Ketchum Chronicles

Struggle on the Excess Express

Clemont

Early in the morning I had to go to the bathroom, but there was none in our room so I headed out to look for one. I put on my clothes since I didn't think I could go back to sleep and headed out. One odd thing I noticed was no one seemed to be around, and other than that, I saw tiny yellow flashes by the windows. Maybe it was going to rain. I found the bathroom and found Pikachu waiting outside, with the bathroom occupied.
"H-hello?"
"Clemont, is that you?"
"Ash? How long have you been here?"
"I'm not sure. What time is it?"
"About midnight,"
"WHAT? A-alright, I'll come out"
Ash washed his hands and let me use the bathroom. Then we both headed for our rooms. While we kept walking back we didn't encounter anyone. Odd. I thought I would have at least seen train staff somewhere.
"Hey... Clemont? I think I left the room key behind in the room,"
"Oh, that's okay. You can stay in ours,"
"Thanks"
But then when we got to our room, something was odd.
"Is that.. I think the room is already opened,"
I slowly opened the door.
"Bonnie?"
Inside everything looked normal. But when I checked the top bunk...
"Bonnie's not here!"
"W-wait what? Where could she be?"
"Maybe she went to find a bathroom too?"
But then...
"Ash, look out behind you!"
Ash immediately turned and jumped out of the way. In his place just moments before, was now a cloudy grey tentacle, with curls like it was made of clouds, made up of multiple segments that looked like pieces of popcorn with small flashes dotting the points where the segments connected all across the tentacle, like miniature lightning bolts were flashing inbetween it's smoky parts.
Ash quickly got back up "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"
"Pika-chuuu!"
The tentacle got struck, but didn't seem to mind.
"Get out of the way!"
It swiped, causing all of the room items to go flying everywhere. I searched for my backpack, and started looking for a Pokeball. Then I unleashed it.
"Luxray, swift!"
Luxray had a hard time maneuvering in such a small room, but managed to force the tentacle to retreat with swift.
"Clemont, I don't think Luxray can be used right now.."
"Your [grunt] right... Luxray return..."
"So what was that?"
"I don't know, let's check your room,"
I quickly grabbed my backpack and pokeballs and we headed to Ash's room. It first looked normal, just like mine, but this time the window was broken and the blankets were on the floor.
"Where is... EVERYTHING?"
"Let's check the front,"
"Right,"
"WAIT! Shouldn't you get your clothes?"
"Alright, it'll be better that way,"
Ash threw his clothes on and put on his jacket and hat while we were running away. Then we booked it and headed to the front of the train. Along the way we found even more troubling signs. We found some decorative plants knocked over, along with some food trays on some parts of the floor. As the rain beat on the windows, it made sounds like a horrid drum beat, all while one of the windows was starting to darken...
"Ash, look out again!"
He hit the deck as a tentacle burst through a window. Shattered glass flew across the car, embedding themselves on the floor, the walls, and a few cracking the window besides me.
I immediately pulled out Bunnelby.
"Bunnelby, mud shot!"
A ball of mud was generated and thrown towards the smog-like tendril. But then dirt passed through like it was...
"Air! It's like air! And if electric attacks did little... Do we have any Pokemon with ice attacks?"
"No!... not right now anyways..."
"Then let's get out of here!"
I helped him up and we sprinted for the door, but more tentacles came from the windows, blocking our way. There wasn't any room to bring out Luxray, so I sifted through my Pokeballs.
"Anything... anything..."
I then looked up from my backpack to see Ash on the floor. The tentacle thrust, but before it could grab Ash he took hold off a box, and held it in front. The minute the tendril tore the front, it started to freeze. Little by little, the horrid tentacle began to solidify and harden, and just as fast as it happened, the tentacle shattered into thousands of fragments.
"Wha-what was that?"
"I'm not sure myself..."
"Wait! Look here! This is an air conditioner! And that means..."
I took a torn piece of curtain and wrapped my hand in it before plunging my hand into the leaking AC. I groped around until I felt something that felt like ice.
"Here! This is an ice stone, an evolutionary stone for Eevee to become Glaceon. These are components inside of air conditioners, and they might have caused the tentacle to condense, therefore causing it to coagulate and form ice crystals!"
"Man, science is so cool!... Could you explain what that was?"
"Well, basically the tentacle was made of clouds, and clouds are made of water vapor that is light enough to float. Now, because of the ice stone, it froze and started to fall. Do you understand?"
"Yeah! Now we have a way to fight back! Let's get the rest of them in here!"
"Now be careful, the ice stones inside of air conditioners are much more concentrated than the ones found in the wild!"
"Okay!"
We each grabbed 6 concentrated ice stones and attached them to our belts. Then we ran as fast as we could. Eventually we found another tentacle, and I threw the ice stone at it, causing it to solidify, just as I said. We came upon the lounge cars, the restaurant area and finally the front. We came upon the door, but this time it was jammed. Wondering why, II looked inside the acrylic window.
"It's the crew!"
"Well, let's help them! Help me charge this door!"
Together, we slammed the door, but it wouldn't budge.
"I have an idea! DO you have any tape?" Ash asked.
"Well yes, but how is that-"
He ignored my query and ran towards some of the wreckage on the floor. He pulled a metal bar that held some of the curtains off the wall, then took the other one. He took another, and another until there were four in total, and then he taped them together. I then realized what it was. It wasn't much, but it was a good enough makeshift battering ram. I came over to help and picked up the back end while he carried the front, and we ran as fast as we could putting all of our momentum into the metal beam going through the door.
We slammed the metal beem into the joint where the door's integrity was weakest and forced it open. Inside we found the crew wrapped in a giant mass of swirling, brewing storm clouds, with tiny yellow flashes inbetween the cumulus that looked like eyes. In its many tentacles were some of the train crew, but the most notable was...
"It's Greninja!"
"He must have come out of his Pokeball to help!"
"Well let's help them out!"
I threw an ice stone, but this time the tentacles didn't stay put. One tentacle spun around, seemingly generating energy and shot a beem, cutting the ice stone and making it shatter mid-flight.
"It-what?!"
"Let's think carefully... AND WATCH OUT!"
Me and Ash jumped out of the way while a tentacle slammed us just where we were standing a few seconds before. I looked to my left. I saw Ash running to one of the curtain's along the wall, and ripping off a tin bar.
"Ash what are you doing? Physical attacks will do nothing!"
"I don't know how but I know this will work!"
"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!"
We jumped to our sides when another tentacle came in for a sweeping slash. The only reason we survived was because this mosnter may have been large, but that came at a cost of speed.
"Clemont, I need a distraction!"
"What? Your plan won't work!"
"Please Clemont, I don't remember everything, but you'll trust me here, won't you?"
While looking at Ash, something in his eyes flashed. In a fraction of a moment, I saw the Ash I remembered, the one with the determination and drive to do anything, to pull off the impossible.
"Okay then," I took a short breath. "Hey over here you... you... something!" and I threw the ice stone. It flew overhead to the monster, and it cast a laser to cut it. The subzero vapors flew over it, seeming to wince a bit, but nothing froze. I turned to Ash. He threw the pole at... Greninja? He hit Greninja in the center of his chest, with such force that Greninja was sent flying 15 m into the other side of the car then fell and landed on his chest.
"Ha! I knew it! If it isn't physical, it should have a hard time holding onto things! Take that you-" He suddenly clenched his chest.
"Ow, why does that hurt? Oh well, Greninja, cut the crew out with cut and aerial ace!"
Greninja summoned kunai-like daggers and hopped 3 meters onto the roof, then jumped off the roof glowing white with aerial ace. He cut down the crew and they all fell to the floor. Then he hopped to his trainer's side.
"All right! Let's go Greninja!"
"Gren!"
Then Greninja did something different. Ash moved his hands in a fluid motion, the thrust outward.
"Ice beam!"
"Greninja brought forth a beam of subzero temperatures, and froze the monster. Bit by bit, frost started to coat the monster, its smog-like cloudy body hardened and solidified into ice crystals.
"Now Greninja, aerial ace again!"
Grneinja jumped toward the roof and launched himself off, sticking out his right foot of the monster ice sculpture, before bouncing off and returning to his trainer's side. We watched in awe as cracks and fractures spread from the pressure point, reaching the tipes of the tentacles, before shattering into a thousand little shards that fell like snow.
"That, THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! How did you do that?"
"I... don't know. My body moved itself, it was like my body knew what to do and say but my brain didn't,"
"Hmmm, could it be muscle memory from previous Pokemon battles? Perhaps... though could it-?"
I looked at Greninja who nodded.
Ash copied the movement of Pokemon, could the reverse be true?
"No time to waste! Where is the captain?"
They all pointed towards the door ahead.
"Alright, let's move,"
We entered and expected a fight, but instead we found the captain desperately pulling at levers and pressing buttons. A Boltund was barking at the window. We looked up and saw why. Instead of the Kalos night sky, a huge carpet of dark clouds covered the windscreen, with flashes of lightning that were definitely eyes. I could even hear them laughing, sort of. Imagine a static pop from rubbing your feet on the carpet and touching a doorknob. Imagine that sound, over and over, in a cursed mixtape.
"Where are the rest of the passengers?" Ash asked one of the crew.
"I don't know, we'll help you find them!"
"The engine room!" One of them said, panting.
"Then let's move!" A third announced.