Episode 423: Saving Darmanitan From the Bell!
An hour has passed since leaving Striaton City. Cilan was fitting in perfectly with the group to be the best Pokémon Connoisseur as he could be. As they strolled though the woods, they ame across a Drilbur. It has surfaced from the ground as Sora got ready to capture the wild Pokémon.
"Kairi, is that a boy or a girl?" Sora asked.
"Drilbur's a boy," Kairi answered. Cilan was amazed by how Kairi knew which gender was Drilbur.
"Then, I know who I'm going with," Sora said, taking out his Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Snivy!" Snivy came on out to battle against the mole Pokémon. Drilbur starts up by running towards the grass snake Pokémon.
"Drilbur's coming at Snivy with Scratch!" Cilan said.
"Use Attract!" Sora ordered. Snivy unleashed Attract, making Drilbur fall in love with Snivy." Use Vine Whip!" Snivy extends her vines and smacks the mole Pokémon. "Now, use Leaf Blade!" Snivy heads towards Dirlbur and land a hit wth Leaf Blade. "Now, use Leaf Storm!" Snivy unleashed Leaf Storm and catches Drilbur in the storm of leaves. Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it. Drilbur flows inside and the Pokéball wobbles around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Drilbur with him. He chose to send Drilbur to Professor Oak's lab. "And thats that."
"That was amazing. Kairi, I am curious to know how you knew Drilbur was a male," Cilan said.
"Well, I could tell becuase of their mannerisms. It was my grandma who told me that Pokémon are like people, so it wsn't hard for me to figure out," Kairi said.
"Did you know that about Snivy?" Cilan asked.
"I found out before anyone when she used Attract on Lillipup," Sora added. "But I found a way around it." The group were about to take off when Soras Xtransceiver went off. "Huh? Who could be making contact with me?" He uses it and he sees Riku on his Xtransceiver.
"Hey, Sora. Missed me?" Riku asked.
"Riku!" Sora said.
"Riku, hello!" Kairi greeted.
"Of course I already knew you would be with him, Kairi," Riku said.
"Same with me, Terra, and Aqua," Ventus said.
"Is he someone you know?" Cilan asked.
"Sora and Riku go way back," Terra said.
"So this is Riku?" Iris asked, looking on the screen.
"Who are you?" Riku asked.
"My name's Iris," Iris introduced. Axew came out of her hair.
"Axew!" Axew chirped.
"And I'm Cilan. A Pokémon Connoisseur," Cilan introduced.
"Nice to meet you two. I'm Riku, and this is my girlfriend Naminé," Riku introduced.
"Hi, nice to meet you," Naminé said.
"When did you get to Unova, and what were doing in Snowpoint CIty?" Sora asked.
"We got today. Naminé and I came here from Alola after our business in Snowpoint City," Riku said.
"That's right, Paul said he was heading there," Sora said.
"Who's Paul?" Iris asked.
"A trainer we knew," Kairi said.
"Speaking of which, what's Paul's up to?" Sora asked.
"He's staying with my mom after I had a talk with his brother. He's going to attend my old school. After that, we made contact with your families and they filled us in that you're going to take part of the Unova Pokémon League, and the Grand Festival. We also met Professor Juniper and she gave me a Xtransceiver just so we could talk. Getting back on track, of which, what's your progress?" Riku asked.
"We just left Striaton City. Kairi won a Contest Ribbon, and I got a Gym Badge. Believe ot or not, CIlan here is one of the Gym Leaders," Sora explained.
"No surprise that you two are coming out on top," Riku said.
"Where are you now?" Aqua asked.
"We're in Accumula Town. We met a man named Don George who runs the Pokémon Battle Club, and he told us that he knew you, so he pointed us in the right direction," Naminé said.
"He said something about a Tepig," Riku said.
"That's a pretty long story," Sora said.
"Where are you heading now?" Kairi asked.
"We're on our way to Nacrene City. That's where the next Gym is located," Cilan said.
"And there's a Contest thats going to take place in Virbank CIty," Iris said.
"That's perfect. We'll meet you at once of those places. Until then, keep going at it," Riku said.
"Gotcha," Sora said.
"And it was nice meeting you two," Riku said.
"You as well, Riku," Cilan said. Riku breaks contact as the group were getting ready to go. "Sounds to me that you and Riku has an flavorful history."
"That's one way of putting it," Sora said.
"How do you and Riku know each other so well?" Cilan asked.
"Sora and I met Riku when we were in Cerulean City for a second time, heading for Celadon City. They had a battle, and Sora lost," Kairi said.
"Riku respected Sora very much. Riku helped out in any way he could," Terra said.
"I thought I smelled a bouquet of respect," Cilan said. He stopped as he took a whiff of the air. "You smell that?" The group stopped as they also took a whiff.
"I kinda do. What could it be?" Aqua asked.
"It smells like a Petilil," Cilan said.
"You sure?" Ventus asked.
"I'm certain of it. And there's one not too far from here," Cilan said. They followed Cilan through the woods. They spotted the Petilil taking a drink of water.
"Oh, she's so cute," Kairi cooed. Sora chuckled.
"You wanna have a shot at it, Kairi?" Sora asked.
"I do," Kairi said, taking out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Pidove!" Kairi called out as Pidove came out to battle. "Start things up with Quick Attack!" Pidove dove down and struck Petilil. The bulb Pokémon unleashed a blue powder.
"It's using Sleep Powder!" Cilan exclaimed.
"Blow it away with Gust!" Kairi ordered. Pidove does exactly that and Petilil has ebded up falling asleep. Kairi took out a Pokéball and threw it. Petilil flows inside and it starts to wobble around and around. Stars swirls around the Pokéball to confirm the catch. Kairi's Pokémon Box goes off asking her if she wants to keep Petilil with her. She chose to keep Petilil in exchange for Vespiquen. "Good work, Pidove." The tiny pigeon Pokémon beamed as she nuzzles her trainer.
A little later, Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew all made a stop for lunch by a river. Kairi and Cilan were making something special for everyone.
"Here you go!" Iris said, presetning berries on a stick.
"Wow, these look great," Ventus said.
"Well, I don't like t brag, but I am quite a chef," Iris said. "And since tonight's a full moon, I skewered some berries and cooked up some moon-watched dumplings."
"I wouldn't really all that cooking," Cilan said.
"Whatever. If it's yummy, it's fine," Iris said, taking a bite.
"Hey, I want that, too!" Ventus said. Cilan took the plate.
"Not so fast. My vegetable paella made from fresh vegetables and olive oil will be ready in no time," CIlan said.
"It smells great," Terra said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Axew," Axew said.
"I got you covered. Some freshly made Pokémon food for you," Kairi said.
"I must say, Kairi, the Pokémon food you made for the Pokémon is full of enjoyable flavors. It's no wonder your Pokémon are in perfect shape," Cilan said.
"It's Kairi's gift," Sora said. "She's got the magic touch."
"You keep on saying that," Kairi said.
"Because it's true," Sora said.
"I hope you're hungry, because the paella's ready," Cilan said. A Darumaka came walking by.
"Whoa! What's that?" Iris asked.
"It's a Darumaka," Sora said.
"Now, where did you come from?" Kairi asked.
"Oh, you're so cute," Iris cooed. Darumaka spewsa Flamethrower in the face. She coughs up smoke.
"Darumaka is the kind of Pokémon that stays focused and never gives up. Many thinks of it as a good luck Pokémon," Cilan said. Two more Darumaka took the Pokémon food for Pikachu and Axew. Pikachu and Angel both turned around and saw the bowls gone.
"What was that?" - Pikachu subtitle.
"What was what?" - Axew subtitle.
"We just heard something just now. Did you hear anything?" - Angel subttitle.
"No, I didn't. Why?" - Axew subtitle.
"The food made for you and Pikachu is gone." - Angel subtitle.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu said.
"What?" Sora asked.
"Pikachu just said that something just grabbed the food meant for Pikachu and Axew," Meowth translated.
"What?" Sora asked. He saw the food gone.
"Whats going on?" Aqua asked.
"Pikachu and Axew's food is missing," Sora said.
"Maybe Pikachu and Axew ate the food and forgot," Ventus said.
"I don't think Axew would forget," Iris said.
"You see anything, Darumaka?" Sora asked. Darumake is fast asleep.
"That answers that," Terra said.
"A Pokémon with a mild personality, and an element of surprise as well," Cilan said.
"Say, you can't knock over Darumake, so let's see if it's true, Ventus said.
"I wanna try," Iris said. She trie to push Darumaka over, but it stays in place. "Wow, this is fun!" One of the other Darumaka took the food meant for Angel, and Meowth spots him.
"Hey! I see you!" Meowth said. Darumaka took off in the bushes.
"Meowth, what's up?" Sora asked.
"It's another Darumaka! he just swiped the food made for Angel!" Meowth said.
"What?" Aqua asked.
"I think that one and the one who took the food are in cahoots!" Meowth said.
The other two Darumaka came out of hiding.
"Pika!" Piakchu said. They turned to see the other two Darumaka.
"There are three Darumaka!" Cilan exclaimed. The other two Darumaka ran off with the food.
"Come back!" Iris called out. The first Darumaka woke up and unleashed Flamethrower, stopping thm in their tracks. Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Go! Oshawott!" Sora called out. Oshawott came out to battle the Darumaka.
"Good choice, using a Water Type to deal with a Fire Type," Cilan complimented.
"Stop them with Water Gun!" Sora ordered. Oshawott fires Water Gun, but the Darumaka avoids the water attack by using their speed. "They're fast!" The Darumaka unleashed Flamthrower and they all overwhelmed Oshawott. "Oshawott!" Sora ran to the sea otter Pokémon and held him in his hands. "You okay?"
"Osh," Oshawott said.
Sora turned to see the Darumaka take off with the food.
"He's knocked out," Iris said.
"Three Flamethrower attacks deals a lot of damage," Cilan said.
"We should get Oshawott to the Pokémon Center right away," Kairi said.
"Right," Sora agreed.
"There should be one right up ahead," Cilan said.
"Then, let's go," Sora said. Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew all head for the Pokémon Center. "Nurse Joy, mt Oshawott is badly injured!"
"Don't worry. We'll take good care of your Oshawott," Nurse Joy assured.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Sora said.
"Audino, if you please?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Audino," Audino said. She strolled Oshawott to the back to be healed.
Elsewhere, the boy with indigo hair is having a battle against a member of Team Plasma. He is battling with an Oshaowtt of his own, while the Team Plasma grunt is using a Venipede.
"Use Poison Tail!" The Team Plasma grunt ordered. The Venipede jumps to land a Poison Tail onto the Oshawott.
"Dodge and use Ice Beam!" The boy ordered. Oshawott unleashed Ice Beam and froze both Venipede and the Team Plasma grunt. The boy appraoched the Team Plasma grunt.
"Tell us what you want," the Team Plasma grunt said.
"Where's my sister's Pokémon?" The boy demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the boy shivered.
"Don't play innocent with me! You know damn well what I mean! Tell me what you did with the Purrloin you stole! Tell me now!" The boy demanded.
"I swear, I don't know anything! I swear I don't!" The Team Plasma grunt pleaded. The Team Plasma grunt growled as he started to leave.
"I will find your friends and bring back my sister's Purrloin. And then, I'll make you sorry that you ever did that," the boy said.
(Flashback)
Five years ago, the boy has brought home a Purrloin for a little girl with indigo hair.
"What do you think, sis?" The boy asked.
"Hugh, I love her! She's so cute!" The girl cooed. The girl hugged Purrloin and she hugged her back. The two of them laughed. The girl and the Purrloin laughed and played together. They were inseparable; that is until one fateful day. Hugh, his little sister, and Purrloin were taking a walk when suddenly, a trio of ninjas with long white hair appeared and sent out Pawniard; they had two each.
"Use Metal Claw!" The ninjas ordered. The Pawniard swiped at Hugh and his hister as the ninjas came and took Purrloin.
"My Purrloin!" The girl gasped.
"Give Purrloin back!" Hugh demanded.
"We will take very good care of Purrloin. No longer will Purrloin be cruelly mistreated," one of the ninjas said.
"Just who do you think you are?" Hugh asked.
"Remember our names, evil abusers of Pokémon! We are the Shadow Traid of Team Plasma!" The ninjas all spoke before they all vanished with Purrloin.
"Come back! Come back with Purrloin!" The girl cried. She broke down with tears as Hugh started to grit his teeeth.
"Team Plasma. You made my sister cry! I will never forgive you for this! I swear to you on this day; I will find you and I will destroy you! I will find Purrloin and bring her back home! And then, it will go down in Unova history that I will be known as the Pokémon trainer who destroyed Team Plasma!" Hugh vowed.
(Flashback ends)
"And I plan to keep my word even up to this day," Hugh said. His Oshawott stood by his side and it swore to him that it will follow Hugh anywhere to put an end to Team Plasma once and for all.
Back to the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy and Oshawott strolled Oshawott back to Sora.
"Your Oshawott is fighting fit," Nurse Joy said.
"Thank you so much," Sora said. "Glad you're feeling better." He calls Oshawott back to his Pokéball.
"I swear, those three Darumaka are so annoying!" Iris said. This surprises Nurse Joy.
"What? You met those three?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Yes we do," Aqua said.
"You know them, Nurse Joy?" Kairi asked.
"Yes. Those three Darumake all live here in town, along with Darmanitan," Nurse Joy started. "At first, they couldn't be any friendlier to the townspeople. Until one day, the Darumaka started stealing people's food. The three Darumaka were always with the Darmanitan, but for some reason, only the three Darumaka stole food."
"And those three stole our food as well," Cilan said.
"My Oshawott tried to stop them, but he ended up with a triple Flamethrower," Sora said.
"So, that's what happened," Nurse Joy said.
"I can bet those three Darumaka might have been really hungry," Iris said.
"Maybe, but they didn't used to steal people's food like that," Nurse Joy said.
"Something had to happen to make them start stealing," Kairi said.
"The question is what and why," Terra stated. They were all having a thought when Iris saw a clock tower in the distance.
"What's that?" Iris asked.
"Oh, you must be asking about the clock tower. It's one of the oldest buildings in town. So old in fact, the clock and bell no longer work," Nurse Joy said. "I'm afraid it's going to be torn down soon."
"That's such a shame," Iris said.
"Yes," Nurse Joy said.
"It looks like a nice clock tower," Kairi said.
Just then, everyone's stomachs started to rumble.
"Oh nice! Way to interuppt a moment, stomach," Sora said sarcastically.
"Well, with all the excitement, we didn't get a chance to eat our lunch," Terra said.
"I agree," Cilan said.
"I vote that we stay here for the night, and have dinner here," Iris said.
"I second that," Meowth said.
"Axew!" Axew said.
The group shared a laugh. They started to dig right in for dinner, eating as much as they like.
"We might not have gotten a taste of that paella, but this makes up for it," Sora said.
"It sure does. I'm sure it would have been tasty," Kairi said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Axew!" Axew said.
"Yeah, having our food stolen by hungry Darumaka didn't help much," Ventus said.
"Try not to think about it, Ven. I just don't want to this to ruin the mood I'm in now," Sora said.
"You sure don't it go sour," Cilan said. He looked right at Sora's neckalce and his curiosity started to peak.
"Sora, I would like to ask you something if you don't mind," Cilan said.
"Um, okay," Sora replied, dreading some questions about his skills.
"I just wanted to say that I have taken notice your necklace. Are you by chance descended from royalty?" Cilan asked. Sora saw this question coming a mile away. Iris blinked twice.
"What about his necklace?" Iris asked.
"Oh that. I had this necklace for as long as I can remember," Sora said.
"It looks very special to you," Cilan said.
"More than you can know," Sora said.
"What's so special about it, Sora?" Iris asked.
"Well, when I was a little kid, my mom told me that I'm descended from a long line of knights in the old days," Sora said.
"A long line of knights?" Iris asked.
"That's right. Sora's family were knights in the old days. The boys in his family would wear one of these neckalces to symbolize knighthood. The people in those days ciewed them as knights," Kairi said.
"I figured it would symbolize greatness," Cilan said.
"Yeah. It belonged to my dad, and it belonged to his dad before him," Sora said.
"Just when did your dad give it to you?" Iris asked. Sora sighed sadly.
"He didn't get it from his dad, Iris," Terra said. Iris was confused.
"What do you mean? Sora just said that it belonged to his dad, so he had to get it from him," Iris said.
"I didn't. It was my mom who gave it to me," Sora said. Iris and Cilan looked right at him.
"Your mom?" Cilan asked.
"Yeah. The thing is, I never knew my dad. He died before I was even born," Sora said. Iris and Cilan were shocked to hear something tragic could happen to someone like Sora.
"How did he die?" Cilan asked.
"He was killed in an accident on his way home. That was just three months before I was born," Sora said.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Sora," Cilan said.
"Sorry about that," Iris said.
"You couldn't have known," Aqua said.
"But getting into my family history; do you two know about the story of Sir Aaron?" Sora asked.
"Of course," Cilan said.
"I heard those stories when I was little. Why?" Iris asked.
"Well, as it turns out, Sir Aaron was my ancestor," Sora admitted. Cilan and Iris were astonished and surprised to hear that claim.
"I never would have imagined in meeting a blood decedent of Sir Aaron," Cilan said.
"It's true. Sir Aaron was one of the greatest knights in history," Terra said.
"Another unexpected ingrediant," Cilan said. "And there was one more question on my mind, but I never got to ask."
"What?" Sora asked.
"How did you and Kairi first meet each other?" Cilan asked.
"It started out when I first started on my Pokémon journey. Pikachu was my very first Pokémon," Sora said.
"Pikachu? You mean you didn't choose a Charmander, a Squirtle, or a Bulbasaur?" Iris asked.
"They were all taken because I slept in that one morning," Sora said. "Also, you pretty much know the story already, Iris."
"He does have a point," Terra said.
"Getting back to the story, Pikachu didn't like me at first. He wouldn't do a thing I told him to do. I was trying to make my first catch, but I spotted a Pidgey in a cage, set up by Pokémon Hunters," Sora said.
"The worst kind of people there is. The idea of human beings selling Pokémon is unforgivable," Cilan said.
"Anyway, the hunters tried to take Pikachu from me. That's when I found Kairi in their camp," Sora said.Cilan looked right at Kairi.
"What were you doing in their camp in the first place, Kairi?" Cilan asked.
"I was taking a nature wallk on the same day when I spotted a Caterpie in the same kind of cage. I let Caterpie out of the cage, and that's when those hunters got to me. I they said they were going to kill me once they were done. Sora came around after that," Kairi said.
"So, it was love at first sight. A common, and yet the perfect recipe for a tale of romance," Cilan said.
"Pikachu got hurt when they sent their Spearow at us, but Pikachu had unleashed a powerful electric charge at the Spearow and those hunters," Sora said. "We had Pikachu checked in the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. That's where Kairi and her grandma were living in until they moved to Pallet Town."
"That's your hometown," Iris said.
"And would you believe that she moved next door to me?" Sora asked.
"She's literally the girl next door," Meowth said.
"Sora and I has been on the road for a long time. We met some people and saw all kinds of Pokémon. We were with our nine friends who came with us. They came from Alola, and traveled with us until after our Johto journey," Sora said.
"They returned home to Alola to set up their own Gyms. After that, we began our journey into Hoenn. And it was in the Hoenn region I started to take part of Pokémon Contests," Kairi said.
"Aqua, Ven, and I started to travel with Sora when we ventured in the Sinnoh region," Terra said. Nurse Joy came in the messhall.
"Attention, everyone! Since toight is a full moon, we will be passing out the moon-bathed dumplings for dessert. I hope everyone saved room," Nurse Joy announced.
"Delicious!" Iris said.
"How about we help pass them out?" Sora asked. Just when Sora was about to pass out the dumplings, he saw the three Darumaka in the kitchen with the dumplings. "Not you again!" Sora attempted to stop them when they jumped right out the window. "Hey, come back here!" Sora took out his Pokéball and opened it. "Come out, Pidove!" Pidove came on out. Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew came in. "Follow those Darumaka!" Pidove flew to follow them.
"Sora, what are you doing?" Aqua asked.
"It's them again! They swiped the dumplings!" Sora said.
"Why now?" Ventus asked.
"I'm going to get to the bottom of it!" Sora said, going out the window. Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew joined him.
Pidove follows the Darumaka. They split up. Two of them go one way as the third goes the other way. Sora and Pikachu goes after the one with the dumplings along with Kairi, Angel, Ventus, Iris, and Axew as Terra, Aqua, and Cilan go after the other two.
Both parties has lost track of them pretty fast.
"They got away," Cilan said. The connosiuer and the older couple joins their friends to report their findings.
"You guys find them?" Ventus asked.
"No, they got away," CIlan said.
"Same thing happened to us," Iris said. Pidove flew back to the group.
"Did you find the, Pidove?" Sora asked. Pidove nodded and pointed to the clock tower. The three Darumaka entered. "Good job, Pidove. Now, we got them trapped." With that said, the group heads for the clock tower.
Not too far, Miror B stood with his flunkies. Most of them wore what looks like some kind of uniforms with scarves. The helmets has visors. All the outfits are white. One of Miror B's henchmen is an odd-shaped hat. He also wore red sunglasses and an orange vest on top of a blue shirt. The other wore a dark blue jersey and blue sunglasses. He also has blonde hair with the top being dyed orange. He was in contact with Mateus in Team Shadow HQ.
"I trust your arrival in the Unova region has been successful," Mateus said.
"Sure has, Mateus baby! Our goal to take the Unova region will go down smoothly!" Miror B said.
"Excellent. Dakim, Venus, and Ein shall meet with you soon," Mateus said. Mateus broke contact as Miror B turned to his flunkies.
"Folly, Trudly. You know what to do, dig?" Miror asked.
"Yes sir, master Miror B," the henchmen wearing th red glasses replied.
"Trudly and I will get right on it," Folly said. Trudly and Folly took off, leaving Miror B and the rest of the Team Shadow agents.
"Team Shadow Peons, you're with me," Miror B said. "Hee-hee-hee!" He does a twirl as he does a disco dance.
"Sir!" The Team Shadpw Peons responded.
Back to the clock tower, Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew enters the clock tower after seeing them thought the window. They followed them up. They eventually caught up with the three Darumaka.
"Aha! There you are!" Sora called out to them. The Darumaka froze. "We're not here to pick a fight. We just want to talk." The Darumaka kept running. Sora went up first as the rest of the group followed. "I know they couldn't gone far." The Darumaka jumped and unleashed Flamethrower. Sora and Pikachu dodged. "Stop! I'm not trying to hurt you!" Feeling heat coming from the room, Cilan turned and saw the fire the Darumaka made.
"Sora! Behind you!" Cilan cried. Sora quickly turned.
"Fire!" Sora excalimed. He hurriedly took out Oshawott's Pokéball. "Oshawott! Put the fire out with Water Gun!" Oshawott came out and used it to put the fire out. "That was close." The Darumaka unleashed Flamethrower at Sora. "Block with Thunderbolt!" Pikachu blocks the triple Flamethrower, resulting in an explosion. "Oshawott! use Water Gun!" Oshawott unleashed Water Gun and struck the three Darumaka.
"Sora, are you okay?" Aqua asked.
"I'm fine," Sora said. The Darumaka shut their eyes again.
"They're asleep again," Iris said.
"That must be how they recover their strength," Cilan said.
"Maybe. They might be trying to trick us again," Sora said. The group cautiously and slowly approached the Darumaka. They opened their eyes and jumped over the group. "That's enough! We didn't come here to pick a fight!"
"Yeah, we're your friends," Kairi said.
The three Darumaka looked at each other, confused.
"We're just trying to figure out why you want to steal all that food," Cilan said. The Darumaka points upwards.
"Maka, Daru, Daru, Darumaka," the first Darumaka said.
"Those Darumaka are saying that they wanna go up there," Meowth said. The Darumaka nodded.
"Sure thing, guys. We'll get you up there," Sora said. The Darumaka beamed. He turned to Terra. "Terra, you think you can give me a boost?"
"Sure thing, Sora," Terra said. He helped Sora get right up to the upper floor.
"Made it! Thanks for the lift," Sora said.
"Sure," Terra said. Sora lets out Snivy.
"Okay, Snivy, use your Vine Whip to get Pikachu up," Sora said. Snivy nodded and she uses her vines to pull Pikachu up to the upper floor. "Okay, Darumaka, Snivy can only take two of you at a time. The third will have to wait." The Darumaka nodded. Snivy uses her vines to lift up to of them; one of them has the dumplings. "Okay, the third one is next! you too, Meowth!"
"Like I have a choice," Meowth said. Snivy pulls up the third Darumaka and the scratch cat Pokémon to the upper level. Snivy pulls up the rest. As everyone all went up, they felt an increase of temprature.
"Hey, is it me, or did suddenly get warner up here?" Ventus asked.
"The heat's coming from the ceiling," Iris said.
"I wonder what's up there?" Cilan asked. The Darumaka led them to the top of the tower as Sora and Pikachu saw a Darmanitan in Zen Mode.
"Guys! It's a Darmanitan; ot should I say THE Darmanitan! And it's in Zen Mode!" Sora said.
The Darmanitan is surrounded in a red aura, indicating it's heat. Sora allowed the rest of the group to enter and see the blazing Pokémon.
"You're right, it is the Darmanitan," Aqua said.
"Let's see, in Standard Mode, its physical powers enhanced, while in Zen Mode, its Psychic enhanced.," Cilan said.
"Darmanitan must the one who's giving off that heat," Terra said.
"I was thinking the same thing," Cilan said. Darmanitan uses Psychic to lift the dumpings up and they go flying into its mouth.
"I get it now! Those three Darumaka were stealing food just so they could feed Darmanitan!" Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"And because Darmanitan is using Psychic, the heat from Darmanitan's flame sac is leaking out," Cilan said.
"I don't get it. Doesn't Darmanitan switches from Standard Mode to Zen Mode as soon as it recovers?" Iris asked.
"I was thinking the same thing," Ventus said.
"Right, you think it would have recovered from all that eating," Cilan said.
"But wasn't he?" Kairi asked. The Darumaka provided the answer by presenting them what looks like a hook, but it's out of shape.
"Whats this?" Aqua asked.
"It looks like some sort of hook," Terra said.
"A hook to what?" Sora asked. The three Darmanitan pointed to the bell. "What about the bell?" He gave offa gasp as well as the rest of the group.
"It's floating!" Ventus said.
"Darmanitan's using Psychic!" Kairi said.
"Eevee!" Angel said.
"I think Darmanitan's keeping the bell suspended by using Psychic," Cilan said, stroking his chin.
"Why do that?" Iris asked.
"Let's see. If that heavy bell were to fall, it would have crashed through the floor and bring the entire clock tower down with it. To keep that from happening, Darmanitan must have caught the bell when it started falling. When it couldn't withstand the weight anymore, Darmanitan probably had to switch to Zen Mode to enchance his psychic powers, and keep the bell from falling," Cilan deduced. And there was more to it. "And to keep Darmanitan's strength up, the three Darumaka were bringing as much food as they possibly could."
"So, that's why the clock tower's wasn't working," Sora said. Darmanitan's heat was increasing.
"Darmanitan's getting hotter and hotter!" Meowth said.
"If this keeps up, the heat from Darmanitan's body will burn right through the floor!" Cilan exclaimed.
"Then, we gotta work fast!" Sora said. He took out Tepig's Pokéball and threw it. "Come on out, Tepig!" The fire pig Pokémon came on out to help. Cilan took out Pansage's Pokéball and threw it.
"Pansage, we need your help as well!" Cilan called out, letting out his Pansage.
"Tepig! Ember on that hook!" Sora ordered, tossing th hook up. Tepig unleashed Ember on the hook, but it did nothing. "Not hot enough." The heat from Darmanitan's body was getting hotter and hotter.
"Sora, we really have to hurry!" Cilan exclaimed. The three Darumaka looked at each other and nodded. Sora was surprised to see them helping out. One of them grabbed the hook, and threw it.
"Tepig! Use Ember again!" Sora ordered. Tepig unleashed Ember as two of the Darumaka unleashed Flamethrower to increase the heat. He turned to Cilan "Your turn!"
"Pansage! use Bullet Seed on that Hook!" Cilan ordered. Pansage fires Bullet Seed, bending it to the right shape.
"Great! Just where we want it! Excellent presentation!" Cilan said. Sora took out Oshawott's Pokéball and threw it.
"Your turn now, Oshawott!" Sora called out. Oshawott came out to help out. "Water Gun to cool off that hook!" Oshawott fires Water Gun at the hook, cooling it down. The hook fell to the ground. Meowth inspects the hook.
"Cool to the touch!" Meowth said, with a thumbs up.
"Now, we just gotta get the hook back up," Ventus said.
"Yeah, but how?" Iris asked.
"We'll need a ladder to reach up there," Cilan said. Darmanitan uses Psychic to lift up Sora and Pikachu.
"Or we could just use Darmanitan's Psychic to reach up!" Sora said. Pikachu hands him the hook. Sora places the hook in place. He attempts to reach out to the bell. "So close! Almost there!"
"You can do it, Sora!" Kairi said.
"Eevee!" Angel said.
"Keep trying!" Cilan said.
Darmanitan stops using Psychi, making Sora and Pikachu fall, but Darmanitan switches to Standard Mode and catches the bell. "Just in time. Darmanitan tossed the bell upwards and then climbed to the top and grabbed it. Sora and Pikachu climbed down.
"Good catch, Darmanitan. The rest is up to you," Sora said. Darmanitan nodded and places the bell on the hook. Darmanitan jumps down and praises the Darumaka. They appraoched the group with smiles.
"I wonder what they're saying," Iris said.
"Thanks for saving their bell," Meowth translated. I think that should ring a bell." he rolled his eyes. "I had no idea what that's supposed to mean." Sora bend down.
"I think it's a good thing that you're helping out Darmanitan, but no more stealing from now on, okay?" Sora asked. The Darumaka all promised that that won't be an issue any longer.
On the very next moring, Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Angel, Meowth, and Axew were taking off for Nacrene City.
"Another day, another stroll down the road," Meowth said.
"Too bad we had to misss last night. It would have given you and Kairi a romantic time," Iris said.
"Axew," Axew agreed.
Sora winced when Iris mentioned that.
"Aw man, with all the excitement last night I totally forgot!" Sora said.
"Pika!" Pikachu said.
They hung their heads down as Kairi and Angel giggled and gave a kiss on their cheeks. That perked up Sora and Pikachu.
"Don't worry about it, Sora. Some things are just beyond our conrtrol. Besides, Nurse Joy gave me the recipe for those dumplings, so you and I can enjoy together," Kairi said. Sora suddenly felt better about the previous night.
"Wait!" A familiar voice called out. It turns out to belong to Nurse Joy.
"Nurse Joy? What's up?" Sora asked.
"The clock tower's not going to be destroyed after all! I thought you would like to know!" Nurse Joy said.
"So., what's going to happen?" Sora asked.
"The clock tower is going to be completely restored and maintained; all thanks to the town," Nurse Joy said.
"Awesome!" Iris exclaimed happily.
"Axe!" Axew added.
"That's wonderful!" Aqua said.
"And to thanks Darmanitan and the Darumaka, the mayor has decreed that they will be able to live there for as long as they like!" Nurse Joy said.
"Delicious! People and Pokémon alike happy with a generous gesture like that!" Cilan said. Just then, one of the Darumaka comes towards the group as the other two and Darmanitan are waving from the clock tower.
"Hey now. Did you come all this way just to say goodbye up close?" Sora asked. The lone Darumaka shook its head.
"Maka, Daru, Daru, Darumaka, maka, Darumaka," the Darumaka said.
"What did he say, Meowth?" Kairi asked.
"This Darumaka says he wants to hang with us from now on for helping them out. He already discussed it with Darmanitan and the other two Darumaka, and they agreed," Meowth translated. The Darumaka nodded.
"Is that right?" Sora asked. The Darumaka nodded. He took out a Pokéball, and held it. "Then, you're welcome to come along if you want." Darumaka beamed as Sora tossed it up Darumaka pressed the button on the Pokéball and flows inside. Stars swirls inside to confirm the catch. Sora's Pokémon Box goes off asking him if he wants to keep Darumaka with him. He chose to keep Darumaka in exchange for Sandile. He looked back to Darmanitan and the other two Darumaka. "I promise, I'll take good care of your friend."
A new friendship is forged despite a shakey start, but it all worked out in the end. They saved a historical building from destruction, and now Sora has another new addition to the team. The journey to Nacrene City continues on.