Spike's Little Friend
Midnight.
The moon was high in the sky above the Grand Desert as it floated over, where we find a large building situated atop a small mountain.
From out of the darkness floated a hot-air balloon with two rotors on the side. Inside the basket were a trio of familiar criminals: Big Score, Rickashay and Boulder. Score was busy steering the balloon while the other two looked down at the building. "Is that it?" Rickashay asked.
"Yes," Score nodded. "In there is the mother-load we've been looking for. Now get harnessed up." Rickashay gulped as he stared over at the harness Boulder was carrying, which had a flimsy looking rope attached to it.
A few minutes later, Rickashay was being dangled down towards the building by Boulder. They were aiming for a glass dome in the center of the roof, Rickashay landing carefully without making a sound. He then saw he was now looked inside and saw he was staring at some kind of indoor jungle, filled with trees and plants notyou wouldn't usually found in a desert.
"What am I looking for?" He asked over the radio.
"Something rare and easy to carry."
"Alright..." he pulled out some glass cutting equipment and cut a circle. Once that was done, he lowered himself into the jungle, now seeing many different Pokémon he had'd never seen before. Each looked like they would bring in the big bucks, only for him to turn and see an orange stegosaurus-like creature that was fast asleep. It's lower mouth and stomach were light orange while the rest of its body was a dark orange. It had three sets of stone plate like spikes coming out of its back, starting at its shoulder blades before working their way down. It had a similar plate like spike on its forehead, with the end of its tail having a pair of cone-like stone spikes. "Steg," it snored in its sleep, "go...late."
"Jackpot. Send it down." Another rope lowered that he quickly tied around the Pokémon's stomach, Rickashay then pulling himself back up to the roof to widen the hole so the Pokémon would fit. "Alright, bring us up." Both he and the Pokémon began to ascendbe lift upwards, Rickashay reaching the basket first while the Pokémon went through the hole.
Once it was above the building, Score hit the rotors for them to fly away, "Great job boys. ," he smiled. "Our new friend will surely fetch a high price for the right bidder."
"Too bad we can't keep him," Rickashay commentedsaid while looking down at the Pokémon. "He's kinda cute." It was then he noticed something that made him worry. "Err, guys. I think it's waking up." The others looked down and saw the Pokémon begin to twitch.
The Pokémon was a Stegolate, the being flickering its eyes open while stretching its body. "Steg?" it moaned as its eyes began to focus, only to go wide-eyed as it saw it was now suspended a hundred feet into the air, "LATE!" He began to squirm, swinging himself side to side.
"Hey! Calm down!" Score yelled, only to see the plates on the Pokémon’s back start to glow white, "Uh-oh." Before anything else could be said, light shot off the plates, forming sharp stones that went flying everywhere. One stone then hit the rope, making Stegolate start to fall. "NO!"
"Mon overboard!" Rickashay cried, now seeing that their prize was about to get out of their trap. But as they did this, they saw it was too late, as Stegolate fell over and dropped right into a desert river...only to get washed away. “Well, at least it didn’t hit the ground and go splat.”
"Shut up!" Score barked, "We need to get down there now!"
"Err...boss." Score turned to Boulder and saw he was looking up at the balloon. Following his gaze, they now saw that the stones had punctured the balloon.
"Oh, come on!" was all Score could say before their balloon was sent flying in the opposite direction. They all cried out as they shot into the horizon, disappearing with a speck of light.
The next day...
Continuing their journey through the Grand Desert, the heroes were now at one of the oases littered throughout the sandy wasteland. It was being fed by a small river, a branch of a larger river that flowed near the edge of the desert.
The river fed a large lake, the group now arriving at the pond just in time for lunch. Quickly refilling their water bottles, Doc then started cooking, making some boiled egg sandwiches for lunch while Spike and Flash set the table and Twilight took the job of putting out their Pokémon food
"Ah..." she sighed after guzzling down half her bottle's worth of water. “That’s so refreshing.”
"Agreed," Flash added while he and Springer took some big gulps. He then turned to the rest of their Pokémon, now seeing that almost all of them were drinking out of the lake. The only ones not doing so were Higear, Tockwork, Viper and Hopper. Everyone except Hopper made sense, Flash spotting his Velocirush pacing around in the sand.
"Huh?" Flash moved over and saw he had a stick in his mouth, which he was moving through the sand. He and Springer looked over his shoulder as he asked, "What yah do-in?" He sang playfully, surprising Hopper before trying to hide his creation. "Come on Hopper. If you wanna draw something, we won't mock you for it."
Springer nodded in agreement, Hopper then seeing it was okay. He moved aside to show them the drawing, Flash and Springer raising an eyebrow as they saw nothing but a bunch of squiggly lines which made up absolutely no image whatsoever.
"Errrrr," Flash and Springer shared a glance, only to give Hopper a small smile, "It's great. Quite a masterpiece, don't you think bud?"
"Ri," Springer added as he nodded several times, making Hopper shine a big smile.
"Alright, almost done..." Doc commented as he removed the eggs from the boiling water. “Now they just need some peeling and slicing. Hey Spike?" the teen turned to him, "Mind emptying out this water?"
"Sure," Spike moved over and took the pan over to the lake. Peewee saw him coming and flew up onto his shoulder, watching as he tipped the boiling water into the lake. As the hot and cold waters met, steam escaped, making Peewee use his wings to fan them away. "Thanks," he told the Terragon while standing back up.
But as he did this, he gasped at a new sight. Floating down the water of the river and about to fall into the lake, was a large orange lump. He at first thought it was a rock, only to notice it had an arm.
"Is that..." Peewee didn't wait for him to finish, flying off his shoulder and getting over to the ‘rock’. Turning it around, Spike gasped before yelling, "GUYS!" The others glanced over, only to see him jump into the water, wading through it as quick as he could. He and Peewee soon started pushing the rock up onto the shore as the others ran up to the water.
"Is that what I think it is?" Flash asked the others, the group nodding in agreement as they saw a Pokémon they had all seen before.
"It is," Twilight replied, "It's a Stegolate."
"But what was it doing in the river?" Doc added while scratching his head in confusion.
"You think it's wild?" Flash asked, Twilight humming while tilting her head.
"That would be extremely rare."
"Guys, we've got bigger issues right now." Spike commented as he pointed to the pained look on Stegolate’s face.
"He’s right. Stegolate is weak against water," Doc placed a hand on its head. "Being in that for who knows how long can't have been good for it. We need to dry it off and heat it up."
"We'll get some towels," Twilight added, Flash and Springer running back to their bags.
"There's gotta be something we can do to make this quicker." Spike continued, “He’s ice cold.”
It was then that Peewee jumped off his shoulder. "Terra," he landed at Stegolate's side before breathing in. "Rag...GONE!" He fired a burst of fire into Stegolate's side.
"Peewee!"
"No, that’s good." Doc interrupted, "Stegolate's strong against fire. This should evaporate some of the water and heat him up." Spike nodded back at Peewee, soon telling him to keep it up. "Once he's completely dry, we should cover him in sand to keep the heat in."
The others returned with towels that they used to dry it off, Viper helping out with using his fire to heat Stegolate up while the others began to cover him in sand. While they did that, Doc checked him over and found no other injuries, saying that once he was dried and warm, Stegolate would be fine.
Half an hour after Spike found him, Stegolate's eyes began to open. "Steg?" He moaned as he started blinking, only to hear another voice.
"He's waking up." Stegolate turned to the voice and found Spike kneeling down beside him, "Hey there."
Stegolate stared at him for several long seconds before going wide-eyed, "Steg!" He leapt out of the sand and jumped onto two feet, growling as Spike and Peewee backpedaled.
"Whoa!" Spike raised his hands defensively, "Hey, we're not gonna hurt you."
"Spike!" He glanced back at Twilight, "Step away...sloooowly." Spike nodded before slowly stepping backward, soon getting away as Springer and Hopper stepped up to Peewee and started talking to Stegolate. They tried to explain the people weren't dangerous, telling him that they had saved him from the lake.
Stegolate raised an eyebrow at this, slowly turning to the humans. They all gave smiles back, the Plate Pokémon biting his lip as he tried to figure out what to do. It's thoughts were then interrupted by a grumbling sound, making it frown and clutch its stomach.
"Looks like it's hungry," Twilight giggled.
"I got it!" Spike added as he ran over to their food supplies, quickly pulling out a certain can. He then put the pellets in his hand before slowly walking up to Stegolate.
"Spike!" Twilight loudly whispered.
"I'm fine," Spike stopped a few feet from Stegolate before sitting on the sand. "Here. I'm sure you'll like this. It's Rock-type flavored." He remained still, waiting for Stegolate. The fossil Pokémon started by sniffing the air, only to slowly walk up. It was a long process, but it eventually got within range and reached out to take a pellet.
It didn't hesitate in eating it, nibbling it down in seconds before taking another from Spike.
"Wow..." Twilight commented, "Didn't think it would take to the Pokémon food so quickly."
"Must think it's really tasty," Flash added.
"Maybe..." Doc hummed as Stegolate kept eating.
"There you go," Spike decided to take a chance and slowly reached out with his other hand. Stegolate was so focused that it didn't notice until Spike finally patted its head. It stiffened up for a second, only to relax as it saw Spike’s smile.
"Steg..."
Spike chuckled back, "Nice to meet you. I’m Spike." Stegolate soon began to open up to the others, joining them as they ate quickly went back to their lunch. It wasn’t till they were finished, the group then doing a small play session. "Tag!" Spike booped Stegolate on the nose before they all ran off, "You're it!"
"Steg!" It cheered before chasing after them, its large size allowing it to keep up, only to stumble over due to his size as well.
The older trainers all grinned at the sight, except for Doc as he rubbed his chin in thought, "I don’t understand...where could it have come from? Stegolate have been extinct for millions of years."
Twilight hummed in agreement, "It's not the first time a prehistoric Pokémon that was thought to be extinct has been found in the wild. Relicanth is nicknamed the living fossil and there's even stories from Kanto about an Aerodactyl being seen at a dig sight. It's possible this Stegolate has been in hiding until now."
"So what should we do with it?" Flash asked next, the trio now seeing the fossil Pokémon tackling Spike to the ground, laughing as the two wrestled. "It looks like the two of them are getting along pretty well though."
"Alright..." Spike turned away from the others and covered his eyes, "One, two, three..." He kept counting while the Pokémon ran, trying to find some place to hide.
"Steg..." Stegolate looked behind a rock and found Springer, Hopper and Peewee hiding there with no room for him. He then got behind a sand dune and saw Prongs and Shine. Riptide had dived into the lake, though that wasn't really an option for him. He then heard Spike getting close to the number and panicked, rushing over to the first hiding spot he could find.
"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen! Ready or not, here I come!" He spun around and almost burst out laughing when he saw Stegolate standing behind a very thin tree that in no way hid him. He decided to be nice and started looking for the others. "Found you!" He told Springer, Peewee and Hopper. "Nice try!" He said while jumping on the sand dune Prongs and Shine were behind. "Gotcha!" He pointed into the lake, Riptide's fin currently sticking out of the surface.
"Now..." Spike began to aimlessly walk about, "Where is Stegolate?" The fossil Pokémon tried to stifle a laugh as Spike walked with his back to the tree. "Wow, he must be a master of hiding. Could he be under this rock?" He lifted the small rock up, "Nope. Could he be in this bush?" He moved over to some tall grass beside the tree, "Nope again. Well maybe he's...HERE!" He jumped at Stegolate and tackled him to the ground, the two rolling in the sand. Stegolate then played dirty and dropped its head onto Spike's stomach, pushing the wind out of him. "Oof!" He yelped, only to find Stegolate now licking him. "Ew!" He managed to roll out from under him and stood up, trying to wipe the slobber off. "Gross." Stegolate and the others laughed as Peewee and Hopper walked over, Peewee landing on Stegolate's head while Hopper sniffed Spike and huffed at the smell.
"Hey," they turned to Flash as he pointed out at the desert, "What's that?" They followed his gaze and saw a cloud of dust moving towards them.
"Is that a sandstorm?" Twilight asked as she ran over to her bag, only for Doc to pull out a pair of binoculars.
"It’s not a sandstorm. Looks like someone's coming."
"Who?" Flash asked, Doc squinting as he stared at the giant dust cloud. But as the cloud got closer, Doc saw it was a pickup truck. And when the pickup got within a hundred feet, it swerved to the side and slid along the sand to a stop. As it did this, two people in sand masks stood up and lifted a pair of bazookas onto their shoulders.
"Move!" Flash yelled as everyone scattered as the bazookas began to fire. A green bubble came out of the guns, both shots hitting Flash and Springer. "WHOA!" Flash yelled as the bubble encased his feet before solidifying, causing him to trip and land face first into the sand.
"RIOLU!" He turned to see Sprnger also trapped, everything except his head, paws and tail now stuck within the green amber.
"What is this stuff?" Flash asked before hearing other cries for help. He then turned to see his friends all getting hit with the green goop, some in their own cocoons while others shared them.
Spike gasped as he saw Viper and Riptide get shot before watching one of the bazooka turn to point at Stegolate. "NO!" He tried to jump in front of the fossil Pokémon, but it was too late. He too was snagged in the green goop, Peewee getting his feet struck as well.
The teen then grabbed a rock and tried to break the cocoon, Hopper doing the same using Quick Attack. "Oh no, you don't!" The shooter fired again, hitting both against the cocoon, soon sticking all four together.
"SPIKE!" Twilight yelled as she tried to move, only to find everything but her head and lower legs were trapped.
"Why are you doing this?" Doc added, having been stuck to a rock. The shooters laughed as the driver got out of the car, taking off his mask to reveal their foe.
"SCORE?!" They all yelled, Rickashay and Boulder removing their masks as well.
"Should have known it was you guys," Twilight growled, "What is this stuff?!"
"Just a little something I've been working on on the side," Score told them before moving over to Spike and the others. "Now if you don't mind, we'll be taking our Stegolate now."
"Your Stegolate?!"
"Of course. This little guy's been with us since day one." Score then reached out his hand, only to pull it back as Stegolate tried to bite him.
"Doesn't seem to like you very much," Flash added.
"Not my problem," Score turned to Boulder. "Load 'em up." He nodded and moved over, his strength being shown off as he lifted the four with ease. "We'll work on getting rid of the surplus later."
"SPIKE!" Everyone yelled as they tried to break free, but it rock was just too strong. All they could do was watch as their friends were loaded onto the pickup.
"Love to stay and chat," Score commented as they got into the pickup, "But I got places to be, Pokémon to sell. You get the idea." With that, the car raced off. "Ta-ta!"
"SPIKE!" Everyone screamed as the car drove off in a cloud of dust.
"Come on! We gotta get free now!" Flash told everyone.
"Spike...no." Twilight whispered.
An hour later...
The car continued to roll down the desert, the criminals lazily drinking some water while their captives remained in the back. "Come on..." Spike moaned as he tried to pull himself free, the others doing the same...but the green amber refused to budge. "There's gotta be some way out of this. They wouldn't use it if they couldn't get you out of it."
"Rush..." Hopper groaned, his nose now developing an itch that he couldn't scratch.
"Terra," Peewee swung his tail over and scrapped it against Hopper's nose.
"Rush...rush..." he sighed in relief before giving his thanks.
"Come on guys, focus! We can't let them do whatever they're planning to do with Stegolate." The fossil Pokémon let out a whine at this, making Spike look up at him, "Don't worry, we won't let them have you. If I could just get one hand free..." He tried to wiggle, hoping to break the part holding his hand...only to feel something."Wait...this is-" He glanced at his hand and wiggled his fingers, seeing and feeling them move a little. The goop around them had softened.
"Come on Spike...think like Twilight." he muttered, only to feel something warm, “Huh?” He looked up at the sun, now seeing it was heating down on his hand, the goop softening that part. “That’s it!” He turned to the others, "We need to heat this stuff up. Peewee, try using Incinerate. Err...maybe lower your power so you don't catch their attention."
"Terra," Peewee nodded before looking at his feet, “WAGON!”
"Shhh!" Spike hushed him, "Keep going, but be quiet.” He then looked down at his feet, only to shine a grin, "Nice. This'll work too."
Inside the pickup, Score and his goons were arguing, "I said no," Score turned the radio to a classical station. "My truck, my station."
"Oh come on," Rickashay turned it to some pop music, "This song's great."
"I have to listen to that annoying tune every time we walk down the street. The movie wasn't even that good." Boulder said nothing as the two argued, instead wishing he could play his mix-tape.
It was then that a loud banging could be heard, making Score growl, "What's going on?"
"Might be the tire," Rickashay replied before pulling the pickup to a stop. "We must have hit a rock." They all got out, only to soon see a massive gash in one of the wheels. "Shouldn't be too hard to fix. Boulder, get the spare."
Boulder nodded and moved over to the back of the truck, his eyes glancing at their captives. "Huh?" He now saw Stegolate standing there alone in the amber, Spike, Hopper and Peewee now gone.
"Surprise!" Spike jumped out from around the truck, the goop bazooka balanced on his shoulder. Before Boulder could react, Spike pulled the trigger, firing several loads at the thug. Within seconds, the bulky man was encased in the green rock-like substance.
"What in the-" Score didn't get to finish as something shot out from around the truck, sweeping both his and Rickashay's feet out. "AUGH!" they yelped before seeing Hopper standing above them, only to turn to see Spike with the bazooka. "No, wait!" Spike responded with another bazooka shot, the two now trapped within the amber. "Gaaah!" Score then tried to pull himself free, growling as he glared at the teen. "Let...us...out of here!"
"Not a chance," Spike replied before turning to Hopper, "Nice work with the tire."
"Rush," Hopper cheered.
Spike then turned to Peewee, the dragon now working on getting Stegolate out, "How's it coming bud?"
"Terra," he flew up before taking a deep breath. "TERRAGON!" He launch a large burst of fire that struck the amber, making it explode off Stegolate.
"Steg!" The fossil Pokémon cheered before jumping off the pickup.
"Sweet!" he dropped the bazookas and pointed at them, "You mind?"
"Stegolate!" he roared as he happily stomped on the weapons, crushing them in an instant.
"Hey!" Score yelled, "You'll pay for that!"
"Send me a bill," Spike replied while spitting out his tongue, "Come on guys, let's get out of here."
"This isn't over!" Score barked as the group began to run away, "That Stegolate will be ours!" He then moaned as he dropped his head backward. "I knew I shouldn't have had that second Mountain Dewott."
"WINGUST!" Skyler yelled as he, Steeledge and Owlicious flew above the desert.
He then flew down and landed in front of his trainer, "Find anything?" Flash asked, only to get a shake of the head. Twilight had figured out the secret to escape the goo and thanks to Viper, they were out in no time.
"Gust..."
"Please look again," Twilight replied, "This time, try expanding your search radius."
"We're counting on you guys." Skyler nodded and flew back into the air. Once he was gone, Flash turned to Twilight. "We'll find them. Don't worry."
"I know..." Twilight nodded before turning to the tire tracks. "Luckily, those guys chose the dumbest mode of transport to use as a desert getaway vehicle."
"Let's just hope we find them before they start being clever," Doc added as they continued following the tracks.
Spike and his friends had been running as fast as they could for an hour, the group now getting tired and thirsty, "Aw man..." he moaned, now feeling a headache coming on, "There's gotta be somewhere we can get water."
Hopper and Peewee were also getting thirsty, both feeling weaker by the second. Stegolate saw this and sighed, knowing he was the reason they had been separated from their friends. "Steg..." he then closed his eyes and dug his feet deep into the ground.
Spike saw this and turned to him, "What are you doing?" Stegolate said nothing, only to suddenly shoot his eyes open.
"Steg!" He roared before running away, surprising Spike and the others.
"Wait! Where are you going?!" Spike yelled as they chased after him. A few minutes later, Stegolate suddenly came to a stop, now staring at a large flat rock the size of a large mansion. "What the-why did you bring us here?"
"Rush?" Hopper's ears twitched, making him smile before he started climbing. "Loss!"
"Hopper?" Spike watched as he and Peewee headed upwared, soon deciding to follow. Stegolate did the same, all quickly going up the flat rock, "So why are we-" He stopped when the trickling sound of water caught his ears, making him turn to the source, "Is that?"
He now saw a small spring dripping out of the tip of a sharp rock, the liquid rolling down the other side of the rock. "RUSH/TERRA!" The two Pokémon cheered as they stated their thirst at the fountain, Spike doing the same by cupping his hand under the water.
He drank his fill before filling his hand again, this time splashing it onto his face, "Ahh!" A satisfied smile appeared on his face before he turned to Stegolate. "Thanks bud," he patted his head next, "You're awesome. In fact...you know what? I'm gonna ask Twilight to catch you." Stegolate raised an eyebrow at this, "Then she can keep you for me until I'm old enough to be your trainer. Doesn't that sound fun?"
Stegolate just blinked at him, only to give him a smile, "Steg!" He began to rub his nose into Spike's cheek, the teen laughing as he hugged his head.
"That settles it then," Spike chuckled, "You and I will be together forever!"
"Hold it right there!" Spike froze as something blocked out the sun, making him look up to see the criminals in a rotor steered balloon. "Your little legs can only carry you so far!" Score announced as they pulled out their Pokeballs. "Now hand over our Stegolate!"
"No way! Stegolate's gonna travel with me!" He turned to his new friend, "Stay back and we'll protect you." Stegolate nodded and got behind him as Peewee and Hopper jumped in.
"Oh please. Jesterror!"
"Stompice!"
"Spikorn!" They threw their Pokeballs into the air and unleashed their Pokémon, all of them getting into a battle stance.
"Jest/Stomp/Corn!"
"Night Slash!" Jesterror charged at the command, glowing purple clawed hands flying out of its sleeves.
"Dragonbreath!" Spike ordered Peewee, the Terragon unleashing a stream of blue fire at the clown Pokémon. Seeing it coming, Jesterror swung his arms to cut the attack with his Night Slash. "Now Hopper, Bite!"
"Rush!" Hopper quickly zipped ahead, shortening the gap between them before biting down on Jesterror's arm.
"Jest!" It cried in pain.
"Ice Beam!" Stompice unleashed a bolt of blue lightning at Hopper, only for Peewee to fly up and shield him.
"Incinerate!"
"TERRAGON!" He launched a fire rocket at the bolt, meeting in midair before creating an explosion.
"Rock Rush!" Spikorn suddenly charged through the explosion’s dust cloud, slamming into Peewee with a mighty blow.
"PEEWEE!" Spike cried as his best friend was smacked away. While this happened, Jesterror had now pulled itself free of Hopper's mouth.
"Dark Pulse!" The ghost clown threw its hands forward, unleashing a steam of dark rings that slammed into Hopper.
"RUSH!" Hopper yelled as he was knocked back, Spike's distraction not allowing him to give an order. He staggered to his feet as Peewee pulled himself up from the rock he was knocked into.
"Ice Beam/Rock Blast!" Stompice and Spikorn launched their attacks at the two, Ice Beam hitting Peewee while Hopper got slammed by the rocks.
"Slash!" In the blink of an eye, the ghost clown shot past the two while swinging its claws. And as the split second passed, Peewee and Hopper fell to the floor defeated.
"NO!" Spike yelled, the criminal's laughter making both him and Stegolate look back up in fear.
"HA!" Score cheered as they returned their Pokémon. "To the victor goes the spoils!" Rickashay pulled out a joystick controller pressed a button, causing the bottom of the basket to open before a large metal ring shot out that was connected to a metal cable. The cable extended and the ring shot at Spike and Stegolate's direction.
"RUN!" Spike told Stegolate, pushing him to run in the other direction. Stegolate complied and tried to run, only for the ring to shoot past Spike, "NO!" The ring reached Stegolate instantly, managing to hoop itself over his head, neck and chest before stopping at his stomach. It was then the ring suddenly shrank down, now fitting tightly around Stegolate, making it impossible to get off.
"NOW!" Score yelled, hitting the button that retracted the cable.
"STEG!" Stegolate could do nothing as it was pulled backward, now getting lifted into the air.
"STEGOLATE!" Spike used all his strength to leap up and grab the cable, tightening his arms around it. "Let...him...GO!" He started to pull, but it was no use. No matter how hard he tried, the metal wouldn't budge.
"All your doing is hurting yourself," Score commented while shaking his head, "Not even Stegolate's spikes could cut through that." He turned to Rickashay, "Get rid of him."
"On it." Rickashay grabbed the control joystick and started moving it side to side. This made the cable shake and jostle Spike around.
"WHOOOOOA!" Spike yelled as he tried to hold on, his fingers starting to lessen their grip. Peewee and Hopper awoke just in time to see this, both yelling in fear as they saw Spike let go. "NOOOOO!" He screamed as he fell, the ground now a hundred feet down.
"TERRA/RUSH!"
"STEG!" Stegolate screamed as it started using Stone Edge on the metal, only for the rocks to bounce off.
"HA!" Score laughed, "You should learn your type match ups. Steel resists rock."
Stegolate looked back down at Spike, only to feel something snap, "STEG!" It roared before its entire body exploded with light.
"WHAT?!" The criminals yelped as Stegolate began to rapidly grow, shattering the ring instantly before falling.
And as it fell while still growing, it reached Spike and seemed to wrap its body around him. Seconds later, the two slammed into the ground, kicking up a massive dust cloud.
"Terra/Rush!" Peewee and Velocirush ran to the dust cloud, the smoke soon fading to reveal a Pokémon that was so giant they needed to crane their neck upward to fully see as it rolled off its back to stand up.
It was ten times bigger than Stegolate, its body now mostly green. The back of its neck, feet, back and tail tip were all dark green while the rest was a light green with orange stripes covering it. On its head was a black plated helmet with a long black horn sticking out the front and it’s back was dark green while being covered in five lines of black metal blades and the tip of its tail had four cone-like spikes sticking out of it. "Steg..." it opened its eyes before looking down.
On the ground, Spike now opened his eyes to see the giant Pokémon staring down at him with a giant smile on its normally intimidating face, "Steg...Stegolate?"
"Steg," it nodded, "Stegoliath."
"You evolved!" Spike gasped before standing up and petting his nose horn. "What did you call yourself? Stegoliath?" It nodded again, "Cool name." Hopper and Peewee cheered at this, Hopper staring at it in awe while Peewee went to Spike and rubbed his head against him in joy that he was safe.
Meanwhile...
The sound of an alarm beeped within a jeep that was drifting through the desert, two men inside gasping at the noise. "It evolved!" one yelped as he started pressing buttons on the device.
"We have to hurry!" the other one said as he twisted the jeep's wheel. "Keep looking! He has to be around here somewhere!"
"I know." the first one replied, pulling out some binoculars as he started out at the endless sand dunes. "Oh...I hope he's okay."
Back at the action...
Spike smiled at his not so little friend, only for Score's voice to yell out, "HEY!" They turned to see the balloon descending again, "What do you think you're doing?! Do you know how expensive those capture devices are?!"
"Don't care!" Spike barked back, Stegoliath now walking in front of Spike.
"Oh, you'll care alright!" He turned to Rickashay, "Do it."
"It's done!" He pressed the button, causing the bottom of the basket to open again, several more capture rings extending out.
"STEGOLIATH!" The metal spikes on its back glowed before they all shot off, striking the cables and shredding them to pieces.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Score screeched, now throwing out his Pokeballs with the others doing the same, unleashing their Pokémon. "Get them!" The three charged as Stegoliath stood still while a new spike popped out of its back.
"Let's show them not to mess with us," Spike exclaimed as he climbed up onto Stegoliath's neck.
"Rock Rush!" Spikorn accelerated ahead and reached the target first, Stegoliath's nose horn glowing before swinging it at the fellow Rock-type. The two horns clashed like swords, pushing at one another until Stegoliath overpowered Spikorn, knocking it back before hooking its horn under the stone beetle.
"STEG!" It catapulted Spikorn into the air, Jesterror and Stompice now reaching the Pokémon.
"Ice Shard!" Stompice fired a chunk of ice at Stegoliath, who spun around and hit it with its tail. The shard was sent flying back, slamming into Stompice. The Ice-type cried as it fell back, its body suddenly freezing in place.
"TERROR!" Jesterror prepared to slash his leg, but Stegoliath raised its foot, making Jesterror trip and fall under it.
"GOLIATH!" It stomped down on Jesterror hard, making the ground shake. And when the shaking stopped, it pulled its foot away to reveal a highly flattered and unconscious Jesterror laying on the ground. "Steg!" He spun around and struck Jesterror with his tail, sending the ghost clown flying into Stompice. The impact shattered the ice, knocking both into Spikorn before being thrown up to the balloon.
"WOW!" The three yelped as their Pokémon slammed into them, making the balloon rock.
"Oh yeah!" Spike cheered before patting Stegoliath's head, "You're so awesome!" He then pointed at the balloon, "Now finish them off!"
Score moaned as he picked himself up, holding his head. "STEG!" He looked back down, only to see Stegoliath pointing its spines in their direction.
"Oh, come on," he groaned as a single spine shot off and pierced the balloon. "NOT AGAIN!" He screamed as the air escaped, sending the balloon flying until there was nothing but a speck in the sky.
"YEAH!" Spike exclaimed while Hopper and Peewee jumped up and down, "You're so strong!"
"Steg!" Stegoliath added.
"SPIKE!" They all turned to a new voice, now seeing their friends climbing to the top of the mountain, "Spike, I'm so glad you're-" Twilight stopped as she now saw the giant dinosaur he was sitting on, Flash and Doc being just as surprised, "Is that-"
"Yeah!" Spike cheered, "Stegolate evolved! Isn’t it awesome?!"
"It’s amazing," Doc replied, "it's a Stegoliath now."
Flash then took out his Pokedex.
Name: Stegoliath
Category: Iron Spine Pokémon
Type: Rock/Steel
Info: The evolved form of Stegolate. These mighty ancient Pokemon's rock-like spines have molded into a strong metal. In battle, they can launch these spines at their opponents.
They all watched as Spike ride Stegoliath around the rock, both of them laughing. "Twilight," Stegoliath turned to her and lowered his head so Spike could slide down his nose, "Please catch him for me." Twilight went wide-eyed, looking back up at the giant pocket monster.
"I...I don't know." The thought of Spike one day owning something so powerful gave her chills. “I mean, Stegoliath is really big and-”
"Hey," Flash put a hand on her shoulder, "Why not? He's shown he can take care of it."
"I think this would be good for him too," Doc added.
"Ri/Rush/Terra!" Springer, Hopper and Peewee all continued as well, Twilight frowning at their added approval.
Letting out a sigh, she took out a Pokeball, "Alright...but you're taking care of it."
"I know, I know!" Spike shook his head with vigor, before petting Stegoliath, "You and me will be together from now on!" Stegoliath let out a cheer in response, only to see Twilight enlarge the Pokeball.
Twilight threw the ball, "Go Pokeball!" The sphere sailed through the air before hitting Stegoliath's head, only to bounce off without opening. "Huh?"
Flash and Doc were just as shocked, Spike now picking up the ball and looking it over, "What happened?" He turned to Twilight, "is it broken?"
Twilight shook her head, "No, it's not." She moved over to place a hand on his head, a sad look on her face. "I'm afraid that Stegoliath already has a trainer." Now it was Spike's turn to be shocked, turning to Stegoliath. But before he could say anything, a car horn made them turn around to see a jeep arrive at the bottom of the rock.
"Stegoliath!" One of the people in the jeep yell, now getting out of the car and running to the rock.
"Steg!" Stegoliath cheered before moving to the edge, beginning to climb down towards them. The others followed, now seeing Stegoliath run over and hug the new people.
"It's so good to see you again," one said as he petted its head.
"And look how big you've gotten," the other added.
"Who are you guys?" Flash asked, the scientists turning to them.
"Sorry. We probably should introduce ourselves. We're both scientists from the Pokémon Fossil Research Lab."
"We're part of a number of different labs, scattered in regions all over the world."
"I see," Doc replied while crossing his arms, "That explains it. I thought it was strange to find a wild Stegolate."
Spike quickly put the pieces together and turned to Stegoliath, "So that means...you're the research lab's Pokémon." Stegoliath nodded with a happy bark. This confirmation caused Spike's heart to almost break, the young boy barely listening as the scientists and his friends talked.
"I see..." one of them replied, "So you four took it upon yourself to look after Stegoliath."
Twilight giggled before putting a hand on Spike's shoulder, "All the praise should go to my brother. He's the one who found and took care of him."
The scientists nodded back, "You have our thanks." One of them took out a Pokeball and returned Stegoliath, Spike gasping as he watched his new friend vanish. Once he was gone, the scientists then said, "As thanks, why don't we show you our research lab and you can see where Stegoliath lives."
"Awesome!" Flash added before turning to Spike, "Bet that'll be fun."
Doc nodded in agreement, "There's gotta be a ton of interesting Pokémon to see there."
However, Twilight saw the stoic look on Spike's face, knowing he was holding back from crying. She placed her hand on his shoulder again, "Spike." He turned to look at her, "Let's all go welcome Stegoliath home."
Spike took a deep breath before nodding, "Okay." After that, everything was a blur for Spike. One minute they were at the base of a cliff, the next thing he knew, they were standing outside the building Stegoliath called home.
"Wow..." Flash breathed as they got out of the car, "It's huge."
Doc turned to one of the scientists, "So this is where you restore fossils into Pokémon?"
"Yes. It's a good place for the lab since if they go wild, there's not much they can destroy before we can calm them down. Now, follow me."
They quickly followed, soon finding themselves inside an indoor jungle. "Incredible," Twilight gasped as they started to look around. A bunch of Aerodactyl and Archeops were flying overhead while Omanyte, Omastar, Kabuto, Kabutops, Lileep and Cradily were hanging around the water. Many other revived Pokémon could be seen as they walked through, now seeing the full environment inside.
Flash laughed at the sight, "It's like we stepped through a time portal and ended up in the past."
"And over here is where our Stegolate and Stegoliath live." The scientist pointed to an area, now seeing the Pokémon in question feasting on berries along with leaves and grass.
"So they're all Stegoliath's friends," Twilight added as she then saw Spike start to perk up as he saw the other Stegolates.
"That's right," the scientist took out the Pokeball. "Come out Stegoliath!" He threw the ball, summoning the ancient Pokémon as it landed with a loud thud.
He opened his eyes and gasped at the sight of his friends, "STEG!" The rest of the Stegolate and Stegoliath smiled back as he stomped over, Spike amazed at how happy Stegoliath was.
"Wow...they all look really happy to be back together."
"Of course," the scientist responded, "They were revived into a strange new world, completely different from the one they knew. The only thing they recognise is each other, so of course they'd grow close. They're practically family."
"Family?" Spike whispered, Twilight leaning down and patting his head.
"Spike, I think it's time to say goodbye." Flash and Doc nodded in agreement, soon helping him to go over and get Stegoliath’s attention. It might have only been a day, but it felt more like a lifetime for Spike. The memories of saving, healing and playing with him now going through Spike’s head.
Tears leaked out of Spike's eyes, the young boy hiding his face in his sleeve to wipe them away. But as he did, footsteps caught his attention and made him look up to see Stegoliath staring at him. As the others stepped back to give them some space, Stegoliath brought its head down and rubbed his horn against Spike's cheek.
"I'm really gonna miss you," he told his new friend as he reached out with both hands and petted him. "But I know you belong here with your friends."
"Steg?" Stegoliath asked with a tilted head.
Spike pulled away and turned to the scientists. "Please, take care of him."
"We will," the scientist nodded.
"We promise."
Spike began to walk away next, only to feel heavy footsteps behind him. This made him turn to see Stegoliath following him. "No! You need to stay here!" Stegoliath turned its head, still not getting it. "You belong here, at the lab. So don't follow me!" He turned to run off, Stegoliath not following him this time. He kept running until he reached Twilight, who he hugged and hid his face in her stomach.
"Oh Spike..." she patted her brother's head. "You're doing the right thing."
"I know." Spike pulled away as more tears began to fall before looking back at Stegoliath, who was still staring at him despite remaining where he was. "Goodbye Stegoliath. I'll...I'll never forget you!"
Stegoliath nodded, now appearing to finally understand. Spike and the others gave one last goodbye before turning to leave the laboratory. And as they did, Spike seemed to realise something. In the world of Pokémon, there are hellos in life and goodbyes as well. And so, with fond memories of Stegolate and Stegoliath etched into Spike's young heart forever, the heroes bid a fond farewell to the Pokémon Fossil Research Lab.
"Take care Stegoliath," Spike whispered as they left the building. "I'll come back and see you again some day..." He knew Stegoliath couldn't hear him, but Spike felt the giant Pokémon knew he would say that.
"Steg," Stegoliath replied to the question he didn't hear.
As the journey continues...
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Awww, poor Spike.
That was sad. Shows how close two people can become in just a day, but sometimes they can’t always stay together.
hungry
That being said... Sorry bud.
10152082
No, I’m pretty sure he meant to say “tasty” there.
It was really hard to read the part where Spike tried to make Stegoliath realize he couldn't go with him. It almost made me shed a tear reading it.
MY EMOTIONS!!! Such a great chapter. It would have been great if Spike and Twilight got another new Pokemon. I hope they get one soon because I don't want Spike to be all that sad.
This chapter is so sad but in a good way. One of Spike's best chapters, and it is pretty nice to see he is able to bond with more Pokémon than just Dragon-types.