Risen from Betrayal

Chapter 21 - Max's 2nd Gym Battle

On the way from Rustboro City to the harbour located in Route 104, Max decided to drop by at a small (anime-exclusive) city in between to visit the Shroomish that he and Ash had befriended during their previous journey. Previously the large abandoned mansion was demolished and was replaced with a small forest where the Shroomish are currently residing.

The particular Shroomish that Max wanted to see again was the one that he and Ash had given a white bandanna to, in order to make it more recognizable compared to the rest of the Shroomish.

Unsuspected by Max, the herd of Shroomish had spotted Max approaching the outskirts of the forest and decided to greet him, with the Shroomish wearing the white bandanna leading the group.

"Hi Shroomish!" Max said as he approached the group of Mushroom Pokemon and they tackled Max into a hug. "Hey stop, that tickles," Max said while laughing. "It has been so long," Max said after getting up. "I'm now on my own journey so I decided to drop by and pay you a visit," he continued. 

Upon hearing this, all of the Shroomish then turned to the Shroomish wearing the white bandanna, giving it an encouraging nod, causing Max to be confused. The White Bandanna Shroomish gave a nod in understanding in reply and approached Max, gesturing at his backpack, which showed the lumps of Max's PokeBalls.

"Wait, do you want to accompany me in your journey?" Max asked. The White Bandanna Shroomish nodded in reply then posed a fighting stance. "But you want to battle me first right?" the Oxford Blue haired trainer inquired, earning another nod in reply.

"Alright then. Go Treecko," Max said as the Wood Gecko Pokemon appeared out of its PokeBall. As the White Bandanna Shroomish prepared for a battle, the remaining Shroomish stepped back several metres, giving space for the 2 Pokemon to battle.

"OK, Treecko, start off with Pound," Max ordered as Treecko approached Shroomish and was attack with its tail. Shroomish, however, was prepared and released an array of orange powder which was not far from hitting the Wood Gecko.

"Evade the Stun Spore by using Quick Attack," Max commanded as Treecko used the speed of Quick Attack to efficiently dodge the approaching Stun Spore and landed a direct hit on Shroomish, causing it to move backwards about a metre or two.

Shroomish had shortly recovered from the damage caused by Quick Attack and began heading towards Treecko with Headbutt. "Deflect it with your tail," Max ordered as the Wood Gecko Pokemon had faced the approaching Mushroom Pokemon and attempted to hit it back with its large green tail.

However, Headbutt proved stronger and overpowered Treecko's tail, earning a direct hit causing the Wood Gecko to fall backwards taking a fair enough of damage. "Oh no!" Max said in concern. "Treecko, are you alright?"

As Treecko slowly got up, a white beam of energy had surrounded it, changing its shape and appearance. "No way!" Max said in surprise and joy. "You evolved into Grovyle," he continued, earning a nod in reply from Grovyle. 

"Alright, let's continue the battle and use Pound," Max commanded, but instead of striking with it tail, Grovyle leaped high into the air, did a 360 degree turn and struck the Mushroom Pokemon, knocking it out. "And you learnt Aerial Ace as well. Well done, Grovyle. I'm very proud of you," Max praised his Wood Gecko Pokemon.

Shroomish, who had recovered after fainting from the super effective Aerial Ace, approached Max and again gestured to his backpack. "Alright," Max said as he took out an empty PokeBall and faced it towards the Mushroom Pokemon. Shroomish immediately tapped it with its head and was captured through a red beam of light.

A moment later, the rest of the Shroomish gave a loud cheer at Max and Grovyle for evolving from Treecko as well as the capture of its friend. "Thank you, Shroomish," Max said. "I promise to take good care of your friend," he said and was given nods in approval from the rest of the Shroomish herd as well as bidding farewell to Max and his Treecko.