Throughout the world of Pokémon, there are a variety of trainers who seek to become legends. Some are veterans, but others must work hard from the ground up.
"Okay, Furret, use Ice Beam!" The Furret created a small orb of energy by its mouth and it turned into a beam that it shot at its opponent.
"Womburrow, use Dig!" Womburrow dug its way underground, beneath the Ice Beam before it popped up underneath the Furret and knocked it away.
"Oh, no, you don't! Use Ice Beam again!" This time, Furret's attack hit, and Womburrow was knocked away.
"Oh, no! Quick, Womburrow, try a Fury Swipes attack!" Womburrow jumped up and slashed at Furret.
"Hah! Right where I want you! Use Hyper Beam!" Furret suddenly charged up a big, white beam and launched it a Womburrow. Womburrow was sent flying into a nearby tree, knocked out.
"No, Womburrow!" Womburrow's trainer ran up to it, picking it up in his arms, and saying, "I'm so sorry, Womburrow. I really thought you had him. Here, get some rest." He recalled Womburrow into its PokéBall.
"Well, you gave it your best shot, Brett," said the other trainer.
"I know," said Brett. "Guess I'm back to square one."
Brett sat within the forest on a log, just listening to the sounds of the Pokémon running around. As he sighed to himself, he suddenly heard someone say, "Leaf? Koaleaf?" He turned his head to see that Koaleaf had just popped out of its PokéBall.
"Oh, hey, Koaleaf," said Brett. "I hope you guys are feeling okay, after all those battles. It's too bad we didn't win most of them."
"Koal?"
"Y'know, after all this time, I wonder if I'm making any sort of progress. Tallying up the losses, well..." Brett paused as he sucked in his breath. "I wonder if... maybe I'm not cut out for this."
Suddenly, Brett heard a small noise. He turned his head to see a couple bushes rustle nearby. Curious, he and Koaleaf walked over to see what it was, but then, out popped a bizarre-looking Pokémon. It looked like a frog, but was colored red with a big mouth and long, fat tongue.
"Whoa!" said Brett. "What kind of Pokémon is this?" He quickly whipped out his PokéDex and scanned it, but the device said, "No data."
"Huh? It's not in the PokéDex?" said Brett. "Eh, well, either way, I'm gonna catch it! Koaleaf, use Razor Leaf!"
Koaleaf unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp leaves at the Pokémon, but the Pokémon, rather than be concerned, grabbed all those leaves with a Psychic attack and threw them back at Koaleaf, slashing it up.
"Oh, no, Koaleaf!" said Brett. That's when the Pokémon ran up to Koaleaf and licked its face with that huge tongue, sending it hurtling back. Brett ran over to pick his Pokémon up.
"Koaleaf, are you okay? Man, whatever this Pokémon is, it's-" That's when Brett noticed something. Koaleaf's entire head was pink. "What the? Koaleaf! Are you okay?"
However, Koaleaf seemed unfazed and it jumped out of Brett's arms to face it's opponent again, but that's when both it and Brett saw that the frog-like Pokémon had been replaced with a fairy-looking Pokémon with a very thin body a small, red, and round head, itty-bitty wings, and dainty arms and legs.
"What on earth is going on here?" said Brett. That's when they all heard some voices nearby.
"C'mon! I saw it go this way!"
"Don't let it escape!"
The fairy-looking Pokémon suddenly flew off, leading to Brett and Koaleaf hiding behind that log they had been sitting on. As he looked up, Brett saw three men wander into the area, all dressed in black, and with a great, big, red, "R" on their chests.
"I can't believe it! You let it get away, you idiot!" said one.
"Ah, relax. It's up against Team Rocket now. As long as the boss wants it, there's nowhere it can hide."
The three men walked off, and Brett and Koaleaf stared at each other in confusion.
Later, Brett had taken Koaleaf to a Pokémon Center, where it was being examined by Nurse Joy. Brett was waiting in the lobby when he heard Nurse Joy and Squibble pushing a gurney back out through the doors, Koaleaf, still with a pink face, on it.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I just can't figure out what's wrong with your Koaleaf. We've looked it over a dozen times, but it's as healthy as a Tauros. Every healing technique we've tried doesn't work."
"What? You mean Koaleaf is..." said Brett.
"No, he's not even sick or anything," said Joy. "I honestly don't know what's wrong with him."
At this point, Chris actually walked through the door. Seeing his brother nearby, he called out, "Hey, Brett!"
"Huh?" said Brett, turning to see his brother. "Oh, hey, Chris. Long time, no see."
"What the- Is that Koaleaf?" said Chris, walking up to the gurney. "What's wrong with it?"
"It's a long story, but Nurse Joy says she can't find anything wrong with it."
"Well, what happened to it?"
"Well, we were fighting this weird-looking Pokémon, when it liked Koaleaf. After that, Koaleaf's head has been stuck like this all day."
"What kind of Pokémon do you mean?" said Chris.
"Um, it was small, red, big tongue, looked like a Froakie-"
"Wait a minute," Chris cut him off. "I think I know what it was!"
Chris, Brett, and Koaleaf all sat around Chris's PokéDex, which he used to pull up some old notes.
"See, Brett, Stacey was researching a few myths about the Ralia region's history, and she stumbled upon these old cave paintings." He pulled up a picture of those cave painting, showing the frog Pokémon sitting right next to the fairy Pokémon. "She learned about this mysterious Mythical Pokémon from them. The painting don't say much, but the Pokémon was called Yaramimi, the Trickster Pokémon."
"That's it!" said Brett. "That's the Pokémon that attacked us! And that fairy? Yeah, we saw it too!"
"Actually, Brett, according to the paintings, these are the same Pokémon, just different forms of it."
"No way!"
"The painting claim that this Pokémon, a Fairy and Psychic type, had the supernatural ability to transform anything with the help of its long tongue. I bet that's why Koaleaf's face turned pink."
Brett looked down at his Pokémon. "Oh. Well, then it's a good thing it only turned Koaleaf's face pink. If it had been in a worse mood, it might have turned its face upside down."
"The legends say that Yaramimi used these abilities to play tricks on the ancient people of Ralia. No one understood why, but some believed it was actually trying to help people, believing that its tricks were actually meant to teach people an important lesson."
"What? What kind of lesson could turning Koaleaf's face pink possibly teach?" said Brett.
"Who knows?" said Chris. "Though it also says none of the effects of Yaramimi's tongue are permanent. I guess we'll just have to wait for it to wear off."
"But what about that other form?"
"Well, they say that the Froakie-like form is its Mischief form, and they called its fairy-like form its Enlighted Form. I guess it changes based on its state of mind."
"I can't believe it. A rare Pokémon like that? And I let it get away?" said Brett. "Man, I can't believe I fell for all its tricks. I bet I could've been the first to ever capture one."
Chris noticed the long look on his brother's face, and said, "Hey, I have an idea! Let's go find it right now!"
Brett looked at his brother. "What? you think we could actually catch it?"
"Sure! And then think about how awesome it'll be to have a Mythical Pokémon at our beck and call!"
"I don't know..."
"C'mon! We can do this, Brett! We just need try harder is all!"
"Well, okay," said Brett. "I'll take you to where I last saw it."
"Cool!"
As Brett, Chris, and Koaleaf left, that's when a certain trio of men who had been sitting nearby stood up.
"So, these kids know where Yaramimi is, do they?" said one.
"Then they can lead us right to it." said another.
"And then it will belong to Team Rocket."
Who's that Pokémon?
The quills on its head are usually soft. When it flexes them, they can become so hard, they can pierce rock.
"Yaramimi! Where are you?" called out Chris.
"Come on, come on out!" said Brett.
"Koal, Koaleaf!" said Koaleaf.
"Ugh, maybe it left already," said Brett, looking into the trees.
"No, we can't give up!" said Chris. "We could be talking about the greatest find of the century here!"
"I don't know, Chris. Maybe it's time head- Huh? Did you see that?" said Brett.
"See what?" said Chris.
"That shadow move! It's like it went right above our- huh? Wait, wasn't I looking over there-"
Brett turned around to face Chris, and was shocked at what he saw. Chris's head was somehow on his body. Brett looked down and saw that his own head was on Chris's body.
"WAAAAAAH!" they both cried out. Suddenly, they felt something wet and sticky slap against them, before looking down to see they were back to normal.
They looked over to see Yaramimi, in it's Mischief form chuckling to itself.
"Aha! We found you!" said Brett. He threw a PokéBall at the ground, and out came Womburrow.
"Whoa! First time I've seen a Womburrow!" said Chris. He pulled out his PokéDex and it revealed a 3D hologram of Womburrow above it, saying, "Womburrow, the Burrowing Pokémon. A Normal and Ground Type. With their powerful front limbs, Womburrows are capable of digging up to 30feet underground. When it reaches a certain age, a Womburrow with dig a deep tunnel to retire in, only exiting to feed. Evolves from Wombite at level 17."
"Okay, Womburrow, use Dig!" Womburrow dug underground, but Yaramimi used Psychic again to pull it out of the ground and throw it.
"No, Womburrow!" said Brett.
"I got this! Platide, use Water Gun!" Chris let out his own Pokémon and it sprayed a torrent of water at Yaramimi. Unfortunately, the Mythical Pokémon lashed out its tongue, hitting the water and turning it all into sparkles.
"Oh, come on!" said Chris.
"Let's try an attack together!" said Brett. "Koaleaf, use Razor Leaf!"
"Platide, use Water Gun again!" said Chris.
"Both Pokémon used their respective moves, but just as Yaramimi was about to counter them, a huge case surrounded Yaramimi.
"What the?" said Brett. He and Chris looked to see the three Team Rocket grunts standing behind Yaramimi.
"Thanks for finding it for us, kids. We'll take it from here." said one of them. He pushed a button that caused the case to shrink around Yaramimi, trapping its tongue in its mouth.
"We designed it trap specifically for you, Yaramimi," said another grunt. "As long as you can't get your tongue out of your mouth, you won't be able to escape from it."
"Hey, you guys leave Yaramimi alone!" said Chris.
"I'd urge you kids to stay out of this," said a grunt, as he and his fellow grunts whipped out PokéBalls and threw them. Out of them came a Houndoom, a Rhydon, and a Drifblim.
"Use Flamethrower!"
"Rock Tomb!"
"Shadow Ball!"
The three attacks came towards Brett and Chris, who prepared to defend. "Platide, use Water Gun!"
"Koaleaf, use Razor Leaf!"
The attacks hit their opponents' attacks, but their opponents' attacks were just stronger and plowed through, hitting both Pokémon back.
"No!" said Brett.
"Wish we could stay and chat, but we got stuff to do." Drifblim prepared another Shadow Ball attack and launched it, but that was when it was suddenly blocked by newcomer.
Brett and Chris opened their eyes as the dust cleared and saw a Pyroar standing in front of them triumphantly.
"Roar!" it cried out.
"Where'd that Pyroar come from?" said Chris.
"Oh, please, whatever you are, you won't stop us!" said a grunt. "Rhydon, use-" he started to talk when he suddenly looked down to see that the container for Yaramimi was mysteriously missing. "What!? Where'd Yaramimi go?"
Brett suddenly spied something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a shadowy figure in the brush, and saw a small gleam that he recognized as the container for Yaramimi.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" he said, charging forward without thinking. He managed to tackle the figure to the ground, but then, he was stunned to see that it was just a boy with long, black hair, green eyes, a black beanie, and and orange and black jacket.
"What? Who are you?" said Brett.
"A theif, that's what!" said a grunt. Before either boy could react, he swiftly stole back Yaramimi in its container, and asked Houndoom to use Smokescreen. The entire place became covered in black smoke, and when it cleared, the grunts and Yaramimi were gone.
"No!" said the new boy, standing up to look for them, before looking back at Brett angry. "Do you have any idea what you just did? You just let them get away with Yaramimi!"
"I-uh- what's going on here?" said Brett. "Who are you?"
Suddenly, a Cyndaquil hopped up on the boy's shoulder, and he said, "I'm Slater. I was trying to stop those Team Rocket goons!"
It's Chespin!
"Team Rocket? Is that who those guys were?" said Chris. He then looked at the Pyroar and realized, "Wait a sec, this is your Pyroar, isn't it? You sent it out to protect us."
"Yeah," said Slater. "I was trying to distract those grunts so I could rescue Yaramimi." He then glared at Brett. "At least until you messed everything up!"
"I'm sorry!" said Brett. "I-I just saw you with Yaramimi and I thought-"
"No, you didn't think. That was the problem!" said Slater. "Now I gotta find them all over again!"
"Hey, hold up, can you explain what's going on to us, please?" said Chris.
"So, do you have it?"
"Yes, sir!" said a Team Rocket grunt, as he presented the container with Yaramimi inside.
"Excellent! Then our plan to take control of the Ralia is going perfectly! With this little guy, nothing will be able to get in our way! I'm sending a helicopter extract right now."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Giovanni!" said another grunt as he ended the video call.
"Listen, those Team Rocket guys, they're bad news. They're really dangerous, and I had to rescue Yaramimi from them so they didn't become more dangerous," Slater explained as he, Brett, and Chris walked along the forest. "The truth is I've been investigating Team Rocket for a very long time now, and I've recently learned that they're about to invade Ralia."
"They're going to what?" said Chris.
"I have a friend who helped me find out about Team Rocket's latest plan. The grunts are coming. The region is going to be invaded. And one of these plans involves Yaramimi."
"But what do they want with Yaramimi?" said Chris.
"Sadly, I don't know," said Slater. "The plan's so top secret, the leader of the team spilled way too few details. But I've been tasked with getting Yaramimi back."
"Tasked?" said Brett.
"This whole thing goes a lot deeper than you know," said Slater.
"Great, how are we going to find them before they get away?" said Chris.
Suddenly, the three of them heard an approaching loud sound and looked up to see a small figure flying through the sky. Slater squinted at it against the sunlight, until he realized, "That's a helicopter!"
"A helicopter?" said Brett.
"Wait a second," said Chris. "If Team Rocket came from another region, I'm willing to bet that helicopter came for Yaramimi! It was sent by Team Rocket."
"I agree. We gotta find out where it's going!" said Slater.
"Hold on," said Chris, suddenly pulling out his PokéDex. "I bet I can figure out its route. I know that those grunts couldn't have gone far, so I should be able to deduce where it's going to land and beat it there."
Slater was silent for a second, before he said, "Guys, this may be a huge ask, but I need your help."
"Our help?" said Brett.
"I won't lie. I'm a strategist, not a battler. And I know these goons are tough. So I want you guys to help me face them."
"What? I-I can't!" said Brett.
"What are you talking about?" said Chris.
Brett sighed and said, "Look, I'm not a real trainer. I've tried, but I keep messing up and losing fights, and right now, I'm actually scared. If these Team Rocket guys are are dangerous as you say..."
Slater saw the scared look in Brett's eyes, and looked at Chris to say, "I want you to focus on finding that rendezvous point. Let me talk to Brett."
"Um, okay," said Chris as he looked back at his PokéDex.
Slater turned back towards Brett and said, "Brett, I want you know that it's okay to be scared."
"Easy for you to say," said Brett. "You've been tailing these guys for how long? You can't possibly be scared."
"But I am." Brett was shocked at Slater's words, but Slater continued. "The truth is I'm always scared when it comes to fighting Team Rocket. I know how tough and dangerous they are. Every time I go up against them, it's a huge challenge. I know I'm outmatched. But I always say, that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that I can't win. It matters that I have to win!"
"Cynda, cyndaquil!" said Cyndaquil.
"I keep fighting anyway because I'm even more scared of what will happen if Team Rocket wins. They'll trample over hundreds of innocent people and Pokémon without a second thought. But I just can't let that happen. If I don't fight, who will?"
Brett was silent, but then he looked down. "But I'm not good enough to help you. I've been trying, but I just can't seem to win. It's like... I'm doomed to fall behind all other trainers."
"Hey, even if you fall, what matters is that you get back up!" said Slater, grinning. "Heck, I can think of three certain people who obviously should have given up a long time ago, but not even they will quit! Don't give up! Don't waste time questioning if you can do it, just get out there and try!"
"But, how? Just what am I even going to do?" said Brett.
"Hey, you don't have to beat them. Just make sure they don't win! We'll rescue Yaramimi, and keep it safe from them. And hey, I think I know your problem. You just have trouble thinking things through! Well, Chris and I will have your back! We can beat if we just use our heads!"
Brett was stunned, but then, he finally gained a determined expression and said, "Alright, let's do this thing!"
"Great!" said Slater.
"Guys!" said Chris. "I think I found the rendezvous point! Quickly, let's go!
"Should be here any minute now," said a Team Rocket grunt as he and his co-grunts stood in a field waiting. Yaramimi was still stuck in its container, struggling to get free.
"Hey, you guys!" called out a voice. The two grunts turned around to see Chris, Brett, and Slater running up to them, PokéBalls in hand, though Slater had his hat covering up all his hair. "You'd better let Yaramimi go, or else," said Brett.
"Hmm, I think we'll go with... or else!" said one grunt, as they all let Rhydon, Houndoom, and Drifblim out of their PokéBalls. The three boys let out Pyroar, Platide, and Koaleaf and were ready to battle. Koaleaf's face even finally turned green again to show it was ready again.
"Koaleaf, Razor Leaf!"
"Pyroar, Fire Blast!"
"Platide, Water Gun!"
The three Pokémon attacked, but the other Pokémon were fast enough to dodge and fired back. The heroes' Pokémon were just able to dodge.
"Don't choke, just think carefully," said Slater.
Brett racked his brain, until he had an idea. "Koaleaf, shoot Razor Leaf again! Only let it go up into the air and come crashing down!"
Koaleaf did as it was told and Razor Leaves soared upward into the air, catching the attention of their opponents. However, Houndoom quickly shot a Flamethrower into the air, incinerating most of them.
"Aaand do it now!" said Brett. That's when Rhydon felt itself getting pummeled by both Razor Leaf and Water Gun. As a Ground and Rock type, the two supereffective attacks were quite painful.
"What the?" said the grunt holding Yaramimi. "Do it now, Pyroar!" Slater commanded. Pyroar suddenly unleashed a Noble Roar so loud, it knocked the container right out of the grunts' hands.
"Hey!" said the grunt, but Slater commanded Cyndaquil to use Smokescreen. The scene was covered by a lot of black smoke and when it cleared, the grunts could not see the container.
"What? Where'd it go?" said the grunt. That's when he noticed a small pile of dirt and suddenly had an idea. "Rhydon! Use Earthquake!"
Rhydon hit the ground so hard it shook, and that's when Womburrow was forced out of the ground, carrying Yaramimi.
"No!" said Brett, running up to his Pokémon. However, Rhydon was quickly on top of him, but Brett was quick to shield the defenseless Pokémon.
"You're not gonna hurt them! I'm not afraid of you!"
Rhydon growled and prepared to use Hammer Arm, but as Brett braced for impact, Rhydon's arm was stopped in midair by Koaleaf. The little koala Pokémon fought back with every ounce of its strength, groaning with effort.
"Koaleaf... Yeah, you can do it, Koaleaf!" said Brett. That was when Koaleaf started to glow.
It grew about two feet taller, its ears became more koala-like, its entire neck and chest became surrounded by a huge bush of leaves, and its arms and kegs became coated in wood.
"Whoa! You evolved!?" said Brett. Curious, Chris whipped out his PokéDex again and scanned, "Eucawala. The Eucalyptus Pokémon. A Grass Type. The leaves on its body are highly nutritious, and it loves to share them with other Pokémon. The wood on its limbs are like armor for protection. Evolves from Koaleaf at level 16 and into Bearitree at level 36."
"Incredible," said Brett. That was when Eucawala raised a hand of its own, and beat Rhydon back. "Cool! You know Hammer Arm now too!"
As Rhydon attempted to get up, Brett noticed some some green energy from Eucawala's hands. Seeing this, he recognized it as another new move. "Eucawala, use Energy Ball!" Eucawala created a ball of green energy between its hands before throwing it at Rhydon. Rhydon took a lot of damage, but it still tried to keep going. However, that was when it was hit with another Water Gun from Platide.
"That's it! Don't let up!" said Chris.
Seeing this, Brett told Eucawala to use Energy Ball again, and once it hit, Rhydon finally fell down, knocked out.
"You did it!" said Brett.
"No!" said Rhydon's grunt as he recalled his Pokémon.
"Oh, we're not done yet!" said another grunt as Houndoom and Drifblim got ready to fight. However, Brett suddenly had an idea as he looked behind him.
It was Yaramimi. Quickly, Brett managed to open the container, and the Mythical Pokémon was only too happy to run back out, in front of the people who had captured it. Its tongue finally free, it quickly licked Houndoom and Drifblim, and in a small poof, the two Pokémon opened their eyes to see that they were suddenly three inches tall.
"What the!?" said a grunt, before Yaramimi quickly licked all three of them too. In another quick poof, the grunts opened their eyes to see that one had the head of a Kecleon, another had the claws of a Skorupi, and the last had the tail of a Seel instead of legs.
"WHHAAAAAA!" they all cried out as they scrambled out and fell over.
The guys stood silent. "Uhhh, okay, that happened..." said Slater, at an udder loss for words.
They then heard a loud rumbling approaching, and they turned to face the helicopter arriving. "What are you kids doing here?" said the pilot, before she saw the grunt freaking out on the ground. "ANd what on earth did you do to our men?"
Suddenly, Yaramimi splat itself against the windshield. Grinning mischievously, it licked the entire helicopter, which turned even smaller, and it fell to the ground, the grunts unable to get out.
"Ugh, what just happened?" moaned the pilot.
The guys stood around stunned, until Yaramimi suddenly appeared before Brett, in its Enlightened form. Giggling mischievously, it suddenly flew off.
"Whoa, whoa, come back!" Slater ran after it, but it was long gone. "Great. At this rate, Team Rocket could find it again."
"Well, at least it's safe from these guys," said Brett.
Suddenly, some sirens were heard. "Oh, good, Officer Jenny is here," said Slater. "Good thing I got all of them on speed dial."
"Ugh," Jenny said as she pushed the Kecleon-headed grunt into the police car. "I hope this wears off soon." With that, she took all the grunts away.
"Woo! We did it!" said Chris.
"Yeah. That was pretty smart of you, Brett," said Slater. "Unleashing Yaramimi on them? I wish I had thought of that!"
"Thanks," said Brett.
"Still, I wish I knew what Team Rocket actually wants with power like that," said Slater. "In fact, I'm afraid to find out."
"Don't worry about," said Brett. "You're still investigating. You'll figure it out, now won't you?"
"Oh, yeah, and I won't give up so easily. I'll never stop trying," said Slater.
"Well, I guess we should head back into town now," said Chris.
"Okay. I've got a lot of things to work on right now," said Slater. "Just try to keep yourselves safe from Team Rocket, okay?"
"Yeah, they're still invading the region," said Brett. "I'm a little worried, but it'll be okay! We'll all fight them, no matter what it takes!"
"I agree. Well, see you guys later," said Slater, as he and Cyndaquil turned to leave.
As they walked away, Chris said to Brett, "So, how do feel after all that, huh? Feel empowered?"
Brett smiled and said, "Yeah. I feel confident now. I just need to be patient and never give. It doesn't matter if I can't do it. What matters is that I have to! And I have to become a great trainer! So I won't stop trying! Just like Slater."
"Hey, remember about how we read that Yaramimi used its tricks to try to teach people lessons? I wonder, what if it wanted us to follow it? To help us?" said Chris.
"Maybe," said Brett. "Heh, I wonder what lesson it was trying to teach those grunts, though."
Meanwhile, as Slater was walking, Cyndaquil said, "Cynda, cyndaquil?"
"I agree. That was the most bizarre experience of my life."
"Cynda?"
"I'm afraid so, buddy," said Slater. "What we saw today... that was only the beginning."
"What do you mean they failed?" said Giovanni. "Where are they?"
"No idea, Mr. Giovanni," said a grunt.
"Ugh, so we had a little setback, no matter," said Giovanni as he stood up. "We'll get Yaramimi sooner or later. Eventually, our plan will take motion, and all of Ralia will be ours!"
This has all been a strange ordeal. But it seems that something else is rising behind the scenes. More to come as the journey continues...
TO BE CONTINUED...
Yes, undoubtedly, this was the weirdest episode yet. But don't judge just yet, I wrote to set up a very important story arc. This will make sense in the end.