Warning: Very long chapter ahead. Aka the longest chapter so far. As in, over 4,000 words long. Have fun!

Standing in a crammed train car and shooting down an extremely bumpy track is not a very fun experience. That's why Luffy and his friends were seated in the driver's car, courtesy of the mysterious man who had offered to take them and thirty-one other people to the Kanto region.

As he shifted gears and upped the speed of the train, the driver looked over at Luffy thoughtfully. "You really like pokemon, huh?"

"Yeah! Hyperbeam and Cebi and everyone are my best friends!"

"Well, I have a story I'd like to tell you… It's about a pokemon."

Luffy grinned. "Okay, tell it! Is it a funny story?"

"Not really… You see, a few years ago, when we were still planning this train and working on the path it would take, there were a lot of skeptics. Some people just didn't want to be connected to their neighboring region, and there was a time when it seemed like we'd have to cancel everything." The man's face clouded over, and he adjusted the train's course before continuing gruffly.

"I had been hired ahead of time as the operator, but for a while it seemed like I wouldn't get the job, after all. All the construction workers were losing hope as well, and nearly quit working altogether. Sadly, the people's protests were getting to us, even though we knew that the train would be a great asset to both Johto and Kanto.

"Then a new pokemon started showing up at the construction site. We had Hariyama and other strong pokemon helping us with the heavy lifting, but one little Machop came up and started working all on his own! No one knew where he came from or if he had a trainer, so I fed him and looked after him when he wasn't helping the others.

"That runt of a Machop worked twice as hard as our biggest Machamp. He made us laugh and helped renew our passion for the locomotive. He even helped with the track layout!" Seeing Luffy's incredulous look, the man smiled. "Yup; while the cartographers were arguing over the best place for the bridge, that little guy hopped up on the table and pointed at a spot. We all laughed, but that place turned out to be the most shallow, and it was perfect for the bridge!

"He helped us so much that the project went on and was completed without any delays. A few people still complained, but our construction crew didn't care. And when the train itself was finally competed, I drove the first test run with that Machop sitting right where you are now. He liked it so much that he'd evolved into a Machoke by the time it was over!" The driver looked at Luffy to see his eyes shining with excitement.

The rubber boy jumped up, barely keeping his balance as the car went over a bump. "That guy seems really cool! I wanna meet him!"

"Quiet, quiet," the man chided. "The story's not over yet…" His voice had taken a more somber tone, and Luffy shut up immediately. "When we got out of the train and went into Saffron City, the crew got out of the passenger car where they'd been riding. We were so proud, and we carried our mascot out of the station in a victory march. But there was someone waiting for us…

"It was a little girl, and the crew recognized her as the child whose house had to be torn down to make room for the station. Apparently, she'd heard that our precious friend had no trainer. She… she was holding a Clefairy and an Ultra Ball."

Gold's eyes widened, despite his previous act of indifference about the story. "No… She didn't!"

"She did," the driver sighed. "That little girl made her pokemon attack the Machoke, and she caught him with her Ultra Ball in one fell swoop. We couldn't believe it." He seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Once she ran back to her house we knew there was no way she was going to give him back. Little girls who have been wronged have such a thirst for vengeance… I gave her a train ticket in case she decided to bring him back to us one day, but she never did. We never saw that pokemon again… We never even gave him a nickname."

N blinked. "But, couldn't you just have taken him back by force?!"

"From a girl?" Gold sputtered. "Are you out of your mind?! You'd be dead before you knew what hit you!"

Silver nodded, leaning forward a little as the driver pulled on the brakes. "Anyway, what was the purpose of telling us all that? Do you want to try to visit that pokemon or something…?"

"No." The driver looked out of his window as the train pulled into the station. "I would like you kids to liberate him, as you have liberated the Magnet Train today."

Luffy didn't even have time to respond. His whole crew yelled, "AYE-AYE," and bolted out of the train, dragging him along behind them.

…

As they walked, Silver went over the situation from a neutral standpoint. "The offending party was acting in response to the first party's demolition of her home. Therefore, she cannot be completely persecuted because her retaliation was somewhat justified… albeit completely uncalled for."

"I can't believe such a snotty little girl even exists!" N fumed, ignoring his friend's confusing words and throwing out James and Jessie in preparation for the girl's demise. "She probably doesn't even play with that Machoke, and he must be undernourished and nearly dead from neglect! Anyone who treats pokemon like that is going to… Wait, where does she live?"

He looked to his friends, who all shrugged. "You guys never let me ask the dude what she looked like, either," Luffy pointed out before gesturing to a nearby sign. "And since I can't read this crazy writing, it's all up to you."

"No, it's all up to you," Silver countered, pushing him into the nearest house. "Break into every house in the city until you find someone who looks like they'd steal a pokemon."

His captain streaked back out of the building, eyes wide. "But this place is full of houses! Can't we split up to find her?"

"I guess that would bemore efficient… And if someone thinks they've found the culprit, our roll call will be… Palkia's cry!"

Everyone stared at Silver. "What's that?"

He pressed a few buttons on his PokeDex and an unearthly screech hissed out of the small speakers. "I saw a documentary once about the legendary pokemon Palkia, and they even had a recording of its cry. Think you can mimic it?"

His friends nodded dumbly, each one desperately hoping not to be the one who found the girl.

"Okay, then. Let's get going," N declared, marching off with his Absol to the southern side of town. Gold went to the east and Silver took the north, leaving Luffy to reenter the house he'd been so graciously pushed into.

…

Silver wasn't having much luck in the old gym, so he decided to explore the newer one. When he walked in, a group of trainers seated in a circle on the floor looked up. "Hey, look what the Mew dragged in! You up for a battle, young sir?"

"Um, not right this second, but I'll come back soon with my friend," the redhead lied, turning to the door. A long-haired woman stood in his way, looking down on him with a contemptuous aura that meant she could only be the leader here. Of all places to look, why had he decided to enter a gym?! "Excuse me, but I was about to leave," he said politely.

"No, you weren't." The woman grinned and pushed him towards a large square on the floor. "You were about to play with our pokemon, weren't you? See, they're all quite out of shape since no one's challenged us in a while, so we let them roam around here… I do hope you have fun playing with each other!"

His shoes were fully within the square now, and Silver got an intense feeling of dread. Too late, he tried to step out of the area, but a bright light suddenly engulfed him and he found himself in a completely different room… A room that also contained several psychic-type pokemon staring at him with bloodthirsty eyes.

…

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in your used items." N waved to the family, exiting their house and feeling more confused than before. It was like reverse salesmanship; knocking on doors and receiving goods instead of selling them. Was the whole region like this?!

A short man brushed past him and suddenly ran back up. "Oh ho, sir! Would you be interested in a free, honest-to-goodness genuine Ultra Ball?"

"NO! Go 'way!"

…

Gold was having a much better time of waltzing into stranger's houses and collecting free stuff. After stocking up on supplies, he'd been to every house in the town for goodies. He'd even run into a girl on the street who promised him a train ticket if he got her Clefairy doll back!

…

Luffy finally staggered out of the pink house, filled with useless stories about an old couple's copycat daughter. He was about to head for the tallest building in sight to find his companions, but a hideous wail caught his attention first. Though it was hard to tell, it sounded like a poorly-done impression of the legendary pokemon Palkia…

He ran for the source of the sound, swinging on buildings without caring about the consequences. Someone had found the person who stole the Machoke! He stopped in front of a tall gym, where the scream was loudest. The culprit was hiding in such an esteemed building?! How dare she!

Gold and N ran up just in time to see Luffy disappearing into the psychic-type gym. "What do we do?" N cried. "He might be able to deal with it himself, but we'll never get that pokemon if he accidentally kills her!"

"Luffy wouldn't kill a little girl," Gold scoffed. His eyes widened as a distinctly girlish scream rang out from inside the building, accompanied by several large crashes and pokemon cries. "On second thought…"

He and N burst into the gym, fully expecting to see a crime scene. To their surprise, there was just a row of psychic trainers leaning against a wall, watching… something.

"What's going on?" Gold grabbed the toga of the nearest trainer, pulling her away from the show to see for himself. N did the same next to him, and their jaws dropped open in shock.

Luffy and Silver were in a far-off room, furiously sending their pokemon out against a horde of psychic-types. Unfortunately, their enemies had the upper hand because of their type advantage over Hypo and Cebi. Kim was the only one who wasn't struggling in the fight because of her dark-type moves.

Seeing this, N immediately returned Jessie and James to their pokeballs and handed them to Gold. "Throw them," he whispered.

"What? Why?!"

"Cause I'm not good at throwing pokeballs, and they'd land in the wrong room!" N groaned when his friend remained silent. "Please don't tell me you're no good at it, either…"

Gold shook his head. "No, but Flapper could just carry them over there." He sent out his Butterfree and handed him the capsules. "Okay, buddy, just drop them over where those bad pokemon are. Can you do that?"

His pokemon chirped and flew off as N stared at it thoughtfully. "You know, I completely forgot about him."

"It's okay. I haven't used him much, anyway. But he's been training a lot!" Gold grinned as the Butterfree deposited the secret weapons and joined the fray. "I'm thinking about taking him with me to the raid on that Team Rocket base you've been talking about… So, where is it, exactly?"

N shrugged. "A little ways past Lavender Town, at the Kanto Power Plant. I can't remember what they're doing there, but it won't matter by the time we're through with them!"

"…Yeah. How many grunts do you think we'll meet?"

"Plenty." N watched absent-mindedly as his Absol beat the brains out of the distant foes. "But it all depends on how quickly we take down the leader. From my time as a grunt, it's obvious that the lower-ranking guys wouldn't be working at all without the supervision of the executives."

"Oh… Well, it's going to be a great chance to train a lot of our pokemon, and that's all I plan to do!"

N gave a halfway shrug, too intent on the battle to respond. James and Jessie were a powerful duo, knocking out foes left and right, and he was trying to formulate a battle strategy based off it for their single battles.

"Hey, guys!" Luffy suddenly swung an arm over to grab the rafter above their heads. Before anyone could protest, he grabbed Silver, as well, who struggled to call back all the pokemon before the rubber boy vaulted over the walls.

N looked up at them. "So, you were fighting that little girl? She sure had a lot of pokemon…"

Silver was visibly confused. "Huh? What girl?"

"The one who… stole the Machoke, that we're trying to catch and apprehend." N frowned. "Wait, you called everyone over here for something that had nothing to do with the mission?!"

Gold patted him on the back. "Don't let your Team Rocket mindset take over, now. I'm sure Silver thought it was pretty important for us to help him not get killed!"

"Speaking of which, what is up with the pokemon here?" The redhead glared at the trainers who had gone back to chanting in a circle. "Come on; they attacked me like they hadn't been fed in months! I know something's up."

The gym leader stepped forward. "If you find something wrong with the way we train our pokemon, that's your opinion and we don't care."

"Yeah, but if we keep training them like this, they're going to keep on losing and we'll get nowhere," a medium complained. Her higher-up snapped a finger and she went back to chanting immediately.

"O~kay, well, we're just gonna leave," N said, turning for the door. He and the rest of the crew walked out without another word as the psychic trainers bickered and threw TwistedSpoons at each other behind them.

…

They walked down the street a ways and finally stopped near a PokeMart. "So, does anyone have any clues as to where our target is?" Gold asked.

"Nope!" The others chorused.

"Okay, then, let's share what each of us did… starting with Luffy."

The captain pouted. "All I did was talk with some old people. They told me about their weird daughter, and they had a lot of creepy dolls in their house…"

Something about that seemed familiar… "Wait!" Gold snapped his fingers. "Did those people have a Clefairy doll?"

"No, but I think they used to," Luffy mused. "They didn't know if they had a Machoke, so their daughter could maybe be the one we're looking for."

Gold paled. "I met that kid! She talked to me outside of that company building, and asked me to find her doll for her!"

"Did she give away any suspicious information?" N pressed.

"Just that… she got a train ticket from one of the men who helped demolish her home to make room for it…"

Everyone looked at Gold, and then at each other. "Was she outside the Silph Company?" Silver demanded.

"Y-yeah. I think that was it…"

N and Silver grabbed their useless companions by the shirt and hauled them down the street until they stood in front of the largest building in town. There was no one in sight.

"She must have gone inside," N decided. "If so, she's trapped."

"Guys, isn't this kind of weird? I mean, we're stalking a kid with the intent to kidnap, aren't we?" Gold shook his head nervously. "This is more than a little wrong, and we shouldn't…"

Luffy pulled him inside after the others. "It's okay. We just want the pokemon, and nothing's going to happen to her. We wouldn't hurt a little girl!"

His friend followed him to the front desk reluctantly, looking around for the girl as they walked. He was so preoccupied, he nearly walked right into a young man with odd light-blue hair. "Oh! Sorry, excuse me. I was just…"

"Looking for someone?" The boy asked. When Gold didn't answer, he pulled out three pokeballs. "Well, listen, kid. I have to get rid of some pokemon cause my dad will be really angry if he found out they're stolen… I'm not going to go into any details, but can you just take one? Or all of them? …Please?" Gold was too surprised to respond, so he just held out his hands. The man dropped the capsules into them and ran out of the building.

Luffy walked back over, peering over his friend's shoulder at the stranger. "Who was that?"

"I dunno. Want a pokemon?"

The rubber boy regarded the pokeballs for a moment, then shook his head. "If I take one, N or Silver won't get one, and they have less pokemon than me." He pulled Hyperbeam off of his hat and set him down on the floor. "Anyway, there's a thief in this place, and we have to find her, first!"

"You're right," Gold agreed, pocketing the three pokemon. "Let's try the elevator, and let the others search this floor."

He led Luffy to the red doors, remembering that his pokemon friend had no experience with such things. To his surprise, the captain pressed the red button without hesitation. "Wait, how did you know you were supposed to push that?!"

"It was shiny," the boy replied. "How was I supposed to ignore it?"

"…Good point." Gold stared at the doors for a while. "Actually, I don't know if that was the right way to do it. Maybe this thing is broken or something…"

Dexter the Rotom suddenly burst out of Luffy's Sinnoh PokeDex. "Reeee!" He squealed, fizzing through the crack between the doors. Moments later, they slid open and Luffy ran into the compartment, dumbstruck.

"Whoa! How'd you do that! What is this thing? What does it do?"

Gold walked in hesitantly. "…This is an elevator. You, uh, get in and it takes you to another floor in the building." He watched nervously as Dexter entered the control panel and the doors slid shut. When the elevator started moving up in short jerks, he clung to the wall in fear.

"What are you doing?" Luffy asked, bouncing with Hypo as the elevator came to a sudden stop. "Come on, it's time to get out!"

The boys exited the compartment to find themselves in a strange room. "What are all these things?" The rubber boy asked, poking a freezer in confusion. "Hey, this looks like the thing you had at your house!"

"It does, doesn't it?" Gold stood in front of a metal object, peering at the blades in the middle. "But that and the oven are the only things I recognize. What is this supposed to be?!"

Dexter flew into the thing and came out a few seconds later looking exactly like it. He hummed and hopped over to Luffy, who gaped openly. "Wow! Can you do that with all of this stuff?!"

…

It had taken a while, but Silver finally figured out that the Raichu in the corner was just a kid wearing cosplay. He tapped N on the shoulder before approaching her. "Hey there, little Raichu. We're looking for someone. Can you help us?"

"Raai!" The girl squeaked in a convincing impression of a Raichu.

It wasn't convincing enough. N frowned, scratching his head. "What? 'Raiku?' We're looking for a person, not a pokemon."

Visibly stressed, the girl tried again. "Rai-Rai! Chu?"

"I told you, we're trying to find a person. It's cool that you like Chinchou, but that's not who we're looking for."

The girl ripped off her costume to reveal normal attire, scowling at the boys. "Man, would you stop pretending like you know what pokemon even say?! You pricks, I'm just trying to get some experience being a Raichu so I can help my Pikachu evolve!"

"Nah, all it needs is a ThunderStone." Silver smirked at the girl's shocked expression. "What, you didn't know that?"

"N-no… Actually, thanks for telling me! My little Daisy would never be able to evolve if you hadn't!" She folded up her costume and made a little bow. "Sorry for not giving up the act sooner. I just got really excited when you thought I was actually a pokemon, and I sort of wanted to stay in character. As thanks for your information, I'd like to help you find this person you were talking about!"

N shrugged. "Oh, we just wanted to find someone who was looking for their Clefairy doll. It's pointless, though. I don't think we'll ever find that poor little girl."

Just as he'd expected, the girl's eyes widened and she let out a squeal. "But that's me! I lost my precious doll a while ago, and I've been spreading the word everywhere! Did you two gentlemen find it for me?!"

"That depends," Silver replied, taking over the interrogation. "We're also looking for someone who attacked and captured a pokemon that did not belong to her." The girl turned pale, and Silver almost felt sorry for her. Then he remembered the sad train operator, and he changed his mind quickly. "Tell us now. Where is the Machoke?"

She took a shaky deep breath before letting it all out. "Oh, gosh, I don't know who you are or why you're after me but I'm sorry about all that I did; I really am! And I released the Machoke back into the wild just a few days after I took him, and that was a long time ago and I have no idea where he is now so please leave me alone!"

"Wait, wait, wait…" N cleared his throat and shot Silver a nervous glance. "You released him?"

"Yeah, I felt really bad and I didn't know what to do so I let him go," the girl sobbed. "Then my family went to a nice beach place and I think he might have followed me because I lost my Clefairy doll and I haven't seen it since and I didn't put it down or anything so it could only have been-"

"SHUT UP!" Silver roared. "I'm trying to think here, and your whining is really annoying!" He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples as the whole room shuddered with a forced silence. N looked back and forth between his friend and the distraught copycat girl until finally throwing out an Absol so the kid could cry on someone's shoulder.

"Okay," the redhead breathed after several long moments. "If we go all the way to Vermilion City and back, it will take a few hours out of the morning and leave us with seven hours of daylight at most to find and take down the grunts at the power plant."

N called Jessie back to her pokeball and shrugged. "That should be enough time. Let's get Luffy and Gold so we can let them know."

"Oh… We've been so busy here that I didn't pay attention to those two. Where are they?"

The girl had recovered from her breakdown, and now she stood up and pointed. "A little while before you started talking to me, I saw some weirdos go into that elevator that's supposed to be broken."

"Thanks," N said. "And sorry for making you cry… We didn't understand the situation, but now we'll be sure to get everything cleared up with the people who worked on the train." He waved goodbye to the girl as she left just as the elevator doors slid open.

Luffy shot out of the car, pushing a very strange object in front of him. It looked like a red box with wheels and a handlebar, and it was making an incessant loud noise. "Luffy, I really don't want to ask, but… What is that, and why?!"

The captain flashed Silver a thumbs-up. "Dexter says it's called a 'lawn mower,' and it's really fun to push!"

"Can I try?!" N asked. "That is Dexter, isn't it? One of Rotom's alternate forms… Man, it's so cool!"

Gold didn't seem to be too impressed with the thing, so Silver filled him in on the new plan. "Okay… So, Vermilion City first; then the power plant. Got it." He looked over at N, who was pushing Dexter around like a little kid with a toy train. "Okay, guys, I think it's time to go."

"Where are we going?" Luffy asked. "Do we know where the stolen pokemon is?"

"Yup." Silver led everyone to the door. "Just past Route 6! Let's hurry, and get that pokemon back to his friends!"

Paragraph 10: 'He liked it so much that he'd evolved into a MacBook by the time it was over!'

Sometimes I hate auto-correct, and sometimes…