*SPLASH!*
Water soaked the shore of the lake in front of us as my Gyarados deposited an unconscious Dragonite onto dry land.
"Thanks." I said while patting his jaw in appreciation.
"Grrrrrrrr..." He rumbled contently as I scratched him in just the right spot.
"Thanks for helping me get Dragonite." Ethan said, even as Chansey and Ditto appeared to take the unconscious dragon to the Pokemon Center.
"Don't mention it." I replied, before giving attention to my other two Gyarados as well as they flanked the bull.
"Well at least I have an idea what the competition will be like now." Ethan said with a smile, and I couldn't help but notice him eyeing all three of my Gyarados and Charizard, whose Mega Evolution wore off so now he was just basking lazily in the sun even as the kids surrounded him.
"Yeah. Even when I used Tyrantrum and Charizard, you still gave us a run for our money." I told him while grinning widely.
"I look forward to my chance to battle you someday as well." Lucario commented from beside me, his aura spiking in anticipation.
"Now that I've seen what you can do firsthand we can prepare, plus my team and I intend to go all the way to the top. So tell your dad to keep the throne warm for me."
"Will do." I said with a wry smile, before I thought of something. "By the way... Before we go, how would you like to meet Regirock and Regice?"
"!?!"
"Do you mean it?!" Ethan asked excitedly.
"Sure. Then you can see just how outclassed you are as well." I said with a smirk, which cramped his smile a little, but didn't make it vanish entirely.
After I quickly transferred them here from professor Oak's, I tossed out two pokeballs to an open area.
"Come on out!"
""Beep boop.""
The two titans of ice and stone beeped as they arrived, scanning the area quickly before focusing onto me.
"Holy Ho'Oh..." Ethan exclaimed as he gazed up at them, while I could feel Lyra just staring dumbly from behind us.
"Yep. Ethan, meet Regice and Regirock. Regice, Regirock, this is Ethan." I called to them, directing their attention to the protagonist beside me.
"Beep bop."
"Bop beep."
The two titans beeped down at Ethan as he approached them warily, before the kids that were bugging Charizard also hurried over to see the two Legendary Pokemon.
"Are they safe?" Lyra asked worriedly as she approached me.
"Safer than any other pokemon." I replied seriously.
"Didn't you catch Regirock after it tried to kill you and Brock from the Pewter city Gym?" She asked with a deadpan.
"Yes. But it was only defending its territory. Now that I caught them, both are completely loyal to me. As bad as this may sound, they are basically robots made of stone and ice." I explained, even as some of the kids started climbing up onto Regirock's back while using his stone spikes as handholds.
Regice meanwhile was still radiating its natural chill that made it hard for people to approach it, and it was so extreme that ice was already beginning to form on the surface of the lake beside it.
"So do you plan to capture the other Regi pokemon as well?" She asked me curiously as we watched Ethan and the others interact with the Legendary Pokemon.
"Well... I wasn't necessarily planning on going and catching these two, but the circumstances at the time pushed me into it. Now that I've got two of them, there is kinda this little voice in my head telling me to complete the set." I admitted, making Lyra giggle at me.
"Well, if you decide to go after Registeel as well then ask Jasmine about it. The cave I caught my Onix in is also home to one of the largest populations of Steelix in the world. Some people think this might be because of a Registeel living deep underground there, but no one has ever been able to prove it." Lyra said while also pointing out a specific cave entrance on her Pokenav.
"I'll keep that in mind." I replied while studying the map, before turning back to her. "That reminds me. You said you caught a unique Onix there, right?"
"That's right. Do you want to see it?"
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." I said while wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.
"Men." Lyra said while rolling her eyes, even as she smoothly pulled down the collar of her shirt to flash me one of her pink nipples.
Then, pretending nothing has happened, she grabbed one of her pokeballs and tossed it out in an open area.
"OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHN!" Roared the serpentine mass of stone as it appeared, and I felt my jaw drop while my eyes went wide.
The Onix before me, while being the size of a regular Onix, sparkled in the sun due to its entire body looking as if it were made of crystal instead of stone.
"How beautiful..." I uttered while approaching it in awe.
"I'm sure SHE appreciates the compliment." Lyra said smugly, as even the girls were approaching the Onix in awe, while Charizard also came to investigate.
"I can definitely see why Team Rocket was after her." I said while gently placing my hand on her side, comparing her smooth crystalized exterior and comparing it to the rough rocky exterior of a regular Onix.
"Yep. But what about yours?" Lyra asked while looking at me expectantly.
"Sure. Come on out, Steelix!" I declared, tossing a pokeball in another direction before it opened to reveal my massive Steelix. No pun intended.
"STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!"
Steelix roared as he appeared, towering well over the crystal Onix as he looked around, until his eyes fell on her.
"😍😍😍"
I fucking swear, Steelix's eyes immediately turned into hearts when he saw the crystal Onix, who in turn began to act bashfully under his imposing royal stature.
"Steel steel!"
"Ohn ohn~"
"Steel!"
"That's nasty." I said as the two 'flirted' right in front of us, before they proceeded to go off on their own while seemingly forgetting about the rest of us.
"Did that really just happen?" Lyra asked with obvious disbelief.
"I think so..." I replied as we watched them slither off for some alone time.
"Well, at least you're coming with us." I told Lyra with a wry smile.
"Yep. I might lose my Onix if I don't now." She replied just as wryly.
All of us settled after Onix and Steelix left, waiting as Joy treated mine and Ethan's pokemon and the kids played with Regirock and tried to with Regice. We even had lunch as Chansey brought out a large pot of soup along with bowls for us. And we all wisely ignored it when the ground started to shake after a little while.
Lyra also took the time while we were having lunch to introduce me to some of her Pokemon, aside from Onix. Starting with her starter, Meganium, she had a Noctowl, Granbull, Magcargo, Jumpluff, Bellossom, Sunflora, Politoed, Forretress, Ambipom, Shuckle, Lanturn, and Delibird.
I then introduced her to some of my Pokemon that I had acquired since she departed in Celadon city. Pokemon like Koraidon, Togepi, Slowking, Vulpix and all of my fossils, Omanyte, Kabuto, Lileep and Anorith, along with the Weedle egg. I was just about to pull the Shieldon egg out as well, when it began to wobble violently in my hands.
"Wait! Is it-?!" Lyra exclaimed as I held on as tightly as possible.
"I think so!" I said excitedly while carefully setting it on the ground.
"I've never seen an egg hatch before!" Lillie exclaimed as she joined us with May and Chloe, while Ethan and kids also noticed we were gathering as they came to investigate.
"Back up everyone! Don't crowd it!" I said while shooing them back, right as the first crack appeared.
*Ker*
*Crack*
*KER-KRACK!*
Giving one last shake after the cracks spread over the entire thing, several pieces of the shell flew off of it as the figure inside was finally revealed.
"Don?" The newborn Shieldon cooed as it looked around at everyone, before it focused on me.
"Shield shield! Shieldon!" It cried while happily wagging its tail.
"Well hello there little one~!" I said while carefully picking it, or rather him, up and holding him in my arms.
"Shieldon don~!" He cried out happily, even as I cradled him with one arm and sent out miltank and Chansey with the other.
"Miiiill?"
"Chansey Chansey!"
"Miltank, Chansey, meet Shieldon. The newest member of our team." I said while introducing them.
"Mill mill~!" Miltank lowed as I set Shieldon down in front of her, who immediately began suckling on one of her udders for milk.
"Tokiprrrrrri!" Togepi trilled as he hurried over to join him.
"A rock/steel type, and the future fairy/flying type. I can see no way THIS goes wrong." I joked as we all watched them eat, even as I pulled out my Pokedex.
~~~
Shieldon- The Shield Pokemon
♂️
This pokemon is believed to have lived in jungles around 100 million years ago. Due to the metallic plating that makes up its face, and the incredible durability of its hide, this pokemon would be able to feed and travel without worrying of attack from all but the strongest of predators. This pokemon has the Sturdy and Soundproof abilities.
Moves- Tackle, Protect
~~~
"Interesting..." I muttered while reading Shieldon's information.
"What's interesting?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Shieldon has the Sturdy and Soundproof abilities. The first one makes him even harder to deal with, while the latter makes him completely immune to sound based attacks." I answered, recalling earlier when Loudred assaulted all of our ears with her booming voice.
"I see..." Ethan said, obviously getting an idea as he stroked an imaginary beard.
"Shield!" Shieldon called up to me as he finished eating, before he struggled to get his own feet under him for a moment as he tried to stand.
And while it took several minutes and attempts, the little Shield Pokemon soon managed to stand on his feet and awkwardly teetered towards me.
"He seems awfully attached to you already Ace." Lyra said in observation.
"I was injecting my aura into the egg ever since I got it. Even if Shieldon isn't aura sensitive like Riolu are, he would still recognize me as something akin to a parent." I explained as Shieldon crawled into my lap, and I started scratching behind his shield-like head.
"That sounds handy. Most newborn pokemon just imprint on the first person or pokemon they see when they're born." Lyra stated.
"It is." I replied, as it was a common practice to try and steal newborn pokemon by having them imprint on you when they were born.
"We're all done~!" Joy suddenly cried as she approached us along with all of the pokemon that Chaney and Ditto collected for treatment.
"Hey Joy. Just in time too." I said, before pointing out that Shieldon had hatched.
With the treatment of our Pokemon being done, we all quickly found ourselves getting ready to say goodbye as my group prepared to take off.
"Alright you two. Time to go back to the lab." I said to Regirock and Regice, who merely beeped in affirmation as I prepared to send them back.
"Remember, I'm counting on the two of you to keep everyone safe in Pallet town while we're gone. Got it?"
""Beep!""
"Good." I said, before recalling them and then sending them back to professor Oak's. I also gave him a quick call to let him know Shieldon hatched, and check in on how things were going with Deoxys.
After all of that, and collecting Steelix/Onix, we were ready to go.
"Alright man. I'll see you at the conference." I said while shaking Ethan's hand.
"Back at ya. Now I know what to expect, so you can expect to lose." He replied with a confident smirk.
"I wouldn't bet on that quite yet." I shot back, before climbing up onto Aerodactyl's back where Lillie and Chloe were already waiting. Then there was May riding on Tropius with Joy, Lyra riding on her Noctowl, and Lucario riding on Charizard after he recovered from his battle against Dragonite.
Giving Ethan the kids below one last wave, our Pokemon all flapped their wings and we took off into the skies and headed north, to Mahogany town.
***
"Ahhhhh...." Professor Samuel Oak sighed in contentment as he sat outside his research lab, sipping on some hot tea as he stared up at the night sky. There was no moon tonight, so it was perfect for just idly stargazing and watching for shooting stars.
Off in the distance he could see the occasional flash of light on the foothills behind his property, courtesy of Infernape and Regirock as the two of them sparred. Something they had been doing ever since Ace sent the latter back with Regice early in the afternoon.
"I'm heading home for the night Grandpa." Came Daisy's voice as she prepared to head home, her Kantonian Vulpix sitting attentively at her feet as it waited for her.
"Alright, be careful. It seems awfully dark tonight." The professor said offhandedly, even as she grabbed his now empty tea cup from him.
"I will." She assured him as she went back into the lab.
At that moment...
"!!!"
The professor felt a wave of exhaustion overcome him that threatened to send him to sleep, a wave that took every ounce of his willpower to fight off.
*Crash!*
The professor jumped up while still fighting off the drowsiness, even as the night seemed to grow even darker.
"Daisy!" He exclaimed while hurrying to his granddaughter's side, where she had collapsed right inside the door to his lab and was now slumbering. Along with her Vulpix.
"Daisy. Daisy! Wake up!" The professor nearly shouted while shaking her, only for Daisy to continue slumbering peacefully. Or not.
As if on cue, Daisy's face began to contort into a grimace.
"No..... No...." She began to grumble and moan in her sleep, while Vulpix also began to whimper beside her.
"Kukui!" Professor Oak cried out worriedly when he couldn't wake Daisy, only to find his fellow professor a moment later, also passed out while groaning and holding a Rockruff plushie to his chest, as if it would chase away whatever nightmares now haunted him.
"Dragonite...?" Professor Oak tried next, only to see his long time companion also completely asleep, snarling at some enemy that only he could see.
The darkness was almost suffocatingly thick by now, as was the urge to simply close his eyes and join the others in their slumber, even as distressed as they seemed.
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
The sound of someone knocking at the door helped him fight off the exhaustion, forcing professor Oak to drag himself up from where he had started sitting at some point, and make his way to the door. And when he opened it, he was greeted by a whole group of people.
"Good evening, professor Oak." Drawled the woman leading the group, who was wearing a skintight body suit and had purple hair, which was tied into two buns, one down and the other up on top of her head. Accompanying her was a group of people wearing uniforms that appeared similar at a glance, but were notably different in that they looked like grunts. Plus they all had similarly styled bright blue hair. And just like the woman leading them, they all had an intricate G styled onto their clothes.
But the one that REALLY dominated professor Oak's attention was none of them. It was pokemon hovering in the air behind them.
It was almost entirely black, the only exceptions being the fog-like white 'hair' billowing behind it, it's one visible bright blue eye, and the bright red spiky growth that surrounded its neck. On top of that, professor Oak could see the darkness billowing off of the pokemon, not only covering his lab, but all of Pallet town.
"We are Team Galactic." The woman continued bringing his attention back down to her. "May we talk about the Legendary Pokemon you recently acquired? The one from space? Deoxys."