Zurmudd, Byoln and Jamil were inside of a room in a small hostel. The hostel is in a small Town, though where exactly the town is, is unknown.
The three of them are currently talking with someone on the phone.
"How did you first job in Sinnoh, go?" A very smoot female voice asked from the other side of the line.
Zurmudd spoke first. "We completed the first job." He said.
"Yes," Byoln said. "We got the machine you wanted, and are currently in a small town few hundred kilometers from the Oreburgh City, where we stole the machine from."
"Good, good," the female voice said, sounding satisfied. "When can I expect the machine?"
"Well, since you want us to stay here to do more jobs, you will need to send someone to come for the machine," Jamil said. "There is no other way for us to send it, except for us to personally deliver it."
"Hm," the voice from the other side frowned for a moment, before she said. "I'll send someone. I will need your location, though."
"We will send you a message with our location, and how to come here." Byoln said.
"Good job you three," the female said, bringing the smiles on the faces of three man. "You will be greatly rewarded once you return. Just continue the good job."
All three man smiled widely, as they thought of the reward mentioned. They knew perfectly well of how their boss rewards her subordinates for the job well done. Of course, they also know what she does to them when they fail. All three shuddered at the thought of failure.
The phone line disconnected, and left the three man in silence.
The silence was interrupted by Jamil, about a minute later. "Who do you think she will send?"
"It doesn't matter," Zurmudd said. "Whoever she sends, we give them the restoration machine, and then continue to do our job."
Jamil nodded at them, before he stood up from the chair, and went somewhere, leaving the other two behind.
"Tell me," Zurmudd spoke as soon as Jamil was out the door. He was addressing to Byoln. "What did you do before you met with me outside of the Oreburgh City?"
Byoln smiled. "Oh, I just decided to check out some trainers in the Sinnoh Region."
Zurmudd looked at him, but said nothing. He left it at that, as he knew that Byoln wouldn't risk them being discovered, unless he had a good reason.
XXX
Ash stood at one side of the battlefield in the Oreburgh Gym.
Across from him, the gym leader, Roark was also standing, looking at Ash with a smile on his face.
The two of them were ready for their battle, which should have happened two days ago, if not for many things which ended up postponing it.
While Ash was at the battlefield, Lillie and Dawn were seating on the bleachers. Besides the four of them, Ian was the only other person in the gym, and he was standing at the side of the battlefield, as he is the referee for all the gym battles.
"Are you ready for this battle, Ash?" Roark asked.
"I've been ready days ago when I arrived here," Ash replied with a smirk. "Now, I'm pumped-up." Roark also smirked when he heard this.
"The Gym battle between Ash from Pallet Town, and Roark the Oreburgh Gym Leader, will now begin," Ian spoke! "Each side will have the use of two Pokémon, and the battle will be over when all of the either sides Pokémon are unable to battle! In addition, only the challenger is allowed to make any substitution!"
To the bleachers where Dawn and Lillie were standing, Lillie was seating casually, and observing the start of the match. As for Dawn, well, she had her Piplup and Buneary outside of their Poke Balls. She was dressed in a cheerleader outfit, and had pompoms in both hands, while Piplup and Buneary weren't dressed-up, but also had pompoms.
"Hey Dawn," Lillie called her friend.
"What?" Dawn answered.
"Why are you dressed-up like that?" Lillie asked, looking at Dawn up and down.
"Oh, well I decided to cheer for Ash," Dawn replied, before she looked back at the battlefield. "Are you two ready to give it all you've got?" She asked her two Pokémon, who shouted that they are ready.
And then the cheering started.
Ash looked at Dawn with raised eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't expecting this, but he won't complain. Dawn does look cute in the cheerleader outfit. He wondered how she would look like if she was about four years older.
Ash stopped the daydreaming, and decided to focus on the battle against Roark, which was about to start, as Roark released his first Pokémon, which turned out to be an Onix.
Ash saw Onix, and while he will admit that he wasn't expecting Onix to be the first Pokémon, he won't say that he was very surprised either. It is a Rock Type Pokémon. Powerful, but not that powerful, so it's perfect as the first Pokémon for the gym leader to use in their battles.
Ash thought about it for a moment, and decided on which Pokémon to use first. He took one Poke Ball from his belt, and released his first Pokémon. "Kirlia, come on out!"
Out of his Poke Ball, came a Kirlia, who stood at the battlefield, in front of Ash, and across from Onix.
This Kirlia is one of the two Pokémon which Ash caught on his way to the Oreburgh City. The other is also Kirlia, but this one is male, and the other is a female Kirlia. The two which Ash caught, are siblings.
With both Pokémon at the battlefield, and ready to battle, Ian started the match. "Let the battle, BEGIN!"
Roark started the battle by telling his Pokémon to use, Slam, but Ash easily dealt with that by having his Kirlia use Double Team.
Seeing many Kirlia's all over the battlefield, and not being able to tell which is real, Roark told his Pokémon to use Screech.
All copies of Kirlia were destroyed by Onix's attack, and the real Kirlia was hit as well, but he held tough, and wasn't taken down.
Ash then told Kirlia to use, Future Sight, which made Kirlia's eyes glow for a moment, but nothing happened, which was expected.
Roark cussed for a moment when he saw this, and knew that his Onix will be in trouble when that Future Sight hits, so he decided to take Kirlia out before it happens. Roark told Onix to use Double-Edge, which made Onix go at Kirlia while it's whole body was glowing.
Kirlia was hit by this attack, and dealt a lot of damage, but wasn't taken out of the battle. Usually, Double-Edge has a recoil, which deals damage to the user, but because of Onix's ability, Rock Head, it means that Onix won't receive any recoil damage.
Once Kirlia got up from the ground, Ash told him to use Hypnosis.
Kirlia's irises glowed red, then Onix's glowed red, and the next moment Onix fell asleep.
Roark cussed again, as he called for his Pokémon to wake up, but it was futile. Then, Ash told Kirlia to use, Dream Eater, and Roark knew right then and there, that this round was practically lost.
Kirlia glowed red, and then the sleeping Onix glowed red. Then, Kirlia started to suck out the energy from Onix. As he was sucking Onix's energy, Kirlia felt better, as the energy he lost so far, is returning to him.
When Kirlia finished sucking some of Onix's energy, Onix woke up, but wasn't feeling well. It was feeling weak. Then, the wind blew around the battlefield, and a hole opened in the sky. A pink beam of energy shot from the hole, and hit Onix. Onix roared and pain, and fell down on the ground.
Onix has passed out.
"Onix is unable to continue," Ian announced! "Round one goes to Ash, and Kirlia!"
"That was a good battle, Ash," Roark said, as he returned his defeated Onix. "I knew I'll be in trouble because of that Future Sight, but I never expected Hypnosis, and Dream Eater. That really took me by surprise."
"Yeah, I actually had Kirlia learn Dream Eater right after I caught him, as I planned to use him in this battle" Ash said. "He already knew Hypnosis, and since he knew it, all he needed is a way to weaken the opponent before he finishes them, thus, the Dream Eater. The Future Sight was the finisher."
"That was some planning, Ash," Roark said. He thought to himself that he never planned that far ahead for the battles.
Then and there, Roark realized that that's one of the reasons why Ash is one of the best trainers in the world, while he isn't. Planning does half the job in almost every battle, and Ash has mastered planning like no one else.
"I'm happy to have this battle against you, Ash," Roark suddenly said with a sight, but also a small smile was present on his face. "Trainers like you are rare, and it's ever rarer that they challenge gyms, so we gym leader can't have battles against trainers like you very often… or ever really. Which is why I'm happy to have this chance to battle against you, regardless if I win or lose."
Ash looked at Roark for a few moments, before he smiled. "Well then, give it your all."
Roark smiled at that, and took a Poke Ball from his belt. "Usually, I would use my Cranidos as my last Pokémon," Roark spoke, while holding the Poke Ball. "He evolved into a Rampardos during the attack, though, so I thought to use him against you as my second Pokémon.
"I changed my mind, though. As powerful as Rampardos is, he isn't my strongest Pokémon, and you did ask to give you my all, so… here is my strongest Pokémon.
"Come on out…" Roark threw the Poke Ball in the air! "ARCHEOPS!"
Out of Roark's Poke Ball, came out a large multicolor Pokémon, which looked a lot like a flying dinosaur.
"Well, would you look at that," Ash spoke with a smile on his face. "A prehistoric Pokémon from the Unova Region. How did you find it?"
"I went to Unova years ago, when I was still a young trainer, and did some digging," Roark said with a smile. "I was lucky enough to find a Plume Fossil, and then kept it until I was able to restore it. From there on, we trained hard, and sometime later, Archeops become my strongest Pokémon. I rarely use him these days, but we do keep training all the time."
"I'm glad to hear that," Ash said. "I got to admit that I wasn't expecting this, but I do have a Pokémon which might be able to take on your Archeops," Ash returned his Kirlia, who won't be able to take on another Pokémon after a tough battle against Onix, especially one like Archeops. Instead, he took another of his Poke Balls, and looked at it, "I hope you are ready."
As soon as he said that, Ash threw his Poke Ball, and out came a Pokémon which looked just as weird as Archeops, though considerably larger. Its name is… Naganadel.
"Which Pokémon is that?" Roark asked while looking at Ash's Naganadel with wide eyes.
"This is Naganadel," Ash said. "It's a Poison/Dragon Type Pokémon from the Alola Region."
"Damn," Roark cussed. "I never saw something like that. It definitely looks strong, though."
"He is," Ash said. "Though we will see if he is strong enough to defeat your strongest Pokémon," he looked at his Pokémon, who looked back at Ash. "What do you say, Naganadel?"
Naganadel gave a grunt, signifying that he is ready to battle anyone, and win the battle.
Ash nodded, and then looked at Roark. He was ready for round two.
"The second round between the gym leader, Roark, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum is about to start," Ian announced! "Are both trainers ready?" Once he got a nod from both Ash and Roark, Ian started the second round. "BEGIN!"
The battle was started by Roark who told his Archeops to use Ancient Power. Archeops glowed silver for a moment, and then created multiple silver rocks around itself. The rocks were then launched at Naganadel.
Ash countered this with Thunderbolt, which broke all the stone orbs, and made dust fly all over the battlefield.
As soon as he sent his first attack, Roark told his Pokémon to go at Naganadel with Dragon Claw, which made Archeops's hands glow red, and then the red energy formed into claw-like state. As soon as the rock orbs were destroyed, Archeops flew at Naganadel, and slashed at him with both hands, one at the time, and dealt him some damage.
Naganadel wasn't done, though. Ash told him to use Dragon Dance, which made Naganadel's whole body glow with purple energy, as he flew all over the air, and did some flying combinations. Ash then told him to use Dragon Pulse.
Naganadel formed a multicolored energy ball in front of the main stinger at the end of its body, and then fired a very powerful multicolored dragon-shaped beam at Archeops.
Archeops used Dragon Breath to counter Naganadel's attack, but it was useless, as it was easily broken-through by Ash's Pokémon, and the dragon shaped attack launched by Naganadel, hit Archeops, which was immediately sent flying on the ground.
Archeops was able to get back up after some pushing from Roark, and then used Iron Tail at Naganadel. The attack struck right on Naganadel's head, which made it go head-first into the battlefield.
Again, Naganadel got up just in time as Roark told Archeops to use Aerial Ace to end the round. Ash told Naganadel to use Dragon Rush, which he did.
The two Pokémon collided with each other above the battlefield. After a few moments of pushing, there was an explosion which sent both Pokémon flying backwards. Naganadel was able to stay in the air, though, while Archeops wasn't, and it fell on the battlefield.
This time, Ash decided to try and end the match, by telling his Pokémon to use Draco Meteor.
A sphere of purple energy formed inside of Naganadel's mouth and he fired it into the sky, where it exploded just before it was to reach the ceiling of the gym, and released multiple purple-glowing meteors that rained down on Archeops, who just managed to get up after the last attack.
It took a while, but the dusk cleared, and everyone was able to see Archeops. They were all expecting it to be lying on the ground, defeated, but in fact, Archeops rose back into the air, and became outlined in red aura.
"OH, shit." Ash groaned as he saw this.
"Oh, damn." Lillie said at the bleachers, right next to Dawn and Dawn's Pokémon, who were cheering for Ash all the while.
"What's that?" Dawn asked.
"It's, Thrash," Lillie said. "When the user gets angry, it starts to repeatedly attack the opponent. This lasts for a little while, and then the Pokémon ends up confused."
"Well, that's bad," Dawn commented, as she saw Archeops fly toward Naganadel, with rage in its eyes.
Archeops started to punch, kick, bite, and do whatever it could to Naganadel, who tried to defend from the onslaught of the attack.
"Thunderbolt?" Ash suddenly said.
Naganadel managed to dodge one punch from Archeops, moved backwards, and then fired the most powerful thunderbolt it could with the remaining strength he had.
The Thunderbolt hit Archeops, made it screech in pain, and then fall to the ground.
Still, Archeops wasn't defeated, and was standing on the battlefield, glaring at Naganadel. It wasn't angered anymore, though, so Thrash has deactivated.
Naganadel was floating a little over the battlefield, also glaring at Archeops. Just like the prehistoric Pokémon, he didn't want to give up, and be the first one to fall.
Roark, and Ash knew that the round is over. They won't have to do anything, as one, or both Pokémon will fall soon, no matter what they do.
Suddenly, BOTH Pokémon fell on the ground. They were both unconscious.
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle," Ian called! "Since the gym leader has lost both of his Pokémon, and the challenger still has one, the match goes to the challenger, Ash Ketchum!"
Roark and Ash sighed at the way the battle ended. In a way, neither was happy, but they were both satisfied at the same time, though for different reason. Roark was happy that he has a Pokémon which is strong enough to battle against a Pokémon belonging to one of the best trainers in the world. Ash was happy that his Naganadel, who had a lot of training, but not that much, was able to battle to a tie against the strongest Pokémon of a gym leader. He wished he could have won the round, but hey. You can't always win.
Ash returned his Naganadel to his Poke Ball, and then looked at it. "It was a very good battle, Naganadel," he said. "Now take a nice rest."
Roark returned his Pokémon as well, and he also had a few words. "Thanks to a great match, Archeops, and for not quitting until the very end."
"That was a great battle, Ash," Roark said to Ash, as the two approached each other at the middle of the battlefield. Ian joined them as well, while Lillie, and Dawn stayed to wait at the bleachers. "Here, take this," Roark showed Ash the Coal Badge, and Ash took it, before he looked at it for a few moments. "You deserved it."
"Thanks', Roark." Ash said, as he put his first Sinnoh Badge in the Badge Case which Ian gave him. "It was an interesting battle. I'll say that much."
"It sure was," Roark said with a smile, before he looked at Lillie, who was at the bleachers. "When do you want us to have our battle, Lillie?" He asked her.
"I'm fine whenever you are." Lillie said, and Roark nodded. "Well, we can do it right now, if you are up for it."
"That's fine with me." Lillie said, as she got down from the bleachers, while Ash went to the bleachers, and set next to Dawn, so he can watch Lillie's first gym battle.
"The Gym battle between Serena of Pallet Town, and Roark the Oreburgh Gym Leader, will now begin," Ian spoke! "Each side will have the use of two Pokémon, and the battle will be over when all of the either sides Pokémon are unable to battle! In addition, only the challenger is allowed to make any substitution!
"BEGIN!"
XXX
It has been several days since Ash, Dawn and Lillie have left the Oreburgh City, and continued their journey through the Sinnoh Region.
They left the coal capital of Sinnoh the day after Ash's and Lillie's battles against Roark, as they wanted to spend the rest of that day relaxing, and so that their Pokémon can be checked by Nurse Joy.
There was also a meeting which Lillie had to go at with Roark, so that they can discuss with the management of the Oreburgh Mine, about the Aerodactyl which Lillie caught.
In the end, Lillie was allowed to keep the Aerodactyl. Counting the fact that she also managed to defeat Roark, and got her first ever gym badge, and Lillie can say that she was satisfied with how her stay in the Oreburgh City went.
Ash, Lillie, and Dawn left the next morning, and headed back to the Jubilife City, as it's on their way toward the Floaroma Town. The sight of Dawn's next Pokémon Contest.
About two days after they left the Oreburgh City, the gang run into a wild Pachirisu, and Dawn instantly fell for it. So, she decided to catch it.
Dawn chose a Pineco to catch Pachirisu.
Pineco is one of Dawn's new Pokémon. She caught it about the same time as she caught a Cubone, which is while the gang was on the way toward the Oreburgh City. They didn't have a lot of training together since then, but Cubone has done well in Oreburgh City during the attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon, so Dawn though that Pineco will do just as well.
She was right. Pineco did great against Pachirisu, and in a very close battle, was able to win, so Dawn was able to catch herself a new Pokémon, and the first Electric Type.
Dawn has a love for Steel and Ground Types more than the other types, but she is one of the trainers who has no problem to catch other types as well, and train them. She treats it as a way to test her training skills, and to learn as much as she could about all types of Pokémon. One day, she will most likely solely focus on Steel, and Ground Types, but now, as a young and new trainer, she will catch other types as well.
XXX
Couple of days after Dawn caught Pachirisu, and while the gang was approaching the Jubilife City… again, they found themselves in front of a large field filled with all kinds of different flowers, which made the whole place look amazing.
The road they were walking on, splits in two parts, which leads around the small house. The house is white, with red roof, has one floor, and there is a chimney at the back part of the roof, and a small tower at the front of the roof.
"What a beautiful field of flowers." Dawn commented as she was watching in awe at the flowers.
"I agree," Lillie said, wearing a large smile on her face, as she was looking around. "This place is amazing. I love it."
"So do, I." Dawn agreed with her older friend.
Suddenly, above them flew a large blue Pokémon, which cast the shadow over them and the ground around them.
The three young trainers looked up to see what it was, and saw a Salamence flying toward the house in front of them.
"What is that?" Dawn wondered, before she pulled out her Pokedex, and looked at it. "Salamence, the Dragon Pokémon. As a result of a powerful desire to fly, Salamence were able to trigger the cells in their body and cause them to grow wings." The voice of the Pokedex said.
"Look at its back," Ash said with narrowed eyes. He didn't like this picture and had a bad feeling. "Someone is riding it."
Dawn and Lillie looked, and saw that Ash was right, and that someone is riding at the back of the Salamence, though they couldn't see the whole person, or the face. Only one small part of the body, and one arm, which has some device attached to it.
XXX
In front of a small house, a teenage girl with purple-pink hair, is watering some flowers, while a Gardevoir is standing in front of the girl.
The girl was interrupted in what she was doing by a Salamence landing on the ground close to her, and causing a small quake, as the landing wasn't slow. It's more like it dropped on the ground.
A woman jumped from the Salamence's back, and stood in front of the teenage girl and her Gardevoir. The woman has a short bluish-gray hair, a goggles over her eyes, as well as some device over her right ear. Probably something for communication. She was wearing a purple coat, under which the rest of her clothing is unknown, though the red boots, and red fingerless glows are visible on her legs, and her hands.
"Target identified." She spoke to herself, of probably to whoever she is working with, since the device on her ear is some kind of a communication device.
The girl backed away a little from the unknown and scary woman. "Who are you?" She asked.
The woman didn't answer. Instead, she released her Pokémon. "Ariados! String Shot!"
A Bug Type Pokémon came out of its Poke Ball, and fired the ordered attack at the girl, who was thrown back by the strings, and tied-up on the tree behind her.
All this was seen by Ash, Lillie and Dawn, who were still at the road, but were able to see it all. Ash had his eyes narrowed when he saw this, while Dawn, and Lillie gasped in shock.
"We should help her." Lillie said. Dawn, and Ash agreed, so they all run toward the girl, and the attacker.
"I will be taking Gardevoir, now." The woman said, as she pointed her left arm which had some device on it, at the Psychic Pokémon, who was standing there, looking stunned.
"Gardevoir," the girl yelled! "Go! RUN!"
Gardevoir used Teleport to escape before she could be captured. Unfortunately, it wasn't the end, as the woman who attacked them, had a special goggles which allowed her to see where Gardevoir will appear after using the Teleport, so she was able to catch her right away.
The way she caught Gardevoir is strange, though. She shot some beam from the device on her arm, and Gardevoir was instantly turned into a bronze statue.
"Gardevoir, NO!" The girl yelled when she saw what happened to her Pokémon.
Ash and the girls also saw this, and were shocked by what happened, as none of them, even Ash has ever seen a device which can do something like this.
"Mission accomplished," the woman spoke as she was turning around. "Transporting the target now."
"Roger!" Someone said into the device on the woman's ear.
Suddenly, a six-wheel vehicle came from over the hill, and sped down the road. From inside of the vehicle came a flying disk-like machine, which went and picked up the statue Gardevoir, after which a force-field was created from the machine and enveloped Gardevoir, making it look like she is in a glass container.
The container flew toward the six-wheel vehicle, and entered inside from the top, without the thing stopping, or even slowing down for the load.
The vehicle sped next to the young girl's house, who yelled for her Gardevoir, but it was useless.
The kidnapper was already at the back of her Salamence by that point, and was rising in the air. Exactly then, Ash, Lillie and Dawn came running toward the girl.
"Are you OK?" Ash asked the girl, while Dawn, and Lillie tried to free her from the String Shot."
"I'm fine, but please help me get Gardevoir back!" The girl said, as the kidnapper flew away with her Salamence.
Ash saw this, and heard the girl's please, so he decided to do something. "I'll be right back." He said, before he run toward where the six-wheeler drove off to down the road at the cliff.
Ash saw this, and seeing that it would be pointless to run after the vehicle, he decided to run down the hill, and try and intercept the vehicle.
The run down the hill wasn't easy, as it was very steep, but Ash being who he is, didn't have much of a problem. He certainly didn't fall and roll down the hill. He would never be able to live with it, if it did happen.
Ash managed to get down the hill, and in front of the vehicle. He then took a Poke Ball from his Poke Belt, and decided to do this by using Pokémon, instead of his own powers. He simply didn't wish to attract attention to himself, more then he already does by being who he is.
"Shinx, use Thunder!" Ash yelled out.
Shinx came out of his Poke Ball, and immediately his body was surrounded by electricity, and then he fired a rather powerful yellow beam of electricity at the incoming armored vehicle.
The attack hit the vehicle, but it did nothing, as the thing just continued to go down the road toward Ash, and his Shinx.
Ash's eyes rose in surprise at the fact that an attack like Thunder, didn't do a thing on the vehicle. Even with the Thunder being fired by the first stage Pokémon like Shinx, it should have at least left some mark, but nothing. It told Ash that the vehicle has very tough exterior, and won't be broken by just about any attack. It needs something with a bit more power.
The vehicle sped pass Ash, and then stopped. Then, Ash heard a voice from behind him. "That was an impressive Thunder, for such a small Pokémon."
Ash looked and saw the kidnapper, riding at the back of her Salamence, while next to her, also at Salamence's back, was her Ariados.
"Who are you," Ash asked? "And what are you trying to pull by kidnapping that Gardevoir?"
"That, is my job," the woman said while looking at Ash. "I catch Pokémon, no matter if they are wild, or belong to someone, and then I sell them. It's that simple."
"Is that so?" Ash questioned while narrowing his eyebrows at the woman. "And what stopes me from throwing your ass in prison?"
"You can try," the woman said with a smile on her face. "But you will find it very hard, Ash Ketchum."
"So you know who I am." Ash asked.
"I do," she said. "You had some run-ins with some people who worked… with me…"
Ash thought about her words for a moment, before it finally dawned at him. "You're with the Shadow Legion?" It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"I am." She replied, before she pulled another Poke Ball, and released another of her Pokémon. "Unlike the ones you've met before, I'm on a considerably higher level than any of them."
Out of her Poke Ball, came out a Drapion.
"I'm very interested in seeing your Shinx's other moves," she said. "Maybe I'll even catch it if it shows promise. It should fetch quite a prize."
Ash saw red at that, and sent out his own Pokémon. "Come one out, Type: Null."
The woman saw a strange Pokémon, and her eyes widened. "I have never see such a Pokémon," she said. "What is it?"
"You don't need to know that." Ash said, his voice deeper than normal, and almost demonic sounding. It drew the woman's attention away from the Type: Null, and at Ash. Her eyes widened momentarily, when she saw Ash's eyes have turned into two black holes.
"Shit." She cursed as she saw this, and knew that she was in trouble. "Salamence, Hyper Beam! Ariados, String Shot! Drapion, Poison Sting!" She said hoping to do damage to Ash and his Pokémon, before he gets to her.
The three attacks headed at Ash, and his Pokémon, but they didn't move to dodge. Instead… "Type: Null, use Air Slash." Ash commanded.
Type: Null formed a light-blue ball of energy in front of his head. He then fired multiple light-blue blades of energy from the ball, and targeted all the attacks coming at him and his trainer.
The multiple Air Slash's hit the incoming Hyper Beam, String Shot, and Poison Sting, and cut them all in multiple pieces, which canceled the attacks all at once.
The slashes never reached the woman, or her Pokémon, but they did stop her attacks.
The woman cursed when she saw this, and knew that she has to get out of there. So, she had all three of her Pokémon attack Ash and his Pokémon, though this time, it was more so that she can cause a distraction, so she can escape, then to actually deal any damage to Ash.
The three attacks sent at Ash and Type: Null were countered by Type: Null, but it caused a big explosion which caused a cloud of dust to be created between Ash and his Pokémon, and the woman and her Pokémon.
By the time the cloud disappeared, the woman was gone, and Ash was left standing there looking even angrier.
"Ash!" Lillie called as she, Dawn, and the girl whose Gardevoir was stolen, were running down the road toward Ash. "What happened?
Ash didn't say anything, and just stood there with his Type: Null in front of him. Ash's eyes were still black, and he had an angry expression on his face.
The three girls saw this, but among them, only Lillie knew what's going on. "Ah, shit," she cussed when she saw how Ash's eyes were. "This is bad."
"What's going on," the pink haired girl asked? She saw the look on Ash's face, and his eyes, and was quite scared, as she has never seen another human look like that.
"Ash is very angry," Lillie said. "No, scratch that, when his eyes are like that, he's beyond angry. He's pissed. We need to get out of here."
"He isn't going to attack us, is he," Dawn asked, now also scared of Ash.
"He won't attack us on purpose," Lillie said. "But he might cause destruction, and if we are caught in it, we will not get out of it without any injuries."
"How is he going to calm down?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know," Lillie admitted. "The only time I saw him like this, he calmed down after the reason for his anger was taken care off."
Suddenly, Ash returned his Pokémon back in his Poke Ball, and without saying a work, he turned around, and walked down the road toward where the vehicle with Gardevoir went to.
"Where is he going?" The pink haired girl asked.
"He's going after the kidnappers," Lillie said. "We should also go, though we should stay at the safe distance from Ash. As I said, he won't hurt us intentionally, but if we are caught in the crossfire, we might get injured."
XXX
As Ash walked down the road toward where the vehicle went toward, in the distance he was able to see a flying ship rise into the sky. The ship was very large, dark gray in color. It definitely looked big enough to be the center of operation of Pokémon Hunting organization like the Shadow Legion.
Ash was far from the ship, so he couldn't run to it, and get on board. What he could do, is Teleport there. It was one of the things he was able to do as a high-level psychic.
One moment Ash was on the road, several dozen meters from the ship, the next, he was gone.
From behind Ash, Lillie, Dawn and pink haired girl saw Ash disappear, and wondered what happened and where he's gone off to. They also saw the ship rise into the sky, and then it simply turned invisible, and disappeared.
While the three girls were standing on the road, from behind them, Officer Jenny appeared riding on her motor bike. Next to her was her Pokémon partner, Arcanine.
"Officer Jenny," Lillie spoke when she saw the police woman. "Have you been following that woman too?"
"Yes," Officer Jenny said. "When I heard she was here, I came as soon as I could, but I was late," then her eyes widened, as she asked. "She didn't get any of your Pokémon, did she?"
"She took my Gardevoir." The pink haired girl said with a sad voice and look on her face.
"Not only that, but our friend just disappeared as he went after her." Dawn said.
"How did he disappear?" Officer Jenny asked in shock.
"We don't know," Dawn said. "One moment he was here, while the ship was flying into the sky, and the next, he was gone. It's like he Teleported."
"Did he have some Psychic Pokémon with him which can do that?" Officer Jenny asked.
"No," Lillie said. "But Ash is a Psychic himself, and an Aura Guardian, so it might be possible that he himself just Teleported somewhere, most likely to the ship."
"Can he really do that?" Officer Jenny asked, while Dawn, and the pink haired girl looked at Lillie with shocked looks on their faces.
"Well, I've never seen him Teleport before," Lillie admitted. "But I have seen him do many other things, which should be just as impossible, so I can't say that it's impossible for him to be able to teleport himself."
Officer Jenny was surprised by what Lillie said, but she has seen some weird stuff in her life, so she can accept the possibility that humans can learn to teleport if they are psychics.
"Who is that woman, anyway?" Lillie asked.
"Her name is, J," the Officer Jenny said. "She's got a fierce reputation as a Pokémon hunter."
"What's a Pokémon hunter?" Dawn asked.
"The worse you can get," Officer Jenny said. "They catch Pokémon, so that they can then sell them."
"You mean for money." Dawn questioned in disbelief.
"Yes," Officer Jenny confirmed. "They can be hired ahead of time to capture a certain Pokémon. Or, if they think they've found a Pokémon of exceptional value, they'll catch it anyway. She also has her own special method for stealing Pokémon as well.
"She's ruthless." Jenny said about J.
"That's horrible." Lillie said with anger in her voice, and on her face.
"She's the worst." Dawn added.
"Do we know where she went?" Lillie asked.
"Not so far," Jenny said. "J's identity is a mystery. All we know is that after she steals a Pokémon, she makes an escape in that huge flying ship you saw earlier."
"There is no way we can chase after something like that." Dawn said.
"Maybe we can't chase after her," Lillie spoke, "but Ash already did, so all we have to do is wait for him to come back."
"Will he come back, though," the pink haired girl asked, drawing the attention upon herself? "I understand you have a lot of faith in your friend, but I can't just sit back and wait for someone I never even met before, to come and bring my Pokémon back to me."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Lillie asked.
"We may not be able to follow after that ship," the girl spoke. "But if we can predict her next move, or a place where she will go next, then maybe we can go there."
"And how do we do that?" Jenny asked.
"I have a Pokémon which might give us a hand." The girl spoke, as she released another of her Pokémon. It turned out to be a Kirlia.
"Kirlia is a psychic type Pokémon," the girls spoke again. "She might be able to use her ability to predict where 'J' might go next, thus allowing us to go there and catch her."
She took the wanted poster with 'J' on it, and she showed it to Kirlia. "This is the person who took Gardevoir," she said to Kirlia. "We need to know where she will go to hunt Pokémon next."
Kirlia nodded, before it closed its eyes, and moved its hands close to each other right in front of its body. Then, the horns on Kirlia's body started to glow with multicolored light, as it focused on its job.
Suddenly, all the woman and the girls were able to see pictures in their head.
"What's that?" Dawn asked.
"Those are the images a future Kirlia is sending telepathically." The pink haired girl said.
"There's 'J'," Dawn said.
"That must be where she is going next." Lillie said.
The images stopped suddenly, and the pink haired girl gasped, as she moved forward to catch her Kirlia before the Pokémon could fall to the ground in exhaustion.
"Are you OK, Kirlia?" She asked wordily.
Kirlia smiled slightly, indicating that she will be fine.
"Officer Jenny," Lillie spoke. "Do you know where that place we just saw is?"
"I do," Officer Jenny said. "There is a small hut and water wheel right at the forest edge."
"Then we need to get there right now." Lillie said.
"With pleasure," Officer Jenny said. "Then she'll get what she deserves."
Officer Jenny used her walkie-talkie on her motor bike to call back the station and tell the other officers that she knows where 'J' will be heading next, and that the whole place will have to be completely surrounded.
XXX
Eventually, Jenny and the other girls were able to get to where 'J' was headed, but they were late to set up an ambush, as 'J' was already there, and was able to capture an Absol.
They tried to stop her, and arrest her, but were unable to and 'J' has managed to get away again.
"Damn it," Lillie swore! "She managed to get away again!"
"What are we going to do now?" Dawn asked.
"What's your name?" Officer Jenny asked the pink-haired girl.
"It's Melody." The girl introduced herself.
"Melody, can your Kirlia try and find 'J' again?" Officer Jenny asked.
"I don't know," Melody said. "She's tired from the first time."
"Would it even matter if we know where she's going?" Lillie asked. "She's still ahead of us, and we'll not be able to catch her."
"Then what do we do?" Melody asked. She was very worried about her Gardevoir.
"We wait for Ash," Lillie said with a serious look on her face. "He will come back, and I'm sure that he will free your Gardevoir, and all the other Pokémon captured by 'j".
Officer Jenny and Melody looked at each other, and sighed. There is nothing they can do except hope that Lillie is right, and that Ash will come through for them.
XXX
Ash teleported at 'J's flying ship, and found himself in a room where there are a lot of vehicles, like the one which drove off with Gardevoir.
Ash looked around with his red eyes with black circles, and saw the door. He went to the door, opened it, and looked at the long corridor in front of him.
Once he left the room and started to walk down the corridor, Ash though of how he lost himself back when he found out that 'J' is a member of the Shadow Legion, and thus she managed to escape from him.
Ash has found out sometime ago few things about his anger. He found out that when he is angry, he is practically unbeatable, even if he himself fights or uses his Pokémon. The downside is that there is a possibility to escape from him when he's angry.
When he's calm though, he can be defeated in a Pokémon battle, but no one can escape from him, unless they use a distraction, like how he never noticed where that Pokémon he fought in the Oreburgh City, went to, or who took it.
When he met 'J', he got angry, and she managed to escape from him. Now though, he is calm… relatively, and as such, he can't allow himself to get angry again, if he wants to catch 'J'.
He walked across the corridor, looking around at the different doors, and sensing what's behind each door. He can't sense everything, but he can sense if a human, or Pokémon is behind some door.
In his current state of mind, he decided that drawing too much attention upon himself might not be a good idea, and he might get angry again, so instead of just barging in every room in which he sensed humans, he decided to leave them, and only check out the room in which he feels Pokémon, or 'J', as he was able to remember the way she feels, so he can track her down when they are close enough to each other.
After some time of walking through the flying ship, and dodging everyone he felt was coming near him, Ash finally found a room where he was able to feel some Pokémon, though the way they felt was different. They neither felt alive, nor dead.
It immediately dawned on Ash that this is probably the room where the woman is keeping all the Pokémon which she has turned to stone. As such, he decided to enter the room, and find a way to free all those Pokémon.
Ash opened the door, and entered inside of the large room, filled with different machine, equipment, and at one side of the room, a whole slew of Pokémon turned into stone, and placed inside of the containers.
Ash looked at all the Pokémon, and saw that there are over a dozen of them. They were all different types, and different sizes, but they were all turned in stone while having scared or shocked looks on their faces.
Ash barely stopped himself from exploding in rage, as that would be a really bad idea considering where he is at that moment. He managed to control his rage, and decided to free all those Pokémon.
"Don't worry, all of you," Ash spoke to the Pokémon, though he doubted they could hear him. Still, he said. "I will make sure that woman suffers, just like you all suffered." His eyes glowed for a moment, but nothing happened beyond that.
He looked at all the Pokémon, and noticed a Gardevoir among the group of Pokémon. He saw that it was the only one of its kind, so he assumed that it was the same Gardevoir he saw being taken earlier. Gardevoir is also the only Psychic Type Pokémon among all of them, and the only one which Ash knew that can use Teleport.
As such, Ash decided to free Gardevoir first, and then the others. He can then have Gardevoir use Teleport and take all the Pokémon away from the ship, and at a safe place.
Ash saw a small lever on the capsule in which Gardevoir is trapped, so he pulled it down. He smiled when he saw that as he was pulling the lever down, Gardevoir was being freed from the stone. Once she was completely freed form the stone, the capsule opened, and Gardevoir was able to breathe fresh air.
"I'm here to help you, so don't panic," Ash said to Gardevoir as soon as she was free. He wanted to avoid her trying to attack him if possible.
Gardevoir looked at Ash, and started at him for a few moments. She didn't know if she should believe him, but in the end she decided that she will trust him, but will still keep an eye on him, just in case.
"Good," Ash spoke. "Now, I'm going to free all these other Pokémon, and then I want you to Teleport yourself, and all of them back to that pink-haired girl you were with. I'm assuming she's your trainer."
Gardevoir nodded at that. She wondered how Ash knew her trainer, but she didn't dwell on it too much.
Ash went and freed all trapped Pokémon, one at the time, and each time, he told them to be quiet while he frees the others.
Once all the Pokémon were freed, he looked at Gardevoir, and nodded at her. She nodded back, and spoke to all the Pokémon. The next moment, they were all gone, as Gardevoir has used Teleport on herself and all of them.
With all the Pokémon gone, at least from this room, though Ash doubted that there are more in other rooms, Ash decided to go and deal with the main problem.
As he left the room, and walked through the corridor, Ash thought on how to deal with the woman. He could try and defeat her in a Pokémon battle, and then catch her. That seemed like a reasonable thing to do. Then again, he isn't always reasonable, and he had a lot of problems because of the Shadow Legion, and its members, thus he wants to make them suffer every time he comes across one. This woman, with everything she has been doing, it currently at the top of his shit list, and she will suffer. The only question is how.
There are many ways to make someone suffer. Usually it's done by targeting the families of those who you wish to suffer, but in this case, Ash can't do that, as he doesn't know if this woman even has family, or even someone she cares about. As of right now, all Ash can guess, is that she cares about herself, and the organization she was a part of. Besides, even if the woman has a family or someone she cares about, Ash wouldn't feel right to target them, unless they are the same type of people like 'J'.
He can't target the organization itself either, as he doesn't know where they are, though he can find out if he tries to read the woman's mind. It should be simple enough.
That leaves only one option. Do something to HER, which will make her suffer in some way.
Thinking about it some more, and Ash came to a realization. The Pokémon kidnapper is a woman. And what's the worst thing that can happen to a woman.
Ash smiled evilly as he made up his mind on what he is going to do.
XXX
Officer Jenny, and the other three girls stood at the hill near the hut with the water wheel, where they last saw 'J', before she made an escape after she took an Absol.
They've been standing there for about 10 minutes now, waiting to see what will happen, and if Ash will come through and free Melody's Gardevoir, and all the other Pokémon which were taken by 'J'.
Suddenly, a group of Pokémon appeared several meters away from the group of girls. Among the Pokémon were Gardevoir, and recently kidnapped Absol.
"GARDEVOIR!" Melody yelled as she run to her Pokémon, before she hugged her. The Psychic Type hugged her trainer back, while a small smile was on her face. "What happened? How did you come here?"
It's not like Melody would be able to understand word-for-word, but with Psychic Type Pokémon, they can communicate with their trainers to a certain degree.
"What happened?" Officer Jenny asked Melody.
"From what I gathered," Melody spoke. "It seems that Gardevoir teleported all these Pokémon from 'J's ship, to here. I'm not sure how she freed herself, though."
"Gardevoir," Lillie spoke. "Did you maybe see a tall guy, slightly younger then Melody, with black hair and red eyes with black circles in them?"
Gardevoir nodded at that.
"Did he free you and the others?" Lillie asked, and Gardevoir nodded again. Lillie and the other's smiled at that. "Where is he now?"
Gardevoir shock her head, but then looked up, and in the distance.
"So he's still on the ship?" Officer Jenny concluded, and Gardevoir nodded.
"Why didn't he come with you?" Dawn asked.
Gardevoir didn't say anything, which made the others understand that she didn't know.
"Why would he stay behind," Officer Jenny wondered? "If all the Pokémon were free, he could have come with them, or at least by himself, if he can Teleport."
"I think he stayed to take 'J' out," Lillie said. "As an Aura Guardian, it's his job to prevent stuff like what happened today to happen, and to have people like 'J' arrested."
"Do you think he can do it," Jenny asked.
"He can," Lillie said. "Will he… that's another question."
"Why wouldn't he if he can?" Dawn asked.
"Ash can be very vindictive at times," Lillie said. "Especially when he's angry. If 'J' angers him enough, he might actually hurt her, but not have her arrested. When he wants someone to pay for what they've done, he usually wants them to suffer more than the jail would make them suffer."
"What could he do to her?" Jenny asked, slightly unnerved by what Lillie is saying.
"A lot," Lillie said. "It would be better to ask what he CAN'T do to her."
Before anything more could be said, Ash suddenly appeared among the group of girls. He looked fine, and was all alone.
"Ash," Lillie and Dawn shouted as they hugged him! "What happened?" Dawn asked.
"I freed the Pokémon just like I planned, and then came back." Ash said with a straight face, though there was a slight smile on it. He liked that Lillie, and Dawn were so worried about him. It means that they do care. Of course, he already knew that, but still if feels great.
"What about 'J'," Officer Jenny asked? "What happened to her and her man?"
"They got away," Ash said. "After I freed the Pokémon they found me, and there was a battle. The side of the ship was broken by one of the attacks, and the ship started to go down, so I got out of there."
"C-could they all be dead?" Dawn asked.
"I don't think so," Ash shock his head. "That ship is pretty high-tech, so they could have patched it up, or simply separate the damaged part from the rest of the ship, and continue forward. I was able to see that they can do that if necessary, so it is a possibility."
"Dawn it," Jenny swore. "I really wanted to have 'J' arrested and throw in jail."
"So did I," Ash said. "Unfortunately, she got away this time. She won't be that lucky all the time, though. One day… she will fall."