Slate bent down and peered through the keyhole. On the other side of the door, he could just about make out the hands of a woman with long purple hair tied to the back of a chair, and the legs of two figures moving around her.

“Come on, we’re leaving,” snapped the angry female voice.

“What should we do with her, Bonnie?” the man replied.

“Just leave her. I’m sure someone will come looking for her—eventually.”

“You won’t get away with this,” the woman in the chair warned calmly.

The other woman laughed nastily and declared, “We already have!”

Slate jumped up, realizing that the two sets of legs were approaching the door. “They’re coming! Hide!” he whispered.

“Hide? Hide where?” April hissed, looking around at the battlefield.

Before Slate could answer that question, the door opened and two besuited people emerged.

“Who are you!” the man roared upon spotting them.

“It is them!” Slate said to himself, recognizing the identical black suits of the people who took his mother—Team Shade. The woman, who had vivid red hair, even had the S-shaped patch on her jacket.

“What have you done with Bella?” April demanded bravely.

The woman smirked and closed the door behind her. “I’m afraid she’s a little tied-up at the moment, missy,” she jested.

“We heard you,” Slate said accusatorily, taking a few steps back. “You’re thieves! We’re not letting you leave with Bella’s Pokémon.”

The Cryote growled following Slate’s pronouncement, but the man laughed and challenged, “You and what army?”

The woman sneered and eyed Slate and April’s Pokémon. “A cute little pest. And a white Cryote? How unusual. More spoils for the taking!”

“You’re not taking anything!” April yelled, scooping up her angrily squeaking Rodenki protectively, and moving to Slate’s side.

“I guess we’ll see…” the woman responded, expanding a Silph Ball in her hand. “Ricky, you take the girl. I’ll handle the little gentleman.”

“Should we run?” April asked under her voice, sounding less confident than she had moments earlier.

“I think it’s too late for that,” Slate answered as the man also pulled out a Silph Ball from his pocket.

The two groups put some distance between each other, making use of the official battlefield, and the black-suited thieves released Pokémon from their capsules. The man had what Slate guessed to be a Slugish, though, it looked quite different when not part of a wall of its kind. He confirmed it with his Pokédex. *Ping*.

SPECIES

#018 Slugish

DERIVATION

Slug + Sluggish

CATEGORY

Trail

COLORING

Purple

Light Purple

Dark Purple

TYPE

Bug

Poison

ABILITIES

Poison Touch

Liquid Ooze

Gooey

DETAILS

These Pokémon leave a sticky trail behind them as they move. They gather in large numbers and take on a translucent liquid-like form in order to exchange nutrients and neutralize built-up toxins.

The woman controlled something Slate didn’t recognize. Apparently, April didn’t either as she unclipped her Pokédex and scanned it fearfully. *Ping*.

SPECIES

#020 Giladon

DERIVATION

Gila Monster + don (common end to dinosaurs)

CATEGORY

Slow

COLORING

Purple

Orange

Yellow

TYPE

Poison

-

ABILITIES

Own Tempo

Slow Start

Dry Skin

DETAILS

Often mistakenly thought to be deceased, they are known for their general lack of movement. However, what they lack in speed, they make up for in power and durability.

“Well, children? Are you going to battle? Or do you just want to hand over your Pokémon?” the red-haired woman teased.

Slate and April exchanged silent looks and nodded in agreement.

“We’ll battle,” said April with as much confidence as she could muster.

“And we’ll win!” Slate added, before looking down at his Cryote friend and asking, “Will you fight with me, Boy?”

The Cryote gave a loud confirmatory bark.

“I choose you, Rodenki,” said April, allowing her pet to jump down from her arms.

BATTLE: April & Slate VS Team Shade Grunt Ricky & Team Shade Agent Bonnie

The four Pokémon squared off. On the left of the field, Rodenki squeaked at the pulsating Slugish, and on the right, the Cryote growled aggressively at the unmoving Giladon. Slate was beyond nervous. He never expected his very first Pokémon battle to have such high stakes. The fighters yelled their first commands, and the battle began.

“Cryote, Tackle!”

“Giladon, Bite!”

“Slugish, use Acid!”

“Rodenki, use Charge!”

Cryote dashed across the field and collided with its foe. The Giladon barely acknowledged the Tackle but slowly opened its jaw, revealing a set of sharp teeth, and clamped down hard on the Cryote’s tail. Slate put his hand to his mouth as the pup whelped in pain and retreated toward him.

Meanwhile, Rodenki’s orange cheeks were glowing with yellow light and began to spark. Nothing more seemed to happen until it jumped in fright at the incoming Acid, which caused it to squeal with pain. Thankfully, the Charge would have given Rodenki a Special-Defense boost to ward off the damage, but the Acid also hit an unsuspecting Cryote, who whined loudly.

The man and woman laughed wildly at April and Slate’s pitiful first turn. Team Shade had them on the ropes.

“Slugish, use Acid again!”

“Rodenki, use Charm!”

“Charm?” Slate said in shock, looking over as Rodenki pulled a cutesy face. He knew that Charm had the power to lower the opponent’s Attack power, but it didn’t seem the best option in this situation, especially against the Slugish, whose owner had called for a Special-based move twice in a row. It also meant Rodenki’s previous Charge was wasted without a subsequent Electric-Type move.

As expected, the Slugish seemed unaffected, and once again it spewed its green ooze across the field. Rodenki and Cryote both managed to dodge it all this time but the floor sizzled where the liquid landed. Rodenki turned to April looking worried.

Slate was worried too. As much as April proclaimed to know about the Pokémon of the Nutera region, it didn’t seem like she had any understanding about battling. Slate, on the other hand, had been watching televised Pokémon battles for years.

“Giladon, Bide.” said the woman in an undertone.

Slate smiled knowingly. He knew what she was trying to do, clever though it was. Bide sounded a lot like Bite but he had definitely heard correctly. It was a move slower Pokémon could make good use of. She was trying to make him think another Bite was coming, when in fact, Giladon’s Bide move would let it absorb the impact of moves for two turns then release the energy collected with twice the power.

“Cryote, Howl, then Use tackle on the Slugish!” Slate commanded.

“What?” the man exclaimed.

“You can’t do that!” the woman cried. “I’m your opponent!”

“Sorry, but Acid covered both sides of the field. This is a double battle!” Slate explained as the sound of the Cryote’s Howl reverberated around the room, boosting its Attack and Accuracy. “I’m not falling for your trick. Giladon’s stuck using Bide for two turns while me and April take out your mate’s Slugish!”

The woman bit her lip in frustration while her teammate proclaimed, “Don’t count on it, kid! Slugish, use Struggle Bug!”

Slate looked at April, who seemed confused and instructed, “Rodenki, use Charge!” He sighed internally, disappointed that she hadn’t picked an offensive move.

The Cryote’s powered-up Tackle hit the Slugish hard and send it flying. However, it released a wave of green energy in mid-air, which hit the pup and Rodenki in turn. Each of the Pokémon recovered and Rodenki’s cheeks glowed again as it activated its Charge. They now had one last chance before Giladon’s Bide ended and it could join the fight again. They had to defeat Slugish now.

“Cryote, one more Tackle!” Slate yelled, hoping with everything he had that April would do the right thing this time.

“Slugish use Acid!”

April nervously consulted her Pokédex “Rodenki, err. Try using Nuzzle?”

“Yes!” Slate said to himself as the Cryote tackled the Slugish. It was sent flying again and before it could recover, Rodenki appeared by its side. The cute little Pokémon rubbed its cheek against its foe. Sparks appeared and the poisonous enemy was lit up with electricity. The powered-up Electric-Type Nuzzle was enough to knocked out the Slugish before it could unleash any more Acid.

“Good job, April!” Slate commended his partner.

“Thanks. You too!” she replied. “Now let’s deal with the other one!”

“Other one?” The Team Shade Grunt questioned. “This isn’t an official match, kids. I have another Pokémon!”

“No way,” April blurted out, “that’s cheating!”

The man smirked and responded, “Sue me!” He then released another Pokémon on to the field. It was a Mardupe. It hissed at Rodenki, who in response fell over, much to the surprise of the fighters.

“Rodenki, what’s wrong?” April asked concernedly.

Rodenki got to its feet and Slate spotted a purple mark on the right side of its face. “April, I think it’s been poisoned.”

Team Shade chuckled. “That Slugish had the Poison Touch ability,” the man explained. “Using physical attacks against Poison-Types. What amateurs!”

“What should I do, Slate,” April said in panic.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay,” Slate fibbed, worried about how much longer Rodenki would last. “Just do what you did last time. Have Rodenki use Charge, then Nuzzle.”

April gave a solemn nod and instructed Rodenki as Slate had advised.

“Giladon use Poison Fang when it gets close!” the woman shouted

Slate realized that the man’s sneering taunt had been right. Even with his powered-up Attack, against the unfamiliar Poison-Type Giladon, physical moves were too risky, especially now that it had raised its Defense and could use Bite or Poison Fang if Cryote got too close. So, he thought about Cryote’s battle on the hillside, and commanded, “Use Echoed Voice!”

“No!” the woman expelled angrily as the Cryote released a loud bark, which rippled through the air and blasted the Giladon from a safe distance. The lizard was flipped over. While it righted itself, Rodenki’s Charge lit its cheeks once more.

“Mardupe, Fury Swipes!” the man yelled, and it unleashed a series of ferocious scratches on Rodenki.

April covered her mouth as her little Rodenki squeaked miserably and fell down. It began shaking and purple bubbles escaped its moth. “No!” April cried.

“I guess that’s one down!” the man scoffed.

Slate’s stomach fell. He didn’t think the Cryote could manage two-on-one, but there was no choice. “Another Echoed Voice!” he commanded.

The woman smirked, and said “Giladon, use Bide!”

“Mardupe, use Pursuit on that pitiful puppy!” her partner taunted.

“Not so fast!” cried April. “You haven’t beaten us yet! Rodenki, go!”

A limping, purple-faced Rodenki leapt into the fray and collided with the Mardupe in mid-air as it pounced at the Cryote. It’s Charge-boosted Nuzzle caused an immense flash and both Pokémon dropped to the floor unconscious.

“You idiot!” the woman chastised. “You should have made sure it was defeated!”

“How could I have known the little rat was that strong?” the man spat as he and April’s red disassembly beams returned their respective battlers to their Silph Balls.

“It’s up to you now, Slate,” said April with a tear running down her cheek as she nursed Rodenki’s capsule in her hands.