The... Longest... Chapter... Ever! I practically fell asleep doing the finishing touches! This is a filter chapter, before anyone asks about anything here.
As for the poll, here is the progress:
Super Mystery (reader's choice)- 4
Super Mystery (writer's choice)- 2
Time/Darkness/Sky (writer's choice)- 2
Time/Darkness/Sky (reader's choice)- 1
Red/Blue Rescue Team- 0
Now to the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or RWBY. I do not own any of the OCs. They belong to their original creators.
*OPENING*
(Opening starts with a red cloak drifting away by the wind as dawn approaches)
Just head on! Just head on!
Thinking's only gonna slow you down
When emotions boost up my speed like a quick attack
(Crescythe caught the cloak and ran to camp)
There's not a moment to waste, right?
(Teams RWBY and JNPR and Seth and Jackson were out of their tents, yawning and preparing breakfast)
I won't lose, I won't run, there's no rain that can last forever
(In quick moments, camera shows Ruby putting on her cloak to Weiss putting her hair in a side ponytail to Blake putting her bow on to Yang wrapping her scarf around her neck)
I'll just bear my tears out and do a complete Reversal
(Team JNPR had their bags on their back as Seth and Jackson rushed past them)
Just set off! The sky'll clear up with a Hallelujah
(The group set off out of the forest with Crescythe by their side)
There are times where we'll fight
(Each person then stood on a Pokeball as they traveled in a colorful unknown dimension, Crescythe and Ruby sharing a ball)
We've got passions strong enough to Overheat
(Team CRDL appeared wearing Team Flare's uniform as they tried to ambush Ruby)
So stop hesitating
(Crescythe took notice and moved their Pokeball away to avoid the attempt)
Roar like the Thunder cause your path don't need logic
(Ruby shouted out a command and the Absol shot out a Dark Pulse, sending them flying)
So come on now, pull open the future with your own bare hands
(The scene changed to platforms of various gym leaders then to the sky where a dark void is. Within it were the corrupted legendaries and Zetta and the assailant by their side)
A mad-paced getter, mad-paced getter, mad-paced getter
There's an unexplored future for us
(Ruby and Weiss threw their Pokeballs, releasing a Zigzagoon, a Vivillon and Aqua with Crescythe appearing with them. Blake and Yang threw their Pokeballs, revealing a Kakuna, Screecher, a Fletchling and Leona. JNPR threw their balls and revealed Excalibur, a Dunsparce, Pitfall, an Azurill, Eve, a Caterpie, Sirius and a Combee. Seth and Jackson were surrounded by their Pokemon as they looked to the camera)
Oh yeah, gotta face my fears
Oh yeah, so many times
(The group were in a clearing, doing Pokemon Battles. Seth and Jackson performed a Mega Evolution with Spiritomb and Gardevoir as their forms changed)
A mad-paced getter, a mad-paced getter, a mad-paced getter
I know I am never alone
(Weiss was doing a performance with Aqua and her Vivillon)
Oh yeah, so I won't back down
Oh yeah, let's head towards the dazzling future together
(Ruby and Crescythe battled against a Mega Evolved Tyranitar at the top of Prism Tower. Both Pokemon used Dark Pulse at each other, which collided and created fireworks)
1, 2, 3 and we're ready to go! Let's ride the Tailwinds at our back!
(In a dark room, Vanessa, chained to a wall, looked up to the lone shining star with eyes filled with hope)
Let's crack on and leap into an unexplored world
(Back in the Pokemon World, the Remnant Team and Seth and Jackson looked up at the moon with determined faces)
"Firebird, Peck him!"
"Scout, Iron Tail!"
The two Pokemon charged at each other, one with a glowing beak and the other with a glowing tail. The attacks collided and they were forced back.
The Remnant team were preparing a lunch break in Route 4. While Seth, Jackson and Leafeon were doing the cooking, Teams RWBY and JNPR were training their new Pokemon partners to get them on the same level as their first partner, Crescythe watching their progress. Along the way, Ren caught a Combee. How did it happen? Well...
*FLASHBACK*
The group saw a nice flower field. Within the fields were many Pokemon. The group split up to get a better look at the Pokemon and the flowers.
While half of the team looked at the flowers about them along with the Skitty and Budew within the field, Ren, Nora, Blake, Jackson and Seth walked about another part of the area.
"It is quite beautiful, here." Blake stated, feeling at ease in the flowers.
"Hey, check it out!" Jackson pointed to flowers that were floating in the air. Upon closer inspection, there were small fairy-like creatures holding the tops of them.
"Flabébé!" Seth noticed. "They're Fairy-type Pokémon, and it looks like they're starting to migrate."
"What do you say, Nora? Do they look good enough for you to have?" Jackson asked the excitable girl. Before the split, the hyper girl said she wanted to catch one of the cute Pokemon in the area.
"They're adorable, but I want something different than them," Nora answered, investigating the flowering field. She then saw something in the distance that excited her. "Over here! I think I found the perfect one!" She dragged Ren along as the other three pursued them.
Nora stopped pulling Ren as she drew close to what looked like a yellow and orange triangular-shaped bug made out of honeycombs, complete with small wings and an abdomen. It was on top of a flower, gathering nectar from it. As the others caught up, Jackson froze in place, terrified to see what she had just chosen.
"Hey, there!" Nora cheered, racing around to meet the Pokémon in the face. It turned to her, and the team saw it had three faces.
"Com com bee bee!" the creature called to her.
"ARE YOU BLADIN' KIDDING ME?!" Jackson demanded. "Why, of all Pokémon, would you go for that one?!"
"Another bee-like Pokémon?" Blake asked Seth.
"Yep. A Combee." Seth explained, looking to Nora. "And it looks like Nora is hooked to it."
"You have three heads! You're so cool and fun-looking!" the excitable girl stated, embracing the Combee tightly.
"You capture that, and I will never forgive you for it!" Jackson barked at Nora.
The Combee struggled and freed itself from Nora's clutches, gasping for air.
"Ren, you should get this one!" Nora demanded.
"Why me? Can't you get it?" Ren asked.
"What did I just say?!" Jackson demanded.
"You said I shouldn't capture it. That's why Ren will get it, instead," Nora loopholed.
An irritable tick mark formed on the wooden head.
"By the looks of the red mark on its head, this Combee is a female," Seth added. Jackson felt like a 50 ton iron landed on his head.
"Why is that important?" Blake asked.
"Because only female Combee can evolve. If it was male, it wouldn't be able to evolve, which would put Jackson at ease."
The Combee flew away from Nora, worried about another crushing hug. She hid behind Ren, which made Jackson leap away several meters backwards, being the one closest to the calm and quiet boy. "Ren, I'm begging you. Please don't get that Combee!" he prayed.
Ren took one look at the Pokemon, whom looked up at him. After a few seconds, Combee smiled, liking the feel of Ren. The Hunter could tell that Combee had some potential, and that she had bonded with him. He opening up a Pokéball, which Combee happily bounced into and entered in. After a few shakes, the ball clicked. The sound of that click made Jackson feel like a heavy stone landed on top of his soul, as he collapsed onto his hands and knees.
"Of all the hundreds of Pokémon in the world, you and Blake had to choose my two least favorite Pokémon there are," he moaned. "Why? Why, oh why am I stuck with this cruel fate? WHHHHHHYYYYYY?!" he shouted to the skies above. His shout was loud enough to scare off some nearby Pidgeys and Fletchlings.
"Sorry, Jackson, but those Pokémon chose them. So deal with it," Seth told him, patting the crying trainer's back in comfort. Blake and Ren watched, wondering if maybe they should've rethought their choices for Jackson's sake, while Nora was dancing in the background, happy that she had found Ren a second Pokemon, even though she wanted said Pokemon for herself. Seth turned to the silent duo and whispered, "Sometimes life is just too cruel to us."
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Yeah... That was how. Poor Jackson practically looked like a ghost and it took the group hours to get him to accept his fate.
"Spear, use Poison Sting, now!" Blake ordered her Kakuna. Spear shot out multiple needle-like projectiles from his mouth at his opponent.
"Freesk! Harden!" Pyrrha ordered her now-evolved Metapod. While the natural trainers, Blake, Ren and Nora were looking for a Pokemon, Freesk, as a Caterpie, was out of her Pokeball and chased by a Skitty. Although the Normal-type Pokemon didn't mean any harm, it didn't change the fact that the little Bug-type was scared of being chased by it. Pyrrha had noticed and ordered Freesk to use String Shot to slow it down, then end it with multiple Tackles. Thanks to that, Freesk evolved into a Metapod. However...
"Are you sure you don't want us to stop?" the B of RWBY asked.
"I am starting to wonder that myself..." the P of JNPR admmitted. With how both their Pokemon are unable to move, and one of said Pokemon being able to use a long-range attack, it's practically a one-sided battle, no matter how high the other Pokemon's Defense got.
"You could always help us out over here," Jackson called.
The two girls nodded at the idea and called back their partners.
Back to Ruby and Yang's battle, Scout and Firebird were giving their all. That is, until the Zigzagoon came to a stop. His sudden stop had the Tiny Robin Pokemon to stop as well.
"What's wrong, Scout?" Ruby asked.
Scout seemed to have ignored his trainer and looked and sniffed around. "Goon! Zigzagoon!" he called to Drill and Blue. The Dunsparce and Azurill both went over to him, as did Firebird.
"What are they doing?" Yang asked.
"Scout called them over because his treasure hunting senses were active," Seth explained.
"So we're going to have another treasure?!" Nora asked.
"Take a look." They all watched Scout the ground and ordering his friends what to do. A couple minutes later, Firebird have some difficulty getting something out of the hole.
"Fletchling!" he called.
"What's wrong?" Weiss asked.
"Apparently he found something big!" Seth answered. They all went to the hole Drill dug and saw it was quite deep. "And something that should be impossible to find."
"Let's make the hole bigger," Jaune suggested, already digging. Everyone else dug the hole, enlarging it. "Drill, we need to work on your Dig."
Unknown to them, a trainer and a Pokemon on his shoulder were watching from a distance.
Some time later, Ruby, Crescythe and Scout were the only ones digging the hole. Everyone else rested, tired and sore from the digging.
"Hey! I think we found the treasure!" Ruby called. They got back up at her voice and looked down the hole. They saw Ruby, struggling to pull a heavy chest up with Crescythe and Scout pushing it.
"I'll help you out," her sister offered. Yang slid down to Ruby's level and grabbed the chest. She singlehandedly tossed it out, her sister along with it, screaming.
The chest and the 15-year-old landed on the ground with a thud, the latter sprawled out and on her front. Everyone else looked at the young trainer/Huntress with wide eyes and jaw dropped then to the blonde still in the hole, dusting her hands.
She noticed everyone staring at her and asked, "what?" as if it was casual.
Shaking off their shock, the group went over to help Ruby and looked to see what was inside the chest.
"Are you okay?" Weiss asked her leader/partner.
"I'm fine... We used to do this when I needed saving from falling off cliffs back in Patch... Still hurts though..." she answered in pain.
"What do you think is in here?" Jaune asked.
"Let's find out," Seth replied. He took out some supplies from his bag and began to pick the lock.
"You can pick locks?" Ren asked.
"You could say that." Just as he said his reply, the lock was picked open. He opened the lid and inside, much to their surprise, the chest was filled with evolution items. From stones, to scales, to claws and fangs, to discs, and other items.
"And we've hit a huge jackpot from a small chest," Jackson stated. "This is a great find, Scout!" The Zigzagoon puffed his chest out with pride.
"'Great find'? 'Great find'?!" shouted a voice from a distance. The group turned and saw a male teen around Ruby's age wearing what seemed like treasure hunter clothes with a purple and cream-colored monkey-like Pokemon on his shoulder, wearing a magnifying lens. "You want to know what I call that?" They were already having a horrible feeling about the guy. "I call that an 'amazing find'!" Until that. "I mean it! You found the chest that was suppose to be the grand prize for the Pokemon Treasure Hunting Contest! No one was able to find this!"
"'Pokemon Treasure Hunting Contest'? What's that?" Pyrrha asked.
The teen was silent... then laughed. "Very funny. You guys must have trained that Zigzagoon to be that good."
"Good at what? Finding items? Scout was practically born with it," Ruby said.
The young trainer was once again silent. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, scaring away all the wild Pokemon in the distance.
A little but later, after some lunch and an introduction, the boy, Nathan, led the group to a small village, the guys carrying the chest. In the village, many young kids and their Pokemon seemed to be searching for something. Some blindfolded their Pokemon and have them sniff out berries and see which was the one they had to find.
"What is this place?" Nora asked.
"Welcome to my home, Treasure Village!" Nathan greeted. "Home of all Treasure Hunters and coming-to-be."
"Wait, everyone here wants to be a treasure hunter?" Blake asked.
"Or so you'd think. Some of us here just want to be Pokemon Trainers and with this village's yearly competition, we can help our Pokemon find some great items once we actually start traveling."
"You said something about it earlier. What is it exactly?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah, I never heard of the contest or even been to this place before," Seth said.
"It's not on most maps, I admit. And the contest is only heard of in this village and to the people here," Nathan said. "Don't ask me why. I think everyone in Kalos should know about it."
"Well since you want to know so badly after being explained fifty times..." came an elderly voice that made the group's guide flinch, "IT'S BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OUT THERE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FIND A TREASURE, YOU FOOL!" An elderly man whacked Nathan hard on the head with a walking stick.
"OW! Did you really have to hit me that hard, gramps?!" he complained. "And with a bloody walking stick!"
"That's mayor to you, you disrespectful boy!"
"You can't 'that's mayor to you' me! I'm your grandson for crying out loud!"
"A grandson who is disrespectful!"
"Hey, can you really blame me for wanting others to participate in our yearly competition?! It's getting boring have the same people every year join us, especially if we know who will win!"
"Why are you my grandchild? Why couldn't that Russell boy be my grandson instead? At least then he won't tarnish our family name!"
"Gramps, you have to realize that there will be people better than our family when it comes to treasure hunting, even though the guy used a Riolu! Which isn't fair because his kind could find stuff easily."
While the two were arguing, the Remnant team just watched on in disbelief. It's one thing that a youngster is disrespecting an elder, but to see the latter do the same? The two look more like children than their age.
"Alright, break it up, you two. We have guests," intervened a man who looked quite similar to Nathan, as a Pokemon similar to Aipom but with two tails and tallerushed the two away with its tails. "Why don't you introduce us to your friends, Nathan?"
"That's another thing! How could you let outsiders-?!"
"Dad, enough," the man, most likely Nathan's father, interrupted the mayor.
"Right. Well dad, these are Ruby, Crescythe, Scout, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Seth, Jackson and Leafeon," Nathan introduced. "Guys, this is my dad, Nate, and my grandpa, Marcus. Dad, gramps, look what they found that no one else did!" Nathan's Aipom opened the crate, revealing the contents inside.
"My word!? Can this be!?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah! They found the contest's grand prize! No one in this village has ever done that before!" Apparently the commotion got the villagers' attention, as they stared at the Remnant group.
"And it was such a good hiding spot for over a decade. I can't believe you guys found it," Nate said.
"Actually, it was Scout, Ruby's Zigzagoon, who found it," Pyrrha admitted.
"This little guy?" Nate approached the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon on his trainer's shoulders. "Well, you must be a natural-born Treasure Hunter."
Scout smiled at the compliment. "Goon!"
"Hey dad! I was wondering, can they participate in our contest this year?" Nathan asked.
A scoff was heard. "Yeah right! Amateurs like them have no place in our contest, let alone our village! I bet they found it by pure luck."
"Put a sock in it, Russell! Besides, I was watching them. They were in a middle of training when Scout sensed the treasure. And my dad buried it extremely deep." He turned to his father. "Which reminds me, why would you do that?"
"A true Treasure Hunter can always find treasure, no matter how deep it is underground," was his reply.
"I still call that luck!" Russell said. "They don't even have proper training like us!" Everyone leered at the boy, knowing that when he said 'us', he was referring to himself and his Riolu.
"Well why don't we find out? The contest is for all coming-to-be Treasure Hunters. In other words, amateurs," Nathan challenged.
"You're on. Bet that wimpy Pokemon can't find a single thing."
Scout took offence at that insult and barked at him. "Goon! Zigzagoon!"
Ruby also felt insulted. "Hey! You take that back!"
"Why don't you make me? Riolu and I are going to win this like we did the past five years!" With that, he and his Pokemon walked away, the former laughing as he walks.
Ruby looked to Nathan. "If there's a place to register for this contest, sign us up!"
"Oh no you don't!" the mayor intervened. "There is no 'us'!"
"What?! But gramps-!"
"Don't 'but gramps' me, boy!"
Nate came to his son rescue. "Then how about this? We will allow one of them to enter with a team of Pokemon. And depending on how they did, we will decide whether we should keep the 'no outsiders' rule or to remove it. Does that sound good, dad?"
The elder placed a hand on his chin in deep thought. "... Okay, but only one of these outsiders with a team!"
"Got it!" Nathan turned to the mostly-confused group.
"What just happened?" Yang asked. "I mean I get that you kind of forced us to take part in a challenge, but how did that happen?!"
"Yeah! We didn't even get a say in it!" Weiss added.
"Look, I'm sorry! Really! But it's just, no one likes Russell because of his gloating and boasting and overconfidence and it would be nice to see someone beat him for once. Besides, I wasn't lying when I said that its boring to see the same people participate every year. Having someone new, an outsider at that should be more challenging," Nathan reasoned.
"Well, I'm in," Ruby said, much to her friends' shock. "Scout looks ready to go if you ask me." They looked at the Zigzagoon still on her shoulders, nodding his head in pure determination and agreement. She then moved closer to her group and whispered, "besides, if you think about it, if we manage to win, not only are we considered best Treasure Hunters, but Scout might be able to sniff out where Vanessa is if we're near her."
They considered the plan.
"There are some Pokemon that rely on their nose to find people, some with Pickup ability like Scout," Jackson pointed out.
"And if this works, then we might be able to find Vanessa quicker than we thought," Ren added.
"Ruby, this is one of the times I actually see you as a proper leader," Weiss said as a compliment.
"Then I guess it's settled. Scout and I are participating," the black and red-head said.
"Why you?" Yang asked.
"Because this is my plan and I have an awesome Pokemon who is leader of his own treasure hunting team." Yang kept silent at that. Ruby turned back to Nathan. "Okay, Scout and I will participate!"
"That's great!" he exclaimed. "I'll tell you about the contest as you register for it. Registration's this way!" Nathan grabbed Ruby by the hand and let her to the Registration Center.
The two arrived at the Registration. As Ruby fills it out, Nathan began to explain the rules. "The contest divides into three rounds. First round is Berry Finding, where you and your main Pokemon have to find berries in the exact order given to you. Points will be determined based on the number of berries you obtain in the order they should be in within ten minutes, which is our time limit. For example, the list tells you to get a Chesto Berry first then a Lum Berry then a Rawst Berry and you got the first two berries the other way around, yet got the third berry as... Well, the third berry. That only gives you one point instead of three. Gramps once said and I quote, 'if you are a true treasure hunter, you must find the exact treasure your eyes feast upon!' Another quote from my dad is something like, 'you cannot have the main course before the appetizers.'"
"Your dad's quote sounds better about the first round," Ruby stated.
"That's what I thought. Don't tell gramps though." The two let out small laughs. "Anyway, the second round, Seeker, is kind of tricky. Your main Pokemon have to find three Pokemon in your team. Which explains why I've been saying 'main Pokemon', in case if you're wondering, and why there's a 'Seeking' box on the paper."
"Oh. I thought that meant what kind of treasure will be found in the contest."
"That's what most people thought. And it has to be three Pokemon you have. No more, no less. You get points based on how fast you find them, in other words your placing for that round. It's basically a game of hide-and-seek. You just have to give the Pokemon to my dad. He knows great hiding spots for all kinds of Pokemon. And as for the last round, that's where things get serious. The Hunt. You have to find as many treasure hidden by my dad and his Ambipom before the sun completely sets. The kind of treasure you find determines the amount of points you get. The one with the most amount of points in all three rounds is the winner."
"How are the points determined in the third round?"
"They're all based on the kind of treasure you find. Berries hidden underground and tied to a tree are worth one point. Healing items, like Potions or Antidotes, are worth two points. Items that enhances Pokemon moves are three points. Lastly are items that allows a Pokemon to evolve, which are five points. If you find a chest filled with those items, you'll get massive amount of points, like the chest filled with evolution items Scout found. And those are not the best parts."
"They aren't? Then what are they?" Ruby asked.
"While you find the treasure, you can challenge other contestants to a Pokemon Battle to either take one of their treasure or determine who gets the treasure if they find it are the same time and area. Also, you get to keep what you found!"
"Whoa, really?! We can keep them?!" she asked, practically jumping out of her seat.
"Yeah! That's why it's called a Treasure Hunting Contest! But be careful; don't forget other contestants will try to take what you have," Nathan reminded.
"Got it," she nodded.
"Oh! And one more thing. Every year, my dad would go out and find something great for the winner of the contest. This year..." He gestured Ruby to lend him her ear, which she complied to. In her ear he whispered, "This year, he brought back a Pokemon egg."
"A Poke-!?"
"SSSHHHHHH!" Nathan quickly covered her mouth and gestured her to be silent, which she nodded to. "I know! It's awesome! And that's why this year, we can't let Russell win! Who knows what he'll do!?"
Ruby nodded in agreement to that statement. "You're right. We can't. By the way, Nathan, why are you telling me all these rules?"
Nathan blushed slightly and looked away. "Well... It wouldn't be fair that not everyone knows the rules in the contest. Besides, it would be cowardly if I said nothing about it."
"Aw... That's sweet," Ruby said, oblivious to his blush.
Meanwhile, everyone was keeping their distance away from the two.
"Why are we doing this again?" Jaune asked.
"Because I know what that guy really thinks about Ruby," Yang answered. "As her older sister, it's my job to make sure that things go well."
"Should we be doing this?" Pyrrha asked.
"This has nothing to do with us," Ren pointed out.
"Nonsense! She's our friend and we should support her!" Nora said.
"That's right Nora! I like that enthusiasm!" Yang said.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but they're moving," Blake said, siding with her partner as her team leader and Nathan Walked up to the Registration table, handing in Ruby and Scout's Registration paper.
"You're actually going along with this?" Weiss asked.
"Not like we can stop her." The heiress nodded in agreement to that statement.
"Why are we here?" Jackson whispered to Seth, Leafeon and Crescythe.
"Sol absol."
"'Because Yang dragged us along and mainly because I'm Ruby's partner, in my case,' she said," Seth translated. "By the way, you really need to get your translator fixed once we reached Lumiose City and make some for these guys while you're at it."
"Come again?" the group's faunus asked, bringing everyone's attention to them.
"Uh... Yeah, I'm kind of an inventor, you could ask Yang, and I invented a Pokemon translator machine." Jackson took out a small earpiece and showed it to the group, revealing it to be destroyed. "An accident happened. But this works really well."
"Does Seth-?"
"No, I'm a natural translator," the guy interrupted Weiss.
"Oh! They're moving again!" Yang announced. "He's taking her somewhere." They looked and saw that Nathan was leading Ruby to the gate, Aipom and Scout following them.
With the two 15-year-olds...
"Weren't they here?" Ruby asked.
"They must have split up and looked around. Besides, my dad needed to relocate the grand prize. Can I... Show you around? Maybe to where most of us would practice for the contest and where said contest will be held exactly?" Nathan offered.
"Sure thing." The two, four including the Pokemon, made their way to the training center.
For the rest of the afternoon, it was practically a date, not that Ruby knew. Nathan helped her and Scout train, payed for their lunch and even got her a Silk Scarf... for Scout. Speaking of, he and Aipom had a great time together as well. Not only that, the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon picked some nice flowers for the Long Tail Pokémon, which the latter accepted, much to the former's happiness.
The four were playing some kind of shooting game, meant for both Pokemon and trainer. At a distance, the rest of Ruby's friends looked on. Yang had a mischievous look on her face while everyone else just actually tried to not mind the staring they're receiving because of the female blonde.
"Yang, maybe we should stop," Ren suggested.
"What?! Don't be silly," she disagreed. "I want to see if he's the right one!"
"Right one for what?" Pyrrha asked.
"To be Ruby's boyfriend."
Most of them did a spit take at her answer.
"Um... Come again?" Jaune questioned.
"You know how socially awkward Ruby is. Mostly, that is. It's going to be difficult for her to have the perfect guy. As her sister, it's my job to find the right one for her."
"You do realize you aren't from here, right?" Jackson reminded.
"Who says true love can't be from different worlds?"
"They're moving," Blake interrupted, wanting the conversation to cease before it gets weirder.
"Oh! Where are they going?!" Nora asked in a whispered tone.
Out of everyone there, the faunus was the only one who knew where they were going. "I think that's Nathan's home."
"What makes you say that?" Weiss asked.
"I remember his father and grandfather going that way to a house with a wooden pair of Ambipom's tails at the top, as well as said house being more fancy than all other houses in this village. And didn't Nathan said his grandfather is the mayor here?"
All of the cat girl's words were slowly sinking in to their heads.
"Quick! Before they notice we were stalking them!" Yang shouted. The group ran and took a different route to Nathan's place.
Ruby, Nathan and their Pokemon got to Nathan's place and were greeted by the sight of Ruby's friends either on the couch, chair or lying on the floor, panting heavily.
"You guys look like a bunch of Linoone running a 100 mile race without stopping for a break. What happened?" the treasure hunter-to-be asked.
"Oh... You know... Wanted to do some exercise," Yang answered.
"Even though your sister is the only one participating in the contest tomorrow?"
"Who said trainers can't train for something that has nothing to do with treasure hunting?"
Nathan seemed to have accepted the answer.
"Glad you're back," came Nate's voice from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready. Come over here and dig in."
The next day, it was the day of the contest. Small fireworks were set off into the air. Ruby, Nathan, Russell and other contestants with their Pokemon were lined up at the village's front gate. Everyone else were at the sidelines, cheering for the person they want to win.
"Welcome to Treasure Village's traditional contest! The Pokemon Treasure Hunting Contest will be underway! I'm your host, as usual, Alan! And with me is the world's greatest treasure hunter, Nate!"
"It's an honor to be here, as usual," Nate said. "Now then, before we start, let me announce this year's winning prize. Besides an item from our impossible-to-find grand treasure, this year, we also have..." He took out a case with- "A Pokemon Egg!"
Everyone was in awe at the sight of the egg.
"They have a Pokemon Egg as a prize?" Jaune questioned.
"That can happen to some contests," Jackson said. "Though it's mostly in events held by a Pokemon Daycare."
"I think I saw one of those events," Seth said.
"Without further ado, let's start hunting!" Alan shouted.
"Good luck, Ruby! Nathan!" Yang and Nora cheered.
"The first round is Berry Finding! For those new here, as easy as this round sound, it's actually a little complicated." A red and white bird with a bag flew by. "Each trainer will be given a list by our village's Delibird, which they must show their Pokemon to. In ten seconds, both must memorize the ten berries listed in the order they were from top to bottom. Which reminds me, to those new here, the contestants will be monitored throughout the whole contest, so no cheating. Meaning no taking out the list to make sure you got all the berries you needed to find and in the order they appeared in, as well as going to the forest to pick the berries," Alan explained.
"This does sound difficult," Blake stated.
"And for those new who are wondering how we know if the berries you picked are in the order they should be, especially since we have to monitor so many contestants, that's what the basket is for." Ruby looked at her basket in confusion, before seeing a face on it. "We have Dittos acting as baskets, keeping track of the berries you picked. Don't worry, they're all kind and they won't eat any of the berries you collect."
"Dit ditto!"
"That Ditto assured Ruby he won't eat any of the berries," Seth whispered to his friends.
"So now, as for how we rank the winners, we rank them by the amount of berries they brought back from their list within ten minutes. Now then, contestants! Are you ready?!"
"Yes!" they all shouted.
"The ten seconds to start memorizing your list starts now!" Alan hit a timer and the trainers and their Pokemon looked at their list as fast as possible.
DING!
"That's time! Now pocket them!" The contestants put the paper in their pockets. "Now on your marks!" They got into running position. "Get set! Go!" They took off and Nate pulled out a timer and began the ten minutes.
Scout was ahead of Ruby, already snuff out the first berry on their list.
"You sure you got the first one?" she asked.
"Goon! Zagoon!" he assured.
They ended up at a small hut, Scout sniffing each crate outside the place. He then used Iron Tail on one of them, revealing a cherry-like berry in it.
"One Cheri Berry down and nine more berries to go," Ruby said. She then whispered, "Good thing Vanessa and Zetta taught us about the berries here."
With Nathan, he and Aipom were searching high and low for their berries.
"Aipom! Oo-oo-oo-ooo!" the Long Tail Pokemon called.
"You found one?" Nathan asked.
Aipom climbed down the house she was on and stuck her tail in a barrel full of bananas.
"Aipom, we're looking for a Nanab Berry, not a ba-" Aipom pulled her tail out, revealing to have found their first target. "-nanab Berry. Sorry I ever doubted you." Nathan opened the basket and his Pokemon placed the berry inside.
"Aipom!" she seemed to have forgave.
Ten minutes later, the first round was over. Everyone was back at the gate. Most got less than half their list, or one or none at all. Some managed to get around half the list. Three managed to find all ten on the list, them being Russell, Nathan and Ruby, the latter two looking quite beat and messy, along with their Pokemon. Much to their surprise, all of Ruby's friends were there before them, with few other people.
"Why... Are you guys here...?" Ruby asked.
Nathan seemed to have remembered something. "I forgot; my dad also choose people from the crowd up to the number of contestants for the first round, making sure the contestants got the berries in the correct order as the Dittos set them out."
"That's right, sis!" Yang happily confirmed.
"Okay, kids! Give your list to the person before you, set your Ditto down and let them take the berries out the order you got them!" Alan instructed. They all did as told and the Dittos formed a hand from within the basket and got the berries out the order they were placed in, the volunteers checking them off as they go.
"Ren, am I getting these berries right?" Nora whispered to her partner.
Ren looked at the list then to the berries her contestant has before her. "Are they lined in the order the Ditto took them out?"
"Yep."
"Then yes."
After the checks, the volunteers brought the list over to Alan and Nate.
"Okay everyone! Here are our best three contestants so far! In third place is Nathan and his Aipom with 8 Points. Tied in first place are Russell and Riolu with Ruby and Scout, her Zigzagoon!" Alan announced.
"What?!" said Riolu trainer demanded.
"I'm tied in first?!" Ruby asked.
"All right, Ruby!" Yang cheered, as she caught her sister in a bear hug.
"I'll say what my dad said; Scout really is a natural-born Treasure Hunter," Nathan complimented.
The villagers and their Pokemon all gathered around Ruby and Scout, impressed that they tied with Russell and Riolu. The Tiny Raccoon Pokemon was slightly blushing from the attention.
Unknown to everyone, both Russell was glaring at the otherworldly trainer and her Pokemon. He then looked down at his Riolu. "You better ace the next round." The Emanation Pokemon gulped at the tone.
"All right kids. Let them have some room," Nate said. "And let's continue to the next round." They all did as told and went back to their places.
"All right, folks! The second round of the contest, Seeker, will now begin! This is a little easier compared to the first round! In this round, trainers and their Pokemon simply need to find the three Pokemon that trainers have listed when they registered for this competition! The amount of points the contestant gains depends on their ranking as they return to the gate with the three Pokemon!"
"All the Pokemon are hidden in the forest, blending it with many wild Pokemon or the nature itself," Nate continued. "So kids, I hope you can tell the difference between wild and tamed Pokemon."
"Well, at least that explains why Ruby and Nathan told you guys to leave your Pokemon with Nate," Ren recalled. The other night, both youngsters just told Yang, Nora and Jaune to give the guy Scout's Treasure Hunting friends without any reason.
"All contestants are allowed to use their main Pokemon's moves, just as long as they don't attack other trainers. Now, with that said, the second round will be starting in three..." The contestants got ready to run once more. "Two... One... Go!" They ran into the woods, searching for their other Pokemon friends.
"Okay, Firebird should be in the trees somewhere, Drill might be hiding underground and Blue has to be hiding in a pond or a lake! Which do you think we should find first?" Ruby asked.
"Goon goon zig! Zigzagoon!" was Scout's answer.
"I have no idea what you said! Why did I bother asking?"
Scout simply sighed and just went on ahead, leaving his trainer behind.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
The two were in a small clearing, the Zigzagoon standing in the middle. Scout closed his eyes and was feeling the earth under his feet. After a few seconds, he leapt into the air and slammed the ground with Iron Tail. Popping out of the ground was a surprised Drill, who fell into Ruby's arms.
"I should never have questioned you," she said to the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon, who puffed his chest out in pride.
"Zigzagoon."
With the trainer carrying the Dunsparce, the group ran to where the other two Pokemon might be, Scout leading.
They found themselves at a lake, where lots of Water-type and Grass-type Pokemon were seen playing in the water.
"With this many Pokemon playing, we might be able to find Blue," Ruby said. As though the universe liked to use reverse-psychology on her, she saw a group of Marills and Azurills playing in the water. "I spoke too soon. Any ideas?"
Scout was looking at the group in deep thought. An idea then came to him as he saw a vine hanging from a tree branch by a small cliff. He took the vine in his mouth and swung himself into the lake with a big splash, surprising the wild Pokemon.
Ruby seemed to have caught on to his idea. "I get it!" She let Drill down and placed her cloak on him. "Cannonball!" She leapt into the water, also with a splash. The Normal-type Pokemon and his trainer emerged out of the water. Soon enough, the Pokemon did what they did and jumped in the water with a splash.
"What are they doing?" Weiss asked. She and everyone else watched Ruby's side of the second round, watching her play in the water when she had a contest of win.
"Hah! I knew outsiders wouldn't take this kind of thing seriously!" Marcus exclaimed.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, dad," Nate said. The elder looked back at the screen to see a lone Azurill swinging its tail like a lasso as it prepared its own jump. It practically hurled its tail, taking itself along with it and landed in the middle of the lake. Both Ruby and Scout swam to that Azurill as it emerged out of the water.
"Found you~!" the trainer said. Everyone was slightly shocked at her method of finding the Polka Dot Pokemon.
"Oh I get it!" Pyrrha spoke. "They might look the same, but there's always something different about each of them. In this case, Blue likes to go long in her splashes."
"Huh. Well, that's one way of finding a Pokemon," Jaune stated.
Everyone else looked on in slight surprise at Ruby and Scout's method, even though it was the latter who thought of it.
After getting dried from the quick swim, or at least trying to, Ruby and Scout continued on to look for Firebird. Drill was back in Ruby's arms and Blue was on her head.
"Two down and one to go! This is actually kind of fun," Ruby said. The Pokemon all agreed with her. "Now if we were Firebird, where would we be?"
"Ruby!" The girl turned and saw Nathan and Aipom running to her, with a Geodude and a Poliwag following them.
"Hey Nathan! What's up?"
"Doing fine thanks." Nathan raised in eyebrow in slight confusion. "Why are you wet?"
"Oh, I kind of went for a swim while looking for Blue, who is currently on my head."
"Azurill!" the Polka Dot Pokemon happily called out.
"I'm only happy my cape didn't get wet."
Nathan took out a towel from his pouch. "Here use this. I always use it when Poliwag wants to splash some water on me. It's not wet, so it's usuable."
"Oh? Thanks." Ruby accepted the towel and dried herself. After drying herself, she returned the towel. "Hey. Want to team up and find our third Pokemon together? There's no rule that says we can't work together, right?"
Nathan thought for a moment and realized there wasn't a rule that said contestants can't team up. "You're right, there isn't. Besides, it'll make our search easier."
"Yeah!"
Back to the crowd, they were a bit stunned by the turn of events.
"He can't team up with her!" Marcus shouted.
"Actually, they're right, dad. There's no rule that says they can't team up," his son said, looking over the rule book.
'There's actually a rule book for this thing?' the Remnant team mentally asked in slight surprise.
Returning to Ruby and Nathan, the two and their Pokemon searched high and low for their last Pokemon. Like how there wasn't a rule saying they couldn't team up, there also wasn't a rule saying the Pokemon they found can't help them find the other Pokemon. As well as that sounded...
"Either I wish I should've chosen Pokemon easier to find or we have Pokemon that can fly this early in the game," Ruby said. Before them, they all saw a bunch of trees... With hundreds of Fletchlings and Pidgeys on them. "HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO FIND OUR POKEMON LIKE THIS?!"
"Well... This is quite a pickle we're in," Nathan simply said.
"Any idea how we're going to find our birdies?" the girl asked her Zigzagoon.
Scout looked at them with another thoughtful look on his face. He then had a great idea. He sniffed around the ground before stopping at one spot. He called Blue and Drill over and had them do what they did best. Blue got the soil nice and wet and Drill dug a nice hole in it, one big enough for two birds to fit in and quite a deep hole.
"What is Scout planning?" Nathan asked.
Ruby already caught up to the plan. "Oh no. The hole is so deep. Whatever is buried here must be so important if it was buried this deep. My arm can't seem to reach it." She stuck her arm in the hole, proving it to be quite deep. "If only we have a small Pokemon who can either climb or fly in this hole easily and get our treasure. And by the size of it, we might need two Pokemon."
One of the Fletchling seem to be having a hard time acting like it's not interested in the treasure, something Nathan noticed as he caught up to the plan. He looked down the hole. "And it looks like quite a shiny one too," he added to the lie. One of the Pidgeys were now also having a hard time keeping composure.
"Oh what to do? What to do? It looks really valuable too," Ruby added on even further.
Eventually enough, the two Flying-types couldn't take it anymore and swooped down from their positions to the hole. Just as quickly as they flew in, they flew out with angry looks.
"And we found our angry birds. Our very angry birds," Nathan announced.
"Sorry about that guys," Ruby apologized.
Few minutes later, the two managed to get back to the village entrance. They noticed that they were the only ones there.
"Is it lunch time or something? Are we too late?" Ruby asked.
"No. Ruby, you and Nathan are the first ones back!" Yang said.
"What?!" The two 15-year-olds gasped in shock at the reveal.
"You can't be serious!" They looked and saw Russell behind them, with an angry look on his face.
Moments later, all the other contestants returned with the gates, shocked that an outsider of all people returned first and not Russell.
"Are you thinking what I am, dad?" Nate whispered to Marcus.
"If it's about having outsiders join our yearly contest... Well, I admit I'm having second thoughts about it myself," he whispered back.
Nate smiled at the answer. "Well, let's see if you will reconsider it completely. Now our current top three are Russell and Nathan, tied with 18 points! In first place is, quite surprisingly, Ruby with 20 points!"
"You're kind of taking my job here, Nate," Alan said. "And with that said everyone, time for a lunch break! Our contestants will need their energy for the last round!"
They all agreed with the idea and went to the buffet table that was set up while said contestants were away.
As they ate, most of the participants sat by Ruby's side, wanting to get to know the possible new winner.
"So where are you from?" a female with a Patrat asked.
"Well... I'm from a small region. It's not on most maps, so I don't think there's a point in telling," Ruby tried to dodge.
"Ruby, we're training to be Treasure Hunters. If anything, your home would be our number one treasure to seek. No matter how... Unimportant it might be to not be known," a boy with a Bidoof said.
That statement was all it took to have Ruby to tell. "I come from a small village called Patch in a region called Remnant."
"Remnant... Never heard of it," said a participant with a Bunnelby. "What kind of Pokemon do you have there?"
"We actually don't have any. Our region is... Just that small and unknown."
All the participants began to talk a little among themselves, all saying something like "how is her region still active without Pokemon?"
"So wait, what do you do there? Without Pokemon. More importantly, how did you meet your Pokemon?" asked the Patrat contestant.
"Well, we have a big of dangers of our own. And there are a lot of places to explore back home," Ruby said.
"Kind of sounds like our village but with Pokemon."
"Speaking of Pokemon, you didn't answer her question," the Bidoof trainer said.
"Well, I met Scout in this region. As for Crescythe, my Absol with my sister and our friends over there," she pointed to her group sitting at another table quite far from them. "Well... Let's just say she somehow ended up on my region and saved my life that very day. In return, I saved her own life."
"That dangerous?" Nathan asked. "If your home is that dangerous for you to save your Pokemon, then that place is definitely worth seeing someday." Everyone agreed to his statement. "Well, lunch will be over soon. Might as well finish up." At that, they resumed their meal.
Lunch was over and everyone was back at the front gate. There, Ruby and Nathan saw Russell with a beaten, tired looking Riolu.
"What's wrong with Russell's Pokemon?" Ruby whispered to Nathan.
"Not again..." he muttered. "Whenever Russell would feel as though his Pokemon aren't doing much of a good job, he would make them go through really tough training. Or should I say, hell."
"That can't be!"
"I'm afraid it is. That's why, I have decided to save him. Him and the rest of Russell's Pokemon."
"How?"
"Russell and I once made a bet. Couple months ago he kept bragging about being the best Treasure Hunter there is. Then he said if there's someone who can beat his winning record in this contest, he will do what that person tells him to. In this case, it's you and maybe me. So actually we both can save them. And maybe banish Russell from this village for good."
"Isn't that harsher?"
"If only you knew what happened to one of his Pokemon," Nathan softly muttered, petting Aipom. The Long Tail Pokemon seemed sad and scared at the mention of it.
Ruby didn't catch what he said and got curious. Before she could ask what he had said, Alan started announcing the third and last round. "We are back to the third and final round of Pokemon Treasure Hunting Contest! Here, it is now all or nothing! It is The Hunt. Contestants must find as many treasures as they can before the sun completely sets. The kind of treasure you find determines the amount of points will be added to your total points." The screen showed a list of the kinds of treasures and a number next to each of them.
Nate began to explain the symbols and the numbers. "Berries hidden underground and tied to a tree are worth one point. Healing items, like Potions or Antidotes, are worth two points. Items that enhances Pokemon moves are three points. Lastly are items that allows a Pokemon to evolve, which are five points. If you find a chest filled with items, you'll be getting multiple points or none at all. After all, who says all chests have goods in them?"
"As the participants find their treasure, they can also challenge other contestants to a Pokemon Battle to either take one of their treasure or determine who gets the treasure if they find it are the same time and area," Alan continued. "Once the contest is over, they can keep what they found."
"So Ruby will be bringing a bunch of goods!" Nora said.
"It sure sounds like it," Pyrrha agreed.
"Good luck, Ruby!" Jackson shouted.
"Now then... Contestants! Are you ready?!" Alan asked.
They all shouted, "Yeah!"
"Then on your mark! ... Get set! ... GO!" The participants all ran out of the village and into the woods once more.
*LATER*
It was the sun was close to setting. Nathan and Aipom found lots of goods. No sign of the grand treasure for them though. They found a chest filled with several move-enhancing items, an Ultra Ball, a Net Ball, a some berries that were hanging in a net from a tree branch, said tree dangerously on the edge of the cliff.
"Well, with this much I think we should be at least in second place," the trainer said. Aipom nodded in agreement. "Wonder how Ruby and Scout are doing. Why don't you climb up a tree and see where they are?" Aipom agreed to the idea and climbed up the tallest tree near them.
Once she got to the top, her eyes widened and popped out in shock, forcing her Wide Lens to fly off her head to prevent the destruction as she screeched loud.
Nathan got concerned by that sound. "What's wrong?" Aipom kept screeching and pointing in one direction, which Nathan didn't like as he took off the direction she was pointing.
When he arrived, he saw why his Pokemon was panicking.
"Heheh... Hey, Nathan..." Ruby was hanging from a tree on the side of a cliff, Scout on her back.
"Ruby! What happened?!" Nathan asked.
"Ah... Hahaha... Funny you should ask... Let's just say, I was wrong to think Russell can change after everything you and the guys told me about him. He said he found the grand prize and wanted me to have it. By then I already have some treasures and Russell did too."
"Do I really want to know what happened next?"
"Immediately after? Well, you can see what happened. After that... Russell took off with my stuff..."
Nathan just sighed, knowing that it was the one, typical thing the Riolu trainer would do. "Look, I'll help you up. Just... Uh... Keep hanging on."
"Got it." Nathan was about to find some vines when something came and almost hit him. The impact was enough to break the cliff and cause the two trainers and their Pokemon to fall.
Somewhere at a distance, rather to where the attack was from, it turns out, Russell and Riolu were behind the attack, the latter with a guilty face with the former had a smirk on his.
"Hah! That'll teach them. Never mess with the king," he said. "Now come on. We still have time to find more." The Emanation Pokemon looked down in shame as it followed its trainer deep in the woods.
*LATER AGAIN*
The sun was halfway set. Ruby, Nathan and their Pokemon got washed up in a river. They somehow got to the riverside, but Nathan no longer had the treasure he had collected.
"Sorry, Nathan," Ruby apologized.
"For what?" he asked.
"I practically helped Russell sabotage our chance of winning this contest. Now, we won't be able to free his Pokemon..."
"Hey, don't worry about it. There's always next year for me." Nathan looked down with a frown. "Is what I want to say but... This is actually his and my last year in the games."
Ruby raised an eyebrow, confused. "Wait, then shouldn't that be a good thing?"
"This being our last year means we can go out and see the world. I don't want my last year to end with Russell's win, while he thinks he can do whatever he wants to others. I mean, you saw and experience what he said to you and Scout. I don't want my last year in this village to end with him thinking he's better than everyone in this region."
Ruby looked down, thinking about everything he had said. Replaying those words in her head multiple times, she also didn't want Russell to act like he's king, not after everything she had experienced so far in the Pokemon World. Ruby looked back at the sunset.
"How far is your village?" she asked.
"Not too far. Why?" Nathan asked back.
"Think we have enough time to find the grand treasure?" He looked up at her in slight shock. "If Russell couldn't find the treasure years before, there's no way he can find it this year! Besides, Scout found it in practically no time flat! We can still win this." Zigzagoon was by her side, already agreeing with the idea.
Nathan smiled at her plan and agreed to it.
Until later, when the sun is close to setting completely and they found nothing.
"This is hopeless," Nathan gave up.
"Don't say that. We still have time!" Ruby said.
"Yeah. Time to get back home that is. Just, forget about it Ruby. It's fine. This isn't the first time Russell won."
"No way! We give up now, Russell will just do what he wants to his Pokemon! He'll be treating them like slaves they shouldn't be! I don't want any Pokemon he will catch be tortured by him! Nor do I want him to steal from Trainers out there the same way he did to me!"
Just before Nathan could say anything back, Scout called and started to try to dig something out. Ruby quickly helped out, as did Aipom and Nathan.
Some time later, they managed to dig out a treasure chest. Ruby was about to brag about how she knew they would find the grand prize as she opened it, only to see it empty.
"And I was right... A waste of time," Nathan spoke. He looked up and saw how late it got. "If we run we might make it just by nightfall. Come on." Instead of listening, Ruby and Scout continued to dig. "Ruby..."
"We can't give up! Scout's nose never failed before! Something else must be down here!" she said, determined.
"And how would you know?! You just started this!"
"Well didn't this happen before?!" Nathan looked at her confused. "You know, back when we first met! You dad buried it real deep, which made it impossible for any of you guys to find! But not Scout. He found it on his first try, even though it was pretty much a coincidence. If he found it once, he can do it again! I believe in him." With those encouraging words, Ruby went back to digging.
Nathan was touched. By Ruby's words and her determination. Never had he seen someone with such trust for their Pokémon. He eventually saw Aipom joining in and looked to the sky once more.
"We're not going to make it anyway," he muttered, as he helped out with the digging.
Night came. Most of the competitors returned to the village, except for two.
"Where are they?!" Nora shouted. "They can't actually be dead, can they?!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Yang shouted back. "Ruby, she... She wouldn't die from a fall like that!"
"Hey! When are you going to announce the winner already?!" came Russell's voice. "I'm getting tired of waiting here!"
The Remnant team all glared at him. They saw what he did from the cameras and didn't like what he had done. From lying to Ruby to making her and Nathan fall into the river the way they did.
"Don't count Ruby out just yet!" Seth said.
"Yeah! Ruby survived worse!" Jaune told then. "That kind of fall is not enough to get her out!"
"Then why isn't she back by now? In fact, where is the one who is said to beat me?" Everyone in the village glared at him.
"Hey look!" a contestant shouted.
They looked back to see her pointing out the village. To their surprise and relief, they saw Ruby and Nathan back, both carrying a treasure chest with their Pokemon running by their side. Everyone cheered at the sight of them returning, except Russell.
"What?!" he gasped.
"Well, well," Nate spoke. "Looks like that Zigzagoon is a natural after all."
As soon as the four got back to the village, Nate took Alan's spot once more and announced the winner. "This year's Pokemon Treasure Hunting Contest was unlike any other. Not only did an outsider join us, we also saw quite an epic race. It brings me joy to announce the winner of this contest to be..." The suspense fell onto the crowd, one certain trainer being unaffected by it. "Ruby Rose!" Everyone cheered for the female 15-year-old.
"Wait! What do you mean they won?!" Russell demanded. "She completely got here way pass sunset! I should be the winner!"
"Actually Russell, you were disqualified," Alan corrected. The boy's eyes widened at the reveal. "It was one thing to trick and take someone else's treasure. But it's a different story to sabotage their chance for victory." The screen showed the part where Nathan and Aipom were about to help Ruby and Scout out of their situation on the tree, revealing in the background Russell had his Riolu prepare an attack. One that destroyed the cliff they were on.
"We also have a couple of witnesses saying they say you bullying your own Pokémon," Nate added. "A true Treasure Hunter would never resort to either actions you took. And a true Treasure Hunter would never give up and keep moving forward. Just as Ruby had done." The screen then showed Ruby still digging for the treasure she, Nathan and their Pokemon dug up. My son was close to giving up, but Ruby Rose did what all of you should've done; she never gave up hope. As it turns out, it doesn't take a person being born and raised in a village full of hunters to be a true hunter; it takes the person herself." He looked to his father.
Marcus cleared his throat. "I admit. This year was nothing like I've ever seen. And for that, from this moment on, our village... Will be known to the outside world!" Everyone cheered at those words. "So I expect the youngsters, once they leave, to spread the word. It's time everyone knows of another town worth visiting during their time here." The cheers got louder.
"Not, if Ruby would step up." The girl approached Nathan. "Congratulations on your win, for a first-timer."
"Thank you sir," she bowed.
"You deserve this egg." Nate presented the Pokemon Egg to Ruby. She accepted the winning prize and held it into the air, bringing more cheers and applause to come her way.
The next day, after a big party, the Remnant Team was getting ready to leave, Scout out of his Pokeball.
"Are you sure about leaving now?" Nathan asked.
"We have to. We still have something important to do," Blake answered.
He smiled at the answer. "I understand." He turned to Ruby, carrying the Pokemon Egg in its case. "Are you sure you don't want to take any of the stones?"
"I took one," she corrected.
"Which you gave me," Jaune said. "Thanks by the way."
Ruby chose to ignore the male blonde. "Besides, the egg is prize enough."
"I see. Well, I guess this is farewell. At least until I'm able to travel out there."
"Yeah..."
Aipom said her own good-byes to Scout, ending it with a kiss on the cheek, in which the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon jumped in joy for. Everyone chuckled at the sight.
"Well, see you later, Nathan!" Yang said. Everyone in the team said their good-byes as they left, including Scout, Crescythe and Leafeon.
"Later guys! Good luck with the Swablu!" Everyone stopped at Nathan's final farewell.
"What Swablu?" Pyrrha asked.
The young Treasure Hunter realized his mistake. "Sorry. I have this horrible habit of blurting out what Pokemon will hatch from a Pokemon Egg, due to my identification skill, which is useful for Treasure Hunters. I'm always spot on. Sorry for spoiling the surprise."
"Don't worry about it," Ruby said as she looked down at her egg in deep thought. She turned to Weiss. "Here. You can have this egg."
Everyone was confused at her choice. "Are you sure, Ruby?" Jackson asked.
"It's fine. Besides, of what I remember from seeing one back home, this Pokemon should be able to help Weiss in her next contest. I may have won this egg, but that doesn't mean it has to be my Pokemon."
Weiss smiled and accepted the gift. "Thanks, partner."
After a short moment, the team continued on to their way as they waved good-bye at Nathan and Aipom, both whom waved back.
