Chapter 24:

Nuclear Plant Epsilon, Part I

Bealbeach City

As the automatic doors opened with a swish, Serena stepped inside the large building and was immediately hit by a wave of cold air coming from the many air conditioners in place to keep the place cool and fresh. Quite the sharp contrast compared to the warm temperature –though not warm enough to be unbearable– outside the building.

Today was the day Clemont would finally leave the group for his job at the new power plant, so Serena wanted to give Clemont a small goodbye gift before he left. She remembered what Sycamore had said on Comet Port, about the jewelry shop that sold accessories for Keystones, and thought that it would be a gift both nice and practical. And, given that she was already here, she would also get some accessories for herself and Ash.

And maybe check other stores as well. It was only nine in the morning; she had more than two hours until she needed to be at the pier.

"Excuse me, miss!" the voice of a woman said, snapping Serena out of her thoughts. Given her clothes, it looked like that woman worked there. Maybe a salesperson? "You look like somebody who would enjoy a nice trip on a luxury cruise! Am I right?"

"I do," Serena agreed, before adding. "Though I don't think I look like somebody who can afford one."

"Oh, that's no problem! See, today two tickets for the Tandor Luxury Cruise are being raffled!" the saleswoman said, her excited tone unwavering. "Only five pokedollars a ticket! Interested?"

The idea of going on a cruise with Ash was very appealing, to say the least. All the fun, and most importantly, romantic activities they could do together... and in fact, a cruise looked like the best place to finally confess her feelings to Ash. She had been preparing the ground for the inevitable moment, and she was hoping that Ash would be receptive to take their relationship beyond friendship.

The image of Bonnie derailed those thoughts. There were only two tickets, so she wouldn't be able to come with them. Either they'd have to buy another ticket for her – and she wasn't sure if their modest budget would allow such expenditure – or leave her somewhere else while the cruise lasted.

Clemont couldn't have chosen a worse time to leave the group. And as much as Serena wanted to go on that cruise, she wouldn't get on that ship without knowing first that Bonnie was well taken care of in their absence.

"Young miss?"

"I'm here, I'm here!" The saleswoman once again snapped Serena out of her thoughts, the girl feeling a little embarrassed over zoning out like that while she fantasized about Ash.

"Also, if you're a fan of contests, the Luxury Cruise has its own Contest Hall, where a contest will take place a day after it sails!" the woman continued with her sales pitch. That last piece of data really got Serena's attention. "And the contest will have a special judge! A Top Coordinator from another region!"

"Really? I mean, I'm a coordinator myself!" Serena exclaimed.

"Then the more reason to buy a ticket!" the saleswoman added.

"Sure, give me a ticket, please."

The woman smiled, and handed a ticket to Serena. Upon looking it, she saw the number: 2425

"Thanks for your purchase! The raffle will be in three days at twelve o'clock sharp, so please come back by then!" the woman said in a chipper tone. "Best of luuuuuck!"

Nodding, Serena put the ticket in her skirt's pocket, which was also holding the group's three Keystones, and after checking a map, the Kalosian girl headed directly for the jewelry shop.

The place not only had a lot of accessories with slots that could carry a Keystone, but there were many Mega Stone holders for Pokemon as well. Though, for the time being, Serena decided to focus on the Keystone carriers instead. A golden ring quickly caught her eye, which would also make a good complement for her contests. For Clemont, she chose a cufflink shaped like a lightning bolt that he could wear on the sleeve of his jumpsuit.

Though, no matter how many accessories she looked for, she couldn't find any that would suit Ash. There were many bracelets, similar to what Alain wore, but she wanted to buy Ash something more original. Another ring to match hers? No, she wanted Ash to have something more unique. A necklace? Perhaps, but the designs she had seen didn't convince her.

That's it, until she saw it. The kind of Keystone holder that would be perfect for Ash.

After buying the Keystone holders, Serena spent another hour in the department store. Apart from buying the usual supplies for Pokemon trainers such as medicine and pokeballs –Because you never knew how long it would be until you found a Pokemon Center–, Serena also indulged in getting a couple new pieces of cloth for herself. Her buying impetus sated for the time being, the honey blonde returned to the Pokemon Center.

She didn't find either of her friends in the lobby, but on the battleground next to it. Ash was sparring against Clemont, the Kantonian using Dunsparce against the lemon blond's Bunnelby, while Bonnie watched and cheered on her brother.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Serena said, waving at them. "Can you guys pause the battle for a moment and come over here? I have something to give you."

"Sure!" Ash said, motioning for Dunsparce to take a rest, while he and Clemont walked towards the other teen.

"I think it was about time we stopped having our Keystones always inside that case, so I went and bought some Keystone holders. Ta-da! This is mine!" Serena said, showing her friends the golden ring with the Keystone attached to it as if it were a gemstone.

"Whoa! So cool!" Ash gushed.

"It looks really good on you, Serena!" Bonnie agreed.

"Thanks!" Serena beamed at the praise, before she started rummaging in her skirt's pocket. "Though, of course, I didn't buy them just for me. Clemont this is for you. Consider it my goodbye gift."

Serena then handed Clemont the lightning bolt-shaped cufflink with another Keystone on it.

"Thanks a lot, Serena!" Clemont said, as he attached the cufflink to the sleeve of his jumpsuit. "I couldn't have asked for a better gift."

"And this is for you, Ash," Serena said, her cheeks developing a pink hue. "I hope you like it."

Serena then handed Ash a golden pendant shaped like a curved shuriken, with the Keystone embedded in the middle.

"Whoa, it looks so cool!" Ash said, taking the pendant from Serena's hand and quickly putting it around his neck. He held the shuriken in his hand, looking at it with gleeful eyes. Then, he looked at Serena. "Thanks a lot. I love it!"

Serena's pink cheeks began to turn red, as she inwardly cheered.

Noon finally arrived, and everybody was on the pier, waiting for Lilia's boat to arrive. As they did, Serena began to look at the many ships docked at the port, with one of them vastly overshadowing the others with its massive size: the Tandor Luxury Cruise. Serena's hands instinctively went to her skirt's pocket, where the number for the raffle was. In two days, she'd know if those two tickets would be hers or not.

"Well, our ride is here," Lilia cheerfully said, snapping Serena out of her fantasies before they could even form.

Serena saw a moderately large yacht with the Orangics logo on the otherwise white hull approaching the port.

"Whoa! Is that ship yours?" Ash asked, amazed.

"My dad's. Just one of many. Everybody on board!" Lilia said as the yacht docked on the pier and a gangway was extended so they could board it.

"Heeeeeeeey!" a distant voice called.

Everybody turned around to the direction of the call, and much to their surprise, they saw Natalie and Vitor running towards them.

"It's Natalie and Vitor," Ash pointed out.

"Wonder what they want?" Clemont asked.

"They look like they're in a hurry," Serena added.

Eventually the two young teens arrived at the boat, not before stopping and taking deep breaths, hinting that they might have covered the distance between the Pokemon Center to the port running.

"Heh, they remind me of you, brother," Bonnie snickered.

"You okay?" Ash asked, as she patted Vitor on the back in an attempt to help him.

"Y-Yeah," Vitor replied.

"Say... you guys were going to the new power plant, right?" Natalie asked. "It's okay if you give us a lift?"

"You want to come to the plant? Why?" Lilia asked. "Not that I mind taking you there, the ship's big enough for two more people, but you never mentioned anything about wanting to go there yesterday."

"We didn't plan to. It was a last minute thing, really," Vitor said, his breath becoming a little more stable. "But dad said there was something on the island he wanted us to see."

"Did he tell you what?" Lilia asked.

"He told us we'd know once we got there," Natalie said, before adding: "I know, it sounds cryptic as hell, but he made it sound like it was important."

Lilia crossed her arms, and looked at the twins, as if debating if she should allow them to come on such short notice and such a vague excuse. "As odd as this feels to me, your father is the Head Ranger of Tandor, so I imagine he'd have his reasons to send you there. Alright, you can come."

The twins smiled, and boarded the yacht, which quickly headed towards the power plant.

The captain said that it would take the ship no more than twenty minutes to arrive at the island the power plant was located at. It turned out, though, a lot of things can change in twenty minutes, one of them being the weather going from warm and sunny to still warm but raining as a storm began to form above them.

After putting their raincoats on, they descended from the ship onto the island's small port, which was buzzing with activity, filled to the brim with all sorts of construction materials, vehicles and equipment that was being hauled away, more than likely to the power plant. There were also many barracks, when the workers presumably slept, as well as a functional Pokemon Center next to a small clinic.

There was a middle aged man with red hair and a yellow stripe crossing it directing all the work on the port. He reminded Serena of an adult version of Theo. His father, perhaps? Upon noticing the new arrival, the man dropped what he was doing and went to greet the group.

"Welcome back, Lilia!" the man told the bespectacled girl. Then, he took a glance at the group, and let out a whistle. "I thought you were going to bring a new guy, but you took quite the entourage and... are those Kellyn's kids?"

"Hey there Cameron!" Natalie said, waving at him.

"Nice to see you!" Vitor added.

"Looking good, kids! Fancy seeing you here!" the man, Cameron, said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at them. "So, how's my boy doing? I know you ran into him a few times."

"He just beat Cali and got his third badge," Natalie began. "Then he left."

"He seems to be doing okay," Vitor added.

"I was a little afraid that Theo might not have been ready for a Pokemon journey, but I'm glad that's not the case," the man said, relieved. "So, who are the rest?"

"This is Clemont, our new hire," Lilia proudly said, placing both hands on Clemont's shoulder. "He'll help make the plant both safer and more efficient."

"So, this is the prodigy you've been talking about, huh? Looks a bit on the younger side, but I know better than judging a book by its cover," Cameron replied. "We haven't had a prodigy since... eh, nevermind. And the other kids?"

"These are Ash and Serena, Clemont's friends, and Bonnie, his little sister. I thought they could come here so they can see the place Clemont will be working at, before they bid each other goodbye," Lilia explained.

"Ah, I see. I don't think you'd find that much excitement in a power plant still under construction, but they're free to come and see," Cameron said. "Come on, I'll show you the way to the plant."

The group began to follow Cameron towards the eastern part of the island. In the distance, about a kilometer away or so, they could see part of the power plant under construction. One of the exhaust towers was already complete, and two others still under construction.

"The main building is almost complete, and so is the reactor and the radioactive fuel storage," Cameron began to explain. "We still need to work on the turbines, generator and a few other security measures. But that's what our little genius is for."

"I'll try my best, sir," Clemont humbly said.

"If half of what Lilia has said about you is true, you won't have to worry about disappointing anybody," Cameron assured. "We need all the best minds on this project to ensure that another tragedy like the one that happened ten years ago can never happen again and... hey, wait a minute, I know why-" he began as he turned around, his eyes focused on the Moki twins.

Cameron was interrupted by Ash's Pokegear ringing. Checking the screen, he frowned upon seeing that the caller was an unknown number. Still, he decided to answer the call, just to be polite. Upon accepting it, a brown haired man in his forties with an eyepiece similar to those used by Team Omega grunts appeared on the screen.

"Um, hello?" Ash asked, unsure.

"Hello, young man. Are you Ash Ketchum?" the man asked. Ash nodded. "My name is Kellyn Raine, Head Ranger of Tandor."

"Dad?" both twins said at once, quickly flanking Ash in order to see their father on his pokegear.

"How did you get this number?" Ash asked.

"You gave it to us the first time you contacted the Rangers for that incident with the Feliger. Don't you remember? Oh, I see that my kids are already there. Are you on-"

"I knew it! I knew you were behind this, Kellyn!" Cameron angrily said, forcing his way into Ash, and lifting the pokegear to his eye level.

"Oh, hello there, Cameron," Kellyn flatly said. "I'm glad to see you too."

"Listen Kellyn, I'm going to put your kids on a boat back to the continent, you hear me? This isn't a place for them!" Cameron yelled.

"That's not a decision for you to make," the Head Ranger fired back. "I sent them there for a reason."

"It is, since for the time being, I'm the one in charge of this place!" Cameron replied, just as angrily. While Cameron was a friendly and composed man at first, now everybody could see where Theo got his temper from. "A destroyed power plant is a dangerous place for a grown adult, and even more for children! Didn't you hear what I say about the Pokemon roaming the area? The flora might have recovered, but the fauna definitely did not."

"Destroyed power plant?" Ash asked, as he awkwardly tried to free his arm from Cameron's grasp.

"There used to be another power plant on this island," Clemont began to explain. "But ten years ago, there was a meltdown, and the plant was destroyed."

"Thankfully, almost everybody was evacuated in time, and there was only one casualty," Lilia continued.

"Yes, and that casualty was Doctor Lucille Raine, the most brilliant nuclear physicist this world has ever seen," Cameron finished. "His wife, and their mother."

Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie looked at the twins with a mixture of pity and surprise. The twins, for their part, averted their gazes, fidgeting uncomfortably in their spots.

"I know it's dangerous. That's why I was planning to ask Ash for help," Kellyn replied. "Ash Ketchum might be young, but he's a very strong trainer, if what my Rangers have told me of him is any indication."

"I can help? How?" Ash asked, finally freeing his arm from Cameron's grip.

"Listen Ash, I want you to escort my kids to the destroyed power plant. You don't need to enter, just see it up close," Kellyn began to explain. His voice quivered a little. "Since Lucille... left us, things have never been the same. Her absence left a wound in our family that never healed. And I think that... that if the kids can see the place their mother was last seen alive... well, maybe it can help us heal a little."

"Dad..." Natalie said, almost in a whisper.

"You're never going to let this go, aren't you?" Cameron asked, exasperated, but sounding like conceding defeat. "Fine, if this Ash kid is as strong as you claim, then I guess I can allow this little detour."

"Thank you Cameron. This means a lot for both me and my family as a whole. Ash, I leave my kids in your care," Kellyn said, before the call ended, and the screen returned to the Pokegear's main menu.

Cameron let out a tired sigh, as he turned towards Ash. "Alright, listen up kids, because this is important: south of here is the old power plant. It's a little on the far end, but it couldn't take you more than half an hour to reach. Go there and see it from the outside, but don't even think of going inside, you hear me? After all these years, not even the Twin Gods know what's inside, and I'm not taking any risks. Especially not with this weather."

"Don't worry Cameron, we will be careful," Vitor assured him.

"Now, I wouldn't be so worried about letting you go there if it wasn't for the Pokemon living in the area," Cameron said, as he scratched the back of his neck. "The radiation... it changed them. For the worse. They're beyond aggressive and territorial. If they see you, they will attack you, and will do so without mercy. Once again, if you only find a few and you can deal with them, fine, but if they come in greater numbers, come back immediately.

"I was the one who had to tell Kellyn about Lucille, and I won't tell him how he also lost his children to that accursed place," Cameron insisted.

"In that case, I better go with Ash too. I might not be as strong as him, but my Pokemon can still be of help," Serena offered, as she stood next to Ash, who nodded.

"I'll be coming too!" Bonnie added, as she went to join Ash and Serena.

"No, you won't!" Clemont said, pulling Bonnie back with his backpack's Aipom Arm. "Didn't you hear Cameron? That place can be dangerous even for Ash, there's no way I'm letting you go."

"I'm not helpless, I have Dedenne!" Bonnie protested.

"Come on Bonnie, be reasonable," Lilia gently pleaded. "Besides, I assure you that there's nothing on that derelict building that can catch your interest."

Bonnie didn't say anything, she just crossed her arms and pouted angrily. Dedenne mimicked her.

"Don't worry Bonnie, we'll be back in no time. Come on guys, let's go!" Ash said, as he, Serena and the twins headed south, towards the old plant. After releasing his sister, Clemont, Bonnie, Lilia and Cameron continued towards the power plant.

"So... Lilia, how did you and Clemont meet?" Cameron asked. "Since I don't remember you mentioning how you know him, other than being the Gym Leader of Lumiose City."

"Truth be told, by coincidence," Lilia said.

"Yeah. We just ran into Lilia while we were heading towards Snowbelle City so Ash could get his last Kalos badge, and well..." Clemont continued.

For the new few minutes, Cameron listened how Clemont and Lilia met and bonded thanks to Bonnie's habit of asking any girl they crossed paths with to marry Clemont, how impressed Lilia was with Clemont's inventions, their run in with the Team Rocket Trio –which required some context for Cameron to understand it– and lastly Lilia parting ways with the group when she decided she wasn't ready for a serious relationship that moment.

By the time they finished their tale, they had reached the power plant. Aside from the two exhaust towers, they could see many other parts still under construction, surrounded by cranes, excavators and trucks, as well as crates full of construction materials.

"Well, here we are. What do you think?" Cameron asked Clemont.

"Really impressive, sir. It's even bigger than the Kalos Power Plant," Clemont said, taking a look at the building. "Don't you think it's great, Bonnie?"

But Clemont got no answer.

"Bonnie?"

Now that he thought about it, Bonnie had been quite silent while he and Lilia told the redheaded man the story of how they met. And given the young girl's animosity towards the brown haired girl...

"Bonnie!?" Clemont asked, as he turned around, only to find Bonnie nowhere near in sight.

"Where... where did she go?" Lilia asked, looking around as well. "She was here a few moments ago!"

"Oh damn... this island is no place for a little girl to wander around on her own, especially in this weather..." Cameron said, mildly panicked.

"Knowing her, she probably went after Ash and Serena," Clemont deduced, which brought him little relief. He then opened his pokegear. "I better give them a call, to check if she's with them..."

Unfortunately, his call went unanswered.

As Clemont, Lilia and Cameron went to the power plant under construction. Ash, Serena and the twins continued south towards the destroyed old plant. They didn't talk, the sound of the constant rain and the wind rustling the nearby trees being the only thing that broke what would be an otherwise eerie silence. That's it, until Serena decided to strike up a conversation.

"Say, may I ask you something? It's a little personal," Serena asked the twins.

"It can't be more personal than what we're going to do now, so sure, go ahead," Natalie said.

"You two live in Moki Town, but your father works and lives in Bealbeach City," Serena began. "How is that? I mean... after your mother's death, I thought he'd like to keep his remaining family close."

"That's because dad never really moved from mom's death," Vitor replied. "It's not that bad for us, since we were very little when the accident happened and hardly remember her."

"But dad... she was unable to cope with her not being with us anymore. As if he refuses to believe that she's dead," Natalie continued.

"That's because he does," Vitor punctualized. "Sometimes, whenever he comes to Moki Town to visit, he and Cameron have some heated arguments over her. Dad seems to think that mom is still alive somewhere, since no one found her corpse."

"But, wasn't she like, in the middle of a nuclear explosion?" Ash asked, scratching his head. "Not to sound insensitive, but I don't think anyone could survive that..."

"Pika..."

"Tell that to our father," Natalie said, before sighing in defeat. "So yeah, dad threw himself into his job and shipped the three of us to Moki Town with his aunt. She was the one who raised us after the incident."

"Man, that sucks. Thank goodness our dad would never do that to either Clemont or me," Bonnie said, shaking her head.

Wait a minute, Bonnie?

"Bonnie?" Serena asked, as she turned towards the newcomer. "Bonnie, what are you doing here? You were supposed to stay with Clemont!"

Bonnie huffed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, like I'm going to be near Clemont and his girlfriend being all lovey-dovey. Nah, I prefer to be with you guys. Wherever you go, something exciting and awesome follows!"

"Did you just snuck away to come here?" Serena asked in shock. "Clemont must be worried sick about you! I better call him to tell him that you're with us..." Serena said, as she opened up her pokegear and selected Clemont's number, but the call didn't go through. "No signal?"

Ash, Vitor and Natalie checked their pokegears as well. The result was the same.

"Guess we're too far away from both the port and the power plant," Vitor deduced.

"In that case, we better-" Ash began.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried in warning, interrupting his trainer.

"Pikachu? Did you hear something?" Ash asked.

Then, the humans also heard something: the sound of several bushes being rustled, as well as hissing and growling noises. After a few seconds of dread, several Pokemon emerged from the nearby bushes, stalking towards the newcomers.

There were a bunch of Chyinmunk, Kinetmunk, Tancoon and Costraw. However, rather than sporting their usual colors, their skin or fur was deep dark blue and bright green. Their glowing white eyes lacked irises and pupils, giving them a very eerie appearance. Their bodies glowed with a faint green aura. They continued hissing and growling towards the humans.

"CHYN!"

"TAN!"

"TRAW!"

Quickly taken over by fear and unease, everybody huddled around Ash. Meanwhile, Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder, standing protectively in front of his trainer.

"Pikaaaaa!" he growled, releasing a few sparks from his cheeks as a warning, not that it did much to deter the coming Pokemon.

"What... what kind of Pokemon are those?" Natalie asked, as she latched to one of Ash's arms.

"Guess this is what Cameron warned us about... the Pokemon changed by the radiation..." Vitor said.

"It seems they don't want us in their turf..." Bonnie whimpered, latching to Ash's other arm.

"CHYN! CHYIMUNK!" one of the Chyinmunks loudly chirped, its voice sounding distorted and unnatural.

"Ash, take out the PST. It seems they're trying to tell us something," Serena suggested.

Ash nodded, as he slowly unslung his backpack, opened it, and after a bit of rummaging, took out the gadget Professor Cypress awarded them with for helping with Garlikid. Switching it on, he aimed the microphone at the group of Nuclear Pokemon, hoping it would also work on them.

[KILL THE INTRUDERS! KILL THE INTRUDERS! KILL THE INTRUDERS!]

Everybody winced upon hearing that, and Ash now wished it didn't work. However, he pushed those feelings aside, and pulled out a pokeball.. "I don't think they're going to let us leave without a battle. Aveden, I choose you!"

The other three trainers nodded, grabbing a pokeball of their own as well.

"Minicorn, go!"

"Eletux, come out and play!"

"Sableau, time to kick ass!"

Shortly after Ash's Aveden materialized, flapping his wings and floating above Pikachu, he was soon joined by Serena's Minicorn, Vitor's starter, and a Pokemon that Ash had never seen before, one that looked like a Cassnail, only much bigger body with a white underbelly, a brown skin hood around its neck, and a shell shaped like a tower.

He'd scan it with the Pokedex later. Now there was a battle they needed to win.

The nuclear horde charged forward, hollering and hissing, and a pseudo-battle royale broke out. Ash ordered Aveden to spread the Nuclear Pokemon with Gust, something Serena followed on by ordering Minicorn to use Fairy Wind. In response, several Chyinmunk and Kinetmunk fired Thudershock at them. Some of them hit, but others were blocked by Natalie's Sableau, who was completely unaffected.

Empowered by the falling rain, Sableau and Eletux fired water attacks at the Nuclear Pokemon, who cried in pain as they were blasted away by the water. Meanwhile, Pikachu moved from one flank to another with Quick Attack and kept the Nuclear Pokemon at bay with Thunderbolts and Iron Tails.

"It seems that the radiation made these Pokemon weaker. Look how fast they're going down!" Vitor said, as hope reinvigorated him.

That moment, a Tancoon and a Costraw fired green energy beams towards his Eletux, the attack connecting with an explosion of the same color, blasting the hippocampus Pokemon back.

"Eletux!" Thankfully, Vitor's starter Pokemon was still able to fight. "What kind of attack was that?"

Ash knew, since he had seen that attack used by Alain's Xenomite. "That's Gamma Ray, a Nuclear-type attack! Guys, I think these Pokemon have been turned into Nuclear-types by the radiation!"

"That would explain why they're going down so easily. Nuclear Pokemon are weak to pretty much everything but themselves," Serena reasoned.

"Really? Great! Sabelau, use Bubble-" Natalie was interrupted by a cry of pain from Sableau, also hit by a couple of Gamma Rays. "Recover! Use Recover!" she amended, before turning at Serena and asking. "That's fine and good, but what types do resist Nuclear moves?"

"I think none! Every Pokemon is weak to Nuclear-type moves, so try not to get hit!" Serena warned.

"Wait, that's not true! I remember that there was one type who resisted Nuclear-type attacks! Steel!" Ash said.

"Great! Do you guys have any Steel-type Pokemon?" Vitor asked.

"I do! Dearewl, time to kick ass!" Natalie said, sending the very first Pokemon she ever caught, now in its second stage.

"Orchynx, I choose you!" Ash said, releasing his Grass and Steel-type Tandorian starter. "Alright, let's have Orchynx and Dearewl take the brunt of the battle! Everybody else, support them from behind!"

"HELP!" Bonnie screamed.

Much to their horror, they saw that Bonnie was being harassed by a flock of Nuclear Owten. Dedenne was trying to drive them away with weak Thundershocks, but the angry fliers weren't deterred by the tiny Electric and Fairy-type.

"Braixen, go!" Serena said, tossing her starter's pokeball in Bonnie's direction. "Protect Bonnie with Psybeam!"

"Brai, brai!" Braixen cried. She glared at the offending Owten, her eyes glowing with a swirly rainbow of colors, before they fired a beam of the same color at them. Some of them flew out of the way, others were hit, instantly knocked out by the potency of the attack.

"Thank you, Braixen!" Bonnie shouted.

"Thank her later! Now go and find a place to hide while we deal with these Pokemon!" Serena told Bonnie.

Ash's strategy was paying off. Aside from Nuclear attacks, Steel-types were known for their vast defensive capabilities, so Orchynx and Dearewl could also resist most of the attacks the Nuclear Pokemon launched at them –and completely ignore the Poison-type moves used by the Costraw– while countering with Energy Balls and Rock Tombs.

Behind the two Steel-types, Natalie's Sableau dealt with a couple of Chyinmunk and a Tancoon, all four of them blasted by an indiscriminate Thunderbolt by Pikachu, who didn't have to worry about harming the girl's Pokemon. Meanwhile, Eletux protected Minicorn from a barrage of Sludge and Acid launched by several Costraw, while Minicorn herself countered with Charge Beam.

A thought then crossed Serena's mind.

"So, these Pokemon were turned into Nuclear-types, but some of them originally have two types, and as far as I know, there are no Pokemon with more than two types," Serena began. "What type did they lose for Nuclear?"

"I don't know, but I think I have a way to find out. Costraw, come out and play!" Vitor said, releasing his Sucker Pokemon. "Costraw, confusion on those Nuclear Costraw!"

Vitor's Costraw's eyes glowed with a pink light, as did the eye symbol on its body. The Nuclear Costraw were surrounded by an outline of the same color, before they were easily lifted into the air and launched backwards with such force, it was almost as if they didn't weigh anything.

"Costraw is part Psychic type, meaning that Psychic moves shouldn't affect them that much," Vitor began. "But those Costraw..."

"They were very vulnerable to psychic moves. That means it's the secondary typethat gets replaced by Nuclear," Serena finished.

"Good to know that! Now let's keep fighting!" Natalie shouted.

And fight they did. Dearewl summoned a rain of boulders over another flock of Owten, while Orchynx slammed a Tancoon against a nearby tree with a powerful Iron Tail. Vitor's Eletux was knocked out by a combination of a Mega Drain from a Costraw and a Gamma Ray from a Kinetmunk. Cursing under his breath, Vitor returned his downed starter, and sent Leafeon to replace it.

Aveden knocked an Eshouten with a powerful Air Cutter, before lifting a Kinetmunk into the air with a Gust, the lack of resistance to the move hinting no longer being part Electric-type. Braixen fired Psybeams and Flamethrowers left and right in wide arcs, hitting multiple Pokemon, the rain dampened the latter attack's power a little, but not enough to make a difference for the Nuclear Pokemon taking the attack.

After a tough battle that threatened to have no end, the Nuclear Pokemon, realizing that the intruders weren't budging, displayed some degree of survival instinct, and decided to leave, running away in every direction before disappearing behind the shrubbery.

There was a moment of silence broken only by the rain and the wind. Once the fact that the battle was over sunk in, the trainers finally allowed themselves to relax, and sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness. I thought this was never going to end," Serena moaned, as she returned her Pokemon.

"I've seen my fair share of aggressive and territorial Pokemon, but these were something else," Ash replied, returning his Pokemon as well. "They weren't just angry Pokemon, they were... rabid, mindless beasts. Anyway, good battle, you two. You've trained your Pokemon well," Ash told the siblings.

Now that the battle was finally over, Ash pulled his Pokedex out in order to scan Sableau, before Natalie returned it to its pokeball.

"Sableau, the Tower Pokemon, and Cassnail's evolution. Water/Ground. The colorful patterns on its shell makes them desirable to collectors. Their cast-off shells are often used in jewelry," the Pokedex explained.

"Ash, I think we should return. We may run into more of those Pokemon as we get close to the old power plant," Serena suggested. "In fact, that power plant might be their lair."

"Agreed," Ash said, looking at the twins as if expecting them to protest, but the two of them merely nodded. "Especially since Bonnie is with us."

"Hey... where is Bonnie?" Natalie said, looking around,

"She was... here?" Ash asked, looking around as well, noticing that there was no sign of the lemon blonde.

"What? But... she was here a second ago!" Serena shouted, taking her hands to her head in concern. "Bonnie!? Bonnie!?"

"Dedenne! Dedenne!" Bonnie called, as she frantically looked from one side to another. She looked behind rocks and inside hollow trunks, any place small enough for Dedenne to fit, which given the Antenna's Pokemon size were quite many. Bonnie was starting to get both frustrated and worried. "Come on Dedenne, where are you!?"

Bonnie had found a good place to hide as she was told, behind a bunch of bushes. Unfortunately, said place to hide wasn't as good as she believed, given that she was found out by a Nuclear Tancoon. Before the tainted Racoon Dog Pokemon could attack her, Dedenne jumped out of her bag and tried to hit it with Nuzzle, but the Nuclear Pokemon was both faster and stronger, and swiped the tiny Pokemon with an Iron Tail.

Either because it took Dedenne's attack as a personal offense or because it was hungry and Dedenne looked yummy, the Nuclear Tancoon ignored Bonnie and chased after the terrified Electric and Fairy-type, who ran away into the thicket. And Bonnie, naturally, rushed after the two of them. Given how busy her friends were with the nuclear horde, they probably didn't even notice she had left.

Unfortunately for Bonnie, she lost sight of both her Pokemon and his chaser, so now she was doing the only thing she could: call for Dedenne and hope for the best.

"Nene?"

Her hopes were validated as she saw Dedenne's head popping up from behind a rock.

"Dedenne! There you are!"

"Nenenene!"

Dedenne happily cried as he rushed towards Bonnie, the girl scooping it on her hands.

"I was so worried, Dedenne! Thank goodness that ugly Nuclear Pokemon didn't get you!" Bonnie said, rubbing the Antenna Pokemon against her cheek, before placing it on her yellow bag. "Alright, time to return with the others, uh..."

Bonnie began to look around, and realized, much to her horror, that she had no idea of where she was.

"Okay, this miiiiight be a problem..." Bonnie began, looking around in a vain attempt to orient herself. She began to grow more and more uneasy when she was unable to find her way back. She couldn't tell which way did she come from, and there was nothing that could tell her where Ash and the others were.

Then, the solution presented itself. Or better said, Bonnie realized she had it all along.

"Hey, wait a minute, I have my Pokegear!" Bonnie said, raising her left hand, where the yellow colored device was attached to. "And it has a GPS function! Which I can use to find the others!"

However, before Bonnie could do so, she was startled by the sound of bushes rustling behind her. Could it be another Nuclear Pokemon? Clutching Dedenne tight, she turned around, and shouted: "Who's there!?"

There was something hidden behind the bushes, covered by the shadows they were casting. Something big enough to tower over the young Kalosian girl. Two green glowing eyes pierced her very soul.

"Rrrrrrrrrroaaaaach..."

Back with Ash's group, they were discussing what to do to find Bonnie. Thankfully, the idea of using the Pokegear's GPS function to track her down came up pretty fast.

"Alright, let's see..." Ash said, as he began fiddling with his own blue colored Pokegear. "Yes! Here she is! I believe this is her."

"Great! Where?" Natalie asked, impatient.

"She seems to be around six hundred meters to the southeast. Huh, she's pretty close to the old power plant." Ash said, before closing the pokegear.

"Great. Let's pick her up and leave this place as fast as possible," Serena urged.

"Yeah. Bonnie isn't far away, but we should better-"

Ash was interrupted by Bonnie's high pitched scream coming from afar.


Author's Note: Welp, Bonnie's dead. I know some of you hoped that Bonnie would leave as well so Ash and Serena could be alone with each other, so I listened to your pleas and got it out of the way. RIP Bonnie, she will be missed :D

So, before our heroes went to the Power Plant, I decided it was about time for them to get their Keystone Holders. I hope my choices fit them. Though, if you have seen the official art of Ash and co's new look in the Ao3 version, you should know already know how they'd look. Also, Serena entered a raffle for a pair of tickets for the Tandor Luxury Cruise! Will she win? Who knows! :D

So yeah, the Moki Twins join the group for the time being. Given the plot, the they HAD to be in this chapter, since Nuclear Plant Epsilon was a place of significance for their family.

After the preview of Alain's Xenomite, our heroes finally get to see Nuclear-type Pokemon in the wild! Though, unlike Alain's Xenomite, these Pokemon weren't born like this, but transformed by the radiation, a process that twisted their minds beyond recognition, leaving nothing but feral, hyper-aggressive beasts in their place. And as much as they wish it was otherwise, this will be the first of many, many times Ash and friends will have to fight an horde of Nuclear Pokemon.

Thanks a lot to Ricardo Valencia, Fox McCloude, MegaSalamence64, Timmy, cricketlaxwolvesbandy, hirowriter and Viroro-kun for reviewing last chapter, and special thanks for Viroro-kun, for his work as a betareader, and all his edits and suggestions which made this story all the better.

Part II coming soon(ish). In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review!