On a night five days before the festival, when Marill reunited with Ninjask, the chaos that once overtook the town had finally disappeared, and everything was back to normal. But that didn't mean our hero's adventure was over.
Halley was lying on his bed wide awake, staring at the ceiling. He was dwelling on something important to him, enough to impede him from falling asleep.
"Halley, it's midnight." His Rotom Phone warned. "You gotta go to sleep now."
"How do I use Mega Drain differently...?" Halley wondered.
"Hey, you can think about that tomorrow, you know?"
"Don't say that, Rotom. It's always nighttime that I come up with the biggest brain ideas."
"Well then..." The Rotom Phone sighed. "Do you know how an 'Aha moment' works?"
"Aha moment?"
"Basically, you sometimes get a solution to a problem after you've forgotten them. So why not play a simple maze game to just forget about it?"
"Oh, sure!"
Then, Rotom Phone showed Halley a website with a cyan background, and black text saying:
PokéMaze
Test your skills!
Reach the goal without touching the walls
Try to beat all four levels!
This game has gimmicks related to sound, so make sure to turn up your volume!
[PLAY]
"Ooh, let's try it out!" Halley said, popping his fingers and pressing the [PLAY] button. The screen then showed a black maze with a green background and a blue rectangle on one side which indicated the goal. Halley effortlessly got past the first two levels in a minute, making him yawn from the boredom. "Wait, so this is your plan? Making me fall asleep by making me play this boring game?"
"No, Halley. This game gets hard quickly. Don't you see this level 3?" The screen showed a maze with a thin corridor leading to the goal, so narrow that he had to focus precisely to beat the level.
"Well, here we go then..." Halley moved his body forward to get as close to the Rotom Phone as possible and precisely moved the player through the narrow corridor.
And then... With a sharp screech exploding out of the phone, the screen showed a picture of a purple Pokémon with red eyes, lighting a flashlight on its face in the dark.
"AAAAAAA-" Halley let out a terrified scream, subconsciously punching his Rotom Phone through the ceiling and to infinity and beyond. He then passed out, automatically collapsing onto the bed.
The next morning, Halley walked down to the living room to turn on the television. Resting on his couch, he said: "Hmm... Rotom Phone?"
However, unlike usual when Rotom Phone flew out of his pocket and responded to the user, his pocket remained silent. "Huh?"
Instead, all of a sudden, a ray poured down from the sky to the front yard. When he went outside and looked up, his Rotom Phone was gradually descending from the sky, with holy music playing in the background.
"Wait, what," Halley murmured, tilting his head. The divine Rotom Phone slowly took out a hammer from its back and BONKED it on the user's head, making him go unconscious with a large bump on his head.
"Why did you punch me so hard last night, bruh?!"
Sometime later, Halley woke up and asked Rotom Phone what he was trying to ask. "Hey, Rotom Phone. Can you search battles in official competitions that involve Mega Drain or anything similar?"
"Let's see... Here you go." Halley's phone showed its owner a list of videos that recorded battles from official leagues. "Remember, don't stay all night this time!"
"I won't, I won't. Now, let's start..." Halley binge-watched the videos through the television and came across something odd. "Why are theirs so different from Oddish's?"
"Uh, it's because Grass Type drain moves like those tend to have a variety of visuals depending on the user... Since the main focus of the move is to drain."
"Well... This won't help much then." Halley then turned the TV off to take a break.
He then gently tapped on Oddish's face to wake it up.
"Odi...?" The Weed Pokémon cried, opening its eyes.
"Heya, Oddish. Wanna go drink some slushies?"
He went down to the marketplace and bought two slushies and two straws with paper packaging, then sat down on a bench placed in the marketplace with his Pokémon. Halley opened up the paper packaging and put the straws in the slushies, then drank his so quickly that he suddenly had a brain freeze.
"Woah, woah..." He said, touching his head with his hand.
"Slow down, man!" The Rotom Phone warned.
"Okay, okay..." Halley finished the slushie after a few minutes and placed the cup on the ground a little far away from him.
"Odi?" The Weed Pokémon wondered.
"Watch." Halley tore the paper packaging in half and crumpled a piece into a ball shape. He then put the paper inside the straw and aimed it at the cup. When he blew the straw, the paper ball came flying out and hit the cup. The cup shook a little from the impact but didn't fall over.
"Odi!" Oddish exclaimed in a way as if would've clapped if it had hands.
"Yeah, pretty cool right? Straws can do many things other than being used for drinking because of their shape!" Halley crumpled the other piece of packaging into a ball and put it inside the straw. But just as he put his mouth on the straw to blow it, something brilliant hit on him. "Wait... Because of their shape? SHAPE!" He shouted out, standing up from the bench.
"Did you find it out?"
"Yeah, I've been focusing too much on Mega Drain's 'drain' ability, but I was not thinking about how it's done!"
Halley and Oddish returned to their house again. They both stood in the front yard while the former was bouncing a dodgeball on the ground. The Weed Pokémon gulped, slightly afraid of the bouncing rubber ball.
"Don't worry. It won't hurt that much." Halley relieved. He then stepped back to the garden's edge to maintain as much distance as possible from Oddish. "Now, just do as I say, okay?"
"O... Odi!" Oddish nodded, standing firm in its place.
"Here I come!" Halley tossed the ball with full force, flying to Oddish like a cannonball.
"Odi..." Oddish gulped again, anxious with the ball approaching it rapidly.
"Now, Oddish! Mega Fortress !" Halley shouted out, crossing his arms while clenching his fists to form a blocking position.
"O...di!" Oddish summoned its tentacle again, but instead of using it to grab the ball, it coiled it around it to form a round castle, making the ball stick to it.
"It's working!" Halley exclaimed, proud of his idea coming into effect. He then grabbed the ball stuck on the tentacle to take it off, but the tentacle was sticky enough to make him struggle. Oddish noticed him and weakened the stickiness to make it easier for him to detach the ball.
"Wait... You could also do that?" Halley asked. "Then... Even better! Let's do this then!" He then picked up a tree branch stick that was lying on the floor.
----------------------------------------
Three days later, the festival was coming close and it was the final day given to Halley and Solare. When Solare arrived in the back hill in the morning, Halley was already training with Oddish, but in a way completely different from when she last saw him. They were having a "sword fight", with Halley using a wooden stick and Oddish using the tentacle from Mega Drain. The movements were quite childlike and simple, but she could tell there was a lot of effort put into it.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Oddish bound its tentacle on Halley's stick, trying to throw it away. Halley grabbed both ends of the stick with his hands and stood firm, going into a tug-of-war with Oddish.
"Odi... di!" Eventually, Oddish lost, having itself flung to the air. Halley jumped out and caught the falling Weed Pokémon, safely landing on the ground again.
"Hey, don't be greedy. It's not like you'd lose when you don't do that." Halley smiled, petting Oddish. "Oh, hey, Solare!"
"Good morning." Solare nodded back.
"Did you train enough for today's test?"
"Yes. Why not discuss the plan."
"Okay then..."
Some minutes later, the two beginner trainers finished their final strategy against the strongest Pokémon in the world.
"Should we go with this?" Halley asked.
"I have no objections." Solare nodded again.
"Well then, let's wait for Ash-"
"Waiting time skipped!" Ash cried out from above, clinging to Ninjask's arms like Solare. The Ninja Pokémon let go of its trainer, who somersaulted before landing on the ground.
"Ash?!" Halley gasped. "You... you didn't hear our plan, did you?"
"Of course not! Your plans are unrevealed safe and sound." Ash assured, putting out his thumb. "So, are you guys ready then?"
"Yes. Let's begin." Solare said.
"Alright then... What move?"
"Quick Attack."
"Quick Attack? Well, good choice. Rotom, set a timer of three minutes!" Ash's phone flew out of Ash's pocket and showed a three-minute timer on its screen. Oddish and Fletchling both seemed more determined compared to when they last battled.
'I can feel it... These guys are really gonna make it!' Ash thought, excited about the battle. "Ready, Set, GO!"
"Fletchling, use Quick Attack !" Fletchling first flew to Pikachu at a speed comparable to an arrow, glowing its entire body silver.
'It's not Peck...?' Ash thought. "This will be fun! Pikachu, Quick Attack to Oddish!"
Pikachu leaped past Fletchling and dashed toward Oddish as fast as a baseball.
"Oddish, Mega Fortress !" Oddish coiled up its green tentacle around it in a cylinder-like shape, blocking Pikachu's attack.
"Yoo, is that your special move!?" Ash exclaimed. "I wonder what it does?"
"Pi..." Pikachu tried to get its face off the tentacle, but it was too sticky. "Pika?!"
"Woah, what the?!"
"Fletchling, use Quick Attack again!" Fletchling swiftly darted toward the stuck rodent, with all its might to land a hit.
"Pi..." However, Pikachu grabbed the coiled tentacle with both hands and lifted Oddish to fall backward. Oddish, thrown behind Pikachu, flew right at Fletchling dashing at it.
"WHAT?!"
"Gah...!"
"ODI?!"
"FLETCH?!"
The two newbie Pokémons collided against each other, both of them rolling on the ground from the impact.
"Oh no... We haven't thought of that one!" Halley thought.
"Was that too strong?" Ash wondered, looking at the timer that was showing "2:18".
"Fletch!" Fletchling quickly flew up, seemingly not having taken a lot of damage from the collision.
"Nevermind, Pikachu, Quick Attack !" Pikachu dashed to a nearby tree and leaped up to Fletchling.
"Fletchling, Quick Attack! " Fletchling darted toward Pikachu in return, the two Pokémons colliding against each other.
"What now?" Solare asked while her Pokémon was in a tug-of-war against Pikachu.
"Solare... We’re changing our plans then." Halley whispered with a determined face. He then got closer to her to explain his plan.
Ash watched them from far away and smiled. 'I wonder what they have in their mind?'
"Fletchling, Growl at Pikachu!" Fletchling opened its mouth to let out a piercing cry, but Pikachu kicked Fletchling away in time to evade the shockwave.
'And Oddish...' Ash looked around the battlefield, but the Weed Pokémon was nowhere to be found. 'Did Halley recall it?'
Fletchling charged at Pikachu non-stop with Quick Attack, but the rodent easily dodged it with Quick Attack and wasted their time. Soon enough, there were about thirty seconds left.
Halley was absorbed in the battle, not taking his eyes off it. When there were twenty seconds left, he burst out: “Now, Solare!”
“Fletchling, Quick Attack into the woods!” The tiny robin flew away from the battlefield in a hurry, as if it was preparing something.
‘I wonder what that’ll be?’ Ash silently tilted his head, pondering about the intention behind it.
“Pika…?” Pikachu stood in place, looking at the direction that the bird flew to, which was a scrubby forest.
The next moment, Fletchling darted out from behind Pikachu in an instant and finally struck it, who was knocked away from the hit. “Pi?!”
“Woah!” Ash gasped, looking at the TIny Robin rise to the sky to slow down.
“It worked!” Halley exclaimed too.
“Odidi!” Oddish walked out from where Fletchling flew out, with a green tentacle coming out of its leaves.
“Wait, Oddish? You were able to fight?” Ash asked. “Can you tell me what happened back in the battle, Halley?”
“Of course! It goes like this…” Halley then started elaborating on what he had been doing in the battle.
----------------------------------------
Back when Oddish and Fletchling collided against each other by Pikachu, Fletchling quickly got up and continued on the fight, but Oddish was lying on the ground, not moving at all.
Halley thought it was unable to fight and took out his Pokéball, but it was then the Weed Pokémon turned its head slightly to its partner to tell him that it was still conscious.
While Pikachu was focused on battling, Oddish secretly sneaked into the woods to garner strength. It was around then that Solare asked: “What now?”
“Solare… We’re changing our plans then.” Halley then started whispering in her ears. “Actually, Oddish is still able to fight…”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s hiding somewhere around here, and all you have to do is just go into the woods when I signal you.”
“...Understood. I’ll try my best!”
When there were about twenty seconds left, Oddish glowed its tentacle from a direction Ash would struggle to notice to signal Halley that it was ready.
“Now, Solare!”
After flying into the woods, Fletchling circled the forest to find Oddish. When the bird was coming close, Oddish stretched out its tentacle to bind Fletchling and throw it back to Pikachu using centrifugal force. Fletchling didn’t forget to keep using Quick Attack in the process too, creating a speed never achieved before by the Tiny Robin Pokémon.
----------------------------------------
Ash and Pikachu applauded, congratulating the two trainers for completing their assignment. “I knew you guys would do it!”
“Thank you.” Solare nodded.
“We just won against the strongest trainer in the world…!” Halley whispered, about to shout any second soon. “We… we did it, Oddish!” He then hugged his Pokémon who jumped onto his arms.
“Awesome job, Halley!” Ash complimented. “I love how you thought outside the box with Mega Fortress!”
“Thanks, haha…”
“And thumbs up for Solare! You won't have to worry about your speed flight not working now, right?”
“Right. I have no regrets being in this training.” Solare nodded.
“Alright, so overall, you guys’ skills must have increased a lot from this. I can assure you that you won’t have to worry about not being able to defend yourself!” Ash raised his thumb.
“Hmm… Then, how strong do you think we are?” Halley asked.
“I dunno, maybe go battle other trainers to check it out!”
“Oh, then I would have to participate in that!”
“What’s ‘that’?”
“I didn’t tell you about the ‘Jubilee Cup’, right?”
“Jubilee Cup?”
“It’s a small town league taking place in the Festival of the Jubilee! There would be a lot of new trainers participating in it, so I think it would be a great chance!”
“Hey, that’s a good idea! Can I join there too?”
“Y… you? The monarch?” Halley stammered in shock.
“Oh, right… I would be too strong to keep the league fun.”
“If you join, I think you’ll be an event guest who will battle against the league winner. That was how the league was played last year when the champion of Terra region joined the cup.”
“The champion…” Ash murmured. “Right, I haven’t met the champion here yet.”
“Meow?” Just then, a cry of a cat-like Pokémon came out from nearby. Where the three trainers turned their heads was an upright, light green cat Pokémon with dark green legs. It had a black X-shaped mask-like shape on its face and a pink collar on its neck that held a pair of black capes that were green on the inside. The Pokémon held a stack of posters in its hands, which it seemed to be passing over to the villagers in the town.
“Holy…” Solare’s jaw dropped when she saw the cat Pokémon with her eyes.
“Woah, speak of the devil…” Halley acted similarly to her.
“What? Who is this guy?”
“Odi? Odi!” Oddish jumped off Halley’s arms and ran to the cat Pokémon, rubbing its face on its legs from happiness.
“Wait, Oddish? How do you even know Meowscarada?!” The cat Pokémon crouched to pet the Weed Pokémon, who seemed to be intimate with it. Ash’s Rotom Phone flew to the front of the cat and scanned it.
“Meowscarada: Magician Pokémon, Grass/Dark Type. A cunning Pokémon with dozens of tricks to deceive its opponent into getting blasted by pollen-packed bombs.”
“Meowscarada…? What’s with this guy?” “Pi~?” Ash asked, approaching the cat Pokémon.
“That Meowscarada is the battle ace of the champion in this region!” Halley explained.
“What?!” “Pika?!” Ash gasped, not having expected such a big shot to visit him. “Wait, if you’re the strongest here, then why are you here handing out posters?”
“Meow!” Meowscarada showed him the poster it was handing out, and it read out:
Elysia/Zero
With the participation of Magician Elysia
Festival of the Jubilee DAY 1 1:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM
PRICES: 10$ (6$ for children under 10)
“It’s a magic show? Taking place tomorrow?” Meowscarada nodded in response. “Well, this seems fun! Halley, Solare! Do you want to see it too?”
“I was planning to,” Solare responded.
“Well, I’d like to, but… How does Oddish know Meowscarada, again?”
“A champion AND a magician?” “Pika…” Ash looked at the poster again. “That’s unique.”
“Meow!” Meowscarda gasped as if it remembered something it had forgotten. The Magician Pokémon took out a letter from its back and handed it to Ash. He opened up the letter, which read out:
Dear Ash Ketchum
Oh my, it’s actually Ash Ketchum reading this? I feel so shy… >-<
If you’re reading this, I really, really hope you come to see my magic show!
I want to pet… I mean battle your Pikachu so bad!
Yours Truly
Elysia
“What the...” Ash looked at the letter dumbfounded and slightly cringed.
The magician went behind Ash to see the letter and also seemed to be shocked by it, freezing in place. “Me, meow…?” Then, it took out another letter from behind and handed it to Halley this time.
To whom it may concern
Heya, are you the guy who got Oddish as your starter?
If you can, can you come see my magic show?
There are some things I want to talk to you about.
Yours Sincerely
Elysia
“Elysia the champion… knows my Oddish?” Halley stammered, his hands trembling from anxiety.
“Hmm… I wonder why?” Ash asked. “Anyway, I don’t think it would be anything too serious, so let’s not think about it too much, alright?”
“I hope so…”
“Hey, come on! The festival’s starting soon and you don’t have to be so down, Halley!” He relieved, patting Halley’s back.
“Oh, right. The festival…” Halley said, looking up to the sky. “I wonder how it’ll turn out?”
----------------------------------------
That night, when most of the lights in the town were off and everyone was asleep, the short tranquility that resided in the town had faded away in an instant, and an unprecedented pandemonium was about to begin.
In the back hill, a white avian Pokémon with broad triangular wings, and red and blue markings over its underside was flying around intensely as if it was fighting against something.
Behind the Pokémon was a Salamence, breathing fire ruthlessly to the white Pokémon. The Pokémon occasionally spun to send a slashing attack to the Dragon Pokémon, but it easily dodged the attack.
“Toge?!” Salamence quickly closed into the avian Pokémon and got on it, pushing it down to the ground and slamming it.
“To, Togess…” The Dragon then charged fire on its mouth, about to finish its opponent off.
To Be Continued