Episode 115: More Dark than Bite

Ash and Blake have taken up positions on Blake's battlefield. Astrid stands between them in the position of a referee. Brock and Brenda are watching from the bleachers.

The time is upon us! Ash is about to battle in an attempt to earn his seventh gym badge in the Tenno Region. If he pulls this off, he's just one step away from entering the Tenno League!

Blake requests, "Ash, show me a gym battle like none I've ever seen before! Reignite my passion! Kindle my love for the battle! Prove to me that this is what I was meant to do!"

Astrid smiles upon hearing this.

Ash shouts back, "My Pokémon and I will give this battle everything we've got! We'll give you a battle for the ages!"

Astrid says, "It makes me extremely happy to hear this, so how about we get things under way? This will be a three-on-three match. Only the challenger may make substitutions. Select your Pokémon!"

Blake throws a Pokéball first. "Go, Shamoon!"

Blake's Pokémon is an impish creature, a little more than four feet in height. Its face is covered by a large mask which appears to be a tribal representation of a full moon. Through holes in the mask, two large yellow eyes are visible. From behind the mask, large plumes extend out in all directions. Its spindly body looks as if it's covered in tribal robes. Overall, the Pokémon is colored various shades of silver, black, red, and yellow. Once appeared, the Pokémon begins to dance to some unheard beat.

According to Ash's Pokédex, "Shamoon, the Moon Dancer Pokémon, and a Dark and Fairy Combo-Type. Shamoon fervently dances in order to channel the power of the Moon. Its mystical mask changes its shape and form to reflect the phase of the Moon. Evolves from Apojig with a Moon Stone."

Brock comments, "Bad luck for Ash, Shamoon's power is dictated by the Moon phase represented by its mask. Since the mask is in full Moon phase, that means it's at its strongest right now."

Ash doesn't seem to mind the challenge. He looks to Pikachu and asks, "Alright buddy, how about you go first this time?"

"Pika!" Pikachu leaps off of Ash's shoulder and runs on to the field. Sparks fly from its cheeks in a show of readiness.

Astrid announces, "Battle begin!"

Ash immediately takes the first move. "Pikachu, start things off with Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaaaaa chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu launches a powerful bolt straight at Shamoon.

Blake is quick to order, "Shamoon, bring on the night! Moonlit Night!" Shamoon dances around and cackles. As it does so, the ambient light in the room begins to dim. An artificial moon is created below the roof, which becomes the only source of light.

Then, just before the Thunderbolt hits, Shamoon seems to fade away into the shadows of the night, causing the bolt of electricity to impact empty ground.

Ash is surprised. "Huh?"

Brenda says, "Hey, I recognize that! That was Night Shroud, right?"

Brock confirms, "Yeah, it's an ability that makes a Pokémon hard to hit when it's night. This is looking tricky for Ash already."

Despite hearing Brock's explanation, Ash doesn't seem worried. "Don't worry Pikachu, we'll figure this out."

Blake laughs. "Good luck with that. Shamoon, use Moonblast!"

Shamoon suddenly reappears behind Pikachu. "Moooooon!" Shamoon's dance summons a burst of energy from the moon above. A silvery-pink orb of energy plummets down at Pikachu, taking it by surprise.

"Pikaaa!"

Ash attempts to turn things around. "Pikachu, get back up and use Iron Tail, quickly!"

Pikachu ignores the pain, gets back up, and leaps at Shamoon in an attempt to attack before it can vanish. "Chu, pika!" Just as Pikachu's tail slams down at Shamoon, the masked Pokémon fades away into shadows once more. Pikachu's tail instead slams into the ground.

Blake pushes his advantage, "And now use Nightstorm!"

Ash urges, "Be ready, Pikachu! It could come from any direction!"

Pikachu cautiously looks around, but what it doesn't expect is for Shamoon to attack from above. Shamoon appears mid-leap above Pikachu and sends a shockwave of shadowy energy down at its opponent. The attack is clearly powered up by artificial night.

"Out of the way, Pikachu!" Pikachu attempts to dodge, but it wasn't ready enough. The attack lands.

Ash grimaces. He thinks, This isn't going to go anywhere, unless I can get some light in here. An idea strikes. "Okay Pikachu, new strategy, give me a low power, high spread Thunderbolt! Let's cast some light!"

Pikachu understands. "Pikaaaa chuuuu!" Sparks fly from Pikachu's cheeks, and dance around the entire field. These sparks bring light wherever they fly. The light from one spark reveals Shamoon's location to Pikachu's left.

Ash quickly shouts, "There it is! Switch to full power!"

"Chuuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu quickly changes gears and sends thousands of volts hurtling at Shamoon, who is unable to fade away in the ambient light. The attack lands.

"Yeah!"

However, Pikachu switching to a regular Thunderbolt also means that the light it created around the room begins to fade. Realizing this, Blake asserts, "Get out of there, now!" As soon as Pikachu's Thunderbolt begins to wane, Shamoon manages to vanish once more.

Ash commands, "Pikachu, light the place up again!"

Blake interjects, "Before you're exposed, give it one more Nightstorm!" Pikachu doesn't have the chance to do much before Shamoon reappears behind it to attack once more with an attack enhanced by the darkness. Once more, Pikachu has no chance to dodge.

It shouts in pain, "Pikaaa!" Once the attack ends, Pikachu falls.

Astrid promptly declares, "Pikachu is unable to battle!"

Brenda looks shocked. "No way, he took down Pikachu like nothing."

Ash walks out on the field to retrieve Pikachu.

Jessie, James, and Meowth are strolling through the campus of the University of Tenno, for reasons that can only be guessed.

James sighs nostalgically. "Ah, a college university. Takes me right back to our days at Pokémon Tech."

Jessie grimaces. "Are you remembering the same place that I am? Because there's nothing good about those memories."

James shrugs. "I guess I'm just in a nostalgic mood."

Meowth points out, "I wouldn't know, the only school I attended was the school of hard knocks."

As they walk past a sports pitch, a football is accidently hurled towards James. A voice shouts, "Heads up!"

Without turning to face the incoming ball, James puts up a hand and plucks it right out of the air.

Several jocks in sports jerseys come running up to James. One exclaims, "Nice catch, pops!"

James turns towards them, holds up the ball, and smiles proudly. "I'll have you know, I may have failed at everything academic, but I was the star of Pokémon Tech's world-class football team. I could throw this thing like you'd never believe."

One of the jocks asks suspiciously, "Oh yeah? Prove it."

James grins confidently. "Go long."

The jocks laugh and one runs backwards onto the field. James beckons for him to move back even more, and he does so. With perfect form, James throws the ball. It spirals perfectly across the field to the jock. This amazes them all.

The lead jock says, "Okay pops, our quarterback is out sick for tonight's game. How about you replace him?"

James smiles. "I'm in."

Meowth groans. "Looks like that's tonight booked."

Jessie ponders, "Well, if James is going to live out his college, fantasy, I might as well do mine…" She looks over to the right, where she sees a group of cheerleaders practicing. She strolls over to them and announces arrogantly, "Girls, do I have an offer for you."

The cheerleaders stop practicing to look at Jessie with annoyance. One asks, "What?"

Jessie declares, "You've just recruited Jessie, cheerleader extraordinaire as your head cheerleader for the night."

The girls take a moment to decide whether or not she's being serious, then all break up in laughter. One says, "As if, old lady."

Jessie shouts in a fiery outrage, "Old lady!? Do you know who you're talking to!? I was the head cheerleader of the Pokémon Tech cheerleading squad!"

The girls laugh at her some more. Another asks, "When? Fifty years ago?"

Jessie's rage grows greater. Before she can do anything she would regret, Meowth tugs at her sleeve and whispers to her, "Cool it, Jessie. Getting angry isn't going to prove anything to them."

Jessie forces herself calm. "You're right. Actions speak louder than words. I can prove my skill as a cheerleader."

The head cheerleader laughs. "As if. But whatever. If you want to embarrass yourself, go ahead."

Jessie forcefully grabs one of the cheerleader's pom-poms. She begins to kick up her legs and thrust her arms as she chants, "Rah rah ree! Kick 'em in the knee! Rah rah rass! Kick 'em in the other knee!"

A cheerleader snatches the pom-poms back and asserts, "Yeah, so not happening." She and the others turn to leave, ignoring Jessie completely.

Meowth shrugs. "Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it, right Jess?" He pauses. "Jess…?" He looks up to her to see her fuming with anger.

She says between clenched teeth, "They think they can reject me? We'll see who has the last laugh."

Meowth groans. "I don't like where this is going…"

Who's that Pokémon!?

Its flower petals deepen in color through exposure to sunlight. When cloudy weather persists, it does a dance that is thought to be a ritual for summoning the sun.

Watching as Ash places Pikachu down next to his feet, Brock comments, "Even with his typical brand of innovation, Ash couldn't get around the disadvantage fighting at night is giving him. He only has one choice to win, I just hope it works…"

After Ash sets Pikachu down to rest, he pulls out his next Pokéball. He thinks, Okay, I'm counting on you. You can do it, I know it. He throws the Pokéball. "Turtsol, I chose you!"

"Turt!"

Brock slowly nods. "Risky move. Ash is betting it all on Turtsol's Sunny Day."

Brenda gasps, "But Turtsol has only been able to pull that move off a few times, it almost always fails."

Brock points out, "But still, Ash doesn't stand much of a chance as long as this Moonlit Night remains in effect. Turtsol may be his only chance."

Brenda stands up and cheers, "Go, Turtsol, go! I know you can do it!"

Ash adds, "We all know you can do it! Turtsol, use Sunny Day!"

"Tuuuuuuuuurt!" Turtsol begins to gather light energy in its shell. "Soooooooooool!" Turtsol releases all that energy in a blinding flash of light.

Ash cheers, "That's it! You did it!"

But as he speaks, the light suddenly subsides, leaving behind only the darkness of night. The mischievous moon imp Pokémon laughs at its misfortune. Turtsol hangs its head in shame. "Turt…"

Ash doesn't seem to mind, he smiles earnestly and encourages, "No worries, Turtsol. We'll get through this anyways!"

Brock frowns and crosses his arms skeptically. "Hmm…"

Brenda asks, "What is it?"

Brock explains, "Ash refuses to show it, but the odds are truly against him now. He needed that Sunny Day, and it failed. Ash may be an optimistic one, but there's no way he's not stressing this underneath the surface."

Brenda points out, "Give him a chance. Ash never gives up until he finds a way out of a bind. I bet he already has a plan."

Blake asserts, "I'm sorry, Ash, but it looks like you weren't properly prepared for this battle. We'll just have to wrap this up now. Shamoon, use Nightstorm."

"Shaaaaaaamoooooon!"" Shamoon attacks with darkness once more.

Ash encourages, "Turtsol, if we can keep on fighting, we'll get our chance! Use Withdraw and weather this attack!"

The attack impacts just as Turtsol pulls into its shell. For the most part, the attack just splashes off of the shell.

Ash shouts, "Flamethrower, as quick as you can!" Turtsol doesn't even bother to pull out of its shell, and instead a stream of fire bursts out from the head hole of its shell. This attack nearly catches Shamoon unprepared and connects, but after a quick panic, it manages to fade away just in time.

Turtsol emerges from its shell and looks around with disappointment.

Blake nods approvingly. "That was some good speed for a turtle Pokémon. But no amount of speed can get around Shamoon's night camouflage. Now, Shamoon. Let's try this one more time. Nightstorm!"

Shamoon reappears directly in front of Turtsol to attack. It's too close to give Turtsol a chance to withdraw again.

Ash realizes this, thinks fast, and shouts, "Get your shell between you and the attack!" While Turtsol can't withdraw, it quickly spins on its axis, placing the backside of its shell in front of the attack. The attack hits. Some of the blast wave form the attack causes damage to Turtsol, but the shell absorbs most of the damage.

Ash pushes aside his concern and orders, "Rapid Spin!" Turtsol wastes no time, continues the spin it had already began, and pulls the rest of the way into its shell. Its spinning shell is then hurled at Shamoon, who is still nearby. The attack lands a glancing blow before Shamoon manages to fade into the darkness once more. Unfortunately, Turtsol overcommitted, and keeps on moving, until it crashes into a wall.

Once it crashes, Shamoon reappears behind Turtsol. "And now use Moonblast!" Shamoon attacks with a massive moon-powered attack, inflicting great damage on Turtsol.

Ash declares, "Turtsol, enough of this! We take our stand now! Let's show them that we really can use Sunny Day! Do it!"

Turtsol, with nothing but sheer determination, stands back up and boldly faces Shamoon, and begins to gather energy once more.

Ash shouts with encouragement, "Remember everything that Zephyr the Weather Guru taught us after you first evolved and used Sunny Day! We do not control the weather; we only influence it! We need to work with it, not against it! Work to bring day back to this artificial night!"

Turtsol continues to gather energy. "Tuuuuuuuuuuurtsooooooooooooool!" Turtsol begins to glow intensely, but with more than just the solar energy it was gathering for Sunny Day. It quickly becomes completely enveloped in a white light. Then it begins to change. It first grows larger, then its hind legs develop, as it adopts an upright stance. Its shell grows more impressive.

Brock and Brenda say in collective disbelief, "No way…"

The light explodes off of Turtsol, lighting up the entire room with a harsh and powerful sunlight, replacing the darkness of night. As the light uncovers Turtsol, its new form is revealed.

Ash cheers, "Way to go, you used Sunny day and evolved into Solurtle! You did it!"

Brenda cheers, "You did it! You did it!"

Brock nods with a grin on his face. "It's about time. Good job, Solurtle."

Blake looks impressed. "A masterful display. I can tell you've been working on this move for a long time."

Ash grins. "You bet we have. And now let's use it to our full advantage! Attack, Solurtle!"

Without any guidance on which move to use, Solurtle begins to gather the sunlight from its surroundings in its solar panels. Moments later, it unleashes this energy as a concentrated beam of golden light from its mouth.

Shamoon isn't prepared for the attack, and without the cloak of night to protect it, it has no way to avoid the attack. The beam completely consumes it. Moments later, Shamoon falls to the ground, knocked out.

Astrid raises an arm to declare, "Shamoon is unable to battle!"

Ash cheers, "That was a Solar Beam! And an amazing one at that!" He runs out on to the field and hugs Solurtle. "Great job, Solurtle!"

It responds happily, "Lurtle!"

As Blake recalls Shamoon, he comments, "An excellent turnaround, Ash."

Astrid chides, "Almost makes you want to stay a Gym Leader, doesn't it?"

Blake stares daggers at her. He returns his focus to Ash. "However, this battle is far from through. I still have two Pokémon left. How will you handle them?" He pulls out another Pokéball. "Yin-Yang-Xing, you're up next!"

From the Pokéball, the combination of his and Astrid's two Pokémon appears.

Astrid cheers, "Alright Yang-Xing, whatever part of you that's in there, I know you can do it!"

Blake laughs. "Ha, we both know that it's the Yin-Xing part of Yin-Yang-Xing that will be carrying the weight." Both siblings take a moment to laugh.

Astrid thinks to herself, Okay Yang-Xing, it's up to you now. Help Blake to remember how much he loves being a gym leader.

Yin-Yang-Xing glances over at Astrid and nods knowingly. Astrid grins back.

Ash, having retaken his position, suggests, "You deserve a rest, Solurtle. Let's give someone else a chance." He recalls Solurtle. "Curemodo, I chose you!"

"Modo!" Once out on the field, Curemodo momentarily pauses to take in the sunlight, enjoying the warmth on its scales.

Blake points out, "Ash, this isn't going to be an easy one for you, either. Within Yin-Yang-Xing is the collective ability, knowledge, and experience of both Yin-Xing and Yang-Xing. You may only be facing one Pokémon, but you might as well be facing two."

Ash grins. "Double the challenge, double the fun."

Blake chuckles to himself. "You really do enjoy these gym battles."

Ash nods. "Just as much as you enjoy being a gym leader."

Blake slowly nods. "Perhaps that is so." He contemplates silently for a moment. "But that is not my focus right now. The focus is the battle. Yin-Yang-Xing, use Chaos Burst!" Simultaneously, two impulses of energy blast out from Yin-Yang-Xing's two gems, a white burst from the black gem, and a black burst from the white gem.

Ash is ready. "Curemodo, out of the way!"

In an unexpected move, Curemodo leaps out of the way of the dual attack with blinding speed, uncharacteristic of it. This shocks everyone, except for Brock.

Brenda asks, "Whoa, what was that? Curemodo has never been that fast!"

Brock explains, "That was Heala's secondary ability, Cold Blooded. A Pokémon with that ability may be sluggish in the cold, but heat causes it to speed up. This sunlight, courtesy of Solurtle, is perfect for Curemodo, allowing it to move faster than it ever could otherwise."

"Wow, that's great. Even with Solurtle not battling, it's still here to help."

Ash had listened in on the conversation and suggests, "Okay then, in that case, how about we put that speed to good use? Curemodo, get in close and use Dragon Claw!"

With the same breakneck speed as before, Curemodo rushes in close to its target, and rends through it with its claws. Yin-Yang-Xing was unable to react in time and is slammed back against a wall.

Despite the surprising display, Blake reacts instantly, ordering, "Night Slash, before it can back off!" Using its front black paw, Yin-Yang-Xing creates a blade of shadows to slash back at Curemodo. Curemodo leaps back to avoid the attack, but even with its boosted speed, was unable to completely avoid damage.

Blake presses further, "Follow it up with another Night Slash, and mix in a Light Blade!" Yin-Yang-Xing leaps forward to attack, with one paw covered in a blade of shadows, the other a blade of light. It slashes from the left with the Night Slash.

Ash shouts, "Dodge it!" Curemodo dodges to the right.

But Yin-Yang-Xing is ready, and comes in from the right with Light Blade, leaving no room for Curemodo to clear both attacks. First the Light Blade hits, then the Night Slash scissors in to hit as well.

Ash quickly counters, "Get it off you, Venoshock!" Curemodo spews a torrent of poisonous fluid at the attacking Pokémon, knocking it away. "And now use Cross Poison!" Curemodo leaps at the downed Pokémon for a follow up attack. It slashes its claws in an X pattern.

As the attack lands, Blake orders, "Chaos Burst, while it's in range!"

But Ash is ready. "Leap up! Now!" Once Curemodo's attack lands, it leaps straight up with great speed to avoid the counterattack. "Another Venoshock!" Curemodo angles itself to attack straight downwards.

Blake promptly orders, "Out of the way!" Despite Curemodo's attack speed, Yin-Yang-Xing manages leap out of the way.

Brock comments, "Ash and Curemodo are doing great, but the fact that Yin-Yang-Xing is able to keep up with them, even with Cold Blooded in play, means that if it hadn't been for Solurtle getting Sunny Day down just in time, this battle would have been completely different."

Brenda agrees, "It was Ash's absolute faith in Solurtle that's even giving him a chance in this battle. That's amazing."

Curemodo lands, and just as it does, Blake commands, "Use Chaos Burst once more, but break it up!" Yin-Yang-Xing first launches the dark part of its attack.

As would be expected, Curemodo leaps out of the way with speed that easily surpasses the attack. However, Yin-Yang-Xing was ready, tracks its opponent's movements, and attacks with the second part of its attack. Curemodo, too committed to its first dodge, is unable to change its movement to dodge this attack.

Ash grunts. "Curemodo, let's use you speed for the ultimate offensive! Enough of this running around to dodge! Let's go all-in! Dragon Claw, high speed blitz!"

As Curemodo recovers from the last hit it took, a grin comes to its face. Its forked tongue flicks out momentarily in a show of excitement. "Modo." It leaps in at Yin-Yang-Xing, slashes with its claws, leaps up and over, slashes from behind, rushes towards the side for another attack, and so on. None of the attacks have the time to deal any significant damage, but the rapid succession of attacks quickly racks up the damage. Yin-Yang-Xing continues to try to either avoid or counter the attacks, but Curemodo is just too fast.

Blake declares, "Enough! Yin-Yang-Xing, use Dark Pulse in an explosive pattern!"

"Yiiiin-Yaaaaang!" Yin-Yang-Xing generates a Dark Pulse attack, but instead of focusing it straight forward, the purple rings of darkness explodes straight outwards.

Just in time, Ash realizes the plan and orders, "You can't dodge this one! Use one final Venoshock instead!" Just before the shockwave Dark Pulse hits Curemodo, Curemodo attacks back with a full-power Venoshock.

Both Pokémon are hit by the opposing attacks. Both Pokémon fall to the ground.

Astrid raises both arms and announces, "It's a double knock-out! Both Curemodo and Yin-Yang-Xing are unable to battle!" She looks to Blake, and seeing the grin on her brother's face, she thinks, Thank you, Yang-Xing. You did perfect. She looks to Ash. You too, Ash.

It's Bellossom!

The big ball game has begun. James is out on the field, dressed in the team uniform. The team celebrates around him. An announcer declares, "Amazing, thanks to their substitute quarterback, the University of Tenno Paraboxes are back in the lead!"

Jessie and Meowth are sneaking around behind the bleachers. Jessie is dressed in a cheerleader's outfit, while Meowth carries a cardboard box.

Meowth asks, "Is this really necessary, Jessie?"

Jessie nods emphatically. "Of course it is. Any girl's value in college is measured by her place on the cheerleader squad."

Meowth mutters, "Somehow, I feel like it's the opposite…"

Jessie continues, "And if those airheads aren't going to recognize my amazing cheer ability, I'll have to force it on them."

Meowth sighs and looks to his box. "And what about me? Do I really have to do this? It's humiliating."

"Of course you do. Without you, my plan doesn't work."

Meowth groans. "Fine, but you owe me big time." He prepares to get to work. He looks out through the bleachers to see the team mascot, a man in a Parabox costume. Meowth leaps out and tackles him, then pulls him back under the bleachers. Seconds later, a cardboard box hops out, and Meowth springs out of it, wearing paint and props that makes him look like a Life Form Parabox. He begins to make the typical mascot motions to get the crowd cheering.

He takes a moment to sigh and say to himself, "This is so demeaning."

One of the cheerleaders notices, "Hey, that's like totally not the routine we agreed on. What's the mascot doing?" She and the other go to confront Meowth, leaving the head cheerleader behind.

The head cheerleader takes the chance to check her makeup. Through her pocket mirror, she notices Jessie sneaking up behind her, but too late. Jessie springs on her, and pulls her away, ready to take her place.

Jessie chants, "Give me a V!"

The crowd shouts back, "V!"

"Give me an I!"

"I!"

"Give me a K!"

Somewhat confused, the crowd returns, "K?"

"Give me a T, O, R, E! What does that spell!?"

The audience returns nothing but confused murmurs.

Jessie shouts, "Come on people, didn't you learn anything in English class? Can't you spell?"

Someone shouts back, "No, you can't spell!"

Wobbuffet appears in order to agree, "Wobbuffet!"

She shouts back angrily, "Who cares, it's not English class!"

Jessie gets a tap on her back. Without turning, she says, "Excuse me, I'm trying to cheerlead here." She turns to see a group of angry cheerleaders, including the head cheerleader, as well as the mascot. "Oh, hey girls. Did you like my set?" She laughs awkwardly.

The group approaches her slowly, as if ready to attack.

From nearby, Meowth leans up against his box and watches. He says to no one in particular, "Eh, I could help her, but I think it's my duty as a mascot to support the home team."

Meanwhile, James is running down the field with ball. The announcer shouts, "This is it! Despite their best efforts, the Paraboxes are back behind. It's now or never. They'll need a touchdown to win." James musters up all his strength and hurls the ball. "And there it is! The guest quarterback throws a hail marry!" The ball is caught. "Touchdown! The Paraboxes win!"

The football team gathers around James and lifts them up onto their shoulders. Thrusting him up and down in celebration.

Oppositely, Jessie is caught underneath the mob of cheerleaders as beat up on her. While James is lifted up, Jessie, is pushed down. Meowth just sits and watches both.

Ash throws a Pokéball. "It's all up to you, Solurtle!"

"Lurtle!" Solurtle reappears. It looks ready for battle but is still showing the wear from its previous fight.

Blake takes out his next Pokéball and declares, "You've been through much in this battle, Ash, but you haven't seen anything yet." He throws the Pokéball. "Go, Machogre!"

The Pokémon that appears is large and brutish in appearance. Its muscular body resembles that of an ogre. It's colored primarily black and a dark purple. Its forearms and hands float at its side, barely connected to its body by upper arms composed of a phantasmal tangle of tendrils. From the top of its torso, a phantasmal form of dark purple energy flows outwards like a dark fire, with black globules swirling around inside. From inside this energy, a neckless head floats. Its eyes glow an intense crimson.

Ash quickly consults his Pokédex. "Machogre, the Dark Matter Pokémon, and a Dark and Ghost Combo-Type. Its body is made entirely out of dark matter, meaning that almost nothing can interact with it, even light, if it chooses so. It will use this ability to stalk its prey. Evolves from Wimpish at level 34."

Brenda asks, "That can't be true, can it? Not even light can interact with it?"

Brock nods. "Dark matter is a strange and mostly unknown material. Just about the only thing it usually interacts with is gravity. The only reason we can see Machogre now is because it's allowing us to."

Brenda says, "Well, Solurtle seems pretty powerful, and it has the sunlight powering it up. This shouldn't be so hard for Ash."

Brock shakes his head. "Don't forget, Solurtle was already through a lot in its battle against Shamoon. Ash is going into this one with a major disadvantage, and that's ignoring whatever tricks Blake and Machogre have up their sleeves."

Brenda ignores him and cheers, "Go Solurtle! Go Ash! You guys can do it!"

With that cheer, Ash decides to take the first move. "Solurtle, use Solar Beam!"

With the intense sunlight still shining, Solurtle immediately charges its attack. "Sooooooool!"

Without any prompting from its trainer, Machogre fades away into nothing, and the attack soars straight through it.

Brenda gasps, "Oh no! Not again!"

Brock shakes his head. "No, this is nothing like Night Cloak. Night Cloak simply allowed Shamoon to dodge easier. Machogre is physically impossible to hit when it fades out like that, and no amount of light is going to change that."

Blake orders, "Reappear and use Shadow Punch!" Machogre manifests itself behind Solurtle and throws a punch through the air. This punch creates a fist of shadows that flies through the air and collides into Solurtle.

Quickly after being hit, Solurtle twirls around, prepared to attack after its experience with Shamoon. Ready as well, Ash shouts, "Flamethrower!"

Despite Solurtle and Ash's promptness, the attack passes straight through Machogre as it begins to fade from sight.

Blake follows up, "Now use Shadow Claw!"

Machogre reappears suddenly to Solurtle's side and slashes at it.

Ash shouts, "To your right! Catch it!" Solurtle pivots to the right and grabs Machogre's arm before its attack can land. Ash grins. "Perfect."

Blake chuckles. "Are you so sure about that?"

Ash looks back to realize that Machogre has made its arm intangible, causing it to go right through Solurtle's hand. Ash urgently shouts, "Quickly, Flamethrower!" Solurtle attempts to repel the attacker, but it's no use, the attack passes right through it. And once Solurtle's Flamethrower concludes, Machogre slashes down on it with Shadow Claw. Solurtle tumbles backwards.

Ash plays back the previous scene in his mind. He thinks, When first trying to land the attack, Machogre was solid, that's why Solurtle was able to grab its arm. But then when Solurtle grabbed it and tried to attack, Machogre went non-solid again. But, it waited until Solurtle finished Flamethrower in order finish its own attack. There's only one reason for that. Ash grins confidently. "Solurtle, begin charging a Solar Beam. Be ready to fire on my order."

Solurtle nods and begins to gather energy.

Brenda asks, "But what's that going to do? Any attack Solurtle uses is going to pass straight through Machogre."

Brock shakes his head. "No, if I'm reading things right, I think Ash might be on to something."

Blake commands, "Strike quickly, use Sucker Punch!"

Machogre appears and springs at Solurtle. Ash shouts, "Wait until the moment before it hits, then attack!" A second later, Solurtle attacks the incoming opponent, and the attack makes contact, blasting Machogre back.

Brenda shouts with surprise, "No way! The attack hit! How'd he do it!?"

Blake looks surprised. "So, you figured it out?"

Ash grins and nods. "Yup, Machogre may be able to avoid any attack when it's not solid, but in order to make any attacks of its own, it has to be solid in order to make contact." As Ash speaks, Solurtle begins to charge its next Solar Beam. "And we can keep this up. You order another attack, and we'll be ready to intercept it."

Blake grins back. "I see. It would seem we're in a stalemate then." He chuckles and takes a quick glance at Astrid. Sister, you weren't wrong. This is more fun than I've had in a long time. This boy really is something else. Then he says aloud, "So I guess it's up to me to break this stalemate. Machogre, use Double Team!"

"Machoooooogre!" Machogre suddenly splits into twenty or so phantasmal duplicates.

"Now use Shadow Punch!" The copies all vanish, then quickly reappear flanking Solurtle. Solurtle looks around nervously.

Ash shouts, "Solurtle, leap up!" Solurtle jumps straight up as the Machogre all throw their phantom punches. The shadow fists all pass beneath Solurtle, but just as it thinks it's clear, one final Machogre appears right above Solurtle, and delivers Shadow Punch straight down, which Solurtle is unable to avoid. Solurtle's eyes go wide just before impact, and Solurtle is sent hurtling back down to the ground. Solurtle crashes to the ground, landing on the back of its shell.

The Machogre disappear again, as Blake orders, "Now, Sucker Punch!" The Machogre reappear to directly attack the downed Solurtle.

As an idea comes to Ash, he grins. "Solurtle, catch them by surprise! Spin and use Flamethrower!"

Solurtle begins to spin on the back of its shell, launching a fearsome flamethrower at the same time. A fiery whirlwind is quickly created, catching the incoming Machogre all off-guard, scorching them and forcing them back.

Ash quickly follows up, "Now use Rapid Spin!" Within the whirlwind, Solurtle pulls into its shell and spins with increased rapidity. This faster motion pulls in the fire tornado, covering Solurtle in a cloak of flames. Ash shouts, "Go!"

Solurtle launches at the nearest of the downed Machogre, but before it can make contact, the Machogre all disappear. But this doesn't deter Solurtle, it keeps on spinning full speed, bouncing off of the next wall. This starts a chain reaction, where Solurtle bounces from wall to wall, increasing its movement speed with each bounce.

Ash shouts passionately, "We're not going to give up! Solurtle may be close to defeat, but we're not done yet! I believe in it, and that belief is why we're going to win this! So, come on! If you think you can beat us, attack!"

With a sudden influx of passion to meet Ash's, Blake declares, "You've been a worthy opponent Ash, but we're not afraid to attack! We're putting an end to this match now! Go, Machogre! Omnidirectional Shadow Claw!"

One Machogre appears right in Solurtle's path, prepared to attack with Shadow Claw. It claws at Solurtle, forcing its momentum to reverse. Another Machogre appears to knock it in a different direction, then another for yet another directional change.

Ash makes an observation that pleases him. The moment he notices the next Machogre appear, he shouts, "Jump!" Just as Machogre claws at it, Solurtle, still spinning, leaps up slightly, jumping over the attack, and landing right on top of Machogre. Upon being hit, all of the duplicates reappear, only to be retracted into the nearby original, which is suddenly overwhelmed and knocked over. "Now Solurtle, let's finish this! Solar Beam!"

Aided one last time by the augmented sunlight, Solurtle quickly charges a powerful Solar Beam. "Soooooooooooool!" It fires that silvery-gold beam of light at the just recovering Pokémon, giving it no chance to disappear. The attack lands, overwhelming the dark matter Pokémon, causing it to fall back to the ground.

Astrid promptly declares, "Machogre is unable to battle! Ash and Solurtle are the winners!"

Solurtle shouts triumphantly to the artificial sun above, "Luuuuuurtle!" just as the Sunny Day's effects fade away.

Ash leaps up and cheers, "You were amazing, Solurtle!"

Brenda is clapping, while Brock points out, "In the end, this battle all came down to Ash's ability to believe in his Pokémon. Without such unwavering beliefs, Solurtle never would have mastered Sunny Day, he never would have defeated Shamoon, Curemodo never would have been able to utilize its Cold Blooded to beat Yin-Yang-Xing, and Solurtle would never have been able to overcome Machogre's tremendous advantage."

Alongside Solurtle, Curemodo and Pikachu have both recovered enough to celebrate with Ash.

Blake and Astrid both approach him. Blake takes a deep breath. "Ash, I owe you a debt of gratitude. All this time I've been saying I can't be a Gym Leader anymore, though I may have been admitting how much I love being a Gym Leader, I never acknowledged what that meant. In fact, I did whatever I could to ignore the truth, and had become convinced by my lies. Now that you have showed me one of the greatest battles I have ever had, I am fully reminded as to what it means to love being a Gym Leader. There's no way I could give this up. I have to make it work."

Astrid grins smugly. "So, what you're saying is that I was right all along."

Blake considers arguing, then just laughs as he shakes his head slowly in disbelief. "Yes Astrid, you were right."

Her grin broadens as she crosses her arms with satisfaction. "Always have been, always will be."

"Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves." They both laugh. Blake returns his attention to Ash. "And so, I would like you to take this as my thanks." He holds out a badge shaped like a vortex of shadows. "This is a Void Badge, your proof of victory at my gym."

Ash quickly takes the badge and holds it up in triumph. "Yeah! I got a Void Badge!"

His Pokémon also join in. "Pik pikachu!"

"Soooool!"

"Modo!"

Brock and Brenda come down to join the rest. Brock points out, "Ash, do you know what this means? You've got seven Tenno gym badges!"

Ash places the badge in his badge case, and takes a moment to look over his seven badges. "And that means I only need one more gym badge before I can enter the Tenno League." He looks down to Pikachu. "We're almost there, buddy. It's almost time for the next step on the path of achieving our dream."

"Chu."

Blake asks, "In that case, do you know where you're going to go for your final gym battle?"

Ash grins. "I've been thinking about that long and hard. I want my final Tenno gym battle to be against Neil in Kanaveral City. Given everything I've heard about him, he has to be the final gym leader I face."

Blake and Astrid both glance at each other and smile. Astrid states, "Neil is known as the best of the best. He is easily the greatest of Tenno's Gym Leaders. A battle with him would truly be the ultimate final test for you in Tenno. Good choice."

Brenda objects, "But Ash, don't you remember? When we talked to Neil last time we were in Kanaveral City, he said he couldn't partake in gym battles until after the upcoming rocket launch."

Brock points out, "Actually, the timing is good. That big rocket launch is approaching soon. I'd bet that by the time we travel back to Kanaveral, the launch would only be days away, then Ash could be first in line for a gym battle."

Ash smiles. "Then that's that. Kanaveral City it is."

Blake states, "Not many people can beat Neil, but after this battle, I have no doubt that you can do it Ash. I wish you the best of luck."

Pikachu hops up onto Ash's shoulder, and Ash proclaims, "We don't need luck. We're going to do this with nothing but skill and sheer determination. Tenno League, here we come!"

And there it is! Ash has gathered seven Tenno gym badges! The Tenno League is so close that I can almost taste it. There's no way you could miss the events ahead, so stay tuned!

To Be Continued…