The days after the gang left the Solaceon Town, and headed toward the Veilstone City, were mostly spent in training.
There was really nothing that interesting in the first part of the road toward the Veilstone City, thus, there was nothing better to do except train their Pokémon. Well, at least Lillie, and Ash trained their Pokémon.
Dawn was hit hard by her loss at the Solaceon Contest, and decided to take a break, not just from the contests, but also from training. She needed the break, and she thought that her Pokémon deserved some as well. So for a while, they will just travel around, and do nothing else.
There was one small break that all three made, though. It was when they came upon the Hot Spring Hotel. Down told Ash, and Lillie that it was owned by her friend, Leona, and her parents.
As such, since they were already there, and since Dawn hasn't seen her friend in a long time, they made a stop.
Dawn, and her friend Leona, were very happy to see each other after such a long time, while Ash and Lillie learned that the two girls went together at the kindergarten, and were friends since then.
The rest of that day was spent with the kids soaking in the hot spring, where they relaxed after a long journey they've been through ever since Lillie, and Ash came to Sinnoh, and since Dawn started her journey.
Since then, they've made many stops, and rested, but nothing beats a good soak in a hot spring.
The night was spent in Leona's hotel, before the next morning, Ash and Lillie, had a double battle against Dawn, and Leona.
The battle ended in a draw, but it did wonders for Dawn's confidence, which has suffered a great hit after two consecutive losses at the Pokémon Competitions.
After breakfast, the gang left the Hot Spring Hotel. They said goodbye to Leona and her parents, and after Leona said that they will meet again for sure, if she was lucky, maybe even at the Sinnoh League Tournament; the gang left.
XXX
When it comes to training, Ash continued to train his Turtwig to learn the Energy Ball. The small Grass Type Pokémon still wasn't making much progress, and Ash was starting to think that he should bring one of his old Grass Type Pokémon, which know the Energy Ball, so that they can help Turtwig.
Unlike Turtwig who hasn't made much progress with the Energy Ball; Buizel has done an amazing job with the Iron Tail, and has learned it enough to use it. Now, all that was left is to perfect it. After that, he can move on to the next move Ash wants him to learn.
As for his other Pokémon, Ash has decided to send some of his older Pokémon at Oak's Ranch, so they can take a rest for a while. What he means by older Pokémon, it's the Pokémon he caught in Alola, and those he has used so far since he arrived in Sinnoh, as there are a few others he caught in the Alola Region, which he hasn't used since he came to Sinnoh.
The Alola Pokémon which Ash sent to Oak's Ranch, and which were with him so far, are: Type: Null, Melmetal, Kommo-o, and Brionne. Litten and Naganadel were already at Oak's Ranch.
This has left Ash with Staravia, Shinx, Turtwig, Kirlia, Gardevoir, Floatzel, Chimchar, and Buizel. This has also left him with four empty spaces in his team, so he could have brought the four remaining Pokémon he had since Alola, but as all of them are in their final forms, Ash decided to leave them for now, and focus on the ones he has caught in Sinnoh. Thus, the whole work with Turtwig, and Buizel.
Besides those two, Ash also put a lot of time in training Kirlia, Chimchar, and Shinx. The three of them, on top of Buizel and Turtwig are the Pokémon which are still in their first forms, so Ash wants to teach them as much as possible in these forms, before they end up evolving.
Usually it consists of speed and stamina training, with the moves being learned at the end.
So far, Ash was satisfied with the progress his Pokémon have made in training their speed and stamina, and decided to help them with some moves. After that, he will see how to proceed with the training.
Now, Turtwig's training was a bit different.
Ash focuses on speed, and stamina training on all of his Pokémon, before he teaches them moves. In Turtwig's case, though, Ash focused only on stamina, and then moved to move training. He didn't train Turtwig's speed at all.
Unlike what other trainers do with their Turtwig where they increase their speed a lot, like Gardenia did, Ash knew that once Turtwig evolves into Grotle, he will become much bigger, and most importantly, bulkier. But when he becomes a Torterra, he will be so big, and bulky, that moving around would not be an option. Thus, training Turtwig to be fast is a waste of time, when all that speed will become useless when he evolves.
Ash knew this from the start, thus, he first went and asked Turtwig if he wants to evolve one day, and then explained to him why he's asking. Once Turtwig confirmed that he does want to evolve, Ash started to help him in training everything, EXCEPT the speed.
So far, the training with Turtwig and all of his Pokémon, was going great, but now there is a problem with Turtwig not getting it how to use the Energy Ball, thus Ash was thinking of getting help. He can help his Pokémon to learn moves by explaining them how they work, and what to do to perform them, but he will never be as good as another Pokémon. This is actually how Ash trained his new Pokémon at first. By using his older Pokémon to help them. He stopped doing that sometime while in Hoenn, but it seems that he will have to bring back the big guns to help Turtwig.
Luckily, Ash has a big gun which can do the job, and he won't be forced to bring out the REALLY big guns.
XXX
As our heroes continue toward the Veilstone City, they come across another City.
The City has a lot of trees, and even more tall building. Another thing special about the city, are the strong wind currents which flow between the tall buildings.
Right now, Ash, Lillie, and Dawn were in the small park in the City, where Lillie and Dawn are relaxing, while Ash is helping his Turtwig to learn Energy Ball.
Ash has brought one of his Pokémon which know how to use the attack, and that Pokémon has been helping Turtwig for the last few days.
As such, the progress has been made, but…
Turtwig formed the Energy Ball perfectly, and then fired it into the distance. The ball didn't disperse, which is a good thing. The ball didn't hit the target, though… which is a bad thing.
Turtwig has completely missed the target, which was a tree about a dozen meters from him. He didn't even miss it by a little, but by a lot, and that's problematic.
"Come on Turtwig, one more time!" Ash said to his Pokémon, who fired another Energy Ball, but this time, it flew all the way in the air, and above the tree. The one before, hit the ground in front of the tree.
To the side, a little away from where Ash and Turtwig were training, Lillie and Dawn were relaxing with their Pokémon, as they were having a lunch.
"The form looks right, but control and aim needs a little more work." Dawn commented.
"The control with come as Turtwig builds more and more experience." Lillie said.
They were all interrupted in what they were doing by a large number of Pokémon floating above them. One of the Pokémon looks similar, yet a bit different than the others, and it seems to be the leader. They were all floating there, looking at the gang menacingly.
Suddenly, the apparent leader dived toward where Lillie, and Dawn were with their Pokémon, before being followed by the other Pokémon.
The two girls and their Pokémon run away, leaving behind all of their food, which was quickly taken by the flock of flying Pokémon.
Ash told Turtwig to attack with the Energy Ball, but it missed again, and none of the flying Pokémon were hit. Then, Turtwig attacked with Razor Leaf, but all the Pokémon dodged them, so that was a fail as well.
"Everybody, return." Lillie, and Dawn returned their Pokémon back in their Poke Balls, where they would be safer from the attacking Pokémon.
"Are you two OK?" Ash asked the two girls as he approached them with his Turtwig.
"We are fine." Lillie said.
"Who are those Pokémon?" Dawn asked.
"Gliscor, and Gligar." Lillie said.
Dawn pulled out her Pokedex, and looked at their entry. "Gligar, the Fly-Scorpion Pokémon. It glides using the membrane attached to its arms and legs, and attacks the face of its prey with its claws.
"Gliscor, the Fang Scorp Pokémon, and the evolved form of Gligar. It watches its prey as it hangs from trees by its tail and attacks from above when it sees the chance."
Before anything else could be said, or done, an Ice Beam flew from somewhere, and toward Gliscor.
Gliscor dodged it, though, as it looked toward where the attack came. The gang did the same, only to see Paul standing there with his Weavile.
"Murkrow, use Haze!" Paul said as he released his Flying Type Pokémon.
Murkrow flew in the air, but before it could use its attack, Gliscor gave a cry, which created a powerful gust of wind to spread across the entire area.
Then, a large number of Gligar flew from in-between the buildings and dived toward Murkrow.
"Quick, Murkrow, dodge them!" Paul said.
Murkrow flew higher in the air, as it escaped from the attacks of all those Gligar.
With the strong winds around the area still blowing, Gliscor and Gligar used them to glide away from the park and back in between the tall buildings.
There was one Gligar left behind, though. The gang noticed it eating an apple on top of the tree.
It seems that Gligar suddenly noticed that the other Gligar, and Gliscor have left, and it was left behind. Gligar freaked out a little bit before it tried to fly away, but ended up falling on Ash.
Gligar opened its eyes, only to see Ash, holding it in his hands. It freaked out some more, as it noticed Turtwig, and Piplup glaring at it, while Lillie, and Dawn were just standing there.
Gligar ended up jumping in the air from Ash's hands, and flew away, leaving the others to look at it as it disappeared into the distance.
"What the hell was that all about?" Ash wondered to himself. He has seen a lot of things, but this was one of the weirder ones.
He turned around to look at Paul, who just ended up returning his Pokémon back to their Poke Ball.
"At least that Gliscor lives up to its reputation." Paul said with a smile on his face.
"So you are after a Gliscor now, aren't you?" Ash questioned the guy.
"Stay out of my way," Paul said. "Got it." He then turned around and left.
Ash sighed. "That guy is getting ruder by the day." He said.
The gang heard the tires of a car screeching over the road, before they looked toward it. They saw Officer Jenny, and Nurse Joy coming toward them.
"Are you folks all right?" Jenny asked as she and Joy approached in front of the group.
"We are fine," Dawn said. "Except I'm afraid that they got away with our lunch."
"They've done it again." Joy said with a sad look on her face.
"And we were late, once again." Jenny added.
"What's going on here?" Ash suddenly asked with narrowed eyes, as he looked at Jenny, and Joy.
The two woman looked at him, and blushed slightly, before they both shock their head, and sighed.
XXX
A little while later, the gang was in the Pokémon Center, which is really tall building in this particular City. As such, it perfectly blends in with the other buildings, and the only thing that notifies the people that this building is the Pokémon Center, are the two large orange colored letter P. One is above the entrance, and the other is near the top of the building.
On top of the building, there is a large area enclosed in glass. The inside of the area is like a park, with many trees, some large boulders, and several paths through which people can walk.
There are also a large number of Bug Type Pokémon who reside there, and there are some trees with fruits, so the food isn't an issue for all those Pokémon.
In total, it's one of the more beautiful places Ash and the girls have seen so far on their journey, and again Ash was getting some ideas which he can implement in the PPA, back in the Pallet Town.
Ash, Lillie, and Dawn were with Jenny and Joy at one of the upper floors of the Pokémon Center.
Joy was behind the counter, where she usually receives her patients. Ash was standing in front of the counter, while Lillie, and Dawn were seating by the desk on two chairs, while the third chair was taken by Piplup.
Jenny was standing in front of the large window overlooking the city.
"The Gliscor, and Gligar have turned our City into a Ghost Town," Jenny started to explain. "They've eaten up every bit of fruit and vegetables they could find. Now, they are grabbing food right out of our hands."
"But that line of Pokémon usually live in the forest, right," Lillie asked? "Why are they here?"
"We think that they've gotten lost." Jenny sighed.
"That's really weird." Ash couldn't help but say.
"Yes, but it's true," Joy spoke for the first time. "We had a storm one day. The wind was particularly fierce. It was so strong that Gliscor wasn't able to escape its force, so it ended up being trapped in our City.
"Gliscor did want to return to the forest, but the winds were too strong; and they still are."
"It's because of the skyscrapers, right," Lillie questioned, and got the nod from Jenny. "The skyscraper currents are too strong to fight."
"What's that?" Dawn asked, referring to the skyscraper currents.
"The taller the building is, the stronger the winds that swirl around it." Lillie explained to her younger friend.
"Because of that, Gliscor had no other choice but to stay here," Jenny said. "Before long, it attracted all the Gligar in the surrounding area."
"How did it do that?" Dawn asked.
"Gliscor and Gligar fire off the soundwaves in order to detect obstacles in their way, and fly around them," Ash explained. "Now, this isn't a problem in the forest, but in the City, soundwaves can become magnified and scattered, bouncing wildly of the buildings.
"The powerful soundwaves must have attracted the Gligar, all the way from the forests around the City."
"That's exactly what happened," Joy said. "We've tried to catch them many times, so that we can return them to the forest. They are very cautious, though, and we can't get a hold of them."
"Our latest, and current plan is to lure them all in using Gligar's favorite fruit as bait." Officer Jenny said.
"Do you think that would work?" Ash asked.
"It should," Jenny said. "Of course, we won't know unless we try. Besides, we don't have other options."
"Maybe we do," Ash said, getting interested looks from the others.
"How?" Jenny asked.
"That Gliscor is the leader, right," Ash asked, and Jenny nodded. "Well, then all we have to do is catch Gliscor, and then tell it to convince the others to gather at one spot. We can then use some vehicle, a truck for example, to load up all the Gligar, and then drive them out of the City, and into the forest."
Jenny, and Joy looked at each other, and though of Ash's proposition. Eventually, Jenny said. "That sounds like a plan, but… wouldn't our plan be better?"
"Maybe," Ash said. "But there is always a chance that something will go wrong when you have a bunch of Pokémon chase after a food.
"My plan might not work either, but I think that it's better than yours. On top of that, you won't have to sacrifice a large quantities of fruits."
"Ok, but who would catch a Gliscor?" Joy asked.
"Any of us could do it," Ash said. "There is also a guy who tried to catch Gliscor just before you showed up in the park earlier today. He failed, but if I know him well, and I do, he will not give up. The problem with him catching the Gliscor is that he will just leave afterwards. I doubt he would be willing to help us, by telling his Gliscor to gather the Gligar so we can transport them."
"He will if I order him." Jenny said with narrowed eyes.
Ash smirked. "Oh, I would love to see his face if that happens."
Jenny, and Joy gave Ash a curious looks. Ash saw this, and coughed in his hand. "Sorry, but I really don't like that guy."
The two looked at him for a few moments, before they nodded.
"So," Jenny asked. "What is the final plan?"
"We try my plan first," Ash said. "I want the two of you to stay here, though." When Jenny and Joy looked at him with questioning look, he told them what to do.
XXX
A group of people were running over the sidewalk through the City, while being chased by the Gliscor, and a group of about a dozen Gligar.
Suddenly, an Ice Beam was fired from somewhere, and went toward Gliscor, but it dodged. Unfortunately for its friends, they didn't dodge, and the dozen Gligar were hit by the Ice Type attack, and frozen in a block of ice.
The people run away, but not before they saw that it was purple haired kid with a Weavile who saved them.
"Weavile, Blizzard. NOW!" Paul shouted.
His Pokémon fired its attack at Gliscor, but Gliscor countered the Blizzard with Sandstorm, blowing it all away, and hitting Paul, and Weavile at the same time. Not only that, but the Sandstorm melted down the ice block in which the Gligar were trapped, freeing them all.
Gliscor turned around, and flew away in between the buildings, while all but one Gligar immediately followed after it. The only Gligar left, was the same one which fell on Ash earlier that day. It just stood there, and watched as Paul, and Weavile run past it, and into the alleyway where Gliscor flew off to.
"Gligar, are you OK?" Ash asked as he, Lillie, and Dawn run toward it.
Gligar made a face with its tongue out. They all assumed that it was fine.
"I can't believe it's the same one from before," Dawn commented.
"Yeah," Ash said. "Nice to see you again, Gligar, but… where are the others?"
A gust of wind blew over, and Gligar took flight into the alleyway. The gang followed right after it.
They all came to the sight of Paul lying beneath his Electabuzz, and Weavile. The sight was so funny, that the only thing keeping Ash from laughing at Paul's face, was the he needs to take Gliscor, and Gligar out of the City, before they cause more damage than they already did.
"Gliscor, listen to me," Ash spoke to Gliscor! "We want to help you, and all Gligar get back to the forest!"
Gliscor stared at Ash, but did nothing. "Come with us, and we will take all of you to the forest, where you can be free, and have all the food you need."
Before anything else could be said or done, and Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt flew above Ash, and the girls, and hit Gliscor.
Gliscor yelled in pain, before it fell to the ground.
The gang turned around just in time to see Paul with his two Pokémon. He threw an empty Poke Ball, which hit Gliscor, and sucked it inside. Few moments later, the ball pinged, meaning that Paul has caught a Gliscor.
Paul picked up the Poke Ball, and then scanned the Gliscor inside with his Pokedex. He was somewhat pleased with the results. "This Gliscor may be useful to me." He said.
Ash looked at Paul with narrowed eyes before he asked. "What are you going to do now?"
"I've had enough of this town," Paul said. "I'm out of her."
He was attacked by the Gligar, but before the ground/flying Pokémon could get to him, it was hit by Electabuzz' Thunder Punch.
"Are you just going to leave all these Gligar here?" Ash asked Paul, as he was helping the injured Gligar to get up.
"They are not my problem." Paul said, before he turned around, and walked away.
"I really hate that guy." Ash said with a low tone of voice, which put Lillie, and Dawn on edge. The two girls really hoped that Ash won't do anything to Paul.
As soon as Paul left, all the Gligar started to fly around, as if lost. The truth is, they kind of are, as without Gliscor to lead them, they don't know what to do.
Some of the Gligar flew away, while few others stayed behind. One of the ones who stayed behind was the same one Ash, and the gang had encountered before. That Gligar flew off to the others, told them something, and then they all flew after it.
"They are all heading toward the Pokémon Center." Lillie said. "What luck."
"I guess my original plan is gone," Ash said with a sigh. "Let's hope that the Plan B will work."
XXX
Back at the top of the Pokémon Center, the glass roof opened up, revealing a whole flock of Bug, and Flying Type Pokémon.
Nurse Joy, and Officer Jenny were there, and were watching as the Gligar were all approaching them.
Once all the Gligar came to the top of the Pokémon Center, and grabbed the trees, Nurse Joy shouted. "Quick everyone! Use Gust!"
The Flying and Bug Type Pokémon started flapping their wings, creating a very large gust of wind which hit all the Gligar, and lifted them off of the trees, and into the air.
Soon, they were all high above the buildings, and on their way toward the forest outside of the City.
At that moment, Ash, teleported himself, Lilly, Dawn and Piplup to the top of the Pokémon Center, and saw the Gligar being carried away toward the forest.
"I guess Plan B worked." Lillie said.
"It worked like a charm." Officer Jenny said.
"Soon, they will all be back home." Joy added.
"Let's hope so," Ash said, before he looked toward one of the trees, and saw a very familiar Gligar eating some apples.
"Our friend is still here." Dawn said, as she also saw the one remaining Gligar.
Ash went closer to Gligar, and looked at it.
The Pokémon looked at Ash, and soon the two were looking at each other's eyes, with Gligar still having an apple in its mouth.
"Do you want to come with me?" Ash asked Gligar.
Gligar looked at Ash, swallowed the apple, before it smiled, as it stuck its tongue at Ash.
Ash smiled at this, before he took one empty Poke Ball, and tapped Gligar on the head. Gligar was sucked inside, and a second later, the ball pinged.
Ash picked the Poke Ball, and smiled at it.
"Congratulations, Ash." Lillie said with a smile on her face.
"Thanks', Lillie." Ash said with a smile of his own.
In the forest outside of the City where Ash, Lillie, and Dawn have just been and left; a girl of around 14 years of age was standing and looking at the destruction.
Next to her stood her Leafeon, and Walrein.
The girl is none other than Athena. A member of the Shadow Legion, one of its numbered agents at that; but also a girl who became good friends with Ash, Lillie and Dawn when they met in the Eterna Forest, and traveled together for a few days.
Athena looked around and sighed.
She has secretly been following Ash even since they split in Eterna Forest. Of course, she wasn't always following him, and has been doing other stuff, but majority of her time is spent following the group at the safe distance so that Ash won't notice her.
She knew that Ash knows that she's a member of the Shadow Legion. She knew it from the first time they've met, as she has felt it when Ash red her mind. As such, he knows that she's with the organization. Beyond that, he doesn't know anything, as he would have to get deeper into her mind to find out more.
Because of that, Ash doesn't know that she's been following him, though she is sure that he at least suspects.
Athena was really surprised when Ash found out that she's with the organization, yet he did nothing. He didn't even look like he knows. She was really interested to find out why; especially considering what he's known to do to the members of the Shadow Legion. I mean, just look at the horrors he has done to Hunter J.
Yes, Athena knows what Ash has done to J. She hasn't seen it personally the first time, but she has heard of it. The second time though, she was there during Ash's confrontation with J, as well as the battle Ash had with those three man. She didn't know who they were, but she has informed the boss about them, as they are dangerous.
She has seen the first battle, when Ash has singlehandedly whooped their asses, and all of their Pokémon; at least the Pokémon they've used. But the problem was what happened afterwards. What that man has done. The attack her has used against Ash, has scared the hell out of Athena.
For a few moments, she actually wondered if that monster has managed to kill Ash. During those few minutes, she didn't know how to feel. On one hand, Ash's death would be good for the organization. On the other hand, she has met the guy, and unless you get on his bad side, he is actually a really nice guy. Not to mention he's hot.
Athena blushed as she thought of Ash in that way. She wondered if she can get to him some day. It shouldn't be that hard, right. The guy is a known man-whore, and she is a young and extremely beautiful girl that any guy in the world would want to have sex with her. So why would Ash be any different.
When Athena heard Ash laughing after the attack, and then saw how he looked like… she nearly had a heart attack at the tender age of 14, near 15.
The amount of injuries which Ash had were unbelievable. It was even more unbelievable that he was still standing, and LAUGHING, while making fun of the guy who used his life force to take out Ash, and yet failed.
At that moment, Athena was scared of Ash more than anyone. She knew that Ash was dangerous, but what happened at that moment, told Athena that Ash is a much bigger threat than anyone in the organization thought. He might actually be strong enough to take out Freya, and her powers are inhuman.
Athena has continued to follow Ash since that day, and has seen what happened few hours earlier when Ash, Lillie and Dawn have helped Officer Jenny, and Nurse Joy save the City from the flock of Gligar.
They have left the City soon after, and Athena has decided to do some catching for the organization. She usually wouldn't do it, as it's not her job, but this was a perfect chance, and she will use it.
As such, Athena went into the same forest where all those Gligar live, and battled against all of them.
The thing is… it may have gotten out of hand, as the Gligar have put a good fight, and there was a lot of them. Thus, the great patch of the forest has been destroyed by Athena's Pokémon.
The good thing is that, she has defeated all the Gligar, and now has them captured inside the Poke Balls. All that is left is to send them to the HQ.
That is a bit problematic, though. She can't just sent all those Pokémon without a machine which does that, and unfortunately, the organization has no such machine. That means that all Pokémon specifically caught for the organization, have to be personally taken to the HQ.
Athena has no intention of going all the way there now, as she has a job to do here in Sinnoh, as such, she has to find someone who can. Luckily, she knows someone who has arrived in the Sinnoh Region just few days ago.
XXX
Somewhere in the Sinnoh Region, a man, and a woman were driving a car over the road toward their destination… whatever that might be.
The woman is very beautiful, and looks to be around 30 years of age. She wears white crop top with drawstrings at the chest area. Black jacket and blue short shorts. She has wavy blonde hair, which flows down at the left side of her head.
This is Cassidy, the former member of Team Rocket, and now a member of the Shadow Legion.
Her partner is Butch, just like when they were in the Team Rocket. Butch's hairstyle is the same as back then, though he looks older then he used to be. He wears brown pants, and white shirt, along with light brown cap, and a light brown tie.
(This will be their default look during Sinnoh)
As Butch was driving the car, the cellular started to ring, drawing their attention. Cassidy picked it up, and answered the call as soon as she saw who it was.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise," Cassidy spoke. "I never thought that I will be getting a call from you, #8."
"Yeah, well, I have something for you to do for me." Athena spoke from the other end of the line.
"And what's that?" Cassidy asked.
"Where are you right now?" Athena asked.
"I'm with Biff outside of some small desert close to some City with tall buildings," Cassidy said, ignoring Butch saying his name is Butch, and not Biff. "I don't know the name of the City, though."
"That's the road between Solaceon Town, and Veilstone City, right?" Athena asked.
"That's right." Cassidy confirmed.
"I'm just outside of the City you mentioned earlier," Athena said. "Meet me in the forest on the north side of the City."
"May I ask, why?" Cassidy asked.
"I've got some Pokémon for you to take to the HQ," Athena said. "I've caught them, but I can't go back there now. I've got other stuff to do."
"Ok," Cassidy said. "We were going to go to the HQ with the Pokémon we caught anyway, so we can take yours as well."
"What did you catch?" Athena asked.
Cassidy smiled. "We just caught about a dozen Hippopotas, and half a dozen Hippowdon."
"That's a nice catch," Athena praised them. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." Cassidy said with a proud smile on her face.
XXX
It's been a day since Ash, Lillie and Dawn left the City with the tall buildings, and since Ash caught his new Pokémon, Gligar.
The path toward the Veilstone City for the past day was going through the forest mostly, but now, the gang has arrived in front of the part of the road which goes through one of the few patches of desert which the Sinnoh Region has.
As they were walking over the desert, Ash got a feeling that something is not right. He felt a feeling of pain coming from somewhere, though the pain isn't just physical, but emotional as well.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Lillie asked as she saw that something has drawn Ash's attention.
"I don't know," He said. "But I feel that someone needs help."
"Where?" Dawn asked, as she looked around. "We are in the desert. There is nothing here."
"Maybe there aren't humans here," Ash said as he looked around, and tried to sense where the feeling was coming from. "But there are definitely some Pokémon here."
It took Ash a few more moments, but he was finally able to sense where the feeling of pain and helplessness was coming from, so he run toward it.
About a minute of running later, Ash came to a part of the desert when the feeling was coming from, yet; he couldn't see anything.
Then, he felt it below him, under the sand.
Ash placed his palm on the sand, and sent a pulse of Aura. The pulse blasted the sand beneath his palm, and made a crater several feet deep, and few meters wide. Inside of the hole, Ash saw where the feeling was coming from.
It was a Hippopotas. And a very familiar one at that… at least familiar to Ash, as the others can't tell the difference between Pokémon unless they know them very well.
"Hippopotas." Ash called to the small ground type Pokémon, who opened his eyes when he heard the voice, and looked up.
Hippopotas saw Ash, and instantly recognized him as the trainer who saved him some time ago, and brought him back to his home and his friends.
Ash picked Hippopotas in his hands, and looked him over. The Pokémon was injured. There are bruises, and small gashes all over his body, but most importantly, Ash can see, and feel the sadness, and helplessness rolling off of the Ground Type Pokémon.
"Hippopotas, what happened?" Ash asked the Pokémon, while looking at him with narrowed eyes.
Hippopotas gave a small cry, before he explained to Ash what happened. He knew that Ash can understand him because of the first time they met, so he told him everything.
Once Hippopotas finished, he heard Ash growl, before he noticed that Ash's eyes were glowing in rage. This scared Hippopotas, who flinched.
Ash noticed that Hippopotas was scared of his reaction, so he calmed down. At least he looked calm on the outside, so the Pokémon won't get scared. On the inside, he was raging.
Ash stood back up, with Hippopotas in his arms, and got out of the crater. He looked at Lillie and Dawn, and then spoke before either could ask him anything.
"This place here is where a large number of Hippopotas, and their evolved forms, Hippowdon live," Ash started to explain. "Just yesterday, they were all attacked by some people who were able to catch all of them, except our little friend here, who hid himself under the sand, and evaded the capture.
"He did battle at first with his friends, and that's how he was injured. Once he realized that there was nothing they can do to stop the enemy, he hid, and has been hiding ever since."
"That's so sad," Lillie said, as she patted the small Pokémon in Ash's arms. "Is this the Hippopotas from the last time?'
"It is." Ash confirmed.
"What are we going to do now?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know," Ash said. "We can't go after the poachers, as they've been here yesterday, and by now they could be anywhere. All that comes to mind is to report this, and hope that the Police will be able to do something. The problem is that we don't even know who the poachers were, or how they look like… well, not exactly, as Hippopotas said that it was two of them, and it was a guy with green hair, and a woman with blonde. That's not a lot though, and it could be anybody."
Lillie sighed. "I think that we should first treat Hippopotas's injuries," she said. "Then we should find the Pokémon Center so that Nurse Joy can take a better look at him."
"Where is the closest Pokémon Center?" Dawn asked.
Ash pulled out his Pokedex, and looked at it. He has a navigation app, which shows him different locations all over the region he wants to see, and how to get to them from where he is.
"The closest Pokémon Center is in the Veilstone City." Ash said with a sigh. "It's three days from here. There is the one we've been in yesterday, so we can go back there. I can teleport us there, and back here."
"I'm fine whichever way," Dawn said, and Lillie agreed. "Though it all depends on Hippopotas's state. If he's not too injured, then we can take him to the Veilstone Pokémon Center, and not go back."
"That can be done," Ash said, as he looked at the Hippopotas, who looked up at Ash. "But that would mean that I would have to catch him in the Poke Ball. There is no way we can carry him for three days, especially with the injuries. He would be safe in the Poke Ball."
"The question is…" Lillie spoke. "Does Hippopotas want to be captured by you?"
Ash looked at the Pokémon in his hands, and said. "Well, it's up to you, Hippopotas."
The Ground Type didn't have to think of it even for a second. He was all alone, as his friends were captured. On top of that, he likes Ash who has helped him before, and is helping him again. So, he will come with him.
Hippopotas spoke his decision, and Ash smiled. "I'm happy that you want to come with me, Hippopotas," Ash said, before he placed the Pokémon on the sand, and then went and pulled some medicine, and sprays from his backpack.
For the next half an hour, Ash took care of Hippopotas's injuries, and once he did as much as he could, he took an empty Poke Ball, and tapped it on Hippopotas's head. The Pokémon was sucked inside, and was caught instantly.
With that taken care of, the gang continued their journey, all the while Ash was thinking on who could be the people who have caught all those Hippopotas, and Hippowdon, and if they might be members of the Shadow Legion.
XXX
Three days later, the gang have finally reached the Veilstone City, after what felt like forever.
The first thing they did was head to the Pokémon Center so that Ash can have Hippopotas checked by the Nurse Joy. They also booked a room for them to sleep in while in the City, as they assumed they will stay for at least one night.
With that taken care of, and with Hippopotas safe in Nurse Joy's hands; Ash, Lillie, and Dawn left the Pokémon Center and went to look around the City, and to find the gym so that Lillie, and Ash can see when they can have their battles.
One stop they did make in the City was in a police station, where Ash reported what happened in the desert. He explained what he knew, and what Hippopotas told him. He had to reveal that he's an Aura Guardian, though, as they wouldn't believe him that he can understand Pokémon.
When that was taken care of, Ash, Lillie, and Dawn left the police station, and continued to do some sightseeing around the City.
During the first day in the Veilstone City, Ash, Lillie, and Dawn got to meet Paul's brother, Reggie, and learn that he was a Pokémon Trainer, but is now a Pokémon Breeder.
They also met the Veilstone Gym Leader Maylene, and her partner Lucario.
Ash was impressed with Maylene as he saw her fighting against her Lucario, which is something he used to do back when he was younger. He was less impressed though when he learned that Maylene has lost against Paul. It's not the fact that she lost that bothered him. The problem is that she allowed Paul's insults to get to her, and now she doesn't even want to be a gym leader any longer. Even her Lucario pushing her didn't help. She has just given up.
This didn't seat well with Ash, but he didn't want to insult her, or yell at her. He has met Paul, and knows that he's one of the most arrogant and hard to handle people he has ever met in his life. He even said that to Reggie's face, and the older man couldn't say anything to his brother's defense, as he knew that Ash was right.
Surprisingly, it was Dawn who decided to speak with Maylene. She told her about her losses in the Pokémon Competitions, and how she thought of giving up. Luckily, she was traveling with people who wouldn't want her to give up, and would be severely disappointed in her if she did. Not to mention that, even though she has lost twice in a raw, she still has s dream of one day becoming the Champion Level Trainer, and a Top Coordinator.
In the end, Dawn challenged Maylene to a Gym battle, much to the older girls shock.
Before Dawn, and Maylene had a gym battle, Ash was challenged by Reggie to a battle. Ash accepted, and it was agreed that they will have three one-on-one battles, with the winner being the first to get to two wins.
In the first round, Ash used Turtwig, and battled against Reggie's Bibarel.
By then, Turtwig has already learned Energy Ball, after a lot of hard work, and weeks of training. In the end, Turtwig won the round, and proved that he was getting stronger; while Reggie proved that he was a good trainer.
In the second round, Reggie used Swalot, and defeated Ash's Staravia. This round has proved to Ash that he will have to put more time in Staravia's training, as lately, he has neglected her in favor of Turtwig, Buizel, and to an extent Chimchar. Shinx was also neglected, and as such, Ash will focus more on the two of them in the future.
The third round gave Ash an idea on the first move he was going to have his Staravia learn.
The third round was between Reggie's Staraptor, and Ash's Kirlia. During the battle, Reggie has revealed that his Staraptor can use Brave Bird, and since it's the move which Staravia can learn, Ash decided that it will be the first new move he will teach to her.
The round ended with Ash's win. His Kirlia has been with him for a while now, and is very strong. The only reason he didn't evolve yet is because he wants to evolve into a Gallade, and for that he needs a Dawn Stone.
Ash has a Dawn Stone, and after the battle where Kirlia defeated Staraptor, he told his Kirlia about it, and also said that when he decides he wants to evolve, Ash will give him the stone.
Watching the battle between Ash, and Reggie, made Maylene regain some of her battle instincts, and desire to battle as a gym leader. As such, she has accepted to battle against Dawn, and see how it will go.
It was decided that the battle between Dawn, and Maylene will be the next day. So, for the remaining of that day, Dawn did some training with her Pokémon, and Lillie helped her.
As for Ash, he focused to teaching his Staravia the Brave Bird. As Reggie's Staraptor already knew it, Reggie decided to help Ash's Staravia, even though Ash could have done it himself as some of his Flying Type Pokémon already knew the move.
Ash trained his Staravia to learn Brave Bird for the rest of that day, and the morning of the next.
Dawn's battle against Maylene was at noon, so Ash had time for training. By the time the match between the two girls was ready to start, Ash was seating with Lillie, and Reggie at the bleachers in the Veilstone Gym.
The battle lasted for a while, and in the end, Maylene won. Still, as this was Dawn's first gym battle, and against a gym leader who isn't even the weakest in the Sinnoh Region, is can be said that she did a nice job, even though she lost three of her Pokémon, while only defeating one of Maylene's.
By the time the battle has ended, Maylene was back at her old self, and Paul's insults were put at the back of her mind, but not forgotten. She will never forget them, and will use those memories to improve and show the arrogant asshole that she is a great trainer.
With Maylene back to her old self, and ready to continue as a gym leader, it was time for Ash's and Lillie's battles. But, as Dawn has had a battle against Maylene that day, it was decided that Lillie, and Ash will have their battles the next day.