Disclaimer: This is an alternate fourteenth season of the Pokemon anime with some crossovers of XD Gale of Darkness game and the anime version of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon specials, all set in the, believe it or not, Sailor Moon Universe which I titled, "Sailor Moon Continuum", which is a head-canon universe of the slight-alternate story-line of the fifth season of Sailor Moon, which is explained in the first volume of "Sailor Moon Continuum" story I wrote earlier.
Author's Note: I don't own anything here. To make up the delay last time, I've decided to post the third chapter early. I wanted to do that yesterday, but I had a frustrating day, so...yeah. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!
CHAPTER 3: THE DAY OF THE UNEXPECTIONS.
By the time they arrived at the HQ, a huge building that was white with a C shape, and a large giant Pokeball statue for decoration on the rooftop that reminded Ash and Dawn of the Pokemon labratories in both Pallet Town and Sandgem Town, our heroes stopped at the stairs, and while Michael got off his scooter, he helpded Ash carefully lift Grovyle down off Mamoswines back while Dawn, Pikachu and Piplup jumped off.
"Thanks, Mamoswine. You can take a good long rest." Dawn phrased at her large Pokemon who grunted a thanks, before it was being recalled back into it's Pokeball. She and the other two Pokemon then rushed over to help Ash and Michael gently carry the injured Geko Pokemon to the right door that leads inside the lab. There were a few things that they didn't expect to see when they walked through the automatic doors.
First, was a man in a coat named Professor Krane, the female clerk at the desk, and finally...a familiar sixteen year old young man with slightly dark skin...Ash and Dawn's eyes widened, as did Pikachu and Piplup's.
"Brock!?" Dawn exclaimed in surprise.
"He's here!?" Ash added, shocked.
It's true. Brock was here, and, as usual, he was flirting with the clerk who didn't know what to say to Brock's loveness words.
"So I was wondering, perhaps you could give me a tour around the lab, and then maybe a little dinner after that-" Brock was saying, and you could practically see love hearts float around him like bubbles.
Unfortunately for the former Gym Leader, Crogunk appeared from it's Pokeball and used Poison Jab onto Brock's back, causing him to cringe painfully, before collasping onto the ground comically, before the poision-type Pokemon dragged him away by his vez-coat, while Brock was groaning and muttering something. Ash and Dawn both laughed sheepishly at the sight. Same old Brock, as always. Still, it's a relief to see him again.
However, when Brock briefly looked up while passing the young trainers, he instantly became surprised and, in a matter of seconds, leaped up and returned to normal, staring at Ash and Dawn in surprise. "Ash! Dawn! When'd you get here?" he asked.
"About a minute ago," Ash muttered, while Michael said in the background, "That was fast." and Ash continued, "But we'll talk about that later. We have an emergancy!"
"This Grovyle's hurt, and needs medication right away!" Dawn continued.
Brock managed to see the injured Pokemon in question, and he frowned in concern, "It's really hurt badly."
"A Grovyle?" said Professor Krane as he approached, and when he too saw the injured Pokemon, he became concerned, and told the young trainers, "Let's get it to the medical room right away."
"Thanks, Professor. I knew I could count on you." Michael thanked, relieved, before he, Ash, Dawn, Brock and Professor Krane carried Grovyle to the medical room to heal the injured Pokemon, Pikachu and Piplup following, hoping that Grovyle would be alright.
(~Missing You-KH2~)
It was half an hour later that Grovyle was still in surgery, being bandaged up and healed as much as possible. Brock gave them some of the medications he would always carry with him to help with Grovyle's injuries. Right now, he, and his friends, and Michael were watching from the glass window outside of the room, looking on worriedly. Dawn and Piplup looked worried the most.
"Grovyle fought long and hard against the Beedrill to save the other Pokemon in the forest." Ash said. "He must be really brave and caring."
"Do you think that Grovyle was the leader of the Treecko clan?" Michael asked.
Brock shook his head, "No, Treecko don't evolve unless they're being trained by a Pokemon trainer. It's very unusual that a Treecko would evolve into a Grovyle on it's own."
Even though Dawn didn't want to mention that Grovyle actually came from a world that only inhabited Pokemon, she did, however, lie and said, "Maybe Grovyle got separated from it's trainer. I mean, it didn't try to attack us when we came in to help." causing the others to look at her.
"You mean that something happened to the Pokemon trainer?" Michael asked.
Ash was first to agree, "I guess that makes more sense then being abandoned. Like she said, Grovyle didn't even attack us when we came in, or even flinch away like other Pokemon world."
"It's most likely that case." Brock agreed. "Pokemon are cautious when it comes to humans." then he came up with another theory and continued, "Or maybe Grovyle was released because it came to care for the Treecko and it's trainer must've understood."
The others looked at him, then looked back at Grovyle. However, Dawn knew that Brock was wrong. Grovyle chose to sacrifice himself, and things haven't been easy for him since returning to past and arriving on Earth.
"Partings Such Sweet Sorrow." Those words echoed in Dawn's mind, as well as Piplup's, both recalling on what the Unown had shown them earlier, and neither understood why it would do that to them instead of Ash and Pikachu. Dawn placed a hand onto the glass, looking sorrowly at Grovyle.
"No, I still think that Grovyle got separated from it's trainer." She said. She got into thinking, and, maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to help Grovyle return to his world and be reuighted with his friends, both in the Present and in the new Future. Finding determination, she declared, "I'm going to help Grovyle return to it's trainer, for a long time if I have to!"
"Dawn, you and Piplup were both engulfed by that weird light the Unown made, and I have a feeling you guys were taken into Grovyle's mind." Ash remembered.
"Unown?" Brock asked, shocked.
"Yeah, there was an Unown there too. Don't know why it got separated from it's friends, but I think it took Dawn and Piplup into Grovyle's mind, kinda like what happened to Larvitar." Ash explained, remembering the Larvitar he once helped to return to it's mother back in the Johto region when Misty was still travelling with them back then.
Michael blinked, "I'm probably the only one who's confused, but, what do you mean, into it's mind?"
"The Unown have this power to merge it's mind with other Pokemon if they're in any kind of danger." Brock explained, "Unown can make telepathic contact with any kinds of lifeform."
"Including people? No way." Michael muttered, stunned.
"Hey Dawn, what did you see in Grovyle's mind?" Brock asked.
Dawn fidgeted nervously, before taking a deep breath to calm down, and she began, through lying, "I only saw that Grovyle and it's trainer went through a lot of adventures, then when they were in extreme danger, it risked it's life. For some reason, I could understand what Grovyle was saying, but I can only remember it's last words-"Parting's Such Sweet Sorrow". Then I saw that it ended up here and when Grovyle and the other Pokemon were attacked just as we were on our way here."
It ached her heart that she had to lie to her friends like this, except that the words Grovyle gave to Team Pokepals was true. But she didn't want anyone else to know about the Pokemon world's existance, or about the Time Gears and Temporal Tower.
"I guess that means Grovyle's from the Houen Region." Ash figured, buying into the lie as if his friend didn't lie at all, "Given by Professor Birch."
"And I thought the stories about what happened five years ago was tough enough." Michael thought.
(~End Missing You~)
The door then opened from the room, and Professor Krane walked out and approuached the young trainers. "Grovyle will be just fine. A bit of a rest and it'll be up again in no time." he said, and they, Pikachu and Piplup all sighed in relief.
(~At Dusk, I will Think of You-KH: 358/2 Days~)
"Thank goodness." Dawn sighed. "Can we see it?"
"Of course." Krane replied, gesturing the young trainers into the room, which Ash, Dawn and Brock went up to stand by the side of the bed, while Pikachu and Piplup leaped onto it, as Grovyle was awake, aware of what was going on now that he regained consciousness, and he seemed to recongise vaguely Ash and Dawn. At the sight of Ash, Grovyle blinked in surprise, as for a split second, the aura made him see his human friend who turned into a Pokemon.
'Piplup?' Grovyle thought in his mind, before he returned to reality.
"(How are feeling, Grovyle?)" Pikachu asked in Pokemon language.
"(You were pretty beat up out there earlier. We were all worried.)" Piplup stated.
Grovyle looked at the two younger Pokemon, and while he knew that this Piplup was not the one he was familiar with, seeing how kind the young Pokemon and their human friends were, he smiled, and replied, "(I'm fine, thanks to you and your friends. I knew that not all humans are bad. You two are lucky to have friends like these young people.)"
"Was Grovyle in bad contition?" Brock asked.
"It suffered wounds from the battle that Michael and these young trainers mentioned earlier. On the other hand, this Grovyle is a real tough fighter and managed to hold on. It seems to know the difference in good people and bad people, the same with Pokemon as well." Professor Krane explained.
"Bad Pokemon?" Ash asked, surprised.
"While there's no such thing as good guys or bad guys, scientests have come to believe that it all depends on the hearts of all live forms, and what kind of path they would chose." Krane continued, "Or say, that perhaps there's more to darkness than what most people would believe."
"You mean like what Cipher tried to do five years ago?" Dawn asked, curious.
"Precisly."
Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he muttered softly, "Wow. And I thought darkness was just something that you couldn't see well while you're stuck in it, or it happens when the sun sets."
"Well, when you really about it, the dark-type Pokemon do have dark-type attacks, and that's like using darkness. Right?" Brock theoried.
"Yes, that's it! You sure know a lot, huh?" Krane approved.
Brock blushed, and muttered, "Well, I'm training to become a Pokemon Breeder as well as being a Pokemon Doctor." which surprised his friends who looked at him.
"So you decided to do both?" Ash asked.
The older trainer shrugged, "Well, sure I have the skills of healing Pokemon, I guess I still want to become a Breeder, so that's why I came here to meet up with you guys, though I got here half an hour before you did."
Ash knew what this meant. Brock was going to travel with them again. "That's the best thing I've heard all day!" and Dawn, Pikachu and Piplup all agreed, before they turned their attention back to Grovyle.
"Grovyle, I know what you went through." Dawn began, and at Grovyle's confused surprise, she continued, "That's why I want to help you return to your friends, if you'll let me."
"(You can trust Dawn.)" Piplup told Grovyle, "(That Unown weirdly showed us your memories and that's why we want to help, since you went through so much.)"
Grovyle paused at this, but then he knew that he could trust these young people. He learned long ago in the original future that humans can be like Pokemon in their own way. And the thought of returning home and reuighting with his friends sounded nice. He wanted to find Celebi, though, so, he would have to trust Dawn and Piplup to keep this as a secret. "(I accept your proposal, thank you.)" he said, and Pikachu and Piplup smiled.
"Don't worry, Grovyle." Ash said, "Pikachu and I are help you get back to your friends too, right buddy?"
"Pikachu!(You bet!)" Pikachu said happily.
"And I'll help too." Brock concluded.
The Gecko Pokemon now knew that these young people and their Pokemon can be trusted. Plus, he'd have to get used to the laws of this world of humans and Pokemon living together and how Pokeballs work, which are nonexistant in the Pokemon World. Soon, Ash, Brock and Dawn introduced themselves to Professor Krane and explained why they came here to the Orre region and their desires to enter the Pokemon Colosseums and Contests and explore the region itself.
(~End At Dusk I will Think of You~)
"That reminds me." Krane remembered. "Michael, follow me please, and I think it now concerns Ash and his friends too."
The others were confused, but after telling Grovyle that they would be back later, Ash and his friends followed Michael and Krane out and to another room. For some reason, Ash felt a sense of deja vu, but he couldn't pin point on what it means yet. The five of them and Pikachu and Piplup entered another lab, where on a table, was an armor looking arm piece with a shoulder pad and metellic glove on a rack.
"What is that?" Brock asked, puzzled and skeptical.
Krane nodded, and answered, "This is a Snag Machine."
"A Snag Machine?" Dawn asked, curious once again.
Pikachu and Piplup both leaped onto the table to get a closer look.
"The Snag Machine is a special but dangerous device for snagging Pokemon, and Aidian and I just finished it." Krane said.
"For Snagging Pokemon?" Dawn asked.
"It's to snag other Pokemon, only from those who have Shadow Pokemon." Michael replied.
Ash gasped at he stared at the others. Now he knew that the deja vu was getting more and more familiar, while Krane continued, "Yes, this is designed from the original one used by the Pokemon thieves Team Snagem, but one of their members betrayed them and stole it. That member was the same young man who along with a young girl fought against Cipher five years ago. That young trainer used the Snag Machine to snag Pokemon, but then he used it to snag the Shadow Pokemon to defeat Cipher."
"And that one's designed to only snag Shadow Pokemon, because the old one was more sinister." Ash muttered to himself while Krane continued, "We've designed this version to snag only Shadow Pokemon, because the one used five years ago was a more sinister but simpilar version." and Ash gasped to himself. Now he remembered.
"That weird dream back in Gateon Port!" Ash said to himself. He saw the future!? Okay, he knew that his Aura helped him save a Riolu back in Sinnoh, but that was the location, not the future vision. Since when did he have the ability to see the future? This was definately not normal.
"So how come the girl was with the one who used the old Snag Machine?" Brock asked.
"Well, we asked her to extract some of her DNA to make this Shadow Detector." Krane began, holding up a small headset with a looked like a comformed like a of no lense glasses. "Her reason and connection was because she had a very rare ability to look into the hearts of Pokemon, and she could see the dark aura of the Shadow Pokemon whose hearts were closed up."
"Seeing into the hearts of Pokemon?" Ash asked, stunned. "I guess people have some weird abilities too."
"Not everyone. Only those who were born with such rare gifts, and it can only occurre once they reach a certain age in life." Krane explained.
This made Ash think that maybe he's one of those people who were born with such rare abilities that were not heard of until recently. Why him, though? First he was the Chosen one to save Earth back in the Orange Islands, then he learned that his Aura matches Sir Aaron's, the same Aura the helped him back in Sinnoh, and now he can see into the future? For his whole life so far, Ash thought it was a normal person like everyone else.
Krane then looked at Michael and requested, "Michael, I want you to test our Snag Machine. After all, you're the best trainer here in the lab."
Surprised, Michael smiled and nodded, "Sure, I'd be happy to help you, Professor." while another Professor, Aidian, walked in. Ash and the others looked at each other.
(~Team Rocket's Plan-PKM anime~)
Meanwhile, in the forest where Ash and his friends had been in almost two hours ago, Team Rocket, still recovering from their crash landing due to the Alakazam, were using poles to support them their way through the forest. They were still battered from hitting tree branches as they came crashing down and their hotair balloon once again in ruins, and they were groaning.
"That blue guy is gonna pay for this." Jessie grunted, both in pain and in anger.
"Even though his partner in red didn't do anything, I want to give him a piece of my mind too!" James added.
"We were so close in snagging Pikachu before that Alakazam blasted us away." Meowth grumbled.
James then sighed and muttered, "You have to admit, though. We always tend to be blasting off each time we reach a new region when it come to following the Twerps."
"Well, next time we go follow the Twerp to another region, we'll make sure that we don't get any unexpected surprises!" Jessie snapped, scaring her two companions as usual.
But then they heard car a car horn, and when they turned, to their horror, a van was approaching them in high-speed, one of those hover-trucks, and they could practically hear the driver shout at them, "Get out of the way!" and they screamed and panicked, comically dodging out of the way to avoid being run over, while the truck continued on without stopping.
On the ground and sighing in relief at the close call, Jessie looked into the direction where the truck disappeared into, and she yelled out loudly, "Watch where you're going!" throwing an angry fist in the air.
"Sheesh. They seem to be in a hurry." Meowth thought, stunned.
(~End Team Rocket's Plan~)
But James remained silent, and when Jessie and James both turned to ask what was wrong, they didn't expect to be quickly glared upon by a group of Beedrill either, and all three of them looked on in comical horror. Not to mention that a group of Sableye quickly joined in, and they stood up, clinging onto each other, shivering like scardy cats.
One of the Beedrills buzzed, and James whimpered, "Meowth, translation please?"
"It's sayin' that 'This is our turf. Leave or you'll regret it.'" Meowth translated.
Then one of the Sableye called out into the forest, and at this, Jessie sighed, "Don't tell me that these Sableye think they're in a cave. If that's the case, then they need their eyes checked."
"The Sableye is callin' out to their 'Master Dusknoir'." Meowth translated again.
"A DUSKNOIR!?" Jessie shrieked, as she had a flash back of the Pokemon Academy back in Sinnoh at one of the assignments, which, was a nighttime assignment.
As Jessie, disguised as Jeslinda, was trying to get a tramutized Meowth to wake up, while her assigned partner, a young boy who didn't know her real idenity, watched on. Jessie then looked to her left, and flinched in fear, sweatdropping as a Dusknoir glared down at her with it's single red eye. That did it, as she got up and ran for life and sanity, leaving behind a trail of dust, as she screamed, "No! Get it away from me!"
"Please miss Jeslinda! Slow down!" cried the boy as he picked up Meowth and also ran away, also leaving a trail of dust behind.
Both passed Brock and Mitchell, and Jessie shrieked out loudly, "It's here! It's here! Save me!"
"I can't keep up!" the boy cried out.
"I can't stand a Dusknoir!" Jessie shook her head in utter dismay. She looked at Meowth and told him, "Tell those Sableye to draw back their so called Master and to go away!"
"Too late. It's already here!" James screamed.
True to his words, a Dusknoir appeared before them from the left/right and glared down at the terrified Team Rocket who shook and quivered so badly as they stood frozen. So terrified, Meowth screamed out, "Run for your lives!" and he, Jessie and James took off to the other side of the forest, screaming comically and leaving behind a trail of dust, while the Beedrill gave chase to give the three of them a good sting and turn them into pin-cosins.
Dusknoir and the Sableye group, who had come from the future to find Grovyle and Celebi, only sweatdropped at the sight of the three clowns that ran away in fear. Not only in this world that Pokemon couldn't speak to humans, though this Meowth could commuciate with them in the human language, but it seemed that Team Rocket were easily scared.
"(Should we go after them?)" asked on the Sableye.
"(No.)" Dusknoir shook his head. "(Let's not waste our time with those fools. We must find Grovyle and Celebi and pray that they are both all right.)"
The Sableye knew that their master is right. So, the Pokemon continued their search to find Grovyle, though this time to make sure that he's safe, unlike last them when it was due to fear of not wanting to disappear.
A/N: I'm gonna leave it for now and work on the next chapter, if that's okay. I hope you look this chapter.
In the meantime, please continue your reviews, fellow readers, and I'll see you again soon.