Meeting Lucas and Gary

Today was another training day for the gang. Dawn was having her Smoochum train with Tomo's Jynx. Dawn's Smoochum knew Pound, Lick and Sweet Kiss. Jynx was helping Smoochum learn Powder Snow and Icy Wind. 
"Your Jynx is a perfect teacher for my Smoochum Tomo." Dawn said.
"Well Smoochum evolves into a Jynx." Tomo reminded Dawn. "And we did tell you before that younger Pokemon learn from older Pokemon, especially their evolved forms."
"You're right." Dawn said.
Tomo's Jynx knew a lot of moves; Pound, Lick, Sweet Kiss, Powder Snow, Confusion, Sing, Mean Look, Avalanche, Copycat, Perish Song, Blizzard, Water Pulse, Calm Mind, Ice Beam, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Protect, Hidden Power, Focus Blast, Energy Ball, Captivate, Dream Eater, Heal Bell, Lovely Kiss, Double Slap, Wake-Up Slap, Ice Punch, Drain Punch, Body Slam and Hail. She was no longer a baby Pokemon, that's for sure.
Ash was tending to a Pokemon he caught yesterday Hippopotas. Hippopotas was a brown and cream colored hippo-like Pokemon and a ground type Pokemon.
He looked it up on the Pokedex.
"Hippopotas, the Hippo Pokemon. It lives in arid places. Instead of perspiration, it expels grainy sand from it's body." 
Hippopotas was male and knew the moves Tackle, Sand Attack, Bite, Yawn, Dig and Sand Tomb and the egg moves Stockpile, Spit Up and Swallow. 
"Well Hippopotas." Ash said. "Let's see how you do with your moves." 
Ash had Pikachu let Hippopotas use his moves on him. As Pikachu was a lot tougher than Hippopotas, it's moves wouldn't affect him much. Hippopotas turned out to be rather tough himself especially with the moves Tackle and Bite. Ash could see that his new Hippopotas would be a great Pokemon for him. 
Suddenly they heard a voice.
"Hey Dawn." The gang turned and saw a boy with slate gray hair and eyes and he was wearing a red cap with a black Poke Ball design, a light blue T-shirt, a navy blue jacket, blue-green jeans, red and white trainers and a red scarf. 
"Lucas, it's you." She said, running up to him.
"It's been a while Dawn." Lucas said.
"This is Lucas." Dawn introduced the gang to him. "He and I are childhood friends."
"Do you live in Twinleaf Town too?" Brock asked Lucas.
"No, I live in Sandgem Town." Lucas answered. "But I've visited Twinleaf Town many times because Dawn's mom and my mom have been friends for years." 
"So Lucas, Prof. Rowan told me that you've started traveling with Pokemon again." Dawn said. 
"My dad is one of Prof. Rowan's assistants." Lucas informed Brock, Ash and Tomo. "I ended up learning about Pokemon from Prof. Rowan himself."
"When I turned ten I did go on a journey and collected the gym badges to enter the Sinnoh League. I didn't win of course, but after that I started to become an assistant of Prof. Rowan. But a few months after becoming an assistant I decided to travel again to learn more about Pokemon." 
"That's understandable." Brock said. 
He, Ash and Tomo knew that their journeys did help them learn a lot about Pokemon.
"So Dawn, how has your journey been?" Lucas asked.
Dawn said she was enjoying her journey. 
"I've ended up seeing lots of new Pokemon, learning a lot of new things thanks to Brock, Ash and Tomo and I love entering Pokemon contests." She showed Lucas her Floaroma ribbon. 
"I saw that contest on TV." Lucas said. "I thought you were great Dawn."
"Thank you." Dawn smiled.
Ash showed Lucas his gym badges, his contest ribbons and his frontier plaques. 
"Wow Ash, you are doing a lot here in Sinnoh." Lucas said.
"Yeah, but I like a good challenge." Ash said.
"Hey Lucas." Dawn said. "When you went on a journey did you ever run into a woman named Hunter J?"
She explained that she and the boys saw Hunter J before and they learned of an organization called Team Galactic.
"I have heard of them, but I never met them myself." Lucas said. "I've also heard that Hunter J is a very dangerous woman so you guys better be careful when you meet up with her."
"I'll feel better when she's captured and put in jail." Ash said.
Brock then decided to change the mood.
"What Pokemon do you have?" He asked Lucas.
Lucas decided to show the gang what Pokemon he had. He released six Pokemon from six Poke Balls. There was an Infernape, a Munchlax, a big weasel Pokemon called a Floatzel, a Pokemon called Magmortar, a Staraptor and an Alakazam. 
"Wow, you have a lot of cool Pokemon." Dawn said.
"I have more back at Prof. Rowan's lab." Lucas said.
Ash and Tomo looked Infernape, Floatzel and Magmortar up on the Pokedex.
"Infernape, the Flame Pokemon and the final evolved form of Chimchar. It uses a special kind of martial arts involving all it's limbs. It's fire never goes out."
"Floatzel, the Sea Weasel Pokemon and the evolved form of Buizel. It floats using it's well developed flotation sac. It assists in the rescues of drowning people."
"Magmortar, the Blast Pokemon and the evolved form of Magmar. It blasts fireballs of over 3,600 degrees F from the ends of it's arms. It lives in volcanic craters."
The gang thought Lucas's Pokemon were amazing. 
"Hey Lucas." Ash said. "Mind if we have a Pokemon battle? I'd love to challenge your Infernape, Floatzel and Magmortar."
"I accept your challenge Ash." Lucas said. "I haven't battled anyone for a while now, so I'm itching for a Pokemon battle myself."
So Ash and Lucas got ready to battle each other. The rule was it was a three on three. 
"It will be great seeing Lucas battle." Dawn said. 
"You never saw Lucas battle before, Dawn?" Brock asked her.
"I did see him battle on TV when he entered the Sinnoh League last yer." Dawn said. "And I did see him battle one time when he last came to visit Twinleaf Town, so it's been quite a while since I saw him battle." 
"I see." Brock said.
"Let's go Staravia!" Ash called it out.
Lucas sent his Infernape out to battle.
"Infernape's a fire/fighting type, so Staravia has a advantage against it." Brock pointed out.
"Flamethrower." Lucas told Infernape.
Staravia dodged the stream of fire.
"Sand Attack." Ash ordered.
Staravia blew sand at Infernape. 
"Now Staravia, Aerial Ace." Staravia tackled Infernape really hard.
"Good hit." Dawn said.
"Yes, but Infernape's not down yet." Brock added.
He was right because Infernape was still raring to go.
"Your Staravia is good Ash, but check this out." Lucas said.
"Flare Blitz." He told Infernape.
Staravia wasn't able to dodge.
"Use Aerial Ace." Ash said.
Unfortunately, Flare Blitz was stronger and it fainted.
It was clear that Lucas's Pokemon were stronger than Ash's Sinnoh Pokemon, especially considering Lucas traveled and trained with his Pokemon for a year and a half.
Ash returned Staravia and sent Prinplup out.
"Infernape's in trouble now." Tomo said.
Dawn's Piplup was eager to see what Prinplup will do.
"Prinplup, Bubble Beam." Ash said.
Prinplup fired bubbles at Infernape.
"Dodge it and use Flamethrower." Lucas said.
Infernape dodged the bubbles and released a stream of fire from his mouth.
"Use Brine Prinplup." Ash said.
Prinplup released a stream of water from his mouth which collided with Flamethrower and turned it into steam.
"Quick Bubble Beam Prinplup." Ash said.
Prinplup blew a lot of bubbles which proceeded to hit Infernape this time.
"Now use Peck." Prinplup pecked Infernape really hard and it fainted.
"That's one win for Ash, so now Lucas has two Pokemon left as well." Tomo said.
Lucas returned Infernape and called out Floatzel.
Since Floatzel was also a water type Pokemon, Ash returned Prinplup and sent Vigoroth out.
"Vigoroth, use Bulk Up." He said.
Vigoroth bulked himself up to get stronger.
"Floatzel, Water Gun." Lucas said.
Floatzel let out a stream of water.
"Vigoroth, Slash." Ash said.
Vigoroth scratched Floatzel.
"Floatzel, Crunch." Lucas said.
Floatzel tried to bite Vigoroth, but it avoided being bitten.
"Alright Vigoroth Thunderbolt." Ash said.
Vigoroth generated a thunderbolt that came down from the sky. 
"Whoa Vigoroth knows Thunderbolt?" Dawn asked.
"It knows Blizzard and Flamethrower as well." Tomo answered.
"The Petalburg gym leader Norman has a Vigoroth along with a Slakoth and Slaking." Brock explained. "Ash's Vigoroth idolizes Norman's Vigoroth, so it wanted to become strong like Norman's Vigoroth."
"I understand." Dawn said.
Lucas was impressed with Vigoroth, but he wasn't defeated yet.
"Floatzel, Water Gun." He said.
Vigoroth was hit by Water Gun before he could do anything.
"Use Thunderbolt again, Vigoroth." Ash said.
"Floatzel, Aqua Jet." Lucas said.
While Floatzel did use Aqua Jet, it was struck by Thunderbolt but this didn't stop it. Vigoroth was struck by Aqua Jet. It couldn't take anymore and fainted. 
"Lucas won this one." Dawn said.
"Take a closer look." Brock advised.
Floatzel was panting after being hit by Thunderbolt and then it fainted.
"Floatzel was exhausted after being hit by Thunderbolt twice." Brock said.
Lucas returned Floatzel and sent out Magmortar while Ash returned Vigoroth and sent out Prinplup again. They were each down to one Pokemon.
"Prinplup, use Bubble Beam." Ash said.
"Dodge it and use Thunder Punch." Lucas said.
Magmortar dodged the bubbles and advanced with a fist coated in electricity. 
"Dodge it Prinplup." Ash said.
Prinplup managed to avoid the electrified fist, but Magmortar responded with Confuse Ray. This caused Prinplup to become confused.
"Prinplup, try to use Brine." Ash said.
Prinplup was able to use Brine while still confused, but Magmortar dodged it and used Thunder Punch. Prinplup wasn't able to dodge because of it's confusion. 
"Oh no Prinplup." Ash cried out.
After that Prinplup was snapped out of his confusion and retaliated with Bubble Beam. Magmortar was hit by the bubbles, but they didn't do a lot of damage.
"Use Pound Prinplup." Ash said.
"Magmortar, Thunder Punch." Lucas said.
Magmortar and Prinplup charged at each other, striking each other at the same time. After being hit by Thunder Punch again, Prinplup fainted. So Lucas was the winner. This was Ash's first loss since a battle against Paul.
"Wow, Ash lost." Dawn said.
"Yes, but it was a good battle." Tomo said.
"This battle helped show Ash's Pokemon that they needed to become stronger than they are now." Brock said.
"That was a good battle." Ash thanked Lucas.
"No, thank you Ash. I haven't had a good battle in a while." Lucas said.
He and Ash then shook hands. The rest of the day consisted of Dawn talking about all her Pokemon and what had been happening on the journey so far.
That evening
Lucas opted to leave.
"Where will you be going now, Lucas?" Dawn asked.
"Oh I'm going to Celestic Town to check out it's museum." Lucas answered.
"If Cynthia's there, say hi for us." Ash said.
"Will do." Lucas agreed to the request.
Then he left.
Dawn was happy to have reunited with her childhood friend Lucas, and Ash was happy to have battled him even though he lost.
The next day
The gang passed through a area with a mountain known as Mt. Coronet. It was the tallest mountain in the Sinnoh Region and it was in the middle of Sinnoh as well. Just then the gang noticed a Shieldon emerge from a bush.
"Wow, where did that Shieldon come from?" Tomo asked.
Before anyone could provide a answer, one of Hunter J's vans pulled up.
"Oh no!" Ash shouted.
He recognized Hunter J and her vans.
"I bet Hunter J and her men are here to take Shieldon and sell it on the black market." Tomo angrily said.
He was right because two of Hunter J's men were pursuing it. Pikachu and Growlithe got ready to fight and one of the men sent a Golbat out.
Pikachu used Thunderbolt and Growlithe used Flamethrower, but Golbat proceeded to dodge it and then retaliated with Air Cutter. It seemed the Pokemon used by Hunter J's henchmen were strong.
Before the brothers could issue another command, a Thunderbolt attack stopped the men in their tracks. It was Gary and his Electivire. The Shieldon ran over to Gary.
"Shieldon I'm glad you're safe." Gary said.
Ash and Tomo were surprised to see Gary.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"No time to explain Ash. We have to get out of here." Gary responded. 
He picked Shieldon up and started running with Electivire as the gang followed. 
"Who is he?" Dawn asked Brock.
"Gary also lives in Pallet Town. He and Ash were rivals ever since they were children." Brock briefly explained.
The two men immediately contacted Hunter J.
"We ran into the kids you told us about." One of them stated.
That made Hunter J angry; she knew they would get in the way just like last time. 
"They and a trainer with a Electivire prevented us from capturing Shieldon." One of the men added. 
"But don't worry, we'll successfully capture Shieldon." A man said.
"For your sake, you better." Hunter J replied.
She was someone who didn't like failure and would severely punish those who did.
Meanwhile
Gary, Shieldon and the gang made it to safety.
"So Gary, are you doing research here?" Ash asked.
"That's right." Gary nodded. "A lot has happened since I last saw you and Tomo in Pallet Town. Oh and I'm pleased to meet you Dawn; I heard about you from my grandpa." 
"Gary is Prof. Oak's grandson." Brock explained.
Dawn was thrilled because she believed Gary wrote poetry, but he didn't.
Just then they came to a area where three Shieldon were roaming. They were happy to see the other Shieldon.
"Wow, more Shieldon." Ash said. "Were these Shieldon also revived from Armor Fossils?"
"Yes they were and now they live free around Mt. Coronet." Gary nodded.
"I'm part of a project that plans to make the area a nature preserve to protect Shieldon." He explained.
"You'd be lucky if that was successful Gary." Ash said. "Don't forget that bad people will come after the Shieldon instead of search for Armor Fossils."
"Don't worry, I'm aware of that." He reassured Ash. "That's the reason I always keep a eye on the Shieldon."
Gary then contacted Prof. Rowan on his laptop and informed him of the Pokemon hunters that were after Shieldon.
"I'm taking the Shieldon and heading to a safer place." Prof. Rowan told Gary that he and his team were heading that way and gave him directions to their meeting place.
"Be careful Gary." The conversation ended.
"You probably need our help." Ash told his former rival. "You can't take J and her men on by yourself."
Gary agreed to let the gang assist him.
Suddenly the van drove up.
"It's them again!" Dawn shouted.
"Get the Shieldon to safety." Gary told his Electivire. 
He then released his Blastoise. 
"Attack the van with Water Gun." He ordered.
The van was soaked by two blasts of water. The water allowed the van to be electrocuted by Thunderbolt. The two men were angry and got out of the van. One of the men released a Golbat which knocked Blastoise onto it's back with Wing Attack. Tomo was just about to give Growlithe a command, but Gary stopped him.
"If we attack, we might hurt the Shieldon by accident." He said.
"But if we don't fight back, they'll take the Shieldon away." Tomo argued.
Gary had a idea though.
He sent out his Umbreon who stopped Golbat in it's tracks with Sand Attack. Then Umbreon ran towards some trees while Golbat attacked with Air Cutter. Unfortunately for Golbat, Air Cutter hit some trees that Beedrill were living in. A swarm of Beedrill came out and attacked the two men and Golbat. This gave Gary and the gang the chance to run away with the Shieldon.
"Did you know that Beedrill live around here Gary?" Brock asked.
"I've been researching this whole area and found out where Pokemon live." Gary said. "This is no time for risky attacks to avoid hurting the Shieldon."
Ash could tell Gary had changed after he became a researcher.
At that time Hunter J was talking to a client on her computer screen. Her client was a man around his forties, and it seemed he was a very rich man. This man was the one who wanted Hunter J to catch a Shieldon. 
"A Shieldon will be ready for you by the end of the day." Hunter J told him.
"Can I pick the Shieldon up in person?" The man asked.
J agreed to the request. Then the call ended.
Hunter J sent all of her men out to get a Shieldon and she mounted her Salamence.
By now Gary and the gang were hiding behind some bushes with the Shieldon.
"Hunter J's men are everywhere." Dawn whispered.
"It seems all the possible escape routes are blocked off." Brock whispered.
"Maybe I can teleport or fly us somewhere else." Ash whispered. 
"Teleporting isn't a option because you might appear in front of those men." Gary learned Ash could teleport from his grandfather.
"What should we do then?" Tomo asked.
Gary opened up his laptop and looked at a map of the area.
"There's a river to the north and a valley farther south." He said. "It's going to be really hard to bring all the Shieldon with us."
"Yeah, but we have to go Gary." Ash argued. "Otherwise those men will catch us and the Shieldon."
Gary agreed as they needed to find Prof. Rowan as soon as possible.
Eventually Gary, the gang and the Shieldon came to a rocky area and they were walking across some rocky cliffs. The Shieldon didn't like this, but with everyone's support they reached a safe area. The bad news was Hunter J had her men scan the entire area and that was when she noticed a presence on the map with her goggles. It was Prof. Rowan. He was with Officer Jenny. 
"We're on our way now." He told Gary.
"Just a little longer and we'll be fine." Brock said.
He was wrong as Hunter J appeared on her Salamence. The gang was shocked that she managed to find them.
"Hand over the Shieldon." J said, pointing her cannon at them.
"Never!" Ash shouted.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail." He ordered. 
Pikachu struck J's cannon really hard.
"Get the Shieldon to safety." Ash instructed.
Tomo, Brock, Dawn and Gary led the Shieldon away while Ash stayed behind to deal with J. Hunter J sent out her Drapion.
"Cross Poison." She ordered.
Cross Poison hit Pikachu, but he wasn't going to let Drapion beat him.
"Pikachu, use Hidden Power." Ash said.
Pikachu released small brown orbs at Drapion. This meant Hidden Power was the ground type and Drapion was weak against the ground type. It wasn't enough to beat him though. Gary could see that Ash needed some help. 
"Get the Shieldon to safety." He told the others.
He released his Blastoise and joined the battle.
While Ash and Gary tried to fight Hunter J, there was another issue. As Brock, Tomo, Dawn and the Shieldon were crawling away, one of the Shieldon slid down the hill. Hunter J saw it and turned it into a statue. Ash and Gary tried fighting back to save the Shieldon, but they were overpowered by Salamence and Drapion. J successfully captured Shieldon.
Dawn, Brock and Tomo had managed to get away with the other Shieldon. Just then Prof. Rowan and Officer Jenny appeared. 
"Hunter J managed to get away with one of the Shieldon." They told them.
"We must go after Hunter J and find Ash and Gary now." Officer Jenny said.
Right now Hunter J and her men were getting ready to head back to the ship. Ash and Gary quickly sneaked underneath a van to hitch a ride to the ship. 
"If that witch thinks I'm going to let her sell Shieldon to someone, she's sadly mistaken." Ash angrily said.
"Same here." Gary agreed.
He hated J's idea of stealing and selling Pokemon as much as Ash did. Soon Hunter J and her men arrived at the ship. 
"The client is arriving soon." One of her men informed her.
"We're going to wait where we are for the client." J told them.
Underneath the van, Ash carefully sent his Staravia to get the others.
"We're going to create a distraction and get Shieldon." Gary said as the van entered the ship.
"Finally, no more Mr. nice guy." Ash said.
J's client was arriving in a helicopter. Then a explosion went off within her ship. Ash and Gary were the cause. He had Pikachu use Thunder inside the ship. Gary had his Electivire use Thunder as well and his Umbreon used Shadow Ball. 
"That's enough for now. Time to get Shieldon back." Gary said.
Pikachu and Electivire created a explosion at the side of the ship while Ash rushed in to get Shieldon. Hunter J's men rushed to get it back, but were stopped by Electivire and Umbreon. Ash restored Shieldon to normal and it was happy to be free again.
Hunter J was enraged and was just about to fight back, before being contacted by her client from the helicopter.
"The deal's off. Officer Jenny's on her way and I don't want to be arrested after it's discovered I was doing business with you." Then he left.
J was angry with her client for breaking off the deal and she decided to never do business with him again. 
"We have no more business here." She said to her men.
Ash wanted to keep her from getting away again, but Gary stopped him because Shieldon's safety was more important. 
"Don't get in my way again." J warned Ash. 
She and her men then left.
So the Shieldon were safe.
"I'll begin a full investigation on Hunter J immediately." Officer Jenny promised.
"Did any of J's men that we captured before say anything?" Brock asked.
"No. Even though J abandoned them, they're not talking." Officer Jenny said.
"If you ask me, that's stupid." Dawn said. "I would definitely snitch if I was betrayed like that."
"Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of all this." Officer Jenny promised.
The gang hoped Hunter J would be dealt with soon. 
"I appreciate your help with the Shieldon." Prof. Rowan thanked them.
Gary was also grateful. He and Ash shook each other's hands.
"Thank you Ash." He said. 
"My pleasure Gary." Ash replied.
Prof. Rowan, Gary and Officer Jenny then left with the Shieldon.
After running into the evil Hunter J again, the gang could now continue onto Hearthome City.