Greetings faithful readers; this is an emergency message responding to critical events that have recently come into light.
Okay, so I'm hearing that galladefenrir44 is being tormented by many who think that he's copying off of me. I also understand that because of this, those that accuse him of plagiarism are also reading this story. So this message, in lieu of ratings, goes out to all of you.
First things first; no one is plagiarizing anything. This whole partnership was my idea to begin with. I asked him if we could cross stories, he agreed, and things took off from there. And thanks to that, I've been able to expand ideas for the sequence of the story magnificently. So those of you who enjoy the story, without this partnership the story would be extremely different than what you enjoy. In fact, I might have even taken it down for a lack of ideas.
Furthermore, those of you who believe that the concept of the Arceus Knights was mine to begin with… well, that's a little more complicated. You see, gf44 originally developed the plot of them… right at the same time I was staking my claim of there being an elite group of warriors that protect Arceus' realm. So one could say that we came up with the idea together, at separate places and times, but they collaborated well together, and we just went with it.
Finally, as for why you might think that he's plagiarizing off of me, I'm not quite sure where you're getting this. When we started the partnership originally, I proposed that after he makes his post, I copy out what he wrote and alter it to fit Alpha's point of view. I always tried to avoid making an exact duplicate, and once I started losing viewers and reviewers, I worried that was exactly what I was doing. However, I refused to stop because I was sure people still existed who liked the story, but more in the back of the crowd.
Now, to conclude this little rant, galladefenrir44 has not been, never has, nor will he ever plagiarize off of me. We are working together to bring the best possible story for you all, and we would both appreciate it if you gathered the facts before making an accusation. It would go a long way, in both this setting and in real life. With that in mind, I encourage you to enjoy the story, but please remember that, once more, we haven't written anything without checking one another and approving it.
Rick quickly teleported himself and A outside of Seras' condo and quickly dodged a flying picture frame. Jean was dodging random stuff and pleading with Seras
"Seras, dear please let me explain-" Seras interrupted, screaming
"Don't call me that and get lost!" A jumped in front of Jean, deflecting various objects, and asked
"Did you even get to say anything?" Jean shook his head.
"No. She hasn't let me say a thing." A grunted and knocked a flying ottoman aside.
"Well, I might be able to help, but first we need her to stop throwing things and listen for a few minutes without flying off the handle." Jean asked incredulously
"How are you going to calm her down?" A grinned confidently.
"That's why I brought Rick with me. However, if he can't calm her down, I'll have to choice but to put her to sleep and set things up for my plan. I'd rather not resort to that, though." Rick then appeared and walked inside the room, being wary of the enraged Seras.
"Sis, calm down. Jean is trying to explain to you why he can't marry you right now." Seras growled
"Rick, get out of the way." Rick insisted
"Sis, just listen to him."
"I said, get out of the way!" She then pushed him aside with Psychic and threw another picture frame towards Jean. Alara suddenly appeared in front of Jean and began to say
"Seras, wait-" She was hit in the face with the picture frame. She held her bleeding nose and began to cry. Seras saw what she did and all the objects she had levitating with Psychic immediately fell to the floor. She gasped and said
"Alara, I'm so sorry!" A walked up, inspecting the injury for a moment, then used Heal Pulse to fix it. He turned to Seras, telling her
"This is what happens when you let your emotions get away from you; people get hurt, and not just the people you intended. Now, will you calm down long enough to talk?" Seras slowly nodded, still feeling extremely guilty.
"Good. Now, let's get this fixed up as best as we can." He walked into the middle of the room, then began using Psychic to replace everything that wasn't broken, mindful of the people standing within the room. He smirked at his results, remarking
"Amazing power pokemon have." Focusing back on the present, he motioned for everyone to take a seat. Everyone quickly sat down on the couches, with Seras waiting to hear what A had to say. A took a deep breath, then began.
"Now then, we've all had our share of arguments, some worse than others, and some just too damn stupid to mention. However, we manage to get through these by communicating, debating, and compromising. This will be no different." He turned to Seras, asking
"Are you willing to listen and speak and respond in a respectful, appropriate manner?" Seras nodded.
"Yes, I am." A nodded in reply.
"Good. Now then, the problem starts with you and Jean. You're unhappy with him because...?" Seras explained, trying not to lose her temper
"It's just excuses with him. If he doesn't want to marry me, then he should just say it." A shook his head, telling her
"I don't think you fully grasp why he's holding it off; he's scared by a lot of things, but you're dismissing it as excuses."
"Well, aren't they?" A crossed his arms.
"I hardly think so. He told me that his family isn't very approving of you, is that correct?" Seras sighed
"That's correct." A continued to reason
"Then if he pursued this relationship with you, as he wants to, do you think his family would accept it, just like that? No, it may well be that he is disowned from them. Would you want that pain for yourself?" Seras argued
"His parents and sister accept me." A paused, then asked
"Then who is it that hates you?"
"Everyone else in his mother's family."
"Oh, then they're the ones who might disown him. It may not seem like much, but it's actually more detrimental than you might think, if nothing else than the sense of a broken family." Seras shrugged, stating
"I don't have a family of my own, other than my brother. I'm not saying that he should forget about them, just that he shouldn't let them make the decision for him." A nodded, agreeing
"And I've already told him that myself. But trust me on this one, when it's your own family, you tend to try to keep them happy." Seras narrowed her eyes dangerously, demanding
"So what do you want me to do? Wait another five years for a proposal?" A shook his head.
"Not at all. After five years, I agree that Jean needs to get this going." He turned to Jean, telling him
"You know what you want, you know what you have to do, now go and get it done. Otherwise, you'll be at the same place you were so long ago, and no one wants that." Jean sighed and said dully
"I'll try." A walked over and picked him up, staring him in the face, and said
"Don't try; do." Jean hesitated before responding
"Ok, I'll do it, but I..." He sighed again, unsure as to what to say. A set him down, telling him firmly
"Don't hesitate, don't show uncertainty, and above all, show no fear. Do not back down from this, if it's what you really want." A fire appeared in Jean's eyes, and he nodded furiously.
"Of course it's what I want." A smirked, then began pushing him toward the door.
"Then get moving! Don't waste another minute!"
"But what do you want me to do? I can't get a house in a second." A rolled his eyes but told him
"Start looking for one, Casanova! Once you set your sights, then you get background checks, make sure it's the right one. You got your sights set on one den, so it shouldn't be that hard. And-" He dropped his voice considerably, making sure the others didn't hear
"Once you've got your place of residence set, then ask for the blessing. You do that, and you're golden." Jean whispered to him
"I don't have the money for the house or a ring for Seras." A thought for a second, then grinned.
"You know what, let me help you with that. You pick things out, I'll pay, and you'll be set. How does that sound?" Jean immediately shook his head, refuting
"No. That's too much trouble." A clapped his shoulder, replying with a grin
"Too bad, because I'm helpin'. Now get out there and show us what you're made of." Jean looked and said
"What do I do then?" A rolled his eyes, telling him for the umpteenth time
"Go lookin' on the housing market, find a nice place for the two of you, then come by my den and let me have a look at it. Alright?"
"Alright. I'll see what I can do."
"Good. Get on it." He watched as Jean walked off, then closed the door with a grin, turned back to the group, and said
"And that's how it's done. Not bad for a day, if you ask me." Rick scoffed and asked him
"Were you not present for the last hour?"
"What, you think I'm stupid? Of course I was, and thanks to a nice bit of footwork, we've moved past it." Seras commented
"For the most part."
"Where are you still having trouble?" Seras shook her head, saying
"I have to see it to believe it."
"Did you see the way I was getting him to move? Trust me, this'll work out, and I'm gonna make sure it does."
"I'll still have to see it. Until that happens, I am not talking to him." A tried to reason with her;
"Oh, come on, don't be so cruel. He's really been trying, you know?"
"I waited five years for almost nothing." A winced at the slightly barbed tone of that statement, then sighed resignedly.
"Fine, I'll pass the message along."
"Look, I still love him, but I don't know what to think anymore." A reassured her
"I'm going to save this, okay? Just put your faith in me; I promise it won't be misplaced."
"Fine, but you have one chance."
"You won't regret it." Rick then pulled A aside and asked him
"So what do you have planned?" A whispered
"I sent Jean out to go house-hunting. If he's too stumped, I'll help him out. Once they settle on a house, I'll pay for it, then we go and get the engagement ring. After that, he'll secure Dartz's blessing, and we'll set up a romantic date where he'll propose to her." Rick offered
"How about you let me worry about the costs?" A shook his head, turning it down.
"I already said I would take care of it. Besides, this is my mission now."
"Since when did this turn into a mission?" A chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
"Okay, maybe I overdid that. Still, I gave my promise that I would make this work, and I'm gonna do it."
"Of course! Because if you fail, the most beloved couple on our team is over." A scoffed, retorting
"You really think I would let that happen? Come on, give me some credit."
"I never said that you were going to fail."
"It was certainly implied by insinuating what was going to happen if I did. How long have you known me to slack off?" Rick paused to consider, then answered
"Never really. I'll admit that." A smirked, reassuring him
"It won't be any different now. Believe me, I've got all sorts of ideas flowing as we speak." Rick tilted his head, asking
"I thought that you already set up the plan?"
"I've got the groundwork, the foundation, now I'm working the decoration, so to speak."
"Such as?" A explained
"Where they're going to date, what exactly might be served, and the final flourish where he proposes to her. I'm tellin ya, I'm on top of this!"
"I've never seen you this excited over a gathering." A shrugged, replying
"What can I say? I love challenges, which is why I was a trainer, coordinator, miner, collector... the list could go on." Rick nodded, getting back on the immediate subject.
"So let's hope he picks a good house." A nodded as well, saying
"That's why I'm checking it, to make sure it's acceptable."
"Very well."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Silver was looking around the Chief's Court room, trying to understand how pokemon could have built all of the splendor. He then asked
"So what is it that you guys want me to do?" Rick replied
"You're an expert on Team Rocket and their affairs. So that's what we need you for."
"So I'm your Intel?" Rick shrugged helplessly, answering
"In a way." They stopped talking once they heard the doors to the Chief's Court opened and A and Green walked into the building. A saw the newcomer and asked
"Who's the new guy?" Rick explained
"This is Silver. He's our new Team Rocket expert. This is because he's Giovanni's son." A's eyes widened in shock, he looked at Silver for a moment, then said speculatively
"I didn't know Giovanni had a son." Rick nodded understandingly, replying
"Not many people do. I know Silver because of my run-ins with him in the past." Silver then looked at the two humans before him and noticed Green
"Green?" Green asked back and commented
"Silver? Uh-oh." A looked at her and asked
"What's up?" Green was nervous for a moment, then said
"Well, I had my own run-in with him before." Rick then explained to A
"Oh yeah! Silver and Green used to be best friends." A grew wary and eyed Silver with some suspicion, but he didn't let it show.
"Is that so? Well, I guess we'll have a chance then to... get to know one another better." Silver then moved past A and then spoke directly to Green.
"I didn't know you were here." Green replied
"I've been here for a while. I haven't seen you in a long time." Silver arched an eyebrow
"I saw you just the other day." Green sweatdropped and laughed nervously
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot." Rick muttered to A
"There's technically two Greens in this world since the present Green is still around." A facepalmed and remarked
"And there's another one of me running around, too. Green and I have to avoid meeting ourselves at all costs, or we'll destroy the world, possibly the universe." Rick told him
"As long as Silver doesn't catch on that this is the future Green, he won't go spilling the beans to the present one." Then they heard Silver say
"So how about we have a battle right now? You know, just to see how tough you are now." Green laughed nervously and replied
"I don't have my pokemon with me." Silver seemed surprised.
"That's not like you." A walked forward and said
"She's trying to avoid suspicion right now, and the best way was to go into hiding. That included her pokemon." Silver looked at A and asked
"What do you mean?" A shrugged and replied
"She's in hiding. Plain and simple. It's confidential stuff." Silver tried to reason
"But she was home just the other day. When did this happen? And who are you, anyway?" A grunted and replied cryptically
"Name's Alpha, but I'm going by A right now. And again, confidential." Silver shrugged his shoulders and responded
"Whatever." He looked at Green again, asking confidently
"So... want to get a bite to eat?" Green shook her head and smirked.
"No thanks. I just ate." He considered her for a moment, then remarked
"You are really acting weird today." A started to get irritated and said
"Come on, Green, we should head out." She nodded and walked alongside him, waving goodbye to Silver as she left. Silver was confused, and he asked Rick
"What the hell is going on here?" Rick patted him on the shoulder and told him
"Don't worry about it. Just try to do your job as best as you can." Silver shook his head.
"No, I'm finding out. Green's my friend." He then took off after the couple. He caught up to them and called
"Wait up!" A was now getting irritated, a fact that was not lost on Green, but which he hid well from the red-haired newcomer.
"What do you want?"
"Calm down for a second. I just need some answers here."
"What kind of answers? Because again, this stuff is confidential." Silver told him, somewhat indignantly
"Hey, I'm part of the team, too." A crossed his arms and said
"Perhaps, but Green has private affairs that she has entrusted with me, and I'll not betray her trust."
"Seriously, who are you?" A narrowed his eyes and replied tersely
"That's confidential, too. Or at least I'm not going to tell you. Everyone here pretty much knows, so you can ask them."
"Why the secrecy?" A pinched his nose and sighed, then said
"That's the definition of confidential. Nobody but a select group knows the secret."
"What are you? Green's bodyguard?" A chuckled for a moment, then said
"You could think of me like that, but it's not entirely correct." Rick suddenly appeared and said
"Silver, leave them alone for now. A and Green, I want you two to return to your house." A nodded gratefully and transformed into his Gallade form. Then he teleported himself and Green back to their mansion.
Later in the afternoon, there was a knock at A and Green's home. Green opened the door and saw that Silver was waiting outside.
"Silver?" Silver replied
"Hey Green! Some of the locals told me that you lived in this house. Nice place! I totally didn't expect it." Green nodded nervously, replying
"Yeah, it's a looker, but what are you doing here? If Michael finds out you're here, he'll be very mad." Silver ignored the name difference, assuming she meant the guy she was with earlier, and asked
"What's his problem with me anyway?" Green laughed nervously, explaining simply
"He's very protective of me." A was battling Loran in the backyard, and really getting into it, when he felt a flare of trepidation coming from Green. He paused the battle and checked further, and upon learning that Silver was here, he started to get very irritated. He dismissed Loran and teleported to the top of the house, unbeknownst to the two humans. Green asked Silver with some trepidation
"What do you want Silver?" Silver shrugged
"Just came to see my best friend. Is there a problem with that?" Green hesitated before telling him
"Not necessarily, but right now is not the best time."
"I also came here to know if you want to go for a little dinner tonight." Green was surprised.
"You mean a date?" Silver shrugged smugly.
"If you want to call it that, then sure." A's anger reached an all-time high since a while, and he jumped down, landing right next to Silver and transforming back.
"Sorry, not happening." Silver jumped back in surprise, shouting
"Whoa! What the hell?! Don't scare me like that! And what do you mean by that?" A scowled and said
"I mean she is not going on a date with you. So back off!" Silver glared at A, obviously finally at his peak of patience.
"No, you back off! Why are you making decisions for her?" A growled and ordered
"That's none of your business! Now get out of my den, leave Green alone, and don't bother us anymore!" Rick suddenly appeared in the mansion and asked
"Rose called me over a problem here. What's going on?" Silver said hotly to him
"This guy is trying to kick me out of here because I asked Green out!" Rick turned to A and told him
"A, explain." A growled and replied angrily
"Green is my girlfriend, and I won't have anyone else hitting on her!" He turned back to Silver and said in a low voice
"Get out of your head any ideas of hooking up with her. If you insist on pursuing her, you and I are going to have problems, understand?" Silver glared back at him and said sarcastically
"Well, that explains a lot. However, I never heard anything about you before. So, no promises." A and Silver then settled into glaring at each other, and sparks could literally be seen between the two. Green walked up and tugged on A's arm, saying nervously
"Come on, Michael. Take it easy. Let's just go somewhere, alright?" A smiled at her and said
"Alright. Go ahead and get ready. I'll meet you by the Falcon Wing." She nodded and went back inside. A turned a dark eye on Silver and motioned with two fingers first toward his eyes, then to Silver. He walked into the mansion and veritably slammed the door. Rick facepalmed and said
"Oh great! The one thing I tried to avoid." Soon after, the Falcon was seen flying out of the den, carrying A and Green. He angled for Unova and gunned it, and within a couple short hours landed on the sandy beaches of Undella Bay. He helped her out and directed them to a sort of beach restaurant, grabbing an outside table. He asked her what he would like, and went to get their food.
Unfortunately, as he returned, finally calming down from his encounter with Silver hitting on Green, he found yet another idiot trying to make a move on his girlfriend. His rage came surging back, all anew, and he rushed over, barely noticing what he did with the food, and grabbed the guy's shoulder, spinning him around quickly and taking hold of the front of his shirt.
"Whattya think you're doin' with my girlfriend, huh wise guy?!" The man tried to shove him off, but without success.
"Yo, man, back off! What's your problem?!" A hissed as he closed in, answering
"My problem is dealin' with pricks like you tryin' to hit on my girl." His head tilted to the side, and he asked in a demeaning manner
"Ya dig?" The man appeared confused to an extent, but A pulled him over to the edge of the platform that the restaurant had and shoved him over the side into the sand. The man spluttered, trying to get the sand off him and out of his mouth, glaring at A.
"Who do you think you are, anyway, punk?!" A jumped down, cracking his knuckles, and told him proudly
"Name's Michael Ryuto, from Orre." The man's eyes widened and he scrambled up, running away quickly. A scoffed, muttering
"Yeah, that's what I thought." He returned to the table where Green was, who seemed nothing short of astonished, until she finally asked
"What the hell was that about?" A grumbled and began picking at his food, which luckily was intact with Green's.
"I don't like it when people try to take you away from me. I finally got you after eighty years; nobody's takin' you away from me now." Green responded with a slew of questions:
"But your whole demeanor changed as soon as you showed up. Why? And when you started talking to him, something in your voice definitely changed. Maybe an accent? And why was he so quick to run away when you mentioned you were from Orre?" A smirked at the last one, then sighed and replied as best as he could
"It's sort of a primal reaction, if you will. Put simply, if we were wild animals, you are my mate, and I won't have another male try to exert his dominance in my domain." Green blushed at the response, but A continued.
"As for the accent, the people of Orre tend to have a rougher voice, especially males. When it comes to certain words, especially those ending in 'ing', the end 'g' is typically left off, kind of giving the sound of a less sophisticated individual. Now, not everyone follows this, but it's become a stereotype of Orre. My father, on the other hand, had a tendency to use it, whether or not he was angry." Green nodded contemplatively and listened to his final answer.
"He ran when I said I came from Orre, because people from Orre are known to be particularly violent when angered. In fact, there's something called the Pride of Orre, which pretty much every Orrian feels. It stems from the fact that the rest of the regions look down on us for refusing to have an official League of our own, and we've sorta become ostracized for it. But thanks to our system of battling, the coliseums, we're known to be particularly powerful trainers. So everyone else is both afraid and spiteful of us, but when push comes to shove, they'll run away from us." Green thought about that, then remarked
"That's… kinda depressing. Does that mean none of you can make friends outside of your region?" A shook his head, answering
"No, not necessarily. After all, I hid my identity with every region I went to, and I met plenty of people. But even as myself, when I became a researcher, it didn't take long before my coworkers and friends learned that I was relatively harmless, so long as they didn't threaten my pride. In a way, the people of Orre are like those in the Piplup family line, especially Empoleon. Hell, you saw an example of that when I dunked Jean after he insulted me." Green nodded slowly, then asked
"If I insulted your pride, accidentally or otherwise, would you try to destroy me?" A smirked and shook his head, retorting
"If I use the wild animal analogy again, why on earth would I destroy a potential mate? No, I wouldn't hurt you; I never would of my own free will, and even outside of my will, I would be fighting with everything I have left." Green didn't seem particularly reassured by this, but accepted it nevertheless. Then on, they ate in silence and returned to the Sanctuary in much the same manner, finally retiring from the frazzling day.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jean knocked eagerly at A's door. He was begging to himself
"Please be home! Please be home!" The door opened to reveal Green. She asked in surprise
"Jean? What are you doing here?"
"Is A home?" Green smirked and pointed with her thumb, answering
"You'll want the backyard for him. I think he's been waiting on you." Jean thanked her and took off running to the back of the house, calling out
"A!" He could be sitting on the stairs of his porch, obviously pondering something, but immediately looked up at Jean's voice. He stood up quickly, asking
"Whattya got?" Jean panted for a moment before answering
"Alright, I found a nice house close to Rick's. It's pretty fair in size and I think it will be perfect for Seras and me." A nodded.
"Alright, let's see how you did." He transformed and teleported the two to the First Den, in front of Rick's house.
"You'll have to lead the way from here." Jean nodded and led him down a couple of blocks until they made it the top of a hill, parallel to the hill that Rick's mansion sat on. They walked into a neighborhood and soon reach a three story house. Jean told A
"The door's unlocked. The real estate agent told me that I could come and take a look at it whenever I wanted." A nodded, asking
"How many rooms and baths?"
"Six room and four baths. It's a family home. Since I know that Eeveelutions usually have large litters, I wanted to come prepared." A smirked, but didn't comment.
"Alright, let's see what the inside looks like." Jean opened the door and led A in. The house was empty, but there were clear signs of remodeling done on the house. The living room was comfortable large. The dining room was also of a decent size. The kitchen had many burners on the stove and two sinks. There was a small kitchen island in the center, which Jean knew that Seras always loved in her kitchens. Jean then explained to A
"It has a nice front yard and a large backyard as well. I felt that this place would be perfect to start a family in." He suddenly became downcast and added
"If it happens." A patted his back, telling him
"Cheer up. Looks like you made a good choice here. And once I set up that foolproof date, she'll be all yours." Jean retorted
"It's been a week, A. I'm almost never apart from Seras for this long when she's around. It even hurts that she's not talking to me. We talk all the time and are together all the time. This is just torture to know that I messed up so bad that she refuses to even be around me."
"Look, I promised I was gonna make this work, now don't you quit on me. Now, what are we looking at here?"
"Well, I need to paint most of the house, but I love that it's freshly renovated. Upstairs we have the bedrooms and a few miscellaneous rooms. Seras and I will obviously have the master bedroom." A nodded approvingly.
"Okay, sounds good. You should save the painting as a team effort, since she'll want jurisdiction over the color. Now, how much are we looking at for this?"
"It works with my military budget. It's about $1 million. Which for a house of this size, and the neighborhood that it's situated in, is quite the deal. I got it because it's not entirely done with renovations and because I promised to finish them all myself. Also, I want to do it myself. I want Seras to know that I am willing to work hard to keep our relationship alive, no matter how backbreaking." A smiled, replying
"Good. Then how much do you want me to chip in for the down payment?" Jean told him firmly
"Don't. I can do it myself." A hesitated for a moment, asking
"You sure? Because it's really no trouble to make sure this falls through. Right now you might want the security and peace of mind. Besides, I've got millions that's not doing anything."
"I'm sure. If I run into any problems, then I'll call you and Rick for help. For now, I'll turn in the $20,000 down payment and begin to fix up this house. I'll get ready to propose to Seras when the house is half ready and safe."
"Hmm... you might want to see if you can work extra for more money and make that happen sooner. I'm sure it'll look good on your part." Jean nodded, agreeing.
"That's what I'm hoping. I have a lot of plans."
"Good to hear. So, it looks like you're pretty much set in the housing department." Jean sighed sadly, remarking
"Yeah, but I still want her to talk to me." A shrugged helplessly, replying
"Not much we can do about that for now, but I'm sure my plans for your date will help loosen her tongue."
"I hope, because it's driving me crazy."
"You let me worry about that. While I've got you though, lemme ask a few questions."
"Such as?" A teleported a pad of paper and a pen to his hands, asking
"Alright, does she have a particular restaurant she likes to eat at?" Jean answered
"She loves Italian food."
"Okay, that's good to know. Does she have a specific preference in music?"
"Orchestral." A nodded, writing it down.
"Interesting. Okay, does she have a specific time of the day that she likes best?"
"Sunset." A smirked, remarking
"Perfect. What's her favorite den?"
"The First Den. Our home den."
"Alright, then it sounds like we've got some setting up to do."
"I just hope it all goes well. Before she stopped talking to me, she told me that she could still reject the proposal. I'm kinda scared." A shrugged again, telling him
"She has her own rights, you know. But I'm sure she won't, not after what we're going to have you do."
"Which would be?" A smirked mischievously, answering
"You're going to set up the perfect date, where you will propose to her after a perfect meal. Tell me, does she like dancing?" Jean nodded.
"A lot."
"Good, then we can fit that in along with your song. What might that be?"
"That's a good question." A sweatdropped, asking
"You mean you don't know your song? Dude, that's really not going to help you."
"We have too many." A groaned, then said
"Okay, fine, pick one you both like deeply."
"Well, give me some time to pick it. Move on to the next question."
"Where is an Italian restaurant within the First Den?"
"There's a really nice one a few blocks from the Chief's Court, but it's too expensive for me." A smirked, retorting
"But probably not for me. Now, I'm still concocting this plan, but it oughta be a winner." Jean nodded, commenting
"Remember, I'm still scared."
"There's no need to be. Just trust me on this one, okay?"
"Yeah, so I should call the realtor and buy the house." A nodded, agreeing
"Precisely. Let me know once the house falls through, okay?"
"Alright. I need to start to finish the renovations."
"Then I guess you have no more need of me for the time being."
"Nope. I just need to be alone and figure out how to deal with the silence that Seras is giving me." A nodded and teleported off to fix up his plans.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Close to the end of October, the team was at Rick and Alara's house for an end of summer barbecue. Wayland was at the grill flipping burgers and vegetables. Many of the other members were on the patio listening to A give a story about his adventures. Rick was walking with Alara through the garden and Alara told Rick
"I'm going back to the house. I want to listen to some of A's stories." Rick nodded and replied
"Alright. Have fun. I'm going to see if the guys want to play some football." Alara then teleported to the patio and sat down on a chair to listen to A ramble on about his adventure in the Johto region.
"So, I was finished with my battle against Falkner for the Zephyr Badge, which was strange to get because his gym was set up in the sky, close to the high ceiling. Anyway, I walked down the route, using my new Good Rod to catch a couple of pokemon on the way. Fishing requires a lot of patience, but it can be well worth it. If you value your sanity, though, never use an Old Rod. The only thing you'll find for your efforts is weak Magikarp. You'd do better surfing across the water.
Once I was finished there, I walked further down and saw this shady-looking guy. I asked him what he was doing, and he turns his shifty eyes around and asks me 'Hey buddy, you want to buy a Slowpoke Tail? They're delicious, and at the cheap price of one million poke.' Of course, nobody could get a million poke until I found Unova, where the system was upgraded. So I asked how it was done. He tells me that the tails of Slowpoke are chopped off and fried, and apparently they're a delicacy." Green asked
"What did you do?" A shrugged and responded
"I beat the crap out of him. No one goes around chopping off anybody's tails when I'm around. Eventually I found out that Team Rocket was trying to raise itself up by selling them. I managed to shut them down before all the poor Slowpoke lost their tails, though." Alara remarked
"I wonder how the Slowpoke Tails taste. They sound delicious. Or maybe that's the baby talking." A scowled and said
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I heard from various sources that they're actually terrible. Besides, I really hate the idea of Slowpoke Tails. If someone were to go around saying that Gardevoir arms were a delicacy in some parts of the world, would you be interested? Put yourself in the victim's shoe for a bit." Rick suddenly appeared and said
"Don't give my wife any ideas. I already have to feed her so many weird things." A scowled and retorted
"I'm going against it. In fact, I'm going to be very angry if I hear somebody went to get a Slowpoke Tail. If any of you insist on getting one, you better make sure I don't hear about it." Rick waved it off, assuring him
"Don't worry about it. I doubt there's anyone that still sells them anyways. Also, no one will have the cash to buy it."
"Good. When I get back to my time, I've got to check what sorts of items are on the pokemon black market. I've seen all sorts of things you would not believe, but at the time I didn't have the authority to do anything about it. Things will be different when I get back."
"Good to know. Also, did Team Rocket seriously think that anyone was rich enough to buy those things?" A snorted and said
"They weren't thinking at all. They forgot one of the most basic rules that trainers up until Unova followed; never carry more than 999,999 poke on your person, though it would be wise to carry that much unless you protect it well. But Team Rocket completely disregarded that."
"Stupid Team Rocket. Oh well let's keep this thing going."
The team kept on with the barbecue until nightfall, when everybody left for their own homes. In the morning, Rick was in his office. This time he was fast asleep on his desk and A soon walked into his office. A spoke, unaware of him being asleep.
"Hey Rick, I have those progress reports from my scout and..." He stopped when he saw him sleeping. He walked up to him and shook him.
"Rick... wake up!" Rick shot up and yelled
"No, I will not buy you that!" A backtracked a step and asked
"What are you talking about? I didn't ask you to buy me anything. And why were you asleep? Didn't get enough sleep last night?" Rick put his head back on his desk and said with a raised finger
"Bingo. The wife...cravings...two in the morning...message of warning: Don't get married." A smirked and asked
"And stay alone for the rest of my life when I've got a girl who loves me? No thanks. Anyway, about these reports... should I bring them in later?"
"No, give them here. Also..." He lifted his head and finished
"You rat bastard." A's expression became one of astonishment, and he asked
"Excuse me?"
"You had to give your little stories yesterday."
"Everyone demanded it. What could I do?" He thought a little further, and his gaze darkened as he slammed the reports on the table and growled
"Wait a minute... did you get a Slowpoke Tail last night?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, yes I did. Before you say anything, I can't deny my pregnant wife anything while she's pregnant and I beat the living crap out of the vendor before turning him into the cops." A growled and stormed off, muttering
"No one gives a damn what I have to say, regardless of what it concerns. I'm going to make some serious changes when I get back." Rick quickly teleported him back, saying
"Whoa there bucking bronco, calm down! Are you mad because I got a Slowpoke Tail?"
"I'm mad partially because of that, but I'm really mad at your wife. I told her that multiple sources say they tasted bad, and that she should put herself in the victim's shoes for a minute. Yet she completely disregards my advice and tried it anyway. I'm guessing she didn't like it?"
"She did not. I'm kinda mad at her because of that too, but see pregnancy is different for Gardevoir. The baby has influence on some decision making if it involves food." A sighed and smacked his face, then said
"Well, I can't change what's already happened, but I'm guessing neither of you is going to make that mistake again. By any chance, do you know if there are any more of those 'vendors' around? If so, I want to teach them a little lesson."
"Apparently, Team Rocket is still employing them." A cracked his knuckles and said
"I'm going to be busy for a while. Just leave whatever information you need to give me in my inbox." Rick nodded tiredly.
"Will do. Now back to sleep for me." His head then slammed on the desk and A could then hear him snoring. A growled to himself and said
"Back to Johto for me." He transformed into a Gallade and teleported to the twenty-second den, where he stepped into his vehicle and took off for Johto after explaining to Green.
Hopefully you enjoyed that, and if you were impatient enough to skip the Author's Notes at the top, please go back and read them over; it was a very important message, and I would be very sore if everyone disregarded it. Thank you, and have a nice day.
