Ash walked into an office which held six people inside. Jhoto Champion Gold, Gym Leader Chuck, Nurse Jim, Officer Jenny, a lawyer, a woman and a girl who was sulking.... Ash raised an eyebrow unimpressed, didn't she know she was in a lot of trouble? Officer Jenny sighed seeing his disgruntled expression. She understood the feeling quite well, there was a reason a strict screening was done on the students who apply to become trainers. Not to forget it was a Grookey involved as well, thankfully they avoided an international incident by the teeth.
Lawyer addressed, "Miss Peregrine, do you know why we are all gathered here?"
Peregrine did not look regretful one bit, "I know, it's just a Grookey though. I don't see what the big deal is."
Ash answered her sharply, "Then you better understand right now that it's a big deal and you are lucky you are not being kicked out of Jhoto and getting black listed."
Peregrine, "Black listed? Hey, isn't that a bit too much?"
Gold, "Not really, it's actually the least amount of punishment. You are lucky Grookey was found when he was. A bit more and you would be arrested for being a murderer."
Ash, "So sit down and face the consequences of your action."
The lawyer didn't say anything and started to read out the number of laws the trainer had broken. From starving her Pokemon to abandoning them in a foreign environment to almost killing them. If she had been an adult like Damien she would have been behind bars but since she was still underage that option was not available. So the next best thing was to strip her from her trainer status, get banned from becoming a trainer and getting deported from Jhoto.
The trainer at least had the decency to look ashamed as she left the room and was escorted away. Her parents would be waiting at her home region to pick her up from the port once she landed. Ash and Gold gave a sigh as the whole ordeal ended around late evening almost dinner time. Ash would tell Gou about how things went down later, in fact the only good thing about this whole ordeal was the fact Grookey was alive. Gold eyed the exhausted trainer and made up his mind before dragging him along.
Ash, "Eh? Gold?"
Gold, "You are spending the night with me and my cousin."
Ash, "Are you talking about Ethan? I thought he was in Sinnoh."
Gold, "He was but he took a break and came home. Aunt and Uncle are happy to see him again obviously. They were the ones who invited me over hoping to make the brat stay a little longer."
Ash chuckled, "I have only known Ethan for a few days and even I can tell how much of a wild card he is."
Lucario, -We are heading outside the City main.-
Gold nodded, "My aunt and uncle stay near the Beach 21 street also known as Corsula haven. I think you have not been there yet?"
Ash shook his head, "Not yet. After all of us reached here, we went to do our own thing. Gou went to the research center, Brock is helping out the nurse, Casey, Max and I were focused on training. Gym Leader Chuck despite his laid back and calm attitude is very strong."
Gold, "Hm~ I suppose he is, isn't he? How are you finding Cianwood so far? Aside from training."
Lucario, -It's calm, aside from what happened earlier, that is.-
Gold, "Ah! Here we are. Aunt Harls, Uncle Po, we are here."
Ethan poked his head out, "Gold you are back."
Uncle Po, "Welcome back. You brought a friend as well."
Aunt Harls, "Come in, come in! Make yourself comfortable."
Ethan, "Been a while Ash."
Ash grinned, "Yes, it has been a while Ethan. How have you been? I heard you were taking part in the Sinnoh challenge."
Ethan, "Yup, mom was Sinnoh Champion, so I figured I would take part in it too."
Ash, "Your mom.... Wait Harls? By any chance are you Harribel Heinswood?"
Harribel grinned, "Wooph! Secrets out."
Ethan laughed before dragging Ash and Gold along with him, "Come on, you are both in time for the Corsula to return to their nests."
Ash, "Sounds fascinating."
Abra, -Fascinating?-
Eevee, "Vui?"
Absol, "Sol?"
Ash sat on the over ledge that was facing the Corsula nests, "Look."
Lucario, -Fascinating indeed.-
Ethan, "This whole community is dedicated to the Corsula. We use the fallen shedded horns and scales to make jewelry."
Harribel, "Poimu dear why don't you show our young guest your workshop while I get dinner ready?"
Poimu nodded, "Good idea honey. Follow me, I will show you the work shop."
Ash perked up, "Really? That would be amazing."
Poimu took them to a building a little further away from their house and opened the door to let them in. They followed the man to a large room where they could see some of the workers who were burning their late night oil and making jewelry. Poimu took them and showed the raw materials first which came from the many Corsula around the area. Ash noticed the raw materials differed in colour range, some were a rich deep colour while others were bright and light. Then there were those that were a completely different colour probably from Galarian Corsula Ash thought.
Ethan was telling them random facts, "Did you know this place was previously known as Megi City before the place grew and combined with Cianwood. Now this is known as Megi Corsula City."
Lucario, -That's interesting.-
Ethan, "Right? And guess what else. The Corsula population here never seems to increase or decrease. They stay at a constant amount, no matter what."
Abra, -Cool.-
Ash grinned, "Sounds like they have a good system going."
Poimu, "They do have one. In fact, unless a poacher tries to get them, they never had a need for humans to interfere. Of course if one of them wants to leave with a trainer, they go with them."
Ash, "I see."
Gold, "My Corsula is from here as well. He is over there at the moment."
Ash chuckled, "With his mate?"
Gold nodded, "Looks like it."
Poimu, "Come along kids. It's time for dinner."
Gold, "Coming Uncle."
Ash followed them to their house and joined them for a hearty dinner which consisted of hotpot, vegetable pickles, rice and multiple drinks. Harribel talked about her time as a trainer back in Sinnoh and how she had travelled to Jhoto and fell in love with Poimu after a misadventure. Poimu laughed and talked about their adventure when Harribel had seen Corsula nest for the first time and entered it. The Corsula were not amused and chased her only to bump into Poimu who helped her calm the Pokemon down.
Ash chuckled, it sounds like kids who ran into crazy adventures had parents who had crazy adventures themselves. Heaven knows how absurd some of his mother's adventures were, but he had no room to judge when he thought about his own adventures. As they got ready for bed Ash heard Poimu address a young girl called Mika who was on her way to the work shop. Apparently she was taking dinner to her older sister who was working on a specially ordered jewelry. Ash thought she looked familiar but shrugged and paid attention to Ethan who was taking out game consoles.
Ethan, "Let's play!"
Ash, "Well it's still too early to sleep I guess."
Gold, "Team up?"
Ethan, "Yeah! Hey battle me tomorrow before you leave?"
Ash, "Sure!"
The next day they woke up early to Pelipper screaming outside and Ash and Ethan had a one on one battle. Ethan was no slouch and it had become harder to defeat him then before but both of them had fun and didn't hold back while battling. Ethan was grinning from ear to ear as he cackled while his Monferno fought Lucario without holding back. Battling Ash was always a lot of fun and the dark haired boy never held back and always pushed forward not afraid of showing his moves. But then again he always came up with interesting combos so it was not like taking him down was easy. The battle ended in a draw with both Pokemon fainting.
Harribel clapped, "Bravo!"
Poimu, "That was amazing."
Gold, "Both of you have become stronger."
Ash then headed to the gym for his A level battle after a visit to the Pokemon center, "Okay, time for our A battle."
Ethan, "I'm happy you are inviting me to watch."
Ash, "Well we'll be parting soon so why not?"
Gou, "Ash! There you are."
Casey, "Ethan too."
Max, "Ready for your battle?"
Ash, "Sure am! Let's do this."
Brock, "Good to see you all fired up."
Referee, "This is an Ace level battle between challenger Ash and Gym Leader Chuck. It will be a one on one battle. Choose your Pokemon."
Chuck, "Go Machamp."
Ash, "Let's do this Primeape."
Referee, "Begin!"
Chuck, "Focus energy!"
Ash, "Ice punch!"
Machamp used focus energy while Primeape used waited before jumping up and used ice punch on the attack. The attack hit the ground creating a small hole with ice spreading around it like a spider web. Primeape eyed it then looked at his opponent who was soon enough attacking again. Primeape grunted as he attacked using close combat and rage fist in answer to work up and dynamic punch. It was a very intense fight before they separated from each other.
Ash, "Fury swipes!"
Chuck, "Vital throw."
Primeape dodged Machamp's hands as he attacked using fury swipes which Machamp dodged very quickly. The two fighters went all out with dynamic punch, thunder punch, ice punch, etc, and both Pokemon were covered up in bruises. Despite that none of them wanted to quit that easily and simply separated in order to catch their breath before fighting again. Ash eyed the fight, he would have to think of a way to get around the defense of Machamp.
Ash, "Swagger!"
Chuck, "Don't let him escape."
Primeape used swagger to move around the attacks from his opponent before Ash called out a low sweep. Primeape crouched down and kicked in a circular manner making Machamp fall but that was not the end of the fight. Primeape attacked using ice punch but Machamp answered with a dynamic punch which had both Pokemon wincing as their first collided. Primeape winced at the pain from the dynamic punch while Machamp hissed at the sudden frost bite.
Ash frowned and came up with an idea, "Rage fist!"
Primeape nodded, "Ape!"
Chuck, "Work up! Followed by cross chop and dynamic punch."
Ash, 'Primeape is getting worked up. Could it be? Rage fist is a move he learned a few weeks ago.'
Chuck, "Now!"
Machamp got a hold of Primeape and picked him up but Ash and Primeape were not gonna make it easy. Primeape clenched his fist and just as he reached the top he wiggled around and turned before pulling back and punching him. Primeape hit the ground hard after that punch and both Pokemon were shaking from the pain from the intense attacks. As the dust cleared they saw Primeape was standing while Machamp was down and out cold.
Referee, "Machamp is unable to battle, Primeape and Ash won this A level battle."
Ash released hid breath, "We won? We won! That was awesome Primeape."
Primeape gave a smirk before he started to glow and everyone gasped as Primeape started to change. Ash couldn't believe it, he knew Primeape was learning new moves from other ghost type Pokemon. Like the move rage fist, curse, shadow claw, etc. He had a suspicion Primeape was planning on evolving but he was not expecting it to happen one year after he became a Primeape. Then in front of all of them stood a large terrifying looking Pokemon that approached Ash.
Aah looked up at him, "You have become taller than me."
Annihilape was amused by the reaction, "Ape!"
Ash, "So, this is the surprise you had for me."
Annihilape nodded and nuzzled his trainer getting a laugh from him. Ash was not against it and instead he fussed his health. The others were excited too, especially the Gym Leader and his Pokemon. They had heard of his evolution to a ghost type Pokemon but his final evolution was rare in Kanto and Jhoto regions. Chuck was hovering around them and was making notes while helping Ash learn about how to care for Annihilape. Ash on the other hand was grateful the same rules that applied in Kanto was applicable in Jhoto as well. He could have Annihilape with him while carrying the five Pokemon from Jhoto and the three Pokemon babies.
Ash, "Annihilape, you good?"
Annihilape nodded as he sat holding Ash, "Ape annihi ape."
Lucario, -Now that Annihilape is part ghost type, I wonder if he can enter your shadow.-
Ash, "Who knows?"
[A. N.: I just got an Annihilape in my game.
OMIGOSH! I love him.
He is so cool.
Currently my strongest ghost type in my game. Aaaah! ]