Et Tu, Unova? Chapter Fifteen, a pokémon fanfic

Chapter 15

The morning after Team Plasma's assault on Nimbasa City, Shauntal has joined Officer Jenny in the police station for a teleconference of the Unova branch of the Pokémon Association. All the gym leaders and Elite Four are in attendance, along with several police departments across the region, the region's Champion, Alder, and the head of the Pokémon Association, Mr. Goodshow.

Mr. Goodshow calls the meeting to order and invites each participant to share their observations of Team Plasma. Shauntal mentions the encounters she and Ash have had to date. The Striaton Triplets are monitoring the Dreamyard, but it seems Team Plasma has given up their ambitions there. Lenora reports that several months back, some strangely dressed people she now knows were Team Plasma came by the museum to examine a skeleton of a Dragon-type Pokémon, but left after she explained what she knew about it and never returned. Burgh is happy to announce that all the stolen Pokémon in Castelia City have been returned to their trainers and Team Plasma's hideout is abandoned. Clay reports that there have been some speeches in Driftveil, but otherwise no visible evidence of Team Plasma's presence. Skyla notes that they've left Mistralton City alone, but she's monitoring the skies in case they're traveling by plane. Marlon has nothing to share and Roxie's only contribution is that the frigate that Team Plasma was seen on at Liberty Island was built in Virbank City, but the order isn't traceable and the ship's current whereabouts are unknown.

Officer Jenny and police from Accumula Town, Aspertia City, Lentimas Town, and Black City all have encountered a rash of Pokémon thefts, likely linked to Team Plasma. At this point, the Elite Four decide to share what they know.

"Team Plasma's goal appears to be twofold," Marshall explains, "First, they want to separate people from their Pokémon, either by convincing them to voluntarily release the Pokémon or by stealing them. Troublingly, their second goal is even more problematic. Based on Drayden's knowledge of the materials stolen from the library in Opelucid City, we can conclude that Team Plasma seeks to use the Legendary Pokémon of truth and ideals for their cause."

Grimsley chimes in, "We've managed to extract the Light Stone that Reshiram uses in its dormant periods from the Relic Castle in the Desert Resort. More members of Team Plasma have been seen there, so we know that they are not yet aware of our success. Zekrom has been the more active of the two as of late, so we don't know if it is currently slumbering in the Dark Stone or not. And if it is, we have not yet managed to locate it."

Here, Brycen gives an update on his city, "A small army of Team Plasma Grunts have taken control of Dragonspiral Tower, where Reshiram and Zekrom can be called forth from their stones. I'm staying in the city to monitor them while Drayden and Marshall monitor the entrances to the city. So long as they remain camped there and inactive, we'll allow them to wait and not provoke further conflict."

Caitlin wakes from a snooze to add, "After being alerted to the increased activity, I managed to locate Team Plasma's current main base of operations. However, the majority of their leadership is not present there at this time, leading to the conclusion that there is an ongoing operation elsewhere."

"Which I suppose brings us to me," Elesa says, "Yesterday, Team Plasma escaped Nimbasa City with an unknown package that they went to quite a bit of trouble to obtain. In the process, they assaulted the Battle Subway. In doing so, we believe they set off issues in the power grid that led to the temporary shutdown of the Ferris Wheel. Officer Jenny is ably investigating what might have been stolen, but right now we just don't know."

Alder wraps things up, "Basically, we know what they want, but have no clue how they plan to go around getting it, so keep an eye out and stop 'em if you see 'em."

With that, the meeting wraps up and the remote participants sign off. Elesa leaves to go back to the gym and tells Shauntal she'll see her later that day.

Ash has already spent time in the old Nimbasa City gym and wonders what possible improvements could have been made over the rollercoasters there for the new gym. Needless to say, when he enters the building alongside Jessie, James, and Shauntal, he's shocked to see a large catwalk in the center of the room with a mob of people with cameras in chairs to the sidelines. A screen lights up at the far end of the catwalk and a recording of Elesa appears.

"Greetings, challenger, and welcome to the Nimbasa City gym. I'm Elesa and as you may be aware, in addition to being the gym leader here I also work as a fashion model. You'd be surprised how similar the work can be. Should you successfully defeat me and go on to win the Unova League, perhaps even becoming the new Champion, you'll be faced with the attention of crowds both of everyday people and of the press."

"And so," the actual Elesa says from the back of the catwalk as she struts to the front, "I like to invite my challengers to walk down the catwalk on their own before their battle and with their team afterwards. The photographers will be present throughout the match, so you'd better plan for the flashes of the cameras."

She reaches the end and reaches out a hand to pull Ash up. He hands Pikachu to Shauntal and awkwardly walks alongside Elesa to the battlefield at the other end of the catwalk, cameras flashing the whole way. His friends go around and meet him on the battlefield, Pikachu running back to Ash and jumping on his shoulder.

"I understand that you won the tournament at the Sports Complex and saw me compete in the Pokémon Contest in the Musical Hall," Elesa says, "I'm glad you've gotten to experience some of the many attractions Nimbasa City has to offer, but that also means that you know that my Pokémon come to win. Given that you already have three Unova gym badges, our match today will be a four-on-four battle. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yeah! Let's battle!"

Elesa calls out the Pokémon that won her the Nimbasa Ribbon, Zebstrika. Ash, knowing he'd see Zebstrika this battle, is surprised to see it so soon, but sends out the Pokémon who's prepared a strategy to defeat it: Krokorok.

Zebstrika uses Quick Attack right off the bat, slamming into Krokorok with incredible speed. Before Krokorok can recover, Zebstrika uses Flame Charge to strike again and raise its speed further. Krokorok uses Stone Edge to try to get some distance between them, but Zebstrika leaps up and runs along the stones to strike with Stomp. Krokorok catches the hoof in its teeth with Crunch and sends Zebstrika flying across the room. Knowing that a Dig would be stopped by Zebstrika's Pursuit, Ash and Krokorok worked long hours to learn Earthquake, which is now employed for super effective damage. But Zebstrika leaps back into the air as Krokorok attacks, avoiding all but the very initial damage. Krokorok attacks with Stone Edge, but another Flame Charge breaks right through. Ash realizes that while Zebstrika is charging through the rocks, it can't see Krokorok, so he quietly gives his Pokémon the next instructions. When Zebstrika is through the Stone Edge, it immediately is trapped in a pit caused by Sand Tomb. It can't leap to avoid the next Earthquake and is knocked out.

Elesa's next Pokémon is a Galvantula, so Jessie sends Joltik out to watch the battle. Ash starts off with a super effective Stone Edge, but Galvantula uses Rock Climb on the stones emerging from the ground, scaling them with ease and attacking Krokorok. Once it gets close, Krokorok chomps down with Crunch, but Galvantula blasts Krokorok with a close range Signal Beam, knocking it out. Ash sends out Tepig next, hoping to play off Galvantula's Bug-typing. Galvantula uses Electroweb to trap Tepig and slow him down, but Tepig burns it away with Flamethrower. Galvantula goes for another Electroweb so Tepig covers the field with Smokescreen. Elesa orders a Discharge to hit the entire battlefield, which cuts through the smoke to reveal Tepig ignoring the powerful attack as he charges Galvantula with Flame Charge. The attack strikes true, but doesn't have quite enough power behind it, so Ash orders Tepig to use Rollout. Tepig strikes, again and again, occasionally bearing the brunt of a Discharge, but rolling on through as each strike gains more power than the last. The final strike rolls right over Galvantula and takes it out of the battle.

Elesa's Emolga is next up and glides through the air as it attacks Tepig with Thunderbolt. But Tepig just keeps rolling until he hits a shard of stone left behind from Krokorok's battle, launching him in the air to strike Emolga with a powered-up Rollout. Emolga isn't knocked out and quickly attacks Tepig with Volt Switch then returns to its Poké Ball.

"I thought gym leaders weren't allowed to switch Pokémon unless they specified so at the beginning of the battle," James observes on the sidelines.

"That's true," Shauntal replies, "But attacks that automatically return a Pokémon to their Poké Ball bypass that restriction."

Elesa's last Pokémon is an Eelektrik. As it goes to battle Tepig something unfortunate becomes clear: Tepig has been paralyzed by Emolga's Static ability. Eelektrik is able to bind Tepig easily and use Discharge. But Tepig still hangs on and uses Flame Charge in place to coat his body in flames and damage Eelektrik, who responds with an Aqua Tail to knock Tepig out. Ash uses Swadloon next and starts off with a Razor Leaf, which Eelektrik easily dodges. Elesa's Pokémon responds with Acid Spray, but Swadloon Protects to avoid damage. It uses another Razor Leaf, which Eelektrik again avoids, but it is struck by the String Shot hiding behind the Razor Leaf. Swadloon pulls Eelektrik in close and attacks with Energy Ball. Eelektrik uses a close range Acid Spray, but Swadloon's defenses allow it to withstand the super effective hit before using another Energy Ball to strike at Eelektrik's lowered Special Defense.

And then Emolga reenters the battle. It sticks out its tongue and pulls at its eyelid as it Taunts Swadloon. When Ash calls for a String Shot, Swadloon ignores him.

"I'm afraid that just won't work this time, Ash," Elesa explains, "Taunt blocks any move that doesn't directly attack my Emolga. And that includes Protect."

Emolga swoops down with an Acrobatics and sends Swadloon flying, knocked out by an attack it is doubly weak to. The gym battle comes down to a faceoff between two Electric rodents as Ash selects Pikachu to face Emolga. They both start the battle with Thunderbolt. The attacks meet in midair and a surging ball of electricity forms at their junction. Both Pokémon try to push the merged attack towards the other, but eventually Pikachu, still fresh into the battle, succeeds and zaps Emolga. Elesa orders an Acrobatics next and the aerial movements Emolga executes are too complex for Pikachu to dodge, but he does strike with Quick Attack in retaliation. As Emolga goes to pick itself up from the attack, its movements are halting and jerky. It finds it can't gather enough momentum to glide back in the air again.

"Ha!" Ash laughs, "I guess Static works both ways."

While Emolga is grounded, Pikachu uses Dig to strike for super effective damage. Emolga takes the hit and strikes back with Thunderbolt. Its reduced speed makes the attack easy for Pikachu to dodge and increases the power of the Electro Ball he uses next, winning Ash the battle.

"Congratulations, Ash," Elesa says, "You've definitely earned the Bolt Badge. And let's get your Pokémon some berries so they can properly join you for your victory walk. Ash walks proudly down the runway with Pikachu on his shoulder and Krokorok and Tepig on either side of him, Krokorok carrying the mostly-immobile Swadloon. At the end of the runway Ash holds up his badge in celebration.

Ash had been hoping to try the Battle Subway again, this time battling Ingo and Emmet, but it's still undergoing repairs from Team Plasma's attack and won't reopen for quite some time. The group decides to head to Driftveil City. As they cross the Driftveil Drawbridge, they pass a tour group while the guide explains that the bridge is also known as Charizard Bridge. Shauntal confirms that it's true when Ash asks and his face lights up. When they reach the other side, Ash runs to the Pokémon Center at top speed, saying he has a couple of calls to make. By the time Jessie, James, and Shauntal catch up, all they hear is the tail end of the conversation.

"Thanks, Liza!" Ash says before turning to leave the Pokémon Center as quickly as he entered.

After learning what the bridge was called, Ash couldn't not do it. So after he talked with Professor Oak to rearrange his team he made sure he still had one spot open. And then he called Liza. As he rushes out of the Pokémon Center, Ash thinks he sees Jessie, James, and Shauntal, but he's really too distracted to notice. And when he calls Charizard out of its Poké Ball, Ash may hear James's high-pitched shriek of terror, but again, Ash's excitement wins out. He and Pikachu jump on Charizard's back and they all go soaring over Charizard's eponymous bridge.

And they're flying through the air and it's all so fun. Ash spots another tour group and has Charizard drop low enough to impress them with a Flamethrower (though aimed in a way that won't damage anything or hurt anyone) before they jet back up. They swerve past Swannas and dive under Unfezants. They see Basculin and Alomomola leap from the water below. And as they bank to the left, they see part of the rock face north of Driftveil collapse and go to investigate.

They arrive at the site of the collapse only to see someone deep in training. His Excadrill's claws ram into the rock, causing the occasional rockslide, but his Onix and Sandslash are more than capable of redirecting the rocks to the water below. The man calls out.

"Who're you and whaddya want with my secret training spot?"

Jessie and James are cowering in the Pokémon Center as Shauntal tries to draw them out to explain what just happened. Eventually, she pieces together that Charizard is probably Ash's single most powerful Pokémon and the two really did not want to be around it before it learned that they had quit Team Rocket.

Shauntal is intrigued to learn that Ash has several Pokémon in the care of other trainers, but can recall them if necessary. She also notes the similarities between Charizard and Pikachu: both are among Ash's most capable Pokémon and both had a period in which they would not obey their trainer.

"I'm Ash, and these are Pikachu and Charizard," Ash answers, "We were flying over Charizard Bridge when we saw the rock collapse and thought we'd come check it out."

"A Charizard over Charizard bridge, huh," the man replies, "Well, Ash, I've hearda you through the grapevine. Burgh was quite impressed and you surprised Lenora, which is hard to do. Seeing as you're here, I hafta imagine you beat Elesa as well. I'm Clay, the gym leader in Driftveil City, and this is my secret training spot. But since you stumbled across it and interrupted my training, I think I'll hafta demand a battle right here and now. But we're gonna do it like you did in Striaton City: a three-on-three switch-in battle and you have to win all three matches for the badge."

"I didn't mean to interrupt you, sorry," Ash says, eager for the opportunity but curious about the strange format, "But why such a weird format when it's just the two of us trainers?"

"I don't have my usual gym challenge Pokémon with me, so I'd like to see how you can match up against some that I save for special occasions. But really, it's just cause I wanna see how my Excadrill does against your Charizard. And to make things even more interesting, if you can't get your badge here, I'll have to assign you some unpleasant task before I let you challenge me in the gym. You in, or what?"

Ash responds by jumping off Charizard and having it shoot flames into the sky.

Charizard blasts a jet of fire at Excadrill, who Digs into the mountainside to avoid it. The hole where Excadrill entered melts from the intensity of the Flamethrower.

"Strong and fast, right off the bat," Clay comments, "I like it! But let's see how you handle this!"

Excadrill bursts from the rocks with a Sandstorm swirling around it. With blinding speed it Slashes at Charizard, who has no chance to avoid it. A Rock Slide follows at the same speed, dealing massive damage to Charizard. Ash's Pokémon flies up through the sandstorm to land atop the mountain with Roost, but Excadrill digs straight up, landing another Slash just as Charizard finishes healing. The stream of sand flies up out of the hole to keep the weather effect going even that high up. Excadrill goes for another Rock Slide, but now Ash has Charizard spin and use Steel Wing, batting the rocks right back at Excadrill. Excadrill's steel claws make short work of the rocks, though, slicing through them or just batting them away. So Ash has Charizard keep spinning but add a Flamethrower, causing the deflecting boulders to be partially melted and deal damage to Excadrill as it claws at them.

As Excadrill winces from the heat, Charizard stops spinning and blasts it directly with Flamethrower. Excadrill whirls, deflecting the flames and getting close enough to Charizard to use a series of Slash attacks. But as the next Slashes come, Charizard Slashes right back. And once the two Pokémon are locked in claw-to-claw combat, Ash has Charizard grab ahold of Excadrill. Though Clay's Pokémon summons more boulders with Rock Slide, Charizard flies out of their path as it begins its circular flight. When Charizard completes the Seismic Toss, Excadrill is thrown not to the ground where the two had been battling, but all the way down to where their trainers stand. Excadrill does not stand back up after the attack and Charizard roars in victory.

"So you beat my ace," Clay says, "Good for you, but the battle's just getting started. And I'm pretty sure you just used your ace too and you're not gonna wanna use your Pikachu against my Ground-types. So let's see how you handle what comes next."

Clay sends out Golett next and Ash meets it with Oshawott. Golett shakes things up with a Magnitude and attacks at Oshawott with Thunder Punch as he's still off balance. But Oshawott recovers in time and blocks the attack with his scalchop, transitioning directly into Razor Shell. Golett has two arms, though, and a second Thunder Punch hits its mark and sends Oshawott careening off the cliff. Clay tries to call the battle, but Ash won't allow it. And for good reason: Oshawott emerges from the water below, glowing blue and using a spinning Aqua Jet to gather even more water around itself. The attack strikes into Golett, sending it crashing into the rocks and Oshawott follows up with a Water Gun, knocking Golett unconscious.

Clay's final Pokémon will be Stunfisk, which Ash looks up on his Pokédex. Tepig and Tranquill won't fare well against that. Pikachu might do damage, but he can't take an extended fight with that thing. Roggenrola does have that one move though… And so Ash calls out his Roggenrola to Clay's laughter. But Roggenrola uses a super effective attack and strikes Stunfisk with Mud-Slap.

"So you're hoping to lower Stunfisk's accuracy and draw this into a long fight, am I right?" Clay asks, "The issue with that plan is that Stunfisk lives under the mud. Your attack won't do a thing to its ability to see, but we can show you some real mud. More specifically: Mud Bomb."

The ball of mud that Stunfisk uses hits its mark for massive damage against Roggenrola. Ash knows that even with its stellar defensive capabilities, Roggenrola can't take too many super effective hits, so he has it increase its speed with Rock Polish. Roggenrola deftly dodges the Scald that Stunfisk sends its way next. But then there's a problem: Roggenrola is backed against the rock face. No room to move. So Ash asks for an Iron Defense and tells it to be careful. Roggenrola glows silver as it boosts its Defense, but that glow quickly transitions to blue and Roggenrola evolves in its desperate situation. After Ash analyzes Boldore on his Pokédex, Clay calls for another Mud Bomb. But Boldore shakes things up with Bulldoze, sending the mud off course. With speed still enhanced from Rock Polish, Boldore moves directly above Stunfisk, where the flat Pokémon can't attack with mud or water without risking hurting itself. Stunfisk's Discharge is blocked by Boldore's next Bulldoze, so it resorts to shooting Scald straight up. It hurts Boldore, but the hot water splashes down on Stunfisk too. Boldore uses one last Bulldoze to finish the fight.

Clay congratulates Ash and hands over the Quake Badge. He notes that Charizard is still tired from its battle, so Ash should come back to Driftveil Clay's way. Clay's Onix uses its body to make bridges where necessary and the two are soon back in the city.

When Ash returns to the Pokémon Center, his traveling companions are quite confused by his story, to the point where Shauntal storms off to verify things with Clay herself. After his Pokémon are healed, Ash thanks Charizard and sends it back to Liza. He knows he'll see Charizard again for the Pokémon League.

Since Ash already has his gym badge, he and his companions don't linger in Driftveil City and instead head north towards the next gym. On the way there is the Seasonal Institute, where James hopes to find a cure for Chimecho. But the route there is foggy and the group gets separated. Ash calls out Tranquill, but as soon as she clears the fog away, more rolls in from higher up. So Ash climbs a hill in the hopes of being able to see. At the peak of the hill stands a Pokémon. Its blue fur shimmers like metal as it points its horns towards Ash, who raises his hands up to indicate he means no harm. Ash thinks the fog may be causing issues with the metallic fur, so he takes a towel and wipes the Pokémon dry. The Pokémon stares at him, unleashes a Flash Cannon at the sky, and then runs off. Shortly after, Jessie, James, and Shauntal arrive, drawn to the bright flash.

Once the group has gathered again, they decide to wait out the fog where they are in the hopes that it'll be gone tomorrow. And as the next day dawns, the visibility is much improved. James rushes off towards the Seasonal Institute he sees in the distance. They're all too happy to help and say that Chimecho's illness is one that affects some Pokémon taken out of their native habitats.

"That's not to say it's a trainer's fault or that we shouldn't take Pokémon with us to new regions," a scientist qualifies, "Many Pokémon thrive when moved and we currently don't fully understand what makes certain Pokémon take badly to it."

It's also not really predictable how long each Pokémon will take to recover, but in the longer-lasting cases, the scientists have found that the best thing to do is recreate the air and environs of home before slowly mixing in other factors. They tell James about a Pokémon called Foongus, who lives in the area and can use Clear Smog, which removes all foreign changes to the area it hits. If James can get one to the Institute, the scientists there can use the freshly cleared air to start Chimecho's treatment.

So the gang looks high and low for a Foongus. As the day drags on, James plops himself on the ground to rest. After taking a breather, he notices that he dropped a Poké Ball, except when he goes to pick it up, it shoots spores at him. James holds his breath and sends out Mime Jr. to battle. Its more recently learned techniques of Confusion and Safeguard make the battle easy for Mime Jr. and James is able to capture the Foongus.

Within the hour, James brings his latest capture to the Institute. Chimecho's treatment will take time, so James elects to stay behind while the others keep going north to Mistralton City. Except just as they leave, Shauntal's Xtransceiver rings.

"I've made a discovery," Caitlin says when Shauntal picks up, "and you need to get to Driftveil City right away.

Author's Note: Well, I got through my block on the chapter I had been working on, edited some chapters I'd already written, and got the next chapter done without issue, so I'm publishing this one now. And, yeah, two badges and a Legendary encounter in one chapter is certainly some different pacing - I did warn you. But it had to happen: Charizard Bridge was involved. It might be cliché, but Charizard is my favorite Pokémon - as I'm posting this I'm wearing a Charizard t-shirt. I get that Charizard Bridge was the way GameFreak chose to get Charizard into Unova despite their "reboot" (you'll note that Charizard is actually present somehow in every subsequent generation no matter how little sense it makes), but in the anime Charizard comes back post-league and proceeds to... do absolutely nothing. I thought this was a better way to incorporate it. I'll also remind people that electric-type Pokémon weren't immune to paralysis until X&Y. As for the deus-ex-evolution, despite my dislike for the trope I let Roggenrola have it, especially since I made Stunfisk magically immune to Mud-Slap (which I will fully defend from an ecological standpoint) - it will only happen for very specific story reasons going forward. Also, I did mention James would have a very small role in this story. He will come back at some point, but for now he's focused on Chimecho getting better. And I wonder what's about to happen in Driftveil City... Okay, it might be a bit obvious.