37- Natural Vision.
Following the previous events, the Autobots were planning the best way to recover the four Iacon relics that the living Nemesis decoded.
"If we are to have any hope of recovering the Iacon relics before the Decepticons do, we must divide our resources."
"But Optimus, when it comes to numbers we are already at a grave disadvantage." Elita reminded.
"Under the circumstances, swiftness of action is paramount. This is one race that we absolutely cannot afford to lose."
Unfortunately, the Decepticons were planning to do the same, because on the Nemesis's bridge…
"Dispatching multiple squadrons will enable us to pursue all four coordinates simultaneously." Galvatron said as Soundblaster continued with his chores.
In that moment, Knock Out entered the bridge with a few miners. "Lord Galvatron, I have assembled the mining detail you requested for the first set of coordinates. Breakdown and I enjoyed previous success retrieving Iacon relics. In memory of my fallen comrade I intend to do the same again." He said proudly.
Galvatron approached him. "This is a mission, not one of your racing excursions. Stop your priding! Move quickly and operate with a surgeon's skill! Did you understand me, Knock Out?!"
Knock Out chuckled nervous. "Explicitly, lord Galvatron."
"Now, since the unfortunate loss of Breakdown has left you rather vulnerable, you will require appropriate support."
Knock Out looked behind him to see a giant six-legged Insecticon with giant jaws (a Bruiser from Fall of Cybertron and Rise of the Dark Spark) looking at him.
"How very…repellant." Knock Out said stunned.
Meanwhile, back on the Autobot base…
"Here's a twist. It would appear that the Decepticons have retreated from New Tork." Ratchet reported from what he saw on the terminal.
"They just up and left?" Moonracer asked confused.
"It is more likely that Galvatron has already set course for the second set of coordinates, having dispatched a unit to this relic's location." Optimus deduced.
"Hold on, it isn't very suspicious that they are simply going for the relic in middle of a big city with lots of people watching around?" Hot Rod asked confused.
"Well, not exactly. The coordinates indicate that the relic is located in a huge plain in middle of the city. Some kind of huge park or natural reserve." Ratchet deduced as he showed it on the screen.
"A natural reserve?" Ash asked as he looked at the map suspicious. "Those are the Pokémon Hills, an artificial natural reserve made for all kinds of pokémon. I've been there. There are no much people there as the rest of the city."
"Which means the Cons would have no problem with their covered operation there." Arcee translated.
"Since the human population no longer seems to be directly threatened, maintaining our disguise will be necessary. Arcee, Moonracer, Sideswipe, Bumblebee, you are the best choices to navigate through such a densely populated area." Optimus stated.
"Optimus, New Tork has more than eight million people. The odds of being spotted by at least one of them are pretty high. Even if they are in a natural reserve." Tracey warned.
"Where are you going with this?" Sideswipe asked.
"You're gonna need someone who can speak on your behalf: a human who can run interference if their cover gets blown."
"Ash should be the one, since he already has been there." Ritchie suggested.
"Have you said the Pokemon Hills?" Dawn suddenly asked interested. "I wanted to be there since I heard about them in the news. It was one of my chosen places for holidays."
"Pika?" Pikachu asked confused to Piplup.
"Piplup." He said shrugging.
"And you're saying this because…" Misty started, starting to suspect something.
"Can I go with you, please? Ash went to Cybertron after all." Dawn defended.
"We are touched by your enthusiasm, but there could be direct intervention with the Decepticons. Ranger Lunick's field experience makes him our best candidate." Elita said turning at him, who was still lying on a medical berth.
"BUAAANANA FISH!" He suddenly shouted before went out again, making the children laugh.
"I don't think he will do better than us." Bonnie said laughing.
"She's right. He's still recovering from his encounter with the Decepticon warship." Ratchet explained.
"Which we survived, without incident. And it was way more dangerous."
"Max is right. Compared with that, this will be more like a walk in a huge park." Dawn supported.
"Very well. Ash, Ritchie and Dawn will accompany Arcee, Sideswipe, Moonracer and Bumblebee." Optimus said giving up.
"Yujuuu! Thank you so much." Dawn exclaimed cheered.
"You don't wanna come, Serena? I'm sure you would like it."
"Thanks Ash, but I promised my mom that today I was going to help her with some issues at home. Maybe we can go another time, when you're not too busy battling Decepticons."
"Okay then. See you later."
"Oh, I just forgot that today it was my turn to take care of the gym. If something happens during my absence on my watch, my sisters will remind it to me all my life." Misty suddenly remembered.
"Yeah, I also need to return to Pallet Town. I need to check Professor Oak's lab's pokémon." Tracey added.
"I can accompany you and give you a hand." Max offered.
"I will transport you to your destinations right before we departed for the relics." Ratchet reassured them.
"Initiate transport. And triangulate coordinates of the other three relics." Optimus ordered to Ratchet.
The ground bridge opened and the team went through it. They appeared inside a small street which lay to inside the city.
"Whoa."
"Well, what do you think, Dawn?" Ritchie asked her.
"It's incredible. I have never seen such a big city as this one."
"Piplup." The penguin pokémon nodded.
"All right, faces. Where to now?" Sideswipe asked.
"Let's see. The last time we entered the Pokémon Hills through a giant forest-like park." Ash remembered.
"Maybe we don't need to find that park, Ash. Look." Ritchie called as he pointed to a poster indicating the entrance of the Pokémon Hills right at the other side of the street.
"Well, that was easy." Moonracer said.
Moments later, they were walking through the forest, even the Autobots, since there was no one around yet so they had no need to remain in vehicle form.
"Hum, it's curious. But I don't remember seeing rails the last time we were here." Ash admitted.
"Pika pi." Pikachu nodded.
"They look like train rails, but for what?" Ritchie observed really close.
Piplup was also examining them closely, but when he touched it, he was suddenly zapped. As result, he returned with Dawn.
"Oh Piplup, you got hurt?" Dawn said calming him.
"It is me or those rails seemed electrified?" Moonracer noticed.
"Bumblebee, don't move!" Ritchie suddenly shouted looking where he was about to step on.
"(Why? Is something wrong?)"
"Those rails are not normal. They are like the ones from the subways: they carry electricity to power the subway trains."
"Which means one touch and you'll end like if you were hit by a Thunderbolt." Ash concluded.
"(Good to know. I will be more careful from now.)"
"Where did you learn that, Ritchie?" Dawn asked interested.
"I saw it on a documentary about big cities."
Meanwhile, not far from there, the Decepticon miners have already started to mine in a bunch of rocks with a drill. Once the rocks were demolished, the miners got inside to retire the rubble.
"Could we please pick up the pace? The humidity here is threatening to corrode my undercarriage." Knock Out complained before he heard the Insecticon hissing behind him. "Must you holler?"
Suddenly, a few noises caught Knock Out's attention: some of the pokémon which lived there were not pleased with the Decepticons' undoing: a Golem, a Houndoom, a Persian and some Deerling looked at them with bad looks.
"Well, instead of surprising me like that, you could prove yourself useful by making sure the local creatures don't disturb us during our operation." Knock Out suggested.
Immediately, the Insecticon bruiser looked at the pokémon, hissed and roared before its abdomen charged up with electricity and charged at them, scaring them all. Meanwhile, the team continued their way while Arcee tracked the signal with her scanner device.
"We're getting any closer?" Ash asked.
"Triangulating the coordinates is one thing. But figuring out how to reach them through this maze is another." Arcee answered.
Suddenly, Sparky's ear twitched in response to a sound.
"Pi? Pika pi!"
"What is it, Sparky?" Ritchie asked.
"Pika pika." Pikachu said looking to where the sound came.
"Do you hear it too, buddy?" Ash asked.
Everyone started to hear the same sound, coming from the front part of the Pokémon Hills.
"Drilling." Arcee recognized.
"No doubt, we're on the right track." Sideswipe smiled.
"Let's go." Dawn said as she and Piplup ran to the sound's origin.
"Hey Dawn, wait for us!" Ritchie said as he, Sparky, Pikachu and Piplup went after her, leaving the Autobots behind.
They managed to catch up with her when they reached to the reserve's entrance bridge.
"Whoa. It's so beautiful." She expressed.
"If you think this is amazing, wait until you see the inside." Ash reassured her.
"Hey! What are you doing here?!" A voice called.
"Scrap." Ritchie cursed as they raised their hands and turned around.
When they turned, they saw a man in green waistcoat and with an ID card, surely an employer of the reserve.
"I'm asking you again, what are you…? Hold on. Ash?"
"Eric?" Ash recognized.
"What?" Ritchie and Dawn said at the same time.
"Look at you. For a moment I didn't recognize you." The one called Eric said with a smile as he gave his hand to Ash.
Ash took it with his. "Is good to see you again, Eric."
"It surely has been a long time since you were here."
"You know him, Ash?" Ritchie asked confused.
"Of course. Eric works here in the Pokémon Hills. He was our guide when I came here traveling around the Unova region."
"I'm one of the employers that takes care of this special reserve. I didn't expect you would visit us again." Eric admitted.
"Well, it's not for me. You see? Our friend Dawn here really wanted to see the Pokémon Hills, so Ritchie and I decided to bring her with us so she could take the chance."
"Huh? Oh yeah, that's right. I always wanted to see how this place looks like people use to speak about. Do you think we could just see it just for a second, please?" Dawn followed.
"I got a better idea. What about if you are the first ones to try our new way to admire the Pokémon Hills from a new perspective?" Eric proposed as he showed them some kind of monorail.
"A touristic train? So that's what those rails are for." Ritchie understood.
"Actually, is more like an observation monorail, but it works like that. So, wanna give it a shot?"
As they walked back to the train, Ash looked back to see the four Autobots looking at them with concern hidden in some bushes.
"Face. We will be fine." Ash reassured them winking them an eye, so Sideswipe answered doing the same before they continued the search.
Meanwhile, Ash and his friends moved with the new train, admiring the Pokémon Hills and all the pokémon which lived there.
"Whoa. This is way better than the last time we saw it." Ash expressed as they looked through the window.
"Pika." Pikachu nodded.
"This is more amazing than I imagined. Just like people said." Dawn witnessed.
"How did you managed to create such wonder in middle of the city?" Ritchie asked.
"We took every detail to recreate carefully different ecosystems, allowing lots of kinds of pokémon to live just like in nature. Not to mention the generator we have here is the one which supplies energy to all the city." Eric explained.
"Impressive. And have there been any suspicious incidents here?" Ritchie asked, in order to know where it could be the Iacon relic.
"No, this generator is the latest model, and giving what almost happened here the last time, our experts make sure nothing happens to it."
"The last time?"
"You know it too, Ash."
"When I was here with other two friends, a group of strange but powerful pokémon arrived and tried to settle up their home here. Of course, because it was their first encounter with humans and other pokémon, some bad things happened and there was a fight. Their undoing also damaged the generator." Ash related.
"If the generator would have suffered greater damage, it would have affected the city in a bad way." Eric added.
"But fortunately, everything was solved, the strange pokémon found a better place to live and nothing bad happened."
As he was listening too, Ritchie saw a portion of land in which they could exit the train and continue their way back with the Autobots. So, seeing that Eric was busy checking the train's controls, he showed it to Dawn so she will prepare to jump out in the back side of the train.
"It's still not finished, but once we finish polishing the last details, this will be the Pokémon Hills most famous attraction." Eric said, not aware that Ritchie and Sparky grabbed both Pikachu and Ash, took them with Dawn and Piplup to the back side of the train, and once it was safe enough, they all jumped out of the train.
"What was that, Ritchie?" Ash asked confused.
"Yeah, I was enjoining the ride and the views." Dawn complained.
"I know, but remember why we came here. The Autobots may still have looking for that relic, and they'll need us in case something goes wrong. So let's go search for them." Ritchie remembered as they started to walk.
At the same time, back with the Autobots…
"This place is huge. How are we supposed to find that relic?" Sideswipe objected.
"Oh, look at the bright side, at least our friends are safe. And enjoining." Moonracer opined.
"So we will, cause I'm picking up a locator beacon. The Cons have unearthed the relic." Arcee announced.
"That's not the only clue." Sideswipe said pointing at lots of pokémon running away from the same place the tracker indicated.
The Autobots hid behind the nearest corner and pulled out their weapons. Arcee saw the Cons looking through the crater they made in the ground.
"Well? Let me see it already." Knock Out demanded, pushing one of the miners aside before seeing the relic's container.
"Lock and loaded." Arcee said, ready to charge.
But they were not aware that right behind them, on a near big rock, the Insecticon bruiser was stalking them. Fortunately, they spotted it and dodged when it attacked. They fired at it, but its chassis was that strong that it looked like it didn't feel a thing. He even tried to stomp at Bumblebee with its feet, but he jumped aside.
"Oh no. Not one of these." Sideswipe cursed before he jumped onto the Insecticon's back.
The noise of the battle made Knock Out get out of the crater alongside the miners and see the Autobots battle the Insecticon.
"Attack already!" He ordered to the few Vehicon soldiers.
"We'll keep this monster busy!" Sideswipe yelled as he and Bee continued battling the Insecticon.
"We'll get the relic." Arcee told them as she and Moon charged against the Cons.
The girls ran toward the Vehicons who fired at them. While Moonracer decided to engage the miners in close combat, Arcee simply jumped and kicked down two of the Vehicons and cut the last one's head off with her wrist blades. But after landing and checking no one survived, she failed to notice Knock Out behind her until he hit her on the back with one of his buzz saws.
"You have lovely features. Perfect for a painful little procedure I call the nip and tuck." Knock Out announced as he was about to strike again.
But Arcee dodged at the last moment, moment that Moonracer took to kicked him on the back.
"Divide and conquer." Arcee smirked.
"Just how Elita taught us." Moon nodded standing next to her.
Next, they went into the hole, spotted the relic's container and started to pull it out. At the same time, Sideswipe was trying to nail down his swords on the Insecticon, but it didn't stop moving and ended shaking him off, throwing him back to the ground. Bee continued firing at the Insecticon until it charged up its abdomen and ran over him, crushing him against a rock. Next, it went to Sideswipe and grabbed him by his leg. Weakened, Bee only could saw when it returned and smashed Sideswipe against him. The same came for Arcee and Moon, who were so busy trying to take the container out of the hole that Knock Out took the chance to zap both of them with his staff.
"Shock and drop."
Meanwhile, the kids were still wondering in the field.
"Huh, have you noticed if there was a lake the last time we turned to the right?" Ritchie asked a little nervous.
"Why are you asking, Ritchie?" Dawn asked.
"Because I believe…we are lost."
"Pika." Sparky lamented.
"Piplup." Piplup followed.
"Then how are gonna find them if we don't know where we are?" Dawn asked in concern.
"If only one of us know where to go…" Ash started.
"You should have asked me." Eric said, who found them.
They looked at him, some ones with worried faces and others with relieved faces.
"Now can you explain me why did you exited the train and why are you wandering through the Pokémon Hills like nothing?" Eric asked serious.
"I think we should tell him the truth." Ash sighed.
"Right. The truth is…we lost one of our poke balls." Ritchie invented.
"You're wasting your breath." Eric noticed.
"I mean the real truth." Ash specified.
"Ash, you don't mean…?" Dawn started.
"We are here not only because Dawn wanted to see the Pokémon Hills, Eric. We are trying to prevent some bad guys to cause possible damage to them and to some friends of us."
That answer surprised Eric. "Are you sure you are not trying to fool me with this?"
"I will never try to fool any friend of mine. Especially when it comes to a serious matter."
"Then come. Whatever are you looking for, we will find it faster on the train."
Eric's answer made them all smile. Unfortunately for the Autobots, the Insecticon was dragging Bee and Sideswipe with its jaws and threw them over Arcee and Moonracer.
"What do you know? You're more skilled than I thought." Knock Out complemented, meeting with it and with the container at hand. "Now, shall we see precisely what you are and what you do?" He opened the container and took out a small object with three claws before looking at the Autobots. "And what better way to learn your power than to conduct an on-site experiment."
In that moment, the monorail was reaching them and they spotted the Bots and Cons, even Eric.
"What exactly are those things?" Eric asked in disbelief.
"Giant bad robots." Ash answered directly.
"Ones bigger than others." Dawn said at seeing the huge Insecticon.
"And they have Arcee, Moonracer, Sideswipe and Bumblebee." Ritchie added.
"Eric, can this train go faster?" Ash asked him.
Eric smirked. "Just brace yourselves."
Eric pulled down a lever, speeding up the train. That forced the Insecticon to crawl aside, but Knock Out was caught and slammed against the wall, making sparks. Of course, when that ended, he saw now on his chest the marks.
"Hey, watch the finish!" Knock Out yelled to them.
The Insecticon bruiser tried to launch them rocks, but Piplup destroyed them with Bubble Beam. That allowed the Autobots to recover, and started fired at the Insecticon.
"Hate to run, but I just missed my train!" Knock Out saluted before changing to vehicle form to drove away.
"Follow the relic. I'll grab the kids." Sideswipe told them as he contained the Insecticon before dodging an attack.
"I'm going with you." Arcee informed him as she joined him.
Bee and Moon did what Sideswipe told him: they transformed and went after Knock Out. Arcee and Sideswipe continued facing the Insecticon until Arcee slipped below it while Sideswipe jumped above it and changed to vehicle to went after the kids. The Insecticon charged its abdomen and ran after them. Back with the group…
"We have a problem, one of those rocks might have hit us. Break line must have been torched!" Eric informed them.
"So that means, we can't stop?" Ash asked worried.
"Don't worry. These tracks go around for miles. Right, Eric?" Ritchie asked nervously.
"Not this one!" Eric objected as he looked down to the map and saw that they were approaching the end of the track. "This track dead ends, so if we don't change route…"
"I'm really starting to hate trains!" Dawn shouted.
Fortunately, while Arcee was still following him, Sideswipe managed to catch up with them and hooked to the train when he changed to robot form. The kids went to the back of the train and got happy to see Sideswipe, but Eric put himself in front of them.
"Everyone, stay behind me."
"Eric, wait. That's Sideswipe." Ash stopped him.
"He's with us." Dawn added.
"Pika pika." Pikachu and Sparky said at the same time.
"Sideswipe, the brakes are shot!" Ritchie communicated.
"Is there any kind of emergency override?!" The young Autobot asked.
Eric approached him. "No sir, but there is a switch track control up ahead. If you can just adjust the pull rod!"
Sideswipe looked around trying to located it before looked back to the humans.
"You'll know it when you see it! It'll reroute us to another line!"
"Alright. And by the way, don't call me sir. I'm not that old." Sideswipe corrected before changing again to his alt mode.
"Did he just turn into…a car?" Eric asked in surprise.
Both Sideswipe and Arcee speeded up and went ahead of the train.
"Piplup, piplup."
Just as Piplup pointed, they heard a loud screech, and saw the Insecticon going right behind them.
"And that would be…" Eric started.
"A big trouble." Ritchie answered.
"Thank goodness Misty did not come with us. She would faint if she put eyes on that giant bug." Ash confessed.
"We have to slow it down. Guys, I have an idea: Piplup will soak it with Bubble Beam all he can and once it's done your Pikachu will zap it." Dawn planned.
"Good idea." Ritchie nodded.
"We'll follow your lead." Ash added.
"Piplup, storm it with Bubble Beam." Dawn instructed.
Piplup started to fire his attacks to all the Insecticon's parts: the head, the legs, the abdomen… Once he was done, all the bug's body looked soggy enough.
"It's all yours." Dawn communicated.
"Pikachu, Sparky, now!" Both Ash and Ritchie yelled.
Both Pikachu launched a combined Thunderbolt and Thunder Shock, which hit the Insecticon real hard. That caused the bug to shriek in pain before it tripped over, putting more distance between them. At the same time, with the relic on his seat, Knock Out saw that Bee and Moon were chasing him.
"Well well, look who got his wheels back."
They continued chasing Knock Out until he turned to a corner. Moonracer was so fast that she couldn't stop, but Bee managed to stop at the second to turn at the same direction. Meanwhile, Sideswipe reached to the switch. He changed to robot form, grabbed it and tried pull it down to change the rails, but it was tougher than he though, and ended crushing it.
"Scrap!"
In that moment, Arcee caught up with him. "What happened?"
"Let's say…I messed up." Sideswipe answered showing her the broken switch.
"I have an idea. Do like me."
They had no other choice but to change the rails by pushing them with their feet. It took them great effort, but they managed to do at the last moment and jump out of the train's way. Sideswipe sighed in relief.
"They did it." Eric announced.
"Yes!" Ash cried in joy.
"Alright!" Ritchie added.
"Sweet!" Dawn shouted as the pokémon jumped in cheer together.
But their time to rest was short, because they heard the Insecticon approaching, forcing them to jump over it before it could hit them. Fortunately, the Insecticon was still affected by the electricity, so it was hard for it to find them. Arcee saw below her the electrified rail, which gave her an idea.
"Sideswipe, can you make it angrier?"
"What? Why would I do that, Arcee?" Sideswipe asked in disbelief, but when she looked at the rail, he smirked and placed himself above the rail. "Oh, very well. Hey big ugly bug, I'm over here. Come and get me!"
The creature heard his incitements and tried to smash him, but he jumped on top of him again as Arcee rolled out of the way, fired it to provoke it and sliced it a little with one of her wrist blades, while Sideswipe tried to cut one of its legs. And the when the Insecticon jumped at her again, she fired at its head as Sideswipe jumped high and kicked it hard on the head. The Autobots combined effort made it to fall, right on the rail, electrifying it and finally eliminating it.
"Shock and drop." Arcee declared.
"I never thought I would fight one of these again." Sideswipe admitted.
Meanwhile, Bee continued his chase until he caught up with Knock Out, who still aware of him didn't see Moonracer coming from the other side and smashed him on the side at full speed, making him to spin around out of control. Bee hit him on the other side, changed to robot form, grabbed him and throw him aside. Knock Out was forced to return to robot form and dropped the relic. Both rivals raced to see who would reach it first, pushing each other aside. Meanwhile, the group was now relieved, still in the train.
"We're in the clear." Dawn said in relief.
"Still need a way to stop. Besides slamming into a wall, I mean." Eric remembered.
"Maybe if we short-circuit it with electricity?" Ash suggested.
Back with the Bots, Bee, Moon and Knock Out started rolling in order to get the relic, which now was in Bumblebee's possession. But when Knock Out made him drop it, it activated itself. Knock Out tried to drag Bee, but Moonracer jumped onto him before kicking him back, and when Bee looked at the relic, it flew to him and hooked to his hand. Bee got up and looked the relic, not realizing that the train on which his friends were traveling was heading right to him.
"Watch out!" Ash warned.
"Bumblebee!" Dawn yelled.
"Get out of the way!" Ritchie added.
Too late, Bee saw the train and covered himself, expecting the worse. But instead, he passed through the whole train, without a scratch. Moonracer was still battling Knock Out when she saw it, leaving her without words. Seeing the train coming at them, she kicked Knock Out toward it before she jumped out of the rail. And poor Knock Out: the train hit him hard and fast and carried him by the way in the floor. Fortunately, that stopped the train.
"Pff, that was close." Ritchie saw seeing Knock Out in front.
"Bumblebee!" Ash called from the window.
"Pika pi." Pikachu called.
"(Don't worry, I'm okay.)"
"You're fine." Dawn said relieved.
"(I didn't feel anything.)"
"You look fine to me." Moonracer saw meeting with them.
Arcee and Sideswipe arrived and met with them at last.
"(I secured the relic.)"
"How did you managed to get out without a scratch?" Ritchie asked.
"(I think it's thanks to this.)"
"You mean this little trinket has saved you?" Sideswipe asked in disbelief.
"Phase shifter. Handy when you need to pass through solid objects, or vice versa." Arcee explained as she passed her hand through Bee's body.
"Whoa, cool."
"With this you could become an elite scout, Bee." Moon realized.
"(Yeah, without doubt.)" Bee nodded as he removed it.
Knock Out recovered and saw himself on the train's windshield. "No, NOOOOOOO!" He yelled loud, making everyone to saw him before he pushed the train at them. "You scratch my face, I scratch yours."
Bee stopped the train with his hand as he and the other Autobots aimed their weapons at him. The kids' pokémon also prepared to fight him.
"We got you outnumbered, Knock Out. There is no way you can beat us." Ash warned him.
"You better leave now and we would not worsen your condition." Dawn advised.
"Pi piplup."
"Pika, pikachu." Both Pikachu and Sparky said emanating electricity.
Knock Out roared in fury before changing to vehicle form and drive away, dropping one of his wheels in the process. Everyone was alright, but there was still one problem.
"He knows." Ritchie told the Autobots, referring to Eric. "Do we have to take him with us?"
"To take me where?"
"Actually, I think I have a solution for this." Dawn said pressing a button of her Pokegear.
Meanwhile, at the Autobot base…
"That's right, soldiers. Dump that rock and come on home." Ranger Lunick spoke to the terminal, already recovered, when he heard his personal com-link ring, so he answered it. "Lunick here. Dawn, what is it? I'm in the middle of a crisis here and you want me to… Oh. Put him on the line."
Back to the Pokémon Hills, Dawn approached her Pokegear to Eric.
"Mr. Eric, this is pokémon ranger Lunick. As you already have spotted, there are some kind of last-generation robots able to camouflage as vehicles. They are weapons of a dangerous organization called Team Alien, created as a potential threat to both humans and pokémon. We have managed to confiscate their work, but some of those robots has escaped and gone rogue, acting by themselves. These brave young ones are some friends of us who are helping us to track them undercover. Thanks to them we even managed to reprogram some to help us track their companions. So, consider yourself as an honorary helper of this secret international case."
"Well…it is an honor. Thank you, sir." Eric appreciated before Dawn hung up.
"We couldn't do this without your help, Eric." Ash thanked.
"So, does this mean we are going to be in touch?"
"Maybe. And of course, you still have to give me an official tour around the Pokémon Hills." Dawn reminded.
"We are sure our enemies will not return here for a long time." Moonracer reassured.
"But just in case, make sure Dawn has the unforgivable experience she is looking for, and we will make sure they don't wander around here." Sideswipe added.
Eric saluted the Autobots, who did the same before departing with the kids.
"See you, Eric." Ash said goodbye.
"Good call, tourist." Ritchie congratulated to Dawn.
"I know how to please good people, especially acquaintances of Ash."
"One relic down, three to go. I hope the others are having similar results." Arcee said before she and the others changed to vehicle form and the kids went in.
Eric saw them leaving, still amazed that they transformed into vehicles.