Chapter 305: Ash's "Sleeping Ace"
After bringing N back from the Sandalwood region, Ryan settled back into his usual routine of handling Guild business. He also arranged to send Rathalos over to Professor Oak's laboratory. Since Rathalos was an entirely new species with no existing Pokédex entry, its data had to be officially registered with the Pokémon League before it could be recognized as eligible for the Pokémon Master Title Tournament. Without that registration, the League simply wouldn't acknowledge it.
Professor Oak was beside himself with excitement. The prospect of cataloguing a brand-new Pokémon species was the kind of thing that got his blood pumping like nothing else. The moment Rathalos arrived, both he and Gary threw themselves into a full examination — poking, scanning, and measuring every inch of the creature with such enthusiasm that Rathalos nearly lost its patience entirely and brought the whole laboratory down around them.
Ryan had stopped by that same day to help Professor Oak and Gary log Rathalos's combat data when a familiar, energetic voice echoed from outside.
"Professor Oak! Gary! I'm back!"
Before Ryan, Gary, or the Professor could even react, a figure came barreling through the door. But something beat him inside — a round, chubby shape that came waddling in at full tilt and immediately launched itself at Ryusei. It bounced right off the dragon's side, slid slowly downward, and was caught by one of Ryusei's massive claws before it hit the floor. The dragon raised it up and stared at it.
It was a Rowlet.
Round as a ball, brown-feathered, with a white face framed like a little infinity symbol, a pair of bright green leaf-shaped markings on its chest like a bow tie, and an expression that was currently one of absolute, wide-eyed terror. It flailed and struggled desperately in Ryusei's grip until Ryan gave the dragon a subtle nod. Ryusei opened its claw, and Rowlet immediately bolted into the air and crash-landed on top of Ash's head.
Ash stood in the doorway staring up at the enormous dragon, his jaw hanging open. "Whoa, it's huge! Hey Ryan, where'd you catch this one? It kind of looks like your Kyurem — did it evolve or something?"
Serena appeared in the doorway behind him, slightly out of breath. "Ash, I said don't run so fast! Oh — everyone's here. Professor Oak, Gary, Ryan — it's been a while!"
Ryan looked up at the Rowlet roosting on Ash's head and raised an eyebrow. "You caught that? How come it hasn't evolved? Is it like your Pikachu — just refuses to?"
Ash scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look. "Yeah, nothing I can do about it. It accidentally ate an Everstone a while back, so... that's probably that. But don't let the looks fool you — Rowlet's seriously strong." He paused, then seemed to reconsider. "Mostly."
"Strong when it's strong, completely unreliable when it's not," Serena added flatly, with the tone of someone who had witnessed one too many of Rowlet's moments firsthand.
"Anyway — check out who else came back with me from Alola!" Ash's energy shot right back up. He reached for his Poké Balls. "Everyone, come on out!"
Several flashes of light filled the room, and two more Pokémon materialized. Ryan looked them over and nodded approvingly. "Incineroar and Lycanroc. And that's a Dusk Form Lycanroc — those are pretty rare. You've got good timing as always, Ash."
"Right?! Oh, and I got to meet Tapu Koko while I was there — it actually gave me a Z-Ring!" Ash thrust his wrist forward proudly, the Z-Ring gleaming on it. His eyes lit up the way they always did when a battle was on his mind. "Hey Ryan — want to go? I'm feeling really good about my team right now."
Ryan took one look at that expression and knew there was no talking his way out of this. Not that he wanted to. He was actually curious — Serena had described Rowlet as Ash's most unpredictable Pokémon, and after what he'd just witnessed with the dragon incident, he was starting to believe it. He also wanted to see how much Ash had genuinely grown over the past year.
"Fine by me," Ryan said easily.
Professor Oak, already deep into scanning Rathalos's data on his tablet, waved a hand toward the back without looking up. "Battle arena's out back. Don't touch anything on your way through."
Ryan gestured toward the arena and Ash was already sprinting for it. "Let's go!"
They took their places on opposite ends of the arena. Serena stepped to the side and raised a hand. "I'll referee. Three-on-three, standard rules — match ends when one side's Pokémon are all unable to battle. Any objections?"
"None."
Both voices rang out at exactly the same time.
Ash looked down at Rowlet still perched on his head and said, "Rowlet — you're up first."
Ryan reached for a Poké Ball and said without hesitation, "Diancie, let's go."
Diancie appeared in a shimmer of pink light, took in the situation, and gave a graceful bow toward Rowlet and Ash before turning to look at Ryan. "Is this my opponent, Ryan?"
"That's right. He's a friend and a rival. Give it everything you've got."
Serena blinked, then stared. "Wait — isn't that Diancie? The Jewel Princess from the Diamond Domain in the Kalos region?" She turned to Ryan with wide eyes. "When did you—"
"During the Kalos trip. It's a long story," Ryan said with a small smile. "Diancie's training with me for now. Once everything's settled, she'll go back to the Diamond Domain where she belongs. Ash — go ahead, you first."
"Don't mind if I do! Rowlet — Razor Leaf!"
Rowlet puffed up, spread its wings, and sent a flurry of sharp leaves slicing across the arena toward Diancie. Diancie watched them come without flinching, raised both hands, and summoned a shimmering wall of diamond that materialized in front of her and absorbed every leaf cleanly.
"Shake it off, Rowlet! Use Brave Bird!"
Serena immediately covered her eyes. Here we go.
Rowlet shot upward, climbing high into the air above the arena, then turned and dove — a powerful aura of energy wrapping around its body as it screamed downward at Diancie like a feathered cannonball.
Diancie swept her hand and shattered her own Diamond Wall, the fragments instantly spinning into a high-velocity Diamond Storm aimed directly at the incoming Rowlet.
Ryan's eyes sharpened. Diamond Storm is a Rock-type move. Super effective against Flying-types. This should be over.
But something strange happened.
Halfway through its dive — right in the middle of charging headfirst into a wall of spinning diamond shards — the energy surrounding Rowlet simply... vanished. The aura cut out completely. A slightly dazed-looking Rowlet dropped out of the air like a small, round stone, hit the arena floor, and the Diamond Storm passed harmlessly overhead.
A beat of silence.
Ryan stared.
...What.
(End of Chapter)
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