After dealing with Team Shade in Corwald City, our heroes are finally ready to move forward with their journey!
Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Vernon, and RotomDex were walking down a path through a small woods, and Ash asked, "So, RotomDex, where should we go from here?"
"Well," said RotomDex as he pulled up a map, "The next Pokémon Gym exists in Ironriver City. We can reach that town if we trek through Violetrose Town, and I believe we can reach it in about a week."
"A week?" said Ash. "Are you serious? It's gonna take that long?"
"It's the quickest way," said RotomDex.
"Well, if we wanna make it, then we better get started," said Serena, walking out forwards. "I can't wait to see what else is out there."
Suddenly, they heard a loud growling. Looking around, they slowly noticed Ash clutching his stomach in embarrassment. "Sorry," he said. "It's been a while since I've eaten anything."
"Same old Ash," Serena good-naturedly rolled her eyes. "I know! I picked up some ingredients from Corwald City! I can make us lunch before we get going."
"Sounds great!" Ash exclaimed. They all then walked forward to get situated, but over in the background, a certain Charmor of a different color peeked out from under a bush and decided to follow them.
Then, a new character entered the scene. He was tall with black hair that covered the sides of his head, had green eyes, wore an orange and black jacket, blue jeans, a black beanie, and was carrying a Cyndaquil on his shoulder.
"C'mon, where did that Charmor go?" he said. "He's gotta be around here somewhere."
"Cynda, Cyndaquil!" the Cyndaquil exclaimed, pointing its nose towards another part of the woods. The boy looked up and spied the tail of the Charmor moving away.
"Aha! Nice work, Cyndaquil!" He gently petted the top of Cyndaquil's head. "We catch that Charmor, we'll be one step closer to being Fire Masters!" He and Cyndaquil then quickly followed Charmor.
Ash, Serena, and Vernon sat around a picnic table spread across the ground, eating sandwiches and macaroons, while sipping lemonade, while Pikachu, Humbeat, Braixen, Chrysaluxe, and Floattery sitting off to the side, snacking on PokéPuffs. RotomDex was merely sitting under a tree during all this, as he didn't need any food, so he had decided to pass the time by playing a video game on his PokéDex body.
"Mmm!" Ash mumbled as he stuffed his face. "I forgot how good your food was, Serena!"
"Well, I've been practicing a lot recently," Serena grinned.
"I've had tons of caterers, but you have to be one of the best, Serena," Vernon said, munching his sandwich.
"Thank you!"
Pikachu downed its PokéPuff before reaching for another, until it noticed something moving in the bushes. Carefully peeking forward, it noticed a bronze streak jet by. It looked inside the bushes, but then it heard a crunching noise behind it. It turned around to see the shiny Charmor now nibbling on some of Pikachu's PokéPuffs.
"Pika!" It said, clearly angry. Charmor took notice of this and quickly ran to hide.
"What's going on over there, Pikachu?" Ash said.
"Pika! Pika Pi!" Pikachu pointed towards the bushes accusingly. Ash looked over to see a bronze streak hiding within it. He slowly inched forward until he got a full view of Charmor nibbling on one of the PokéPuffs from Pikachu's bowl.
"Whoa, could that..." Ash said briefly stunned. He peered forward and said, "Hey, excuse me?"
Charmor slowly turned to face Ash, and paused. "It's you, isn't it?" said Ash. Slowly, he backed up and said, "It's okay, we're all friends here, remember?"
Charmor did not move at first, but it slowly inched forward until it was in full view of everyone, who stopped eating to look at the newcomer.
"Hey, isn't that..." said Vernon.
"I think it is," said Ash. "It's the Charmor from before."
"Oh, hey, there," Serena said, walking closer. "What're you doing here?"
"Ch... Charmor," Charmor squeaked out. Suddenly, its stomach began to growl.
"Are you hungry?" said Ash, kneeling down to Charmor's height. "We can make you some more. Serena makes a mean patch of PokéPuffs."
"Char... Charmor," Charmor nodded.
A few moments later, Serena laid out a plate full of red PokéPuffs. "Here you go!" said Serena, beaming. "These are a special recipe I made for Braixen, so it should be good for a Fire Type like you."
Charmor took a small bite out of one of the PokéPuffs, and after a beat, its eyes grew huge and it spat out a terrifying fire so intense, Ash, Serena, and Vernon were burned and left covered in ashes.
"I guess the secret recipe was too much for the little guy?" said Vernon.
"Maybe so..." said Serena. However, Charmor instead got a big grin on its face and began eating them all right up.
"Someone might wanna get a bucket of water," Vernon said, taking a tentative step back. However, Ash knelt down to look at the little Pokémon.
"Man, you're pretty hungry, eh?" he said. "So what're you doing here? Oh, I bet you finally got tired of the way those other Charmors treated you, huh? Well, there's no need for you to hang out around a crew like that!"
Charmor paused from its food and looked up to Ash to nod. "But why'd you come all the way out here?" Ash asked.
Before Charmor could respond, they noticed a small shuffle in the nearby bushes. As the noise grew louder, Charmor became frightened and ran off.
"Hey! Wait up!" Ash called out. From the bushes came the young lad from before, his Cyndaquil close behind him.
"Alright, where'd you go," the young man said, checking under the bushes.
"Excuse us, um, can we help you?" Vernon inquired of their new visitor.
The young man looked over to the group and said, "Oh, hello. Cyndaquil and I were just passing through. We were looking for a rare Pokémon, actually."
"Cynda, cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil greeted.
"Nice to meet you," Ash greeted. "I'm Ash by the way, and these are my Pokémon, Pikachu and Humbeat." He gestured towards his Pokémon, who recited with a "Pika!" and a "Beat!"
"I'm Serena, and these are my Pokémon, Braixen and Chrysaluxe," Serena introduced herself as her Pokémon nodded when their names were said.
"The name's RotomDex!" RotomDex floated towards their new visitor.
"And this is Floattery," Vernon pointed to his Pokémon, "And I guess that makes me Vernon, though frankly, I'm sure I needn't any introduction!" Vernon suddenly struck a pose.
"No, I'm sorry, I do not know a Vernon," the young man said.
Vernon immediately face-faulted. (For those who don't know, face-faulting means the anime-esque form of falling down on your neck with your limps sticking in the air.) "You've gotta be kidding me," said Vernon. "Four years missing and somehow the world had its memory erased."
"Anyway, my name's Slater," said the young man," and this my partner Cyndaquil."
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil jumped forward to introduce itself. Serena couldn't resist picking it up and giving it a stroke on the head.
"Hey, you a cute little guy, aren't you?" she said, and Cyndaquil chittered happily.
Slater rolled his eyes in response. "What is is with girls and cute things..." he muttered to himself.
"So what're you doing here again?" Ash asked. "You said you were looking for a rare Pokémon? What did it look like?"
Cyndaquil hopped back up onto its trainer's shoulders, who said, "It's actually a Charmor. And it's of a different color. I saw it run into these woods earlier and I'm gonna catch it!"
"A Charmor... of a different color..." Ash repeated.
"Did you guys see him run by here?" said Slater.
"Well, we saw him here... and way back in Corwald Forest. I think he actually followed us all the way out here, in fact." Vernon explained.
"What? Why would he do that?" Slater wondered.
"I'm not sure..." Ash paused, "but why would you want to capture it?"
"Simple," said Slater. "It's a Fire-Type, and one of the rarest Fire-Types of all! And I need to obtain it to prove myself a Fire Master!"
"Fire Master?" said Ash.
"It means I intend to be the very best user of Fire-Type Pokémon in world," Slater explained. "Now where did that little guy run off to?" He began searcing the bushes around them.
"Well, um, I think we should warn you, that Charmor is a little but shy," Ash said.
"That's okay, I can work with him," Slater insisted. "So what are you guys doing out here?"
"We were actually on our way to Violetrose Town," Serena explained.
"Yeah," said Ash. "I'm collecting Badges for the Ralia League, so I can become a Pokémon Master!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu resounded by hopping onto its trainer's shoulders.
"That so?" said Slater. "In that case, why don't I help you practice? C'mpn, let's have a battle, right here, right now."
"Sounds good to me!"
Ash and Slater stood on opposite ends of the forest floor, with Serena and RotomDex sitting off to the side and Vernon offering to referee.
"Alright, we'll do one-on-one! Send out you Pokémon!" Vernon said.
"Okay, Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash pointed his finger. Pikachu leaped off his shoulder and onto the battlefield.
"Okay, then, go, Cyndaquil!" Slater sent his own Pokémon into battle.
"Cynda, cyndaquil!"
"Okay, battle begin!" yelled Vernon.
BATTLE BEGIN!
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!"
Pikachu leaped up in the air and manifested a ball of electricity on the end of its tail before hurling it at its opponent.
"Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower to jump!" Slater called. Cyndaquil's back ignited, and it aimed a Flamethrower attack directly downward to push itself off the ground and into the air, thus causing Pikachu's attack to miss entirely.
"Whoa!" said Serena. "I didn't know you could use Flamethrower like that!"
"Analyzing battle data," RotomDex said, scanning the battle.
"Now use Flame Wheel!" Slater ordered. Cyndaquil span in vertical circle before forming a wheel out of fire and charging at Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu said in shock as it was knocked back.
"Now use Lava Plume!" Cyndaquil spat flames and smog from its back, covering the area and buffeting Pikachu.
From above, Jessie, James, and Meowth looked down on the battle from some trees. "What do we have here?" Meowth said, spying on the battle through binoculars. "Looks like the twerp's found himself another playmate."
"What? Let me see that," said Jessie, snatching the binoculars away and looking through them. "Ooh! That's a feisty looking Cyndaquil there!" Suddenly rising upwards, she declared, "That's it! I must have it!"
"What? Why?" James and Meowth said simultaneously.
"Why else? Because I need that little creature's entrancing cuteness to improve my next performance as Madame Jocelyn! With that combo of cuteness and fiery charm, we'll be irresistible!" Jessie began practically prancing on the tree branches as she envisioned a performance with her and Cyndaquil at another Pokémon Pageant.
"Is that really necessary?" James groaned.
"It is if we can nab Pikachu in between, I bet!" Meowth whispered to him.
"Shake it off, Pikachu!" Ash demanded. "Use Quick Attack!"
"Pika, pika, pika, pika!" Pikachu became outlined in white as it charged forward, and bashed Cyndaquil backwards.
"Great! Now use Volt Tackle!" Pikachu charged forward as it became outlined in an arrow of electricity.
"Pika, pika, pika, pika, pika!"
"Use Flamethrower to jump!" Slater commanded. Cyndaquil aimed its flames at the ground once more.
"Not this time!" Ash said. "Quick, Pikachu, bash an Iron Tail against the ground!"
Pikachu's tails turned silver and was whacked against the ground, launching Pikachu upwards and allowing it to collide with Cyndaquil in middair.
"Cynda!" Cyndaquil cried out as it fell backwards.
"Not bad," Slater said, though his frown implied we was not convinced. "Use Flamethrower!"
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash cried out.
"Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil cried as it spat a torrent of flames from its mouth.
"Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu said as it blasted elctricity at its opponent. The two blast collided and created an explosion, sending residue of the explosion everywhere. Serena, RotomDex, and Vernon had to take a step back to avoid getting hit, but some of that residue hit the tree that Team Rocket was sitting on.
"Whoa!" Meowth yelled as the entire tree shook. "Hey, what gives!?"
"I think we're going doooooowwwwwn!" James cried out as the trio fell out of the tree, landing on the ground below hard. The noise got the attention of the group, who looked in their direction.
"What the- Team Rocket!?" Ash said, annoyed. "What're you guys doing here?" As soon as Ash said, "Team Rocket", Slater eyes grew wider.
"Hmph," Jessie huffed as she, James, and Meowth rose from the ground. "Prepare for trouble, take a wild guess!"
"And make it double," James added, "if you guessed Pikachu, that's a yes!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of-"
"HOLD IT!" Slater's voice suddenly cut through Team Rocket's motto, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion. "You guys are with Team Rocket?"
"Yes, indeed we are are," Jessie said rather smugly. "And we will that twerps like you kindly not to interrupt our motto!"
Suddenly, Slater's eyes practically turned a terrifying red, as he suddenly began seething. "Team... Rocket..." he said quietly.
"Um, Slater? Are you okay?" Ash asked, about to put a hand on his shoulder. However, Cyndaquil suddenly got in the and pushed Ash back, before waving its arms as if to say, "Uh, uh, bad idea!"
"I can't believe it! Team Rocket has the nerve to show up here? In the Ralia region? You punks just can't be satisfied can you!?"
"Erm, I'm sure we don't know what you're talking about," James insisted, though he and his teammates looked intimidated now.
"Don't you lie to me! I know everything about Team Rocket! Everything you touched and everything you destroyed!" Slater seethed. "And now, maybe it's time you finally got what's been coming to you! Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!"
"Cyn-da-quil!" Cyndaquil blasted the three with hot fire.
"AUGH!" the Team Rocket trio cried out.
Who's that Pokémon?
It swims by rotating its tails like a screw. It has a flotation sacs that it inflates to peek its head out of the water.
"Hey! You better calm down, buster! This is not how Team Rocket takes it!"
"We'll see about that!" Slater said as he pulled out a PokéBall and threw it. From it formed a Houndoom, who entered the arena with a fierce growl.
"Hmph, you wanna fight! Then let's fight!" Jessie said as she and James pulled out their own PokéBalls.
Suddenly, however, Slater commanded Houndoom to use Thief, causing it to quickly swipe the PokéBalls away from the two, placing them in Slater's hand before Team Rocket even realized what happened. "Whoops, no more Pokémon for you," Slater said.
"Okay, this twerp is starting to scare me," Meowth said.
"Houndoom, use Inferno!" Houndoom leapt up and spat a stream of blue fire at Team Rocket.
"Yipes! Gotta think fast-" Meowth said. The Inferno hit them and sent them rocketing off.
"We're blasting off again!"
Ash and his friends stared incredulously at Slater. "Whoa, Slater, what did you get so intense for?" Ash asked.
"I don't know whether to be impressed or intimidated," Serena said.
However, Slater was still seething, and he suddenly looked at RotomDex. "You, can you you call Officer Jenny for me?"
"Huh? Me?" RotomDex said surprised.
"C'mon! Those goons must still be close by! We gotta catch 'em! Put 'em in jail where they belong!"
"Wait, I know Team Rocket's definitely annoying," said Ash, "but I don't think they're worth getting worked up over."
"You guys have no idea just how terrible Team Rocket actually is!" Slater insisted. "All they care about is taking what isn't theirs and leaving an ugly footprint behind as they go along. These people work for Team Rocket, so they're going down!"
"Actually, guys, we definitely need to go looking for them," Vernon pointed out, "because unfortunately..." he pointed to the spot where Cyndaquil was standing.
"What!? No, they are NOT taking Cyndaquil!" Slater declared before marching off. "Don't worry, Cyndaquil, I'm gonna find you buddy!"
"C'mon, guys, we should follow him," Vernon insisted. "It's not safe."
"For him or Team Rocket?" Ash asked.
"Probably both."
"Will you relax!?" Meowth said as he wrestled with Cyndaquil. The cat Pokémon had managed to grab the Fire Mouse Pokémon just before being launched off, but now it was proving to be unruly, even as Team Rocket attempted to force it into a cage.
"Cyn-da-quiiiiil!" it shrieked, igniting its back, burning Meowth's arms.
"Oi, its as crazy as the twerp who raised it!" Meowth complained. Eventually, the flames got so intense, Meowth had to let go.
"MEOWTH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" James and Jessie yelled as Cyndaquil landed and Meowth tried blowing on his burns. The two humans turned to go after Cyndaquil again, but were suddenly blinded by a Smokescreen attack clouding their vision.
"Umph!" the two sputtered. Cyndaquil was wondering what happened, when the shiny Charmor suddenly appeared, picked it up on its back and ran for it.
"Cyndaquil! Cyndaquil!" Slater called out. Houndoom was sniffing the forest, trying to find their friend, while Ash and his friends tailed behind.
"I feel bad that he lost Cyndaquil to those three," said Serena. "I hope we find them soon."
"Yeah, and I hope Team Rocket is wise enough to just give Cyndaquil back and run," Vernon added.
Ash decided to walk up to Slater and talk to him. "Hey, Slater, are you okay?"
"I'll be okay when I have Cyndaquil back and those three chumps are behind bars," Slater growled as he looked behind some bushes. He looked at RotomDex. "Well, have you called Officer Jenny yet?"
"I'm afraid my signal just isn't strong enough from way out here," RotomDex explained.
"Hey, Slater, I know you're worried about Cyndaquil right now, but I wanted to ask you, why do you get so worked up about Team Rocket?"
Slater sighed and sat down on a tree stump. "Okay, look, if you must know, I'm intense about Team Rocket because I'm just sick and tired of them! I have seen what this vain and selfish team has done to people. And I know that they want to rule everything so that they can be entitled to everything."
"Well, I too have actually been dealing with them for a pretty long time," Ash explained. "I mean these three are always after my Pikachu, or doing something else to inconvenience us, and I too have seen how dangerous the rest of Team Rocket can be. I remember one time in Unova, they tried to take control of the Forces of Nature so that they could control the world."
"Well, then you know where I'm coming from," Slater said, looking at Ash with a rare sincere face. "I've seen what these people will do if they go unchecked. I get this way about them 'cause I figured it was time someone finally did something about them."
"Cynda, cyndaquil!" came a familiar voice. Everyone turned their heads to see the Fire Mouse Pokémon riding in on the back of a familiar face.
"Cyndaquil!" Slater said ecstatically, as he ran towards his beloved Pokémon.
"Hey, isn't that...?" Ash noted.
"Yeah, it's that Charmor again!" Vernon said. "What do you know? He's not so shy after all."
"Char, charmor!" Charmor celebrated under Cyndaquil's weight. However, suddenly a net fell from the sky, encasing the two Fire-Types within.
"What!? What now?" Slater demanded.
Jessie, James, and Meowth suddenly appeared on the scene once more. "Prepare for trouble, if you'll let us finish this time..."
"Make it double, you'll understand our crime!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people-"
"Houndoom, use Inferno," Slater deadpanned. Houndoom spat out a swirling blue inferno at Team Rocket, who only barely dodged after realizing what happened.
"Hey! Team Rocket's motto is sacred! You really need to stop interrupting!" Jessie complained.
"Do you chumps have to say that every time you make an appearance?" Slater said.
"Unfortunately, yes," both Ash and Serena sighed.
"Look, punks, I don't care what it is that you think that you need," said Slater. "So just give me my Pokémon back, and maybe I'll go easy on you."
"Look who's talking," James fired back. "You stole our Pokémon, you know."
"What, these?" said Slater, pulling out the two PokéBalls Houndoom had snatched before. "Look, I'd be happy to give them back... then if they for some reason want to stay with you punks, I'm sure Officer Jenny will be happy to let you all share a cell."
"What's with this guy?" said Meowth. "Whenever we battle the twerps, it's just banter, we blast off, and then repeat. Why is he so determined to take us down?"
"Because you're with Team Rocket," said Slater. "And as long as that is the truth, I'm no gonna just ignore you."
"Look, buster-" Meowth started again, until he noticed something from behind Slater. "Hey, where'd the purple twerp and the twerpette go?"
"Over here!" Serena singsonged. The trio turned around in shock to see that Vernon and Serena had managed to grab the net from them and set the Pokémon free.
"Thanks for keeping them talking, Slater!" Vernon added.
"Grr, do these twerps care nothing for tradition?" Jessie seethed.
Suddenly, Wobbuffet popped out of its PokéBall and and yelled "Wobbuffet!" and Mime Jr. appeared on top of James's head.
"Fine," said Jessie, "we may not have our best Pokémon, but we can still give you a fight!"
"Enough of this!" Slater announced. "Houndoom, use Inferno again!" Houndoom unleashed its attack, but Wobbuffet quickly got in the way to bounce it away with a Mirror Coat.
"Quick, Mime Jr., use Mimic!" James said. Mime Jr. leaped into the air and launched an identical Inferno attack at Houndoom.
"Pikachu!" Ash stepped into the fight with his partner, "use Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachuuuuu!" Pikachu's lightning quickly canceled out the Inferno attack.
"Try using Inferno all around them!" James demanded. Mime Jr. surrounded the two with multiple fire attacks, causing Slater to stumble and drop the two PokéBalls he was holding.
"Finally!" James said, as he and Jessie picked up their PokéBalls. "It's good to have you back, old friends!"
"We gotta do something, Serena!" Vernon said.
"Right!" Serena agreed. She and Vernon pulled out their own PokéBalls, but down below them, they noticed an intense look on Charmor's face. "Charmor? Are you okay?" Serena asked.
"Use that Inferno once more, and aim it straight at the twerp!" James demanded. At this, Charmor got upset, and tried focusing its power once again. Suddenly, it began spinning and it charged forward in a circle of flames, which then collided with Mime Jr. midair. It had learned Flame Wheel.
"Whoa!" said Ash, observing from far away.
Mime Jr. suddenly got upset and spat another Inferno at Charmor, who quickly ducked. The attack then almost hit Wobbuffet, who quickly used Mirror Coat again. The attack bounced off and went straight for a scared Charmor.
"Charmor, no!" Ash yelled. "Look out!" Fortunately, Cyndaquil charged forward and managed to knock Charmor out of the way, causing Mime Jr. to suddenly take the full brunt of the move, and causing it to land in James's arms, knocked out.
"No! Mime Jr.!" James cried out, before looking angrily at Charmor. "You're going to pay for that!"
He moved forward, prepared to crush the scared Pokémon with his bare hands, but fortunately, Ash and Pikachu ran forward in front of the two Fire-Types, and Ash called out, "Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachuuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashed its full force attack, hitting James and sending him sky high.
"I'm blasting off alone!"
"James!" Jessie cried out. She pulled out her PokéBall, prepared to send out Napiat, but Charmor, noticing this, spat some Smokescreen in her face, blinding her.
"Alright, it's your turn!" Slater said as he, Houndoom, and Cyndaquil stood in front of Jessie. Wobbuffet noticed this and prepared another Mirror Coat, but Charmor blinded it with another Smokescreen. Thus, Cyndaquil and Houndoom launched it and Jessie sky high with a dual Flamethrower.
"We're blasting off second!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Errr," Meowth said, clearly distressed now. "Okay, twerps, um, how 'bout I just walk away, find my team, and we can, uh, call this a draw, huh?"
Slater grabbed him by his tail and lifted him up in the air. "Or I could just drag you back to town and give you to Officer Jenny, huh?"
"Hey!" Meowth said, scrambling his arms. "Take it easy already, would ya!?" Suddenly, he used Fury Swipes and slashed Slater's arm, causing him to drop the cat Pokémon. Meowth quickly got up and ran up to Pikachu. "Quick, pal, blast me off, blast me off!" Pikachu only looked at him unamused, so Meowth decided to poke Pikachu's cheeks, giving himself a massive shock and launching him away.
"I'm blasting off to safety!"
It's Buizel!
"No!" Slater charged forward before giving up. "I can't believe they just got away!"
"It's okay," said Ash, putting a hand on Slater's shoulder. "They won't bother us now."
"Ugh," said Slater. "Well, at least you're safe now, Cyndaquil." He picked up his excited Pokémon, who chirped in excitement, as even Houndoom grunt in happiness that its friend was okay.
"See?" said RotomDex. "Everything worked out."
"Thanks in large part to you, Charmor," Ash said as he knelt down to the Armor Pokémon's height. "You really saved me and Pikachu back there, y'know?"
"Char, charmor!" Charmor said as it jumped into Ash's hands, knocking him down as Ash laughed goodnaturedly.
Slater observed this, and finally recognized this Charmor as the one he'd been chasing this morning. However, something else was clicking in his head.
"Say, Ash, you said earlier that Charmor came all the way from Corwald Forest?"
"Well, yeah," said Ash, sitting up.
Slater paused for a second, and then said, "Say, Ash, how 'bout we finish our earlier battle? Only this time, I want you to battle with that Charmor."
"Huh?" Ash said. "With Charmor?" He looked back down at the armadillo-like Pokémon, who was surprisingly looking at him with fierce determination. As Ash looked in its eyes, he slowly understood, so he grinned and said, "Okay! Let's try it!"
Ash and Charmor, and Slater and Cyndaquil were standing on opposite ends of a small field, as Vernon, Serena, Pikachu, and RotomDex watched.
"Just like before, one-on-one!" Slater said. "Use Flame Wheel!" Cyndaquil wrapped itself in flames, and charged forward.
"You two, Charmor! Flame Wheel!" Ash commanded. Charmor charged forward and bashed against Cyndaquil, and both Pokémon were knocked back.
"Use Ember!" Ash commanded. Charmor spat a small stream of flames from its mouth, hitting Cyndaquil, but unfortunately, doing little to affect it.
"Now, Cyndaquil, use Lava Plume!" Cyndaquil's Lava Plume buffeted Charmor, leaving it dazed.
"Hang in there, Charmor!" Ash said. "Use Flame Wheel again!" Charmor charged forward, and managed to land a direct hit, knocking Cyndaquil on its back.
"Not bad," Slater admitted. "Now use Swift!" Cyndaquil spat small, white stars from its mouth, pummeling Charmor.
"Use Ember!" Ash said, and Charmor spat another Ember attack at Cyndaquil, seemingly doing more damage this time.
However, Cyndaquil was ordered to use Flame Wheel, and it quickly bashed Charmor out of the way.
"No, Charmor!" Ash cried out, as he saw Charmor landing with swirls in its eyes.
"Charmor is unable to battle, so we win!" Slater said and Cyndaquil jumped excitedly into his arms.
Ash walked up to hurt Charmor, who looked up to him sadly. To Charmor's surprise, however, Ash began stroking the top of its head.
"You were awesome out there, Charmor," Ash said. "I think I can understand now. You followed me all this way because you wanted to get stronger, didn't you? You wanted me to help you because I believed in you so much."
Charmor nodded. Slater walked up and added, "I know I was going to be the Fire Master, but I think it's clear that this Charmor belongs with you, Ash. It needs someone who understands it to help it reach its full potential."
"Yeah, you're right," Ash agreed as he looked back at Charmor. "What do you think? You wanna get stronger together?" Charmor excitedly leaped back into Ash's arms at this. "I'll take that as a yes." He pulled out and empty PokéBall and tapped the button on Charmor's nose, causing it to turn into red energy, go into the ball, which shook three times before clicking.
"Alright!" Ash cried out as he struck a pose. "I just caught Charmor!"
"Congratulations, Ash!' Serena said, walking up.
"I know the two of you will do great together," Vernon added.
"Well, on that note, I think I'm gonna go now," Slater said. "I've got a lot to do." Suddenly, his expression turned serious. "But really, guys, I want you remember what I told you about Team Rocket. They're not gonna be satisfied with being a nuisance. They need someone to oppose them, so I'm asking you all be ready to do that, alright?"
Ash, Serena, Vernon, Pikachu, and RotomDex all paused, before Ash nodded and gave an affirmative, "Sure thing! See you later, Slater!"
"Oh, like I haven't heard that a million times before," Slater rolled his eyes. "Well, see ya!"
"Bye-bye!" the group waved goodbye before turning to continue on their own journey. As Slater was walking away, on his shoulder, Cyndaquil started saying, "Cynda, cynda."
"You know what Team Rocket has done, Cyndaquil," said Slater. "When it comes to those three clowns, I might go easy, mostly because I find them incredibly pathetic, but if the rest of Team Rocket thinks it can invade an innocent place like Ralia, they're gonna have to answer to us first! Looks like being Fire Masters is gonna have to wait. I've already taken down many Team Rocket operations around the globe, come to understand their structure, and there was even that one time I went to rescue a poor fanfiction writer from another dimension from these chumps-"
"Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil said sternly, its back igniting.
"Oh, right, I'm not supposed to talk about that here, am I?" Slater said. "Well, either way, I've had enough of Team Rocket taking everything from everyone. Especially good old... Giovanni. If they want a fight, then for the sake of Ralia, I'll give them one."
Yikes! I can't tell who's in more trouble, Slater, or Team Rocket! Still, our heroes journey continues with a new friend in their group, and even a new friend in Slater. More to come, as the journey continues!
Dang it, Slater, you weren't supposed to talk about that here! Well, at least Yuni Oha will understand what he meant. Anyways, I'm glad I finally got to introduce you all to Slater. Just now that he will play a very important role in my story. Thank you fro reading, and I'll see you guys again soon!