AN: Hello! That was sure fast, wasn't it? Only 4 days later and another new chapter is here! To be honest, I had such a blast writing this chapter that I did this over studying for exams #badstudent #yolo. Seriously, it was like writing an anime romantic comedy! Hope people like the change in dialogue.

Credit goes to "pokemonking0924" for the general premise of this chapter! Hope you enjoy it, good sir.

To Guest Martyn: Interesting. I think I will use that concept for a later filler chapter! Thanks for the idea!

To all: This will be the final chapter posted for the year 2015. I will now shift my focus towards studying for final exams (last ever in university!), and later celebrating Christmas & New Years with friends and family. I will resume writing and posting in 2016.

Chapter 36 – True Natures Revealed

"Aly, how do you feel right now?" Justin asked curiously as he and his friend walked along the dirt path of Route 406.

"For the last time Justin, I'm fine. You don't need to check up on me every 20 minutes." Aly responded.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that after learning about your condition, and making that promise to your mother, I feel that I have an even greater responsibility to take care of you."

"I appreciate your concern…really, I do. As long as we monitor our pace and don't do anything too crazy, I should be fine."

"All right. I understand. Just know that I'll be there to take care of you whenever you're in need. That's a promise." Justin spoke confidently, turning to face his friend.

Aly's face turned red as she became flustered and looked downwards towards the Pokémon Egg incubator she carried in her arms. Justin saw this and became embarrassed himself, turning red while looking away into the sky. There was an awkward silence that developed between the two trainers, who both felt different kinds of emotions flow through their body.

"HEY! YOOHOO!" A voice called out.

Justin and Aly stopped walking and began looking around to locate the voice. Even though open grass fields surrounded the trainers, they still couldn't locate where the voice was coming from. They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders in uncertainty. All of a sudden, Justin noticed that his vision quickly became dark as something covered his eyes. He felt soft and warm hands pressed up over his eyes.

"Guess who?!" The giddy voice said.

Justin instantly recognized that voice and strung a big smile. He pushed away the hands that covered his eyes and turned around to find a familiar face with long brown hair and wearing a red t shirt and beige short shorts across from him.

"Lyra! How's it going?!" Justin exclaimed happily.

"I'm great, thank you very much! I was just around the area looking for new Pokémon when I saw you guys walking along the path!" Lyra explained. She then saw Aly behind him and made a sneaky grin.

"Oh, and it's great to see you again too…Aly." Lyra smirked as she quickly grabbed Justin's arm and hugged it into her chest. This caught Justin by surprise and made him nervous. However, when he looked over at Aly, he became a little terrified at the sadistic smirk and dark aura his travelling companion gave off.

"It's nice to see you too…Lyra." Aly said with a smile, but in a diabolical tone.

Justin looked back and forth at his two female friends, fearing that something might break out between them. However, after a few seconds, Lyra let go of Justin and began giggling out loud.

"Man, I've missed that reaction from you!" Lyra exclaimed through her laughter. Aly's jealousy aura dissipated upon hearing that remark. She was then embraced tightly by Lyra, who was rubbing her cheek against Aly's.

"It's been too long! I've missed having another female hanging around with me!' Lyra whined. Aly giggled as she stroked the back of Lyra's head.

"There, there. Why don't we have lunch together?" Aly suggested.

"That sounds great! That's another thing I missed, your cooking! Let's get going!" Lyra remarked as she and Aly began walking towards the open field.

Justin just stood still on the dirt path while looking on at his two female friends.

"Girls…I just don't understand them at all."

Once again, it was another gorgeous day in the Minero Region. Seriously, there were hardly any days where the weather was utter crap. The sun shone down brightly, small clouds drifted through the sky, and the breeze was just right for those needs of cool air. Aly and Justin set out a large cloth onto an area of the grass field for them and Lyra to sit on. They also decided to let all of their Pokémon out of their balls to enjoy to nice day. Out came Espeon, Combusken, Mudkip, Gible, Mareep, Squirtle, Vulpix and Lyra's Umbreon, who all ventured off to do their own things.

"So Lyra, what have you been up to lately? If I remember, the last time we were together was back in Granite Town for the Pokémon Challenge (Chapters 23 and 24)?" Justin asked curiously.

"I've been pretty busy to be honest. Right after that challenge, I took a mega train all the way to Onyx City to meet up my parents, who were on vacation there. After that, I've kind of been all over the map earning gym badges, catching new Pokémon, and training against strong trainers along the way." Lyra explained.

"Onyx City is northeast of here, right? How come you're working your way back west? You'll end up back in Granite Town where you started." Aly remarked.

"When I said I was all over the place, I meant it. I started in Onyx City, then went southwest to Sapphire City, then took a train to Citrine City, made my way through the Emerald forest to Emerald City, and just ventured here on Route 406 today!"

"So, you must have a lot of badges and strong Pokémon no, right?" Justin said excitedly.

"I guess so. I have seven badges now. Have a look!" Lyra said as she pulled out her badge case from her bag. She opened it up and showed off seven badges that were pinned against the soft felt.

"That's awesome!" Justin exclaimed, fidgeting from excitement.

"My Pokémon and I have worked really hard to earn those badges. We only need the Diamond City badge and we'll be in the Minero League." Lyra said.

"Congratulations on your progress, Lyra. I know you'll win your last badge no problem." Aly said happily.

"Heh…Thanks Aly. I hope you're right."

"Your Umbreon look really healthy. I'm sure it's really strong too." Aly mentioned.

"Yeah. Like I said, we've been training really hard recently. It hasn't been the easiest of times as of late, but we're all managing to get through them." Lyra said, ending on a bit of a depressing note while she looked downwards with a faint smile. Justin noticed this and became a little confused.

"What was that about?" Justin thought to himself. Before he could think about it, his ear drum nearly exploded from the high pitched screams that Aly and Lyra both shouted out.

"OWW! What is it?" Justin yelled while rubbing his ears. He looked over at the girls, who were fawning all over a small, pink Pokémon that was making its way over towards the group. It was round with pointed ears and large, blue eyes. It had a very cutesy face on as it stumbled on closer to the group, making Aly and Lyra squeal like little girls.

"It's so cute!" Aly exclaimed as she and Lyra both ran over to pick the Pokémon up and hug it.

"You're so adorable! What's a little guy like you doing all the way out here?" Lyra asked.

"Jiggly…" Jigglypuff moaned as it rubbed its stomach.

"You're hungry? Don't worry, you can join us for lunch!" Aly remarked without hesitation.

"Whoa! That was quick." Justin said.

"Just look at it Justin. It looks hungry and lost. We should take care of it. It would be the right thing to do!" Aly added in a whiney tone.

"All right, all right. Fine, it can join. As long as I still get my same portion of food." Justin stated.

"Hear that Jigglypuff? You can have lunch with us! It'll be a while before its ready, so why don't you go play with our Pokémon in the mean time?" Aly said happily to the normal/fairy type Pokémon.

Jigglypuff cried out happily and jumped back onto the floor to make its way over to the rest of the Pokémon. With that, the three trainers made their way back to resting spot to prepare lunch.

Vulpix laid down with its head resting on top of its paws, taking a nap in peace. Squirtle and Gible were around the area, playing their usual game of tag where the water Pokémon was "it".

"(I'm going to get you if it's the last thing I do!)" Squirtle shouted while chasing the Dragon Pokémon.

"(Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! Catch me if you can! I doubt you will!)" Gible teased as it began to run even faster than before. Squirtle kept trying and trying, but could not catch up to Gible and eventually stopped running to take a break.

"(How do you…have so much energy? And I thought…I was energetic.)" Squirtle huffed out while catching its breath.

"(Please! This is nothing! I feel like I can run and play all day!)" Gible exclaimed as it made its way over to Squirtle.

All of a sudden, both Pokémon noticed another's presence behind them. They both jumped onto their feet and turned around quickly to see who it was, which turned out to be a pink and round Pokémon.

"(Who are you?") Squirtle asked cautiously.

"(Hi there! I'm Jigglypuff, and the girl with the blonde hair said I could join you all for lunch. They told me to hang out with you guys until it was ready.)" Jigglypuff stated.

"(I'm Gible! Nice to meet ya! You wanna play tag?!)" Gible said excitedly

"(Hmm…all right. I can see why Aly would accept you so easily. That cute face would get her hook, line and sinker.)" Squirtle remarked while eyeing the normal/fairy type's whole body.

"(Oh, you flatter me! By the way, do you mind holding onto these for me?)" Jigglypuff asked while holding out black markers. Squirtle and Gible looked confused, but accepted the task and took the writing utensils.

"(Not sure what you're doing with this, but whatever. Anyways, we gotta finish our game! See ya!") Squirtle said as it began to chase Gible again. Jigglypuff watched the two energetic Pokémon run off and smiled brightly. It then noticed that Vulpix in the distance was about to wake up, and quickly made a break for it.

"(Ahhh…what a nap. I feel fully refreshed and recharged. I could use a battle right now.)" Vulpix yawned while stretching its body. It then saw Squirtle in the distance, lying flat on the ground and panting heavily. Vulpix stood up straight and began walking towards its fellow companion to challenge it to a battle.

"(Squirtle, let us battle against one another. We need to be more prepared for situations like what happened in Emerald City.)" Vulpix said confidently.

"(Vulpix…can't you see I'm…kind of busy he-") Squirtle whined before getting a good look at Vulpix's face. It only took a split second before Squirtle started laughing hysterically at Vulpix while pointing at it.

"(Why are you laughing?!)" Vulpix shouted confused. Just then, Gible entered the scene.

"(Squirtle, why are you laugh-") Gible asked before looking getting a glance at Vulpix. The same thing happened, hysterical laughter that got the dragon Pokémon rolling on the floor with tears in its eyes. Vulpix became really disturbed from their reactions and made its way over towards Aly's bag. It pulled out its trainer's make up mirror and looked at itself.

Vulpix cried out in disbelief. There were black marker drawings all over its face that included stars, hearts and even a French mustache. No wonder Squirtle and Gible burst out laughing upon seeing its face. Vulpix looked over towards the two, who were still laughing out loud. It then noticed markers in each of their hands, which then got Vulpix really enraged.

"(So…you think you draw all over my face and make a big joke about it!)" Vulpix cried out angrily as it shot out a flamethrower attack at the two. Squirtle and Gible noticed this at the last second and dodged the attack just in time.

"(Whoa! Easy there, Vulpix! It wasn't us!") Squirtle reasoned.

"(Yeah! We were playing tag the entire time! We never went near you!") Gible added.

"(Really? Then what's in your hands?") Vulpix demanded. Gible and Squirtle looked at their hands, which were carrying black markers, and at each other with fear. They then held onto each other and began trembling in fear.

"(I know this looks bad, but it wasn't us! Jigglypuff made us hold these!)" Gible cried out.

"(The dragon is right! We promise this is how it went down! Look, Jigglypuff is even coming this way.)" Squirtle added while pointing in the distance. All the Pokémon looked over and saw the normal/fairy type walk their way. Only this time, it had bad marker drawings all over its face too.

"(Don't tell me you drew all over this one's face as well…)" Vulpix remarked.

All of a sudden, Jigglypuff made a cunning smile towards the group and started crying really loudly. Squirtle, Gible and Vulpix look on in shock and confusion as they then noticed Justin, Lyra and Aly make their way over to them.

"What's the problem Jigglypuff?" Justin asked. He then saw the drawings all over its face, as well as Vulpix's.

"Wow…umm…that's some interesting…" Justin mumbled while trying not to laugh out loud. Just before he cracked, Aly hit him hard over the head, which dropped him to the ground. She then saw markers in Squirtle and Gible's hands.

"Gible! Squirtle! How could you draw all over Jigglypuff and Vulpix's faces! That's so immature!" Aly scolded. Squirtle and Gible got even more scared and hugged each other tightly. Vulpix noticed that there was some confusion with its trainer's understanding of the situation.

"(Wait, master…I think that-)"

"Don't worry Jigglypuff and Vulpix, we'll get you cleaned up." Aly said while picking up the normal/fairy type. "As for you two, I might just cut your portions for lunch as punishment."

Squirtle and Gible became even more terrified at that thought and began crying fake tears while still embracing each other. Aly just ignored the two and walked away with Jigglypuff in its arms while telling Vulpix to follow it.

Justin got back up with the help of Lyra and rubbed the part of his head where Aly hit him.

"Man that hurt. But, I don't understand why Gible and Squirtle did that." He remarked.

"Hmm, I don't know if they actually did it to be honest." Lyra said suspiciously.

"There's pretty hard evidence with the markers in their hands."

"I know…but I still feel doubtful."

After that, both trainers walked away and back towards the main rest area. Squirtle and Gible wiped their tears and decided to walk back as well.

"(We were duped man. That Jigglypuff is evil!") Gible cried out in anger.

(I know! But, you know what I can't wrap my head around? What is it doing carrying around markers in the first place?)" Squirtle added.

"(Hey Combusken! I was thinking that we could discuss different attack strategies to prepare us for future battles.)" Espeon called out.

"(Why sure, my comrade. I'd be honoured to assist you in exploring new tactics to better ourselves.)" Combusken replied majestically.

"(Please stop that. It's strange to see you act like this.)"

"(C'mon Espeon! I'm trying to be a stronger and cooler Pokémon that Justin will be proud of!)" Combusken whined, dropping the cool-guy front.

"(You're already strong Combusken. In fact, you may be the strongest out of all of us. And trust me, Justin is proud of you and the rest of the team. We're family, you know. You don't need to have that serious and stoic facade outside the battlefield. Just be yourself!)" Espeon explained while giving a sweet smile. Combusken sighed and smiled back.

"(You're right Espeon. Thanks for that. Anyways, let's talk battle techniques.")

In the distance, a dark type Pokémon with gold designs all over its body watched both of Justin's Pokémon with great interest, particularly the psychic type.

"(Espeon…she's so strong, yet so caring and beautiful.") Umbreon sighed. Just then, it felt a tap on the side of its body. Umbreon turned to its right and found a round, pink Pokémon beside it.

"(Um, hello. You are?)" Umbreon said confused.

"(Hi! I'm Jigglypuff! I see that you've taken an interest in the Espeon there, right?)" Jigglypuff stated. Umbreon blushed a little, but sighed and nodded slightly.

"(I've only known her for a bit as an Espeon, and only interacted with her as an Eevee. But, she's reached a new level of amazing in that new evolved form. She's also really confident and determined to get stronger.)" Umbreon explained.

"(Well, why don't you go tell her how you feel?)" Jigglypuff mentioned.

"(No, no! It's too sudden. I couldn't possibly…)"

"(Relax Romeo. Just compliment her. Girls like it when they get complimented. Plus, if you sing her a song, she might take an interest in you. Girls like that stuff too.)" The Jigglypuff elaborated further.

"(You…really think so?") Umbreon said, looking for assurance.

"(Guaranteed. I'll even help you out!)" Jigglypuff said while pounding its chest with its arm to swear loyalty.

"(All right. I'll give it a shot! After all that intense training with Lyra, this should be no problem!") Umbreon said confidently as it began to walk over to Justin's Pokémon.

It only took a minute before the dark type Pokémon made its way over to Espeon and Combusken, who stopped their conversation in the presence of umbreon.

"(Umbreon! Hello there! You look well. You want to join our conversation about battle techniques? It would be nice to collaborate our knowledge to help each other get stronger.") Espeon asked in a friendly manner.

"(Hi Espeon…Combusken. Sure, I would like to. But before I do, there's something…I'd like to say first.)" Umbreon said, ending in a nervous tone.

"(Sure. What's on your mind, Umbreon?)" Espeon asked politely.

"(What's up? Is there something in particular you'd like to say? Or to someone?)" Combusken asked curiously.

Umbreon stuttered for a bit, but then took a deep breath and calmed itself.

"(Espeon, I just wanted to say that I think you're an amazing Pokémon. I know it hasn't been that long since we've known each other. But, seeing your determination to get stronger by discussing new battle techniques, as well as you kindness by helping Combusken deal with his nerves and become himself, it really impressed me. Plus, you're…quite beautiful too. I…I just thought I tell you that." Umbreon explained.

Espeon was surprised by Umbreon's remarks and began blushing heavily. Combusken looked over at his friend and gave off a sneaky smile.

"(Oh my. I…um…well, thank you for saying that. It's sweet of you to say that, and also a lot to take in right now. I…um…oh boy, it's getting real hot here.") Espeon said, who became really flustered and embarrassed.

Umbreon blushed as well, thinking of how cute Espeon was acting now. He then felt a nudge against his side, which was Combusken.

"(You're a smooth criminal man…criminal of her heart! I've never seen this side of Espeon before. Teach me, oh Casanova!)" Combusken remarked as he started giggling. Umbreon pushed him aside and got ready for his next act.

"(Espeon!)" Umbreon called out. Espeon looked up at him, her face still beat red.

"(I…um, I'm going to sing a song right now.)" Umbreon stated. All of a sudden, Espeon and Combusken had looks of confusion on their faces.

Just before Umbreon was about to howl out a tune, there was another melody that was being emitted from somewhere. All three Pokémon noticed this and began to look around to see where it was coming from. However, before they could try to recognize whose voice it was, they all felt really exhausted and instantly fell asleep on the ground.

From out of nowhere (RANDY ORTON, RKO!), Jigglypuff walked up to all three Pokémon with a marker in its hands. It proceeded to drawing all over Espeon's and Combusken's faces, and set the marker in Combusken's claws.

The last thing it did was drag Umbreon across the ground until it was positioned right on top of Espeon. Their faces were so close to each other that they nearly touched.

Jigglypuff giggled out loud and poked at all three Pokémon before booking it away.

Combusken woke up first. It rubbed its eyes and yawned. It was still very groggy before getting a sight of Umbreon and Espeon before crying out surprised. That woke up Umbreon and Espeon, who took a moment to wake up before noticing the position they were both in. Both of their faces became super red, which led to Espeon knocking away Umbreon in an Iron tail attack.

"(Dummy!...Idiot!...What do you think you're doing? Sleeping on top of me like that…)" Espeon growled while it prepared a shadow ball attack. Umbreon got back up and began to plead its case before noticing what was on Espeon's face.

"(One, that ghost type attack won't affect me. Two, you have marker drawings all over your face.)" Umbreon stated.

Espeon stopped charging its attack and used its paw to wipe part of its face. When it noticed black ink on its paw, it became even more embarrassed and shrieked out loudly.

"(AHHH! DON'T LOOK!)" Espeon turned around to hide its face from Umbreon. It then saw Combusken with a marker in its right claw.

"(Combusken…would you care to explain why you have a marker in your claw?)" Espeon asked enraged.

Combusken then looked down at its right claw, which was holding a black marker.

"(WAIT ESPEON! I DIDN"T DO IT! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THIS MARKER CAME FROM!)" Combusken pleaded. Espeon didn't buy its reasoning and proceeded to attack Combusken with a shadow ball attack. It hit the fire type Pokémon and caused a big smoke explosion to occur.

"(Did Combusken really do that? But it has marker drawings on his face too.)" Umbreon thought to itself.

The smoke started to dissipate, revealing Combusken rubbing its left arm, presumably where the shadow ball hit it . Just then, Justin and Lyra made their way over to the three Pokémon and were in shock.

"Not again! Where do you guys get these markers from?" Justin said confused.

"Hmm…that Jigglypuff isn't around. I thought maybe it was a suspect, but it's not here this time." Lyra mentioned.

"Well, Combusken has a marker in its claw. But, it doesn't make sense for it to draw on itself. This is confusing. Espeon and Combusken, let's go get washed up."

Espeon and Combusken turned to their trainer and nodded. Suddenly, the two Pokémon plus Umbreon noticed Jigglypuff in the distance looking on at them. It gave a real cunning look at the Pokémon before frolicking the other way.

"(Wait! That was the work of Jigglypuff!)" Combuskennoted.

"(I knew something was fishy.)" Umbreon added.

"(That Jigglypuff is going to pay.)" Espeon vowed.

Mareep walked in a circle while looking down at the grass field it stepped on and laughed playfully.

"(RARGH! I'm a monster! Be scared of me, grass! I will squish you all!)" Mareep cried out in a wannabe evil voice. It then turned in the opposite direction and went into a battle stance.

"(Fiend! How dare you put the lives of the grass in danger?! I, Mareep the superhero, will stop you!)" Mareep stated in a more confident tone.

Just before switching personas again, Mareep then heard some creepy laughter coming from its right. It looked over and saw a pink, round Pokémon going through the unattended food laid out on the ground. Mareep then made its way over to the area and saw the Pokémon eating food that was presumably everyone's lunch for later.

"(Um. Excuse me, but I think that's everyone's lunch for later. You shouldn't eat that…um, please?)" Mareep said. The Jigglypuff turned around to see who was talking to it. After examining Mareep, it turned back around to continue eating.

"(Beat it, kid. No one asked you. I can do whatever I want.)" Jigglypuff retorted. Mareep was surprised by the Pokémon's rude tone and took exception.

"(You can't do that! Miss Aly worked hard to prepare that. I'll stop you. This looks like a job for Mareep the hero!)" Mareep called out bravely.

Jigglypuff turned around at Mareep again and started to laugh.

"(Wow, this is great. You actually think you're a superhero? Get real kid, you're nothing but a sheep Pokémon who can't do squat.)" Jigglypuff taunted.

"(Why are you being so mean? That's not very nice…)" Mareep said as it sniffled, trying to fight back some tears.

"(Get used to it kid. There are mean people and Pokémon in the world. Just like there are those who are strong, and those who are weak. As for you, you fall into the latter category. So just give up and let me eat.)" Jigglypuff said nonchalantly as it continued to eat food.

Mareep couldn't hold back its tears anymore. It started to cry and ran off into the grass field. It had its eyes closed and head down, not caring where it was going exactly, just so long as it got away.

"(That Pokémon was a meanie! But…I should be braver than this. Otherwise I can't be heroes with Mister Justin.)" Mareep thought to itself. It quickly looked up and saw a familiar, water type Pokémon walking in its direction.

"(Mister Mudkip! I need your help!)" Mareep cried out as it tackled Mudkip onto the ground.

"(Oh my. What's wrong Mareep? Why are you crying?)" Mudkip asked in a calm voice, petting the electric Pokémon's head with one of its fins.

"(There's a meanie Jigglypuff that's eating all of the lunches! I tried to stop it, but it was being mean to me. Please help me!)" Mareep cried out.

"(I see. Well, let's go see if we can talk Jigglypuff out of it.)" Mudkip assured. It wiped Mareep's tears from its face and began walking with it all the way back to Jigglypuff, who was still munching down on the lunches.

"(Excuse me, but I believe you caused my friend here a great deal of trouble. Plus, you realize you're eating the lunches meant for us. I'd like for you to stop eating and apologize to Mareep.)" Mudkip stated. The Jigglypuff didn't move for a few moments, but then turned around with a very cute and apologetic face on.

"(I'm very sorry, my friend. I was just very hungry. I didn't realize I was causing so much trouble for you all. If you would find it in your hearts to forgive me.)" Jigglypuff pleaded while bowing its head.

"(There you go Mareep. Problem all solved.)" Mudkip smiled at its friend.

Jigglypuff looked up and gave a cunning smile, which Mareep caught a glimpse of. All of a sudden, Jigglypuff dashed towards the two and hit Mudkip with a doubleslap attack, knocking the water Pokémon hard onto the ground.

"(Mister Mudkip!)" Mareep called out worriedly to its friend. The attack was such a surprise to Mudkip that it hurt the water Pokémon more than expected. Mareep then turned towards the Jigglypuff, who was laughing hysterically.

"(Now you've done it. I will stop you!)" Mareep called out as it ran towards Jigglypuff and hit it with a tackle attack. The pink Pokémon was knocked backwards, but landed on its feet no problem.

"(Is that all you've got?)" The Jigglypuff taunted.

Mareep grunted angrily before releasing a thundershock attack that hit and electrocuted Jigglypuff. Once the attack stopped, Jigglypuff fell backwards and had black smoke steam off its body.

"(And the day is saved, all thanks to Mareep!)" Mareep cried out happily. Just then, Aly, Justin and Lyra came along to see the scene. Aly noticed the Jigglypuff and Mudkip knocked out, as well as some of the lunch missing.

"Mareep! Did you hit Jigglypuff and Mudkip with a thundershock and eat some of the lunch early?!" Aly asked. Mareep looked back at Aly, who had a scary glare on her face, and began tearing up.

"(But…but…)" Mareep stuttered as it tried to hold back the inevitable water works.

"Hold on a minute. Don't jump to conclusions just yet. I know Mareep wouldn't eat the food early without permission. And maybe Jigglypuff did something to Mareep and Mudkip, which warranted a counter strike." Justin explained.

Jigglypuff got up to its feet and began crying with an innocent look on its face.

"Awwww, how can you say that about this cute little guy?!" Aly squealed as she went to go pick up Jigglypuff in her arms.

"There, there Jigglypuff. I'll take care of you." Aly said calmly as she walked away with the Jigglypuff. Justin and Lyra then looked at each other in confusion.

"This is the third weird incident that happened with our Pokémon today." Justin mentioned as he picked up the hurt Mudkip in his arms.

"I'm starting to think that the Jigglypuff isn't as innocent as we think." Lyra added.

"All right everyone. Hope you all enjoy lunch!" Aly said happily.

The whole group was together on the cloth to eat lunch. The three trainers sat with one another while all the Pokémon were together. Jigglypuff sat across from all the trainer's Pokémon, who were giving the normal/fairy type Pokémon suspicious glares.

"Time to eat! Let's dig in!" Justin cried out. Everyone else echoed Justin's sentiment and took their first bite.

After the first two to three bites, everyone cringed and reached for their glass or bowl of water to drink. The food was so spicy that it felt like everyone's mouth was on fire, even for the fire type Pokémon.

"HOLY BUTTS! THAT'S SUPER SPICY!" Justin yelped out after drinking a big gulp of water.

"Geez Aly. I never knew you were into spicy food." Lyra remarked.

"Guys! I didn't make it like this! I actually added no spice at all! The tomato berries were separated from the actual food!" Aly preached to her friends.

It was then that the three trainers noticed all of their Pokémon glaring at the Jigglypuff, who was laughing hysterically on its back. This was the final clue that pieced Lyra's theory together.

"I should have known it was Jigglypuff. From the very beginning, it was him." Lyra deducted.

"How could you Jigglypuff. I believe in you…" Aly said sadly.

"It's your own fault Aly. You were easily fooled by its cuteness, and that it affected your reasoning." Justin mentioned.

"You're right…"

"Anyways, I say we get rid of this troublemaker. It's caused all of us way too much headaches today! What do you say guys?!" Justin called out to everyone. Lyra, Aly and all of their Pokémon cried out in agreement. They all got up from their spots and surrounded the Jigglypuff, who got back up to see its current situation.

"Jiggly…" Jigglypuff cried out softly as it showed Aly some puppy-dog eyes again. However, Aly still had her glare upon it.

"You're not fooling me this time." Aly said seriously.

"I've been suspicious of you from the very beginning. And now, you're going to get it." Lyra remarked.

"Everyone charge!" Justin shouted out. All of them dashed inwards towards Jigglypuff in an all-man onslaught.

Rather than being scared, Jigglypuff smiled cunningly before opening its mouth and began singing a beautiful melody. It instantly stopped everyone in their tracks as the soft sound started to make them all feel drowsy. Within a few seconds, the three trainers and their Pokémon all fell to the ground and fell asleep.

"Jigglypuff! Jiggly!" Jigglypuff giggled. It then brought out a marker and began to draw random symbols and features on everyone's faces. The Jigglypuff's laughter turned maniacal with each drawing on its victims.

After everyone's face was drawn on, it threw the marker at the group and frolicked off into the distance of the grass field.

"(That was so much fun today! I hope I have just as much fun tomorrow!)" Jigglypuff thought to itself.

Aly, Lyra and Justin were the first ones to get up, followed by all of their Pokémon. Judging from the temperature of the food, they had been asleep for a while. When they all got a glimpse of each other's faces, there was instant laughter at one another from the silly graffiti that was drawn on.

The group decided to finish the rest of the spicy food and wash their faces with the help of the water Pokémon Mudkip and Squirtle. They also realized that Jigglypuff was nowhere to be found.

"Man that was interesting. Thank god that creature is gone." Justin remarked. Lyra then poked him on the back to draw his attention to Aly, who was bowing in front of all of the Pokémon.

"Everyone…I am so sorry for how I acted today. I should have known that you guys weren't the culprits for today's shenanigans. Would you be able to forgive me?" Aly pleaded. After a delayed response, she looked up and saw all the Pokémon smiling at her. They all cried out in unison, saying that she was forgiven.

"Thanks everyone. To finalize my apology, let's have desert!" Aly shouted with joy. All of the Pokémon echoed her cry of happiness and excitement.

"It's good to see Aly owning up to her mistakes." Justin remarked while smiling.

"It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover." He added.

"No, you can't. You can never know what is truly beneath someone…" Lyra said in a somewhat depressing tone. Justin looked over at her in confusion.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh! Don't mind me! Just thinking out loud! C'mon Justy! Let's go and grab some of Aly's desert!" Lyra said in a more cheerful tone while pulling on Justin's arm.

"Ok! Ok! Slow down, would you!" Justin called out as they both went to rejoin the group for what promised to be a sweet and delicate desert for everyone.

AN: I know I said the story's tone will be darker, but not this chapter! Happy Holidays everybody! See you again in 2016!