Chapter 12: Shopping and Criminals?!
A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! It means a lot to me!
This chapter's fluffier than Elesa's BW2 coat; the one that looks like it was made out of Flaffy cotton. But next chapter will be important.
Enjoy the change of pace!
"Ugh, how did ALL of us get caught?!"
"Dammit, man! I told you not to fly there! Garchomp was waiting behind the mountain!"
"How did we not die?! That Cloyster shot us down!"
"What I want to is why the hell you went and took us down, Ash! You take ONE look at a face you wake up to EVERY SINGLE MORNING, and you suddenly go turncoat on us! You know what May's like when she shops; imagine at least three times the load! Why would you do this?!"
After all of the men fled on their Pokemon, Cynthia, May, and Rosa had collaborated to catch them. Rosa had Reuniclus use Psychic to fly Rosa and Cloyster up to fire Icicle Spears at any visible fliers, Cynthia waited behind a mountain on Garchomp in wait for anyone trying to escape, and May used her Beautifly and her phone to inform the others of any of the Trainers. Within two hours, everyone had been rounded up.
"Ash, did you HAVE to bring us down with you?!" Paul growled from underneath Cynthia's Garchomp. Max nodded in agreement from under May's Blaziken. Ash, Paul, and Max had fled from the girls together. When they rounded the cliff, Cynthia and Garchomp flew out from behind. Upon seeing his girlfriend's puppy-face look, the Kanto Champion immediately had Charizard subdue Hydreigon. Taken by surprise, the Brutal Pokemon wasn't able to fly away fast enough, and was dragged to the ground, along with its Trainer. Paul was stunned to see Ash do this; surely he knew the horrors of going shopping with a girl; he remembered Dawn and her expensive tastes. Sadly for the purple-haired Trainer, Cynthia took advantage of this and snatched Paul up from Honchkrow. Seeing its Trainer taken captive, the Flying-type surrendered and followed the Champions back to town.
"Those icicles hurt… Ouch…" Isaac groaned. He and Tory fled the scene on Salamence. They didn't get far before being spotted by Rosa, frozen by Psychic, and falling after the Icicle Spear. Thankfully, they were lowered gently from the Psychic, but May's Blaziken took both Trainers in a headlock upon landing.
"Well, now that we're all here, let's go!" May said happily, earning groans from all of the males.
"Ash, you're paying for the medical bills!" Max said, irritated. "It's your fault we got caught!" The Kanto Champion seemed to wilt under the thought of bearing the heavy bags; then he remembered his girlfriend's expression and smiled to himself.
"Okay, you win. But can we at least go tell the police of the two attempted murders, first?" Isaac asked.
Cynthia nodded. "Sure, we were going to report it, anyway."
"No need for that. We're already on it."
Ash turned around to see two faces; one he recognized and one he didn't. The woman had magenta hair, and wore a yellow cap. She was wearing jeans, a red T-shirt, and a gray hoodie on top of the shirt.
"Hey, Georgia! Long time no see!"
"Indeed, Ash. How have you been?"
Exchanging pleasantries, the Champion looked at her companion. He was a tall man, with a black trench coat. His eyes were brown, and surprisingly warm. His head of messy black hair added to this.
"Hello, my name is Vincent Yamato, Interpol Agent. It seems you know Georgia, already," he said.
"Ash Ketchum, Kanto Champion. And yeah, we've run into each other while in Unova from time to time." The two men shook hands.
"I heard about what took place in the Pokemon Center battlefield. Rest assured, we will find them."
"Thanks, that means a lot to us," Ash said earnestly. "So, Georgia, what are you doing here?"
"I'm his girlfriend," she said, leaning on Vincent and smiling. "I'm also here for the tournament."
"Cool! We can have a rematch! I look forward to it! Say, Vincent. How come you're here? The Interpol works on big cases, right?"
Vincent looked uneasy. "The truth is…." He didn't seem to be able to finish.
Georgia spoke up. "We're hunting down several criminal organization leaders who got away from custody."
"What?! Who?!" Tory exclaimed. All thought of shopping was driven from everyone's minds on hearing this distressing news.
Vincent sighed. "Brace yourselves, this is a long list. The leaders and admins of Team Rocket, Team Magma and Aqua, Team Cipher, Team Galactic, and Team Plasma got away, along with their grunts." He looked ashamed to say the list of the escaped criminals.
Isaac swore. He remembered fighting Team Cipher back in Orre, and he was not looking forward to doing it again. Ardos in particular… He shuddered.
Ash, Cynthia, Max, Tory, and May groaned. The two older Champions remembered Team Galactic's insanity, enslaving Dialga and Palkia and almost succeeding. The siblings thought back to the fight between Groudon and Kyogre, and did not want a repeat. Tory groaned as the thought back to when they fought Domino and Max's Aggron. Paul looked as though he desperately wanted to make insulting comments about the Interpol, but barely refrained from doing so. Gary growled; he remembered the Viridian City Gym battle where he had fought that Psychic-type Pokemon. It had destroyed his entire team easily.
"Well, let's hope they get caught again, and before they can do anything to screw over others," Paul sighed.
Vincent nodded. "So sorry to have bothered you with this information. I bid you good day, and we will catch them, along with Damien's group." With this, Georgia and Vincent departed to the town.
"Really? He tells about criminals escaping custody and just walks away?" Isaac grumbled.
"Well, on that note, let's go home," Ash said quickly, praying that the girls forgot about their original intents.
Rosa shook her head. "I don't think so, Ash. Remember?" The males sighed in defeat and walked off towards Undella Town's plaza.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Oww, my arms! What is in here?!"
"I hope this counts towards my penance for my actions!"
"Don't worry; I'm beginning to forgive you! Just take some of these boxes, would you?"
"Aren't there laws against child labor?!"
The males of the group struggled under the burden of clothes and fashion supplies that had been loaded into their arms. Ahead of them, the females walked casually along, eating ice cream that Cynthia had bought from an ice cream stand (taking a long time to decide on her own). In the meantime, passerby stared at the three Champions and other Trainers carrying loads of boxes and bags, wanting autographs but thinking it would be a bad time to ask.
"Damn you, Ash! You roped us into this crap!" Paul snarled while barely balancing his stack.
"Careful, Paul. There are glass bottles in there," Cynthia chided, suppressing a giggle at the Veilstone Trainer's strained face. Paul usually scowled in the past, and never looked exerted at all. Seeing him like this would have made Ash snicker, were he not underneath a large stack of bags as well. Suddenly, the two former rivals of Sinnoh put down their luggage as they recognized a voice they had met in that very region.
"Excuse me, can I get a dozen Oran berries? Thanks!"
The voice belonged to Dawn Berlitz, Ash's former traveling companion of Sinnoh. She had grown considerably, now standing at a height equal to that of Rosa's. She had straightened her blue hair, leaving two rings of hair on either side. Her skirt was now a deep blue, and her shirt a vivid pink. A sleeveless green jacket rested on her shoulders. Her bag remained on her hip, and an Empoleon stood next to her, holding a stack of boxes much like their own burdens.
'Looks like Piplup evolved,' Ash thought. "Dawn!" he called.
Dawn turned around so fast, she forgot to get her berries. "Ash?! Is that you?!" she squealed. Seeing her friend's face, she leapt into his arms.
"You're okay! I heard that you were injured or killed! Thank goodness you're all right!" she sobbed. He smiled and patted her back, glancing at Cynthia. Fortunately, the Sinnoh Champion recognized the gesture as one of comforting, and waved it off.
"Don't worry, I'm okay. In fact, my team and I have gotten way stronger than before," he said gently. Dawn smiled and let go. At that moment, Empoleon grinned and called out as well, putting down its load.
"Hey, Empoleon. I see you evolved." He brushed the Pokemon's wings, resulting in another grin.
"Yeah, Piplup evolved during Contests both times; earning victories both times," Dawn said proudly. Then she looked at Paul.
"Hi there, Paul, how are you?" she said slightly cautiously, remembering the Trainer's callous attitude back in Sinnoh. Paul glanced at his former rival, his eyes asking, 'Should I?' Ash, who was standing behind her, nearly fell over in silent laughter and mouthed, 'Do it!' To Dawn's side, Cynthia almost lost her calm expression to hilarity and nodded for Paul to say what she thought he would.
The Veilstone Trainer turned around and crossed his arms. "It's none of your business," he snapped, barely suppressing a laugh as he faced away from Dawn.
The Coordinator's face was comparable to the color of a boiling Corphish. "Well, excuse me for asking how you've been doing! Here I thought you changed after five years!" she yelled, storming up to Paul's face. And seeing his failed attempt at maintaining a serious expression, which was so unlike the Paul she knew. Paul's normal face was characterized by a scowl; Dawn could see a grin curling around his lips as he tried (and failed) to hold in his expression. This was the straw that broke the Numel's back, as everyone exploded into laughter.
Dawn was too stunned to register this. "Wait, you… actually… cared? About what I… said?"
Paul nodded. "Yep. To answer your question, I'm doing fine. And I'm not the same Paul you knew before." Her jaw dropped, looking like it would unhinge in a moment. Empoleon was so shocked, it lost its balance as it walked and fell over. The purple-haired Trainer joined the others in their laughter.
She turned around, finally realizing that she was being made fun of. Ash and Cynthia in particular were laughing so hard, they had difficulty breathing.
"I'm sorry, Dawn," Cynthia said while trying to catch her breath. "But this was too good to pass up."
"Yeah, you should have seen your face," Ash gasped, rolling around as he tried to get up.
Dawn sighed, and chuckled. "Well, at least Paul's not a big jerk anymore." Turning to the shopkeeper, she got her Berries and put the box into Paul's arms, making him groan as he looked at the stack of boxes that he had put down. This was going to be a long walk…
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Twenty minutes later, the men finally set their packages down and collapsed on the villa floor. To the male Trainers, it was worse than taking down the criminal organizations again; Dawn added her supplies to the already precarious load, much to the relief of her Empoleon.
After they recovered, Cynthia asked, "What are we gonna do about rooms? Before Gary and Dawn arrived, we had eight, and there are eight rooms. We need to clear up two rooms. Who's going to share?" This made everyone stop and think.
Max glanced at Rosa. She thought for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, but no poking around my room without permission, alright? And there had better be no funny business when I'm sleeping."
The Hoenn Champion nodded. "Really, I wouldn't ever do that."
Rosa smiled. "I know, just checking. The only reason I'm allowing this is because I know you're honorable," she said reassuringly, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek and wrapping her arms around his back. He blinked stupidly for a moment, before coming to his senses from a swift kick to his shin; courtesy of Tory.
Ash suddenly grinned wickedly, an idea forming in his mind. "Dawn and Paul could share a room; that would open up the one left for Gary."
The whole room burst into laughter, except for the two Sinnoh Trainers. They just gaped, not believing what they heard.
"Whoa, wha-what?!" Paul gasped, color blooming in his face. Next to him, Dawn blushed even further; it looked like she was on fire.
"Yeah, that sounds good for you two. You seem like a pair of lovebirds, anyway," Gary snickered. This made both of them give impressive glares at the Viridian City Gym Leader. Finally, Paul sighed.
"It DOES seem like the best solution. If you don't mind, I won't." This made Ash blink; did his former rival, the one who was always so callous to others, really say that?
Dawn groaned. Inside, however, she was interested in her offer. 'Now that he's not a jerk, he seems like a nice guy,' she thought, blushing. "All right, whatever. I get the bed, though." Paul nodded. Then she remembered something, along with Isaac.
"So, what did happen? I heard you did something terrible, but I don't believe it."
"Oh, you forgot to tell how you and Cynthia got together. If this is rude, sorry. But care to tell us?"
Ash sighed. "All right, we'll talk over dinner." He picked up a phone and ordered several pizzas, preparing to talk for a long time.
A/N: This was more of a fluff chapter, although we find several criminal organizations have escaped prison! And Dawn's falling in love? With Paul?!
Next chapter will cover some pretty important stuff, but this one was just one I wrote to get some of the comedic ideas out of my head.
Well, read, review, and I'll see you next time!
~Red Aura Guard, signing out.
