash remarked with a smile, making Kole turn his head.
"Oh, it's you. Why I took so long isn't any of your business, but this is the only one time I'm going to ask for your help in dealing with this two clowns." He retorted, making Ash chuckle.
"You don't have to tell me twice or even ask me, since we're getting obstructed, it's only right if we remove them." The amnesiac Trainer said with a smile.
Ash and Kole soon took out a Poke Ball each, as they enlarges the device in their hands before tossing it into the skies as the containment device burst open. In front of Kole was a green mantis-like Pokémon with wings as it landed on the ground getting ready for battle, only for Ash's Poke Ball to burst open to reveal his Pawniard, who hadn't got a chance to battle in the Turffield Gym.
"So, you wanna do this the hard way? Bring it!" One of the man screamed as both Trainer tossed out their own individual Nest Ball.
From the right in front of Pawniard came a large orange-maroon fox-like Pokémon with a black fur on its face that looked like a mask that covers its eyes, as the newly known Pokémon to Ash was joined by a purple feline Pokémon with pink marking over its eyes that resembles a mask, as both Trainer took out their own individual Rotom Phone.
"Thievul, the Fox Pokémon, Dark Type. Thievul will put a scent on a potential target to stalk, and when the victim is asleep, Thievul will quietly steal food and eggs from its victim, Thievul's are also known to compete with Liepard over territory." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
"Liepard, the Cruel Pokémon, Dark Type. Liepard's well-developed muscles allows it to strike foes quietly from behind, and with those quiet movement, Liepard can appear and disappear without a sound, it is also known to compete with Thievul over territory." Kole's Rotom Phone detailed out.
After learning information about both Pokémon, Ash and Kole soon kept their Rotom Phone into their pockets, as one of the man let out their hand to issue a command for one of the Pokémon to follow.
"Thievul, Fire Fang on Scyther!" One of the man ordered.
Thievul's mouth soon blazed up in flames, as the Fox Pokémon charged at Scythe with high speed, only for Ash to look at Pawniard, worrying that Scythe wouldn't have enough time to evade Thievul's swift attack.
"Block it with Iron Defense!" He commanded.
Pawniard quickly moved in front of Scyther, as his body turned into steel, taking on the hit from Thievul's Fire Fang, while holding down the larger Fox Pokémon, with Kole looking at the Mantis Pokémon.
"Air Slash!" He ordered.
Scyther's sickle-like hand soon shone in a bright light, as it fired two blades of wind at Thievul launching the Fox Pokémon backwards beside Liepard, as the Gym Challenger turn his head to face Ash, after noticing what he had done just now.
"Are you crazy? Telling your Pawniard to take a Supper Effective hit like that." Kole barked out, making Ash look at him.
"Pawniard's not as weak as you think, or rather should I say, Pawniard's not one to abandon a challenge." Ash retorted, making Pawniard raise his hand in agreement to his words.
"I seriously will not get you." Kole sighed loudly in mild frustration.
"Maybe one day you will." Ash responded with a cheeky smirk.
All while the two of them were chatting, Liepard leaped into the air with a claw of ghostly energy extending out from its right paw, before diving down upon Pawniard, only for Kole to shift his eye to see the incoming Cruel Pokémon.
"Scyther, block it with X-Scissor!" Kole instructed.
"Scy!" Scyther roared out, before moving in front of Pawniard.
After doing so, the Mantis Pokémon's hands soon took up a green glow, as it lifted its hands up with block against Liepard's attack, as Ash looked at Pawniard, taking it as a hint that Kole was returning the favour from earlier.
"Metal Claw!" He told the Sharp Blade Pokémon.
The Dark and Steel soon ran forward before jumping off Scyther's shoulder witb his hand glowing in a white glow, as the Sharp Blade Pokémon struck down upon Liepard's back in an "X" formation, sending the Dark Type Pokémon flying back to its Trainer, mildly injured by its opponent as Pawniard landed on the ground.
"For a pair that's in mild disagreement, you two sure work well together." Kirlia told the two boys, as Kole scoffed softly with Ash laughing loudly.
"Liepard, use Iron Tail!"
"Thievul, Crunch!"
The pair of Dark Type Pokémon soon charged at their opponent's, with Liepard's tail turning into steel as it leaped into the air before bringing it down upon Scyther, whereas Thievul charged at Pawniard with a pair of large white jaws formed in front of its mouth, ready to bite down on the Sharp Blade Pokémon.
As they watch their opponent get closer and closer, Ash and Kole glanced at one another before looking at their own individual Pokémon, in order to issue them a command to counter their respective opponent that was charging towards them.
"Scyther, use X-Scissor on Thievul!" Kole instructed.
"Pawniard, use Fury Cutter on Liepard!" Ash ordered.
Pawniard's hands soon took up a green glow as he ran pass Scyther totally ignoring the incoming Thievul, as the Mantis Pokémon charged at the Fox Pokémon with its hands glowing in a green light, switching places with Pawniard.
The moment Liepard brought down its tail, Pawniard simply used his right hand to hit it to the side, before ramming a second hit from his left hand into Liepard's underbelly, successfully sending the Cruel Pokémon back to its Trainer. Meanwhile, Scyther managed to swiftly evade Thievul's attack by flying into the air, before slashing down upon the Fox Pokémon in an "X" formation, making the Dark Type Pokémon flying back to its Trainer.
Soon enough after both Pokémon were brought flying back to their Trainers, both Thievul and Liepard were unconscious in their battle with both Pawniard and Scyther, as the two man quickly recalled their Pokémon back into their respective Nest Ball.
"This isn't what we mean by hard way!" One of them said anxiously, as the other looked just as anxious.
"Team Yell's yelling always gets louder, but never gets softer when defeated." He yelled loudly as both man looked at one another.
"But this time, let's make a run and look for something else to do!" This made both Team Yell member run the opposite direction at the speed of light.
After watching both Team Yell member run off, both Ash and Kole recalled their respective Pokémon, as they kept their Poke Ball into their pockets, with Kole turning his head to Ash looking at him with a face filled with mild gratitude.
"I guess I'll thank you this one time, but the next time we're battling." Kole shot at Ash, who nodded his head in return.
"Sure, I'll take you on anytime, just be sure you're ready." He said with a cheeky grin.
Kole stared at him for a few seconds before turning to walk down the stone bridge leading to Hulbury, with Ash following down the bridge soon after, but found himself stopping midway down the bridge, as he stared at the Wild Area from his position on the bridge, only to notice the large greenery of the Wild Area, as both Ash and Kirlia took the time to admire the view.
"Can't believe how big the Wild Area is, to think we only venture barely a quarter of it when we arrived there at first." Ash said in admiration, making Kirlia nod his head.
"That's where we first met Pawniard, is it? The small riverbank over there?" Kirlia soon pointed out in a direction, making Ash stare down.
It was true that it was a riverbank, but it was extremely large to see from their position as the bridge was extremely high from the ground, with Ash nodding his head after seeing the same Drednaw walking into the water.
"Sure is, even if our journey had just started, it felt like we just met yesterday when you're looking at things from a remarkable view." Ash told Kirlia, who nodded his head in agreement.
After admiring the view for a while longer, Ash and Kirlia decided to continue their road towards Hulbury, eventually entiring the city of Hulbury after passing tbeiugh a large stone gate, as Ash looked around the entire city to notice that there were dozens of boats barked nearly everywhere around Hulbury.
Ash and Kirlia quickly raced down the road within Hulbury, before noticing a familiar man standing in front of a restaurant, making Ash smile as he ran towards his direction, only for the woman to notice Ash's incoming figure.
"Mr. Rose! Miss Oleana!" Ash called out, catching Rose's attention, due to him facing the other direction.
"Ah, Reil! It's been quite some time and!" Rose said with joy, making Ash laugh with a smile.
"It sure has, and through all those times, I've got my first Gym Badge!" Ash responded, displaying his newly acquired Grass Badge to Rose and Oleana.
Rose was visibly impressed at Ash's quick victory at the Turffield Gym, as Oleana managed to notice that Kirlia was no longer a Ralts, before looking at Ash with a telling him that she was impressed at his quick development.
"I see that Ralts has evolved into Kirlia, that's very impressive since this marks the fourth day that you guys has been partners." Oleana complimented, making Rose look down to notice that Oleana was right.
"Ralts isn't the only one that evolved, my Rookidee evolved into a Corvisquire and I caught myself a Pawniard as well." Ash added, displaying the list of Pokémon that he already obtained.
"Evolving two Pokémon in the span of less then a week... it's extremely impressive. I must say, you're proving yourself to be a remarkable Trainer, Reil." Rose said while clapping his hand in joy, being extremely happy that Ash was doing far better then he had anticipated.
While Rose was extremely happy to hear and see Ash's achievement, the young Trainer finally thought of Kirlia's current issue of looking female-like despite being a male, as he turn his head to face Rose who was by Oleana from laughing.
"Mr. Rose, when Kirlia evolved, I noticed that Kirlia could evolve into two kinds of Pokémon. The only issue we have is that, Kirlia is a male and is afraid to looking like a female." Ash burped out, making Oleana chuckle lightly.
"Those two evolutions would be both Gardevoir and Gallade, and if Kirlia is a male, why don't you try letting him evolve into a Gallade?" Oleana suggested, making Ash scroll through his Rotom Phone for Gallade's information.
"Gallade, the Blade Pokémon, Psychic and Fighting Type. Gallade is able to use the blades on its elbow for both offense and defense, Gallade's are also known to be a master of courtesy and swordsmanship, and will do anything to protect its Trainer from harm." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
Kirlia looked rather impressed at Gallade's image, as Ash kept his Rotom Phone back into his pocket, as Rose, but as he lifted his head to see Rose, the Chairman of Galar could already tell what Ash wanted to asked, as be smiled at the amnesiac Trainer.
"Kirlia evolves into Gallade through using a Dawn Stone, and I recently heard that one can be found within the mines of Galar to the west of Hulbury." Rose told the young Trainer, before clapping his hands together.
"Also, I heard that the Gym is still quite filled with Gym Challengers as of now. Maybe you could take your time to look into the mines of Galar for a Dawn Stone? Let's have lunch when you're done with your Gym Battle!" Rose said with a proposal, making Ash nod his head.
"Alright, thank you for your help, Mr. Rose, Miss Oleana." Ash thanked, before running off down the road of Hulbury.
As Rose and Oleana watch Ash run through the streets of Hulbury while jumping over small fences to reach the mines of Galar faster, the secretary of the Chairman of Galar turned to looked at him, as Oleana started to open her mouth.
"If Reil is this good a Trainer, why not make him collect Wishing Stars just like Bede?" She asked, making Rose shake his head.
"That won't do, Oleana. If I make Reil collect Wishing Stars like Bede, the two of them might just end up competing to see who can collect the most, and that would destroy Reil's growth as a Trainer." Rose responded, making Oleana nod her head in understanding.
Soon enough, Ash managed to reach the entrance of the second mine in Galar, as he stared at the gates of the mine, thinking if the miners he had met before in the first mine would be here mining. However, not wanting to think too much, Ash decided to enter the mines himself, to see if he could find himself a Dawn Stone for Kirlia to evolve into Gallade.
"Think we'll find a Dawn Stone here, Reil?" Kirlia asked, not sure if they're going got find one.
"We can only hope that we are lucky enough to find one, and if we do then you don't need to worry about evolving into Gardevoir in the future." Ash answered, snickering the last part, making Kirlia glare at him in embarrassment.
Deciding it was time to try and look for a Dawn Stone within the mines, both Ash and Kirlia quickly entered the mines to search for one, and upon entry, sounds of metal clicking can be heard throughout the entire mines, making Ash wonder if there are people already working in the mines at this hour, before going deeper and deeper into the mines, only to see numerous minerals around the walls of the entire place.
"Look at all this stones, you can't even tell if there is a Dawn Stone among them!" Ash said with disbelief.
"Do we even know what a Dawn Stone look like? If we don't, then it's impossible to look for one." Kirlia reminded his partner.
Ash quickly took out his Rotom Phone to search for an image of a Dawn Stone before showing it to Kirlia who took in the image into his mind, as Ash took out a Poke Ball before enlarging it in the palms of his hands.
"Pawniard, come on and help us out!" Ash called out.
His Poke Ball quickly burst open to reveal the Sharp Blade Pokémon, as Pawniard quickly did a few quick stretches before turning his head to face, Ash who was holding up a picture of a Dawn Stone.
"Pawniard, we need your help to look for a Dawn Stone for Kirlia, and you're the best Pokémon I can ask for help." Ash requested, making Pawniard raise his right hand.
"Pawn, Pawniard, Pawn!" Pawniard said with excitement, making Kirlia chuckle at his words.
"You're going to help to prepare a pot of curry when this is over, because Pawniard wants it for the exercise his going to do." Kirlia told his Trainer, as Ash nodded his head in agreement.
"It's both a promise and a deal." He told the Dark and Steel Type.
It wasn't long until Pawniard started to use his hand to hit the cracks in the wall with his Metal Claw attack, effectively shaving the wall bit by bit while receiving help from Kirlia who was hitting the other cracks lightly with his Psybeam attack, making it easier for Pawniard to break through the wall, while Ash was searching the other parts of the mine for any other visible rocks they can crack open, and while he was doing so, Ash could see a tunnel at the bottom of one of the walls, before deciding to enter to see if he could find anything new.
As he followed through the path of the tunnel, Ash soon found himself in a much more bigger opening where multiple shiny rocks were all over the walls, as a few Pokémon were visible in his line of sight, such as a small bat-like Pokémon as well as a small arthropod Pokémon who immediately ran away after noticing Ash's towering figure near it.
However, what caught Ash's attention wasn't the other Pokémon that was around the place, instead he was focused on a dark gray Pokémon with what seem to he an armored body covering its back, while standing up against a much larger purple reptilian bipedal-like Pokémon, where a horn can be seen on its forehead.
"Nido!" The larger Pokémon roared out, angering the much more smaller Pokémon.
"Ron, Lairon!" The Pokémon immediately barked out, as Ash took out his Rotom Phone to check out who they were.
"Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon, Steel and Rock Type. Lairon always clashes its armored body against others over territory, it also shows off its strength by ramming their steely body against rocks to create large sparks to display its powerful might."
"Nidoking, the Drill Pokémon, Poison and Ground Type. Nidoking is powerful enough to smash thick steel with its tail and crush diamonds with its horns, Nidoking's hide are as hard as diamond and also possesses a strong acid within its claws that is strong enough to easily melt through steel." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
After learning about the names of the two Pokémon, Ash decided to keep his Rotom Phone into his pocket before noticing that Lairon was charging at Nidoking with its body glowing in a white veil of bright light, only to be easily stopped by Nidoking's hands, as the Drill Pokémon was smirking at the Iron Armor Pokémon from where he was standing.
In retaliation to Lairon's attack, Nidoking's tail soon started to turn into steel before swinging it at Lairon, sending the Iron Armor Pokémon crashing into a wall, easily overpowering the Steel and Rock Type Pokémon with his might.
"Nido!" Nidoking roared loudly, before being joined by a smaller rhinoceros-like Pokémon with a horn on its head, as Ash decided to take out his Rotom Phone.
"Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokémon, Ground and Rock Type. Because of its one-sided mindset, Rhyhorn will not stop upon a charge and will charge through every that it sees or gets in its way, Rhyhorn's body is strong enough to demolish buildings and level trees without stopping." Ash's Rotom Phone detailed out.
As he kept his Rotom Phone, Ash watched as Nidoking left with Rhyhorn leaving behind the injured Lairon who was still recovering from the hit it received from Nidoking, as Ash decided to run up to the Iron Armor Pokémon from where he was standing.
"Are you alright, Lairon?" Ash asked in concern while stretching his hand out, only for Lairon to hit his hand away.
"Ron, Lair!" Lairon roared in anger, before getting up slowly from its position.
However, after just standing up, Lairon once again fell down due to the injuries it had taken from Nidoking's attack, only for Ash to help the Iron Armor Pokémon to its feet before inspecting its body for any other injuries.
"You're already hurt, Lairon, please let me help you." Ash pleaded, as Lairon looked at Ash with distrust before lying down, allowing Ash to treat its wounds.
After getting the green light from Lairon through its actions, Ash quickly took out a few potions and medical supplies as well as berries he had acquired in the morning before laying down a few Sitrus Berry for Lairon to eat, as he sprayed the potion onto its body, and just after applying first aid to Lairon's wounds, Ash decided to sit by the Iron Armor Pokémon.
"What happened back there, Lairon? Why were fighting with Nidoking?" Ash asked in wonder, as Lairon turned its head away, not wanting to answer Ash's question.
After being ignored by Lairon, Ash was in thoughts about the event he had just seen earlier, wondering why Lairon would want to battle Nidoking before scrolling through his Rotom Phone for any possible hint.
"Wait, Nidoking is definitely a male and if Lairon and Nidoking were fighting, doesn't that make Rhyhorn a female?" Ash thought to himself, before widening his eyes about why the two Pokémon had fought.
"Don't tell me, you two were fighting over Rhyhorn?!" Ash burped out, making Lairon glare at him from the corner of its eye, obviously not happy to hear it.
"I'm sorry about that." Ash apologised with a sheepish smile, before having an idea float in his head.
"If you want, I can help you get stronger, strong enough to beat Nidoking, what do you say?" Ash offered, making Lairon look at him.
Lairon was still extremely distrustful towards Ash, as it laid there to think about Ash's offer to become stronger, before getting up from its spot moments later to face the young man, with eyes filled with determination.
"Lair, Ron, Lairon!" Lairon roared out, accepting Ash's offer to get stronger.
"Of course, and I promise that you'll beat Nidoking the next time you fight." Ash reassured.
"First, we need to find a bigger area to train, this place doesn't look the best right now." Ash suggested, looking around to see that the entire place was indeed quite narrow to train.
Lairon soon started to move through another gap that was in the walls of the mines, as Ash decides to follow it from behind, wondering where Lairon was leading him and it wasn't long until they reach a dead end, confusing Ash as the Iron Armor Pokémon started to slide its right front leg, getting ready to charge before slamming its body through the wall, revealing another open section of the mines they were in.
"Lairon!" Lairon called out, as it walked into the much more bigger and open area for training.
"This places looks suitable, and as for our training plan we got to learn about a few things if you want to win." Ash started, before squatting down to meet Lairon's level of height.
"First off, Nidoking is a brute that cares only about his raw strength, so if we can improve your defenses by learning either Iron Defense or Protect, your chances of winning might increase a whole lot." Ash told the Iron Armor Pokémon.
Lairon nodded as an idea flew into Ash's head, as he remembers that Pawniard can perform Iron Defense, as he got up with a bright smile on his face.
"Lairon, wait her for a moment, I got a friend that might be able to help you learn Iron Defense." Ash told the Steel and Rock Type.
As quickly as he rose, Ash turned around before bolting out of the area, leaving Lairon behind to wait for his return, and it took Ash only ten minutes to return with both Pawniard and Kirlia, who were borh covered in dust as Ash started to pant slightly in exhaustion.
"I'm... back..." He wheeze out, before inhaling a lungful of air.
"This is Lairon, the new friend I've told you two about. Lairon currently has a dispute with a Nidoking, and I was wondering if Pawniard could teach it Iron Defense." Ash told both Pawniard and Kirlia.
Hearing his Trainer's request, Pawniard quickly got in front of Lairon, before gesturing the Iron Armor Pokémon to attack him, as Lairon's body took up a white glow before charging at Pawniard, who instantly hardened his body with Iron Defense, effective stopping Lairon's movement before rebounding it backwards a few steps.
"Pawniard, Pawn, Pawn, Niard!" Pawniard said with hand motions towards Lairon, looking as if to teach it how to use Iron Defense.
After hearing Pawniard's tips on how to use Iron Defense, Lairon quickly went to work on figuring out how to use it, as its body shine brightly in a gray veil as it vanished just as quickly as it appeared, failing to use it as Pawniard continued to train Lairon on its move.
"Do you think Lairon can win against Nidoking?" Kirlia questioned, with Ash nodding his head.
"If Lairon doesn't give up, I'm sure anything is possible to achieve." Ash told his Pokémon.
The two of them continued to watch as Lairon continued to train on how to use Iron Defense, and it didn't take long for Lairon's training to bear fruit, as its body soon turned into steel, displaying its fully iron clad body for a minutes before vanishing, as Lairon started to pant slightly, getting slightly exhausted from its training.
"Pawniard!" Pawniard cheered loudly, as Lairon begin to smirk brightly.
"Great work, Lairon. Now all we need, is to know what moves you can use, so that we can create a plan to battle against Nidoking." Ash suggested, making Lairon think for a moment.
"Lairon, Ron, Lair!" Lairon roared out, as Kirlia turn his head to Ash.
"Lairon said that it can use its newly learned Iron Defense, Take Down, Sand Tomb and Superpower. It also said that I didn't use Sand Tomb because it might be useless, and Superpower isn't exactly effective against Nidoking." Kirlia told his partner.
This brought Ash into thinking mode as a few ideas flew into his mind, because he remembers reading about Trapping Moves from the guide he had received on his first day, and what each moves can do before snapping his fingers upon having an idea.
"Lairon, Sand Tomb may not entirely be a useless move. If used right, you might just be able to prevent Nidoking from moving, which would give you a chance to land a hit with either Take Down or Superpower." Ash told the Iron Armor Pokémon.
"If we can make Nidoking initiate the first attack, we can stop him by using Iron Defense and once he needs time to recover, you can trap him with Sand Tomb and land a hit with Superpower. If things goes well, you might just end up winning." Ash added, having thought through his head the many ideas he had thought of.
Lairon nodded as it got up from its spot, getting determined to have rematch against Nidoking as Ash and his team follow the Iron Armor Pokémon from behind, as they navigate through the mines of Galar, before arriving at another segment of the mines that was away from the main mining areas, and upon reaching their destination, Ash and his team alongside Lairon could see Nidoking boasting his strength to the Spikes Pokémon, by lifting a huge rock with a single hand before crushing it with his tail
All while, Nidoking was busy showing off his strength to Rhyhorn, Lairon made itself known by slamming the ground with its feet, causing a small magnitude to shake the place they were in, effectively making Nidoking face its direction, as the Drill Pokémon started to smirk at the opponent he had previously defeated.
"Lairon, Lair!" Lairon roared in a challenging demand, as Nidoking stood forward.
"Nido!" Nidoking retorted in a tone of acceptance, as both Pokémon stood in a more open area.
As Ash could only hope that Lairon had the determination to defeat Nidoking, its greatest adversary at this point in time, as Rhyhorn moved to the side where she could get a better view of the battle by sitting above a large rock, as both the Iron Armor and Drill Pokémon was in a face off by glaring at one another.
It wasn't long until Nidoking charged at Lairon with his tail turning into steel, as Lairon quickly hardened its body with Iron Defense, effectively stopping Nidoking's attack, shocking the Drill Pokémon as Lairon spin a quick circle to throw Nidoking off his footing, before slamming the ground with his front legs, creating a large pool of quicksand beneath Nidoking's feet.
Upon the creation of the spiralling quicksand, Nidoking tried his best to get out of the Trapping Move by forcefully removing his leg and climbing up, as Lairon stood at the top, looking down on Nidoking Nidoking, the Iron Armor Pokémon's body started to glow in a white veil, only for it to become more intense in glow, as it charged at Nidoking with all its might, slamming into the Drill Pokémon hard while sending him to a wall.
As Nidoking crashed into the wall hard, the Drill Pokémon soon fell down as Lairon looked on to make sure Nidoking was fully out of commission to fight, before stomping the ground with his legs in pure victory.
"Lairon!" Lairon roared victoriously, as Ash smiled at the Iron Armor Pokémon from behind.
Ash and his team watch as Rhyhorn went over to Lairon after his victory against Nidoking, only for Lairon to harshly stop the Spikes Pokémon in her tracks with a loud stomp of his leg, while furiously glaring at the Ground and Rock Type.
"Ron, Lairon, Lair!" Lairon roared out in ferocity, scaring Rhyhorn with his voice.
"Horn, Rhy!" Rhyhorn quickly responded with sadness, as Lairon soon walked off without turning back.
Ash was gradually confused as of why Lairon would be so hashed to a girl that it liked, as he turn his head to Kirlia, who notices Ash's stare as the amnesiac Trainer started to open his mouth to speak.
"I'm no Pokémon, but I can guess that Rhyhorn did that pissed Lairon off, isn't it?" Ash asked, as Kirlia nodded his head.
"If you ever heard of two timing, yes. Rhyhorn only sucked up to strong guy, and leave the weak one's she is with if she finds a stronger male." The Emotion Pokémon responded, making Ash and Pawniard face palm their own heads.
With the ordeal with Lairon's trouble over, Ash and his team decided to follow the Iron Armor Pokémon to the entrance of the tunnel they had came from, with Ash stopping to smile at Lairon from his height.
"That was a great battle, Lairon. Just keep that up and you'll be stronger in no time, and we would like to stay but we still have to go back and search for a Dawn Stone, so maybe we'll meet again." Ash told the Steel and Rock Type, as his team ran off.
Lairon then watched as Ash and his team leave the place that he had first met the Human through a moderate sized tunnel, before deciding to enter another tunnel of its own, as Ash and his team soon reached the area where they were mining, as Ash could see that Pawniard has done a number in the wall, leaving several rocks on the ground.
"While we have spend all this time in the mines, we didn't find a single Dawn Stone." Ash sighed depressingly.
"At least we made a new friend, even if you didn't catch Lairon." Kirlia responded, feeling great to help a Pokémon with its problem.
Thinking that Kirlia was right, Ash decided to stash away the rocks that Pawniard had found by chipping the wall, as he soon placed a Fire Stone, Thunder Stone and Dusk Stone into a small pouch that was in his bag, thinking they might look somewhat valuable while not knowing what they really are, before strapping his bag onto his back in preparation to leave the mines.
"What do you say we head to the Hulbury Gym?" Ash suggested, as Pawniard raised his hand in determination to fight.
However, before the team could truly leave the mines, sounds of heavy footsteps was heard from behind them, making Ash and his team turn around to see the same Lairon from before approaching them from behind, making Ash widen his eye sin shock.
"Aren't you that same Lairon?" He asked, only for Lairon to nod its head.
As Lairon approached the group, the Iron Armor Pokémon then opened its mouth to drop a shiny lime green stone with a sort of symbol in it, as Lairon looked at the young Trainer from its height, before pushing the rock towards him.
"Lairon, Ron!" Lairon voiced out, making Kirlia turn his head to his partner.
"Lairon heard that we were searching for a Dawn Stone, so he brought it here for us as a thank you gift." Kirlia translated, making Ash smile.
Ash soon went to pick up the Dawn Stone that Lairon had offered to them, before passing the stone to Kirlia, who soon tapped the it with his hands, causing the Emotion Pokémon's body to glow in a bright blue veil, as he starts to change form into a much taller bright figure.
As the light burst apart, Kirlia in his newly evolved form was now more human-like, with his red eyes now looking more diginifed, his arms also grew longer now resembling some sort of tonfa with a long blade extending from his elbow, his lower body was white while upper remained green, as the newly evolved Kirlia swung his hand at a rock, easily cutting it down.
"Thanks, Lairon, in helping us find a Dawn Stone." Ash thanked, as the newly evolved Gallade nodded his head.
"Thank you, Lairon, Truly." Gallade thanked, making Lairon smile slightly.
"Lairon, Lair, Ron!" Lairon soon roared at Ash with mild joy making the young Trainer smile.
"Even without Gallade's translation, of course we would be happy to have you cone with us." Ash told the Iron Armor Pokémon.
Ash soon enlarged a Poke Ball, before placing it on the ground for Lairon who tapped it with its nose as the ball soon sucked the Steel and Rock Type in, and without any sort of resistance from the Iron Armor Pokémon, the Poke Ball gave an instant click, signalling Lairon's capture, as Ash went to pick up the Poke Ball which contains his newly caught fourth Pokémon.
"I guess we made ourselves a new friend, and a potential training partner for Pawniard." Ash told both Gallade and Pawniard.
Gallade started to chuckle as Pawniard raised his hand in joy, as the three of them continued to make their way out of the mines, in order to head to the gym to take on their second Gym Battle against the Gym Leader of Hulbury.
Here is Chapter 6! And the next chapter will he Ash vs Nessa for his second Gym Badge, and hope you all can stay tune for more!
Otherwise,
PEACE!