The route to Vermilion City, Route 6, was a short, winding path that lead directly from one city to the other. By car, it should have taken Ash and his friends maybe two hours. Instead, they got stuck in traffic for three hours and ended up parking just outside of Saffron City. Serena was worried, but Brock explained that they would probably have to come back that way to get to Celadon City in a few days, making it the perfect place to leave the car as there would be very limited parking available outside of Vermilion City. And so the crew packed their things, and, with the help of their pokemon, began hiking the rest of the way to Vermilion.
"No WAY!" Misty squealed excitedly as she walked next to Serena. "You're telling me he was so sick that you had to wear his clothes and impersonate him in order to fend off a fan of his that was a punk rock artist?!" Serena giggled, and even Brock broke out in a grin at his friend's expense. It was a great day for a hike. The sun was high, with a fluffy blanket of clouds giving the party plenty of shade. The weather was beautiful, too. A cool breeze caressed Ash as he walked, and it felt like the perfect weather. Unfortunately, it couldn't last. He wasn't sure if the others had noticed, but Ash had noticed signs of a storm brewing high in the clouds to the east. He didn't know when it was going to be coming, and he wasn't sure how bad it would be, but he knew it would be blowing through soon enough. We need to find shelter soon. Turning to Brock, Ash asked "Where is the next visitor center or camp site?". Brock held the straps to his bag in both hands. "Not too far from here. Maybe four hundred or five hundred yards? But just past that is Diglett Tunnel, and it isn't much further to Vermilion." he replied, taking out his pokegear to check as he spoke. Nodding, he returned the phone to his pocket before turning his head to fully face Ash. "Why do you ask?" Ash frowned subtly. "Just a hunch, but I think there'll be a thunderstorm." Brock and Misty laughed. "What? There isn't a dark cloud in the sky, Ash!" Misty retorted, shaking he head. Ash shrugged pointedly. "Let's try to at least get to Diglett Tunnel soon."
Twenty minutes or so later, the three trainers came upon an odd sight. Police tape blocked the path ahead, and a lone officer stood out front, waving the trainers down. Ash frowned. "I didn't hear anything about this." Brock nodded. "Me either. Misty and I actually stopped at the pokemon center in Saffron, and I didn't see anything saying that there would be a police stop at route six." Serena shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to talk to him, then." she said, walking up to the police officer. "Good morning!" She said, smiling brilliantly. "Why, good morning!" the police officer responded. "I'm very sorry but I'm afraid I can't let you kids past." he said, smiling apologetically. Ash's eyebrows sank, creasing in agitation. "Is the road blocked?" he asked. "I'm afraid so. There was an incident up ahead at Diglett Tunnel. I really can't say more than that right now." Brock frowned, stroking his chin in thought. "When do you think it will be safe to travel on the road? We're trying to get to Vermillion City, you see." The cop shook his head. "I'm afraid it may be two days or so before I can let anyone pass through here. If you want to get to Vermillion you would have to go around to Lavender town." the cop explained. Ash frowned. "I thought the nearest entrance to Diglett Tunnel was on the other side of the city?" he asked. The officer laughed. "It used to be, but geological shifting has caused the entrance to end up closer to the north side of the city in the last couple of years." Pikachu let out an exasperated "chu", crossing his chubby yellow arms. Ash's friends turned to him, but he just shook his head. "That could take four or five days walking. I know it isn't just up to me, but I'd rather wait." Misty shifted her weight, putting her hands on her her hips with a "Hmmp! I guess we can wait. But no more than two days. I don't want to be stuck out here with the wild bug pokemon." Serena smiled, taking Ash's hand. "I don't mind camping. It'll be like old times." Ash beamed at her, causing her to blush. "Thanks Serena! You're the best!" Misty steamed in jealousy, causing Brock to chuckle. "I'm willing to wait. I've been wanting to try out a new curry recipe, anyway."
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Two hours later, the four trainers were setting up camp. A few of their pokemon helped. Ash Brock and the girls set up their tents, Sylveon, Pangoro, Golduck, Venusaur, Noivern, Trevenant, and Decidueye browsed the trees nearby for edible fruits and berries for Brock to use in the curry. Sceptile and Leavany broke off to gather wood, and Serperior slinked after them, eager for some alone time with Sceptile. Meanwhile, Torkoal, Infernape, and Emboar worked on starting a good fire, as only fire types could. Most of the rest of Ash's pokemon went about their business sparing, napping, or playing in the woods nearby. As per the usual, Ash vanished into the woods with a few of his pokemon, namely Garchomp, Torterra, and Gliscor. Serena was initially worried, insisting that Ash should spent some time with the others, but Misty shook her head and told her "That's just how he is some times. I'm not sure how it was traveling with him in Kalos, but any time a big battle was coming up he would always vanish for a day or two to prepare." Stocking the fire, Brock nodded. "He'll be back, in the morning at the very least."
Off in the forest, Ash was dodging one attack after another. Torterra was attempting to hit him, but so far his attacks hadn't landed even once. "You need to move in tandem with your target. You might be able to take a hit or two but your opponent isn't going to just take them in return. By keeping in line with your opponent you keep track of even the swiftest opponent. At the same time you are prepared to counter any attack. Remember, you might be able to take a hit, but even you have weaknesses. Your tree, and under your belly, are perfect examples. Now try again!" he instructed. Torterra nodded, settling into a stance with his legs bent slightly. The hulking grass type let off a quick series of attacks utilizing rock, ground, and grass. Ash danced through the storm of missiles, ducking and dodging all but one. A single rock grazed his cheek, cutting a decent sized gash that began to swell with blood almost immediately. He grinned manically, his blood pumping like fire through his veins. As he reeled back, a purple form darted from the ground by his feet. He ducked, just barely dodging a large pincer as it swung over his head. "Haha! Good try, Gliscor, but you'll have to be quicker than that to hit me!" The Fang Scorp pokemon donned a grin to match his trainer's, initiating a dance of blows with the man. Torterra had long since abandoned his attacks, as he had no wish to strike either his trainer nor his teammate while they weren't paying attention, which meant they had all the room they needed to maneuver. Ash dodged an weaved through the woods, leaping through the brush and putting tree trunks between himself and his pokemon. Gliscor showed off his agility and acrobatics, floating like the wind and swiveling mid air around large trees. Right as Ash grew tired another pokemon made his entrance. The ground shuttered slightly, before parting when a navy blue, notched fin cut through the earth like water. The fin circled trainer and pokemon, both of whom had paused to evaluate this new threat. It circled endlessly for what seemed like an eternity before it suddenly vanished, leaving no sign that it had ever been there.
Gliscor dove aside and Ash leaned back as Garchomp barreled from the earth below, just missing the trainer with his claws by a mere hairs breadth. Dark gold eyes met Ash's as time slowed to a crawl, before resuming it's ever incessant march at a much more frenzied pace. Carried by his forward momentum ,Garchomp sunk once more beneath the undulating earth as Ash fell backwards, landing on his elbows and crawling frantically backward. Outwardly, he was terrified. On the inside, he was ecstatic. This was exactly what he had wanted from the dragon type! No matter how big and strong Garchomp may be, he still needs to learn how to use the terrain to his advantage. This is perfect! He stayed on the ground for but a moment, leaping to his feet and surveilling the dirt. He could come from anywhere. Five seconds passed. Then twenty. Then a minute. Ash was beginning to settle down again when a single pebble began to vibrate along with the dirt beneath it. Ash crouched in preparation to leap aside when a voice broke through the woods, one brimming with arrogance. "Hold there! The beast will emerge any second!" Ash looked around, confused. The beast? What beast? He thought, bewildered. He looked around, peering through the dark until his eyes settled on a form sprinting towards him. It was a young man in form fitting, long sleeved black clothes. He wore bronze colored gloves that ran almost to his elbow and a matching pair of sturdy, bronze colored boots. A blood red cape held by golden clasps fluttered behind him as he ran, his long black hair billowing in the wind.
The young man ran up to Ash, pushing him out the way as Garchomp emerged yet again. Bewildered, Ash fell backwards over a tree root, landing on his butt with a loud thump. Garchomp growled loudly, extending his clawed forelimbs to his sides and drawing up to his full hight in an attempt to appear bigger. It was, Ash thought, an impressive sight that would have scared most people. The stranger was, evidently, not most people. Instead of cowering in fear the young man rose to his full hight, smiling arrogantly. "It's ok now! I'll deal with this dragon myself! The beast is powerful, indeed. More than worthy to join my team!" Ash rubbed his head, rising to place himself between this strange newcomer and Garchomp, who was looking more and more like he might attack the man. "Whoa, Garchomp! It's ok! Let's calm down." he said, raising his arms and trying to calm the dragon type. It works, at least to some degree, as Garchomp lowered his arms, but he did not stop growling. When Ash turned back around he found the stranger confused. "Sorry about that. Garchomp isn't very trusting of strangers." The man raised an eyebrow. "Then this pokemon is yours?" he asked. Ash nodded, glancing back over his shoulder when Garchomp turned around and started walking in the direction of the camp. The man scoffed. "Preposterous! As if such a dragon could ever accept some run of the mill trainer as it's master." he said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. Ash frown in agitation. Run of the mill? Just who does this guy think he is!? Clearing his throat, Ash asked the man "And who are you?". The arrogant man rolled his eyes yet again, sweeping his cape behind him and striking a pose. "I am the dragon tamer Andrew Galbax, of the Draconid Clan! I'm sure you have heard of my exploits throughout the regions!" he said, puffing up his chest. Ash sweatdropped. "Who?" The dragon tamer's face flushed red. "Surely you are joking? The tamer who conquered the Hoenn Region? The same trainer who captured the dragon of Celestial Tower?" he proposed. Ash just shook his head. "Sorry, doesn't ring a bell."
The Dragon Tamer turned red in anger. "Not only do you insist that dragon belongs to you, but you mock me, Andrew Galbax?!" The man drew up to his full hight, jabbing his index finger into Ash's chest. "I challenge you for the right to ownership of that dragon! If it is truly yours, command it in battle!" the tamer said, getting in Ash's face. Ash grimaced. He wanted to prepare for his upcoming battle with Visquez, not battle an arrogant dragon tamer. That said, the last time he and Garchomp had battled another trainer together was a very long time ago. It would be good for them to get some practice before the gym battle. "Fine. You're on." Ash said, turning and stalking away in the direction Garchomp had gone. "Hold it!" Ash turned around, getting more and more angry by the second. "Yes?" he asked through gritted teeth. "I will be using three powerful dragons in this battle and I suggest you do the same, if you can. I would never stoop so low as to battle any pokemon that isn't a dragon". Ash grinned violently. "That sounds just perfect."
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Some time later Ash and Andrew stood twenty yards apart, each holding a pokeball in hand. Andrew spoke up first. "Three pokemon, dragons only. Fight well, Imposter!" Sweeping his cape back, he threw an ultra ball in front of him. A red light flashed, and a small dragon type pokemon let out a diminutive roar. A… Bagon? Ash thought, bewildered. While Bagon was certainly a dragon type pokemon, it wasn't what Ash would call a massive powerhouse. Oh well. Ash thought to himself, shrugging. He tossed the luxury ball to the ground in front of him, shouting "Goodra, lend a hand." Goodra popped out of the luxury ball and immediately swept Ash into a slimy hug.
"Alright, alright! Enough of that!" Ash laughed, extracting himself from the dragon type's slippery grasp. "We have a battle to win." Goodra nodded, turning around to face his opponent… only to find a baby staring at him. "Dra?" he muttered, tilting his head. Andrew, meanwhile, simply stared. Impossible! Another dragon? The tamer had, in fact, been confident that this random trainer couldn't possibly have another dragon type on his team. This was why he challenged him to a three on three dragon only battle. Not only was he wrong, but this wasn't just any dragon. It was a goodra, a fully evolved dragon type from the Kalos region, and a pokemon about which numerous stories were told. Many said that Goodra were affectionate, gentle dragons, but there was a story in the Sinnoh region of a dragon that matched the description of a goodra going on a rampage and terrorizing an entire valley. Shaking his head, the Dragon Tamer put on his arrogant smile once more. So what if he had a Goodra? This one appeared to be soft and wholly unfit for battle. How could he loose?
"Bagon, use headbutt!" The tamer shouted arrogantly. The small dragon type rushed forward on stubby legs, taking a laughable amount of time to close the distance. Goodra watched without worry as the little dragon ran headfirst into him, bouncing off instantly. Goodra looked back at Ash, unsure what to do. It was obvious that he didn't want to bully the weaker dragon, but they were in a battle. "Let's try to end this one in hit, Goodra. Use ice beam." Ash instructed calmly. He was never one for picking on those weaker than himself, but he wanted to embarrass this asshole. Ash smirked as Goodra reared back, blasting the little dragon with a solid beam of ice as it fell backward. Once the teal blue light died down Ash and Andrew found Goodra facing a small ice statue of a dragon pokemon with swirls in place of it's eyes. Andrew harumped, recalling the icecream cone of a pokemon. Ash did the same, thanking Goodra. Andrew threw his next pokeball so hard it left an indentation in the dirt. Out came a Dragonair, long and elegant. Ash raised an eyebrow, surprised. He was half expecting an egg. This might be a fun battle after all. "Behold, the powerful Dragonair!" Andrew exclaimed, spreading his arms wide. Ash rolled his eyes. Yeah, Dragonair are pretty strong, but we've fought Cynthia's Garchomp before. No normal pokemon could be stronger than that! Once more throwing the luxury ball, Ash exclaimed "Noivern, I choose you!" Noivern sprang to life already mid air, flexing his wings and letting out a powerful screech. "VERN!"
Once again Andrew scowled. "Dragonair, take to the skies and use scale shot!" The elegant dragon slithered through the air, joining Noivern high above the trees. It coiled mid air, shooting five glowing scales from it's body at Noivern. "Boom burst!" Ash instructed, throwing his hand out and pointing at the incoming scales. Noivern reared back before letting sound waves fly from his ears, of all places. The projectiles exploded as the sound waves blew past them and collided with the serpentine dragon type. Dragonair flinched as it was blown back to the ground below, crying out from the impact. Andrew grimaced. We need to regroup. "Dragonair, buy time with protect!" he shouted. "Acrobatics." Ash said. The blue dragon type held it's head high and a shimmering wall blinked into existence in front of it. Noivern went still for a mere second, his wings, ears, and tail all stopping, before his from blurred. Noivern vanished, reappearing in three separate spots consecutively. His path carved a line straight towards and then straight through Dragonair, appearing once more behind the opposing dragon type. Dragonair had only just been recovering from Noivern's first attack when it was struck by Noivern's wings. It cried out in pain, flattening itself completely until it weakly lifted it's head. The arrogant dragon tamer sputtered. "Impossible! You cheat!" Ash rolled his eyes, crossing his arms confidently. "Noivern's ability is 'Infiltrator'. Moves like protect and detect won't stop him." Andrew scowled, greatly annoyed by this upstart trainer. We'll lose at this rate. I can't just give up now! I've tracked these dragons for weeks! He appeared to be thinking about his next move when his scowl morphed into an evil grin. Fine, then I'll just take them by force. "Dragonair!" he screamed, sputum flying from his lips as he did so. The dragon type raised it's head and awaited his next command. "Use Dragon breathe!" the tamer instructed, pointing at Ash, who was now standing just behind Noivern. The dragonair nodded in understanding. It opened it's diminutive mouth, and a rush of purple energy billowed out.
Noivern didn't wait for a command. Flaring his wings slightly, he rolled to the right, dodging the draconic attack. The deluge of energy kept going, bearing down on Ash, who stood still in shock, eyes opened wide. Noivern turned in shock. He was fast, but he wouldn't be fast enough. He closed his eyes tight just before the attack hit his trainer. Moments later he opened them, only to find an outraged garchomp standing in front of their trainer. There was a red flash, and Goodra took form standing next to Garchomp, and angry look in his usually gentle eyes. Then there was Dragonite. Ash had never seen the big softy so angry before. All four dragon types turned to the self proclaimed dragon tamer in outrage, and their roars echoed through the night.
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Sunlight was streaming through the tent flap when Serena's eyes cracked open. It was still quiet out, so the others must have been asleep. She sat up in her sleep bag, yawning and stretching her arms overhead. Shutting her mouth abruptly, Serena leapt up from the bag. I need to do something about my hair. The others could wake up any moment. What if Ash sees me like this?! She thought to herself, her face suffused with heat. She slapped her cheeks lightly and shook her head. Serena quickly changed from her pajamas into a white shirt and a flowing red skirt. She just knew it would be a beautiful day, and she would be damned if she didn't take advantage and show off a little bit. She and Misty may have had a small cease fire going, but it couldn't last forever, and she was intent on winning Ash's heart once and for all! Right as she was finishing getting dressed she heard a noise outside her tent. It's probably just a wild pokemon looking for food. She thought, stepping out her tent to check, not even bothering to put shoes on. She looked around for a minute or two, before giving up with a shrug. Probably nothing. She turned back towards camp, only to spot four people crouched behind some bushes staring at all the pokemon sleeping around the camp site. "I told you there were a lot of 'em! We need to get back and tell the boss, pronto!" Serena watched the other three nodded in agreement before she started to panic. These people were wearing a white uniform that was all too familiar. I need to tell the others! She thought, turning around swiftly. She hadn't taken a single step when the world went dark.
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Ash woke to the sounds of roaring. He shot out of his sleeping bag in surprise, coming to his senses instantly. He groaned when he realized that he'd fallen asleep in the clothes he had been wearing yesterday. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he exited his tent to find Brock and Misty doing the same. Misty yawned while Brock squinted at him "You guys heard that, too?" Ash's best friend asked groggily. Misty nodded, still yawning. "Yeah." Ash responded, rubbing his eyes. "Any idea what's going on?" he asked, but the others merely responded with a shake of their heads. A commotion broke out in the woods off to their left when a large, bipedal pokemon broke through the treeline. It roared, destroying branches and punching holes in nearby trees. The pokemon in the camp began to wake up in response, many of them putting themselves between the trainers and the rampaging pokemon. "Hold on a minute. I think that's Serena's Pangoro." Brock said, gesturing at the angered pokemon. Ash frowned. Where is Serena? No way she had slept through the commotion. He turned to his friends. "Where is Serena, anyway?" Misty and Brock frowned, sharing a look. "Last I saw her she was settling in for the night." Misty answered. "I'll wake her up." the carrot top said, walking over to Serena's tent and peaking inside before recoiling in shock. "She's not here. And neither are most of her pokeballs. There's only two here." She said, turning to Ash. Brock was attempting to calm Pangoro, so Ash took a look inside himself, confirming what Serena had said. "Maybe she went to wash up?" he said hopefully. Misty nodded along, but Brock shook his head. "I don't think so." he said, walking up with the noticeably more calm, if still enraged, Pangoro. Brock held out his hand, showing Misty and Ash Serena's hat. Clenched in the other was a white strip of fabric with a stylized 'I' on it. Ash's eyes hardened, and Misty winced. Ash turned to Pangoro with a hard look. "Show me."