Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wordings, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Eleven: Grounded with Gronk!

Gronk steered his Phobos Mobile, grinning maniacally as rocks and dirt smacked into the expansive windshield. Oh, what joy he was having! Driving a cool machine, being part of a syndicate that was going to one day rule Trozei and getting to exercise whenever he wanted. And to think, his parents wanted him to go to law school!

A small, blue Pokémon with floppy ears with red pads on them and its trunk known as Phanpy nudged his ankle. Gronk reached down and picked him up one-handed and placed him on his lap.

"Okay, Phan-Phan," he said, his gruff voice gaining a degree of syrupy sweetness. "You can sit on my lap. Aww, you're so cute! Yes, you are. Oh yes, you are."

Gronk tickled Phan-Phan with one hand and steered with the other, barely paying attention to the route he was taking. Why would he? After all, he had done this a trillion times already. It had become instinctive. He even had a marker and whiteboard he could play noughts and crosses on against himself. He always lost.

Soon, he stopped playing with a drowsing Phan-Phan and simply let his eyes take in the cuteness that was his Pokémon.

"That's a good idea," he said. "We'll stop and rest for a bit. Yeah, that sounds great…"

As he said that, Gronk's eyelids grew heavy. Yes, just a short nap before going on with his mission. Even he knew it was stupid to drive a vehicle when exhausted.

So, Gronk pressed buttons and pulled levers, listening to familiar clunks and spurts and hisses as his Mobile headed upwards and slowed before stopping completely, sending it to sleep itself.

"Yeah…" he muttered to himself, adjusting his seat so he was now facing the ceiling of the Mobile. "Sleep… good…"

o~o~o~o~o

Lucy scanned the last Pokémon – three purple mothlike creatures with green wings known as Dustox – and sent them away with Ditto. She dabbed at her face with her scarf and fanned herself with her beret. The ninth Secret Storage was done and dusted! However, the feeling of accomplishment was mitigated by the fact she was still clueless as to how many of the blasted buildings were out there. Getting rid of nine of them (plus two Huge Storages and two Phobos Mobiles) was great, but it was a small drop in the ocean if there were a hundred or so of them. Okay, maybe not that small – let's not undersell Lucy's successes – but it was pointless if the Phobos Battalion succeeded with whatever plan(s) they had cooking.

Well, at least the other operatives were helping with reconnaissance. Hopefully, bringing them on board would come up with more of the Secret Storages quicker.

And how quick would that be? Maybe having a SOL operative running up to her the moment she exited Secret Storage Nine sort of quick.

"Miss Fleetfoot!" he said, coming to a halt before her. He saluted.

"You don't have to salute me, Jean," Lucy said, sighing.

"Oh, um, yeah, okay," Jean said, letting his arm fall to his side.

"So, what's up?" Lucy asked. "Did you find something? Another Secret Storage?"

"No, but I found something better."

"A Huge Storage?"

"No, Miss Fleetfoot. I located another one of those Phobos Mobiles!"

"You what?" Lucy gasped. "Really? Where? What sort of vehicle is it?"

"It's approximately two miles east from our current location. It's a… um," Jean rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "it's a drill of some kind. A giant drill."

"A drill?" Lucy repeated. "You mean a vehicle with a drill on the end? Wait, have they been using that to sneak the Pokémon underground?"

"It looks like that, Miss Fleetfoot," Jean said. "We should've realised it sooner. We discovered underground tunnels but thought they were created by the wild Onix and Steelix."

"I see," Lucy said, frowning as she tried to soak up this new information. "That explains why it took so long to find this one. Man, the Phobos Battalion are crafty. The first Mobile was obvious enough in hindsight, but the air and the ground too! What's next, the ocean?" She pursed her lips. "It's going to be hard to get inside it though. Maybe I can teach Flygon Dig."

"I don't think that'll be necessary, Miss Fleetfoot," Jean said.

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"You see, the thing is that the Mobile in question seems to have, well, stopped."

"Stopped?"

"Yes. I saw it rise to the surface and become immobile. I assume it's suffering from mechanical problems Either way, you should take your Trozei Beamer while the iron is hot and – oh, you've already run off. Never mind, then."

o~o~o~o~o

It was as Jean told her, a humungous machine with a drill at the end was lying stationary and silent on the dusty earth like a beached Wailord. The Phobos Battalion insignia was tattooed on the side and the giant Poké Ball-shaped container sat upon it too.

What could have gone wrong with it? Was it the mechanical problems all machinery runs into at some point or the other? Had the engine blown, had the gears rusted, had some of the parts not been tightened and come loose? Or – and Lucy shuddered as the thought crossed her mind – was it a ploy to capture her and ensure she would no longer cause them problems? Was this a box held up by a stick which would come down on her once she made an attempt at the prize in its shadow?

It had to be a trap. But she couldn't not take advantage of the situation. It was just sitting there, comatose, filled with stolen Pokémon. Trap or not, she could do it. She and her team could get in and get out and defeat any foe that came their way.

Buoyed by her self-confidence, Lucy whizzed over to the Mobile.

It was easy enough to get into; all its doors and windows were unlocked. She crept through the motionless mechanical monster, her way lit up by the overhead lights, and found herself at a door that led into the Poké Ball-shaped container.

But the hair on the back of her neck stood up on end, her upper lip sweated, her pupils darted this way and that. No, this was far too easy. When she broke into the previous Mobiles, she had a fitting idea of where the Generals were (at first), considering they were driving the vehicles. This one could be anywhere, perhaps watching her at that very moment.

Was searching the entirety of the Mobile the way to go? Maybe, but it would take too much time, time she did not want to sacrifice a single nanosecond of.

Or should she just get straight into Trozei-ing the Pokémon and deal with the General when they appeared? Again, being constantly worried about being ambushed would slow down her work.

Wait a minute! She had Pokémon! Who would have thought that?

Aipom and Manectric materialised from their Poké Balls, ready and waiting for her orders.

"I want you both to explore this thing and find the person in charge," she said. "Do that and keep them away, okay? And if they want to battle, go for the reliable hit and run strategy. Don't take them head on."

Aipom chittered and Manectric barked, and together the duo ran off into the silent giant that was the Phobos Mobile.

Lucy gazed at the amount of the Poké Balls before her and groaned. "We really need more Trozei Beamers."

o~o~o~o~o

Phan-Phan yawned. His tummy grumbled. Oh, he was famished. It was hard work doing nothing on this monstrous machine.

He nudged his Trainer, but Gronk grunted and continued to snore, more drool flowing from his mouth than a Gloom. He then slapped Gronk with his trunk, but he still did not wake.

Fine. It appeared that he would have to find food for himself. If only he had Sand-Sand and Clay-Clay with him, then getting a snack would be simple, they could even have a small picnic together. But they were resting in their Poké Balls.

It was Phan-Phan against the world.

The sliding doors that led into the cockpit were already open, so Phan-Phan did not have to deal with the tediousness of using his trunk to toss items up at the button until they hit. He did not need to waste another twenty minutes of his life.

He strolled down the corridor, the lack of shaking in his environment a relief; it was one thing for him to perform his own earth-shaking in using Earthquake but quite another for something else to do it. He would never get used to the machine his Trainer commanded.

He raised his trunk and sniffed. Aha! He was getting close. Sustenance was just in the room ahead. He trotted inside.

Oh, the scent of food was powerful here! Yes, a quick snack to fill the hole in his tummy. Or a feast if the quick snack did not suffice. Either way, it would be something glorious for him to partake in.

Except, there seemed to be a problem. The tantalising smell of food was coming from the cupboards far out of his reach. But how was that possible? Gronk always had something in the lower cupboards. Why were there no edibles for him to nibble on? Oh, wait. Gronk probably forgot to pop to the shops again. Well, that was just fine and dandy, wasn't it? Now what was poor Phan-Phan meant to do? Maybe he was better off waking his Trainer with another Headbutt.

Phan-Phan's ears suddenly pricked up. There was someone there. He sniffed the air. Two someones. He lowered his head and half-heartedly growled, for who could growl full-heartedly when as famished as he?

A figure emerged from the shadows, a Pokémon who walked on four legs like he, fur yellow and blue. A purple biped hopped onto the counter under where Phan-Phan's precious food was hidden away from him, like two lovers torn apart by rival families.

Was this what they called having intruders? They had to be for Phan-Phan had never seen them before and they did not appear to be the Ground-types favoured by Gronk.

He had to battle them. Or go and warn Gronk. He could not let them wander around willy-nilly. But… he was just so hungry. He flopped on his belly and looked up longingly at the prisons that trapped his beloved.

Aipom and Manectric (because who else was it going to be?) exchanged puzzled looks. Was this little creature trying to psych them out? Was this part of a plan to distract them and leave them vulnerable to an ambush from his teammates? Manectric barked at Aipom and Aipom chittered back a response. They stayed quite still, not taking their eyes of Phan-Phan, relying on their peripherals for the expected surprise attack.

Yet, it did not arrive. They waited for close to ten minutes, keeping their guards up to the max, Aipom's tail-hand flexing, Manectric's body humming with running voltaic power. When it became clear the Phanpy was not trying to trick them, the duo relaxed, but not enough to leave themselves susceptible to random attacks that may occur.

Manectric padded over to Phan-Phan. He gave him a sniff and tapped him on the head with his paw. Phan-Phan responded weakly, simply staring up at Manectric with his wide eyes.

Manectric called to Aipom, who jumped down from her perch and poked the Phanpy. She shrugged at her teammate, and her tail-hand curled into a fist. Slamming it onto the floor, she pointed at Phan-Phan then slammed it again. But Manectric shook his head. Instead, he prodded Phan-Phan with his paw again and barked at him, questioning him.

But he received no answer. Phan-Phan simply laid there, flat on his tummy, mournfully eyeing the demonic cupboards that hid the prizes he sought. Aipom and Manectric followed his gaze, sniffed the air, then hung their heads in embarrassment on behalf of the Phanpy.

Aipom chittered something at Phan-Phan, something that might have translated as being rather impolite, but if Phan-Phan was insulted, he did not show it. He squeaked at her and pointed his trunk upwards, after which he rolled onto his back and massaged his tummy to further illustrate his point. Aipom clenched her tail-hand into a fist but Manectric swiftly put himself between her and Phan-Phan before the former's Power-Up Punch could play the drums on the latter's head. He barked an order for her to stand down, which she did, with extreme reluctance it might be added, and started to converse with Phan-Phan, the gears in his wily mind picking up speed as they turned and turned.

He gestured to the cupboards. Yes, they could get Phan-Phan his food, it was only too easy, but what would they get out of it? They had no incentive to help otherwise.

Aipom gave Manectric a knowing grin and made a series of excitable, grunting noises at Phan-Phan, evidentially having decided that verbal pseudo-coercion could work just as well as straight up violence.

But the question was what did they want? As starving as Phan-Phan was, he was a Pokémon of the elite Phobos Battalion General, Gronk, and these two strangers were definitely not tourists. He had to be sharp.

They then told him what they wanted, and Phan-Phan relaxed. Oh, so they merely wanted to explore the Phobos Drill before going on their merry way? They were tourists! Oh, that was such a simple request. He could stay and chow down while they did some sightseeing. It was a win-win for everyone!

Phan-Phan agreed to let them go about their business undisturbed, and Aipom scaled the cupboards, opened one of the doors, and dragged out a heavy bag that caused Phan-Phan to shoot to his feet, mouth filled with more moisture than a Milotic's Surf. Aipom and Manectric then bade Phan-Phan au revoir (who promptly forgot all about them as he guzzled down his treats), silently agreeing to have a good laugh about the encounter with Ditto and Flygon after their mission was completed.

Fortunately for them, no one and nothing else stood in their way. As a matter of fact, the door to the cockpit was wide open. Heavy snoring reverberated from within. Lucy's Pokémon narrowed their eyes and nodded curtly at each other before creeping inside.

Sleeping in a chair that was two sizes too small for him was the man who was obviously the person in charge of the Phobos Drill.

Well, they found him. What were they to do now? Manectric could incapacitate him with Thunder Wave, but there was no telling what some of the loose electric charges could do to the gears and controls in the cockpit. There was a reason Lucy did not have a car anymore.

What if they woke him up and led him out the cockpit? Then they could incapacitate him! It was such a brilliant plan that it surely had to work!

Manectric howled and Aipom screeched, their sounds creating an ear-splitting cacophony that echoed around the cockpit.

However, the man, Gronk, did not wake up.

Lucy's Pokémon looked at each other in amazement.

What followed was a Tickle attack that should have forced Gronk to vacate the land of slumber in hysterics. He only snored louder.

Manectric tried Flash, hoping the brightness would burn past the General's eyelids and rouse him up. No sale.

Aipom walloped him in the face with Power-Up Punch. Oh, that seemed to work! No, that was a lie. He remained asleep.

What more could they do? It appeared they could only keep an eye on him in case he woke up unprompted, and then carry out their plan of assuredly putting him out of action should it happen.

And that is exactly what they did, waiting until they felt certain Lucy would have completed the task of rescuing the stolen Pokémon contained in the Phobos Drill. Yes, after a decent amount of time had passed, the duo decided to head back to their Trainer, discussing amongst themselves if everything that occurred was not actually some ludicrous dream.

But before they left, Aipom spied a marker and got a mischievous little idea. Manectric only watched on in exasperation before they exited the cockpit.

o~o~o~o~o

Gronk's eyes fluttered open. He yawned and wiped the rheum away from the corners of his eyes. Oh, what a marvellous sleep he had! It was probably the best sleep he had in ages.

Phan-Phan was nowhere to be seen, probably wandering about the Phobos Drill, possibly quite hungry. Gronk felt a pang of guilt for putting the food in the higher cupboards, but it was for Phan-Phan's own good; he was putting on an extra bit of weight recently.

Well, now that he had such an amazing rest, he could go about his mission of delivering the Poké Balls back to base. But before that, a quick snack and a trip to the toilet.

He rose to his feet, a blissful grin on his visage, when he caught sight of his face in a mirror. He frowned. "Huh? Since when have I had a moustache? And since when have I been wearing glasses? That's weird."