Meloetta

"Crikey what a find!" A man had an ecstatic grin across his face as his shades picked up something out of the ordinary. The man wore a black leather coat, a pair of bright neon red shades that made him look like something out of a cyberpunk themed movie, his head was completely shaved and left no trace of hair, he also had a rather dark skin tone. He wore a singular black glove on one hand which seemed weird at first but only got weirder when one would take notice that the man's left arm was completely robotic with the area where the hand would normally be sat a rather familiar looking weapon that a certain former Pokemon Hunter once used before her untimely demise. "Meloetta will be just the catch I need to elevate myself to the status that J once had! Too crowded right now but once the beach clears up a bit I'll make my move and nab her!"

Nobody even knew she was there at that moment and he'd rather avoid causing a scene. It was too risky as Undella Town was full of upper class citizens, making police response unfortunately much faster than other Unovan cities or towns! Besides he knew quite a few powerful trainers such as the Unovan Elite Four and the Sinnoh Champion had villas here, it was best to not cause a mass panic or scene just in case they were around. He watched as the beach began clearing up. Hilda jumped as her Xtransceiver began ringing, an ecstatic look flashed across her face upon seeing who it was shortly before she raced off. Brock and Cilan went somewhere with Iris to try and help her out with Salamence's disobedience problems, while Zach and Dawn left somewhere together as well which would soon leave Ash all alone as he continued training with his Pokemon, his Eevee was the only one out of her ball at that second which caused the Pokemon Hunter to underestimate him as his goggles showcased Eevee was a mere 'level 20'.

"Ha! This'll be easier than taking a walk in the outback, come to me Meloetta!" The hunter activated a ball and threw it forward with quite the odd looking Pokemon appearing out of it as it appeared to be a rather large upside down squid? A sinister stare was present on the squids beak as he lashed out, wrapping his tentacles around Meloetta as he ensnared her in a tight grip!

"M-Melo!" Meloetta's eyes glowed blue as she attempted to force the Pokemon off of her body using her telekinetic powers only for the Pokemon to not budge!

"Melo?!" Meloetta then resorted to singing before her mouth was covered by the squid's tentacle.

"Malamar..." The squid smirked while the Pokemon Hunter approached.

"Good job Malamar, now let's get her back to the ship!"

Ariana clenched her fists as she witnessed that go down. "Damn it, that meddling Pokemon Hunter is gonna ruin everything!" She grabbed at a Pokeball and began racing down towards the beach only to pause as she found Ash stepping forward to engage conflict with the Hunter.

"Hey! I don't know what you're doing to that Pokemon but I can't let it continue!"

"You? I scanned that Eevee of yours kid and trust me, you can't beat my Malamar!" The Pokemon Hunter laughed.

"That's a Malamar?" Ash briefly lost focus before quickly shaking his head. "Scanning Eevee was a mistake she's not the threat, Pikachu use Bolt Strike!"

"Pika!" Blue electricity sparked from Pikachu's cheeks before his entire body became cloaked in an electric blue glow as the electric mouse raced towards the Pokemon Hunter!

"Eeek!" The Hunter's shades fell down as the man had a brief moment of panic. Malamar dropped Meloetta and got in the way of the attack, a loud shriek echoed out from the strange squid Pokemon before it toppled out of the air and onto it's side. Both the Pokemon Hunter's along with Ariana's jaw dropped at the sight of Pikachu's newly found power while Meloetta excitedly clapped her hands while flashing Ash a rather admiring expression.

"Melo..."

"W-What the hell did you feed that Pikachu?!" The Pokemon Hunter gasped out as he stared down at Malamar who was still breathing despite nearly getting fried to a crisp! Ash sweated lightly as he noted that perhaps he should not use that on a human as they might not be so lucky! "Oh forget it, I'm out of here! There are bigger fish to catch out there!" The man tapped a button on his wrist and promptly teleported away.

Ash narrowed his eyes as he watched the Pokemon Hunter and Malamar disappear before he swiftly turned his gaze back towards Meloetta. "You okay?"

"Melo!" Meloetta let out an ecstatic shriek as she shot forward and quickly threw her arms around Ash while rubbing her cheeks up against his.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Ash chuckled lightly. While he remained oblivious to the fact he'd gotten yet another female Pokemon to fall for him, Pikachu was not. A large smirk crossed his face at the sight of Meloetta nuzzling his trainer and he covered his mouth with his paw to hide his laughter. First it was Meganium, then Latias, Aipom and now Meloetta, Ash sure seemed to have a habit of winning the hearts of female Pokemon!

"What's so funny, Pikachu?" Ash asked upon noticing the Electric type laughing but the mouse could only shake his head as he refused to say!

Ariana watched from a distance before tapping a button on her wrist, summoning up a miniature hologram of Archer. "Archer we've got a problem, that brat's Pikachu somehow got his power back and is even stronger than he was before!" She hissed with a panicked expression.

"Really now? Curious..." Archer stroked his chin as he appeared to be in thought for a moment. "What of Meloetta? I presume the boy has her in his custody now?"

"Not yet, it appears to be following him around... and in love with him?" Ariana squinted as she was unsure if she was imagining the looks Meloetta was giving him or not.

"Well this creates a problem for us, Ariana ignore the boy. Capture his friends, if you hold them hostage then he'll have no choice but to hand over Meloetta."

"Yes Archer." Ariana bowed her head.

"Don't fail me Ariana, you know what's at stake." Archer calmly spoke as his hologram faded away.

"It's so good to hear from you again N, where are you?" Hilda asked as a bright smile crossed her face. Now that her brother was safe and happy once more she found it much easier to be cheerful and was no longer falling into the pit of anger and revenge that she'd found herself falling into. Her entire focus was now on N, she hoped that he'd find the Dark Stone soon so that they could be together.

"Not that far off from you based on the background, Undella Town right? Brooke, Chase and I are in White Forest, we believe we're close to finding the Dark Stone. What of you though? Everything okay?" N questioned.

"I'm better than okay actually, I'm great! My brother is back to his old self and it's almost as if I can feel how close we are to defeating Team Plasma once and for all!" Hilda exclaimed before frowning lightly. "I do wish you were here though, I wanted to go with you but my brother needed me at the time and I was afraid of what he'd might do if I wasn't around to watch him."

"You thought he'd put an end to things?" N questioned. "Don't worry I wish that you were with me but you should always look after your family, family will always be there for you... and I'm jealous of the bond the two of you have, Ghetsis never showed me any affection..." N sighed out.

"N..." Hilda frowned at his words, feeling sorry for him. "You'll be a better father than he ever was someday, just watch! Zach already approves of you especially since you saved Lucario so there's absolutely no conflict! Your new family will be better than your old one!"

N smiled lightly and was about to continue before his eyes went wide. "Hilda look out-"

Wham! A purple serpent tail smacked against the back of Hilda's head, knocking the girl out before a white heeled boot crushed the Xtransceiver.

"Sala!" Salamence roared as he thrashed about the beach, kicking his legs about as he knocked Cilan, Brock and Iris all up into the air! Cilan and Brock had thought that perhaps being kind to Salamence would make him more appreciative of the group but unfortunately Salamence didn't seem to favor the food and treats that both had offered up to him, the Dragon had immediately spat them out at the men's feet before Iris scolded the Dragon causing him to give her a violent growl before going on a rampage!

"Salamence stop!" Iris cried out. She wasn't worried about Salamence hurting himself, there was no chance of that happening! She was more worried that he'd hurt her friends or worse an innocent bystander! "Please Salamence I didn't mean to offend you, I just want to be your friend!"

"Fraxure frax frax!" Fraxure cried out. Salamence glared at the two and released stream of fire at them, Iris quickly dived to the ground while Fraxure let out a cry as the fire blasted his body!

"Salamence that wasn't cool, we're on the same team!" Iris shouted. Salamence huffed and tired his head.

"Let me try to speak with him," Brock calmly approached Salamence before extending his hand as he offered him yet another treat. "Hey there Salamence, I know that you're not a fan of the treats that I made specifically for Dragon types but perhaps Fire will be more your thing?" Croagunk stood protectively next to his trainer, his arms glowed a bright purple color as he prepared to strike Salamence if necessary. Salamence sniffed at the treat with a cautious expression before moving closer to it as his tongue reached out and pulled the treat into his mouth! The dragon began slowly eating and while his eyes showed signs of enjoyment the rest of his body didn't react to it.

"Iris if I may perhaps battling against Salamence and winning legitimately rather than using Guillotine again will help make Salamence see sense?" Cilan suggested with a light shrug.

"No way, I beat Salamence fair and square! If he wants to be a big baby about it then it's his problem not mine!" Salamence's eye twitched before he quickly turned and blasted Iris with a Flamethrower resulting in her soot covered body crashing to the ground once more.

"T-That's even hotter than last time..."

"Sala!" Salamence huffed as he looked away from her.

Brock and Cilan gave each other a worried look as it appeared that Salamence was just as stubborn as his trainer, would it ever be possible for them to get along at this rate?! A blue sparkling powder began falling down on the beach, their eyes began drooping shut before the trainers and their Pokemon all collapsed into the sand as sleep quickly took them. Ariana stepped forward and returned the sleeping Croagunk, Fraxure and Salamence to their Pokeballs as a smirk crossed her face.

"Just two to go..."

Zach and Dawn were currently sitting across from one another as they sat in a rather classy restaurant, it wasn't the most ideal location for their first date but Undella Town didn't exactly have a vast array of options! Lucario stood with his back against the wall as he watched from a distance allowing for the two of them to enjoy their alone time together, Piplup was currently being held in his arms as the penguin didn't share the same courtesy.

"The food here's a lot different than last time I was here," Zach commented as he looked at the menu.

"You've been here before?" Dawn asked with a light head tilt.

"By myself yeah, I've never been here on a date. This is my first... well the first one that I've actually gotten to attend." Zach offered a light smile. He'd already told Dawn about Skyla, it was in the past after all and he didn't want secrets between them.

"Funny it's my first date in general too, not that there weren't people interested I just never found the right person until now!" Dawn giggled lightly as she reached out and lightly held his hand as the two stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment. Zach felt his heart race excitedly as he found it hard to break the gaze, his cheeks glowing as red as a tamato berry while Lucario smirked at the sight.

"Dawn a-after Team Plasma is dealt with, w-would you like to travel with me to the Hoenn region? I made my sister a promise years ago and I intend on fulfilling it, besides I always thought a lot of the Pokemon there were pretty cool!"

"Well I did kind of wrap up my own adventure there pretty quickly," Dawn laughed as she'd gathered her five ribbons quite quick and didn't do much sightseeing before moving onto the next region to win another Grand Festival. "Sure, I'd love to be your companion! It'll be quite fun traveling with a frie-sorry, boyfriend." She corrected herself while offering him a warm smile. "I do expect you to finish giving me a tour of the Unova region though." She playfully teased.

"Oh don't worry, I will!" Zach gave off a light smirk. Lucario smiled as he watched the two laughing and having a good time with one another as the hours passed by and eventually it was time to go.

"I'll pay!" Both declared simultaneously before blushing heavily as they looked at one another.

"I'm a Grand Coordinator, I'm loaded I can afford this!" Dawn gave him a light look of concern.

"I still have my Unova League winnings, I'm not broke!" Zach sweated lightly.

Dawn gave him an affectionate smile before tilting her head. "How about we both pay then?"

"Sure!" Lucario let out a pleased growl as he watched them pay, feeling thankful that his trainer ended up in a healthy and loving relationship. The jackal's senses briefly clouded as the four of them headed on out of the restaurant and onto the now dark streets as night had fallen.

"We should find the others, Hilda will probably think we're doing... stuff if we don't hurry back." Dawn giggled at Zach's words and gave him a nod but before they could take another step bright blue powder dropped down causing the two of them along with Lucario and Piplup to fall fast asleep. Ariana stood over them with a smirk.

"Alright Vileplume, good job!" Ariana lifted up Dawn while Arbok grabbed Zach with his tail before letting out a grunt of pain as his tail quickly dropped. "What's wrong?" Ariana growled while Arbok pointed at the sword, Zach had brought it along as he didn't want to lose track of it but he'd left it next to Lucario during the duration of the date as to not kill the mood.

"Leave the sword if you can't carry it, it's not important!" Ariana growled. "We've got these two and their Pokemon, that's what matters!" Arbok's tail motioned as if the snake shrugged before he curled his tail around Zach, Lucario and Piplup as he dragged the three after Ariana.

"Everyone's sure been gone for awhile, huh Pikachu?" Ash commented as his stomach growled loudly. Pikachu's stomach rumbled loudly as well. Meloetta gave them a look of concern before snapping her fingers, the Psychic teleported off before reappearing before the two with rather large sandwiches in her hands.

"Melo!" She cried while offering the sandwiches to them, hearts filled her eyes as Pikachu lightly sweated while Ash remained oblivious of her attraction to him although he did find it rather odd that Meloetta had chosen to remain and watch as they continued to train, just watching and cheering him on as he trained!

"Thanks Meloetta!" Ash exclaimed before taking a bite of the sub. Pikachu followed suit as both let out rather satisfied appreciative groans as their taste buds were filled with an explosive amount of flavor!

"Melo!" Meloetta clasped her hands together with a pleased look before letting out a terrified shriek as what appeared to be a deli worker came racing down the beach while shouting out.

"HEY!" The man pointed right at the subs before pointing towards Meloetta. "Your Pokemon stole my food, I demand you pay up at once or I'll have to report this to Officer Jenny!"

"Is this true, Meloetta?" Ash narrowed his eyes as gave her a light glare. Meloetta blushed and quickly avoided his gaze which was all he needed to know that the man was telling the truth. "Meloetta things aren't free, you've got to pay for items you can't just take whatever you like!" Ash sighed out as he opened his wallet to pay the man. "So sorry about this sir, won't happen again." The man gave Ash merely gave Ash a glare as he walked away with the money.

"We could have gotten into some serious trouble!" Ash exclaimed. Meloetta lowered her head as she thought Ash was angry at her.

"Melo..." Meloetta began to sniffle before Ash placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey there's no need to get upset, we all make mistakes! Just don't do it again please." Ash offered her a light smile which Meloetta returned as she looked up at him. "Now let's find the others!"

"Pika pi!"

"Melo!" The two Pokemon cried out as they began walking down the beach towards where they'd last seen Hilda, Iris, Brock and Cilan. However they walked all along the beach and even backtracked and went the other way in case they'd went by while Ash was deeply absorbed in his training. Unfortunately they weren't anywhere to be seen which was worrisome!

"Let's try the villa," However a similar situation occurred there as it was completely dark and upon opening the door Ash didn't see any shoes or bags left by the couch indicating that nobody had returned yet! Ash narrowed his eyes and quickly pulled the door shut before locking it. "Okay I overheard Zach telling Hilda where he and Dawn were going, maybe they're still there..."

"Pika..." Pikachu flattened his ears as he cast a worried look towards Ash.

"I'm worried too Pikachu, they wouldn't run off like this and it's not my birthday so they're definitely not throwing a surprise somewhere." Ash clenched his fists as he quickly began racing down the street before coming to a sudden stop as he noticed Zach's sword laying in the middle of the road. "Okay now something is definitely wrong, he wouldn't have just left it here! What's going on?!"

"Hello Ketchum, it's an honor to meet you at last." Ash and Pikachu quickly turned with a light growl while Meloetta flew behind Ash, her hands grabbing hold of his shoulders as she shook and nervously peeked over his shoulder as they were standing across from Archer.

"I know you, you're the guy whose taken over Team Rocket! Jessie and James warned me about you!"

"Ah yes, those buffoons." Archer calmly spoke while keeping his gaze fixated on Ash. "I assume you do realize by know that your friends are in my custody. Don't worry they're okay but do know that if you try and blast me with Thunderbolt like a savage that I'll have my men eliminate them on the spot." Ash and Pikachu growled out while Archer's gaze turned to Meloetta. "A beautiful creature... I assure you that no harm will come to her but she is necessary for my plan. You're to take her to the Abyssal Ruins and turn her over to me, upon doing so I give you my word that I'll release your friends."

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing but I'm not playing it, I won't let you have Meloetta!" Ash growled out, Pikachu flicked his tail in agreement with his trainer as the two gave him a harsh glare.

"Then I'm afraid that your friends won't be around to enjoy the sunset, you have until then to turn her over so act quickly." Archer turned and calmly walked away while Ash and Pikachu growled after him.

"Don't worry Meloetta we won't let him take you, I'll think of something I promise you!"

"Melo.." Hearts filled Meloetta's eyes as she wrapped her arms around Ash's body while feeling honored that he was willing to protect her.

"Melo!" Meloetta cried out as her cage was kicked towards Archer who stood in the middle of the ruins, his calm expression turned to that of utter satisfaction as his eyes laid upon Meloetta. The Reveal Glass was present in his hands as Ariana flashed a sinister smirk.

"You foolish boy you just gave us the keys to the Unova region!" She cackled out.