Chapter 58: Little Body, Big Power
"Okay, so what's our next stop?" After witnessing Nikki earn her second Contest ribbon Ash was eager to get back on the path to earning his next Gym badge. For now they were sitting in the Pokémon Center waiting for Nikki's Pokémon to finish their check-ups.
"Let me check the Pokécomm and see," Nikki said. "It looks like there's a Gym in Mineva Town."
"Then that's where we're going," Ash declared.
"But to get there we'll have to cross some rough terrain to get there," Nikki added.
"That's never stopped us before, right Pikachu?" Ash stated.
"(That's right!)" the Mouse Pokémon confirmed. Nikki just shook her head, wondering if there was anything that ever deterred the two of them. Just then a chime went off, letting Nikki know her Pokémon were ready.
"Your Pokémon are all healed up," Nurse Joy reported. "And might I add you had me so excited during the Pokémon Contest. Congratulations on winning."
"Thank you," Nikki replied as she took her Poké Balls.
"Alright, let's get going," Ash announced. With their business in Lanistar City concluded the two of them set off on the next leg of their journey.
In the minds of Ash and Nikki the weather couldn't have been any more perfect. The skies were clear and the sun shone brightly, putting them both ibn a good mood.
"Man, I don't think anything could go wrong now," Ash declared. As soon as he said that they heard a commotion up ahead. Going to investigate they found a small Pokémon attacking a rather large boulder.
"Is that what I think it is?" Ash wondered. He pulled out his Pokécomm to confirm.
Name: Riolu
Species: The Emanation Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves.
"I never thought we'd see a Riolu out here. I wonder what he's doing," Nikki inquired. He soon got her answer when the Riolu pulled back his paw and struck the boulder, making it crack a little bit.
"That looked like Force Palm," she commented. Ash continued to watch the Riolu as he repeatedly struck the boulder. Pretty soon a determined look came across his face.
"I'm going to try and catch him," he declared. With his mind made up Ash approached the Riolu, catching his attention.
"I'm going to catch you," he announced.
"(We shall see. Many have tried but none have succeeded,)" the Emanation Pokémon said.
"Well I won't fail. Swellow, I choose you!" As the Swallow Pokémon appeared Riolu took a fighting stance, showing he was ready for battle.
"Use Quick Attack!" Ash instructed. Swellow dove towards the Riolu at blinding speeds, but to Ash's surprise Riolu was able to effectively dodge to attack.
"Try a Wing Attack!" he shouted. Swellow swung around and dove at Riolu again, his wings giving off a white glow. Once again Riolu dodged, making it look very easy.
"Okay, let's see you dodge this! Aerial Ace!" Ash thought for sure he had Riolu this time. Swellow dove at Riolu for a third time, confident he'd make contact this time. The attack landed flush, but Riolu remained standing. Then, Riolu's body began glowing orange as he struck back at Swellow, sending him sliding across the ground.
"That was Counter," Ash mused. He was about to call for Swellow to get up and attack again, but one look at the Swallow Pokémon showed him he was in no shape to battle any longer. Reluctantly Ash recalled him.
"(You showed promise, young trainer,)" Riolu praised. "(Perhaps we will meet again.)" With those parting words the Riolu left.
"We will," Ash promised.
Elsewhere Team Rocket were busy looking for new Pokémon to add to their ranks. Unfortunately they hadn't found any Pokémon to catch. This left them all in quite a sour mood, especially Jessie.
"Why can't we find any Pokémon?!" she shouted.
"It is peculiar that we haven't seen any Pokémon thus far," James commented. "I wonder why that is."
"Who knows," Meowth said.
"Well I want a Pokémon to catch and I want it now!" Jessie demanded. Before James or Meowth could try and calm her down a Pokémon wandered into their view.
"Seems like our luck has changed," James commented.
"That looks like a Riolu," Meowth said.
"Just what we're looking for," Jessie added. She grabbed a Poké Ball and prepared to engage the Riolu.
"You're mine!" She declared, sending out her Mawile.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Meowth warned. "Steel types don't fare too well against Fighting types."
"I don't care about any of that. I'm going to catch this Pokémon and that's all there is to it,' Jessie stated.
"(That will be much more difficult than you think,)" Riolu said.
"That's what you think. Use Iron Head!" The Deceiver Pokémon lowered her head and charged towards Riolu. The Emanation Pokémon stepped to the side and dodged the attack. Then, he pulled his paw back and struck Mawile from behind with his Force Palm.
"(Hey! That hurt!)" Mawile griped. "(You'll pay for that!)"
"(I doubt that,)" Riolu responded.
"That's enough talking! Use Crunch!" Jessie ordered. Mawile swung around and tried to use her massive jaws to bite Riolu. Riolu did his best to hold her jaws open, but the Deceiver Pokémon was too powerful. Her jaws clamped down on Riolu's arm, eliciting a grunt from the Emanation Pokémon.
"(Gotcha!)" Mawile declared.
"(Did you?)" Riolu challenged. His body began to glow orange as he used Counter, sending Mawile sliding across the ground to rest at Jessie's feet.
"Told ya," Meowth said. Jessie was not in the mood as she recalled her defeated Pokémon. She then turned to James.
"Don't just stand there! Help me out!" she demanded.
"Oh, right. Go, Tropius!" James called on his Fruit Pokémon, but as soon as he came out he turned and pounced on James.
"(Rice ball, please,)" he requested. With a sigh James fed him a rice ball. After receiving his treat Tropius was ready to battle.
"Use Stomp!" James ordered. Tropius reared up on his hind legs and brought his front legs down onto Riolu. The Emanation Pokémon's body once again gave off an orange glow as he used Counter, hitting Tropius with double the force and rendering him unconscious.
"No no no! This is not happening!" Jessie shrieked. James, meanwhile, was consoling his defeated Pokémon.
"Seviper! Arbok! Get out here now!" Jessie yelled, sending out her two serpent Pokémon.
"(Two on one? Have you no honor?)" Riolu asked.
"We're Team Rocket! Honor means nothing to us! All that matters is obtaining powerful Pokémon by any means necessary!" Jessie explained. "Now, get him!" Jessie's Pokémon charged towards Riolu, intent on obeying her orders. The Emanation Pokémon responded by charging up energy in his paws, creating a small sphere. He then hurled it at the two attacking Pokémon. The attack pushed them back towards Jessie, James and Meowth, creating an explosion upon impact and sending team Rocket hurtling away.
"It's not even the twerps, but we're still blasting off!" they screamed as they vanished from sight.
After the battle with the Riolu Ash and Nikki were stopping to give Ash some time to look over Swellow. Thankfully the Swallow Pokémon was not too seriously hurt and only required some rest to get his strength back. This gave Ash some peace of mind, but deep down he wanted one more shot at the powerful Fighting type.
"I wonder if we'll run into him again," he mused.
"We might. I doubt Riolu sent that far," Nikki said.
"(You want him bad, don't you?)" Pikachu inquired.
"I do. He'd make a great addition to our team," Ash told him. Their peaceful rest was soon interrupted by the arrival of team Rocket, who came crashing down from the sky.
"Those landings get worse and worse every time," Meowth groaned.
"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted. It was then the nefarious trio noticed where they were and who had spotted them.
"It's the twerps!" James exclaimed.
"Perfect. Now we can steal their Pokémon," Jessie said.
"But what about Riolu?" Meowth questioned. Hearing that they had encountered the Emanation Pokémon piqued Ash's interest for a moment. The moment quickly passed as Team Rocket sent out their Pokémon.
"Get them, Magcargo!"
"Go, Weezing!"
"We have to fight back!" Nikki called.
"Right!" Ash agreed. "I choose you, Shuppet!"
"Go, Shinx!" The four Pokémon all appeared and got ready to engage one another.
"Use Flamethrower!" Jessie ordered.
"Sludge Bomb!" James commanded.
"Counter that Flamethrower with Charge Beam!" Nikki called.
"Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" Ash instructed. Magcargo fired off a Flamethrower at Shinx, but the Flash Pokémon effectively blocked it with her Charge Beam. Meanwhile Shuppet dodged Weezing's Sludge Bomb and fired back with a Shadow Ball, the Ghost type attack striking the Poison Gas Pokémon hard.
"I will not be defeated again! Rock Slide!" The Lava Pokémon let out a loud bellow and called down an avalanche of rocks, looking to bury Shinx and Shuppet.
"Dodge!" Ash and Nikki shouted. The two Pokémon did all they could to avoid the falling rocks, but they were quickly running out of stamina.
"We've got to end this now!" Ash stated.
"And I think I know how," Nikki said. "Shinx, use Charge Beam on Weezing!" Shinx opened her mouth and fired off a beam of electricity at Weezing. The attack hit home, shocking the Poison Gas Pokémon in the process. The force of the attack knocked him back into Magcargo who, along with Weezing, went crashing into Team Rocket.
"Pikachu, send them on their way with Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu complied as he unleashed his signature Electric attack. The attack ignited the gas pouring from Weezing, creating an explosion that sent Team Rocket flying away once again.
"Twice in one day!" they shrieked, disappearing into the sky.
"And that takes care of them. Good job, everyone," Ash praised. The moment was interrupted by a surprising appearance from Riolu.
"(I thought I heard a commotion over here,)" he said. Ash took notice of Riolu and immediately got excited.
"Riolu! I want another chance!" he challenged.
"(You wish to battle once again? Very well. I accept, though the outcome may very well be the same as before,)" he stated.
"Not this time," Ash declared. He looked over towards Shuppet.
"You feel like battling one more time?" he asked.
"(Sure. I can go again,)" the Puppet Pokémon said. Ash smiled as he and Shuppet squared up against Riolu.
"(You know, I think this time will be different,)" Pikachu said.
"Alright, let's start off with Astonish!" Ash instructed. The Puppet Pokémon floated up towards Riolu and shouted in his face, causing a bit of pain to wash over the Emanation Pokémon. Riolu tried to counter back with his Force Palm, but the attack simply passed through Shuppet.
"(What happened? It looked like the attack didn't even tough Shuppet,)" Buneary commented.
"(That's because Ghost types are immune to Fighting attacks,)" Pikachu explained. "(That's why Ash went with Shuppet. He must have known she'd be immune to Riolu's attacks.)"
"Now use Shadow Ball!" Ash called. Shuppet hurled a blob of Ghost type energy towards Riolu, the attack exploding in his face. Riolu fell to one knee, fatigue clearly overcoming him. Ash realized this was his chance as he grabbed an empty Poké Ball.
"Let's go, Poké Ball!" he shouted, throwing it towards the Emanation Pokémon. The ball hit and drew Riolu inside. Now began the waiting game as Riolu tried to break out. The seconds seemed to go on forever as Ash waited for the ball to stop shaking. Soon, though, the ball ceased its movements, letting him know Riolu was now his.
"Yes! I caught a Riolu!" Ash cheered.
"(Way to go!)" Pikachu added. Moments later the Poké Ball vanished as it was sent to Professor Oak's lab.
"I'll have to call on him at the next Pokémon Center," Ash said. "Thanks for the help, Shuppet."
"(No problem,)" the Puppet Pokémon responded.
"That Riolu has a lot of potential," Nikki commented.
"And I'm just the trainer to bring it out," Ash stated. With everything that happened Ash and Nikki decided to rest there for just a bit longer to give their Pokémon a bit more time to rest. After all, in their mind they deserved it.
It may have taken more than one try but Ash has added a new Pokémon to his team in the form of a powerful Riolu. With this new Pokémon on his team how will Ash's net Gym battle go? Find out in the net chapter of Search for Power!
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