Chapter 43:
A Dance for Three
Amatree Town
"CANNONBAAAAAAALL!" Bonnie yelled, before her body, curled into a ball, hit the water with a small splash.
It had been two days after their trip to the Anthell, where they had rescued Tiko as well as three other people they had disappeared into the nightmarish bug nest. Once they returned to the town, after getting past the crowd that surrounded and cheered them for returning their beloved Gym Leader, both the teens and the Gym Leader had taken their Pokemon to the Pokemon Center – where Bonnie was still waiting, much to Clemont's relief – in order to heal them up. While the teens' Pokemon would only take a few hours to get them back in shape, Tiko's Pokemon would need more time.
Not that the Gym Leader minded, since the experience had left him beyond exhausted, and could use the time to recover as well.
"Once me and my Pokemon are ready, I'll give you a call to warn you that both the Gym and its Leader are back in business," Tiko had assured Ash after they both exchanged pokegear numbers. "In the meantime, maybe you could use some rest as well. Amatree has plenty of interesting spots to have a great time!"
And so they did. For the last two days, their routine was getting up, some light training, lunch and rest, more training in the afternoon, and lastly Ash and Serena going on a date to a new restaurant.
For today's activity before the afternoon training, Serena had heard that, following the river up that crossed the town, there was a lake with a beautiful waterfall on it. It was also a popular spot for people and Pokemon to take a bath and have some fun. So they got there, changed into their swimsuits, released all their Pokemon and jumped into the lake.
And it wasn't just the humans, but many of the Pokemon were also having fun in the water, each in their own way. Needless to say, every child bathing on the lake was quickly drawn to the Pokemon, who happily agreed to play with them such as Pikachu, Metalynx, Frosthra, Electruxo, Quilladin and Bunnelby. Putting some distance from the racket, Sylveon and Nucleon were swimming together, while Pangoro was sitting on the edge of the small lake, his back and shoulders resting on a smooth rock, and Greninja meditated under the waterfall.
And while Dunsparce tended to spent moments like this alone and napping, the Land Snake Pokemon appeared to be brimming with energy today, constantly leaping into the water from increasingly higher points.
"Here I come!" Ash said, having climbed to the same spot as Bonnie before. "Splendifowl, you ready?"
"Sple, fowl!" Splendifowl, perched on a branch above Ash, whistled in affirmation.
"In that case... " Ash said, as he jumped feet first into the water.
And just as he did, Splendifowl dived at Ash, the teen grabbing the bird by his talons. Splendifowl began to fly in circles around the lake, as both people and Pokemon below watched them in awe. After a couple minutes, Splendifowl lowered his altitude before releasing Ash into the water.
"Awesome, Splendifowl!" Ash cheered as he emerged from under the water.
"Sple.. splen..." Splendifowl said, a little winded, as he went to rest to a nearby branch.
"Whoa, that was so cool!" Bonnie said with stars in her eyes. "I want Splendifowl to carry me too!"
"I'm sure he'd love to, but you should let him rest a little bit," Ash told Bonnie.
"Fro, frosthra, fros!" Frosthra excitedly hovered over them, Ash already guessing that he had heard them.
"...but it seems that Frosthra is willing to give you a ride," Ash said.
"You would, Frosthra?" Bonnie asked, and upon seeing the Frost Moth Pokemon happily nodded, Bonnie cheered. "Thank you Frosthra! You're the best!"
"Though, you'll have to wait your turn Bonnie," Serena said, having climbed to the same spot where Bonnie had jumped off. "You better watch this! Syrentide, are you ready?"
"Sy, syren!" Syrentide, just below her, nodded before diving.
With astonishing grace, Serena jumped headfirst into the lake, landing on the same spot Syrentide was only a couple seconds ago. Then, Serena was shot out of the water and into the air by a geyser of water, standing completely on balance as the water moved up, before it revealed Syrentide, firing a Hydro Pump upwards. Once it was over, Serena jumped into the water, allowing her Water and Fairy-type Pokemon to stop the attack.
"Great job, Syrentide!" Serena thanked her Pokemon, who nodded before swimming away. The teen girl then turned towards Ash and Bonnie. "So, what do you think?"
"It was amazing! The way you were standing on top of that stream of water...!" Ash excitedly said. "It's a pity you won't be able to do that in a contest, though..."
"No, but I will be able to use it when I return to Kalos and go back to showcases," Serena said, winking at him.
"Ah, yes, well thought!" Ash agreed.
As Bonnie went to climb the jumping spot next to the waterfall, Ash and Serena stayed there, floating in the water and looking at each other. And while Ash was a man of action who hated staying still, he was oddly relaxed. He felt he could stay there, gently rocked by the small ripples made by other people and Pokemon in the lake, looking at Serena.
"I always thought that Serena was pretty, but... was she always this pretty?" he thought.
Serena, however, began to blush as she looked away. "Um, Ash-"
But before the girl could say anything, they were interrupted by a beeping noise coming from Ash's pokegear.
"Uh, somebody sent me a text," Ash said. Opening it up, Ash's face lit up upon reading the message. "It's Tiko! He said both he and his Pokemon are back to full health, and that I can fight him when I'm ready!"
"And let me guess, that moment is now, isn't it?" Serena asked, giggling a little.
"You know it!" Ash said, as he began to swim towards the edge of the lake. "I'm sorry I have to cut everybody's fun short, but there's a badge begging me to win it!"
…
Even if he had been told there wouldn't be any problems this time around, Ash couldn't help but let out a little sigh of relief upon seeing that the gate that previously blocked his path to the Gym was now open. The path towards the Gym cut through the middle of a dense forest, the canopy of the trees completely blocking the light of the sun, with only the lit tiki torches that flanked the path providing some light.
"Boy, Tiko really likes being dramatic, does he?" Bonnie asked, taking a closer look at one of the tiki torches.
"He knows how to pump potential challengers, that's for sure," Ash said.
Eventually, the path led to a large clearing in the forest where the Gym seemed to be. "Seemed", since rather than a modern building, in front of them rose a mighty temple made of stone, probably several centuries old. Despite numerous cracks in the stone and ivy plants and moss growing over it, the exterior looked clean and well maintained. A pair of flags with the Pokemon League symbol in front of the entrance being the only cues that they didn't get lost and arrived at the place in question.
Wordlessly, the four teens crossed a pair of stone columns, decorated with beautiful carvings of Coatlith, and stepped inside, walking into a large stone chamber. Inside said chamber was a brown skinned woman working with a computer on a wooden desk, a vision that contrasted rather sharply with the antiquity of the place.
"Oh, hello!" the receptionist said upon noticing the teens. "I assume one of you is Ash Ketchum?"
"That would be me," Ash said, raising a hand.
"Excellent. Tiko was expecting you. He's already waiting for you in the main battleground," the receptionist said, smiling pleasantly. "Just follow this hallway behind me. You can't miss it."
"Thank you, miss," Ash said, as he and his friends did what she was told.
As the group crossed the hallway, they saw that the walls had murals painted on them. Many of them depicted Coatlith in several situations, the most common was being worshiped. It also appeared fighting against another Pokemon, one that looked like a cross between a bird and a dragon with three legs, surrounded by thunderstorms.
"People in this temple were huge fans of Coatlith, weren't they?" Serena asked, her mind no doubt going to her recently evolved Pokemon. "They almost treat them as Legendary Pokemon."
"The Pokedex did say that the ancient people of Baykal used to worship them," Clemont reminded her. "Maybe they did believe they were legendary Pokemon."
Eventually, they reached the end of the hallway, which much to their confusion led to a completely dark chamber.
"Huh? What's with this place?" Bonnie asked. "I can't see anything!"
"Neither can I," Clemont said. "Oh well, nothing that the Heliolisk Lantern can't-"
But it wasn't necessary, as a multitude of brasiers and torches were suddenly lit at once with multiple flashes of orange, revealing the battleground inside the stone chamber. In front of the battleground was Tiko, holding a pair of staves with their ends on fire, and flanking the sides were two rows of people with drums, wearing the same orange and red skirt as Tiko, the men also being shirtless while the women wearing tops decorated with red feathers.
"Uh, hello!" Ash said, scratching his cheek. "I'm here to-"
Ash was interrupted when the people manning the drums began to beat them to a fast paced rhythm. Then, Tiko began to dance while twirling his twin staves, expertly moving so he wouldn't end up burning himself. As the rhythm became faster, so did Tiko's dance, as he began to toss the staves into the air while executing complex jumps and spins, catching them once they fell down to the floor. Ash and his friends were so impressed by the spectacle and skill Tiko was displaying, they even forgot for a moment why they were here.
With one last final beat from the drums, Tiko's dance came to an end. All the drummers began to move towards a set of bleachers that had been built in front of the battleground, while two of them walked towards Tiko.
"Welcome, Ash Ketchum," Tiko said, as he handed his staves to two of the drummers, who put the fires out and took them away. "What you have seen just now is a war dance the ancient people of Baykal performed before they headed to battle. And as one of their descendants, I used that dance as a way to accept your challenge for a Gym Badge!"
"Excellent! So, shall we begin?" Ash eagerly asked.
"We'll begin as soon as you're ready. Take your place at the opposite end of mine in the battleground," Tiko instructed. "Your friends can watch from the bleachers with the rest of my trainers."
Ash nodded, and handed Pikachu to Serena while she, Clemont and Bonnie headed to the spectator area.
"Good luck, Ash," Serena whispered.
"Thank you. Though I don't think I'll need it," Ash confidently replied.
…
As Serena and the Lumiose siblings took her seats, Ash and Tiko prepared for their battle.
"By the way, Ash, what do you think of my Gym?" Tiko asked.
"It's pretty unique, I'll give you that," Ash replied.
The Gym Leader chuckled. "You could call it that, yes. It used to be a temple of the ancient people who lived here, you know? Dedicated to Coatlith, whom it was believed to be a Legendary Pokemon for its power, beauty and majesty."
"My friend Serena has a Coatlith," Ash pointed out.
"She does? She might be a magnificent trainer then," Tiko said, and Serena couldn't help but feel a little bashful over a Gym Leader praising her. "Anyway, besides being a place of worship, this temple was also where the ancient Baykal warriors trained, both human and Pokemon alike. Right in this very chamber. Which is why I turned this temple into a Gym and this chamber into the battleground, as a way to honor my ancestors. And you know, when I battle here, I can sometimes feel their spirits, watching from the Great Beyond, and smiling upon seeing that their traditions are still alive, even if not unchanged."
Ash smirked. "Well, I'm afraid the spirits of your ancestors will watch you lose today."
The referee raised both her flags. "This is an official Gym Battle between the Gym Leader Tiko, and Ash Ketchum. The battle will be a Triple Battle with no time limit. The battle will be over when one side has lost all three Pokemon. No substitutions are allowed. Trainers, select your Pokemon."
"Triple battle?" Serena asked, taken aback, and even if it was very subtle, Ash's reaction also told her that he wasn't expecting such a thing. The only time she recalled such a battle was their bout against Shauna, Tierno and Trevor, but that battle involved three trainers on each side. "Is that... is that legal?"
"Pika?" Pikachu asked, seemingly sharing her worries.
"Yes," Clemont bluntly stated, his eyes fixed on both Ash and Tiko. "It's not very widespread, but the Triple Battle is a format recognized by the Pokemon League, and thus Gym Leaders can employ it for their challengers."
"Do you know if Ash has battled with three Pokemon at once before?" Bonnie asked, holding her hands. "Because it sounds really complicated."
"It is," Clemont said. "Guess this is part of the reason behind Tiko being considered such a strong leader. If he has mastered a format most people are unfamiliar with..."
"So triple battle, huh? Sounds like fun!" Ash said, his confidence untouched, as he held two pokeballs on one hand and another on the other. "Alright, these are my picks! Greninja, Dunsparce, Splendifowl, I choose you!"
Ash tossed the pokeballs into the air, which opened and released the stoic and disciplined ninja frog, the irritable yellow snake and the jubilant blue bird.
"Gre!"
"Dun?"
"Sple, splen!"
"Your Pokemon look well trained, Ash. But mine are better! Chimaconda, Pajay, Inflagetah, time to dance!" Tiko said, mimicking Ash motion.
From the capture devices emerged three Pokemon none of them had seen before. Both Ash and Serena pulled out their Pokedex to scan them.
The first one was a large, red skinned feline, with long white fangs, a white furry mane, purple horns, purple wings, and a green snake with red rings running down its back as a tail.
"Chimaconda, the Chimera Pokemon, and Chimical's evolution. Fire/Poison. Normally passive unless provoked, Chimaconda inject their prey with a paralytic venom and then wrap it in their tails, squeezing the life out."
The second one was a large bird with mostly red feathers, with green feathers on its wings, a white beak and facial mask and long, multicolored plumes on its head and tail. A flaming aura surrounded its wings.
"Pajay, the Phoenix Pokemon, Palij's evolution and Pahar's final form. Fire/Flying. Every year, massive flocks of Pahar and Palij migrate from Tandor to the Orange Islands. A Pajay leads each one."
"Huh. I don't remember seeing that Pokemon when I was traveling the Orange Islands," Ash said before pocketing the Pokedex.
Of course, Serena shouldn't have been surprised that Ash had been there too.
The last one looked like a yellow gazelle with long horns, a red forehead, red legs, red rings around its tail, and flames across its back and back legs.
"Inflagetah, the Firebolt Pokemon. Fire. Inflagetah are some of the fastest known Pokémon on earth, able to outrun even a Rapidash. They can reach speeds up to 200 MPH."
All of them noticed the metallic collar with a red and yellow gemstone Inflagetah was wearing.
"Ash, I will always be grateful to you for saving both me and those people in the Anthell," Toko solemnly began. Then, his eyes turned sharp as he added: "But don't even think for a moment that that means I plan to go easy on you!"
Ash replied with his patented confident smirk. "I'd be sorely disappointed if you did that."
The referee lowered both flags in a chopping motion. "Begin!"
~Challenger Ash (Greninja & Dunsparce & Splendifowl) VS Gym Leader Tiko (Chimaconda & Pajay & Inflagetah)~
"Let's take the first move! Pajay, put a pretty sun up there with Sunny Day!" Tiko commanded.
"Pa, pajay!" the Phoenix Pokemon cawed in affirmation, as it spread its wings as its body was surrounded by a bright golden aura.
A second later, an artificial sun appeared above the battleground, bathing the cavernous chamber in bright light and raising the temperature.
"Good! Now, for our next step: Inflagetah, Flame Impact on Greninja, and Chimaconda, cover it with Flamethrower!" Tiko ordered.
"Chim!" Chimaconda roared, before exhaling from its jaws a huge stream of flames which were so hot, the air rippled around them.
"Everybody, dodge!" Ash urged.
Splendifowl flew up, Greninja leaped aside, while Dunsparce crawled away as fast as he could, narrowly dodging the empowered fire attack.
"FLA!"
Unfortunately, the Flamethrower wasn't the real attack. As Greninja dodged it, he was wide open for Inflagetah, and the Firebolt Pokemon, honoring its classification, slammed into the Ninja Pokemon with its body wreathed in flames at such speed, everybody only saw an orange and red blur.
"Greeeee...!" Greninja cried as he was violently launched backwards.
"Greninja!" Ash shouted. Despite being a Fire-type move, that Flame Impact had done quite a number on the Kalosian starter.
"And let's keep the pressure up with a nice Fire Blast, Pajay! And Chimaconda, Flamethrower on Pajay!" Tiko said with an arm flourish.
"On Pajay...?" Ash repeated.
As Chimaconda readied another Flamethrower, Pajay placed itself between its partner and Ash's Pokemon, taking the full blast of Chimaconda's attack. The move, however, did no visible harm to the Phoenix Pokemon, who was now glowing with a burning orange aura.
"Paaaaa-JAAAAY!" Pajay screeched, before releasing a massive kanji-shaped wall of flames towards Dunsparce and Splendifowl.
"Quickly, dodge! You can't let that monstrous attack hit you!" Ash shouted, beads of sweat running down his temples. "Splendifowl, fly higher, and Dunsparce, Dig!"
"Wait, what happened? What's with that gigantic Fire Blast!? And why did Tiko have his own Pokemon attack each other!?" Bonnie asked, looking back and forth between Clemont and the battlefield.
"I'd say that Pajay's ability is Flash Fire," Clemont began. "Not only does it nullify Fire-type moves, but it increases the power of the Pokemon's own Fire-type attacks when hit by attacks of said type."
"So basically Chimaconda empowered Pajay?" Bonnie asked, before huffing and crossing her arms. "That's not fair!"
"Ash, you have to do something!" Serena shouted. "You need to attack! If all you do is dodge Tiko's attacks, you're going to lose!"
"Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu shouted as well, seemingly agreeing with Serena.
"I'm sorry Ash, but I'm the one who controls the flow of this dance!" Tiko said, making a spin. "Inflagetah, Extreme Speed on Dunsparce! Pajay, Solar Beam on Greninja, and Chimaconda, Thunder Fang on Splendifowl!"
"Oh no, you won't! You might have caught me by surprise at first, but this is where we turn around the tides of the battle! Greninja, intercept Chimaconda with Night Slash! Splendifowl, slow down Inflagetah with Gust, and Dunsparce, Ancient Power on Pajay!"
Once again, Inflagetah blitzed through the battlefield, looking like a yellow and red blur, leaving a trail of vanishing afterimages behind it. This time, though, it was unable to reach its target, as it was caught inside a powerful tornado blown by Splendifowl beating his wings with all his strength that slowed down its advance to a crawl.
"Conda!" Chimaconda roared as he leaped at the hovering Splendifowl from below, a mass of electricity pouring from its open jaws.
"NINJA!" Greninja cried, as he intercepted the jumping Chimera Pokemon with a leap of his own, and with a powerful slash of his sword of darkness, sent the Fire and Poison-type Pokemon tumbling backwards, before landing and jumping aside himself, narrowly avoiding Pajay's Solar Beam.
And as Pajay fired a destructive beam of concentrated sunlight at Ash's strongest Pokemon in battle, Dunsparce summoned a ring of golden rocks that spun above him, before launching them at the Phoenix Pokemon. The attack connected, making Pajay caw in pain and forcing it to fly back. But unfortunately the additional effect of Ancient Power wasn't triggered, despite Serene Grace.
"Yes! Well done Ash!" Serena cheered.
"Keep going like that!" Bonnie added.
"Guess there's no point in holding back any longer. You're just as strong as all the people who hyped you said, Tiko," Ash said, as he crossed his arms in front of his face. "But we're stronger! Come on Greninja, let's do it TOGETHER!"
Ash brought his arms outwards, just as Greninja was engulfed by a spiraling tower of torrential water. For a couple seconds, the battle was brought to a halt, as Greninja transformed into his enhanced form, powered by his bond with Ash. Once the transformation was over, the whirlpool condensed into the Ninja Pokemon's back, forming a water shuriken.
"So that's the famous Battle Bond Greninja, huh? I feel honored that you find me worthy of using it against my Pokemon," Tiko said, a smile of anticipation adorning his lips. "But no matter how much water your ninja frog may bring, you won't be able to put out the fire of our hearts! Pajay, another Solar Beam at Greninja!"
"Double Team, quickly!" Ash countered.
Just as Pajay fired the greenish-golden beam of solar power, dozens of Greninja copies littered the battleground, hiding the real one from the powerful Grass-type move.
"Inflagetah, get rid of those fakes with Heat Wave!" Tiko ordered. "And Pajay, Air Slash!"
Inflagetah took a deep breath before exhaling a wide cone of burning wind, while Pajay beat its wings with all its might, producing a storm of white energy blades. The two attacks quickly covered the battleground, eliminating all the fake copies in no time.
"Great! Now Chimaconda, Hyper Voice!" Tiko commanded.
"CHIMAAAAAAA!" Chimaconda roared, sending a sonic blast towards Ash's three Pokemon, blasting them backwards before they had any chance to dodge.
"No!" Ash cried.
"Yes! Keep adding more pressure! Inflagetah, Flame Impact on Dunsparce, and Pajay, Solar Beam on Greninja again!" Tiko ordered.
"Dunsparce, Dig! And Greninja, counter that Solar Beam with Ice Beam!" Ash said. "And Splendifowl, watch over Greninja, no doubt Chimaconda will take this opportunity to attack!"
Dunsparce quickly burrowed underground, narrowly avoiding Inflagetah's burning slam, while Pajay fired a green and golden energy stream at Greninja, which was countered by a blueish white jagged beam of chilling power. The two attacks clashed against each other, but didn't push each other backwards.
"Now's our chance! Chimaconda, Flamethrower on Greninja! And Inflagetah, Extreme Speed on Greninja as well from the flank! Make sure neither of you get in each other's way!"
That was smart. Splendifowl could only protect Greninja from one direction, so the other had a clear way to strike. As Inflagetah dashed from one side and Chimaconda took a deep breath to build up fire and heat on its throat, Ash was forced to make a decision.
Or he would have been, if it weren't for Ash's third Pokemon.
"Dunsparce, now!" Ash shouted.
With a loud, drilling noise, Dunsparce burst from under the spot Chimaconda was standing, slamming into the Chimera Pokemon's belly and launching it backwards, interrupting the Flamethrower.
"No! I can't believe I have forgotten about that snake!" Tiko said, slapping his forehead.
"Well done! And Splendifowl, Air Cutter at Inflagetah!" Ash ordered, his voice sounding less worried and more confident.
"Dodge it, quickly!" Tiko countered.
"Sple, fowl!" Splendifowl whistled, flapping his wings in order to send several blades of compressed air at the Firebolt Pokemon.
Unfortunately, at such speed Inflagetah couldn't slow down and maneuver in order to dodge the attack. The blades of air struck true, interrupting the attack and sending the pure Fire-type tumbling backwards.
"Yes! Well done!" Ash cheered.
"Sple, splendi!" Splendifowl whistled happily, sharing his trainer's joy.
As both trios of Pokemon regrouped and prepared to continue the battle, the artificial sun flickered. It was very brief, but almost everybody noticed it.
"Hey look, the Sunny Day is about to end," Bonnie pointed out. "Good, that way Tiko's attacks won't be so overpowered!"
Clemont, however, shook his head. "Nothing stops Tiko from ordering Pajay to cast it a second time. And there's little reason not to do it, given how much it's boosting his team while weakening Greninja's Water-type attacks."
"Drats!" Bonnie grumbled, crossing his arms.
As the siblings talked, Serena looked at Ash, trying to guess what was going through his mind. It was obvious that he had noticed the effect of the Sunny Day ending, and like Clemont he realized Tiko would just renew it. The question was, what Ash could do to prevent such a thing?
"Alright, I'm done with just reacting to whatever you do! Time to act!" Ash declared, throwing a punch forward. "Greninja, Water Shuriken at Chimaconda! Splendifowl, Air Cutter at Pajay! And Dunsparce, Rollout into Inflagetah!"
"Gre, NINJA!" Greninja said, taking the shuriken from his back and tossing it forward.
"Spleeeeeee...!" Splendifowl loudly whistled, firing blades of compressed air with each beat of his wings.
"Dun, duns!" Dunsparce said, rolling into a ball and steamrolling towards Inflagetah.
"Chimaconda, counter that shuriken with Flamethrower! Pajay, dodge and Fire Blast! And Inflagetah, dodge as well and Extreme Speed on Greninja!"
Blades of compressed air flew towards Pajay, who dodged most of them, though some found their marks. After that, it opened its beak, releasing a massive torrent of flames towards the Paradise Bird Pokemon, who flew back in order to escape the fiery burning wall.
On the ground, the Chimera Pokemon opened its jaws, releasing another stream of blazes. With the artificial sun empowering its attack and weakening Greninja's, the Flamethrower easily overpowered the Water Shuriken and continued barreling towards the Kalosian Pokemon, forcing him to jump aside to dodge it, but that put him on Inflagetah's trajectory.
"Greninja, block Inflagetah with Night Slash!" Ash ordered. "And Dunsparce, make a U-turn and go for Inflagetah again!"
Just as Ash issued those orders, the artificial sun flickered a few times, before vanishing completely. The lighting dimmed, and the temperature began to slowly drop.
Thankfully, Greninja was fast enough to summon not one but two swords of darkness, one on each hand, and placing them in the form of an X in front of Inflagetah, managed to at least partially block the Firebolt Pokemon's attack when it slammed against Greninja, even if the Ninja Pokemon was pushed backwards. Meanwhile, Dunsparce had already turned around and continued rolling.
"You will never catch Inflagetah, Ash! No matter how fast your Pokemon are, they will never surpass Inflagetah's speed!" Tiko boasted, as he threw a hand forward. "Jump away and let Dunsparce smash into Greninja! And Pajay, set up another Sunny Day! People can't admire our great dancing in the dark, now can they?"
Following his trainers orders, Inflagetah gracefully jumped backwards, leaping above Dunsparce, who continued rolling at high speed towards Greninja, while Pajay extended its wings as its body began to glow with a bright orange aura as it prepared to summon another artificial sun.
Serena covered her mouth with her hands, fearing that Ash had screwed up. Dunsparce wouldn't be able to turn around in time. The only chance was for Greninja to dodge in time.
Ash then smirked. Was this part of his plan?
"Greninja, use Aerial Ace to kick Dunsparce into the air! Aim for Pajay!" Ash suddenly shouted.
"WHAT!?" Tiko shouted, taken aback. "Pajay, cancel that Sunny Day and dodge that!"
Greninja nodded, and raised one leg, which began to glow with a white light. As soon as Dunsparce was close enough, Greninja delivered a powerful kick, sending the still rolling Land Snake Pokemon towards Pajay, almost looking like a football player who had just kicked the ball towards the goal. Unfortunately for Tiko, Pajay was unable to cancel the move, as the artificial sun began to slowly form in the same spot as the previous one.
The rolling Dunsparce, now carrying even more momentum thanks to Greninja's Aerial Ace kick slammed into Pajay's gut just before it could finish the Sunny Day, canceling the attack, as the nascent artificial sun was snuffed out.
"PAAAAAAAAA!" Pajay's squawk of pain echoed through the whole chamber as Dunsparce bounced upwards.
…
As Dunsparce was launched upwards, he stopped rolling as his body uncurled. Then, something odd happened. He felt as if time had slowed down to a crawl.
Dunsparce felt something he hadn't felt in his whole life: inner peace. He could feel as if he was where he truly belonged, despite being a landbound Pokemon: the sky. He felt light, ethereal even. He could sense all the air currents flowing around him, moving around everywhere. And not just that, if he tried hard, he felt as if he could control them.
Flapping his tiny vestigial wings, air currents began to gather around his body, forming a cloak of pressurizer air. Inner peace, though, was quickly replaced with excitement as the Land Snake Pokemon realized what was going on. Oh boy, was this a new attack? Yeah, it felt like such.
And just below him was the perfect target for this new move: that annoying fire bird, still reeling from the Rollout. As he righted his body to align with Pajay, Dunsparce felt a little sorry. That Rollout had taken a lot of Pajay, and Dunsparce was about to unleash even more punishment. But alas, this was a battle.
...oh who was he trying to kid, he didn't feel sorry, he was feeling gleeful.
Once he was sure of his aim, he let the building pressure of the air on his tail go, resulting in an air explosion that propelled Dunsparce towards Pajay with the speed of a missile. Once Dunsparce slammed into Pajay for the second time, the cloak of pressurized air exploded, harming Pajay even further and pushing Dunsparce backwards.
The second squawk of pain was like music to the Land Snake Pokemon's ears, made even better by the cry of despair from the bird's trainer that followed the first one, as both Pokemon fell to the ground.
Wait a minute, both Pokemon?
It was then when Dunsparce realized just how high that kick and the subsequent bounce had sent him. And as soon as the realization hit, so did the panic.
"DUN! DUSNPARCE!" Dunsparce cried for help as he pummeled to the hard ground below. What was he thinking, believing in that nonsense of belonging in the sky?
Luckily for him, his cries for help were answered, as he felt a pair of talons grip his body, not so much breaking his fall as slowing it down just before he could splatter against the ground. Looking up, Dunsparce saw Splendifowl, the useless bird beating his wings as strongly as he could in order to decelerate.
Well, maybe not so useless, given that he had saved him.
"...parce," Dunsparce muttered in gratitude. In extremely reluctant gratitude.
…
As Splendifowl gently dropped Dunsparce back on the ground, Pajay slammed against it with a loud crashing noise. The Phoenix Pokemon's wings and legs were sprawled open, and his eyes all swirly.
The referee raised a flag in Ash's direction. "Pajay is unable to battle!"
Needless to say, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie cheered.
"Yes! One down, two more to go!" Bonnie said, pumping both fists up and down.
"And now that Ash has the numerical advantage, the match will be much easier," Clemont added.
"Awesome Dunsparce! Not only did you take out one of Tiko's Pokemon, you even learned a new move!" Ash excitedly said. His excitement, however, quickly faded into confusion. "...though, what move did you learn? I don't think I ever saw such an attack."
Now that was a good question. Serena quickly pulled her Pokedex and started to check Dunsparce's entry, specifically all the attacks he could learn, and looked for any attack that resembled what Dunsparce had done.
"I believe the attack is called Sky Fall, Ash," Serena said, reading from the Pokedex. "Wow, according to this, it's an extremely rare move! Only the Dunsparce native to Tandor can learn it!"
"Really? That's awesome!" Ash said, checking said move on his own Pokedex. "Oh look, it even has an additional effect!" He then looked at Dunsparce in joy. "Did you hear that Dunsparce? You learned to do something no other Pokemon can do!"
"Par, dunsparce!" the Land Snake replied.
Great, just what Dunsparce needed. An ego boost.
"The battle continues!" the referee declared.
"Time to press our advantage! Greninja, Water Shuriken, and Splendifowl, Air Cutter, both on Inflagetah! And Dunsparce, Dig underground!"
"Inflagetah, dodge them with Extreme Speed! And Chimaconda, Smokescreen!" Tiko ordered.
Greninja grabbed the shuriken from his back, before summoning another one on his remaining hand, tossing both of them as Inflagetah, while Splendifowl sent several blades of compressed air towards the Firebolt Pokemon, who began to run around at lightning-fast speed, dodging them attacks. Meanwhile, Chimaconda opened its jaws, releasing a cloud of black smoke that quickly engulfed the entire battleground.
"Greninja, on your guard! Dunsparce, don't come outside just yet! Splendifowl, dispel the smoke with Gust!" Ash quickly ordered.
"Sple, sple, spleeeeeee!" Splendifowl whistled, as he beat his wings, producing a powerful wind current that began to dissipate the dense cloud of black smoke.
"Flame Impact on Greninja!" Tiko ordered.
"Block it with Water Shuriken!" Ash replied.
As Inflagetah, coated in roaring flames, blitzed towards Greninja, the ninja frog summoned yet another liquid shuriken and placed it in front of him like a shield just when Inflagetah was within striking distance. The two attacks met, but thankfully for Greninja the Water Shuriken prevailed, and Inflagetah was sent back by the rebound.
"Chimaconda, now, Thunder Fang!" Tiko ordered.
"What? Greninja, dodge!" Ash urged.
Unfortunately for Greninja, the Flame Impact had left him reeling for a couple seconds, and those seconds were all the Chimera Pokemon needed in order to get close and sink its lightning-coated teeth into Greninja's arm.
"GREEEEEEEEE!" Greninja croaked in pain as electricity ran through his body.
"Argh!" Ash grunted in pain, as he clutched the arm Chimaconda was biting. "Gre...Greninja!"
"And Poison Fang!" Tiko ordered without mercy.
The snake that formed Chimaconda's tail moved as if it had life on its own, lunged towards Greninja with an open mouth that revealed four fangs glowing purple, before sinking them into the Ninja Pokemon's neck.
"Incredible! Chimaconda's unique body allows for two biting moves at the same time!" Clemont said in awe. "That was a very clever use of a Pokemon's unique body characteristics!"
"Big brother, could you not admire the enemy Pokemon?" Bonnie irritably said.
Fortunately for both Ash and Greninja, Dunsparce chose that moment to come from underground, slamming into Chimaconda's belly for the second time since the match began, and separating the Fire and Poison-type Pokemon from Dunsparce's teammate.
"S-Splendifowl, Quick Attack!" Ash ordered while fighting off the pain.
"Foooooowl!" Splendifowl loudly whistled as he dived at Chimaconda, leaving a trail of fading white light behind, before slamming against the Chimera's Pokemon face.
That impact, combined with Dunsparce's Dig launched the Fire and Poison-type backwards, before landing painfully on its side. Chimaconda tried to get back on its feet, but its legs trembled as if they were jelly, before collapsing on the ground. It didn't move.
Seeing this, the referee raised a flag in Ash's direction. "Chimaconda is una-"
"Greeee..." Greninja let out a moaning croak, as he reverted back to his base form before falling to the ground facefirst.
"No, Greninja!" Ash cried.
Seeing this, the judge amended his announcement and raised both flags. "Both Chimaconda and Greninja are unable to battle!"
The reaction among Ash's friends was, as expected, a mixed bag.
"Only one more Pokemon to go. Too bad for Greninja, though," Bonnie said.
"It's okay, it's two versus one. It will be like Cali all over again," Serena confidently stated.
"Pi, pika!" Pikachu nodded.
"Well Ash, regardless of the outcome of this fight, I must admit that you're one of the toughest opponents I had the honor to battle," Tiko began. "From the very beginning I knew that Greninja was the biggest danger, and I had to take him out one way or another. And doing so cost me no less than two Pokemon. But now that I finally did it, this fight is over."
"You know, there's a saying in my hometown, 'don't count your Pidgeys before they hatch'," Ash replied. "Yes, I lost Greninja, but he's far from the only capable Pokemon of mine in this battlefield. And not only isn't the battle over, you only have one Pokemon left while I still have two. I'm the one with the advantage here."
"And in Tandor, we have another saying: 'Quality trumps quantity'," Tiko said, as he took something from his necklace. Ash could see it was a Keystone. "You have already expended your best card, while I have yet to use mine." Grinning, Tiko held the Keystone above his head. "Let's see how well you do against my final dance move, Ash! Come in my friend, take the burning flames of your heart and soul and bring them out! Mega Evolve!"
Forked beams of light shot from both Mega Stone and Keystone, each joining together and merging into one connecting trainer and Pokemon. Inflagetah's body glowed with a bright white light as it transformed. With a final flash, the light disappeared, the helix of Mega Evolution briefly appearing for a second before the Mega Evolved Pokemon could be seen.
In its enhanced form Inflageath looked like a cross between a living creature and a machine or a vehicle. Most of its color scheme was now inverted, with its body being red and its forelegs yellow, though its neck and head kept the yellow color. Its horns were now curved, looking more like motorcycle handles. Previously red eyes were now vibrant blue Its tail splitted into two shorter tails, with a huge orange flame blazing out between them. It also had a pair of exhaust pipes coming from each of its thighs.
"Your Inflagetah looks impressive, but this is far from the first Mega Evolved Pokemon I defeat at a disadvantage," Ash stated, no doubt recalling his match against Korrina in Kalos, and more recently his match against Cali, which just like now was two of Ash's Pokemon against the Gym Leader's single Mega Evolved one.
"Those are some big words. Let's see how they fare against the power of my Pokemon," Tiko said, shaking his head. "Inflagetah, Extreme Speed!"
What sounded like engines revving up filled the chamber, as blue flames shot from Inflagetah's exhaust pipes, before dashing at Splendifowl and Dunsparce at imperceptible speed, knocking both Pokemon down with a thundering noise.
"What? What happened?" Bonnie asked, blinking.
"Such speed..." Clemont said in awe. "Inflagetah was fast before, but his speed is beyond incredible now!"
"You're right on the money, kid," Tiko said, seemingly hearing Clemont. "Mega Inflagetah is Tandor's fastest Pokemon, and one one of the fastest Pokemon in the world at large, with only a few Legendary Pokemon being able to match its speed," Tiko explained, his tone carrying a boastful edge. He then looked at Ash and smirked. "You can't beat what you can't hit, Ash."
"We'll see about that! Splendifowl, Quick Attack! And Dunsparce, follow up with Rollout!" Ash commanded.
"Dodge them!"
Just like he did with Chimaconda, Splendifowl folded his wings and dove at Inflagetah, leaving a trail of vanishing white light behind him, just as Dunsparce rolled towards the Firebolt Pokemon. Inflagetah, however, was able to easily outspeed both Pokemon, moving so fast it was almost impossible to track it down.
"And now counterattack with Flame Impact!" Tiko ordered.
"Quick, Splendifowl, fly high! Dunsparce, hide underground with Dig!" Ash quickly ordered.
As Inflagetah blitzed towards Ash's two Pokemon, its body covered in a cloak of flames, Splendifowl flew into the air while Dunsparce burrowed underground, narrowly avoiding the no doubt devastating move.
"And once again you're pushed on the defensive, Ash," Tiko said, wagging his finger at the teen. "You won't win the dance floor by playing it safe."
"I'm not going to buy into your taunting, Tiko. When I checked Inflagetah before, I noticed its ability was something called 'Acceleration', something I had never seen before," Ash began. "Which boosts speed based moves such as Extreme Speed or Flame Impact. It may not be my style, but I can't let my Pokemon take anymore hits, or this match might be good as over."
"You're right but... what are you going to do then?" Tiko asked. "You can't beat me by playing defense."
"No, but I can put my Pokemon at a safe distance and whittle down yours from afar!" Ash said, throwing a punch. "Splendifowl, stay where you are and bombard Inflagetah with Air Cutter!"
"Dodge them. From that distance, it shouldn't be too hard," Tiko said.
Inflagetah's exhaust pipes roared as blue flames poured from them, the Firebolt Pokemon running around the battlefield, easily dodging the rain of blades of air coming from above.
"Dunsparce, attack now!" Ash ordered.
And Dunsparce burst from underground, ready to smash into Inflagetah's underbelly just like he had done with Chimaconda before. But the pure Fire-type was too fast, and Dunsparce missed.
"Quickly, Dig underground before it can attack again!" Ash urged.
Thankfully, Dunsparce returned to the safety of the underground before Tiko could issue another attack.
"So, is that your plan, Ash?" Tiko asked. "Waiting for my Pokemon to get tired so you can land a good hit?"
"Inflagetah can't dodge forever," Ash stated.
"Obviously, but it can dodge for quite a long time. Inflagetah not only has speed, but also the stamina to match, so yes, while I try to use its speed to end a match quickly, Inflagetah can also win battles of attrition if necessary. On the other hand, Splendifowl and Dunsparce aren't Pokemon built for long confrontations. I can see that your Splendifowl's wing beat is slower than before. Soon he'll fall prey to exhaustion. Though, not that I'm going to wait for so long. Inflagetah, Bounce!"
"What!?" Ash asked. "Splendifowl, get out of there!"
Inflageath leaped into the air towards Splendifowl, its exhaust pipes acting as propellers, making it look like an actual missile.
Luckily, Bounce didn't carry the same blinding speed of Extreme Speed and Flame Impact, so thankfully the Paradise Bird Pokemon dodged it without much trouble.
"Dunsparce, attack now! It can't dodge while it's falling down!" Ash ordered.
"Even after what you've seen, do you still underestimate Inflagetah's speed?" Tiko asked, chuckling.
The moment Inflagetah's feet touched the ground it quickly ran away, with Dunsparce bursting from underground two seconds after it was no longer there.
"Now Inflagetah, turn around and use Extreme Speed before it can use Dig again!" Tiko shouted.
"Splendifowl, Mirror Shot!" Ash urgently said.
"Plow through it! You can weather a Steel-type move!" Tiko said.
Splendifowl shot a silver colored beam at Inflagetah, which took it headfirst. Unfortunately, the damage caused was minimal, and the Firebolt Pokemon had no trouble powering through it just as Tiko had ordered it to.
Then Inflagetah tripped over its own feet and stumbled face first into the ground. Once it got up, it looked around in confusion, slowly blinking as if it had trouble seeing.
"What!?" Tiko shouted.
"Mirror Shot might not be very effective against Fire-types, but its additional effect cares little for type matchups. And speed and blindness don't mix well, don't you think?" Ash asked.
Tiko smirked. "Very clever Ash, you got me there. But in the end, you only bought your Pokemon a few moments. The blindness will only last for a few seconds, and I won't fall for that trap again."
"Those seconds are all what I need to defeat you!" Ash boasted. "Splendifowl, grab Dunsparce and carry it into the air!" Ash ordered.
Splendifowl dived towards Dunsparce, catching the Land Snake Pokemon between his talons and carrying him upwards.
"Your bird was exhausted enough before, and you're forcing him to take on some cargo? I'm disappointed Ash," Tiko said, before looking at Inflagetah, who was no longer blinking. "Bounce again. We'll defeat two birds with one stone."
Engines roaring, Inflagetah shot towards the two airborne Pokemon. There's no way Splendifowl would be able to dodge it while carrying a passenger.
"Now Dunsparce, Sky Fall!" Ash ordered. "And Splendifowl, release Dunsparce once the attack is ready!"
A cloak of swirly air currents formed around Dunsparce. Splendifowl removed his talons from the Land Snake Pokemon as he shot forwards like a missile. The two Pokemon met in the middle, the two Flying-type moves producing an explosion of air upon clashing, sending the two Pokemon falling back to the ground with a booming noise. This time, Splendifowl was unable to catch Dunsparce.
"Dunsparce!"
"Inflagetah!"
Much to both trainers' relief, both Pokemon managed to get back on their feet, proverbially in Dunsparce's case.
"Nice maneuver there, Ash. But I'm afraid your Dunsparce got the worst part of it," Tiko said. "Time to finish this! Inflagetah, Flame Impact on Dunsparce!"
Inflagetah rushed forward, its body covered in hot flames as it prepared to give Dunsparce the finishing blow, leaving a trail of scorched spots behind it.
"No, Dunsparce!" Bonnie cried.
"Why Ash hasn't ordered Dunsparce to Dig?" Clemont wondered.
Then, all of sudden, Inflagetah stopped on its tracks, the cloak of flames disappeared as its body began to twitch uncontrollably.
Ash's lips curved into a smirk.
"Inflagetah? Why did you stop? What's wrong?" Tiko asked.
"Wait... it's paralyzed!" Clemont said in realization.
"Paralyzed? But how?" Serena asked. And judging by Tiko's face, he was clearly wondering the same thing.
"You see, something interesting I learned about Sky Fall when I checked the move on my Pokedex is that it has a good chance to paralyze the opponent," Ash began. "And Dunsparce's ability Serene Grace doubles that chance. That's when I realized that Sky Fall was the key to beat you. All I needed was an opportunity to strike."
"No...!" Tiko almost whispered, clenching his fists. "Inflagetah, Flame Impact again!"
For the second time in a row, the Firebolt Pokemon blitzed at Dunsparce while its body was covered in flames. But this time the attack carried none of the terrifying speed it had the previous times. Dunsparce had more than enough time to use Dig.
Not that Ash was planning to make him dodge the attack.
"Splendifowl, Gust! And Dunsparce, Ancient Power!" Ash ordered.
"Spleeeee!" Splendifowl's loud whistle echoed through the chamber as he began flapping his wings, producing a powerful tornado that slowed Inflagetah down even further.
"Duuuun...!" Dunsparce summoned a spinning ring of golden lights above him, which grew into golden glowing stones and flew towards the Firebolt Pokemon. The rocks mercilessly pelted the Fire-type, pushing it backwards with each strike.
"And finish off with Quick Attack!" Ash said, thrusting his fist forward.
Splendifowl folded his wings and dived from above at the Mega Evolved Pokemon, leaving a trail of fading white light. The Paradise Bird Pokemon struck the Firebolt Pokemon right in the face, sending it flying backwards, before landing painfully on its back.
"Inflagetah!" Tiko cried.
Inflagetah didn't make any attempt at getting back to its feet. It then returned to its base form, sealing its fate and that of the battle.
The referee raised a flag in Ash's direction. "Inflageath is unable to battle! And since Tiko has lost all his Pokemon while Ash still has two, the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum!"
Serena, Clemont and Bonnie cheered loudly as they ran into the battleground in order to congratulate Ash in person. Spendifowl then collapsed on the ground, no longer able to fight the exhaustion any longer.
"Great job, Splendifowl. I couldn't have asked anymore for you," Ash said, recalling his first Tandorian Pokemon. "Take a good rest. You too, Dunsparce. Ret-"
But before Ash could return the rowdy Normal-type, there was a crackling noise as the Land Snake Pokemon began to glow with a bluish white light.
"What... what's going on?" Serena asked.
"Is Dunsparce... evolving?" Clemont wondered out loud, as he adjusted his glasses.
"Wait, Dunsparce can evolve?" Ash asked in shock, before the shock faded into elation. "Awesome!"
Dunsparce's body began to elongate and stretch, quickly growing in size, until he reached a size that matched Coatlith'. His tiny vestigial wings also grew into proper wings as well, while two small arms sprouted to his sides. Once the light of the evolution faded, they could see the majestic creature Dunsparce had evolved into.
"Seraph, dun!" the newly evolved Pokemon said.
"Dunseraph, the God Snake Pokemon, and one of Dunsparce's evolutions. Dragon/Flying. Said to be descended from a Dunsparce that climbed Sky Pillar. It can alter the air pressure at will," Ash's Pokedex explained.
Everybody looked in awe at the Pokemon in front of them. It was a snake, like Dunsparce, and had the same eyes always shut and the same blue and yellow color scheme, but that's where the similarities ended. Rather than a snake, Dunseraph was a winged serpent, with two white feathered wings on his back and two smaller ones on his head. He still had the same drill at the end of his tail. There were blue stripes running down his back, and had two long whiskers coming from its chin.
"Whoa! You look amazing, Dunseraph!" Ash congratulated his newly evolved Pokemon. "See? It was thanks to your own strength that allowed you to reach this point. If we keep training hard, we'll see how far can you go!"
"Dun, dunse!" Dunseraph said before spreading his wings and taking off into the air, doing a couple laps around the chamber, as if testing his new flight capabilities.
"How is that Dunsparce can evolve?" Bonnie asked, as he followed the flying Pokemon with her eyes.
Serena was typing something on her Pokedex. "Oh, here it is! It says that for a Dunsparce to evolve, it needs to learn the move Sky Fall. Sky Fall is known to be a difficult move to learn, so trainers with a Dunseraph are rare."
"But guess that wasn't enough of a challenge for Ash, was it?" Tiko said, smiling, as he walked towards Ash. "And neither were my Pokemon. I threw everything I had at you, and it wasn't enough. Congratulations for a well earned victory, Ash. The Salsa Badge is yours."
Ash took the badge from Tiko's hand, and looked at it. It had the same shape as the yellow, orange and red skirt Tiko was wearing. Grinning, Ash held the badge above his head.
"I won the Salsa Badge!" Ash shouted.
"Pi, pikachu!"
"Dun, dunseraph!"
"So, where are you planning to go next, Ash?" Tiko asked. "If I'm not wrong, that was your fifth badge, so you still have to get a few more."
"Rosalind told me that if I managed to beat you, that I should go to Venesi City and challenge her, so guess that's where we're going next," Ash replied.
Tiko nodded. "Indeed. If you're good enough to beat me, none of the other Gym Leaders of Tandor will be much of a challenge, so you should face the Big Three of East Tandor."
"Oh man... now we have to cross that jungle again..." Clemont reminded everybody.
That comment was enough to dispel the festive mood brought by Ash's victory. The idea of having to cross that nasty jungle filled them with dread. Even if they kept their distance from the Anthell, there was that angry Mankey and Primeape troop who no doubt would want some payback for the first time they fought them.
"You know..." Ash began, looking at Dunsparce, flying in circles above them. "I think I know how we can make the return trip more bearable..."
…
"WOHOOOOO!" Bonnie hollered, her arms lifted above her head. "This is amazing!"
"Bonnie! Don't do that and hold onto Serena! You're going to fall down!" Clemont chided.
"You should better listen to your brother, Bonnie," Serena agreed. "It's going smooth now, but it can get more turbulent any time."
Two giant serpents flew high above Baykal Forest, Ash's Dunseraph and Serena's Coatlith. Ash was riding the former with Clemont as his passenger, while Serena was riding the latter, Bonnie sitting behind her. So far, all of them were enjoying the flight, contemplating the field of green that extended below their eyes.
Now that both Ash and Serena had flying Pokemon big enough to carry them, he had suggested using them as mounts to travel. Even though Ash often preferred to take the scenic route, it seemed that even he was tired of Baykal Forest.
"Next stop, Venesi City!" Ash triumphantly cried, as his and Serena's dragons flew towards the horizon.
Author's Note: Yeah, Ash and Serena are dragon riders now despite their lack of Valyrian blood.
Hope you liked the battle against Tiko. I decided to make it a Triple Battle in order to make it more unique, and to show why Tiko is such a big deal, since most challengers are caught flat footed when forced to use such an unusual format. While the battle could be chaotic, I hope it wasn't too hard to follow, and above everything, fun.
I also wanted to make it a little different and have Greninja be the first (and only) of Ash's Pokemon to go down, leaving the two non-aces to pick up the slack against Tiko's own ace. Like Ash just said, I want to show that every single one of his Pokemon is able to carry their weight and reach victory.
And yet another evolution in Dunsparce finally becomign Dunseraph! This is one of the evolutions I've been wanting to do the most and the reason for giving Ash a Dunsparce, but I couldn't have him evolve too early, since Dunseraph is quite the powerful beast and his ability to carry the entire group through the air would allow them to bypass many natural obstacles, such as caves or dense jungles. But since the story's remaining sections involve much less treking or hiking, there's no problem.
With this, the West Tandor portion of the adaptation is done (at least when it comes to Gym Leaders and Contests) and now we can finally move to the East side of the continent.
Thanks a lot to Lipeghoul, Diatomic Rex, BrightNova169, Fox McCloude, hirowriter, MarkusDarkus87 and MegaSalamence64 for reviewing last chapter, and special thanks to Viroro-kun for betareading this chapter, whose edits and suggestions made it so much better.
Next time, our heroes prepare to leave West Tandor, while a certain villanous group also gets into position for its next big move. See you tehn, and don't forget to leave a review!