Hello and welcome to a new chapter of Pokemon SVTA and today, we'll focus on Ash's first weekend off and with Nemona being busy with student council things and Penny being busy with her own things, Ash decides to hang out with Arven who plans to introduce him to the world of Titan Pokemon by going to see a titan Pokemon named Klwaf and just as things were going smoothly, Arven gets a bit too overboard and now both trainers must fight their way out while Ash learns more about why he's serching for the titans.
Firstly, Ash won't be taking on the gym challenge this time around but rather, he'll be taking on the 'The Champion's Bout', where Ash must battle 4 champion ranked trainers to receive their badges in order for Ash to have a full battle against Geeta, the top champion of the region. Each champion is located in different parts of Paldea with Larry in Medali, Rika in a new, original town location called Porto Estelar (Starpoint in Spanish), Poppy in Levincia and an 'unknown' figure in Mesagoza.
2nd, for the next couple of chapters, we will begin preparation towards the main plot so the next chapter will focus on Arven introducing Ash to the so-called 'titans' who roam Paldea and his reasoning why he wants to search for them, Penny's chapter will revolve around her and Ash learning more about Team Star who kidnap Pikachu for TR only to be duped by them so Ash, Penny and Team Star must work together to find Pikachu while also learning more about why Penny wants to stop Team Star's 'bullying' and even learn that TS may not be so bad in terms of their morals.
Nemona's chapter is a shorter one and not action packed but will focus on her and Ash going to her mother's grave and why she wants to be a champion and even learn about Nemona and her father's difficult relationship. Lastly, a friendship story about Ash and one of the students (Penny, Arven or Nemona or even Dean or Sarah) helping their math teacher Tyme over a stalker student. I may plan a filler episode where Ash meets up with fans of the champion for an event and notices that one of them happens to be a student who has some difficult circumstances relating to illness although that plan isn't final so the plot may change or may not happen for a while. Another idea would be introducing the rival character in an episode aka Karmine (the DLC character) who's searching for Ash to drive him out of Paldea but Nemona won't let that happen and battles her.
With that, let's begin.
After the thrilling events of yesterday, Ash has found a new goal for Paldea by taking on the 4 champion ranked trainers in order to receive their equivalent of gym badges in order to receive the honor of a full battle with Paldea's top champion, Geeta. Upon arriving back to the school, Ash trained in preparation for the adventure that's going to come with his friends cheering them on and school papers flying off the shelves.
It was around the next day where we see Ash wake up from his slumber on a beautiful Saturday morning where students hang out, go on dates, play video games, study, etc. But for Ash, his first step was waking up and he gets up from his bed alerting his Pokemon who also got up already to go. Ash looked at them with a warm smile and said, "Morning everyone, are you pumped?!" Ash said enthusiastically to which the Pokemon cried out their names with excitement.
"That's great to hear! Today, I'm honestly not sure what I'm going to do today but we can wander around to see what's happening?" Ash said unsure but that wouldn't stop Ash who smiled to his mons. "Let's have fun on our first weekend here!" Ash said as they all began to say their names cheerfully.
Ash begins to explore the academy with Quaxly coming out of his ball today to explore with Ash who begins to wonder to himself about club wallpapers and wonders if he should join one which ranges from the club about Wooper's, Anime, Gaming, Circle of friends, debate and even a club about Rika but he'll think about it later as he begins to go to the cafeteria when he accidently bumps into Nemona who was carrying a ton of papers alongside Fuecoco who was carrying some papers on his head. Ash quickly goes to help Nemona pick up the papers.
"I'm sorry about that Nemona." Ash said picking up the papers, "No worries, Ash, I had a lot of papers, so I would've likely not seen you to begin with." Nemona said casually as they picked up the last of the papers and began to converse with each other. "Is that your homework?" Ash asks the spunky trainer who shakes her head.
"No, this is for the student council room. We're having a discussion over what clubs to approve for next week including one about you and so I'm heading there to get that figured out. What about you?" Nemona asks the champion, "To be honest, I'm not sure. We're thinking of training for my Champion's Bout or seeing what else is in Mesagoza, you have any recommendations?" asked Ash.
"Well, there's always the move theater where Penny often frequents, there's a small stadium nearby where Paldean Football is very popular, there's a building dedicated to Pokemon battles, normally they cost a fee but if you show them your student ID and that you're a champion, you might get in for free or have a reduced price but I also recommend looking at Toogle for more info about Mesagoza." Nemona suggested to which Ash nods.
"Yeah, thank you Nemona good luck with those papers." Ash said sincerely to which Nemona nods, "Thanks Ash, hope you find something fun to do here." Nemona said as she began her own journey to the Student Council room (she would later fall).
At a nearby column, we see Arven spying on Ash thinking to himself about his plan for today. This is it, the day of adventure and revelations. It's time to show Ash these Titans and see if he'll help me out with my cause Arven thought to himself and prepared to walk but as he did, he accidentally bumps into Tyme who was carrying some papers similar to Nemona.
"Oh, my goodness, I'm sorry Ms. Tyme!" Arven said helping her with some of the books and papers, "Not at all my boy, were you about to talk to Ash just now?" Tyme said out of curiosity, but Arven shakes his head. "No not at all, I was preparing to- um- confess my love to someone." Arven said lying under his breath to which Tyme smiles.
"Oh my! You're in love!? My that reminds me of when I met my husband, oh how he was so handsome. Did you know that my eldest grandson in Galar is a g-" Tyme went on talking about family, her life story and gave genuine advice about love but Arven was stuck there learning all sorts of weird facts and wondered if he should've said something else or just moved on.
We see Ash, Pikachu and Quaxly enjoying their breakfast together at the cafeteria talking to some friendly students about Ash's adventures some of which shocked them such as the time he discovered and owns a Pokemon named Meltan which later evolved into a Melmetal or how his Greninja has a transformation that's the equivalent of Mega Evolution. Things were going well enough until Arven's Sneasel (Morada) came by with a note.
"A note? What's this about?" Ash asks as he grabs the note out of Sneasel's hand and reads it.
"Dear Ash, if you're reading this and if you want, come by the library in the front of the lobby. I want to tell you something about my Treasure Hunt and what I'm aiming for." - From Arven "P.S, don't ever say love in front of Ms. Tyme, you'll regret it."
"Arven needs me, I wonder what for?" Ash said to Pikachu and Quaxly who shrugged but Quaxly decided to flirt with Morada, but she ignores him and walks out of the cafeteria leaving Quaxly's mouth agape and disappointed. Ash comforts Quaxly, "Don't worry buffy, as I was told, there are plenty of Magikarp in the sea." Ash said to his Quaxly who cheers up and they finish up breakfast and left.
Ash and his Pokemon prepare to head down to the lobby with intrigue and confusion, he looked around for Arven before seeing him read a book about love and was near a wear statue of a Meowth that resembled a Maneki Neko, so Ash went to him. "Arven!" Ash yelled out getting Arven's attention who looked up from his book and smiled.
"Ah Ash. Good to see you!" Arven said happily, "Say Arven, why do you have a book about love with you?" Ash asks to which Arven puts it away quickly.
"Long story, but that's not the point today. Today, I could really use your help for preparation for my Treasure Hunt by finding a location." Arven says which gets Ash intrigued. "What location?" Ash asks to which Arven opens his book of herbs up to reveal a pink herb that resembles the Herba Mystica from last time which gets Ash's attention.
"It's the Herba Mystica!" Ash said in disbelief to which Arven nods, "Not just any Herba Mystica, this here is the Sweet Herba Mystica. A herb that is said to be good for your guts for easier digestion, stimulating diet and curing stomachaches." Arven tells Ash who looks puzzled. "Do you have a stomachache?" Ash asks to which Arven shakes his head.
"No no no, nothing like that. But I've been hearing rumors that they've been showing up around South Province Area 3 and it's the full thing found there. So I was wondering if you could accompany me to the area to just make sure if it's really there and also act as assistance when dealing with larger-than-life enemies." Arven says which gets Ash confused.
"Larger than life?" Ash asks to which Arven turns to a random page about Herba Mystica and begins reading, "The truth is, these herbs not only have a special effect of being healthy, but it is said that full Herba Mystica is said to turn these Pokemon into what I like to call Titans. These Titans have eaten these special Herba Mystica so much they began to grow bigger and bigger until they became larger than their normal size. Some Herba Mystica having infused with the landscape and Tera energy to create dens full of giant Pokemon who are Terastalized although that is merely rumor." Arven explains which gets Ash interested.
"Wow, so that's why you need my help." Ash says to which Arven nods, "Yep, I want to make sure the rumors are true, so I'll have some Herba Mystica with me. If we find some, I promise you to make a sandwich for your hard work." Arven says to which Ash nods.
"Alright! I'll help you." Ash says which surprises Arven, "Wow, I was expecting someone to be shocked or refuse which is what usually happens." Arven said surprised to which Ash laughs, "Me and Pikachu love adventure and discovering new things plus, we were kind of bored today, so I'll be glad to help you out!" Ash says which made Arven kind of happy and he smiles 1as well.
"Alright then, let's go!" Arven said with enthusiasm, and both prepare to leave for a new adventure however, the Meowth statue begins to move more lifelike and talks into his communicator on his ear.
"Magicarp to Startraptor, Magicarp to Staraptor come in!?" Meowth said to the earcom until a static was heard. "Staraptor to Magicarp, loud and clear!" Jessie said over the com, "I've gotten the info we needed on where they're going, regrouping shortly to tell ya the news." Meowth said. "Good, be back shortly we have pizza/Wobuffet!" James and Wobuffet said which excites Meowth.
"Pizza!? Wait for me! Man, these coms are surprisingly useful, I can't believe we found them at our new place." Meowth said surprised.
Flashback
It was around a day prior to the tour/Ash's battle with Geeta when Team Rocket were being blast off by Geeta's Baxcalibur, they landed in a tree in Cortondo. They were wondering why that woman in particular wanted to send them off until they found out that the woman who sent them off was the champion herself, Geeta or La Primera. The first thing the trio did was sign up for Flying type watching on Sunday afternoons because what else are you supposed to do.
They then went back to Mesagoza and began searching for a place to stay at and find what appears to be a building for sale and while they didn't have a lot of money, the owner has said that he's willing to give them the building as part of a competition if they can find one thing, a rare bottle cap from the band 'The Orbeatles' to add to his rare bottle cap collection. Although James and Grafaiai didn't want to give up that bottle cap, Jessie made a deal with James over finding that particular bottle cap for him and they agreed acquiring a shack for their hideout.
The building didn't actually look that bad as it looked similar to their hideout in Kanto where they did their podcast and Jessie was thinking of reviving said podcast for Paldea and she kept that in her mind for later, the shack also had a bar in the basement so they can invite their friends over (if they had any that is). It had 3 bedrooms and even had a huge green grassy area where they can relax and let their Pokemon out.
They looked around to see some new things one of which includes various disguise kits which maybe helpful in some situations including listening in on a certain twerp and his new friends. They would later decide to use Meowth as a test example and prepared for their mission.
We see Ash, Pikachu and Arven coming out of a store with some stuff they'll need for the adventure like picnic related stuff, potions for healing, among other things. Both trainers head to the eastern Mesagoza gate and Ash begins wondering what will happen in this adventure.
"So, Arven? Why are you searching for the Herba Mystica anyway?" Ash asks to which Arven sweats nervously but keeps his cool, "Oh, the Herba Mystica? Well, I want to find each named one to my collection so I can create so many interesting recipes involving these here Herba Mystica and who knows, maybe even find a Shiny one day. I'm not physically strong despite my size and I hope that these will also help" Arven said seemingly nervous. Although Ash got slightly suspicious, he ultimately waved it off.
"That sounds fine to me. Maybe we'll find a Shiny ourselves, eh Pikachu and Quaxly!?" Ash said enthusiastically, "Pika/Quax!" Pikachu and Quaxly said with a smile on their face to which Arven sighs out of relief. Sorry Ash, I don't mean to lie to you like this but I'm just not ready to tell you yet. Arven thought to themselves as they reach the gates but before Ash could go through, Arven stops him.
"Wait a sec Ash, I recommend we go on our ride Pokemon for this one. South Province Area 3 is very vast, so vast that we call it Vasto Mas Alla in Paldean or the Vast Beyond in translation." Arven said grabbing his Pokeball and throwing out Gogoat to which Ash nods, "That sounds like a good idea, Cyclizar come on out." Ash says as he throws his Pokeball to release Cyclizar ready for taking his trainer on a ride.
The two trainers prepare to set up their Pokemon with riding equipment and both trainers (and Ash's Pokemon) ride off into the openness of Vast Beyond searching for the Sweet Herba Mystica. While they were walking slowly, Ash ponders on something again.
"Say, Arven? How will we find this Herba Mystica?" Ash asks to which Arven grabs a jar that contains a petal of the Sweet Herba Mystica, "This here is how we'll find it. Remember how Gogoat picked up a trail when finding the last Herba Mystica? Well, Gogoat here can pick up the sent again but only when close by or when she has something that can pick up a scent and I just so happen to have a Sweet Herba Mystica while exploring here the other day so it must be close by." This information intrigues Ash but he has a lot more to say.
"But the Vasto Mas Alla is so vast, how will we find that specific one?" Ash asks to which Arven looks to him with confidence, "Simple, your Cyclizar can pick up on the smell too. Cyclizar has been known for collecting scents while running so I'm sure your Cyclizar should be able to do the same, I'll give you aa petal to allow Cyclizar to sniff it and we'll split up to find the Herba Mystica and we'll contact each other through our Rotom Phones when we find it." Arven says with determination and Ash nods.
"Right!" Ash says as Arven takes out the petal and gives it to Ash who he gives it to his Cyclizar for him to smell, he smells and picks up on something which gets both trainers interested. "Alright, there we go Cyclizar!" Ash said excitedly as he gives back the petal. "Well, that's great Ash, we'll split up and go find that herb in no time!" Arven said with enthusiasm.
"Alright then. Cyclizar let's roll!" Ash said with excitement as Cyclizar began to run off in the distance and Arven smiles on, "Well, I think we should go find it too say Gogoat?" Arven tells his Gogoat but she looks to be worried. "What's wrong buddy?" Arven asks his partner who then begins to her vines to mimic a phone call which Arven takes note of and then she starts to act like a beast which makes Arven confused, but a slow realization starts to kick in when he looks to his Rotom Phone and realizes the horror which is plastered on his face.
"I never got his number, and I didn't tell him more about the Titan! Gogoat let's ride!" Arven said with worry and Gogoat doesn't hesitate to run off looking for Ash and Cyclizar. Meanwhile, TR are on a cliff analyzing the scene.
James puts down his binoculars and looks to the other 3 with glee, "The twerps have run off to find this Herbal Mystical thing, I say we follow the Pikachu Twerp." James says which gets their approval.
"Right/Wobuffet!" they all say but before they all left, a boulder appears behind them which Jessie gets confused at. "Say, I don't remember this rock being here. Meowth did you create it?" Jessie asks to which Meowth shakes his head. "Nah uh, I don't have a single rock move." Meowth says as another rock appears from the sky causing the group to look up to see a flying Pokemon with a bib like thing dropping rocks from the sky which freaks everyone out.
"Birdier." It said maliciously as it drops another rock leaving them to scatter, "What is that!?" Meowth says to which James looks to his book and reads up on this Pokemon.
"Ah, this here is Bombirdier, the Item Drop Pokemon and it's a Dark/Flying type. Bombirdier loves to drop rocks from the sky, not for prey, not for breaking stuff open but for fun!?" James says horrified, "You are one evil Pokemon!" Jessie says as they scatter about.
We see Arven racing about throughout the Vast Beyond seemingly at times, finding him but he finds something else such as when he finds a Pokemon named Tandemaus.
"Aww, it's a group of Tandemaus, or is it a duo of Tandemaus or is it a singular Tandemaus?" Arven thought to himself as he looks away and notices Ash in the distance, "h hah! Ash! Alright Tandemaus this is where we say good-" Arven stops himself upon seeing two more smaller Tandemaus which surprises Arven. "Now it's a Maushold! When did they appear or were they always there?"
"Goat!" Gogoat yelled out which gets Arven's attention, "Right right." Arven said getting back in focus and heads off to Ash's location.
Ash and Cyclizar make it to the location where the Herba Mystica is supposedly being held but they see no den but there is a strangle shaped rock above them, "This is the location, but I don't see a den. Maybe it's up there?" Ash asks himself as he gets off of Cyclizar and pets him.
"Alright! It's time to do some climbing, what do you say guys!?" Ash said enthusiastically which gets a cheer out of the Pokemon but the rock from above started to shift a bit and Cyclizar growled at it seemingly sensing something or someone which confuses Ash. "Guys, what's wrong?" Ash said as the 'rock' begins to shift revealing eyes and prepares to jump with Cyclizar pushing Ash back when the 'rock' jumps off and lands on the ground. the 'rock' shifts once more to reveal a crab-like body and pincers hard as rock with the dust clearing revealing the Pokemon to be Klawf.
"Who's that Pokemon?!" Ash said as he grabs his dex,
"Klawf, the Ambush Pokemon, a Rock type. Klawf likes to hang out on solid rock walls waiting for its prey but on the other hand, it's blood rushes to its head to so it can't stay like that forever."
"It actually kind of looks cute." Ash says not seeming fazed by it until a yellow energy appears to surround Klawf powering it up and letting out a ferocious cry, the cry was so loud, it attracted the attention of 3 other regular sized Klawf who came to its aid and Ash looks more serious now. "Ok nevermind! Guys get ready!" Ash says as his 3 Pokemon get ready to fight Klawf. One smaller Klawf tries to jump to attack the 4, big mistake.
"Pikachu Iron Tail! Quaxly Aqua Jet! And Cyclizar Breaking Swipe!" Ash said to his mons as they jumped to attack the Klawf with Pikachu's tail metallicizing, Quaxly launching itself in a watery veil and Cyclizar attacking the Pokemon with his glowing tail sending it back towards the larger Klawf who trips. "Alright!" Ash says not realizing another Klawf behind him was going to attack.
"Gogoat Energy Ball let's go!" Arven says as Gogoat releases a green ball of energy and launches it towards the smaller Klawf who gets sent flying back towards a wall and Gogoat jumps down to Ash reuniting with him. "Arven, Gogoat!" Ash says to them with Arven looking ashamed and sighs. "Ash, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner we-" but before Arven could finish, Ash stops him.
"We can talk more about that later. For now, we have to find some way to get out of this mess." Ash said as he was back-to-back with Arven, "Right." Arven said in agreement as he gets off Gogoat and grabs Morada's Pokeball. "Morada come on out!" Arven says throwing his Hisuian Sneasel out for battle.
"Morada use Metal Claw and Gogoat use Seed Bomb!" Arven says as Gogoat releases some large seeds of energy out of her mouth and launches it towards a Klawf who is annoyed by it before Morada jumps and slashes at Klawf bringing it down. Another Klawf tries to rush at Ash, but he's prepared, "Pikachu, Iron Tail at the legs!" Ash says as Pikachu rushes at Klawf attacking the legs with his metalized tail causing it to trip and Ash smirks.
"Alright Quaxly use Aqua Jet!" Ash says as Quaxly rushes at Klawf in a watery veil and lands on Klawf who he sends flying on top of the Titan Klawf who tried to get back up but couldn't'. The bigger Klawf grabs the other Klawf and sends the Klawf out of their way and gets up seemingly angry.
"Oh no, big boy is angry!" Arven says as he and Ash prepare themselves for the Titan Pokemon's attacks, Klawf arms starts to glow and releases a barrier preventing anyone from escaping. "That was Block, a move that prevents us from escaping. Guess like we have no other choice then, Gogoat use Energy Ball!" Arven says as his Gogoat launches a ball of energy towards Klawf which seemingly hits but it appears to not have affected Klawf that much.
"What?" Arven says in disbelief but thinks of another plan, "Ash, when I use Earthquake, command one of your Pokemon to attack!" Arven said to which Ash nods, "Gogoat use Earthquake!" Arven says as Gogoat but her hooves up in the air and stomps hard on the ground causing the ground to shake and Ash and friends trying to hang on while Klawf trips and fall with both trainers seeing an opportunity.
"Cyclizar use Breaking Swipe!" Ash says as Cyclizar's tail glows and begins to run and jump to attack Klawf who uses its tail to try to attack Klawf's upper side, but it blocks it with it's claws leaving Cyclizar in the air. Ash and Arven look on shocked, "Are we not that strong" Arven says shocked as Klawf's right arm begins to glow and smack Cyclizar out of the way and onto Gogoat into a nearby wall with Cyclizar fainting.
"Cyclizar/Gogoat!" both trainers yell out to their Pokemon as they rush over to them with Gogoat although hurt, managing to get up and ready to rise while Cyclizar is out of the game but smiles. Ash smiles to Cyclizar as well, "Thank you Cyclizar, get some rest." Ash says as Cyclizar returns to his Pokeball and Ash nods. Quaxly looked to be afraid and started to shake which Pikachu and Morada notice and try to reassure him but to no avail.
The Klawf was now back in action and ready to fight once more with the trainers mortified, "Even at my strength, me and Pikachu can take on a trainer not a gigantic Pokemon and all this for a herb. Arven why do you really want to search for these herbs knowing it could be dangerous?" Ash asks the now nervously sweating Arven who looked on in fear and then looks to Ash.
"I-I-I-I-I-It's because of these herbs, they can-" but before he could finish, Klawf immediately rushes at the group who brace for impact and Quaxly cowers in fear until Pikachu and Morada use Iron Tail and Metal Claw respectively to push away and attack Klawf which seems to work but Klawf's yellow energy bulks it up a bit and sends the two Pokemon back to the ground injured to which their trainers go to them.
"Morada stay with me!" Arven says out of concern to which Sneasel smiles though injured and Arven sighs out of relief, "Return Morada." Arven says returning Morada to her Pokeball while Ash hugs Pikachu. "Pikachu are you ok?" Ash asks his day-1 partner who nods, and Ash also sighs out of relief. Meanwhile, Quaxly looks on with fear in his eyes worried that he couldn't do anything to help, and we see him floating in a Mindspace area and starts to remember tragic things in his past.
We see Quaxly cowering holding his head in an apartment complex due to receiving a scar from a Houndoom owned by Quaxly's own trainer for not stopping a fight, Quaxly being yelled at and Quaxly trying to rebel against this treatment to no avail, starved, Quaxly huddled up against two other Pokemon being a Steenee and a Toxel while the trainer goes to drag away Toxel to somewhere unknown on the outside never to be seen again which causes the Quaxly in the mindspace to cower and cry. Quaxly continues this until he sees a much happier memory of him being saved by Nurse Joy and then eventually seeing his happier moments of his life, seeing Ash and Piakchu reach out to him for comfort and Ash officially catching him and becoming friends. The warmth he's given while in bed, the delicious food and bonding with Ash, Pikachu and Cyclizar made him really happy and knew that he couldn't just abandon his friends and decides to wake up.
Klawf was prepared to attack Quaxly as Ash runs to protect Quaxly who immediately wakes up and yells out his name, "Quaxlyyyyyy!" Quaxly yells out in anger and a watery veil surrounds him with intensity causing Klawf to be pushed back and Ash noticing that his Quaxly looks to be angry with the watery veil still going on, Quaxly launched itself forward with Aqua Jet to land a hit on Klawf who felt the hit that time.
"What the-" Ash said astounded that Quaxly has all this strength, "Ash, I believe your Quaxly is under Torrent right now. Meaning that it's Water type moves are boosted in power." Arven informs Ash who looks on at Quaxly who begins to launch itself mutliple times with Aqua Jet to damage Klawf before eventually concentrating that watery energy into his legs which formed blades of water and slashed at the rock crab Pokemon with anger.
"And I believe that's Aqua Cutter, a Water type move that creates concentrated water blades to attack at foes." Arven informs Ash again who looks on impressed at Quaxly but Klawf irritated, uses Rock Smash on Quaxly sending it back to a wall. "Quaxly!" Ash yelled out but Quaxly got back into the flow of things by using Aqua Jet on Klawf again and again and again. Klawf meanwhile kept attacking and attacking Quaxly sending back but Quaxly keeps on fighting using Aqua Cutter in a style similar to dancing and slashing with those movements and eventually gets knocked down on it's back.
The barrier that Klawf used disappears allowing them to leave which gets Ash happy, but Arven was in a trance of sorts, "Alright Quaxly stop now, we can run." Ash says but Quaxly appears to not be listening for some reason and when Quaxly arrives back to the ground, it still has its watery veil of Torrent on and appears to be angry and in some sort of trance where he can't snap out of it. Ash tries to reach out to Quaxly and that's when he remembers his own Infernape as a Chimchar who had a similar experience to Quaxly and had a similar phase when they went into Blaze mode and that's when Ash starts to panic and tries to hold on onto Quaxly.
"Come on Quaxly, step out of it!" Ash says trying to calm down Quaxly who was angry but why is unknown to Ash as Quaxly uses Wing Attack to get off of Ash and angrily looks at Ash, Quaxly is trying to restrain himself by holding his head but still can't shake that feeling of anger off as Quaxly's watery veil intensifies with anger as he's ready to fight once more not realizing friend from foe.
"Quaxly/Pika." Ash and Pikachu said worried for their friend. Arven still is in a trance conflicted with himself over the scenario, on one hand, he wants to get the Herb for his Mabosstiff but on the other hand, he also realizes that his friends are hurt and blames himself for not telling Ash the truth much sooner and ultimately, makes a decision. He looks to Ash and realizes that Quaxly is not under control and makes a suggestion,
"Ash, this is going to sound stupid but considering Quaxly isn't stable right now, you'll need to knock out Quaxly in order for him to go back to normal." Arven suggests which shocks Ash, "But-" Arven didn't let Ash finish, "I know, it's crazy but if it keeps up being in this state, Quaxly will only get himself hurt and possibly die if we don't do something. You need to knock it out, so he'll go back to normal." Arven repeats which cause Ash to sigh and sadly look at Quaxly nods with what little conscience he has left before raging again.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail." Ash said with sadness as Pikachu's tail metalizes and attacks Quaxly to ultimately, knock it out. "Quaxly, I'm so sorry." Ash somberly says as he returns Quaxly to his Pokeball and Klawf gets back up with the group preparing to retreat. "So, you want to fight some more huh?" Arven says to the Klawf as its claw glows and prepares to fight but before it could rush at them, a large net appears to try to catch the group but misses causing an argument to occur between Meowth and Jessie.
"Dang it Meowth, you're supposed to aim it towards the Klawf not the ground!" Jessie says angerly but Meowth retaliates, "You're the one who said a large net to capture both the twerps and Klawf, what did you expect!?" Meowth said angrily while Ash looks on with irritation. "Team Rocket why you-" "Ash we can worry about them later; we need to run." Arven informs Ash who sighs but agrees and Gogoat gallops off away from TR and the Klawf who look on surprised.
"Oh great, now that you started the argument, they've ran off and we couldn't do our intro!" Meowth said angerly with both Meowth and Jessie staring each other angerly while James and Wobuffet tries to break up the fight, Klawf grabs the net and lifts it up also lifting TR in the air as well before Klawf throws it in the air sending them far away. "You should've pulled in the net when you had the chance!" Meowth told Jessie who scoffs, "The net was too heavy." Jessie says crossing her arms while Meowth does the same, but James looks to be petrified.
"Oh no! My bag it had all our snacks in it!" James said disappointed which causes the other three to be disappointed, "My gummy clusters." Jessie said putting her head down.
"We're blasting off again!" they all said as they disappeared with a twinkle in the sky. We see a random Klawf picking up the bag and starts to go in the direction of TR. Over in the distance we see a girl with yellow eyes and orange dyed hair (at least on the inside of her long hair) with binoculars staring at Ash through her binoculars to examine him while a boy nearby sighs and face palms as if he knows what's going to happen.
"So, this there's the 'legendary' Ash Ketchum. My job here begins." the girl said in a rather low tone.
At sunset, we see Ash and Arven at the Mesagoza Pokemon center getting their Pokemon healed up with Arven looking away ashamed of his actions while Ash looks to Quaxly who's being healed right now worried about his partner. Arven sighs and goes to Ash; he seems stoic at first before he bows down to apologize.
"I am so sorry Ash! I should've told you about this and not just with the Titans! But also, my true reasoning for all this!" Arven said apologetically but Ash just seems tired but sighs as Nurse Joy walks by with her stretcher containing the trainer's Pokemon (sans Gogoat who was walking towards Arven and Cyclizar who walks towards Ash). "I'm happy to report that your Pokemon are fully healed." Nurse Joy said happily as Morada jumps into Sneasel jumps into Arven's arms and Gogoat nudges while Pikachu and Cyclizar do the same, but Quaxly looks away ashamed of himself for what happened earlier.
"Unfortunately, though, Quaxly still seems to be upset after what happened earlier and I haven't been able to convince him everything is alright." Joy said sadly as Ash looks on concerned, "Quaxly. Nurse Joy, I have to ask, do you know what caused Quaxly's anger to occur?" Ash asks the Nurse who begins to think for a moment.
"Well, from what I was told by you, your Quaxly went berserk fighting the Klawf trying to protect you, but you couldn't snap him out of it, and he almost attacked you before you had to knock him out. What I assume is that remember how I mentioned that Quaxly went through some trauma in the past?" Joy asks the champion who nods, "Well, I like to think of it as Quaxly's mixture of determination to protect his friends after what he's been through in order to not lose them, but through that determination, he remembers the pains of the past and the anger felt of his previous trainer so I assume, that this anger was hidden within Quaxly and yet combined it with his new resolve, to protect his new friends including you but lost control of himself." Joy continued.
Ash looks to Quaxly who is ashamed of himself, but he and Pikachu go to hug Quaxly for safety, "Quaxly, you're not going to lose us. We'll be by your side no matter what and I promise you, you won't have to be in rage form because of it. I'll help you train no matter what and also," Ash stops himself to grab a bandage and puts it on Quaxly's head as Quaxly starts to tear up. "And I'm sorry for that injury, I promise you, I won't do that again to you. I'll take on the pain so I can help you./Pika!" Ash and Pikachu said sincerely which allows Quaxly to let his tears loose but doesn't say anything.
Ash grabs his two Pokeballs and says, "Alright, you and Cyclizar get some rest tonight." Ash says as he returns Quaxly and Cyclizar to their Pokeballs, Joy then walks away and Ash then looks to Arven who also returns his Pokemon. "Alright Arven, I want to know why you're obsessed with the herbs?" Ash says causing Arven to sigh and grabs his Pokeball, "Alright Ash, as long as you keep it a secret, this is why." Arven says as he releases his Mabosstiff which looks sickly like before laying down stunning Ash and Pikachu.
"It's a Mabosstiff but it looks so..." Ash didn't even need to finish as Arven nods, "Yes sick. The truth is, the reason I'm searching for the Herba Mystica is to heal my Mabosstiff, my starter, my buddy, my best friend. He can barely move, see, taste, smell or even hear! I want to find all 5 Herba Mystica so I can restore his five senses and give him a big hug when it's all over." Arven says petting his Mabosstiff and causing worry amongst Ash before Arven sighs again.
"I'm glad I trust you with this information because the next part is vital in trusting you, got it?" Arven asks to which Ash nods and Arven nods as well, "I mentioned my parents are famous professors but something I didn't tell you about is that my parents are divorced." Arven tells him which gets Ash intrigued (in a serious way of course).
"Divorced." Ash asks to which Arven nods, "Yeah, they're still good friends and have joint custody of me so I often spend my time over with dad who keeps himself held up at Area Zero-" Arven couldn't finish as he spits takes his drink in comedic fashion out of shocked. "Wait a minute, you go down to-"
"Yes Ash, yes I do go down there. Normally, it isn't allowed for students to go down there but because of my status as a professor's son, I'm allowed down there. As I was saying, I spent my vacation breaks down there seeing the vast wonders of Area Zero but one day a couple years ago, my father gave me an assignment to take care of a 'special project' he dubs Koraidon. The Winged King."
"Koraidon?" Ash asks as Arven brings out a red and purple book opening up the red book to a page featuring a tall reptilian Pokemon who looked like a larger Cyclizar and stood on it's hind legs in a mighty position, "It's what you call a Paradox Pokemon. Think of it this way, imagine a Pokemon in the past or future, would they look different or the same in the present? These Pokemon are what you call ancestors or descendants of present day Pokemon and in this case, Koraidon is Cyclizar's ancestor." Arven says shocking Ash.
"An ancestor of Cyclizar?" Ash said astounded as Arven continues, "Yes, it was dad's special project and wanted me to take care of it back at home and although me and mom tried, Koraidon ended up attacking several Pokemon here, so I decided to take it back which so happened to be my 15th birthday and the day I officially hated my dad. When I went back there, I returned Koraidon and made sure it stays down in that wretched hell hole but then I find out that dad started another 'project', he brought over a Miraidon, the Iron Serpent and Cyclizar's descendant." Arven says opening the purple book to reveal another reptlian Pokemon that resembled a longer Cyclizar but more futuristic and appears to be floating.
"Miraidon?" Ash said astounded once more, "While staying the night there, a fight broke out between the two Pokemon with Koraidon trying to calm down Miraidon but to no avail and almost attacked me until Mabosstiff took the hit to save me." Arven said devastated before continuing, "When I looked back, Koraidon looked to be ashamed about not protecting me, but I didn't buy it while Miraidon flew away further in Area Zero while my dad stood there shocked. I ended up returning my Mabosstiff back home before my dad could reach me and give me my gift and I end up destroying my teleportation remote to make sure I never go back there again and to make sure those rotten things stay down there." Arven said somberly as Ash looks to them out of worry. "What about your father!?" Ash said before Arven clarifies, "He's fine, he has several remotes to get back to the surface, a flying type and even an emergancy button so he'll be fine."
"Arven, I-" Ash didn't finish as Arven stops him, "I'm almost done, I tried to take Mabosstiff everywhere and yet, they didn't know what to do other than mom saying that it has something to do with the Pokemon's strength and atmosphere affecting Mabosstiff badly, but she seemed to be more focused on what my father was doing over her son's wellbeing, and we ended up having a falling out after that." Arven said out of frustration before sighing once more. "That's why when I first found out you were attending the Naranja, I knew that I needed help. I know I seem horrible for using you like this, but I want to heal my Mabosstiff and make sure he gets better. You don't have to say yes, I can accept the decline but I'm just so weak as a trainer and I want to get stronger as an individual so please think about this later on." Arven says starting to tear up but he wipes his tears off.
"Arven, look, I'll think about it. For now, let's head on back." Ash says to which Arven nods, "Right, you go on ahead. I have to talk to Mabosstiff for a bit." Arven says and Ash nods deciding to walk back the long stairs ahead."
Later on, that night, we see Ash in his room with his Pokemon eating just wondering to himself over the events of today.
Arven needs my help, but I'll be helping out Nemona but I want to help all sorts of people out. I guess I have a couple of days before the Treasure Hunt really begins so I guess I have some time but for now, I want to hang out with my Pokemon. Ash thinks to himself as he goes to watch TV with his Pokemon all cuddling to Ash as they watched their movie and the journey continues.
Chapter end.
We made it to the end of this chapter and the beginning of things to come for the Treasure Hunt, I definitely think that this is one of the hardest chapters to write thus far and I definitely think that I should've improved with Quaxly's sort of rage moment and the proper explanation on why Quaxly had a Blaze like moment there, so I apologize if it isn't written that well.
We also get Arven's goal from here on out which should make for intriguing developments in the future and we also get the introduction of Carmine and her brother in one scenario, the Uva champions. Now, since Carmine and Kieran are new characters for the DLC and we don't know much about them other than Carmine is kind of cold towards trainers (racist?) of other regions, their character in the story will be way different to the final product once we learn more about them through the release or future trailers.
The next chapter will focus on Penny's 2nd part where she and Ash encounter Team Star and must work with them to save a kidnapped Pikachu once TS realize they've been duped by TR and learn more about TS, Penny's motivations and the future that lies ahead.