Pokemon: Friends to the End
Chapter 55: The Keystone Pops!
In the Night...
Ash and Dawn decide to have a battle with Aipom against Buizel while Brock, Denise and Pikachu watched.
"Now Aipom use Swift!"Dawn ordered.
Aipom swings her tail to sent stars towards Buizel.
"Dodge it, Buizel!"Ash ordered.
Buizel dodges the Swift Attack.
"Now use Water Gun!"Ash ordered.
Buizel leapt up and fires water towards Aipom.
"Dodge it, Aipom!"Dawn ordered.
Aipom quickly jumped out of the way from getting hit by the water gun.
"Buizel, Aqua Jet!"Ash ordered.
Buizel surrounds himself with water.
"Quick, Aipom avoid that with Double Team!"Dawn ordered.
Aipom jumped into the air and made copies of herself to confuse Buizel.
"Now use Focus Punch!"Dawn ordered.
Aipom used Focus Punch but Buizel blocked the attack with his paw.
"Training trainers sure has been a big success."Brock remarked. "I've never seen them so psyched."
"I can totally see that."Denise agreed before taking a sip of her tea.
"Pika pika."Pikachu replied kindly.
"Aipom use Swift, let's go!"Dawn ordered.
Aipom swung her tail once more, sending star-shaped rays that made a big star when they connected together.
"Buizel, intercept with Aqua Jet!"Ash ordered.
Buizel activated Aqua Jet and hit the big star making it explode making lots of small stars to fall down.
"All right."Brock complimented.
"That combination would be so good in a contest performance."Denise admitted kindly.
"Buizel use Sonic Boom!"Ash ordered.
Buizel sent a shock wave towards Aipom.
"Deflect with Focus Punch, Aipom!"Dawn ordered.
Aipom use Focus Punch to deflect the shock wave and it was send to a Hallowed Stone Tower.
The tower immediately crumbles into bricks.
"Uh oh, now we've done it."Ash admitted.
Suddenly the bricks began to glow on their own.
In the rubble lies an Odd Keystone.
"Whoa, check that out."Ash said.
The sky turns black and clouds roll in the sky.
"Its getting cloudy."Dawn stated quietly.
"Hey, is it just me that is getting a bad feeling about this?"Denise asked nervously. "Because all the sudden, I'm getting goosebumps."
Then dark clouds covered the moonlight sky.
"Something really weird about this."Ash admitted.
"Pika pika."Pikachu said quietly.
Suddenly lightning from the sky strikes the Keystone causing a Spiritomb to emerge from it.
"Spiritomb."Spiritomb said.
"That's a pokemon?"Brock asked.
Dawn took out her pokedex to scan the strange pokemon.
"Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokémon."Dawn's Pokedex said. "As punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago, it was imprisoned in the fissure of an Odd Keystone."
"So its a ghost and a dark type."Denise admitted.
"Spiritomb?"Ash asked.
Spiritomb proceeds to attack the group with Shadow Ball and Hyper Beam.
"Why are you doing this?!"Ash demanded and looked at Buizel. "Buizel, Water Gun!"
Buizel fires Water Gun, but the attack goes straight through Spiritomb.
Spiritomb fires Shadow Ball, knocking Buizel out into a tree before flying away.
"Oh no, Buizel!"Ash called out.
The four heroes rushed up to Buizel.
Denise looked at the direction where Spiritomb went off to.
"Man that ghost type is tough."She stated.
"But still what was that about?"Dawn asked.
The Next Morning...
"I'd sure like to figure out what that Spiritomb was doing here in the first place."Ash admitted.
"Pika pika."Pikachu replied.
"I wonder what was its issue of attacking us in the beginning."Denise stated.
"Yeah in such a nasty mood as well."Dawn added.
"Oh yeah."Brock agreed.
The heroes then arrived at a nearby village which was derelict.
"Check it out."Ash said.
"Something terrible has happened."Dawn admitted.
They rushed up to a male trainer who was next to his injured Raticate.
"Please Raticate be okay."the boy said worriedly.
"What in the world happened here?"Denise asked.
"Some kind of creepy pokemon just attacked us all out of no where and none of us did anything."the boy explained.
"I wonder..."Ash said.
"Sounds like it could've been Spiritomb."Dawn stated.
"After what we saw I have to agree."Brock admitted.
"It was Spiritomb!"
The four heroes startled and backed away when they saw a angry old lady between them.
"The evil Spiritomb has been reborned!"the Old Lady shouted. "It's got to be true!"
"Excuse me, I'm having little trouble following you."Dawn said nervously.
"Then loosen up that little white cap of yours, honey."the Old Lady replied. "The seal holding Spiritomb has been smashed."
"I'm still not sure what your talking about."Ash admitted.
"Good thing I am."the Old Lady answered with a nod.
The four heroes walked up to her.
"Then would you please explain it to us!"They said in unison.
The Old Lady nodded in respond.
The heroes went outside the village to listen to the Old Lady's story.
"There's a village legend going back a long time that tells us how Spiritomb was sealed away."the Old Lady explained.
"Sealed away?"Denise asked.
"You heard right."the Old Lady replied. "There was a wicked pokemon called Spiritomb that caused terrible trouble for the folks living around here, it did everything it could to make their lives miserable, always messing with the fruits the villagers were trying to pick and destroying everybody's homes, nothing could've been done to stop Spiritomb and those villagers were running to step away from their end! When all of the sudden, an Aura Guardian walked right into their village."
"Aura Guardian?"Ash asked.
"And this Aura Guardian had a Pikachu with him."the Old Lady stated. "They told him about their troubles and he banished Spiritomb on behalf of the village then after bravely defeating Spiritomb, the Aura Guardian sealed it in a Keystone deep inside a Hallowed Stone Tower to make certain it wouldn't cause any harm to anyone again! Then the village was saved and everyone lived happily ever after, so you wanted to hear the legend now you have."
The four heroes looked at each nervously.
"Hallowed Tower, huh?"Ash asked.
"Made out of stone, huh?"Dawn chuckled weakly.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"Brock asked.
"Oh no, you don't mean..."Denise said worriedly.
The group then realize that they have destroyed the same tower and so they take the old lady to it, who acts furious seeing it.
"This stone hallow tower looks like a heap of rubble!"the Old Lady shouted and glared darkly at the four heroes."You kids did this didn't you?!"
The four heroes freaked out at the tone of her voice.
"It was accident you see!"Ash protested nervously.
"We were using Buizel's Sonic Boom and we mistakenly knocked it down!"Dawn admitted.
"Of course, we couldn't have known anything about your legend!"Brock added.
"Yeah, so we can rebuilt it to make up the mistake we done, right?"Denise asked with a nervous smile.
"So it was you, little pipsqueaks?"the Old Lady questioned with a sharp teeth smile.
The four heroes and Pikachu bowed their heads in shame.
"We're really sorry and we won't do it again!"Brock, Dawn, Denise and Ash stated.
"Pika pika pikachu!"Pikachu added.
The Old Lady closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
"First it got sealed up by the Aura Guardian and his Pikachu and now that awful wicked spirit has been unsealed by a group of reckless kids with a young man that happens to have a Pikachu too."She said and opened her eyes. "Those ways of fate sure could be mighty strange."
Then the four heroes stood up.
"Since we're the ones who broke that seal, we'll make it right."Ash replied with a firm look. "You can count on it."
"Well that's mighty big talk you gotta keep in mind that Spiritomb is one mean and nasty pokemon."the Old Lady reminded.
Suddenly Team Rocket showed up disguised as psychics.
"Excuse me, we happen to hear that big talk."Jessie said.
"Whoa, who are you?"Brock asked.
"I'm a renowned combination mystic psychic and hairdresser."Jessie replied with a smile.
"And I'm Hook Eye Friday."James answered.
"You mean like the ones on TV that tells celebrities about their past lives and predict their future?"Dawn asked with a excited tone.
"I can see what can't be see and tell of what can't be told."Jessie answered with a smirk. "Like I'm going to do now."
She thought hardly and pointed at Ash.
"You with the Pikachu!"She said.
"Who me?"Ash asked.
"It's as clear with your clueless stare, the stars tell me that, your spirit guide is conducting pokemon research!"Jessie stated. "A true, blue Pokémon man! I see him...red shirt, white lab coat, and writing pokemon poem!"
"Hey that's Professor Oak."Ash said in realization.
"But, just one thing, he's still alive."Brock replied.
"He sure is."Ash remarked as he rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile.
Jessie then pointed at the two twin sisters.
"And, I can see your past lives!"She admitted.
"What?"Dawn asked.
"We've both got a past life?"Denise said in confusion.
"You're both good at the clueless staring stocks!"Jessie answered with a smirk. "You two were once Slowpokes!"
"You mean we were pokemons in the past life!?"Dawn asked in disbelief.
Denise then sweat dropped with a confused look.
"As Slowpokes..."She mumbled.
Jessie then pointed at Brock.
"And your spirit guide is..."She started.
She then notice the old lady causing her to freak out with James and Meowth who was disguised as a Sneasel.
"Sharpedo teeth!"Jessie shouted in fright.
"Excuse me, but I haven't departed this world quite yet."the Old Lady reminded with a glare.
"Could've fooled me, ma'am!"Jessie answered nervously.
"Our psychic Sneasal has the gift of communication with other Pokémon with the mental telepathy."James explained.
"Sneasal Snea!"Meowth answered.
"Wow, no joke?"Dawn asked with a bright smile.
"Sneasal Sneasal!"Meowth replied with a nod.
And that means you can leave us the unpleasant task of dealing of that saucy Spiritomb to us."Jessie remarked.
Then a little boy's shout earned the group's attention.
"Hey, Granny, help!"He shouted. "That bad Spiritomb is attacking us again!"
This caused the Old Lady and the four heroes to become alarmed.
A Moment After...
The group return to the village finding it more damaged than before.
Ash then saw something that earned his attention.
"Look there is Spiritomb!"He stated.
The others saw Spiritomb approaching a girl and her Chikorita.
"Alright, Sneasal, do your thing."Jessie stated.
Meowth nodded and scurried over to Spiritomb, who began to have a conversation with each other.
"What are they doing?"Ash asked.
"At this very moment, Sneasal is using telepathy to explore the demonic depths of Spiritomb's faults!"James explained.
"Well, they look more like they're talking to me."Denise admitted.
After finishing talking with Spiritomb, Meowth rushed up to James and whispered something in his ears.
"Sneasal says Spiritomb wants something from Pikachu."James translated.
"Huh, like what?"Ash asked.
"Pika?"Pikachu said.
"Now now musn't let Mr Nasty wait."Jessie reminded and took Pikachu. "Now come along."
The fake psychics took Pikachu and brought him next to Spiritomb.
"I will now re-seal the floating troublemaker by utilizing my psychic powers."Jessie remarked and took out a stick. "Hocus pocus, ready, get, set, put its bad self in its place!"
Suddenly a net came out of her stick causing Spiritomb and Pikachu to get trapped in it.
The four heroes and the old lady gasped in shock what they just saw.
"And goal!"James remarked.
"Soon they'll be casting the spell on the boss!"Jessie said happily.
"So let's get our ride and slide!"Meowth admitted taking out his remote.
The heroes then saw the Team Rocket Balloon coming up from a few trees behind them.
"No you don't!"Ash shouted angrily.
Team Rocket removed their disguises and then began reciting their motto.
"I don't have to be psychic to know the truth."Jessie stated with a smirk.
"Especially when dealing with twerpish youth."James remarked.
"On the wind!"
"The stars!"
"Yeah, forsooth!"
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"
"A mystic psychic by any other name is just as smart!"
"We've turned fooling you dumb twerps into an art!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Meowth, dat's a name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place!"
"We're Team Rocket!"
"In your face!"
Team Rocket then took off on their balloon.
"Our ride is here, so we're out of here!"They remarked in unison.
The four heroes began to chase the Team Rocket Balloon.
"Team Rocket, come back!"Ash demanded.
"If they think they can capture Spiritomb, they're dummer than they look."the Old Lady stated.
Spiritomb uses Ominous Wind, which destroys Team Rocket's balloon, making them crash to the ground.
Pikachu rushed up to his friends.
"Pikachu, are you okay?"Ash asked.
Team Rocket freaked out when they saw Spiritomb behind them.
"Quick Seviper!"Jessie stated.
Seviper comes out of its pokeball, but Spiritomb quickly knocked out with its Hyper Beam.
"You like pulling things out of the hat like that don't ya?"Meowth panicked.
Team Rocket flees with Spiritomb following them.
"Spiritomb sure taught Team Rocket a thing or two."Ash commented.
"Yeah though angry."Dawn added.
"They're much dummer than they look."the Old Lady stated with a firm look.
Ash took out Staravia in order for the Flying Type to search for Spiritomb.
"Staravia did you find Spiritomb yet?"Ash called out.
"Staravia!"Staravia replied while circling an area.
"Where do you think Spiritomb could've gone?"Dawn asked.
"What if Spiritomb found another village?"Brock suggested.
"Guys, we gotta make sure that doesn't happen."Ash reminded.
"Maybe Spiritomb is still giving chase to Team Rocket."Denise admitted.
"Your right, we just saw Spiritomb chasing them right?"Dawn asked.
"Ah ha."Ash replied.
"So that means we could lure Team Rocket here and then Spiritomb might come along too."Dawn said with a wink.
"That might work."Ash stated.
"Yeah especially since nothing else has."Brock agreed.
"So what is the plan you had in mind, sis?"Denise asked.
"Okay, here's the plan, listen up..."Dawn whispered.
In the Sky...
"Scary, but not too smart."Jessie said.
"Spiritomb is feisty as a aura guardian."James mumbled.
"Everytime we're close on plugging Pikachu, our eyes get too big."Meowth retorted.
James then saw Pikachu sleeping in a meadow by himself.
"Well, widen your eyes now!"He stated.
"Pikachu taking a snooze in the meadow are we?"Jessie asked with a smirk.
"And barely any twerps in sight to cause trouble!"Meowth remarked.
"This is our lucky day."James added.
"Excuse me because my brilliant strategy not luck."Jessie giggled.
"Please..."James and Meowth muttered.
Team Rocket then land their balloon to capture Pikachu, but they end up falling into a pitfall trap in the process.
"Pika pika!"Pikachu laughed happily.
"Hey, what's with the pit trap?"Jessie mumbled.
Team Rocket then saw Ash and the two sisters.
"Twerps?!"They said in unison.
Then the three trainers began to imitate Team Rocket's motto.
"Listen is that bad guy talk I hear?"Ash asked.
"It speaks to me loud and clear."Dawn replied.
"On the Wind!"Ash remarked.
"Pass the Stars!"Dawn admitted.
"In your ear!"Denise stated with a smirk.
The three trainers were then interrupted by an angry Jessie.
"If it's that kind of imitation, they built lawsuits for!"Jessie snapped.
"Chill out!"Dawn retorted. "We couldn't care less about you."
"We're looking for Spiritomb!"Ash stated.
Then Spiritomb shows up behind the pit trap that Team Rocket were in.
"Looks like our plan has worked."Denise remarked proudly.
"And that strategy."Ash complimented.
"Who are the twerps now?"Dawn teased.
This caused Team Rocket to get more upset before they left the pit and looked at Spiritomb.
"Your highness, if its total unmerciful revenge you want, have I got the perfect sap for you!"Meowth admitted happily.
"That twerp with the Pikachu is the descendant of the Aura Guardian who sealed you in that crazy keystone!"Jessie explained.
"Who you mean me?"Ash asked in confusion.
"Pika?"Pikachu said.
Spiritomb anger on Ash and attacks him with Hyper Beam causing the old lady and the heroes to get out of the way.
"All right Spiritomb, sure I'll battle you!"Ash replied with a firm look.
"You must lure it to the broken stone tower!"the Old Lady protested.
"Come get me!"Ash stated.
"Pikachu!"Pikachu agreed.
Ash runs to the ruins of the Hallowed Tower with Spiritomb in close pursuit while the sun was setting down slowly.
Spiritomb stops Ash and Pikachu in their tracks by using Dark Pulse.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack, go!"Ash ordered.
Pikachu goes forward with Quick Attack, but Spiritomb dodges.
"Now Thunderbolt!"Ash ordered.
Pikachu uses Thunderbolt hitting Spiritomb which counters with Hyper Beam.
Brock, Dawn, Denise and the Old Lady watch the scene.
"That Spiritomb is sure is powerful."Brock admitted.
"It seems it won't stop until it gets what it really wants."Denise said worriedly.
"Ash, please be careful!"Dawn called out.
Ash and Pikachu continue running, but Spiritomb stops them again.
"Just a little more Pikachu, okay?"Ash asked.
Spiritomb fires Hyper Beam causing the two to get out the way.
"Now Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"Ash ordered.
Pikachu fires Thunderbolt at Spiritomb.
"It's working, again!"Ash demanded.
Pikachu continually uses Thunderbolt, getting more and more tired, while Spiritomb resists each attack.
"Oh no, Pikachu is totally worn out!"Brock said.
"Pikachu, hang in there!"Dawn protested.
"Come on, you can do it!"Denise called out.
Then Spiritomb uses Shadow Ball again but misses Pikachu and hits Team Rocket, blasting them off again.
"Talk about lousy seats!"Jessie complained.
"You had to have such a field!"James replied.
"Cheap seats for cheap skies."Meowth mumbled.
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"Team Rocket screamed as they disappeared in the sky.
"Pikachu, are you okay?"Ash asked.
"Pikachu!"Pikachu replied with a smile.
Spiritomb then began activating Giga Impact.
"That's Giga Impact."Brock stated.
"Oh no!"Denise panicked.
"If this happens its all over!"the Old Lady admitted clenching on her stick.
"You guys, quick, move it!"Dawn warned.
Spiritomb strikes both Ash and Pikachu shocking the others.
"Pikachu?"Ash asked weakly.
Ash glared at Spiritomb as it let out a evil laugh.
Pikachu stood in the ground, exhausted, as dark clouds gather above again.
"Look at the sky..."Dawn said nervously.
"It's like before."Brock admitted.
"Ash, Pikachu, come on, don't give up!"Denise begged.
"Pikachu, pikachu!"Ash called out. "Get up, please!"
Pikachu opened his eyes and slowly stood up like his trainer.
"Its our last chance, use Thunderbolt and aim at the sky."Ash stated.
"Pikachu!"Pikachu shouted.
The Mouse Pokemon sends a Thunderbolt up towards the sky causing it to hit him back making his energy recharge.
"Yes!"Brock remarked. "That lighting has recharged Pikachu's energy, big time!"
"Wow, you did it!"Dawn said happily.
"They're back on track!"Denise cheered putting her fist up.
"Feeling good, buddy?"Ash asked with a smirk.
"Pika pika!"Pikachu answered.
"Let's go, Volt Tackle!"Ash ordered.
Pikachu uses Volt Tackle and slammed at Spiritomb amazing his friends.
"It can't be look at that."the Old Lady whispered and then smiled.
"Now finish it with Thunderbolt!"Ash ordered.
Pikachu fires Thunderbolt defeating Spiritomb causing it to return back to the Keystone for good.
The three trainers rushed up to Pikachu while Brock and the Old Lady went up to the Keystone.
"Yeah, it worked!"Ash remarked happily.
"Well done, Pikachu."Denise said kindly. "We're so proud of you."
"Now we have to seal away the keystone as quick as we can!"the Old Lady stated.
"Gotcha."Brock groaned as he picked up the heavy keystone.
Later that Night...
With Spiritomb defeated, the group seals its Keystone away in the Hallowed Tower once more.
"That's that!"Ash stated as he placed the last piece of the tower back.
The Keystone inside the Hallowed Tower glowed for a little but then stopped.
"The Keystone is locked inside and that means Spiritomb won't be coming back here ever."the Old Lady said with a smile.
"That's totally fine with me."Ash admitted and smiled at Pikachu. "Things got tough for a little right, buddy?"
"Pika."Pikachu answered with a smile.
"Hey ma'am, I'm curious what happened to the Aura Guardian after defeating Spiritomb?"Denise asked.
"Well, the Aura Guardian found his sweetheart and they decided to settle down."the Old Lady answered simply. "Now that I think about it, you remind me of her a lot, young lady."
Denise blushed and looked down shyly.
"You don't say..."She said.
"And now another legend is born after again attacking the village, Spiritomb was sealed away by the Aura Guardian and his loyal Pikachu."the Old Lady chuckled.
"I'm not a Aura Guardian, I'm going to be a Pokemon Master!"Ash replied confidently.
"Is that right? That works too."the Old Lady laughed.
Then Dawn's stomach began to rumble earning the group's attention.
"Guess my stomach has been thinking about other things!"Dawn said shyly.
"Since the sun has gone down already, come over to my place and eat."the Old Lady suggested.
"Sounds great."Ash agreed.
"Pika pika!"Pikachu said happily.
"I would definitely need a good meal myself after all this."Denise added.
"Thank you so much."Dawn remarked.
"And tonight you can leave the cooking details to me!"Brock admitted.
The heroes then followed the old lady to her house to have dinner before they continue on their journey.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter
Feel free to review of what you think so far:)
Denise's Team:
Grotle (Male): Solar Beam, Heavy Slam, Razor Leaf and Bite
Eevee (Female): Water Gun, Shadow Ball, Attract and Thunder
Luxio (Male): Spark, Night Slash, Wild Charge and Ice Fang
Ralts (Female): Psychic, Double Team, Magical Leaf and Confusion
Hoot Hoot (Male): Peck, Reflect, Aerial Ace and Supersonic
Drifloon (Female): Ominous Wind, Thunderbolt, Will-O-Wisp and Astonish