Ash the Dragon Specialist

The Steel Gym

Ash and Celeste exchanged glances, sensing that something was amiss in Canalave City. As they made their way towards the Canalave Gym, they couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that hung in the air. Their steps echoed on the cobblestone streets, the city seemingly wrapped in a restless silence. As they arrived at the Gym, Ash's hopes of a battle were dashed, as the Gym Leader was away, and the city was plagued by sleepless nights and haunting nightmares. Officer Jenny, her expression weary, recounted the events that had unfolded. Darkrai, a Legendary pokemon known for inducing nightmares, had come to Canalave City prematurely. Normally, Cresselia, a benevolent Lunar Legendary pokemon, would appear from Full Moon Island and drive Darkrai away, bringing peaceful dreams to the residents. But this time, Cresselia was nowhere to be found.

"I was planning on going to Full Moon Island to get to Cresselia," Officer Jenny informed the two. Ash and Celeste exchanged confused looks. Why was she teeling them that? Shouldn't a police procedure like that be kept a secret? "Would you like to come with me? I see that you have powerful pokemon with you. A dragon like Altaria could be useful and that Umbreon seems to know what is going on, it's been on edge and looking for danger since the start."

"She," Celeste murmured.

"Excuse me?" Officer Jenny sounded taken aback.

"Yes, excuse you!" Celeste snapped.

"Oh, oh, you got her angry," Ash chuckled, finding the whole situation amusing.

"First of all, Nyx, my Umbreon, is a she not an it. You do not know the gender, then use they not it. Pokemon are living beings after all! Arceus!" Celeste continued sneering, looking a lot like Nyx at that moment. Who, by the way, was growling at Offcier Jenny. "Second, you are asking two civlians, underage civilians, to follow you to face against two Legendaries. Are you out of your freaking mind?! Not to mention, you are going alone. Are you suicidal? Is that it? Then my apologies, I should not be so hard on someone who is suffering. But we," Celeste pointed at Ash and herself. "Value our life quite a lot. Not to mention, we are still rookie trainers. Who in the name of Arceus asks rookie trainers to follow her to face Cresselia and Darkrai?!"

"Also, how do you know that all of our pokemon are strong?" Ash continued for her friend, who had gone into a Paldean rant about how stupidily mad people were in Sinnoh, in a much calmer tone. "You only saw two of our pokemon, while Nephele and Nyx are powerful, the rest of our team might not be."

"I... excuse me... sorry about... all of this..." Officer Jenny stuttered, face red in embarassment, as she stumbled away.

"Can you believe her?!" Celeste turned to Ash, finally back to speaking Unovan. Before stopping and looking around. "Where did she go?"

"To deal with Cresselia and Darkrai, I believe," Ash chuckled. People might call him adorable, but at moments like this he can't stop himself from thinking how cute Celeste could be when she gets angry. "Come on, let's get to the Pokemon Center, we need to get a room. By the way, what's wrong with Sinnoh and their trainers never being in the gym? Or is my luck that bad?"

"Nah, your luck is good, just look at your team," Celeste waved it away, as they proceeded to walk towards the Pokemon Center. "Sinnoh is just strange. We should have just gone to Hoenn."

"Hoenn, really? Were you not the one who begged not to go there so not to cross paths with Wallace?" Ash teased his best friend.

"Oh, shut up!" Celeste blushed, punching his shoulder.

They made it to the Pokemon Center and got a room, the place was quite deserted. Most likely because of the nightmares going around in the city. Luckily for them, Officer Jenny and a squad, it seems that she heard Celeste's scolding, had gotten Cresselia out of Full Moon Island and they chased Darkrai away. They slept soundly that night, without any nightmares affecting them. The following days proceeded with more training as they waited for the Canalave Gym Leader to make it back. Once he did, Ash was the first to cross the gates of the gym and demand a gym battle.