"Congrats, David!" Ash says, slapping my back.
"Ash, you've said that approximately ten times now," Rotom states.
"It's alright, Rotom," I reply. "Shizen was really hard to beat. And now, I've got my Nature Badge!" I flash the badge on my shirt.
"So, the day after tomorrow, we're going to Floji, right? Can't wait to see what Floji Town has to offer!"
"And then our journey will finally- ngh!" I stumble before I could finish my sentence. Another headache? I don't think this is normal. My gaze falls onto the clipped-on badge, and the headache intensifies. I clutch my head with one hand in pain.
"D-David!" Liana cries.
"Are you okay?!" Ash asks. It was at this moment that the headache subsided.
"I-I'm fine," I stutter. "It just passed... It's alright."
We decided to go to bed that night. But even after lights out, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. The headaches I experienced earlier felt like it was triggered by someone... or something, maybe. Was this a part of remembering my past?
I didn't have to wait long, though. Because the next day, I'd find out. We met up with the crew, and we went to Grama Bazaar like we did yesterday. Since it felt like nothing was going to change our plans, we decided to enjoy the rest of the day.
"...And then what do we do after this?" I ask, when we reach the bazaar.
"We're headed to the Wild Area," Aaron responds. "Maybe we could do another Max Raid Battle."
"A Max Raid Battle, huh?" Ash repeats. "Haven't done one of those in a while. The thought really fires me up!"
"And you wouldn't need to look around too much," Rotom bloops. "The chance of encountering a Dynamaxed Pokemon in a Wild Area in one of those dens is 79 percent!"
"How would you know that, Rotom?" I ask doubtfully.
"Don't forget, I'm a Rotom Dex. There's a lot that I can do!"
"...That doesn't really answer my question, but whatever. What should we look for?"
"I know!" Chloe pipes up. "Ash, you should know that Milcery can evolve into Alcremie, and you'll need a certain item to do it."
"For real?!" Ash exclaims. "That's so awesome! What do I need in order to evolve Milcery?"
"They're called Sweets. They're a little rare, so they can be kinda pricey."
"Well then, let's look for one!" All of us agree, and we take off. Not in different directions, mind you. We looked around for a stand that sold Sweets. And guess what? We found one. To be honest, when Allison said that they're rare, I thought finding a stand that sold Sweets would be tough. The stand we went to was run by two shopkeepers and a Pokemon.
"Welcome!" One of the shopkeepers welcomes us.
"Our general store has just what you need," The second claims.
"And you can thank us later for being here when you need it!" The third one announces.
I glanced at them oddly. Something about them was a little... familiar. Gal with pink hair? Guy with blue hair? Talking Meowth? ...Actually, no. I remembered my previous run-ins with Team Rocket, and we blew them so far away they flew into the sky and outta our sight, so there's no way they'd be in Terelm, or at least in Grama.
"Are you selling Sweets?" Ash asks.
"Sweets?" The pink-haired shopkeeper repeats. "Uh... Hold on, let me do an inventory check." She turns around and starts rummaging in a few crates. Finally, she puts some items on the table. One of them looked like strawberries, another looked like hearts, and the last looked like flowers.
"Which one?" The blue one asks. "A Strawberry Sweet, a Love Sweet, or a Flower Sweet? All are the same price."
"Oh, I dunno... Which do I choose?" Ash asks himself.
"Well, if you can't decide, maybe Milcery can," I say.
"Oh, great idea! Milcery, come out!" Ash sends Milcery out of its Poke Ball. Its attention is immediately drawn to the Sweets on the table. "Which one do you want?" Ash asks his Pokemon. Milcery takes its time to decide. Finally, it takes the Love Sweet.
"Good choice," Meowth says. Ash takes the Love Sweet from Milcery, and it lets Milcery wear the sweet on the center of its head, kind of like the way you'd put a topping on a cake, a sundae, or something of that caliber. The price was considerable, to say the least, but Ash somehow purchased it on his own, which meant that the rest of us didn't have to bother pooling our cash. Then we took off, but as we left I thought I could hear slight giggling from behind me.
"What do you think, Milcery?" Lynn asks. "Like it?" Milcery smiles in response.
"Looks like Milcery really likes it," Ash says. "What do I do next to make it evolve?" The rest of us glanced at each other with odd looks. I guess none of us knew. "Oh, well. Maybe I'll evolve it through training!"
"Then, let's- gah!" There it was again... the occasional headache. But it was even stronger this time, and I instinctively clenched my head with both hands.
"Woah!" Allison yelps.
"Are you alright, dude?!" Robert yells. After a little while, the headache subsides.
"I... I'm alright. Let's hit the Wild Area." Despite being concerned, everyone else agrees. I cast Zoom in order to save time. But when we arrived, Ash walked right past all the dens. When I asked him why, he replies by saying he wanted to train Milcery in wild Pokemon battles. To be honest, I didn't get why he wanted to, but I guess I had to trust him.
Suddenly, I felt that familiar feeling of danger. Was something about to jump us? My fears were confirmed when I saw some bushes rustling.
"Is something wrong?" Wesley asks.
"Stand back, guys," I warn everyone. Suddenly, not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR figures jump out of the bush and unleash a combo attack! Everyone jumps backward in time to avoid the assaulters' moves. I instinctively draw my sword, and then that's when it hit me. A Chespin? Was it the same one as the one when I had my first encounter with Team Rocket? Rotom steps in and reads the entries of its friends.
"Scorbunny: The rabbit Pokemon. A Fire type. A warm-up of running around gets fire energy coursing through this Pokemon's body. Once that happens, it's ready to fight at full power. Next, there's Oshawott: The sea otter Pokemon. A Water type. Oshawott attacks and defends using the scalchop that can be removed from its stomach. Finally, Pichu: The tiny mouse Pokemon. An Electric type. The electric sacs on Pichu's cheeks are small. If it tries to store more electricity than it can hold, Pichu will shock itself."
"What was that for?!" Ash yells at them.
"Chespin!" Chespin says. "Pin-Pin!"
"...Huh?" I ask, befuddled. Then I remember that Pokemon can generally only say parts of their names.
"Wait a minute..." Liana says. "'I've waited long enough for this...?'"
"What're you saying, Liana?"
"I think I can understand what it's saying... 'You jumped me the other day, and now we're paying you back for it?'"
"Uh... Well, I guess that isn't far from the truth."
"'From my experience, you're definitely like those bad guys, so we're gonna do our job and expel you from the Wild Area?!' What?! We were just trying to catch you!"
"Che! Chespin!" Chespin says. At this, Chespin pointed at me.
"'But we have no problem with you guys. It's only him we need to beat...?' Why do you only want to fight David?"
"Liana," I interrupt her. "I don't think these guys wanna reason with us. It's probably best if we get them out of our way, but I won't beat 'em up too hard."
"I-I see... Well, you better do so, okay?" Liana and the others move back a lot to give us space to fight. I decide to make the first move by casting Sizz on the foes. Chespin takes big damage from a super-effective hit, while Scorbunny and Oshawott take a lot less damage. Pichu also suffers just as much damage as Chespin, despite not hitting its weakness.
But they put up an impressive combo attack as a means of retaliation. Chespin uses Vine Whip, which doesn't do so much hurt to me. Scorbunny uses Ember, which also doesn't do so much. And Pichu does some decent damage with a Thunder Shock. But Oshawott really brings down the pain with a Water Gun, which damages me severely! Was I weak to Water-type moves? That was bad. Looks like I had a whole new problem to deal with.
"David!" Liana screams.
"What is it?!" I yell back.
"You should take Oshawott down first! It looks like it can hit you hard!"
"Thanks for the advice, kid!" I set my sights on Oshawott and ponder what it could be weak to. It couldn't be weak to fire, so I decided to cast Crack on it. But it doesn't do much, either. Seriously?!
"Oshawott is a Water type," Rotom repeats. "Which means it will resist your Frizz, Sizz, and Crack spells! You should just do normal attacks on it!"
"NOW you tell me?!" I scream in disbelief. "Come on!" I barely got to charge at Oshawott when Chespin charged at me and bit me hard. But it was clear it was trying too hard, as it felt like I took another super-effective hit, this time to the arm. Now I had TWO menaces to deal with... I was originally going to go for Oshawott, but since Chespin was also a super-effective hitter, and it had an affinity for my Frizz spell, I just decided to attack it first.
But when I hurl the Frizz at Chespin, Scorbunny steps in and takes the attack in Chespin's place. Dang it! These guys were tough! What was I thinking?! How could I win a fight four to one?! The only thing I could think of was to cast some sort of other spell on it. But I usually learn new spells in tough times, and for some reason it wasn't happening now. In the meantime, I decided to try to hold out a little longer. I pulled two Sitrus Berries from my bag and narfed them down in order to heal myself.
Since Scorbunny was gonna be so stubborn, I decided to take it out first. Since it was a Fire type, I knew the spells I currently had at my disposal would do nothing, so I rushed at it and quickly sliced it, then again before it could blink. I actually learned this "Falcon Slash" skill yesterday, after training. But Scorbunny retaliates by Double Kicking me in the face, and Pichu, who has crept up from behind me, jumps onto me and hits me with a Nuzzle.
Their combo attack didn't do so much, but the electricity from Pichu's Nuzzle leaves me paralyzed. Shoot, that was bad! It might stop me from attacking. If only I had a berry that could heal this ailment... But I didn't have tim to react as Oshawott lands another super-effective Water Gun, and Chespin gets another super-effective Bite. I decided I've had enough. I begin to cast a new spell.
"What's your problem?!" I yell at the Pokemon. "Just quit it! WOOSH!" A small whirlwind appears and sends the foes flying a short distance. I didn't land any super-effective hits, but it was able to deal some good damage to all of them. Nice! There was the new spell I needed! I hope it would be pretty useful later on... Scorbunny and Pichu were pretty weakened now. But it wasn't enough. If I had to get out of here, I needed to weaken them all. So I set my sights back to Chespin, and got ready to throw a Frizz.
But the paralysis that was ailing me prevented me from moving! Dang it, this sucks! Chespin goes in for a Rollout. Its attack leaves me pretty injured, and Oshawott manages to land another Water Gun, which almost KOs me. I'm on my knees now, but I don't give up. I throw a Frizz at Chespin to weaken it, then I painstakingly Falcon Slash Oshawott twice. I'm almost out of magical energy, but I didn't care, since all of them were struggling to get up now.
I knew that I couldn't leave them injured like that, and I couldn't afford to be injured either, so I reached into my bag and ate four Oran Berries in order to fully heal myself, then one of my few Leppa Berries in order to restore my magical energy. Then I pulled out some Sitrus Berries and chucked them at the Pokemon as a distraction. I knew that they'd take the time to eat them, and that would be my chance to bolt.
But out of nowhere, something like a laser damages me and sends me flying. Ash and the others manage to catch me before I hit the ground. When I look to where the laser landed, I see it: A mech. It shakes the ground every time it steps towards us.
"What's going on now?!" Allison screams.
"Prepare for trouble, you'll soon find out." An all-too-familiar voice speaks from the mech.
"And make it double, you'll know what we're all about!" Says the voice I was expecting to follow.
"To protect the world from devastation..."
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love..."
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare for one unfair fight!"
"Meow! That's right!"
I guess Team Rocket shifts their motto to match the current situation. But that's nothing more than trivial.
"Team Rocket!" Susie shrieks at them.
"Causing more trouble, aren't you?!" Ash yells with her.
"Of course," James answers. "That's our job, as you well know."
"As for you, twerp," Jessie says, pointing at Ash. "We have to thank you. The money you gave us for that Sweet was just enough funds to finish off our masterpiece."
"Masterpiece?!" Ash repeats in disbelief.
"I knew it!" I say. "So it really was you who sold Ash that Sweet!" Everyone looks at me and gasps in surprise.
"How did you know that?!" Chloe gasps.
"You remember how Ash purchased that Sweet for Milcery, right? Well, those shopkeepers had a striking resemblance to Team Rocket."
"Ooh," Meowth says mockingly. "For a twerp, you're rather sharp."
"DON'T CALL ME A TWERP, DANG IT!" I don't think I've ever yelled so loud in my life. I think I yelled so loud that everyone around me flinched, even Team Rocket.
"Woah!" Aaron yelps.
"O-Okay," Jessie finally says. "We get it. You don't wanna be called a twerp, but we don't care. Let's do this!"
The trio jumps into their mech, and they prepare for battle. The first thing they do is launch a net from within their mech and capture the four Pokemon I was battling earlier. I tried to cut the net, but it was too fast, and they were pulled inside.
"Okay, guys," Ash says. "First order of business is to free those four Pokemon! Pikachu, let's do this!" Pikachu jumps from Ash's shoulder, and I let Liana and Wesley step up. Allison, Robert, and Lynn also let their Hybrimon prepare to fight. Pikachu launches a Thunderbolt, but it doesn't do anything. Weren't machines supposed to be weak to electricity? I was thinking that when the Thunderbolt was reflected and it strikes Pikachu, dealing massive damage.
"Oh, just quit trying," James says. "We've taken the data from previous models and used it to install an electricity-repelling system!" What?! They can do that?! That wasn't good. But mechs are made of metal, and if what I was thinking was correct, then we might have a chance.
"Liana! Wesley! Use Ink Shower!" I command them. Their attacks cover the mech in debilitating ink. Chloe, Aaron, and Susie attack with a Quick Attack, an Ember, and a Tackle. That was a pretty good combo, but it's time to bring down the hurt. I rush in and use Metal Slash on the mech. Of course, the mech was indeed metal, and Metal Slash is a skill devoted to destroying metal stuff. The mech suffers a lot of damage.
But the mech counterattacks by launching a laser that hits all of us and sends us flying. Even though it's not enough to knock any of us out, it does some serious damage to all of us. The mech follows up with some rocket punches that hit Pikachu and I, and we're both struggling to even stand.
"Are you alright?!" Allison yelps.
"C-Can't... go on..." I gasp.
"Yeesh, that looks serious!" Chloe flinches.
"Then let's help out! Chloe, use Life Dew!"
Mysterious water appears out of nowhere and soaks us. It heals our wounds! Since when did Chloe have this healing ability?
"HEY!" Meowth screams. "You twerps can't do that! That's cheating!"
"Who needs rules when you're fighting criminals?" I counter. You might think I'm being unoriginal, but I'm just reusing my material. I charge in with another Metal Slash to deal massive damage. Aaron also uses Ember for another super-effective hit, since steel is weak to fire. But then the mech started malfunctioning. That wasn't good! If it blew up with the Pokemon inside, they'd blast off, too! I stop the guys from attacking any further and explain to them why.
"Yeah, you're right!" Susie realizes.
"Then we'll need to think of a different strategy," Ash says.
I tried to think of something I could do. Then it hit me. If I could turn it off, then I could Metal Slash the area where the Pokemon were being held within the mech, then send Team Rocket blasting off. But who would hook their mech to a cable? But then I saw it. A long, metal wire, right behind the mech.
"Guys," I whisper. "Try to survive their attacks while I sneak behind them and Metal Slash that wire."
"Seriously?" Robert asks, disappointed. "Why would idiots like them make their mech a wired device?"
"Worry about that later, worry about saving those Pokemon now." Breathlessly, I run off to the side.
"That's more like it," James smirks. "Run with your tail between your legs like the twerp you are!" Seriously, why did they keep calling me "twerp?" It was really infuriating, but I suppressed the anger that was building up within me and focused on the plan. I had to walk through a few bushes in order to successfully sneak up on them. I could hear the mech attacking, and I knew that Ash's team was having trouble.
I finally managed to get behind them, and I crept up to the wire. But out of the corner of my eye, the mech lands a super-charged laser, which almost obliterates everyone! An uncontrolled yelp escapes my lips, and the mech quickly turns to me.
"Ooh, you're quite the cheeky twerp," Jessie says.
I ignored her taunt. The good news was that I Metal Slashed the wire as quickly as I could, and I actually succeeded. But the bad news was that the mech landed a punch on me, which sent me flying. A few bushes cushion my landing. But I could see that my sword was knocked out of my hands, and it landed near Ash's team.
"David!" Aaron screams. "Are you alright?!"
"I-I'm fine," I choke. "Ch-Chloe! H-Heal us, please!"
Allison takes Chloe's hand and steps back a lot in order to protect her from further harm. Another Life Dew heals our wounds. Right on cue, the mech stopped moving, and Team Rocket jumps out.
"The twerp cut our power supply!" Meowth exclaims.
"But look- his sword's gone," James observes.
"I see," Jessie replies. "If we stop that twerp from getting his sword, then we'll have one less problem to deal with."
"I'M NOT A TWERP!" I scream. "Geez! And you do know I have my magic at my disposal!" I rush at my sword, but Jessie quickly sends out Gourgeist and Leech Seeds me in order to pin me down. Good thing I knew exactly how to deal with this situation. I prepare a Frizz, but I don't throw it. Instead, I simply hold it to the roots in order to burn it. Susie hits Gourgeist with an Inky Pulse, and it's blown out of my way.
James also sends out Mareanie, but it surprises me by glomping into his head and poisoning him. Why does Mareanie keep doing that? But I decided to worry about that later. The roots eventually disintegrate, and I rush at my weapon. But Mareanie stops me by using Spike Cannon, and it's a good thing I dodged in time. Turning to Mareanie, I throw the Frizz I used to burn through the Leech Seed at it to distract it, then I pull the blade out of the ground.
"Alright, let's do this!" I yell. I target the torso of the mech and Metal Slash it. The attack is so strong it leaves a giant hole for the Pokemon that were trapped to jump out of! Yes!
"Nice job, David!" Ash says. "Now we'll wrap this up! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu charges up, and releases as much electricity as it can into its Thunderbolt. It's strong enough to blow up the mech, and also strong enough to send Team Rocket flying with another synchronized "We're blasting off again!" as they eventually disappear from sight.
"And don't come back!" I taunt. I knew they couldn't hear me, but whatever.
"Che... Chespin," Chespin says as it turns to me.
"What now?"
"Let's see... 'I think I was wrong,'" Liana translates. "'Maybe some humans are okay, I guess.'"
"Yeah, you're right. You can't judge someone just by their looks."
"You know, Chespin, I'm sorry we jumped you like that the other day. Can you forgive us?"
"Yeah," Chespin says. Wait... WHAT?! All of us gasp in surprise. Since when was Chespin talking to us directly?!
"Y-You just talked!" I stammer.
"Huh?! You actually heard me?!"
"There's no doubt about it," Wesley says, stepping forward. "We've regained that ability!"
"What ability?"
"You see, when a Hybrimon is nearby, people around it can understand Pokemon. Although I don't know why this is so..."
"That's so cool!" Ash exclaims.
"But why couldn't we understand Pokemon when Chloe, Aaron, or Susie were around us?" Lynn asks.
"I... don't know," Wesley admits.
"Well," Chespin interrupts us, "I have to thank you. You really helped us out."
"You're welcome, Chespin," I reply.
A little later, we were standing at the exit to Grama Town, and it was sunset. We were about to start our journey for real.
"So, this is it, huh?" I sigh.
"Uh-huh," Ash replies. "We're finally off to Floji."
"Finally!" Allison exclaims. "I've been waiting to get outta here!"
"Why, though?" Robert asks.
"Even though I love Grama, I've always wanted to see Floji and Sluo. Maybe even Bloc."
"I see. Well, then," Lynn says. "And we're-"
"Wait!" Comes a voice from behind us. Chespin, Scorbunny, Oshawott, and Pichu were all running towards us. What did they want?
"What's up?" Aaron asks them.
"We just wanted to see you off," Scorbunny explains.
"After all," Oshawott says, "It's the least we could do, after you rescued us."
"Besides, our leader has something to give you," Pichu says. True to its word, Chespin was holding something. An egg? Although I could feel power emanating from within it.
"That's a Lucky Egg," Chespin explains. "It will help you get stronger. We've been using it for a long time, but we can get by without it now. I thought you could make good use of it."
"I see. Thanks, Chespin," I say gratefully. "And hey, let's have another battle sometime, yeah?" I grin.
"Yeah! We won't go easy on you!"
Smiling, we turned back, and we stepped into the next chapter of our journey. What awaited us in Floji? Only time could tell, as our adventure continues!
The one in which David has a run-in with some on-edge Pokemon, and our Hybrimon heroes regain their ability to let people understand Pokemon!
This is the first chapter where I've exceeded 4,200 words...