Chapter 51; Ecutreak city shenanigans part 1; battle mania
Detective Looker kept going over the case facts over and over with no lead to follow anymore.
After the slowpoke well, the trail of team rocket went cold. There was no sign of them anywhere.
The hero of Kanto had made his life a lot harder by doing what the people of Azalea town called a heroic act.
After news of him and his allies being spotted in town that same day, everyone was convinced they had stopped team rocket. No one had provided any useful evidence. And Looker could tell that everyone was lying.
He had considered revealing the breaking of executive Proton's legs to the public in order to turn public opinion against Sonic and his friends. But that would also mean admitting Proton had been broken out of prison. And that would certainly not make a good impression to the people of Johto.
"How is it possible that in order to make any progress on the case we need to admit that a trio of vigilantes is more effective than the entire police force of Johto assisted by 2 international detectives? " he asked aloud.
"Are you still tormenting yourself with the Sonic side of our investigation?" Looker's partner Jake Morrison walked in.
"… I've made a decision"
"What? "
"The hero of Kanto is on a badge quest right? That means he will have to eventually challenge this city's gym leader Morty. I want someone outside the gym 24/7. The moment the hedgehog appears we arrest him".
"Looker you're losing it. We can't arrest him without any charges and right now we have nothing to accuse him of".
"Jake he is dangerous. There is no doubt anymore".
Morisson contemplated voicing his opinion.
"Looker… I know we're supposed to not bring our feelings on the job. But I can't help but wonder… ever since the first time we discussed the possibility he is indeed dangerous… just who is he dangerous to?"
Looker looked at his partner in utter disbelief.
"What did you just say?"
"Who's supposed to fear him? The average Joe or criminals like team rocket?"
"… Him and his friends broke a man's legs Morrison. What happens if their moral compass breaks?"
"Hasn't broken so far though right? And that's not easy to claim with what the hedgehog went through in Kanto".
Looker couldn't disagree with the fact that Sonic's resolve was admirable despite the trials he had endured.
"In any case he is the only lead we have on team rocket now. We need him".
"About that… he is not our only lead anymore".
"What?!"
"We got this report this morning. Apparently last night someone assaulted a team of people in a truck. Empty pokemon cages were found in the back of the track and all passengers of the track were beaten both in a pokemon battle and beaten up. They also wore team rocket uniforms under their clothes".
"Where?"
"East of Ecutreak but get this. The perpetrator, as seen by a farmer returning from a trip to the lake of rage to the moo moo farms, had red hair. So definitely not the hero of Kanto".
Looker was dumbfounded.
"So the hero of Kanto has an ally?"
"Could be an ally or maybe a rival even. Someone who knows of Sonic the hedgehog's goal to end team rocket and has taken it upon themselves".
Looker sighed.
"Great. As if one vigilante wasn't enough now we have to deal with two".
"There's also something intresting about the truck incident. The actions of the redhead showed something else… rage".
"Rage?"
"Yes. And not just rage. We have already interrogated the grunts. The refused to discolse anything about the attacker. Which is bizzare if you ask me. But it also obviously can't have been the hedgehog cause he and his team are still far away".
"What about the other kid?"
"His ally from Kanto?"
"Yes, Mike was his name right? Did we get a last name for him?"
"Nope still a ghost. I don't rule him out as a suspect but… if it was him why did team rocket not admit to it? The hedgehog I understand, he is closing in on them, they don't want him caught so we don't close in on them".
"So we're most likely dealing with a new player on this game of cat and mouse who has a vendetta against team rocket?"
"Possibly. But I wouldn't specifically call the assault the result of a vendetta. Something personal definitely. A vendetta, not so sure. Why don't you come to see the crime scene yourself, maybe you'll see something we missed".
"Alright. I guess the hero can wait. Take me to the crime scene" Looker relented.
This development was really favorable to team Sonic who were no making their way through the woods to Ecutreak city.
"I say when we get there we immediately challenge the gym leader. Get it over with then do whatever the heck we want for a while" Sonic suggested.
"I agree. Ecutreak city is the top of my to-visit bucket list" Tails agreed.
"Oh trust me" Knuckles chimed in "we have too much to see in this place to leave immediately. Goldenrod might be the capital of Johto, but Ecutreak is the city everyone comes here to visit. The mythology around the place is crazy. I can't wait to start touring the place so I can play a little tour guide" he said with an obvious eagerness in his voice.
"What's kept you from going all out tour guide on us from the get go?" Sonic teased him.
"It's not the same talking about legends and mythology on some random street and in front of a location or hopefully at said location".
"What do you mean hopefully?" Tails asked raising his eyebrow.
"You'll see what I mean soon enough" Knuckles said half smiling half worried, obviously inferring that they would sneak into someplace.
While walking down the path, making jokes and laughing they encountered a bizzare sight; a tree just about their size in the exact middle of the path.
"That's strange" Sonic commented "why would they let the tree grow like this?"
"And those are some weird roots" Tails said in deep thought as he knelt to examine the base of the tree
"Well what can you say. Johto is a real wonderland" Knuckles joked leaning against the tree.
A pair of eyes suddenly opened and stared right into his eyes.
"WHAT THE FU…" Knuckles screamed, instinctively punching the tree which was pushed back a few steps to the team's surprise.
"Holy cow Knuckles! When did you get strong enough to uproot a tree?"
"Thats not a tree!" Knuckles warned him.
"Come again?"
The tree jumped back up and threw a rock at the team, forcing them to dive out of the way resulting in a pile-up with Knuckles at the bottom.
"Is that a pokemon?" Sonic asked intrigued.
Knuckles immediately took out his pokedex and easily getting up causing his 2 friends to be sort of shoved off, scanned the pokemon.
"Sudowoodo, the Imitation Pokémon. This rare Pokémon hides in trees to avoid capture by pretending to be one".
"An imposter pokemon?" Tails questioned getting up.
Sudowoodo tried to throw another rock causing the team to roll out of the way.
"Oh you've done it now!" Knuckles declared desiring to catch it "Heracross help me out!"
Heracross emerged.
"Horn attack!"
Heracross charged sudowoodo. The attack barely phased sudowoodo.
"Wha.. ? How?"
Sudowoodo realizing the element of surprise was now lost attempted to run away.
"Oh no you don't! Go tyrogue! Fake out!"
Tyrogue emerged and used its move causing sudowoodo to flinch.
"Awesome work little one! Knuckles now's your chance!"
Knuckles took the chance throwing a poke ball. The ball wiggled thrice but sudowoodo was able to break out and attack tyrogue with low kick. Tyrogue was swept under it's feet and crashed down.
"Tyrogue come back" Sonic attempted to recall it but it jumped back up in determination, letting out a cry and beginning to glow.
"What?!" all 3 friends shouted in shock.
"You got this 3 days ago and it's evolving?!" Tails exclaimed trying to process the situation.
"Pokemon abandoned by their original trainers are said to grow extremely fast if cared for by another" Knuckles murmured, realizing this applied to egg Pokemon too.
"What's it going to become?" Sonic wondered aloud.
"My money's on Hitmonchan" Tails said in excitement.
"I say Hitmonlee!" Knuckles countered.
And once again both were wrong.
The transformation was completed and there stood a brand new Pokemon, looking like an upside down spinning top.
"What in the world?! A third evolution?!" Tails said with his jaw hanging.
Knuckles wasted no time.
"Hitmontop the handstand Pokemon. Hitmontop's smooth graceful kicks are deceptively powerful. Opponents may be surprised of their force so beware".
"Smooth kicks?" Knuckles commented confused "doesn't look capable of kicking in all honesty".
Upon hearing this Hitmontop, eager to prove its power to Sonic, or in its own eyes its dad, jumped and started spinning while flipping upside down, using its head spike to balance. It then started moving while spinning like an actual spinning top, and with incredible speed as well. Before anyone could react, especially sudowoodo, it crashed into it, causing it to topple.
Hitmontop then jumped again and tried to use brick break on sudowoodo but the latter fled in fear.
"After it!" Knuckles said running after sudowoodo.
Sonic and Tails chased after their friend.
The adrenaline rush was short lived. Before they knew it sudowoodo had disappeared.
"It's got to be around here somewhere" Knuckles whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" Tails whispered back.
"So it won't hear us" Knuckles whispered looking around, eyes half closed, trying to spot any difference among the many trees around them.
The team silently got to searching trying to draw the sudowoodo out but it proved pointless. The pokedex wasn't lying about the blending in with the trees part.
"Damnit where is it?!" Knuckles yelled frustrated.
"Probably somewhere around us but we can't see it. And we probably never will" Sonic added half heartedly.
"Oh come on. We're gonna give up so easily?" Knuckles tried to mobilize them.
"Hate to be the pessimist but I have to agree with Sonic" Tails said from the top of a tree on which he had climbed to get a better view "we're searching for a pokemon that looks like a tree in a forest. It could take hours to find. Plus I starting to get hungry".
Knuckles cursed but relented.
Calling off the search the team returned to the path.
"I can't believe tyrogue evolved so fast. And here I thought Knuckles' quilava was quick to evolve" Tails said clearly amazed.
"Baby Pokemon tend to grow fast if cared for. Adding that with Sonic not being the original trainer from a certain point of view could explain this".
"Wait scratch that" Tails stopped him "I went online to find more about this evolution and turns out tyrogues tend to evolve quickly in general. Never so fast like Sonic's but that could explain some of it. Plus fighting types tend to desire to build strength from an early age which indicates a quick rate of growth for the Pokemon. Man Johto species are so damn interesting".
"Hey Knucks hitmontop is a johtonian species right? I mean your dex had the info so…" Sonic asked him.
Knuckles nodded positively though he was still grumpy about his failure to catch sudowoodo. Sonic figured it out immediately.
"Pity indeed we lost it. But hey, everything happens for a reason right? Perhaps something greater awaits us for our parties" Sonic tried to cheer his friend up.
Knuckles smiled after a few moments.
"You know what? I have a feeling you may be right".
"That's the spirit!" Sonic patted his friend on the back.
Both he and Tails though were unaware that Knuckles was talking semi-literally. He had a feeling they would soon cross paths with something mind-blowing.
After a few more minutes of walking team Sonic finally exited the treeline, coming face to face with the big gate of Ecutreak city. They were finally here.
The sight was indeed one to behold. Right after exiting the forest they could see the tall Bell Tower if the city, standing grand and majestic. Moreover another shorter tower could be seen albeit that one seemed damaged.
"Truly a marvel right?" Knuckles smiled.
"I can't believe we're finally here" Tails said in disbelief "and this place signifies the halfway point of our journey. Can you imagine how many more adventures are waiting for us?"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sonic said rushing forward.
The team entered the city and was instantly tempted to postpone the battles with the gym leader, Morty. Shoving the temptation aside however, they grabbed lunch real quick had one good practice session with their Pokemon and headed to the gym.
Morty's ghost type team posed a challenge for Sonic and Knuckles as none of them had actual counters for it. Sonic also was down one Pokemon as he couldn't use hitmontop as it knew no moves that could hurt ghosts so far and made a note to himself to see if there was any way to get some moves tutored even if he had to find instructions online.
The battles ended with victories for both Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic did manage to knock out Morty's ghastly with his wooper and his haunter with bayleef but gengar proved to be more than a match for the 2 Pokemon. Deciding that they would train more on the way to the next city and just grasp the present, Sonic sent Raichu into battle. Raichu dominated against Gengar due to its knowledge of the way gengar fought having discussed that battle with Alakazam back in Green hills.
Knuckles had a tougher time but managed to outsmart gengar with quilava's agility. During the battle his bellsprout also evolved into weepinbell and learning the spore moves Tails' butterfree had although choosing to keep sleep powder. The addition of sleep powder proved vital to defeating gengar.
After acquiring the fog badge, team Sonic finally let loose and started touring the city to their heart's content.
Their first destination was the Ecutreak city dance Theatre. Knuckles wanted to visit and watch the dance performed by a team of dancers known as the kimono girls. He explained their dance was an ancient tradition of Johto and one of his mother's favorite things about the region.
They were surprised to find one of the dancers badgered by a team rocket thug dressed as a civilian but didn't expect him to be foolish enough to declare they were team rocket. One thunder punch from Raichu brought the grunt to his knees.
Deciding they should return to watch the dance another time they dropped the rocket grunt off to the police station with a note explaining the situation. Which was ironic as just after they left Looker returned with Morrison and almost had a breakdown at the fact that they were still so far behind team Sonic and had even missed the chance to apprehend them at the city gym.
After this debacle a big part of team Sonic's time was spent buying chili dogs and getting as close as allowed to Bell Tower with Knuckles starting going over the tower's history and how it was connected to Ho-oh.
"So. The tower is around 700 years old. Built by the Johtonian people along with the tower on the other side of the city"
"The damaged one?" Tails asked while chewing a bite from his chili dog. He had decided to give them another chance and the 2nd time it was more enjoyable.
"Yeah. That one has more history but I say we go over it tomorrow when we visit. Let's focus on the Bell Tower for now. Atop the tower there is a small perch. A perch where Ho-oh used to live at".
"Ho-oh lived so close to people?" Sonic asked in surprise.
"Yes. Ho-oh is basically a deity to the Johtonians. They used to worship it like a god. But around 300 years after the tower was built Ho-oh flew away, never to return".
"Why would it leave?" Tails asked as he looked to the top of the tower as the sun had begun setting.
"Because of the downfall of humans. Same as all civilizations. When darkness starts to take over their souls bad things happen. That was the case for Ho-oh. It left cause it seized to trust people. But unlike most cases people tried to change for the better for Ho-oh. They brought gifts to the tower hoping to appease it. When Pokemon training started becoming a thing, many trainers came to the tower to meet Ho-oh. No one was successful".
"We were" Sonic countered "we met Ho-oh remember? Outside union cave. And for me it was the 2nd time".
"True" Knuckles agreed taking a bite.
"I have one question though" Tails asked having finished his chili dog "why two towers?"
"The pair of towers were built to foster friendship between people and Pokemon. Pokemon were said to rest in the West tower and awaken in the Bell Tower. And if you're wondering yes, awaken and rest means life and death".
"Brrr… thanks for the creep" Tails mumbled.
As the sun finally hid behind the mountains, the team decided they should go walking a little more while debating where to set camp for the night or if they could try finding rooms in a Pokemon center.
The debate ended with the Pokemon center choice being made. When reaching the city's central Square they run into a familiar Pikachu that wasted no time getting into an argument with Raichu.
"If this Pikachu is here a certain Pallet town trainer is bound to be near" Sonic said half smiling.
Not even 2 seconds later Ash and his 2 friends arrived on scene.
"Fancy seeing you three here" Ash joked.
"I could say the same thing about you" Sonic joked back. The atmosphere was certainly less tense after the 2 teams' journey through union cave.
"Long time no see" Brock came forward to greet Tails and Knuckles.
"Too long" Knuckles answered shaking his hand.
"New member?" Misty asked seeing the eevee on Tails' shoulder.
"Yup" Tails smiled scratching eevee's head which eevee enjoyed.
"So I'm waiting. How many badges so far?" Ash asked Knuckles and Sonic.
"Beat Morty this afternoon" Knuckles answered proudly.
"4 badges? Same here. We absolutely must battle now".
"I agree . We have unfinished business since Violet" Knuckles was quick to agree.
"I was actually meaning to battle Sonic".
"Get through me and he's all yours".
"I don't need Charizard to beat you Knucklehead. My opponent is Sonic"
"Fine. Then we battle for the honor of battling him. I too want a go at him".
"Really?" Sonic asked him surprised.
"Why the surprise? We're on a badge quest and the final stop is the league. If I wanna win – and trust me I do – I've for to be able to beat the best".
"You're not beating me Knucklehead".
"I said the best" Knuckles countered.
"We will be the best me and Pikachu, so your argument is as empty as your head".
"Daaaamn" Tails exclaimed in shock.
"Let me guess. The very best like no one ever was" Knuckles fired back.
"Alright hear me out" Sonic intervened. While watching Knuckles and Ash go at it like kids was fun he had an idea which would both please everyone and give himself a challenge.
"You both want to battle me right? So just do it".
"Ok I'm going first" Ash declared.
"No way Ketchum" Knuckles disagreed.
"You both go first".
"How?" Knuckles asked his friend.
"Battle me together. Two against one".
"Two versus one? You don't stand a chance" Ash spoke his mind.
"I think Raichu here has a different opinion, don't you partner?"
"Rai rai!"
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu cried out in determination, eager to make the most of this battle.
"Sonic are you sure?" Knuckles asked him. Sonic nodded with an assuring smile.
"Very well then. Let's go find someplace where we won't hurt anyone with stray attacks".
The two squads traversed the city for a while until thru found an empty smaller square.
Ash and Knuckles stood side by side opposite of Sonic who decided this battle was the perfect opportunity to test out his newly evolved hitmontop.
Brock who would be the referee, let them in on the rules which was simply each trainer uses 2 pokemon no more no less. He then ordered them to prepare and select their Pokemon. Ash chose one of his new Pokemon and Knuckles knowing what his friend would go with, picked weepinbell.
"Send out your Pokemon… now!"
Three voices shouted at the same time.
"Go hitmontop".
"Weepinbell come on out".
"Noctowl I choose you!".
All 3 Pokemon emerged at once. Weepinbell and Noctowl were intimidated by hitmontop's spinning ability, causing their attack to drop one stage. To Misty and Brock's shock sparkles appeared when hitmontop emerged.
But to team Sonic's shock too, sparkles emerged from Ash's Noctowl as well.
"You caught a shiny Noctowl?! Tails screamed his lungs out.
"You bet I did! You have a shiny Pokemon, I have a shiny Pokemon too!"
"Technically now Sonic has 2 shiny Pokemon" Brock corrected his friend "his Nidoking was also shiny".
Ash felt like back at the orange islands when he hoped to one up Sonic by becoming the chosen one, only to end up sharing the title with Sonic.
"Well whatever. We'll beat you all the same".
"Get set!" Brock reminded them to get ready and then he gave the signal "Go!"
"Weepinbell use vine whip!"
Weepinbell attempted to smack hitmontop with its vines but the attack wasn't very effective. Intimidate was functioning as intended.
"Noctowl use tackle!"
Noctowl flew straight into hitmontop but again a physical attack would just not cut it here.
"My turn. Hitmontop use fake out on weepinbell then rapid spin!"
Moving like a blur, hitmontop smacked weepinbell causing it to flinch. It then started spinning while upside down, smacking weepinbell repeatedly. Using the momentum it carried the attack to Noctowl, which was smacked 3 times before flying away to avoid getting hit more.
"Noctowl use confusion quick!"
Noctowl unleashed a blinding light from the crest on its head, damaging hitmontop greatly. Hitmontop was by no means out of the battle but its young age made it lose focus momentarily.
Sonic was very impressed by the performance of his new pokemon but was leaning on recalling it as it obviously needed more training in battle endurance. Evolving made it strong for sure but not battle hardened.
Hitmontop noticed Sonic was about to recall it and determined to not let him down like it felt it had during the battle with Miltank, hopped back up and attacked Noctowl unleashing a new move, triple kick. Using its spinning ability to increase the momentum and by extension the force applied with each kick it landed 3 powerful kicks to Noctowl sending it crashing down hard. As Noctowl struggled to get back up, hitmontop turned its attention to weepinbell.
"Weepinbell wrap quick!"
Weepinbell used its vines to wrap itself around hitmontop. Hitmontop tried spinning to shake it off but was unable to before weepinbell started applying pressure, immobilizing its opponent.
Ash seizing the opportunity gave the attack order to its Noctowl who had managed to get back up.
"Noctowl quick! Confusion!".
Noctowl fired confusion on both Pokemon. Both were hurt by the confusion and both were knocked out.
"Yeah! We did Noctowl!"
Noctowl cried out in joy.
"What are you doing Ketchum? We're on the same side here!"
"Oh just relax we got this".
Sonic recalled hitmontop.
"You were awesome hitmontop. Get some rest and don't worry you will only grow stronger".
"When did Sonic get that shiny hitmontop?" Misty asked Tails while they were observing.
"3 days ago. As a tyrogue from an egg".
"It evolved from a baby Pokemon in 3 days?!"
"As crazy as it sounds yes. Knuckles has his theory on this but after everything it doesn't surprise me as much as it did this morning when it evolved".
"What do you mean after everything?" Ash asked Tails.
"I mean after everything the bond connection between Sonic and Raichu has brought forth".
"Oh right. Twice as strong as other raichu huh? I don't buy it" Ash said in a teasing way trying to goad Sonic into sending raichu out.
Knuckles gritted his teeth in frustration. Ash was underestimating Raichu again. Because Sonic would definitely go with it now that he was one Pokemon down and Ash and Knuckles still had a total of 3 Pokemon to use.
"Sonic when you're ready send out your next Pokemon" Brock instructed.
"Raichu you're up" Sonic said to his partner smiling.
"Rai! Raichu!" Raichu cried out as it jumped onto the battlefield.
"Knuckles you too" Brock let the echidna know to send out his 2nd Pokemon.
"Quilava you're up!"
Quilava emerged as flames erupted on its back.
"Battle resume!"
"Noctowl use confusion on raichu!"
Noctowl used its attack. Raichu merely closed its eyes to it. Damage was applied normally but at the level it and Sonic were at this point it was merely a tickle for them.
"Quick attack" Sonic instructed calmly.
Raichu moved like a bullet, crashing hard into Noctowl which had no time to react.
"Now thunder punch!"
"Quilava stop it! Ember!"
Quilava attacked raichu but not with ember. Instead it started spinning like a wheel. Charging towards the surprised raichu the attack found its mark and knocked it back, sending some heat through Sonic's body.
"What was that move?" he asked confused.
"It learned flame wheel!" Misty said in amazement. Team Sonic was indeed full of surprises.
Raichu jumped back up to continue the fight. A flame suddenly engulfed it revealing flame wheel had burnt it.
"Oh no not a burn! Raichu depends on physical fighting" Sonic thought in terror.
"Now's our chance Noctowl! Whirlwind!"
Brock however stopped the attack by raising his hand.
"Ash you're not allowed to use this attack. We agreed each one of you can use 2 Pokemon and raichu is Sonic's 2nd Pokemon. Sending it back and forcing out another is not a choice now".
Ash was annoyed he couldn't deal with raichu this way but relented.
The seconds Brock bought unknowingly for Raichu by stopping Ash's move proved vital.
"Raichu thunder punch!"
Raichu moved before Quilava or Noctowl could react, knocking out Noctowl with ease this time. As it landed back down the burn took its toll on it again but it was far from out if the fight.
Ash was furious Noctowl had been defeated and a part of him blamed Brock for stopping him from what he viewed as defeating Sonic but changed his mind when he realized the scenario where Pikachu could finally have its chance to beat that Raichu had been created.
"Pikachu it's time! I choose you".
"Pikachu! Pika pika!"
"Rai!"
Sonic looked at the 2 Pokemon staring down Raichu. It wasn't going to be an easy fight.
Separately they would be a walk in the park. But together against Raichu things were not so simple. Adding the burn factor in as well also made it harder on both of them.
"Pikachu quick attack!"
Pikachu slammed into Raichu. Sonic smiled at this move. Ash just refused to listen.
Quick attack was completely ineffective against Raichu'a bigger stature.
"Brick break!"
Raichu brought its paw down on Pikachu before it could react. The damage was great but not enough to knock Pikachu out, courtesy of the burn.
"Help me out already Knucklehead!"
"Well maybe if you hadn't knocked out my weepinbell I would be able to help faster" Knuckles fired back.
"Just help me out already!"
Knuckles felt the urge to just help Sonic win this battle but at the same time Sonic would be his opponent in the future. He had to learn to see him as such as well as an ally.
"Quilava flame wheel!"
Quilava once again used its move but this time Knuckles had an idea he got from seeing Whitney's Miltank in action.
Quilava's attack was dodged by Raichu but then Knuckles encouraged Quilava to continue rolling. The result was a non stop flame wheel that Raichu had to constantly dodge while dealing with the burn and the thunderbolts Pikachu kept sending its way.
Sonic found himself and Raichu cornered. Somehow Ash and Knuckles had become the perfect storm. Quilava being the close range attacker, Pikachu being the blaster and at the same time just dodging would only drain them.
"But" he thought smiling "two can play at that game".
Sonic had Raichu strategically dodge until both it and Pikachu were on Quilava's path. Sonic then had Raichu tank a thunderbolt from Pikachu, both of them feeling the electric current coursing through Raichu before immobilizing Pikachu with their signature now iron tail lock. Pikachu was run over by Quilava before Raichu was also slammed back.
When the dust of the crash settled, all 3 pokemon were in a very rough shape. Pikachu had become burnt from the flame wheel, Raichu had started getting exhausted from the continuous burns and Quilava had become paralyzed from the combined static of both Pikachu and Raichu affecting it.
Raichu was damaged by burn again. Sonic felt it but then something really strange occurred; Raichu discharged electricity like the previous times where it and Sonic were struck by lightning only this time it was just Raichu.
"On its own?" Ash said aloud caught by surprise by this development.
Raichu stopped discharging the electricity and it was revealed to have somehow self-healed itself from the burn.
"How is that even possible?" Misty couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Another result of their bond?" Knuckles wondered aloud.
"Raichu time to end this! Use thunder punch on Quilava!"
No longer held back by the burn Raichu delivered a devastating thunder punch to Quilava knocking it out with ease. Knuckles was mortified when he realized what threshold of power he would have to aim for after team Sonic's goal was met.
Raichu turned to face Pikachu. The tables had completely turned.
"Hate to break it to you Ash but it's over. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Take your pick".
Ash was not ready to quit.
"Pikachu thunder!"
Pikachu unleashed thunder which Raichu tanked. Not that it couldn't dodged but it wanted to prove a point. Sonic smiled not bothering about the electricity that coursed through his body a moment ago.
"The hard way it is. Raichu quick attack!"
Pikachu found itself slammed and flying through the air, crashing into a tree. It got back up and used quick attack itself.
"End this! Iron tail!"
Before Pikachu could land its attack, not that it would have done more than pushing Raichu back a bit, the latter did a perfect 360 turn, using iron tail at the same time, exactly like back at silph co against Giovanni's Rhydon. Pikachu was sent flying straight into Ash knocking both of them down and Pikachu out.
Everyone was either impressed, which included Tails and Knuckles, or speechless. Sonic had been holding back in all of his battles ever since coming to Johto and this very battle was proof.
Ash hit the ground with his fist in frustration.
"How can it be that every time we battle, you're further and further ahead of me?!"
"Hey you got close this time. Raichu actually got exhausted there".
Knuckles recalled Quilava while telling it he was proud of it. Tails approached him to check if he was ok.
"I'm fine" he said and smiled after a moment "and much less worried about our future with the rockets".
"Was that an admittance of a doubt?" Tails joked.
"No… maybe a little bit" Knuckles shrugged with a smile.
The two laughed and observed the back and forth between Ash and Sonic.
"Will you for once just listen to me?"
"No! You and your Raichu have just too many inconsistencies".
"What exactly is inconsistent to you? The power we trained day and night to achieve back in Kanto?"
"A pokemon healing itself from a burn is not something I would call an common power".
"I hate to admit it Sonic but Ash has a point" Brock agreed "how is your Raichu capable of such a feat?"
Sonic considered his options for a moment but decided there would be no harm in sharing their recent findings.
"There is a connection between me and my Raichu. That connection is what causes its uniqueness. What I explained during the indigo league about Raichu being twice as strong as normal one is a direct result of this bond"
"Wait a minute" Misty entered the conversation "Knuckles also said something about the healing of the burn being 'another' result of your bond. As in there have already been other results too".
"There have been" Tails explained "Sonic's own speed and strength are amplified every time their bond connection is active. What the trigger is we are unsure. Furthermore… " but he stopped. He didn't think it was a good idea to reveal the fact Sonic and Raichu could feel each other's pain. That could possibly influence Ash in the future and he knew Sonic wouldn't accept something like that.
"Furthermore what?" Ash pressured Tails for answers.
"Well… furthermore… we could also call the phenomenon we witnessed in the indigo league a result of their bond but we just don't know anything about it. It seemed to rejuvenate them but in action it didn't seem to have such an effect. It also feels like said phenomenon, at least in my opinion, seems like a physical manifestation of their bond. As if the power shared between them explodes outwards trying to create something but nothing happens. Probably because it's too early to say, Sonic hasn't known Raichu that long so it could just take years for the bond to grow to a point where…"
"ALRIGHT I GET IT!" Ash screamed having reached his breaking point. That was too much scientific explanation.
"Ok sorry. I tend to rumble on and on. To put it in one phrase, Sonic and Raichu's bond connection is at its beginning point. The two will grow stronger in ways that can't be predicted".
"How comes he gets such a boost? My bond with Pikachu is just like that".
"Not quite" Tails disagreed "it is certainly similar but not the same. Sonic and Raichu went through hell together. And there is also the night Raichu evolved. The evolution was unique. Mike's Zapdos, which back then was a wild Zapdos, broke the thunderstone by accident and Raichu was able to absorb the shards and evolve. There has never been a recording of such an evolution occurring which truly points to ther bond being…" Tails again rumbled on but stopped when Ash lunged attempting to strangle him so he would shut up.
Sonic found it to be funny but also wondered if that's what he looked like when he tried to lunge at Ash back when he couldn't identify Sabrina's father even though it was too obvious.
After a bit more of bantering, the two squads split for the night. Ash and co went to watch a performance at the dance theatre while team Sonic decided to call it a day and get some rest.
Having decided to sleep under a roof for once, they got a room at a pokemon center. It had been a long day.
Before going to bed, the three friends debated over what to do the next day. Many choices were presented but Knuckles had the most intriguing one. As it turned out he did indeed want to sneak into somewhere.
And that somewhere was the off-limits burned tower.
The place where a destiny set in motion 40 years ago awaited them.
