WPPWR

The Gardens of Survival

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Previously on Where a Painful Past Will Return,

"I don't see what is so dangerous. Maybe that jerk Ash was just keeping this island all to himself. We are much better than that to believe such a lie." Max said of handed, he is still hating Ash and that caused him to be blinded. He didn't wait for any response to that statement and walked right into the cave.

"Max wait!" May raced in after her only brother. After trying to leave for her homeland region, May was instead rejected by her parents for acting so cruel and insensitive to Ash. Norman respected Ash for being one to finally beat him and show ax that winning isn't more important than anything else related to Pokémon battling. Unfortunately, Max and May took that the wrong way; they felt that Ash had dishonored their family by breaking their winning streak.

They tried to make Ash look like a cheater but with their father and mother verifying against them, the siblings were outcast from Hoenn for good. Seriously, who would have thought that two close friends of Ash could be hiding so much darkness?

"Don't run off too far!" Brock shouted with a sigh while everyone else joined him in the caves. Luckily they were resourceful enough to bring flashlights and lanterns. The tunnels were dark alright and whoever or whatever had been living in them had already fled the scene before the lanterns light up the rocky walls.

Of course, there is always the light at the end of the tunnel. And it came eventually. But what was on the other side was something that come be described, the closest thing to best, as hell. "ARRGH!"

"If only we still have our Pokémon, then we won't have to be hiding!" Max shouted from behind a cooled volcanic rock that served as a hiding place for this strange Pokémon that attacked the party from the main land as soon as they entered this volcanic wasteland.

"Well, at least Professor Bonsai had her own Pokémon since she is a Pokémon Professor that was independent of Professor Oak. There was no reason to rob us of our Pokémon like they did to us Max." Misty said and everyone else were still watching as this strange new Pokémon fight against a Blaziken evenly.

Blaziken is a bipedal, chicken-like Pokémon. The majority of Blaziken's body is red with accents of beige, yellow, and gray. Behind its head, there are beige, hair-like feathers that continue downward and surround its chest and abdomen. It has a small red face with a V-shaped crest on its head. Blaziken's eyes are semicircular with yellow sclera and blue irises, and its mouth is similar to hooked beak. It has featherless, gray hands with three fingers each, and three clawed toes that are not normally visible due to the shaggy, yellow feathers on the bottom of its legs. A female has a shorter mask and hair than a male.

Blaziken has strong, muscular legs that give it great lower body strength. This lower body strength helps its kicking and jumping abilities. Blaziken's wrists have gray wristband-like markings capable of producing a tuft of fire above them. Blaziken can also make flames spout from its ankles. This allows it to cloak its feet or fists, and it uses these abilities while practicing a form of martial art. These combined abilities allow it to use its former signature move, Blaze Kick. Its flames burn more intensely when it faces stronger opponents. Every several years, its old feathers burn off, and new, supple feathers grow back in their place.

Meanwhile, everyone had gathered this as all they know about this new Pokémon. This strange Pokémon was obliviously a Fire type because Blaziken's Flamethrower and Blaze Kick were always ineffective. Also, any chance of burning the Pokémon always failed; and all Fire types are immune to getting the burn status aliment.

Other than that, everyone got a good glimpse on what this strange foreign Pokémon looked like; an anthropomorphic red furred panther with its mane of fire instead of hair fibers. The top of its head was where a volcano-shaped opening where fire escapes when this Pokémon was ever angry. And its tail was a blazed whip shaped.

"Strange and monstrous Pokémon. Volcanic rocks as far as the eye could see. Just what kind of region is Yuria!?" Max yelled out so much that it echoed throughout the island. To other beautiful and dangerous sections of Yuria, to the other amazing and strange Pokémon that call the region their home and finally to the couple that also made the region their home and safe heaven.

XXXXX

Meanwhile,

"Looks like they haven't changed a bit at all." Ash said from 'within' another strange, local Pokémon that was helping them oversee what was going on in what Ash called, the 'Blaze Garden'.

It has the shape of a helicopter model with two wings that resemble and operate like double spinners. Has an opening around the middle section where passengers are placed. As called it Helicaw, the Helicopter Pokémon, for good reasons. And well trained that this Helicaw already had equipment attached to the passenger portion that included two fully grown, adult trainers while not even showing any discomfort or strain.

"They are lost Ash-koi." Bonnie responded in a mature tone that matched her new age but it was hard to admit on how such an innocent girl can turn into this woman who was grim serious at times. "Both in guidance and spirit. They were just a bunch of liars that got off rookie trainers but they didn't praise you, they hated you. You just won't let them do what they do for a living so easily and they had to get rid of you."

"But they instead they did what they always have in the past. They underestimated me Bonnie and they had the nerve to do the same to you and what is worse, they treated you like trash when you protested." Ash didn't have a grudge against his former friends for plotting to betray him alone but when Ash saw Bonnie being slapped on the face for trying to convince them not to, he hated them even more. Now he and his wife will continue to live here on Yuria whatever their guests are going to stay for tea or not.

XXXXX

The foreign trainers didn't know what to do since this wild Pokémon had defeated Bonsai's Blaziken with a little energy left to finish them all off when something had dropped from the sky and landed between them and the strange fire type that attacked them. While in the shape of a manta ray with fur, it had arrow marks pointing in all four prime directions with one glowing one time, sometimes another. The Pokémon from before had tried to glare the second one down but failed and left the area, effectively confusing the foreigners.

But all that was forgotten when they saw that same Helicaw land with Ash and Bonnie exiting off the passenger part of the Helicopter Pokémon. "Seems that all you have encountered was a Predatorch." Ash said with his own strange Pokémon nearby. "I will know because my team of local Pokémon contains one trained Predatorch."

"Then why did it attack us!?" Max still had no patience for the licks of Ash personally.

"He, he attacked you because it is what Predatorch had adapted to. They are territorial, to a fault. And instead of trying to scare off trespassers, they prey." Ash explained. "Write that one down and all this too for #23 on any Pokédex for this region."

Professor Bonsai returned her Blaziken and took out a writing pad for notes on anything Ash has to share. And the Pokédex entry went like this,

23. Predatorch – The Fiery Hunter Pokémon. Type: Fire/Fighting. Ability: Flame Body or White Smoke. Hidden Ability: Red Aura – Can cause opponents to gain a burn and not be able to move for a while. Description: This Pokémon has been the target of poachers for their fur until the numbers of the perished increased. Now they defend both their territory and their kind by preying on any trespassers that threaten their mating and hunting grounds.

"And as for this Pokémon, I will be #19 on the Pokédex…" Ash said facing the strange manta ray like Pokémon and the entry was something like this,

19. Wavector – The Ocean Area Pokémon. Type: Water/Psychic. Ability: Water Absorb or Levitate. Hidden Ability: Compass – Can often cause attacks to change direction and miss the original target with unpredictable results. Description: Discovered to be the cause of ship instruments failing to follow their plotted course.

And,

22. Helicaw – The Helicopter Pokémon. Type: Flying. Ability: Gale Wings or Big Beak. Hidden Ability: Self-Improve – can cause either their body weight to decrease for speed or their muscles to increase for strength. Description: Stays in shape by moving boulders all day.

"So just what the hell is this place and what is wrong with it!?" Max was still out of patience for all this.

"You just entered the second of what I call 'The Gardens of Survival'. The first one is the only one that is branched off the remaining sixteen you haven't explored yet. That was called the 'Regular Garden', where Bonnie and I were living in until you all came." Ash explained it all in one breath.

"Just how big are this gardens and tell me this is the last of the danger!?" May shouted but Ash shaking his head was a big 'no'.

"Each of the Gardens are as big as the Regular Garden and the Regular Garden is the only one with danger. This, the Blaze Garden, is as dangerous as the other sixteen gardens that make up over ninety percent of the size of Yuria." Ash said and everyone felt like fainting until, "If you can prove that you can explore all Gardens of Yuria then you can do what you want with this side of the region but the Regular Garden is still our home so you won't be able to chase us out of our home."

"Deal."

End of Chapter 3.

*Well, this story sure had been in and out of the trash bin twice already! I hope that I will stop before I can say, 'three times the charm'. Also that since I shared more the Pokémon that I came up with ages ago, I hoped you liked them. And i am sorry that this chapter is so short. I really hadn't thought of anything much else to put on. Have a nice day!*