Our heroes have recently met up with Florian, the trainer Ash met in Corwald City, only to find that Team Shade has made off with Florian's partner Deino. Now they must work together if they are to save Deino from Team Shade's clutches.
"C'mon, Florian, we want to help you!" said Ash, as he and his friends walked behind Florian.
"I don't need your help," said Florian, refusing to look at him. "Deino is my Pokémon, so it's my responsibility."
"But Team Shade can be dangerous!" said Serena.
"So?" said Florian. "I can crush them all myself."
"Ugh," said Vernon. "C'mon, guys, let's just follow him and see what Team Shade is doing."
As everyone kept walking through the woods, RotomDex suddenly spied something. "Hey, guys!" it said, beckoning everyone over. "Over here!" It floated over a patch of dirt with some tire tracks. "I betcha those tire tracks will lead us to where Team Shade is hiding."
"Well, I guess I have no other leads," said Florian as he began walking after the tire tracks.
Following the tracks for some time, the group eventually came across a hidden cave, and saw the tracks moving into it. They tried to go towards the cave entrance, but suddenly, a big truck came out of the cave, driven by two Team Shade grunts.
"C'mon, let's get these creatures to the boss. She'll decide what to do with them."
In the back of the truck, the group could see a bunch of large Pokémon captive. And in the midst of them, there was Deino.
"Deino!" Florian cried, suddenly running towards the truck.
"Florian, no!" cried out Ash, running after him.
"Huh? What's this?" said a grunt who looked at the new intruders. "What? Kids? What are you doing here?"
"You stole my Pokémon and I want it back!" said Florian before he pointed a finger. "Hand over Deino!"
"And the other Pokémon too!" said Ash.
"What? That Deino is your Pokémon?" said the grunt. "Well, the thing is, your Deino is too strong. And in the end, that power will be used for ill one way or a another. All these Pokémon are too powerful. They'll hurt someone when they get the chance!"
"You're wrong! Pokémon don't just turn on people like that!" cried out Ash.
"I know my Deino, it would never hurt anyone like that!" said Florian. "Now let it go!"
"I'm afraid we can't do that," said the grunt.
"Ugh, Pikachu, use Iron Tail to set them free!" Ash said. Pikachu leapt towards to truck before cutting open the cage on the back, setting all the Pokémon free. However, once they were out, they all lay on the ground injured.
"Oh, no! Did they hurt you guys?" Ash said as he knelt down to the them concerned.
Florian knelt down to his Deino and petted it. "It's okay, Deino. I'm here." Deino lifted its head and placed it on its trainer's chest.
"Huh, what do you know?" said the grunt, exiting the truck. "Looks like that Pikachu's a little too tough as well. Better take it with us for safekeeping."
"Not gonna happen!" said Ash, as he and Pikachu faced the grunts to fight.
"I think that's quite enough!" came another voice. Ash and Florian turned to see a taller Team Shade henchman. This man had no top hat and was bald, but wore a white version of the Team Shade uniform, and had single black spikes on his shoulders.
"Who are you supposed to be?" said Ash.
"I am one of Team Shade's most important Admins, Kako," said the man. "I was tasked with overseeing this little operation. Our boss asked us to come here to capture all the most powerful Pokémon in the area and take them back to her so she can deal with them herself."
"Why would you do this?" said Ash. "These Pokémon haven't hurt anyone!"
"Our boss tells us that Pokémon are good for nothing but using their powers to inflict pain and suffering on others," said Kako. "Therefore, we must prevent them from getting the chance!"
"Forget it!" said Ash. "We won't let you! C'mon, Florian, let's show these guys what for!"
"Very well," said Florian, pulling out a PokéBall. "You punks'll pay for what you did to Deino!"
Florian threw the PokéBall, which opened to reveal a hawk-like Pokémon. It's underside was white, but its topside was a mixture of red and black, and it had a hooked, sharp beak.
"Cipiter!" it cried out.
"Whoa, who's that's Pokémon?" said Serena, still hiding off to the side with Vernon and RotomDex.
RotomDex decided to scan it. "Hawkcipiter. The Aerial Pokémon. A Flying Type. Hawcipiters are considered acrobats in the air, their long wings and feathers allowing them to make all sorts of twists and turns as the dive downward. Does not evolve."
"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" said Kako. He pulled out his own PokéBall and threw it, revealing a large scorpion-like Pokémon that had white, shaggy fur all over its body.
RotomDex quickly scanned it and said, "Frosscorpion. The Tundra Bug Pokémon. An Ice and Poison Type. Living in the cold tundra, Frosscorpions hide under the snow in wait of their prey to come close. Once it does, it viciously attacks with its poisonous tail and claws. Evolves from Snoraknid at level 25."
"Use Cross Poison!" said Kako. Frosscorpion put its pincers together to form a purple X before launching it at its opponents.
"Dodge it!" Ash and Florian said together and their Pokémon were able to dodge.
"Use Thunderbolt!" said Ash.
"Use Air Slash!" said Florian.
Their Pokémon launched their respective moves, but Kako ordered it to dodge before using Poison Tail. Frosscorpion's tail swiped at Pikachu and Hawcipiter, knocking them to the ground.
"Grr, we gotta help them!" said Serena.
"Right!" Vernon agreed.
"Not so fast!" came a voice, and Serena, Vernon, and RotomDex turned to see the grunts from the truck confronting them. "I'm afraid we can't let you lousy kids interfere."
The two grunts sent out a Skuntank and Mightyena, and Serena and Vernon growled as they called upon their own Pokémon.
"Zubat, let's go!"
"Lunoth! Go!"
Zubat and Lunoth appeared by their trainers' side, ready to fight.
Meanwhile, Frosscorpion had Pikachu pinned to the ground in its pincer, before it was suddenly hit by a ball of blue energy. Florian looked over to see Deino slowly standing up, as it fired another Dragon Rage to knock Frosscorpion back.
"Yes, that's it, Deino!" said Florian. "Now use Dragonbreath!"
Deino mustered up its strength to spit out some blue flames, blowing Frosscorpion back.
"Hmph, not bad," said Kako. "You know what? I think we need to turn this up a notch." He pressed a button in his uniform. Suddenly, a whole bunch of grunts came pouring out of the cave.
"Oh, come on!" said Florian.
"I'm afraid we can't let you kids interfere with our work," said Kako.
"Grr, Pikachu, quick! Use Thunderbolt! Give it everything you've got!" yelled Ash.
Quickly, Pikachu shot a Thunderbolt at the grunts, knocking them all out of the way of the cave. With that, Ash grabbed Florian and began dragged towards the cave.
"Whoa, what are you doing!?" yelled Florian, as Pikachu, Hawcipiter, and Deino ran after them.
As Ash, Florian, and their Pokémon ran into the cave, Kako growled and said to the grunts, "Well, go get them!" And the grunts all ran into the cave after them.
Meanwhile, Serena and Vernon were struggling to defeat the other grunts.
"Mightyena, use Bite!"
"Skuntank, use Sucker Punch!"
The Team Shade Pokémon quickly used their moves to knock back Zubat and Lunoth, too quickly for them to react in time. But just as Lunoth and Zubat were getting up, a stream of Pokémon attacks beat the Team Shade Pokémon back.
"What the-" said one of the grunts, before she looked over to see the Pokémon Pikachu had freed now standing by to help them.
The Pokémon mustered up their strength and fired their most powerful attacks, knocking the Mightyena and Skuntank over to the grunts. Seeing this, Serena and Vernon told their Pokémon to use Dark Pulse and Dark Blast, which knocked out both Pokémon and trainers.
"Awesome!" said Vernon.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" came a voice, and Serena and Vernon turned to see more grunts coming their way.
"Uh, oh! Run for it!" RotomDex yelled, as the group turned to run for it with the Pokémon.
Who's that Pokémon?
It sprays a vile-smelling fluid from the tip of it's tail. The fluid smells worse the longest it is allowed to fester.
Inside the cave, Ash, Florian, and their Pokémon were surrounded by darkness, but the grunts were far behind them.
"Are you nuts? Why'd you drag us all in here?" said Florian.
"We needed to get away from those guys," said Ash. "Hang on, we need some light."
He pulled out a PokéBall and opened it, and out came Charmor. "Charmor, you think you can help light this place up?"
"Char!" Charmor nodded as it opened up its scales to emit some flames beneath, lighting up the darkness. It seemed to mostly be cave, but the tunnel led on deeper.
"C'mon, I say we look into what Team Shade is up to in here," said Ash.
"Excuse me? Look, you can get yourself into trouble if you like, but leave me out of it," said Florian. "I came for Deino, and I got Deino. I'm getting out of here."
"Whoa, in a cave this big, you'll get lost!" said Ash. "C'mon, it'd be safer to stick together."
"Forget it!" said Florian. "My Pokémon and I are getting out of here!"
Ash reached out to stop him, but Florian and his Pokémon were long gone.
"Ugh, oh well," said Ash as he turned to face his Pokémon. "We should try to check this place out while we have a chance."
Charmor nodded and began to led Ash and Pikachu down the tunnel, as they attempted to find something of interest.
Outside, Serena, Vernon, RotomDex and their Pokémon were running until they finally managed to get away from the grunts.
"Whew, that was too close," said Vernon.
"What about Ash?" said Serena. "I saw him run in there! We gotta do something to help him out."
Suddenly, a moaning filled the air, and they looked at all the Pokémon that had run away with them now laying on the ground.
"Aww," said Serena kneeling down to pat a Jumjoey. "You poor things. How could anyone do this to you?"
"So what now?" said RotomDex. "We still need to help Ash, but what about all these Pokémon?"
"I have an idea," said Vernon. "RotomDex, I want you to try calling the authorities. We'll stay here to keep an eye on the Pokémon. When the authorities get here, we can ask them to help Ash."
"What? That'll take too long. Why don't you guys watch the Pokémon and I'll go help Ash right now?"
"Serena, you've got-" Vernon tried to say, but Serena was already running off.
Somewhere in the cave Florian and his Pokémon were trying to find the way out. He had spied a faint light, so he tried following it. Eventually, he came to a large room that had a bunch of papers and notes sitting around on tables. Curious, he began looking them all over, and saw that they were all research papers on various Pokémon. Most of them, though, seemed to be studies of Legendary Pokémon. And when his eyes fell on a certain one, they widened in shock.
It's Skuntank!
Ash and his Pokémon began walking through the cave, until finally, they came to a room full of cages, containing Pokémon big and small. Some Pokémon paced around inside their cages, but others just lay down, no energy left to fight.
"I don't believe this!" said Ash. "Come on, guys, let's try to get them out of here."
Pikachu and Charmor nodded before unleashing their attacks on some of the cages. The cages broke open and the Pokémon slowly made their way out.
"It's okay, you guys," said Ash, kneeling down to the Pokémon's height. "We came to help you!"
"I don't think so," came a voice, as Ash turned around to see a bunch of grunts coming in. "We're gonna have to ask you to stop right there." They sent out a bunch of Toxicroaks, Skuntanks, and Kadabras.
"Grr, c'mon out, guys, we can beat 'em together!" said Ash as he pulled out his Poké Balls. He opened them and out came Platide, Humbeat, and Roachoid.
"Attack!" Ash called out. Pikachu, Charmor, Platide, and Humbeat all unleashed their best moves and knocked Team Shade's Pokémon back. However, Roachoid was suddenly lazing in the floor.
"Oh, come on, Roachoid!" said Ash. This is serious!"
"Kadabra, use Shadow Ball!"
"Toxicroak, use Venoshock!"
"Skuntunk, use Toxic!"
The grunts' Pokémon were quick to attack, but Ash's Pokémon were quick to counterattack. Pikachu used Thunderbolt, Humbeat used Razor Wind, Charmor used Ember, and Platide used Scald.
"Good job, you guys!" said Ash. "Keep it up!"
However, one Toxicroak aimed its Venoshock at Roachoid, who wasn't paying attention. It was blasted back against a wall.
"Roachoid, no!" said Ash, running over to it. However, Roachoid suddenly stood up, angered, as it ferociously unleashed the mother of all Struggle Bug attacks, pummeling the grunts' Pokémon.
"Whoa, nice one, Roachoid!" said Ash. "Say, I've got an idea if you want to hear me out."
Roachoid only looked at Ash with incredulity, before the sounds of Ash's other Pokémon clashing with the grunts' Pokémon filled the air.
"Just trust me, Roachoid," said Ash. "Just listen closely for when I tell you to do something."
"Kadabra, Shadow Ball!"
"Stunktank, Toxic!"
"Toxicroak, Venoshock!"
As Team Shade's Pokémon attacked, Ash quickly called out to Charmor, "Charmor, I want you to use Rapid Spin and Ember at the same time!"
Charmor looked confused, but did as its trainer said. It pulled itself into its armor and spun around, before spewing flames around, creating a small vortex of fire that stopped any attacks from getting through.
"Awesome!" said Ash. "Now, Platide! Use Aqua Jet to surf around them!"
Jumping onto its tail, Platide created some water to surf on, and and moved around Team Shade's Pokémon so quickly, they got dizzy trying to watch him spin around.
"Now, Humbeat, rain down some Razor Winds on them!" Humbeat soared above the Pokémon, and unleashed powerful Razor Winds on the enemy Pokémon.
"Grr, I see the kid's training his Pokémon well," said a grunt.
"Guess that means we better take them away as well," declared another grunt.
"I don't think so!" said Ash. "Now, Roachoid, use Hypnosis!"
Roachoid jumped into the air, it's eyes glowing with psychic power. The grunts got ready to tell their Pokémon to stop it, but suddenly, Roachoid turned to them, and it emitted its Hypnosis attack on them, leaving them drowsy.
"Nice one, Roachoid!" said Ash. "Now, Pikachu, wrap them up with an Electroweb!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out, throwing web made of electricity onto the grunts.
The grunts' Pokémon looked over angered, but we're suddenly tripped up by Humbeat's Wing Attacks and Platide's Aqua Jet, leaving them laying in the ground with swirls in their eyes.
"Awesome work, you guys!" Ash said as he knelt down to pet them. He then looked over to Roachoid, and said, "You see, Roachoid? We were able to pull that because we're in synch with one another! That's how trainers and Pokémon fight, by working together."
Roachoid only stared at him before sitting down on the ground and shrugging.
Outside the cave, Serena was peeking from behind a tree at the Team Shade grunts outside the entrance.
"Grr, how do I get in there?" said Serena.
As she leaned forward, however, a PokéBall fell from her belt, and as it landed on the ground, it landed on the button that opens it, and out came Braixen.
"Braixen, Brai," said Braixen.
"What? No, Braixen, you gotta-" Serena said.
"Hey, who's there?" called a grunt. They all spied Serena and Braixen quickly, so the two got ready to battle as the grunts sent out their Pokémon.
"Braixen, use Flamethrower!"
"Brai!" Braixen unleashed a torrent of flames from its stick, blasting the Pokémon away.
As the grunts were distracted, they didn't notice Florian and Deino making their way out of the cave. As Florian witnessed the battle in front of him, he said, "That girl's got her hands full. Well, better her than me."
He tried to sneak away, only for Deino to sudden bite the bottom of her shirt and pull him back. "What are you doing?" Deino stated at him with an angry look, clearly demanding he help.
"She can handle herself," said Florian. But suddenly, he heard a loud scream, and looked over to see Braixen being held down by the grunts' Pokémon, it's stuck being knocked out its reach. Seeing this, Florian put a hand to his forehead and groaned.
"C'mon, kid, give it up!" said a grunt.
"Grr, never!" said Serena, running up to Braixen. "I won't let you get away with this!"
"Sableye," said a grunt, "use Shadow Claw."
His Sableye jumped up and prepared to slash at Serena with glowing claws, only to suddenly be bashed away. Serena saw Deino landing on the ground, coming out of Dragon Rush. She then looked over to see Florian running over.
"Florian! You saved me!" said Serena.
"Yeah, well, I guess I had no choice," he said.
Noticing that the grunts' Pokémon were distracted, Braixen quickly threw them off and grabbed its stick, before standing by its trainer.
"Nice, Braixen!" Serena said. "Now, use Fire Blast!"
"Deino, use Dragon Rage!" Florian said.
Their Pokémon unleashed their respective moves and knocked the grunts' Pokémon back. However, Deino was suddenly pulled away, and Florian looked over to see Kako, standing by Frosscorpion holding Deino in its claws.
"You didn't think I'd let you brats get away that easily, did you?" he said.
Suddenly, Frosscorpion was bashed away by a yellow blur. Kako looked over to see Pikachu standing on top of Frosscorpion, its body running with electricity. Deino stood up and faced Frosscorpion with anger.
"And you didn't think we'd let you guys get away with this, did you?" Kako looked over to see Ash and his other Pokémon running up. Right behind them, all the Pokémon from within the cave were running up behind them.
Roachoid quickly leapt up and unleashed a powerful Struggle Bug attack, knocking most of the Team Shade Pokémon.
"Guys!" called out a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Vernon and RotomDex rushing over.
"It's okay," said RotomDex. "We brought back up!"
"Hold it right there!" Out came a whole squad of Officer Jennys, along with their Wolfangs. "You're all under arrest!"
Kako looked around. Between Ash, Serena, Vernon, Florian, the Officer Jennys, and the freed Pokémon, he knew they no longer stood a chance.
Pressing a button on his chest, he said, "Attention all Team Shade operatives. We are retreating immediately. Fall back!"
Throwing a PokéBall, out came a Vanillish. "Mist!" Kako called out. The Vanillish let out a white mist, blinding everyone. Once it cleared, Team Shade had disappeared.
"Search everywhere!" called out one of the Jennys. The Jennys spread out, searching for any trace of the grunts. All the Pokémon laid on the ground, still feeling a bit bruised from Team Shade's treatment.
"Aw, you poor things," said Serena, kneeling down to pet one.
"No worries," said Vernon, as he walked up. "We brought some help for that too."
A group of Nurse Joys suddenly walked over and picked up the Pokémon, getting ready to treat them.
The officers unfortunately couldn't find any trace of Team Shade, but thanks to the Nurse Joys, the Pokémon were all feeling much better, including Deino, who walked back up to its trainer.
"Hmph, glad you're finally better, Deino," said Florian, as he cracked a tiny grin and knelt down to pet Deino.
"Hey, feel free to say thank you," said Ash.
Florian looked at him annoyed before looking back at Deino. Ash almost growled at this, only for him to hear Florian grumble, "...ank you."
"What was that?" said Vernon. "C'mon, you can do better."
Growling and standing up, Florian, still not looking at Ash, said, "Thank you for saving Deino. Now, if you don't mind, I think we'll be heading out now." He and Deino turned to walk away, as Ash, Serena, and Vernon look after him.
"Well, he thanked you at least," said Serena. "And he did save me, too."
"Yeah, maybe he's not all bad," said Ash. "Could use some work on his people skills though."
So Ash and his friends have stopped Team Shade yet again, with some unexpected help from Florian. Could Florian be better than he lets on? I guess we'll find out...
Florian was walking away, Deino by his side. But Florian was looking over a couple papers he stole from the Team Shade hideout.
"Just wait, Deino," said Florian. "With information like this in my hands, I'll be the very best, like no one ever was."
...as the journey continues!
TO BE CONTINUED...