Chapter 67: Whose Pokémon is it Anyway?
"So, this is Spirit Pass." Just as Grant had told them the trip to Spirit Pass was not that long at all. It only took Ash and Nikki a few short days to reach the town where Ash's next Gym battle was to take place.
"Is it just me or does this place look kinda… gloomy," Nikki commented. The entire town was covered in a light fog, giving it a slightly ominous look and a rather gloomy feel.
"It does have that feeling about it," Ash agreed. "Kinda reminds me of Lavender Town in Kanto."
"It does?" Nikki asked.
"Yeah. I remember I went there looking for a Pokémon I could use to battle the Psychic Gym Leader of Saffron City," Ash explained.
"Did you ever find one?" Nikki wondered.
"I did, and thanks to him I got the Gym badge," Ash answered. "Sometimes I wonder what he's up to."
"I'm sure he's thinking about you too," Nikki said. "So, shall we look for the Pokémon Center?" Ash agreed with her as the two of them headed into the town proper.
It didn't take them long to find the Pokémon Center, which was located near the center of town. The first thing they did was get their Pokémon checked out by Nurse Joy. Once that was done Ash called Professor Oak to see how his other Pokémon were doing.
"Everyone's doing fine," the professor reported.
"That's good to hear," Ash said.
"By the way, there's someone here who wants to talk to you," Professor Oak told him. Before Ash could ask him who it was the professor stepped back and another person took his place.
"Ash, it's been a while."
"Sabrina?!" Ash gasped.
"Who's she?" Nikki asked.
"This is Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader," Ash explained.
"Oh, she's the Gym Leader you had to go get that Pokémon from Lavender Town to beat," Nikki guessed.
"You are correct…" Sabrina paused, not knowing Nikki's name.
"Nikki," she said.
"So, Sabrina, what brings you to Pallet Town?" Ash wondered.
"An old friend of yours wanted to see you again," Sabrina replied. Ash had no idea who she could be talking about, bgut before he could ask a Pokémon flew in front of the screen.
"(Hey, Ash! It's been while!)" he shouted.
"That's a Gengar. But what would a Psychic Gym Leader be doing with a Gengar," Nikki wondered. Ash just continued to stare at the Gengar. Slowly, realization came over him.
"No way… are you that same Haunter I got in Lavender Town?" he wondered. The Gengar flashed him a huge smile.
"(So you do remember me!)" he shouted with glee.
"Well, to be honest you're kinda unforgettable," Ash told him.
"So wait, this is the Pokémon you caught?" Nikki questioned.
"Well, I wouldn't say caught. He more or less followed me to the Gym and helped me earn the badge," Ash explained.
"By defeating her in battle, right?" Nikki assumed.
"Not really," Ash answered.
"Then how?" Nikki wondered.
"He made me laugh," Sabrina said.
"He what?" Nikki asked, clearly confused.
"It's a long story," Ash stated.
"One I definitely want to hear sometime," Nikki requested. "So, since he was just a Haunter when you first… encountered him I assume he evolved sometime later."
"That he did," Sabrina confirmed. "He never stopped thinking about you, Ash. Always wondering where you were and what you were up to."
"Is that what brought you to Professor Oak's lab?" Ash wondered.
"It is. I knew if anyone knew what you were up to it would be him," Sabrina said. "It's just a fortunate coincidence that you happened to call when we were here."
"What do you mean?" Ash questioned.
"(I want to travel with you again,)" Gengar stated.
"You do?" Ash replied.
"He's gotten a bit restless at the Gym and I thought that if we could find you he could join you on your travels," Sabrina explained. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not," Ash replied with a smile. "I'd love to have him join me again."
"In that case I suggest we make a Pokémon swap," Professor Oak suggested. Everyone agreed with him as Ash sent over Arcanine in exchange for Gengar.
"I know you'll take good care of him, Ash," Sabrina commented.
"I sure will," Ash promised. With that they said their goodbyes. With nothing left to do there Ash and Nikki left the Pokémon Center, with Ash eager to be reunited with an old friend.
The duo found a clearing not too far from the Pokémon Center where Ash could call out his Gengar. Both trainers were eagerly anticipating this reunion.
"Go on, Ash. Call him out," Nikki urged.
"You got it," Ash agreed. He held Gengar's Poké Ball up above his head, ready to toss it. Suddenly, a Yanmega flew in and snatched the ball from his hand.
"Hey! What gives?!" he yelled. He got his answer in the form of sinister laughing coming from the last group of individuals he wanted to see at the moment.
"No… not you guys again!" he groaned.
"Out of the sky, falling with grace.
A spark in the eye, arriving with haste.
Ready and willing to put twerps in their place.
Jessie!
James!
Meowth's the name!
Team Rocket, burning a trail!
Blazing a path!
Kickin' some tail!
Wobbu Wobbuffet!
Mime Mime Mime Mime!"
"Team Rocket, give me back my Poké Ball!" Ash demanded.
"Not a chance, twerp! Whatever Pokémon is in this ball belongs to us now!" Jessie declared.
"We'll see about that!" Ash challenged as he got ready to do battle.
"Not this time! Smokescreen!" James shouted, sending out his Weezing. As soon as he appeared the Poison Gas Pokémon spewed a thick Smokescreen cloud all over the area, blinding Ash and Nikki.
"I can't see anything!" Nikki shouted.
"I'll take care of this! Pidgeot, blow this smoke away!" Ash said, calling on his Bird Pokémon. With a few flaps of his wings the smoke was cleared away. Unfortunately by then Team Rocket had disappeared.
"We've got to find them and get Gengar back!" Ash said. "You help us look too, Pidgeot!"
"(Of course,)" Pidgeot agreed. With their objective clear the group began searching for Team Rocket, hoping to find them before something happened to Gengar.
"That went smoother than I thought," Meowth commented. Since escaping from Ash and Nikki they had been feeling pretty good about they way things were going.
"That it did," James agreed. "So, what do you think we stole from the twerp this time?"
"Time to find out," Jessie declared. She tossed the Poké Ball and called out it's inhabitant. All three of them were surprised to see Gengar appear.
"Ooh, a Gengar. That could be very useful on our team," Jessie commented. Upon appearing Gengar looked around, expecting to see Ash and Nikki. What he wasn't expecting, however, was to see Team Rocket.
"(Hey, what's going on?! Where's Ash?!)" he demanded.
"Forget about the twerp. We're your new trainers now," Jessie declared.
"That's right. You belong to Team Rocket now!" Meowth added.
"(No way! I'm not your Pokémon!)" Gengar refused.
"You don't have a say in the matter!" Jessie declared.
"(I'll fight my way out if I have to!)" Gengar stated, taking a battle stance.
"Oh please, what can you do?" Jessie scoffed. "You outnumbered and outmatched." To prove their point Jessie and James each grabbed one of their Poké Balls and threw them out. From James' came Weezing while Jessie sent out her Magcargo. Gengar, however, didn't seem worried in the least.
"(Outnumbered yes, but outmatched… not a chance.)" Before they could send out their Pokémon Gengar fired off a Dark Pulse. The attack struck Weezing, knocking him back into Magcargo. The combination of Weezing's gas and Magcargo's heat proved a volatile combination, proven by the following explosion that sent Team Rocket hurtling through the sky.
"We didn't even get a chance to attack!" they wailed as they disappeared out of sight.
"(Well, that takes care of them. Now to find Ash.)" With Team Rocket now dealt with Gengar began searching for Ash.
Minutes later Ash, Nikki and Pidgeot arrived at the location where Gengar sent Team Rocket packing. Unfortunately there was no sign of Gengar anywhere. All they found was his Poké Ball.
"Oh no. I hope nothing happened to him," Nikki said.
"Well, seeing as how Team Rocket's nowhere to be found I'd say Gengar must have fought them off and escaped," Ash assumed.
"You think so?" Nikki wondered.
"He's strong, so I'd say that's what happened," Ash replied. "He may be looking for us just like we're looking for him."
"(He may be somewhere nearby,)" Pikachu commented.
"Do you see him up there, Pidgeot?" Ash asked. The Bird Pokémon scanned the area for a bit before spotting something in the distance.
"(There's a bit of movement over that way,)" he reported, motioning towards the north of town. "(It might be Gengar.)"
"Great. Let's go!" Ash picked up Gengar's Poké Ball and recalled Pidgeot. Then he and Nikki headed towards the northern part of town, hoping to find his missing Pokémon.
Gengar had been searching for a while, hoping to find Ash again. Unfortunately his seaarch had turned up bnothing, and without knowing the layout of the town he had no idea how to get back to the Pokémon Center where he assumed Ash was.
"(Man, I can't believe those goofs stole me away from Ash,)" he groaned.
"Oh wow, a Gengar!" Turning towards the voice Gengar saw a young trainer who looked like he was just starting off on his Pokémon journey. Gengar was about to ask him if he could help him find Ash, but then he noticed the look in the kid's eyes.
"(Oh boy… this won't be good,)" he thought.
"I'm gonna catch you!" the kid declared.
"(Look, kid, you don't want to do this,)" Gengar warned.
"Oh yes I do!" the kid replied. Before Gengar could warn him any further Ash and Nikki arrived on the scene. As soon as Gengar saw them he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Gengar! I've been looking for you," Ash said.
"Back off! This is my Gengar!" the kid yelled.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ash asked.
"I'm the one who's going to catch him!" the kid declared. Ash was still a bit confused, but slowly he got what the young kid was getting at.
"Oh, I see. You think this is a wild Gengar," he said. "You see, he's actually…"
"I'll battle you for him!" the kid interrupted. "I win, I catch him. You win, you catch him."
"Hold on there a minute! You can't…"
"(Now hold on… I think that's a good idea,)" Gengar commented.
"Wait, what?!" Ash asked.
"(Come on. I want to see how good you've become over the years,)" Gengar said. Ash was about to protest further but the young trainer already had a Poké Ball in his hand.
"So, do you accept my challenge?" he asked. Left with little choice Ash let out a sigh.
"Okay, we'll do this your way," he relented. Gengar moved over to the side with Nikki doing the same. Ash then grabbed one of his Poké Balls and got ready to throw it out.
"Okay, Riolu, I choose you!" he shouted, calling on his Emanation Pokémon.
"Go, Machop!" the kid yelled, sending out his Pokémon. Nikki took out her Pokécomm and scanned the kid's Machop.
Name: Machop
Species: The Superpower Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: It loves to work out and build its muscles. It is never satisfied, even if it trains hard all day long.
"Use Karate Chop!" the young trainer commanded. The Machop charged forward, his arm raised in the air to deliver a powerful Karate Chop.
"Dodge and use Force Palm!" Ash instructed. Riolu ducked to the side, avoiding the Karate Chop, and countered with his Force Palm. The attack forced the Machop back a bit.
"Now use Aura Sphere!" Ash shouted. Riolu formed a ball of energy in his hands and fired it at the Machop, making solid contact.
"(He's gotten better,)" Gengar mused.
"We're not giving up!" the kid declared. "Hit him with Low Kick!" His Machop recovered and struck Riolu with a Low Kick, the attack causing the Emanation Pokémon to stumble a bit.
"Riolu!" Ash shouted.
"Now use Karate Chop!" With Riolu still reeling from the previous attack Machop took the opportunity top strike him with his Karate Chop, hitting him in the back of his head.
"Fight back with Counter!" Ash instructed. Riolu's body took on an orange glow as he hit back with twice the force thanks to his Counter attack. The powerful blow sent the Machop flying back toards his trainer.
"Now use Aura Sphere!" Ash shouted. Sensing that the end of the battle was near Riolu fired off his most powerful Aura Sphere, striking the still-recovering Machop and knocking him out.
"No! We lost!" the kid cried.
"Way to go, Riolu!" Ash shouted. The Emanation Pokémon looked back and flashed a smile. Then, he began to glow white.
"No way! He's evolving!" Ash gasped. Everyone looked on as Riolu began to change. Soon, where once a Riolu stood, now stood a new Pokémon.
"Riolu evolved into Lucario!" Ash cheered. Nikki once again took out her Pokécomm and scanned this new Pokémon.
Name: Lucario
Species: The Aura Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: It's said that no foe can remain invisible to Lucario, since it can detect auras. Even foes it could not otherwise see.
"That's awesome, Ash," Nikki commented.
"It sure is," Ash agreed. "I just know we're going to win a lot of battles from here on out, Lucario."
"(Of that I have no doubt,)" Lucario stated. Ash then recalled him as the young trainer approached him.
"Well, a deal's a deal. You get to catch that Gengar," he said.
"About that." To the young kid's surprise Ash took out a Poké Ball and recalled Gengar.
"Wait, you mean that was your Gengar this whole time?!" he asked.
"Yeah. That's what I was trying to tell you but you wouldn't listen," Ash told him.
"So even if I won I wouldn't have been able to catch him," he groaned.
"Afraid not," Ash confirmed. "Still, that was a fun battle."
"Yeah, I suppose it was," the kid agreed.
"So, why did you want Ash's Gengar so bad anyway?" Nikki wondered.
"Well, I wanted to challenge the Gym Leader here, but they only use Ghost types and I didn't have any," the kid explained.
"So the Gym Leader uses Ghost types, huh," Ash commented.
"That's right. Are you here to challenge them?" the kid asked.
"Sure am. This will be my fourth Gym badge," Ash stated.
"I hear they're tough, but after battling you I think you can take them," the kid said.
"Thanks," Ash replied. With that they said goodbye to the young trainer and headed back to the Pokémon Center, where Ash would need to make some last minute preparations for his upcoming Gym battle.
An eventful day has ended with Ash getting two new Pokémon, one in the form of a newly-acquired Gengar and the other in a newly-evolved Lucario. Next up is the Gym battle. Will Ash win? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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