Ash will be catching another Pokémon in this chapter. I wrestled with this one for a while, but figured it would be a great way to bridge the gap between battling Fantina and Maylene. Also, two certain characters will be returning in this chapter.

K2-Black-Panther: Um, it's actually spelled correctly. In every piece of Pokémon canon there is, it's spelled Unown. As for the Alamos Town thing, I'm not sure about doing anything of the sort as far as locations in the movies. For me, personally, it's going to distract me from what I already have planned out. Those locations could perhaps be mentioned in passing, but I'm not going to set an entire chapter or more in those places, because there's no real reason to. Although, I will say that I did really like the Rise of Darkrai.

Pearl shipper: At this point, no sequel. My plans for this story are to make it long (if I had to guess, we're maybe 40-50% through it all). But there are tons of things that are subject to change, so we will see when the time comes.

The Journey Continues

Chapter 37

Hip-Hoppin' Hippopotas!

Sinnoh Region – Route 210

"Ugh, it's so hot!"

Corey groaned as he tried to wipe the sweat from his brow. The desert on Route 210 was scorching hot and the air was as dry as could be. All three Trainers carried canteens of water in their bags, but while Ash and Dawn were wisely conserving the water that they had, Corey was compulsively sipping from the canteen, doing everything he could to stave off the heat. Of course, this soon meant that he was almost out of water, while the two older Trainers still had a solid amount of it left in their canteens. Eventually, Ash was forced to give up some of his water when Corey ran out. The Trainer insisted that he didn't mind, even when Corey apologized profusely.

After a few more hours of walking, Ash suggested that the group stop. They had walked several miles north through the arid desert, and by that point the desert was getting cooler. Sinnoh's climate was particular colder than, say, Kanto or Johto, so the desert wasn't as insufferable for the two older Trainers. Corey, however, had barely been outside of his hometown of Eterna City before he had left to begin his journey, so he had never been remotely exposed to the likes of a desert. Corey approved wholeheartedly of stopping, and was the first to set down his pack in the sand.

Ash and Dawn worked together to set up the materials for cooking, and the latter used the lessons she'd learned from Ash to quickly whip up a small lunch for the group while Ash discussed Pokémon training with Corey. In addition to Eevee, Corey owned three other Pokémon: Bibarel, Shinx, and Staravia. After quickly wolfing down their food, Corey got up the courage to ask Ash for a battle. The older Trainer had already shown great interest in Corey's Pokémon, and the younger boy was incredibly eager to learn from a seasoned veteran such as Ash.

Ash happily accepted the challenge, but first, the group walked a few miles further north. Eventually, they reached a point where a comfortable breeze blew through the area, kicking up flakes of sand in various areas. With the use of the Holo-Map, Dawn estimated that they were just a little more than halfway through the arid terrain, and still had half a day of traveling left to cover more ground. The desert wasn't terribly long when it came to traveling time, but the real grind was the long Route 215, which led into Veilstone City. Ash chose this time to officially accept Corey's offer of a battle, and the two very different Trainers took their places on opposite ends of a plain of sand. Dawn assumed the position of referee for the brief 1-on-1 battle.

Corey unsurprisingly sent out Eevee, while Ash went with a much more unconventional choice. The teenaged Trainer called upon Gabite, sending the Cave Pokémon into the fray. Corey eagerly scanned the dragon-type with his Pokédex, becoming particularly excited at the prospect of battling against such a rare Pokémon. In his eagerness, Corey called out to Eevee to attack first, taking the offensive as soon as possible.

"Eevee, use Quick Attack!"

The Evolution Pokémon bounded forward with an adorable cry, zooming toward Gabite with impressive speed. Still, the normal-type seemed considerably slower than Ash was now used to, and the Trainer easily called out for a counter.

"Gabite, use your fins to catch Eevee and throw it back."

Gabite raised its bony arms and crossed them as Eevee closed in. The Evolution Pokémon lunged forward, but Gabite caught it in the fins on its arms, stopping the normal-type completely. Eevee squirmed as the dragon-type's fins dug uncomfortably into its fur, before Gabite promptly threw the normal-type away.

"Gabite, now use Rock Smash."

Gabite lumbered forward, its clawed appendage glowing with white energy. Corey switched to the defensive, calling for Eevee to dodge with a timely Quick Attack. Hoping to catch Gabite off-guard, the younger Trainer called for a Take Down attack next, and the Evolution Pokémon raced toward the dragon-type from its side. Ash remained very calm, warning Gabite and enabling the dragon-type to easily turn to the side and deliver another Rock Smash into the normal-type in midair. Eevee was reflected backward from the brutal punch, and Ash called for a follow-up attack.

"Great job, Gabite. Now, let's use Dig!" The Cave Pokémon screeched and swiftly dug its way underground, thrusting its arms about as it pushed itself underneath the earth. A moderately sized hole was left in the ground as Gabite went subterranean, and Corey and Eevee alike carefully searched around. The Evolution Pokémon twitched its ears, attempting to listen for Gabite's movements underground.

Suddenly, the earth began to shake. Eevee purred out a worried, "Eev?" as Ash instantly paled.

"Gabite! You all right?" Ash shouted.

The dragon-type suddenly shot up out of the hole it had dug just a moment earlier, swinging its arms frantically as it scrambled above the ground and fled, ending up closer to Ash.

"Gabite, what's wrong?" Ash asked.

"Gabi-Gabite!" the dragon-type complained, gesturing in the direction of the hole it had dug. The earth continued to shake, but the intensity of the quaking became stronger, until the middle of the stretch of sand erupted in a massive explosion of dirt. Sand went in every direction and the quaking suddenly stopped, leaving a dust cloud in the air. The dust quickly cleared, revealing a light brown Hippowdon that was now above the ground.

Hippowdon roared as the group of Trainers laid eyes upon it, its deep voice echoing through the barren desert. Gabite quickly became agitated, crossing its arms and baring its teeth.

"Hey, Gabite, calm down!" Ash commanded, but the dragon-type refused. Gabite gnashed its teeth at Hippowdon, and the Heavyweight Pokémon responded by opening its gargantuan mouth and crunching its jaws together, producing a heavy thumping sound. Sand poured extravagantly out of the holes in its body as the huge ground-type continued chattering at Gabite.

"Hippowdon must've gotten upset when Gabite dug underground! Maybe we entered its territory?" Dawn guessed.

"I don't know, but Gabite's really angry too!"

Corey spoke up, "Maybe we should try to fight it off! Eevee, use—"

"Hippo-po-tas!"

The cry made all three Trainers stop. Hippowdon quickly calmed down as well, and craned its neck to glance at its own back. Right then, to Ash and Dawn's surprise, a Hippopotas popped up into view from the Heavyweight Pokémon's back, crying out happily a second time.

"It's a Hippopotas." Dawn observed.

The smaller ground-type quickly slid down the Hippowdon's back, looking to Ash and calling out again. Dawn quickly made a connection, gasping with surprise and looking toward Ash, "Hey, Ash! I think this is the Hippopotas we rescued a while back!"

"Wait, what?" Ash said, glancing at Dawn and then gazing at the smaller ground-type again. The Hippo Pokémon cheerily chanted again, and Ash smiled, "Hey, maybe it is! The last time we saw Hippopotas, it was with a Hippowdon in this very desert!"

"Hippo-po-tas!"

"A Hippopotas!" Corey shouted, "That would be one heck of a catch! Eevee, let's try to catch Hippopotas!"

Eevee cried and hopped forward, barking at Hippopotas. Hippowdon groaned loudly and turned its body, glaring at Corey. The younger Trainer was completely oblivious to Hippowdon's displeased stare, and called for Eevee to use Take Down as Ash and Dawn both protested. The Evolution Pokémon charged forward, gaining Hippopotas' attention. The Hippo Pokémon simply chanted, digging underneath the ground with speed. Eevee slowed down as Hippopotas vanished under the ground, looking around quickly. The earth beside Ash's feet suddenly ripped up and Hippopotas calmly crawled out of a new hole in the ground, sitting on its rear and looking up at Ash from the ground.

"Hippo-po-tas!"

Hippowdon groaned loudly again, focusing on Ash again. The Heavyweight Pokémon then made several grunting noises in quick succession, seemingly directed at Ash. Hippopotas again chanted happily, leaving Ash confused.

"I wonder what they're trying to say." Dawn said.

"Well, I'd say it doesn't quite matter." A feminine voice called from the sky.

Ash and Dawn paled as a Hover-Pad zoomed in close, hovering about in a circle around them. The driver was a tall slender woman with long magenta hair, a figure all too familiar to the teens. "Aw, c'mon…" Ash groaned.

"Prepare for trouble!"

Another Hover-Pad appeared, this time driven by a man with lavender hair. He wore a black uniform identical to his female counterpart, and wore a smirk almost as smug as she did, "And make that double!"

A third Hover-Pad then zipped in, and all three hovercrafts circled around the group of Trainers. The third hovercraft was smaller and driven by a bipedal cat. The normal-type howled, "Here's our mission, twoips, so you'd better listen!"

Surprisingly, a fourth hovercraft zoomed in after Meowth, lending some element of surprise. This hovercraft was driven by an attractive woman with gold-orange bangs of hair that fell down to just below her waist. A sly grin was plastered on her face as she added her part to the motto, one that the travelers on the ground weren't quite as used to.

"To infest the world with devastation!"

The girl's line was closely followed by a fifth hovercraft, this time being driven by a man with green hair parted in the middle. Ash began half-expecting another hovercraft to fly in as the man declared, "To blight all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"And it's Cassidy!"

"James!"

"And it's Butch—remember that!"

"Meowth, that's right, brats!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place…"

"We're Team Rocket!"

"And we're in your face!"

"Team Rocket!" Ash groaned, "Why don't you just leave us alone?"

"After the stunt you pulled at the Solaceon Ruins?" James rebutted, "How did you not expect us to follow you?"

"Besides, it turned out to be a smart move! Now that Hippowdon's shown up, we have double the prizes ripe for the taking!" Jessie boasted.

"Yes, I think so as well." James agreed with a smug voice, "Footch, Cassidy, keep Hippowdon occupied, if you will."

"It's Butch!" the green-haired Rocket complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jessie snapped, "Now do as you're told or your name being pronounced wrong will be the least of your worries!"

Butch mumbled something under his breath and he reached for the controls of his Hover-Pad. Cassidy remained silent and followed Butch, zipping toward the Heavyweight Pokémon. Hippowdon recognized the pair and growled defensively, stamping one of its front feet into the sand. The sandy earth cracked apart and a mixture of rocks and magma stabbed upward underneath the airborne Rockets. Butch and Cassidy quickly maneuvered their Hover-Pads out of the way, each taking position on either side of Hippowdon. The Heavyweight Pokémon quickly glanced at its two enemies and tried to use an attack.

Cassidy and Butch both pressed buttons on the controls of their Hover-Pad, readying a small blaster from the floor of the device. The cannons blasted webs of energy at Hippowdon, and the energy formed a net-like substance as it wrapped around the ground-type. Hippowdon roared and tried to break free, but the webbing held it in place, quickly expanding of its own accord and trapping the ground-type underneath it.

Hippopotas cried and quickly ran over to its parent, pawing at the netting and finding that it wouldn't simply fall off at will. The Hippo Pokémon wailed, and Cassidy laughed.

"Well now, your friend will be quite all right! In fact, you can stay with him, as long as you let us capture you too!" Cassidy threatened, pressing the button to launch another web of netting at Hippopotas. The Hippo Pokémon barreled sideways and avoided the blast, chomping its jaws in Cassidy's direction. The orange-haired Rocket scowled and fired another blast, but the ground-type dug its way underground in an instant and avoided it once again. A few seconds of silence passed before Hippopotas shot out of the ground underneath Cassidy's Hover-Pad and crashed into it. Cassidy shrieked as she lost control of the Hover-Pad and flew erratically for a moment before righting herself.

"Well don't just stand there, Butch!" Cassidy shouted angrily, "Help me out!"

"Oh! Um, right!" Butch said, blinking rapidly as if he were returning from a daydream, "Uh, energy net, go!"

"Gabite, get in there and protect Hippopotas!" Ash shouted. The dragon-type screeched and zipped forward with bewildering speed, arriving behind Hippopotas' unprotected back. Gabite charged up a Dragon Claw on both of its hands and slashed outward as the blast of energy reached it, cutting the energy apart with uncanny precision. The light surrounding the netlike substance disappeared as it fell to the ground, leaving a thin, stringy substance lying in the sand.

"Pikachu, get in there too!" Ash told the electric-type, who hopped off of Ash's shoulder with a confident "Pika!"

"Piplup, go!"

"Staravia, we need your help!" Corey added, sending out the flying-type. The Trainers now had four Pokémon on their side, plus Hippopotas.

"Hmm, shall we even the playing field here?" Jessie offered. James nodded and Meowth responded by eagerly hopping off of his Hover-Pad and landing in the sand. The Scratch Cat Pokémon grinned darkly as Jessie, James, Butch, and Cassidy each called upon a Pokémon of their own.

"Seviper!"

"Cacturne!"

"Primeape!"

"Granbull!"

Meowth stood with two Pokémon on each side, Primeape and Cacturne on his right, and Seviper and Granbull on his left, while Hippopotas did the same on the opposite end. Pikachu and Gabite stood to the ground-type's left, while Piplup was on Hippopotas' right (Staravia hovered above the ground to Piplup's right).

"Give it up, Team Rocket. We've beaten you plenty of times before." Ash offered, "Let Hippowdon go and leave us be!"

"Sorry, no can do!" Meowth rebuffed. The Scratch Cat Pokémon quickly unsheathed glowing claws from his paws and pointed one clawed hand at the opposing Pokémon, "Get 'em!"

Seviper, Cacturne, Primeape, and Granbull all thundered forward. In response, all five of the Trainers' Pokémon charged as well. Staravia circled around Primeape, Piplup crossed swords with Granbull, Hippopotas battled Seviper, and Gabite battled with Cacturne. Pikachu hopped over the entire group in a single leap, reaching Meowth and heeding Ash's command for an Iron Tail. The mouse swung its tail at Meowth, who expertly caught the attack between his readied claws.

"Heh!" Meowth snickered as he threw Pikachu away from him. The electric-type stumbled backward and Meowth chanted tauntingly, "Didn't expect that, did you? Now, feel my Fury Swipes!" Meowth raced at Pikachu, wildly swinging its claws. Ash shouted for Pikachu to counter with a series of Iron Tails, and the mouse obeyed, deflecting swing after swing from Meowth. The Scratch Cat Pokémon, though, found itself with the upper hand, pushing Pikachu a step back with each unsuccessful swipe.

"Staravia, use Aerial Ace on Primeape!" Corey called. Staravia dodged another one of Primeape's errant punches, and then raced forward with blinding speed from close range. Primeape took the blow and was thrown backward with great force, flying a short distance away from the group of battling Pokémon.

The battle between the various Pokémon continued on almost endlessly, with each fielded Pokémon proving themselves capable of dishing out as much as they could take. Piplup and Granbull were at a stalemate, as were Pikachu and Meowth. Meanwhile, Seviper was in the process of taking down Hippopotas, while Staravia handled Primeape. All the while, Hippowdon struggled against the net weighing it down, futilely trying to find a way to break free

"Cacturne, use Drain Punch!" James crowed. The grass-type raised a bulky fist and charged up as much energy as it could muster, slamming the fist into Gabite's side, throwing the dragon-type back. Ash was dealing with more trouble than the rest of the group, as he had to command two Pokémon that were in different areas. Cacturne had been holding its own very well with Gabite, a testament to its long-term training with Gardenia. The grass-type looked refreshed too, having sapped some of Gabite's energy with the attack.

"Gabite, you okay?" Ash shouted. The Cave Pokémon croaked affirmatively, standing back up and readying itself as Cacturne closed in. James hovered over closer to the grass-type and called for a Needle Arm attack. Ash countered with a Dig, sending Gabite underground and avoiding Cacturne entirely. An instant later, Gabite tore its way upward, upending Cacturne and sending the grass-type toppling to the ground. Just a ways over, Seviper knocked over Hippopotas with another Poison Tail.

Meowth finally connected a series of Fury Swipes attacks on Pikachu, and as a result, the normal-type's attacks sped up as he chained together several strikes. Pikachu sputtered and stumbled away to avoid a further barrage of attacks, and Meowth boasted triumphantly. The Scratch Cat Pokémon had a long history of failure, so even this small victory was enough to make it taunt.

"You've had that one a long time comin', Pika-brat!" Meowth taunted, "Just give up! We'd even give you a spot in Team Rocket! Just think of it! You'd be right at our side as we dominated the woyld!"

Pikachu staggered to its feet as Ash cried out to the electric mouse. Pikachu heaved, and then glared at the Scratch Cat Pokémon. "Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu spat, shaking its head.

"You refuse? Fine, I guess you'll come around eventually. The boss'll take great care of ya!" Meowth taunted, readying another attack. This time, Meowth's claws glowed silver, "Say hello to my Metal Claw! I spent a long time perfectin' this move, and I been waiting even longa just to use it on you!" The Scratch Cat Pokémon surged forward, his entire body seemingly glowing with confidence.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash howled. Pikachu put out all of its energy into the Thunderbolt, causing Meowth to panic and take a step back, bringing up his glinting claws to block. The Thunderbolt collided with Meowth's makeshift shield, sending some of the electricity into Meowth's body, but not all of it. A sizeable amount of the electricity bounced off of the normal-type's claws, shooting off at an errant angle away from the pair of Pokémon.

The blast of electricity just so happened to land on Hippopotas, zapping the Hippo Pokémon to the core and making it cower as it absorbed the blow. All motion stopped as the brilliant blast of lightning struck Hippopotas. An explosion ripped up the air around the Hippo Pokémon, shrouding it from view. Hippowdon grunted with shocked worry, vocalizing in an attempt to call out to its child.

Meowth gave a howl of laughter, "Nice job, Pikachu! You just made our job a little bit easier!"

A wail of anger suddenly went up from the cloud of smoke. The haze cleared as the smaller ground-type burst out of the wall of smoke, a magnificent charge of electricity looping around its body. Hippopotas sprinted straight for Seviper, the ground thumping as it charged. Seviper recoiled for a split-second, but before it could dodge out of the way, Hippopotas smashed into it, throwing the poison-type away in a blast of lightning. The electricity continued to course harmlessly around Hippopotas' body, and the ground-type howled triumphantly as Seviper fell unconscious.

"The electricity isn't hurting Hippopotas!" Dawn said with awe.

"That must be Hippopotas' ground typing. It makes it immune to electricity!" Ash observed, "Get 'em, Hippopotas!"

Hippopotas went running for Meowth next. The Scratch Cat Pokémon balked, as the ground-type got closer. On Ash's command, Pikachu sent out another Thunderbolt at Hippopotas, increasing the electrical charge around its body. Meowth turned tail and ran, hopping back up to his Hover-Pad. Hippopotas skidded to a stop underneath the hovercraft, and after bracing itself, blasted an eruption of sand out of the hole on its back. The sand shot up like a geyser, taking a solid amount of electricity from its body and shooting upward in an electrified Sand Tomb. The blast struck the belly of Meowth's Hover-Pad, briefly knocking the system out of whack. Meowth flew a short, erratic path as he tried to regain control of the craft, while Hippopotas' electric Sand Tomb spread out and damaged both the Team Rocket hovercrafts and the crooks' Pokémon.

"Well, chums, it looks like we're outta luck!" Meowth complained as he righted his craft and flew over to Jessie and James. Sand obstructed his sight and he clawed at his eyes in an attempt to get the dirt away, "I say we scram!"

"A shame, considering we trapped Hippowdon." James grunted, "But I agree."

Jessie silently concurred, returning her knocked out Seviper as James returned Cacturne, "Biff! Cathy! We're leaving!"

The Rocket Trio blazed away on their Hover-Pads, leaving Butch and Cassidy behind for a brief moment as they returned their respective Pokémon, "It's Butch!" Butch complained as he flew after them. Cassidy once again remained silent as she followed, scowling as she went.

The Sand Tomb began to fall apart as the intruders flew away. Hippopotas' legs wobbled, the ground-type exhausted by the fight. Pikachu bounded over to the Hippo Pokémon and chattered words of encouragement, earning a chipper thanks from the ground-type.

Hippopotas then turned around, seeing its parent still trapped under the glowing net. The Hippo Pokémon ran over and wailed, trying to bite a hole in the net, but the ground-type failed to make any dent in the material and whimpered.

"Hey, Hippopotas! Don't worry, we'll help you get Hippowdon out." Ash called. Pikachu and Gabite padded over and chattered agreeably, "Pikachu, use Iron Tail. Gabite, use Dragon Claw."

"Piplup, help them out with Drill Peck!"

"Staravia, you too!" Corey called, "Use Wing Attack!"

All four Pokémon joined in and use their respective attacks, gradually cutting apart the nets that held Hippowdon down. As the Heavyweight Pokémon was freed, it immediately surged upward onto its feet, spilling abundant amounts of sand from all around its body. Hippowdon grumbled lowly as Hippopotas ran toward it, vocalizing sadly.

"It's a good thing Hippopotas absorbed that electricity." Dawn said, "I don't know what would've happened without it."

"Yeah, me neither. Team Rocket's really starting to worry me." Ash agreed.

"Po-tas!"

Ash and Dawn looked over to Hippopotas, who padded toward the two Trainers. Ash kneeled down so that he was closer in height to the ground-type. "Hey there, Hippopotas!"

"Hippo-po-tas!"

"Hey, no need to thank us. All in a day's work." Ash chuckled, "It was great getting to see you again, little guy. Are you gonna go back home with Hippowdon?"

"Hiiiip…"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Ash asked.

Hippopotas turned back to look at Hippowdon, and trotted over toward the larger ground-type. The two Pokémon chattered for a moment, and Hippowdon briefly glanced over to Ash before looking back down at Hippopotas. Then, the Heavyweight Pokémon nodded, and Hippopotas came bounding back over to Ash.

"Hip!"

"What's that? Would you like to come with us for a little while?" Ash noticed. Hippopotas chattered agreeably and Ash smiled giddily. He pulled out a Poké Ball, enlarging the capsule and briefly twirling it on his finger, "All right, then! Go, Poké Ball!"

Ash dropped the Poké Ball onto Hippopotas' large snout and the ground-type was sucked inside. The capsule plopped down in the sand and wiggled for a moment before chiming, signaling a successful capture. Ash grinned and reached down, clasping his hand around the Poké Ball.

"All right! I caught a Hippopotas!"

"Pi-Pikachu!"

"Ga-bite!"

Ash pulled the Poké Ball down from the air to look at it for a second, but then the capsule burst open, startling the Trainer. The silvery white light hopped out and formed into Hippopotas. The Hippo Pokémon called out to Hippowdon, understandably as some sort of farewell. Ash glanced at the Heavyweight Pokémon, and began to smile uncontrollably.

"Hippowdon!" Ash called, "I promise, one day soon Hippopotas will be returned to you! You can count on me!"

Hippowdon grumbled loudly, nodding toward the Trainer. Then, without any sort of ceremonious farewell, the Heavyweight Pokémon rapidly dug its way underground, shaking the earth as it did so. Ash curiously felt out for the ground-type's Aura as it vanished, watching the glow of its life energy dig away from the group. Ash held his smile and he squatted down to Hippopotas, happily rubbing a hand on the ground-type's snout and giving the Hippo Pokémon words of praise. His promise to Hippowdon became etched into the back of his mind. Hippopotas had voluntarily decided to come along with him, and out of gratitude he intended to return the Hippo Pokémon once his journey was over.

"Well I'll admit, I'm kind of jealous right now." Corey said, knocking Ash out of his thoughts, "Hippopotas seems pretty attached to you."

"We have a…history." Ash said, "This little guy has popped up on more than one occasion during my travels here in Sinnoh."

Ash pulled out his Pokédex, quickly scanning Hippopotas and committing its known moves to memory. "Dig, Yawn, Take Down, and Sand Tomb. That's a solid set of moves! And that electric Sand Tomb was awesome, Hippopotas! You sent Team Rocket packing just like that!"

"Hey, Ash, about that Sand Tomb." Dawn started, "That was a pretty great combination. Do you think Hippopotas would want to try a Contest sometime? I bet he'd be able to absorb Pachirisu's electric attacks the same way."

"Well, I think that's up to Hippopotas." Ash said, glancing down at the ground-type. Dawn squatted down and scratched the ground-type's snout for a brief second, something that Hippopotas visibly enjoyed.

"Well, what do you say, Hippopotas? You're Ash's Pokémon now, but if you're interested, I'd love to compete in a Pokémon Contest with you sometime."

"Po-tas!" Hippopotas chattered happily. Ash, Dawn, and Corey giggled, and Dawn scratched the ground-type's snout for a few more seconds before the group collectively decided that it was time to go. Ash chose to leave Hippopotas out of its Poké Ball for the time being, allowing the Hippo Pokémon to walk with the group. By the time the sun began to set, they were out of the desert completely, stopping at a roadside Pokémon Center that served as a rest area. Ash chose to briefly work on Hippopotas' moves at the Center's public training fields before calling it a day. The Hippo Pokémon agreeably returned to its Poké Ball for the night, dreaming about all the adventures it was bound to have alongside Ash.

So, Butch and Cassidy have returned as members of Team Rocket's Sinnoh branch. The motto that they all used is totally original, a mash-up of both group's original mottos while throwing in pieces of their Sinnoh mottos. If there's anybody out there who has an idea to make it rhyme better, or simply something that they think works better than mine, I'm open to hear it.

The next chapter will be the next part of the bridge, and I have big plans for it. I hope you guys enjoy it. We're finally going to be picking up steam in this story in the next couple of weeks. Please consider leaving a review at the bottom and tell me what you like, don't like, etc., or if you'd like to reach out to me directly, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Until next time, stay tuned, as the journey continues!