Today, Ash was hanging out with Gladion as Lillie and Serena went on a shopping trip. Just then, they overheard a conversation from someone else nearby.
Calem: What? The Battle Mines is open again?
Lucas: Right, Dawn and Barry mentioned that they faced the Subway Bosses last year. Scottie and Bettie were one of the few teams that beat them.
Ash: Hey! Excuse me?
Calem: Oh hey, It's Ash and Gladion. What's up?
Gladion: We heard what you guys were talking about, what's The Battle Mines?
Calem: It's basically like the Battle Subway, but it's located here on Pasio instead. Ingo and Emmet arrived here last year and decided to make it so that everyone can have some fun battling.
Ash: Ingo and Emmet huh, been a while since I last heard those names.
Gladion: You know them?
Ash: Right, I fought them once back in Unova. Man their Elektross and Chandelure were strong.
Lucas: That's right, those were the Pokémon they use at the Battle Subway, but here they use Excadrill and Archeops.
Calem:You seem to know a lot about them Lucas?
Lucas: Oh, Hilda wouldn't stop talking about them,. Pretty sure I have them down in my memory.
Ash: How about we go there together?
Calem: Thanks, but I have a meet-up with Cynthia soon.
Lucas: Sorry, I can't right now. Kris wanted to ask something involving Dialga. But I can't help as if I'm forgetting something...
Calem: Meh, it'll probably come around. We'll join you after we're done with our errands.
Ash: Oh okay, see you all later.
Calem: Yeah.
And so Ash and Gladion went to look The Battle Mines.
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A few hours later, Ash and Gladion... Are currently lost in a cave. It was quite lit with the crystals around with some light coming through the holes around the place, with some plant life growing, add some Pokémon and it would have appeared as a natural habitat for them.
Gladion: And you are sure she said it was this way?
Ash: I mean yeah, Trista said it was in the cave on this mountain.
Gladion: And by that she means not just any Cave at the foot of the mountain, right?
Ash: Eh he he, well...
Gladion looked towards Pikachu and asked. "Does this always happen?" Pikachu replied by giving him a nod.
Gladion: Right, remind me to get proper information before we head out.
Ash: But how do we get out of here?
Gladion: Should be easy, we'll just-
He was cut off when an earthquake occurred. Ash and Gladion were shaken by the vibrations as a wall nearby collapsed. Out came the Subterrene Pokémon, Excadrill, followed behind by the First Bird Pokémon, Archeops. Behind them were two trainers wearing identical clothes with only the main colours were different.
???: My, quite the scenery down here. Isn't it, Emmet?
Emmet: Why certainly Ingo, seems we have arrived at our destination.
Ingo: The expansion for the Battle Mines are right on track. This seems to be a perfect place for- Hang on? Who are you two?
Ash: Uh Hi, I'm Ash, and this my partner Pikachu. And he's Gladion.
Gladion: Hello, I presume you two are the Subway Bosses, am I right.
Ingo: Spot on! I'm Ingo...
Emmet: And I'm Emmet...
Ingo & Emmet: And together we're the Subway Bosses of Unova!
Ash: Cool, we were looking for you to have a battle in the Battle Mines!
Emmet: Bravo! You have come to the right place! But unfortunately-
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Calem: I'll see you later, Miss Cynthia!
Cynthia: Take care, and just Cynthia is fine, calliing me Miss makes me feel old.
'How old does she think she is' Calem sweatdropped at the conversation just now and he's now going to the Lobby where he sees Lucas saying goodbye to Kris.
Lucas: Hope that helps you with your research.
Kris: Thanks, I'll go compare them with the notes I got from Lyra.
Calem: Hey, looks like we're both done with our tasks. Shall we meet up with Ash and Gladion now?
Lucas: Right, let's - Oh! Now I remember!
Calem: Remember what?
Lucas: The Battle Mines isn't going to open until next week! Right now they're undergoing construction to upgrade the mines today!
Calem: And you just remember this now!
Lucas: Hey, I said I was forgetting something.
Calem: (Sigh) Let's just hope they won't be too mad about this.
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Emmet: -the Battle Mines isn't scheduled to be opened until next week.
Ash: What! You mean we came here for nothing!?
Ingo: I'm afraid so, unless...
Emmet: We can make this an exception, you'll be the first to battle us with our new strategy, think of it a free ride along the way.
Ingo: We both have gotten stronger since we've arrived here on Pasio. Are you both up to the challenge?
Gladion: Sure, I'm down for it.
Ash: Yeah, it'll be great to have battle with the two of you!
Emmet: Excellent, now may I asked a question?
Gladion: What would it be?
Emmet: We're curious how you got here before us since we were making the path?
Ash: Oh, we entered through a cave somewhere nearby.
Ingo: That is appreciated, we can use that as the newest exit to guide people out once they have completed their goal.
Emmet: With that out of the way, it's time for the promised battle. Are you ready?
Ash: You bet we are!
Gladion:, We'll take both of you down!
Ingo: Wonderful, Each of us will use 2 Pokémon. Now Emmet, Is there anything you would to say before we begin?
Emmet: What I do. What I say. Always the same. But not today.
"Obey the rules." He says as they both adjust their hats.
"Right on schedule " Emmet spread his arms outwards while looking at Ash and Gladion.
"Preparation complete. Now let's compete!" They both pointed their fingers forward before holding onto their hats.
Emmet: Aim for Victory!
"ALL ABOARD!" Ingo and Emmet did their signature pose before sending out Excadrill and Archeops.
Ash: Lapras! I choose you!
Gladion: Take them down, Silvally!
The Transport Pokémon and Synthetic Pokémon came out and stare down at their opponents.
Ingo: Let's go, Sandstorm!
Emmet: Right on Track!
Excadrill stirred up a sandstorm while Emmet used his Trainer Move. Archeops eyes narrowed and a shield appeared in front of him, he flinch a little as his defence dropped for this boost.
Ash: Soak!
Gladion: Hope my other-self doesn't mind. My Mind's Made Up!
Lapras concentrated an orb in front of her before aiming at Excadrill. Another orb appeared beside it and was directed at Archeops. She fired as large amount of water came gushing out of the orbs and hit Excadrill and Archeops. This didn't deal any damage to them as it wasn't an attacking move. Silvally glowed while staring at Archeops. Soon the tip and fins on Silvally turn from White to Blue. Both Lapras and Silvally took damage from Sandstorm however.
Emmet: Rock Slide on them all!
Ingo: Allow me to assist you. All Aboard!
Ash: Hit them with Freeze-Dry!
Gladion: Dodge and use Hone Claw!
Archeops screeched and rocks were summoned from above before falling directly above Lapras and Silvally. Silvally dodged a few but was hit by the rest, Lapras took a lot more damage but she ignored the pain. Lapras opens her mouth again as cold wind can be felt around the cave and launched it towards the opponents. Having enough leeway, Silvally raised it's Accuracy and Attack.
Excadrill seems slightly exhausted while Archeops looked as it hasn't taken any damage.
Gladion: We gotta have to get rid of this weather, it's probably giving them a boost.
Ash: Then don't mind me changing it, Lapras! Rain Dance!
Dark clouds appeared in the cave and a rain has arrived, soaking the everyone wet.
Emmet: It seems they have saw through our strategy Ingo.
Ingo: Yes, but we're not done yet. Drill Run, Excadrill!
Emmet: Then let's put on a show, Outrage!
Excadrill began to spin and launched toward Silvally while Archeops rampaged towards Lapras aggressively.
Ash: Surf!
Gladion: Multi-Attack!
Lapras summoned a wave of water and crashed it against both Pokémon, Archeops came out on the other side and hit Lapras, but it wasn't as powerful as the Rock Slide before.
Excadrill drilled it's way out and kept on charging towards Silvally. So Silvally raised it's claw and collides it with the spinning drill. Both struggled to gain the upper hand before both were sent back by an explosion. Silvally landed on all four while Excadrill was flung towards the wall. Excadrill had fainted after taking three super effective hits.
"You did good, return!" Ingo returned Excadrill before taking out another Pokéball. " Clear up the way! Chandelure!"
Out came a familiar Pokémon Ash had once faced with his ex-friend. Chandelure.
" Use Soak again!" Ash being reminded of his past a bit, hastily ordered to soaked both Archeops and Chandelure.
Ingo: That won't work twice, Will-O-Wisp!
Lapras began charging up spheres of water before firing it at both Archeops and Chandelure while Chandelure retaliates by launching purple flames against the water shots. Steam appeared where both status moved collided.
Ingo: Will-O-Wisp, once again!
Chandelure fired another barrage of purple flames while Lapras was recovering, which made contact with Lapras, causing her to receive damage from burn.
Ash: Oh no!
Gladion: Tch, you let your guard down. Now Crush Claw!
Silvally launched forward hold Archeops within his grip before began pushing both hand together dealing damage to Archeops.
Emmet: Archeops! Break free with Fly!
However, Archeops was confused due to using Outrage earlier. So rather flying high to escape, it hurt itself in it's confusion.
Emmet: Oh dear!
Ash: Lapras! Hang in there and use Surf!
Lapras did as told and began riding another wave of water which was coming down on both Archeops and Chandelure.
Ingo: We'll keep on pushing to our limit, All Aboard!
He said as his Sync Stone shined. Chandelure received the power from Ingo spirits due to their strong bond, summoned their Sync Move.
Ingo: Track Switching Hex!
Chandelure conjured many ghostly purple flames around it, circling around Chandelure as the circle grew bigger and launched towards Lapras and Silvally. Each wisp went different directions moving in unpredictable trajectories of their own. But they all made it to their final destination and dealt damage to Lapras and Silvally, Lapras in particular was in more pain due to being burned.
Lapras was finally at her limit as she had fainted.
Ash: Lapras! Return! You did great.
Ash contemplated his choices as he looked around, choosing Lapras was a good idea but with not much water around, there's no room to move around much. The rain from earlier has already dispersed so he has more option to choose from. Naturally, this led him to consider using a Pokémon that has adapted to live in the caves.
So Ash choose one where he found it in.
Ash: Boldore, I choose you!
Boldore came out and gave out a cry, facing it's opponent wherever the sound was coming from since it relies on it's hearing ability.
Emmet: A Boldore? Looks like I'm going down on a memory lane.
Ingo: Let's not get sidetracked yet, Emmet. We still haven't reach to our destination yet.
Ash: Boldore, use Rock Polish followed by Rock Smash!
Emmet: Counter that with Acrobatic!
As Emmet said that, Ingo realised his brother has made a mistake.
Boldore outer surface shined as his speed increased, he then charged forward raising his front limb while Archeops move all over the place but it kept hitting the stalagmite and stalactites that are in it's way, causing Archeops to receive some damage.
Boldore claw clashed with Archeops which he overpowered Archeops with ease as it was sent towards the wall. Archeops has finally exhausted itself and can't continue to battle.
Ash: Alright! Good Job Boldore!
Gladion: Hmph, nice comeback.
Ingo: Emmet, you shouldn't rush things. Or accidents happen.
Emmet: Yes, it seems I wasn't paying attention enough. But just we're getting warm up, brother.
Emmet returned Archeops before sending out his next partner.
Emmet: Let's hit the gas, Elektross!
Out came a floating black eel with arms, an Elektross. Known for having no weaknesses due to its ability. But that doesn't apply here on Pasio as it is now vulnerable to Ground-type attacks.
Ash upon seeing both Elektross and Chandelure flinched. The two exact same Pokémon he had fought once with a person who he thought was his friend.
He was going to give another command without thinking when suddenly Boldore turned to him said a few words in Pokémon speech.
Of course Ash couldn't understand him but he knew that Boldore relied on his sense of hearing to navigate. This was true as Boldore could hear Ash's heart beating faster, knowing he was feeling uneasy but doesn't know why. All Boldore knew was that he should help calm Ash down to concentrate on battling.
Ash thought back to his dream, him wanting to be a Pokémon Master. And to get there, he'll need to work together with his Pokémon. Together they'll get stronger than ever to overcome any obstacles that come into their way. So right now he should stop dwelling in the past while pursue the path he has chosen for his future, with his team.
Ash took a deep breath, before he became serious.
Ash: Okay Boldore! Let's do this!
Sensing his trainer's heart beating in a normal and slowly increasing pace, he knew Ash was back to himself again so he turn back around to face his next opponent.
Emmet: That's the spirit!
Ingo: Now show us what you two can do!
"Boldore, use Rock Polish again!" Boldore glowed once more as his speed went up.
"Elektross, Discharge!" Electric ran everywhere hitting both Boldore who shrugged it off and Silvally who suffered a lot more. It didn't help as Silvally was paralyzed.
Ingo: Use Hex on Silvally!
Ash: Use Stone edge to block it!
Stone pillars came out of the ground surrounding Silvally while a barrage of purple flames came to a stop by the walls.
Gladion: Silvally! Return!
Gladion took this chance to return his injured friend and sent out his next Pokémon, Zoroark.
Ingo: Chandelure, use Will-O-Wisp!
Gladion: Knock those down with Dark Pulse!
A beam of dark rings were fired against the purple flames, clouding everyone's vision.
Ash: Rock Blast!
Luckily, Boldore doesn't need sight to locate his opponents and fired large chunks of earth towards Elektross and Chandelure.
Emmet: Destroy them with Crush Claw!
Elektross swung his arms around destroying the incoming rocks but there were too fast to knock them all off and so Elektross got hit along with Chandelure.
Ingo: Shadow Ball!
Emmet: Flamethrower!
Both recovered and unleashed their attacks, which both combined became a flaming Shadow Ball.
Ash: Sorry Gladion but Sandstorm!
Gladion: Whatever, Night Daze!
Another sandstorm was conjured and the flames on the ball were put out. Zoroark let out a red sphere which grew and collided with Shadow Ball before over powering it and hits Chandelure who was guarding Elektross.
With Gladion and Zoroark passive skill, Chandelure took more damage and was down with a little health left.
Ingo: It seems I'm about to run out fuel soon.
Emmet: Then let's give it our all!
Ingo: Inferno!
Chandelure use every last strength it has and lights the whole field on fire, canceling the Sandstorm and hurting Zoroark more than Boldore.
After that move, both Chandelure and Zoroark had finally fainted, leaving only Boldore and Elektross standing with noticeable injuries on them.
Emmet: It's time for this ride to end!
This time it was Emmet's Sync stone glowing. With the energy flowing from Emmet to Elektross, it was no doubt they're putting everything into this Sync Move
Emmet: All Clear Discharge!
Elektross unleash many electric sparks all over the place before he released even more power into those bolts which incinerated anything within it's radius.
Ash: Protect!
Protect, a very useful move that almost all Pokémon can learn. A move that can block most incoming moves, where a few can bypass it. This move however cannot fully nullify a Z-move, Max move or Sync Move.
Boldore held it's ground conjuring a green shield infront of him as the blast of electricity came at him. The electric hit the shield which began to crack, Boldore began to focus even more to keep Protect up. As this was happening, Boldore began to glow. His body grew bigger and taller, the claws expanded as the back one split into two. Many spikes grew all around his body as well.
When the light died down, Boldore was no more as he had evolved into Gigalith.
With the new surge of energy, Gigalith glowed and fired Flash Cannon out of his mouth. The steel move hit the already weaken Sync Move before both moves cancelled each other out.
Ash: Boldore! You've Evolved!
Gigalith looked behind at towards Ash with his new eyes, giving him a nod.
Ash: Then let's finish this!
Ash's sync stone sparked as energy began to glow towards Gigalith. Who was shining even more when he was evolving.
The energy transfer stopped and Gigalith began to charge their Sync Move.
Ash: Pinnacle Stone Edge!
Gigalith stood on his hind legs and stomped back down, the ground shook as orange crystals similar to the ones on Gigalith came out of the ground and surrounded Elektross, Elektross tried to escape but Gigalith controlled the crystals and trapped Elektross. Soon a bigger earthquake could be felt as a larger rock spike came out beneath Elektross hitting it as it kept on growing until it reach the ceiling, crushing Elektross in between.
The crystal and rock pillar disintegrated back into dust, as Elektross fell back onto the ground with swirls on it's eyes.
Ash: Alright Gigalith you did it!
Gigalith turned around and slowly walk to Ash as the effect of Rock Polish and wore off and nudge him gently, being careful with his new body knowing he might injure his trainer if he was careless.
Ingo: Bravo! That was an amazing battle!
Emmet: I am Emmet, and he is Ingo. We're the Subway Bosses, but we both have lost.
"But that is okay, because you have made our day." Emmet continued.
Emmet: You wanted to win, and I didn't want to lose. However losing to you is what I would rather choose.
Ingo: Victory over us is quite an accomplishment, go on and celebrate. But first shall we head back to heal our friends.
Gladion: Yeah.
Ash: Sure
Everyone soon left the cave which will be modified in the future and back to the Pokémon Center.
When they arrived, they gave their Pokémon for Trista to heal them.
Ash found Calem and Lucas and told them what happened. They congratulated them for their achievement as Serena and Lillie returned holding a large number of shopping bags.
Ash: Oh hey, you two are both back!
Serena: Sorry, we got carried away with what we bought.
Lillie: At least we got the stuff we wanted.
"Really? And what are they?" Ash said as he took a peak into the bags.
"Huh? Cloths and a sewing kit?"
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And that's it for today. Made this story to commemorate this.
Kinda glad didn't waste too much for them.
And in this story Ash and Gladion fought with Ingo and Emmet and won with Boldore evolving into Gigalith. Kinda shame he didn't do this in the anime.
See you all next time.