For the next few days after returning from the Granite Cave, Ash and the gang spent training their Pokemon, just like they did before they went to visit the cave.
Of course, Max and May trained their Pokemon separately from Ash and Serena, who were also training by themselves, though they were pushing their Pokemon much harder than May, and especially Max, who was happy with his Poochyena even though he wants to see him evolve.
Unlike during the training before they went to the Granite Cave, after the visit to the said cave, none of May's or Serena's Pokemon evolved, but Ash's Torchic did evolve into Combusken on a second day after the return from the Granite Cave.
Everyone was happy for Combusken and his evolution, well, almost everyone, as May's Torchic and Ash's Treecko were not. They saw each other as rivals, and wanted to be above the others all the time, which is why after that evolution, Treecko and May's Torchic started to train much harder so they can evolve as well.
Besides training their Pokemon, the gang decided to do some fishing and see if they can get some Water Type Pokemon, which Ash really needs as he doesn't even have one, while Serena and May do have some, but they weren't going to refuse to have some more.
It's because of that, that three days after the return from Granite Cave, the gang went to a river in the forest south west of the Dewford Town, set on the river bank, and started to fish.
"This is boring," May whined after seating on the river bank for the last two hours, during which no Pokémon was fished out. The gang didn't even see a single Pokemon during those two hours, and even Max and Serena were starting to get annoyed.
Ash was annoyed as well, but not because of the lack of the Water Pokemon approaching the bait, he is annoyed because the Pokemon were not approaching the bait because the others were too loud and didn't realize that they are scaring the Pokemon away.
"I agree with May, Ash," Serena said. "This is getting us nowhere. Are there even some Pokemon in this river?"
Ash sighed. "There are plenty of Pokemon in the river, Serena," Ash said with annoyed voice, which surprised Serena, May and Max. "But the reason they are not approaching the bait is because you three are scaring them away. You are too loud, and the Pokemon can hear and feel us, which is why they are not going to come and bite.
"All three of you need to relax and stop talking, or you should just quit and let me catch something."
The three flinched at Ash's tone of voice, and the annoyance they felt rolling of off him. Max immediately stood up and walked away, as he doesn't have a patients for this, while May stood right after, and walked away from the river as well, since she could no longer sit in that position, nor is she capable of just seating quietly and hope for something to bite the bait.
Serena and Ash stayed behind and continued to fish, as they apparently have much higher patience and control of themselves then their younger traveling companions.
It wasn't even five minutes later, when something bit on Ash's fishing rod, and started to pull at it, making Ash smirk. With some of his strength he pulled the rod, and along with it, out of the river flew a pretty ugly, brown and blue, fish-like Pokémon.
"It's Feebas." Serena said, as she watched Ash jerk the rod, and let Feebas fall on the rocks around the river, which stunned the small Pokemon a little, giving Ash a chance to simply catch it, without having to actually battle it.
"And that's how you fish for a Pokémon." Ash said with a smile on his face, while holding a Poke Ball with his newly caught Feebas inside of it.
"Yeah, yeah, you were lucky and caught a Pokemon," May said after she and Max approached Ash and Serena. "But it's not some very powerful Pokemon, is it? It's just Feebas, and they are not Pokemon you can use in many battles, and are limited to just pools or in a situations where you are near the water. You can't use it on a dry land."
Ash smirked. "Yeah, you are right," he said. "But are you forgetting into which Pokemon Feebas evolves into?"
May frowned and though about it, but after few moments she gave up as she didn't know. "I don't know." She said.
It was Max who decided to educate her. "Feebas evolves into Milotic," Max said, and just then Serena pulled her Pokedex, and showed the picture and information for Milotic. May was wide-eyed.
"That small thing evolves into this," May said completely stunned in disbelief! "I can't believe it!"
"Yeah, it is a bit strange evolution," Ash admitted. "But that's nature for you. When I was a kid and was learning about different Pokemon from all over the world, at first I thought Dragonair evolves into Milotic and not into Dragonite, because Dragonair and Milotic do look a lot alike, at least in body type. I was quite surprised when I saw into what Dragonair evolves and from what Milotic evolves."
Serena, May and Max snickered at Ash for what he said, making him frown a little, before he just went back to fishing.
After she stopped her snickering, Serena joined him at fishing, while May and Max decided to do some training since they do not have the patience to fish.
It was almost twenty minutes later, when there was another bite, and this time it was on Serena's rod.
Serena started to pull hard on her rod, drawing the attention of May and Max who were not far from her. They looked at her as she was having trouble with the Pokemon she apparently caught, and were wondering which Pokemon has she caught to have so much trouble.
Ash was next to Serena, and was watching her with a small smile, as he was interested to see how she will handle this.
When Serena was finally able to pull the rod into the air, and along with it a Pokemon she caught, everyone got a sight of a Corphish flying through the air, until it landed on a beach.
"Wow, its a Corphish," Max said, as he saw the Water Pokemon, Serena was able to fish out. "Don't let it escape! Corphish are interesting Pokemon and can fight very well, especially their evolved forms."
Serena nodded and released her Taillow to battle Corphish.
The battle started immediately and the one who started it was Corphish, who fired Bubble Beam at Taillow, but Taillow dodged it. "Wing Attack!" Serena said to her Pokemon, who dived down at Corphish, with her right wing glowing white, and was about to slam into Corphish, but the Water Type's pincer glowed white as well, and Corphish used Crabhammer on Taillow sending her flying far from it until it landed on the ground behind Serena.
"No, Taillow," Serena yelled, as she was worried about her Pokemon, and was also surprised by the sudden counter attack that Corphish pulled out.
Taillow managed to get up, and just in time to see Corphish charge at her with another Crabhammer. "DODGE!" Serena yelled, and Taillow barely flew back into the air, and avoided the Crabhammer which would have ended her.
"Use Double Team, and then another Wing Attack!" Serena said to her Pokemon, who flew around in the air, and suddenly there were multiple copies of her, which confused Corphish as it didn't know which the real one was. All the Taillow's wings glowed again, and they charged at Corphish who took out few of them with Crabhammer, but they were all copies, so when the real Taillow came and hit it with Wing Attack, Corphish wasn't able to counter and was sent flying across the river bank, until it stopped after several meters.
"Good job, Taillow," Serena said with a smile, and Taillow chirped at her in thanks. "Now, let's finish this with Air Slash!"
Taillow flew closer above Corphish, who was back up and was unsuccessfully trying to hit the Flying Type with Bubble Beam. Taillow's wings then glowed white and she flaps them, releasing multiple white-glowing saw disc-like energy blades from her wings at Corphish who was hit and fell on its back.
"Poke Ball, go!" Serena yelled and she threw one of her empty Poke Ball at Corphish. The Poke Ball flew and hit Corphish before it sucked it inside of it. After few seconds of wiggling around, the ball pinged, signifying that the capture is complete.
"Good job, Serena," Ash said as he approached her and kissed her on the check, making her blush. May also got a small blush on her cheeks, but no one noticed as it quickly disappeared. "You got an interesting Pokemon, just like Max said it is."
"Thanks, Ash," Serena said, as she picked the Poke Ball of her newly captured Pokemon. The ball then shrank, making Serena sigh. "That's right, I already have six Pokemon with me. I wish I can carry 12 Pokemon with me like you can, Ash."
Ash laughed, and said she could if she was to become either Aura Guardian, member of the Elite Four or a Champion.
"That might take a while," Serena sighed again, and then put the shrunken Poke Ball in her backpack. She will switch some Pokemon later, either in the Pokemon Center or using Ash's Pokedex.
Ash and Serena returned to fish for some more Pokemon, but unfortunately, they didn't catch anything. After the end of a long day, they returned to the Pokemon Center for a dinner and sleep, before they continue their training the next day.
XXX
The next day, the group decided to go back to the river they've been at yesterday, and then follow it upstream to see if there are maybe some nicer fishing spots, or maybe some good place to train their Pokemon.
Before they left the Pokemon Center, Serena exchanged some Pokemon, and has sent Beautifly and Kirlia back at Oak's Ranch, which allowed her to open Corphish's Poke Ball, as well as gave her an open slot in a team for one more Pokemon if she is lucky to find one interesting.
"So, do you think there is a waterfall upstream of this river," Max asked as they were all walking next to a river and heading up stream toward the mountain they can see in the distance? "It could be an interesting place to train the water Pokemon, and a good place to camp out since it was decided to camp out tonight instead of going back to the Pokemon Center."
"I don't know," Ash said. "We haven't been this far from the Town up until now, so I can't say if there is a waterfall or not. And I really didn't think about asking someone. Though, I do agree it would be a nice place to camp and train."
About half an hour later, the group did find themselves in front of a very big waterfall. "Well, I guess there was a waterfall here," May commented, as she looked at the waterfall and the surrounding area. "But, should we stay here, or should we climb up at the top of the waterfall and explore up there?"
"I guess we can go up and see if there is something interesting and if not, we can always come back here." Ash said, and the others agreed.
"But how do we get up?" Serena asked.
"Hm, well there is that three at the edge of the cliff," Ash said, pointing at the tree up the waterfall and on the side of it. "If we can wrap the rope on the tree, we can climb up."
"How do we do that?" Max asked.
"You'll see," Ash said and then pulled out a rope he always carries in his backpack. He then let out his Taillow and Treecko, before he explained to them that he wants Taillow to fly up there to the tree along with Treecko, who will be holding himself on Taillow, and then Treecko is to tie a rope around the branch so they can all climb up.
The two Pokemon nodded, before Taillow grabbed the end of the rope in his beak. Taillow floated in the air, so Treecko can hold himself on his legs. Then, the Flying Type Pokemon gave a big flap of his wings and flew on top of the waterfall.
"Hah, didn't think about that," Max commented. "I'm surprised Taillow can even carry Treecko like that."
"Treecko is not very heavy, and Taillow has power even though he is small," Ash said. "I knew Taillow can pull it off, I wouldn't have asked him if I didn't think he could."
Just how Ash said it will happen, it happed, since as soon as Taillow and Treecko arrived at the top of the waterfall, Treecko took the end of the rope from Taillow, and tied it to a big branch of the tree, so that Ash and the others can climb.
It took the group of four about 10 minutes, since Serena, May and Max were not used to rope climbing, but they soon found themselves at the top of the waterfall.
"The water here flows more gently then I thought," May commented after seeing the calm flow of water right next to them.
"This is an offshoot," Max commented, and pointed their location as well as the appearance of the river on the PokéNav. "The main current is much faster."
They started to walk through the forest but still next to a river, in search of anything interesting, as well as possible clearing for training.
This part of the forest seemed a bit darker and mistier, then the bottom of the waterfall. They assumed it's because the upper part of the forest is denser, there are more trees and it's slightly colder than its lower part.
After they passed a part of the ground which was quite a bit muddier, the gang found themselves next to a small lake, where they saw a bunch of Mudkip.
"Wow, what's up with all those Mudkip?" Max asked after he saw them.
"I think they are babies," Ash said. "I can see some who look like they just hatched."
"Yeah, but why are they all here?" Serena asked.
"I honestly don't know," Max said. "They are very rare Pokemon and their natural habitat is unknown."
"I guess we were lucky to find them." Ash said, as he looked around to see if there is something strange or if there is someone else besides them.
"Well, I can't let this chance slip me," May said as she run toward the lake. "So I think I'll catch myself one of them."
As May was getting closer to the lake, she was surprised by a Mudkip, bigger than the others, who jumped from behind the bushes and fired a Water Gun at May's face before she can react.
"Oh great," May said. "This is exactly what I wanted. A Water Gun in my face."
Before anyone can say anything, or even before the others could start to laugh at May's misfortune, one of the small Mudkip fell into the river, and was dragged away by the current.
"Oh no, we got to help that Mudkip before it gets dragged to a main river!" May yelled, while the others nodded. So, Serena immediately sent her own Mudkip to help save the baby Mudkip.
Serena's Mudkip swam to the baby Mudkip and caught it with his mouth by the fin on the top of baby Mudkip's head, and started dragging it back.
Unfortunately, they were already too close to the main river, and Serena's Mudkip was unable to pull itself and the other Mudkip back to the shore. They ended up being saved by the same Mudkip who attacked May earlier, as it swam to the two other Mudkip, and helped Serena's Mudkip to drag out the baby Mudkip back to the shore, where Ash and the others waited.
"Mudkip, are you alright," Serena asked her Pokemon, who nodded his head, making her sigh in relief.
Ash approached the other Mudkip who helped Serena's save the baby, and said. "That was really brave of you, Mudkip," Ash said, while standing in front of the two Mudkip's, one old and one baby. Mudkip saw Ash and got in a stance for battle, but Ash calmed him down. "It's ok, I won't do anything. I just want to thank you for saving the baby Mudkip and helping Serena's. I don't want to think what would have happened if they got to the main river, and went down the waterfall."
Mudkip didn't say anything, but simply turned around and run away when he heard May and Max approach them.
"Hey Ash, what happened," Max asked? "Where did that Mudkip run off to?"
"I don't know," Ash sighed, and then picked up baby Mudkip to check it out and see if it was ok. Serena's Mudkip was fine and was already back in his Poke Ball, while Serena was next to Ash.
Suddenly, an old man came out from behind the bushes, and started to yell at everyone how he will not allow them to steal the Mudkip he worked so hard to raise.
"Hey, we are not trying to steal your Mudkip." Ash said to the old man, while glaring at him. The nerve of that man to think of him and the others as thieves.
"Yeah, we were just trying to help this little Mudkip." Max added, and the baby Mudkip nodded as it seemed to understand what was going on.
"Oh... well then, I'm sorry." The old man said, while rubbing his head.
"It's ok." Serena said, and then they all introduced themselves one by one.
"It's nice meeting you all," the old man said. "I guess you can just call me, Swampy, since I've been in this swamp for so long taking care of Mudkip."
He then went and yelled at them, saying how it's forbidden to enter into that place, and asked them how did they get pass the fence.
"We were just looking for a place to train and maybe catch some Pokemon," Ash said. "So when he got to the bottom of the waterfall, we decided to climb it and see what's up here."
"What the hell," Swampy yelled? "How in the hell did you climb the waterfall?"
Ash then explained his idea to use Taillow and Treecko, leaving Swampy stunned.
"Sorry about the trespass, Swampy," Serena said. "We didn't mean to do it, we didn't even know what's up here."
Swampy quickly changed his face expression from stunned to smiling, and said. "There is no reason to apologize. Besides, you saved one of my Mudkip, and for that, I'm grateful.
"Now, how about you join me for some tea, before you leave?"
XXX
Not long after, the gang of four, plus Swampy were seating by the desk in a small wooden house in the middle of the forest, not far from where the gang met Swampy.
"So, this is your home, isn't it, Swampy?" May asked.
"I guess you can say that," Swampy said. "But it's more like a shelter for all those Mudkip I've been raising all these years."
"Is that so?" Serena asked while looking around, and Swampy nodded. Serena then saw something interesting and asked. "Hey, Swampy, are those Pokemon eggs?" She pointed to a blue and orange Pokemon eggs which were inside of a glass box.
"Yes, those are all Mudkip eggs." Swampy said, making May and Max run closer to see them, while Ash and Serena followed from behind.
"How did you get all these eggs," Serena asked? "I though they are hard to get your hands on, and you have a whole slew of Mudkip here in this swamp, and now there are even eggs."
Swampy started shaking for a little while, like he was trying to stop himself from speaking. In the end he just let it go and started to speak. "Didn't you ever wonder why all three of the starter Pokemon are on the same level?"
"I wondered about that," Serena said. "But I don't think I ever asked anyone."
"Actually, I never thought about that," May said, and Max asked her how, when every trainer is supposed to have wondered about that.
Ash, on the other hand, was quiet. He didn't recognize it at first, but he was now sure he knows what this place is, and what Swampy is doing. He decided to let Swampy explain, while he was just looking at the Mudkip eggs, and was using his Aura to check them out, and see in what kind of health they are.
"Well, you see, there are a lot of people like me out there, who get Pokemon eggs from the Pokemon league so we can raise them," Swampy said.
"Hm, I guess that makes sense." Serena said.
"Does Professor Birch do the same?" May asked.
"There are some saying that Professor Birch both catches and raises them himself." Swampy said.
"This kind of sounds like Pokemon Breeding," Max said. "Right, Ash?"
"In a way, yea," Ash said. "Though there might be some differences." He wasn't really the best person to respond to that question since he is not a Pokemon Breeder. Brock on the other hand would have been much better choice to ask that.
"Yes, Ash is right, there are some differences," Swampy said. "But there is no reason to go into that, since I guess none of you are breeders."
They all shock their head. Serena thought for a moment to mention Brock, but decided not to in the end.
"How would you all like to see a Mudkip hatch?" Swampy asked, and everyone nodded, as they did want to see that. It could be interesting, especially for Max and May who never saw a Pokemon hatch before.
Few minutes later, all of them were back outside of the house, and were watching at three Mudkip eggs, of which one is glowing, before few moments later, there was a Mudkip standing there.
May and Max were happy to have been able to see Pokemon hatch, but then May got sprayed with Water Gun, in the face, by that same baby Mudkip.
Ash then brought up the fact that there was another, older Mudkip who helped Serena's Mudkip save that little baby Mudkip from the river.
"Yeah, I know about him." Swampy said with a smile, while looking at the sky.
"Is he yours?" Ash asked, as he was interesting in knowing that, as he might want to catch that Mudkip if it doesn't belong to anyone, and if there is a chance for that.
"No, Ash, he's not mine," Swampy said. "He is just one of those wild and wooly ones who sneak in here some times."
"Wild and Wooly?" Ash questioned, while the others listened.
"Yeah," Swampy said. "He thinks that all the Mudkip here are his friends, so he spends a lot of time here, and protects them if needed."
As he heard this, Ash started having second thoughts about catching that Mudkip, because if he did, then all those Mudkip would have been left without any protection.
"It seemed like an interesting Pokémon." Serena said, while May scowled, as she was reminded about the Water Gun in the face.
"Yeah, it's a nice Pokemon," Swampy said with a sad look on his face. "But he is getting very big, and it's all but impossible to find a trainer for him. Not too long from now, all his friends will be gone, and he will stay without any. It's really sad when you think about it."
"Yeah, it really is sad." Ash said with a frown, getting curious look from Serena, while the others didn't notice anything strange about Ash.
XXX
While Ash and the others were with Swampy talking about the Mudkip, not far from them there are three man, who were discussing and making plans for attack.
"So, how do we do this," one of them asked? This one looks like he is in his twenties, has a stubby beard, messy black hair, and was wearing a green camouflaged cloths, which helps him blend in with the forest and grass.
"Naturally, we go in and capture all the Mudkip. It's that simple." Said the other one. This one is around 20-years-old, had a long blonde hair which was falling over his face, and a maniacal look on his face. Just like the first one, he also had camouflaged clothing, though with that hairstyle and color, it wouldn't really hide him from anyone.
The first one disagreed with the second, and they started to argue.
The third man in the group is the oldest, and looks like he is in his fifties, with graying beard which completely covers his facial skin from being seen. His hair is not seen, as his camouflaged clothing has a hood, so most of his head is covered. He looked at the other two and sighed, before he though what he has done in is life to deserve such morons as his children. "God must have punished me for capturing and selling all those Pokemon and humans to be slaves," the old man thought in his head, before he shock it, and said. "We can't just charge in and attack blindly. We must make a plan so we won't hurt too much any Mudkip, as that would bring their price down."
The younger son frowned and asked. "And how do we do that?"
The old man looked at his younger son, and frowned. "You two morons have electric type Pokemon, so use the damn Thunder Wave to paralyze the Mudkip and then throw them in the bags."
It finally dawned to the other two that they can indeed do that, so they nodded.
The three then split up and headed to capture as many Mudkip as they can, without being seen by the caretaker of the Mudkip, as the old man would like to avoid battle if possible.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that Swampy was not the only one there, and this will bite him in the ass in the end.
XXX
Half an hour later, while the gang was preparing to leave the place, and were saying goodbye to Swampy, a Mudkip from earlier, the one who helped Serena's Mudkip, came out from behind the bushes, and everyone saw he was injured, as he was panting and there were bruises and burns everywhere on his body.
"What happened!?" Swampy yelled, as he run toward the Mudkip, followed by the others! Ash pulled some medicine and spray from his backpack and used them on Mudkip, who has fallen on the grass as soon as he saw them.
"What happened, Mudkip," Ash asked, while treating the wounds as best as he could? "Who did this to you?"
"It's the poachers," Mudkip said to Ash, though he thought it was useless, as humans can't understand Pokemon speech. He then thought that he should take them there, but it won't be easy with the injuries. "I must take you to save my friends."
"Some poachers are attacking the other Mudkip," Ash suddenly said, getting wide-eyed looks from everyone. "We must help them."
"How do you know that?" Swampy asked Ash with narrowed eyes, as he suddenly didn't trust him.
"I'm an Aura Guardian, and I can understand Pokemon language." Ash said, and Swampy and the Mudkip were very surprised. May and Max knew, while Serena has already seen him in action before.
"Where are they," Swampy asked. He was both, nervous and enraged. "This place is stretched a lot, and they can be quite far from here."
Ash closed his eyes, and focused on feeling the presences of the attackers so he can find where they are. It took him about half a minute, during which, Swampy, May and Max looked at him confused as they didn't know what he was doing.
Suddenly, Ash opened his eyes, and said. "There are three of them, and they have split in three places. We must split as well, and attack them at the same time."
"Good," Swampy said, all pumped up to go and saw the Mudkip. He can ask Ash how he found them, later. "Show me where to go and I'll take one of them, while you four go and find the other two."
Ash pointed him in one direction, which was closest to the river, while the others were more into the forest.
Swampy run off without even saying anything, leaving the others behind. Ash looked at Swampy as he was running toward the river, and suddenly got a very bad feeling. After he could no longer see Swampy, Ash shook his head, and looked at the others. "You three go together and capture the one which is about 300 meters in that direction," Ash pointed to the east. "I'll go for the one north from here."
Serena, May and Max nodded, and run of toward East, not really worried about Ash, as they knew he can take care of himself.
Ash picked up Mudkip, and placed him in his backpack where he would be safe. "Stay there until we get rid of those poachers, and then I'll take care of the rest of your wounds later."
Mudkip looked at Ash from inside of Ash's backpack and nodded, before he closed his eyes to rest.
Ash closed his backpack, then put it on his shoulders, and run toward north.
XXX
The first to find one of the poachers were Serena, May and Max, who have found a black haired man in the middle of stuffing little baby Mudkip in the bag, while his Magneton was using Thunder Wave on the others, paralyzing them.
"HEY, what the hell are you doing?" Serena yelled, drawing the attention of the guy, who looked at where the shout came from, and saw Serena, May and Max. He smirked at seeing that they are kids, though he was surprised at seeing them at all, as he didn't think there was anyone in the swamp except the old man who was watching over the Mudkip. At least that's what his father told him.
"Who the hell are you, kids," the man asked back? "And what are you doing here?"
"We are here to stop you," Max shouted! "We are not going to let you capture those Mudkip for whatever reason it is you are doing it!"
Max then went and released his Poochyena, who growled after he saw what was going on. Serena and May followed Max, and released their Pokemon. Serena let out her own Mudkip, who she was sure would want to help his brethren, while May let out her Torchic.
"HAHAHA," the man laughed at them when he saw the Pokemon the three kids released to battle him. "You don't really expect to stop me with those Pokemon, do you?"
Max got angry, and shouted. "You'll see. Poochyena, use Dark Pulse on that guy!"
Poochyena followed the order, and fired a dark and purple circles from his mouth at the poacher, who countered it with Thunderbolt from his Magneton. Both attacks canceled each other out.
"Magneton, use Tri Attack!" The man said, wanting to get rid of the kids as soon as possible.
The three screws on Magneton's body glowed white, and the white energy connected, forming a triangle. Magneton then shoot that triangle at Max, Serena and May, thinking that by getting rid of them, their Pokemon won't be able to do anything by themselves.
"Mudkip, use Water Gun to counter that attack," Serena said, and her Pokemon fired a blast of water from his mouth, which collided with the white triangle, and after few moments, both attacks exploded, canceling one another.
"Torchic, Flamethrower!" May yelled, and her Pokemon immediately fired his attack, which caught Magneton and his trainer by surprise. The fire attack hit Magneton dead-on, and sent it flying backwards until it collided with the tree, before it fell on the ground, passed out.
"Great job Torchic/Mudkip!" May and Serena said in unison, and then looked at the man, who was growling at them in anger. The anger turned to outright rage, when he was bitten on the leg by Poochyena, who sneaked up on him while he was glaring at Serena and May.
"AAAARHHHH!" The poacher roared in pain and anger, and swung his right fist to punch Poochyena, but the little Pokemon saw it, and backed away before he can be hit.
"You damn kids are going to pay for this," the man yelled, and took two other Poke Balls from his belt, and released two other of his Pokemon! "Magnezone, Skarmory, come out and kill these damn brats!"
Two very big part Steel Type Pokemon came out from their Poke Ball's, and glared menacingly at the three kids, and their Pokemon.
May and Max gulped when they saw their opponents, while Serena stood her ground and didn't want to show nor feel fear. She is going to deal with this vermin and his Pokemon, and she will do it by any means necessary. "Can the two of you hold back that Skarmory while I deal with Magnezone?" Serena asked May and Max, who looked at her in wonder, then at each other, before they nodded.
"Good," Serena said, then she returned her Mudkip and released her strongest Pokemon. Delphox.
"Oho, I wasn't expecting a final form of Kalos Region Fire starter Pokemon," the man commented, surprising Serena that he knew which Pokemon Delphox is. "It's been a while since I've been in Kalos to hunt down Fennekin, but that was mostly just for job. Now, seeing this Delphox, I think I'll take it for me and reeducate it to follow my orders."
"HELL NO! You aren't taking my Pokémon!" Serena growled, and then went to attack!
May and Max did the same, and so, the battle started.
XXX
At the North side of the swamp, where Ash went, he found another poacher in the middle of zapping a bunch of Mudkip with his Raichu.
"You should stop right there." Ash said slowly and evenly to the guy, who looked back at Ash with surprise, and wondered where he came from. The blonde haired poacher looked at Ash for a moment, and saw that Ash's eyes were glowing yellow, and got scared for a moment, before he shook his head, and in his infinite wisdom, asked.
"Why would I do that? And what are you going to do if I don't stop?" His Raichu came in front of its trainer, and the two together glared at Ash, though the poacher had a smirk on his face.
"If you don't…" Ash said, and made slight pause, before he finished. "I'll kill you." He threatened in the end, and his eyes flashed from yellow to red in an instant, before they settled to yellow.
The poacher was taken aback by such a threat, especially since its coming from a kid. It made him and his Raichu take a step back, but in the end, they stopped as they knew that they can't just back away. Besides, he was sure the kid is bluffing, as there is no way that… what, thirteen year old kid will kill him. He would be surprised if he could even give him a small wound.
"I'd like to see you try!" The man yelled, and told his Raichu to use Thunderbolt at Ash.
Raichu fired his attack, which went at Ash, but Ash easily jumped to the side and dodged it. He scowled at the guy who had raised eyebrows because of how Ash dodged, but then he started to laugh.
Ash thought to just go and really kill him just like he said, but dismissed that thought, as this guy is just insane scum, who should be sent to jail. So, Ash picked one of his Poke Balls, and sent out his Treecko.
"You think you can defeat my Raichu… with Treecko." The man scowled at Ash, as he felt insulted.
"I don't think so," Ash said. "I know so. Treecko, use Quick Attack, and follow it up with Iron Tail!"
Treecko disappeared from where he was standing, and run toward Raichu, leaving behind himself white trail. When he was close, Treecko hit Raichu with his body, basically using Tackle with Quick Attack, and when Raichu was sent backwards, Treecko jumped up, his tail glowed and hardened, before he somersaulted in the air, and when he came back down, he hit Raichu right on the head.
"WHAT THE HELL!" The poacher yelled when his Raichu passed out after being hit by Iron Tail. "How could my Raichu be taken out so easily?"
"Your Raichu is weak," Ash glared at the man. "But seeing who his trainer is, it's not so surprising."
"You little shit!" The man growled at Ash, before he returned his Raichu and then took all five other Poke Ball's from his belt, and glared at Ash, with maniacal look on his face. "Let's see how you handle all of my Pokemon."
The man released his Electabuzz, Magneton, Jolteon, Luxio and Manectric, and they all glared menacingly at Ash and his Treecko. "How do you like this, HA," the man yelled? "My very own team of Electric Type Pokemon! They have defeated all of my enemies no matter where we went to capture and no matter who we went to capture, Pokémon or human!"
When Ash heard that this guy and his pals have been capturing and sealing humans, and not just Pokemon, he growled, and took only two of the Poke Balls from his belt.
"You are going to pay for everything you have done so far." Ash said in a quiet tone of voice, but it still sent shivers down the poacher's spine.
Ash then released his Tyranitar and Aggron, who roared to the sky, and then glared at their opponents. They were immediately ready to wipe the floor with them, as the two Pokemon could sense their trainer's anger, and knew it was because of whatever that man and his Pokemon have done.
The poacher glared at Ash with a scowl on his face, and after few seconds, he yelled. "Electabuzz, use Swift, Manectric, use Thunder, Luxio, Electro Ball, Jolteon, Thunderbolt and Magneton, Zap Cannon!"
Ash defended with three Protects from his Pokemon, and so, the slaughter started.
XXX
Back in the battle between Serena, May and Max against the older of the poacher brothers, Serena, using her Delphox was able to quickly, and easily dismiss Magnezone, while May and Max with their Torchic and Poochyena were able to hold Skarmory off long enough for Serena to help them.
"Skarmory, use Flash Cannon!" The poacher yelled, as he was annoyed as all hell that he was being overrun by three kids, one of which is not even old enough to be a Pokemon trainer yet.
"Delphox, counter with Flamethrower," Serena said, before both Pokemon fired their attacks. Skarmory's was silver beam of energy from its mouth, while Delphox spit her Flamethrower from her mouth as well.
Two attacks clashed and cancelled each other out, and then Serena told her Pokemon to use Future Sight, which she did, as he eyes glowed red for a moment, before they reverted back to normal.
Seeing that this could be a problem, the poacher yelled. "Skarmory, use Brave Bird!"
Skarmory's body become surrounded in a silver aura with black streaks. It then flew straight at Delphox from high in the air.
"Delphox, use Protect!" Serena called, making the poachers eyes widen when he heard Serena's next more.
Delphox quickly created a barrier in front of herself, with which Skarmory collided, which caused a very powerful explosion. Serena had to shield her eyes from the dust which was lifted by the explosion, while May and Max were ok as they were behind her, with May's Taillow and Loudred holding guard in case the poacher decides to send another Pokemon after them.
Poacher was also fine, and was not affected by the explosion nor the dust or debris, but he was angry as all hell, because one of the most powerful moves his Skarmory has, was stopped just like that.
Then, when the dust cleared, and Skarmory was seen lying on the ground unconscious, while Delphox only had some sweat on her face, the poacher started seething.
"Damn you kids," the poacher yelled at them! "Damn you to hell! But if you think you have won, then think again, because I'm not finished!"
He then went and released his last three Pokemon, which turned out to be Scizor, Steelix and Aggron, and the latter two roared, which scared May and Max, while Serena glared at them, and then smirked.
"Why are you smiling, you whore?" The poacher roared when he saw Serena's smirk, making May and Max wonder the same, as they didn't think that there is any reason to smile while facing those three Steel Type Pokemon. It also made the two wince at the name he called Serena, while Serena lost her smirk and growled at the poacher.
Suddenly, there was a strange wind which started to blow among the trees, making everyone but Serena look around, while Serena's smirk returned. "This is why!" Serena shouted, and then a hole opened in the sky, and from inside the hole a beam of black fire came down onto the poacher and his three Steel Type Pokemon, who started to shout in pain after being hit by the attack, which the poacher soon realized it's that damn Future Sight from earlier. He has completely forgotten about it, and is now paying for that.
"Delphox, use Blast Burn to finish them all!" Serena shouted again, and while in big pain from being hit by that black fire, the poacher's eyes widened when he heard what Delphox is about to use.
Delphox was surrounded in black flames, and then she extended her stick directly at the poacher and his three Pokemon, who were all piled up on the group. Then, she formed a ball of black and red fire, before she launched the ball at the group who couldn't do anything to dodge. Soon, they were hit by a flaming inferno, which swallowed them all, and almost completely burned them.
There were shouts and growls of pain from the poacher and his Pokemon, which made Max and May wince, while Serena was just standing there looking like she normally does, though there was a small look of pain in her eyes, and she was wondering if she should have really gone this far.
Yes, she knew that none of the Pokemon, nor the poacher would die, but they will still be heavily burned, and she was pretty sure the burns will follow them until the end of their days.
Serena sighed, and looked at May and Max, who were behind her, and were looking back at her with wide eyes. "Let's return this guy's Pokemon to their Poke Ball's and then see if Ash and Swampy have finished with the other poachers."
Max and May nodded, and the three first returned their own Pokemon in their Poke Ball's, before they returned the poachers Pokemon, and had all six Poke Balls inside Serena's backpack to be safe.
Serena thought to tie to poacher to a tree, but he was burned pretty badly, so she doubted he will go anywhere, so there was no need to tie him.
They then went and released the baby Mudkip which the poacher had caught and shoved in the bag. Mudkip were very happy to be free, and have run away to hide until all this is settled and until the poachers were captured.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion coming from where the river is, which suggested to Serena, May and Max that it came from where Swampy went to confront the poacher.
"Let's go and check it out," Serena suggested. "I have a feeling Swampy might be in danger."
May and Max nodded, and the three run toward where Swampy went earlier, and to where the explosion was heard.
XXX
Ash has quickly and with no trouble at all gotten rid of his opponent and all five of his Pokemon with just three of his.
Tyranitar and Aggron have proven themselves to be a true force in battle, and Treecko has proven that his training is going well, and that he was constantly getting stronger.
Ash looked at the poacher who was passed out on the ground after he was blown away by Tyranitar's Hyper Beam, which has also taken out Electabuzz and Magneton.
Jolteon and Luxio have been defeated by Aggron's Flash Cannon and Iron Tail, while Manectric was defeated by Treecko's Iron Tail, and then newly learned Energy Ball.
"Let's free those Mudkip, and then tie this guy before I go and check the others and see how they are doing," Ash said to his Treecko after he returned Tyranitar and Aggron to their Poke Balls. Treecko nodded, and while Ash was returning the poachers defeated Pokemon in their Poke Ball's, Treecko was releasing the Mudkip. Treecko then told the little Water Pokemon to go and hide, and not come out until after all the poachers have been captured.
The gang of Mudkip nodded, and run of, while Treecko joined Ash, who has just finished tying up the unconscious poacher.
"Let's go and see how Swampy was doing," Ash said. "Serena, May and Max can take care of themselves, but I don't think Swampy can. I have a feeling I made a mistake letting him go and confront the poacher alone."
Treecko nodded, and the two run toward where Swampy was.
XXX
Ash and Treecko run for a few minutes through the swamp and thick forest, before they finally arrived where old man Swampy was.
Once they were close enough to see what's going on, both Ash's and Treecko's eyes widened, as they saw Swampy lying on the ground in his own pull of blood, while above him floated a Salamence. Not far from Swampy was what Ash could guess an older man, as he was unable to see the hair, and can only see some of his face because of the hood the man was wearing.
Ash didn't pay attention on the man's age or looks, as he was seething in rage, and his eyes were flashing from yellow to red and just couldn't settle on one color. He also got surrounded with green Aura, as he started to glare menacingly at the man who have killed Swampy, which he could tell, since he couldn't feel any life in Swampy.
Treecko cast one look at Ash, and his eyes widened, before he backed away from him in fear of what will happen.
Ash saw Salamence about to fire a Flamethrower at Swampy's corpse, and decided to stop it as he was not going to allow the bastard poacher to burn the corpse. No, he will give Swampy a proper burial in case the old man has no family.
Ash released his Tyranitar, and yelled. "Dark Pulse!"
The sudden shout surprised the poacher who looked at where it came from, and saw a Tyranitar firing a Dark Pulse, which collided with his Salamance's Flamethrower. Few moments later, both attacks exploded, setting some surrounding trees on fire, but no one was paying attention to that right now, because the poacher was looking at Tyranitar in surprise as he was not expecting it to have the power to counter his Salamence's Flamethrower.
He was even more surprise when he saw Ash walking from behind Tyranitar, with his eyes glowing red, and his Aura dark green.
"This kid must be an Aura Guardian," the poacher thought in his head, and scowled. "This is exactly what I needed right now when I'm here with my morons of a sons, instead with someone who can actually do something."
"You shouldn't have killed the old man." Ash growled menacingly, making the old poacher shiver in fear.
"He was in the way," he said after he regained his composure. "I told him to just back away, but he wouldn't listen. He didn't even have a single Pokemon to fight for him, and yet he tried to stop me. He was pathetic and he deserved to die."
"No," Ash said, as he walked toward the old poacher. "He didn't deserve to die. You on the other hand, do deserve to die, and you will die."
The poacher narrowed his eyes at Ash, and then said. "We'll see. Salamence, use Hyper Beam on the kid!"
"Tyranitar, counter it!" Ash said, and both Pokemon fired their Hyper Beam's, which collided and pushed at each other trying to overcome the other.
The poacher scowled even more seeing that his Salamence can't overpower Ash's Tyranitar, so he changed tactics. "Break it, and then use Giga Impact!"
Salamence moved his head to the side, and his Hyper Beam, pushed Tyranitar's Hyper Beam to the side as well, before they both exploded. Salamance's body become surrounded by an orange sphere of energy. The orange color faded soon after and turned purple, with orange streaks of energy that spiral around the orb. Salamence then flew at Tyranitar.
"Protect!" Ash said, and pushed some of his Aura into Tyranitar to empower him, as he knew his Pokemon will need it in order to stop the Giga Impact.
Tyranitar created a light green barrier in front of himself, and then he was surrounded by Ash's dark green aura, which turned the barrier into dark green color as well.
When Salamence flew and crushed into the barrier, there was a big boom and a shockwave, which spread around the forest and broke several threes in the process. The poacher was thrown several meters backwards, and fell on his ass, while Ash stayed rooted in the same place he was at.
When the poacher looked at what was going on, his eyes widened when he saw his Salamence was lying on the ground, while in front of it was Tyranitar with dark green barrier protecting him, as well as surrounded with dark green aura, just like Ash. The poacher looked between Ash and his Tyranitar, and saw that the only difference between them is that Ash's eyes were glowing red, while Tyranitar's weren't, but their auras were the same, and even the way the two were glaring at him were the same. It made the old poacher have second thoughts about continuing this battle. He thought that this mission is not worth losing his life to this kid.
"Tyranitar, Brutal Swing!" Ash said, and his Tyranitar grabbed the downed Salamence by its head, lifted him up, and then start to spin in the same spot, while swinging Salamence, before after few spins, he let go of Salamence, and sent it flying at the old poacher, who eyes widened as he saw his Salamence sent flying toward him.
He tried to move and dodge before Salamence crushes into him and breaks a lot of bones, but he was late, and Salamence crushed one of his legs, making the poacher yell to the heavens in pain from having one of his legs broken.
"Hyper Beam!" The old poacher didn't even finish screaming in pain, when he heard Ash's menacing voice, and cast a look at him, only to see a huge beam of yellow and dark green energy come at him.
The old man was only able to mouth of, 'FUCK', before he was hit by the heavily empowered Hyper Beam, which sent him and his Salamence flying through the forest, while destroying everything in its path, until the attack finally ended in the river, where both Salamence and the poacher fell, and were taken away by the river.
No one will know what happened with them for a while.
Meanwhile, Ash was left standing in the same place, surrounded with the green aura, but at that moment, there were some traces of black, flickering on his aura.
XXX
Serena, May and Max arrived at the scene of the crime only few minutes after Ash and Tyranitar dealt with the poacher and his Salamence. Once they arrived, they saw destruction all over the place, some fire still burning down the trees and grass, and most importantly, among all of that there was Ash kneeling next to Swampy.
"Oh no!" Serena said as he saw this, and run toward Ash, followed by May and Max.
As soon as the three came closer to Ash and Swampy, they almost retched and threw up because of all the blood in which Swampy's body was lying, as well as because of the burn marks all over his body.
Max and May couldn't take in any more after few seconds, and run away to puke, while Serena didn't throw up, but hand her hands over her mouths, and turned around so she won't look at the body.
"W-What happened, Ash?" Serena asked.
"I failed," Ash said, making Serena's eyes widen slightly. "I failed to protect him. And now Swampy is dead."
"A-Ash, tell me what happened," Serena asked again? "Who did this, and how did you fail?"
Ash sighed. "I failed because I shouldn't have let him come here all by himself," he said. "I should have known this would not end well when I didn't see any Poke Balls on him and when I got a bad feeling while he was running away. I should have stopped him, but I didn't."
"Ash, you shouldn't blame yourself." Serena said, and Ash turned his head, and glared at her, making Serena flinch.
"What good are all my powers if I couldn't protect one old man from being killed by psychotic poacher with a Salamence?" Ash didn't yell the question, but Serena still took few more steps back in fear of him.
Ash saw that Serena is now afraid of him, and sighed. He then turned back to the corpse, and then remembered about Mudkip in his backpack, so he let it out.
Mudkip saw Swampy's corpse, and slowly approached him to take a better look. Mudkip realized quickly that Swampy is dead, and was sad. He has spent a lot of time around the old man while the two were protecting the baby Mudkip, and has come to respect him.
Mudkip then looked at Ash, and remembering that Ash can understand Pokemon language, he asked. "Who did this?"
Ash looked at Mudkip after he heard the question, and sighed. "It was one of the poachers," Ash replied, and Mudkip's eyes narrowed.
"Where is he?" Mudkip asked another question. He wanted to see the human who has killed the old man, and spill his guts all over the swamp.
"My Tyranitar blew him away toward the river along with his Salamence," Ash said while pointing toward the pathway which was cleared in the forest when Tyranitar fired the enhanced Hyper Beam. "They both fell into the river and were washed away. I don't know if the poacher is alive, but I certainly hope he is not."
Serena, along with May and Max, who stopped vomiting and were listening, gasped when they heard what Ash said.
"A-Ash," Serena drew Ash's and Mudkip's eyes on her. "D-Do you really wish for that m-man to be dead?"
"Yes!" Ash short answer, and Mudkip nodded. The two then looked back at Swampy's body, and Ash sighed again, before he got up, and took out his Pokedex.
He dialed a number, and placed the Pokedex on his right ear, waiting for the person on the other side of the line to pick up.
After few seconds, the voice from the other side was heard. "Hey Ash, it's been a while since you called," said the voice of Red Ketchum. Ash's father. "So, how has the journey through Hoenn been so far?"
"We have a problem," Ash said, and Red immediately went quiet, while his eyes narrowed. Not that Ash saw that of course. "A very big problem."
XXX
Starting with this chapter, things are going to get darker and edgier. There will be many vicious things happening, but I won't go too overboard, so you shouldn't worry.
See you next time.