Chapter 60: A Trainer of Different Colors
As they traveled towards Mineva Town Ash and Nikki happened across a Pokémon Center, giving them the perfect opportunity to get their Pokémon examined. Afterwards they decided to make some phone calls. While Nikki called her mother to let her know about her recent success in her second Pokémon Contest Ash called Professor Oak to make some roster changes and explain the promise he made to Charizard.
"I see. I can certainly Charizard's desire to want to spend time with his family," Professor Oak said.
"So, can you do it?" Ash asked.
"Of course. As fast as Charizard is in the air it's child's play for him to fly from here to the Charisific Valley," the professor explained.
"That's good to hear," Ash replied. With that taken care of he swapped out a few of his Pokémon, his team now consisting of Pikachu, Noctowl, Onix, Riolu, Shuppet and Absol.
"Thanks, Professor." With that the two of them said their goodbyes and hung up. Nikki had also finished talking with her mother around the same time. With their business at the Pokémon Center concluded they left and continued on their way.
As the duo traveled towards their next destination they came across a field bordering a small forest, the perfect place for them to stop and take a break.
"Come on out, everyone!" One by one their Pokémon all appeared from their Poké Balls, Noctowl opting to land on the low branch of a nearby tree.
"Oh wow. I've never seen a Noctowl like that before," Nikki commented. She took out her Pokécomm and scanned him.
Name: Noctowl
Species: The Owl Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: Its eyes are specially developed to enable it to see clearly even in murky darkness and minimal light.
"Yours looks so much different than normal Noctowl," she commented. Rather than the dark brown of normal Noctowl Ash's Noctowl was a lighter shade of brown.
"He's special, that's for sure," Ash bragged. Noctowl seemed to puff his chest out, feeling pride that his trainer would speak so highly of him. Ash then turned his attention to Riolu.
"Okay, Riolu, let's see what moves you know," he said, scanning him with his Pokécomm.
Riolu's known moves are: Force Palm, Counter, Aura Sphere
"Those are some pretty good moves, but I think you could benefit from learning something new," he said.
"(Why do you say that?)" Riolu wondered.
"Well, if you recall your battle against Shuppet didn't go too well," Ash explained. "Your Fighting moves didn't even touch her."
"(Oh yeah,)" Riolu said, remembering his encounter with Ash's Ghost type Pokémon. "(Well, what do you suggest?)" Ash consulted his Pokécomm, looking over the moves Riolu cold learn.
"Well, we could try…" A sudden gasp caught his attention, as well as the attention of everyone else. Looking towards the sound they saw a person slowly approaching Noctowl, a look of pure amazement on his face.
"That has got to be the most amazing Noctowl I've ever seen," he said. Ash and Nikki looked at each other, confusion written on their faces.
"Um, can we help you?" Nikki asked. This caught the young man's attention.
"Does this Noctowl belong to either of you?" he inquired.
"He's mine," Ash answered. "Why do you ask?" The young man approached Ash.
"My name is Timothy, and I must have that Noctowl," he explained.
"What's so special about Ash's Noctowl," Nikki wondered.
"Perhaps I should explain. You see, I train Pokémon that are a different color than normal. I go out and search for them just so I can catch and train them," Timothy explained.
"Okay, but what does that have to do with Ash's Noctowl?" Nikki wondered.
"I've yet to come across a Noctowl that looks like that. It's colors are so spectacular," Timothy gushed. "Would you be willing to part with him?" Ash was not expecting this.
"What?" he asked, wondering if he had heard Timothy right.
"Your Noctowl, would you be willing to trade him to me? I can offer you a wide variety of Pokémon in return," Timothy offered.
"Sorry, but I'm not willing to part with him," Ash refused.
"Please, I must have him," Timothy begged.
"We've been through too much for me to just trade him away. My answer is no," Ash refused yet again. Timothy continued to beg, clearly not one to take no for an answer.
'I can offer you any Pokémon you want in return. Just name it," he offered.
"I told you, I'm not trading my Noctowl," Ash declared. It was becoming clear that simply asking was not getting him what he wanted, so Timothy decided to change tactics.
"Okay, how about this. We battle for him," he suggested. "If I win, you trade me your Noctowl. You win, you keep him."
"I'm not battling you for Noctowl," Ash refused. While this was going on Noctowl was listening intently. On one hand he was glad Ash didn't want to trade him away, but on the other he knew Timothy wouldn't go away unless he got what he wanted.
"Please, just give me a chance to win him in a battle," Timothy begged.
"I told you…"
"(Wait!)" Noctowl's sudden outburst caught everyone's attention. The Owl Pokémon flew down from his branch and landed between the two arguing trainers.
"(Do you want me that badly?)" he asked Timothy.
"I do," Timothy replied.
"Noctowl, what are you doing?" Ash questioned. Noctowl then turned his attention to Ash.
"(Let's accept his proposal,)" the Owl Pokémon suggested.
"Are you sure about this? You know what will happen if I lose," Ash warned.
"(I know, but I have faith in you that you will not lose,)" Noctowl stated. "(I know you'll defeat him in battle.)" Hearing that his Pokémon had so much faith in him filled Ash with a bit of confidence.
"Okay. I'll battle him only if you battle alongside me," Ash said.
"(It would be an honor,)" Noctowl replied. Ash nodded before turning his attention back to Timothy.
"Okay. You're on," Ash declared.
"Great," Timothy said.
"So, what are the rules?" Ash asked.
"How does a one-on-one sound?" Timothy suggested. Ash turned to Noctowl.
"That sound good to you?" he asked.
"(Perfect,)" the Owl Pokémon responded. With the rules decided on the two trainers took their places with Nikki and the rest of the Pokémon standing off to the side.
"I hope they don't end up regretting this," Nikki hoped.
"(I do too,)" Buneary added.
"(They wouldn't have accepted this battle if they didn't think they could win,)" Pikachu commented. "(They'll be fine… I hope.)"
"Go, Crobat!" Timothy shouted, sending out his Pokémon. Having never seen a Crobat before Nikki scanned him with her Pokécomm.
Name: Crobat
Species: The Bat Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: The transformation of its legs into wings made it better at flying, but more clumsy at walking.
"His Pokémon looks different than normal too," Nikki commented, noticing how his Crobat was pink rather than its normal purple color.
"Alright, Crobat, let's start off with Air Slash!" Timothy called.
"Counter with your Air Slash, Noctowl!" Ash shouted. Both Flying types send out blades of air towards each other, the two attacks canceling each other out.
"Poison Fang!" Timothy ordered. His Crobat flew towards Noctowl, his fangs giving off a purplish hue.
"Counter with Confusion!" Ash called. Noctowl's eyes began to glow blue as he unleashed his Psychic attack. The attack struck Crobat, stopping the Bat Pokémon dead in his tracks.
"Now use Sky Attack!" Ash instructed. Noctowl's body started to glow white as he charged his next attack.
"Quick, use Confuse Ray!" Timothy shouted. Just as Noctowl was about to unleash his attack Crobat used Confuse Ray, engulfing the Owl Pokémon in a ray of light. The attack not only made Noctowl cancel his attack, but it also left him confused.
"Oh no. Noctowl, snap out of it!" Ash called. Noctowl looked around frantically, fully in the grip of confusion, trying to make sense of the world around him.
"Good, we've got him now," Timothy mused. "Now use Cross Poison!" Crobat dove towards Noctowl, his wing tips giving off a purplish glow. He slashed at the owl Pokémon, connecting with a critical hit and sending Noctowl crashing to the ground.
"No, Noctowl!" Nikki shouted.
"(This is bad. In his confused state he might not be able to win this,)" Pikachu commented.
"Don't worry, Ash. I'll take good care of Noctowl after this is over," Timothy promised, confident that he'd win.
"No! It's not over yet! Noctowl and I can still win this!" Ash declared. "Come on, Noctowl! You have to snap out of this!" Noctowl did manage to get to his feet, but he was still under the effects of Crobat's Confuse Ray.
"Time to end this," Timothy assumed. "Use Screech!" Crobat unleashed an earsplitting screech, forcing everyone to cover their ears.
"Man, what a racket!" Nikki shouted.
"(My ears ache!)" Buneary griped.
"Now, finish this with Poison Fang!" Timothy ordered. Crobat once again dove towards Noctowl, his fangs glowing purple.
"Look out!" Nikki warned.
"Come on, Noctowl! You have to dodge that!" Ash shouted. Just when it looked like Crobat's attack would strike Noctowl took to the skies, dodging the attack.
"(Nice try, but that Screech attack you used helped me snap out of my confusion,)" Noctowl stated.
"Alright!" Ash cheered. "Now we have a chance."
"Not if I land another attack," Timothy countered. "Cross Poison!"
"Use Extrasensory!" Ash instructed. Crobat once again tried to use his Cross Poison attack, but this time Noctowl was ready. His eyes took on a bluish glow as he trapped Crobat in his Extrasensory, freezing the Bat Pokémon in place. He then used the attack to repeatedly bounce Crobat off the ground. The attack only lasted a few seconds, but to Crobat it felt like an eternity.
"Now, use Sky Attack before he can recover!" Ash instructed. With the Bat Pokémon still reeling from the Extrasensory attack Noctowl had time to charge up his next attack, his body glowing with a white aura.
"Look out, Crobat!" Timothy warned. Unfortunately his warning came too late. As soon as Crobat recovered Noctowl was upon him, barreling into him head-first. The powerful Sky Attack sent Crobat rolling across the ground. The Bat Pokémon came to rest as Timothy's feet, knocked out.
"Oh no!" Timothy wailed.
"Yes! We won!" Ash cheered.
"Way to go, you two!" Nikki shouted. With the battle concluded Timothy recalled his defeated Pokémon and approached Ash, who was busy congratulating Noctowl on a battle well-fought.
"I really thought I had you with that Confuse Ray," Timothy admitted.
"You would have, but that Screech snapped him out of it just in time,' Ash explained.
"I knew I shouldn't have done that," Timothy groaned. "Oh well, we had a deal. You get to keep Noctowl. A shame. I really wanted him, too."
"(Perhaps you'll find one on your travels,)" Noctowl suggested.
"Maybe," Timothy agreed. "Just promise me you'll take good care of him. You don't find Pokémon like him every day."
"I will," Ash promised. The two trainers shook hands before Timothy left to continue his search for special-colored Pokémon.
"Well, after that battle I think you two deserve a special meal," Nikki suggested.
"That sounds good to me," Ash agreed. All the Pokémon agreed as Nikki got ready to cook a meal for everyone.
Just when it looked like Ash would have to say goodbye to one of his Pokémon he and Noctowl pulled off an impressive victory, further strengthening their bond. What lies in store for them next? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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