We're back to a Viroro chapter, and one with some familiar faces. Though before that, the site is currently undergoing some PM issues, so if I don't respond to some reviews, it's because I can't. Please enjoy Chapter 14!
Chapter 14
A Revival
As his wife cooked their lunch for the day, Ash kept his attention on the nearby training session between Gloria and Astrid. Pikachu sat by his side, enjoying an early serving of Pokémon food as they took their break. They were still a way from reaching Hulbury, but that seemed to be all the more reason for Gloria to put her all into training and Ash wondered how much the meeting with Marnie the day before played into her current drive.
It helped that Astrid seemed happy to honor her offer of training Gloria, her powerful Absol looking down on the tinier forms of Chewtle and Rookidee. Scorbunny, meanwhile, cheered Gloria from the sidelines.
"Alright, hotshot, do your worst!" the Kalosian trainer declared, her own Pokémon on standby to attack at any time. Gloria remained fearless.
"With pleasure! Rookidee, Chewtle, circle around Absol!"
"Chew!"
"Rookoko!"
Both of the Gym Challenger's Pokémon charged forward, Rookidee taking flight and Chewtle dashing at full speed along the ground, both Pokémon making sure to block any escape route for Absol. Astrid's Pokémon didn't mount any immediate counteroffensive, allowing the younger girl some time to check her Pokémon's performance. Rookidee was doing well in patrolling from the sky, and that allowed Gloria to fully focus her attention back on Chewtle. Her little turtle was pushing herself hard, her drive to go faster leading the Water type to sprint as far as her disproportionate body could allow, even as she started wheezing with fatigue.
Gloria frowned just a bit, and Ash could see the uncertainty as she tried to address that. "Chewtle, make shorter steps! Focus on charging forward!"
"Chewww...!" The Snapping Pokémon did as requested, running at a quicker pace with her horn aiming right at Absol with a full powered Headbutt.
"Megahorn!" Absol's horn grew thrice as large and the Dark-type swung his head for her turtle. Gloria grimaced.
"Stop! Turn around!"
Chewtle faltered at the sudden instruction, almost tripping on her own legs in an effort to obey. The act lost several precious seconds while she hurried in the opposite direction, right as Rookidee was heading downward for the same exact spot.
"ROOK!" the Tiny Bird Pokémon cawed, slamming headfirst into the runaway turtle with enough force to make them both fall flat on the ground. The impact was loud enough to make Gloria wince, while Absol's Megahorn petered out. The turtle and the bird were back on their feet not a second later, pressing their faces against each other's as they traded matching scowls.
"Rookokoko!"
"Chew chew!"
Both Pokémon continued to glower at one another, more interested in throwing down with each other than Absol. Gloria scowled at both of her Pokémon, stomping to them and grabbing the two away, an angry stare reserved for both.
"No, no, no! Quit it, you two!" she said, her brow furrowed to underscore the message. Chewtle seemed to take the hint as she frowned to the ground, while Rookidee didn't seem fazed by the reprimand at all. They still thankfully buried the hatchet enough for Gloria to drop them both back down, even if Ash could tell their issues were far from solved.
Astrid came closer alongside the Disaster Pokémon, giving her sparring partner a shrug. "If your Pokémon are going to fight each other more than they fight their opponents, I doubt you're going to have any luck with Nessa."
"Oi, quit it, you. Not my fault those two decided to heckle each other so often." Gloria exhaled and rubbed her forehead, her attention going back to her still smug-looking bird Pokémon. "Rookidee, please, can you stop bothering Chewtle all the time? You're upsetting her."
True to Gloria's claim Chewtle didn't look the happiest, kicking at the dirt in frustration. Noticing that, Rookidee rubbed his chin with thought, leading Ash to lean in and observe if Gloria's Pokémon was going to listen to her. The raucous laugh the bird exploded into dashed that hope immediately.
"Rook rook! Rookoko!" Rookidee cawed, growing louder and more mocking, enough to make Chewtle forget her own issues and redirect her frustrations straight at him.
"Chew! Chewtle chew!" She scowled, looking ready to charge at her teammate and make him regret everything he was doing.
"Nibbah!" Gloria's trusty Fire type put himself between the bird and the turtle, attempting to play peacemaker. He was fairly unsuccessful, barely keeping Chewtle away from the increasingly amused Tiny Bird Pokémon.
"Oh, for the love of..." The whole sequence of events led Gloria to slap her forehead again, bringing her to look at Ash for guidance. "You got any expert trainer tips to calm these two down...?"
Ash folded his arms, trying to give the idea a thought. Of course, he'd had to tackle some issues between his Pokémon over time, but he wasn't sure if dealing with a belligerent baby or forcing two Pokémon to create a combination move was of use in that specific situation. In doubt, he went for broader advice. "There's lots of ways to deal with teammates not working well together. Try to understand what causes the problem."
"Oh, that's easy!" Some of her usual spunk recovered, Gloria leaned back over to her Flying type. "Rookidee, can you cooperate with Chewtle's training? It's important."
"Rooko," he said in disinterest, not even a second later, shaking his head with nonchalance.
"What?! You can't be serious!"
"Rook rook." Rookidee let out a mocking yawn, still uncaring of the increasingly angrier stares Gloria and Chewtle were giving him.
"Chew!"
"You little...!" Gloria tried to grab Rookidee in her hands, more than ready to teach him a lesson. The Tiny Bird swiftly flew above her reach, then dove straight for his trainer's head, pecking her over the scalp.
"OW! Hey!"
"Rookokokoko!"
The sneering, insufferable cawing of Rookidee made Gloria ball her fists, barely restraining herself from squeezing him in her hands. "Why, you...!"
Ash scratched his head, looking on in embarrassment as his suggestion backfired. Instinctively, he leaned towards his wife, who pulled her attention away from the food and towards Gloria's unsuccessful attempts at getting Rookidee to listen to her.
"I think you should try to give her more concrete help," she pointed out.
"I know that, it's just that nothing comes to mind..."
The man tried and failed to come up with something, almost hoping that his wife could have some idea before discarding the possibility. His gaze wandered around in search for the right solution.
He caught a glimpse of Pikachu, finished with his rest and now sparking his electricity carefully in front of Yamper, spurring the dog to emulate him. Sandshrew offered an example of his own with his ice control, all under Pancham's proud glance. The training seemed to be going well, as Yamper managed to keep his control of electricity in check with a happy series of "Wampa!".
"Well, at least the other Pokémon look to be good friends," Serena remarked, clearly proud of the results achieved by her newest Pokémon.
It was then that Ash realized Sobble was observing the quartet of Pokémon from the distance, barely hidden behind a tree. His back was pressed behind it in an attempt to be as stealthy and stoic as he could be, much like Greninja a few steps away. The Water Lizard Pokémon looked ready to join the others, yet continued to maintain the distance as his feet looked wobbly and unsteady. Ash couldn't help but find that endearing, feeling tempted to tell him that he could already consider the quartet his friends and didn't have to be so shy.
And then, an idea formed in Ash's head, making the man grin.
"I think I got it!" Ash pumped his fists, right before cupping his hands around his mouth. "Hey, Sobble!"
"Sah!?" The Water type jumped in place, his borrowed confidence crumbling enough to make him sweat and disappear, trying to hide back behind the tree. Ash continued to smile as he approached his hiding place, keeping enough distance to try and make Sobble comfortable.
"Chewtle was your friend back in the Wild Area, right? Know anything we could do to help her train?"
Sobble peeked his head from behind the tree, his invisibility dispelled just enough to show him considering the question. Ash's newest Pokémon was pensive, and swiftly turned to Greninja for reassurance. He seemed to have something in mind, yet still needed a push to get there.
The Ninja Pokémon acknowledged that, giving the smaller Pokémon a nod. "Nin."
"Sah...Sahbble sahb!" Sobble beamed in pure joy, a sudden burst of confidence overtaking him as he scampered all the way from his hiding place to right in front of Chewtle, standing on his legs and taking a very wobbly, unsure but clear fighting stance. His actions were enough to grab the attention of everyone, while Ash and Pikachu got closer to their teammate.
Gloria quirked an eyebrow. "What's Sobble's deal?"
"I get it. You want to help train Chewtle yourself, right?" Ash asked, leaning over his Pokémon. Sobble wore a confident grin in response.
"Sahb!"
"Chew?"
"Wait, Sobble?"
"He and Chewtle are old friends. If anyone knows how to help out your Pokémon, it's him," Ash pointed out.
"S-Saahb! Sahbble!"
Gloria narrowed her gaze towards the brave little lizard, almost testing his shaky resolve on the spot. Even if Sobble continued to wobble in place, sweat forming over his forehead, he didn't back down nor try to run away, something that made Chewtle a bit impressed. That appeared to be enough for the Postwick girl to shrug.
"Well, it's worth a try." Taking a deep breath and allowing everyone to move out of the way, she pointed straight for Ash's Pokémon. "Chewtle, let's go with a Headbutt!"
Chewtle didn't waste time in charging forward, head down and ready for the impact. Sobble remained calm, waiting in place, until he leapt out to the side in a manner extremely familiar for Ash, letting out a "Sah!".
"Turn left!"
"Chew!" Gloria's order may have been as sudden as before, but Chewtle still turned sharply, redirecting herself for Sobble's current position. It was almost too quick for the Water Lizard Pokémon to react, barely having the time to hop over Chewtle with a leap and landing behind it.
Ash was impressed by Sobble's nimble movements, the ultimate result of his recent training. Gloria didn't care much for it, however, too busy dealing with Chewtle's own. "Good! Turn around and go faster!"
The turtle braked suddenly, circling around to rush right where she came from, ready to aim at her friend again. Sobble leapt to the side again, full with boosted confidence that crashed and burned as he landed over a small pebble and ended up losing his footing.
"SAHB!" the Water type yelped, trying to stay on his feet, giving Chewtle ample time to get closer. She tried to stop before hitting, but it was too late, the full weight of the Snapping Pokémon slamming into her friend.
"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Sobble was blown back quite a few feet, rolling over the dirt until a tree stopped him in its tracks, leaving him injured, quite dirtied, and much less confident.
"Chew! Chewtle chew!" Chewtle said, much more worried than before as she sprinted for her friend. Ash did the same, moving to grab Sobble in his hands.
He could hear a faint and embarrassed "Whoops" coming from Gloria, but Ash's attention was all on his newest Pokémon, his eyes watery and seeming ready to cry at any moment. Ash smiled at him, rubbing his head fin. Greninja joined Ash's side, arms folded as he once again looked over his self-styled protégé.
"Hey, hey, Sobble, it's okay. You did great. Really strong footwork out there. Just need to work on the landing."
"Nin nin."
"Sah..." Sobble didn't look all that convinced, but seeing both his trainer and his mentor praise him still brought his tears to a stop, managing to smile a bit.
"Chewtle chew..." Chewtle looked down, apologetic, with even Gloria unsure of what to say. Sobble shook his head, making clear she had nothing to worry about, sniffing away his tears before they came out.
And then a high-pitched, mocking laugh ruined the moment completely.
"Rookokoko!" Everyone around turned their heads to the tree branches above them, from where Gloria's mischievous bird had enjoyed the whole botched training session. Sobble flushed with embarrassment and looked ready to cry again. Gloria grumbled under her breath, and Chewtle looked to be barely restraining his rage.
"Chew...chew chew chewtle chew!" Without any prompting from Gloria, Chewtle went and headbutted the tree at full speed, strong enough to shake Rookidee off his perch and send him crashing to the ground. Chewtle rushed for him once more. Rookidee replied in kind, flying back ahead and engaging Chewtle in a messy scuffle between the two. Astrid chuckled under her breath, and Gloria attempted to say something before giving up on it.
"Aaaand here they go again. I swear, they're impossible..."
"Maybe it's better to take a break. Lunch is ready, anyway," Ash remarked, noticing Serena waving at the group with a few plates already filled on the table.
Gloria nodded with a sigh. "Guess so...c'mon, guys, let's chow down."
It took a bit more than Gloria was clearly wishing for, but eventually the desire to eat took precedence over Chewtle and Rookidee's petty feud. Both of Gloria's Pokémon joined their trainer and their companions in a truce for food.
As the humans sat at the table with their plates of soup, and their Pokémon received bowls of food on the ground, the entire group began their well-received lunch. Ash ate through his portion slowly, unable to help himself from sparing a glance to the rest of the team. Serena was eating a bit more voraciously than normal, while Gloria still looked quite annoyed at the recent events, moreso as Chewtle and Rookidee started wolfing down on their food to see who would finish first. Scorbunny tried and failed to calm his teammates down. Astrid seemed more than a bit amused at the younger girl's predicament, even if she wasn't saying anything.
His attention moved back to his own team of Pokémon, noticing most of the old guard enjoying their portions happily. A much different story was Sobble, the Water Lizard Pokémon still notably frowning as he munched over his food. Yamper tried to make things better with an affectionate lick, but that didn't seem to do much for the small Pokémon's morale. The man leaned a bit towards his newest capture, patting his head once more. "Come on. You were amazing."
"Sah..." Sobble continued to bite on his lunch, looking back at his trainer without changing expression.
Ash continued to give him a reassuring smile. "That was your first real fight, it's okay to make mistakes. Me and Greninja will do all we can to make you even stronger, you can be sure of it."
"Ninja nin, ninja," Greninja confirmed, leaning over a nearby tree in vigilance. The opportunity to get some more training with his idol finally managed to get through to the Galarian Pokémon.
"Sah! Sahbble sah!" Sobble said with a big smile, earning him another gentle pat by his trainer. As Ash turned back to his plate, he spotted Gloria from the corner of his eye, giving him a half-lidded stare.
"Glad to see your Pokémon training is going well," the girl grumbled.
"That's what happens when a trainer knows what they're doing, spitfire."
Gloria rolled her eyes in exasperation at Astrid's smug remark. "Don't start again."
"Astrid, come on. We've all had our issues starting out."
Ash's chiding seemed to get the woman to relent on her teasing, allowing Gloria the chance to sulk over her current issues. The Galarian trainer looked towards her team of Pokémon, leading Ash to do the same: Chewtle and Rookidee were still in the middle of their eating contest with the latter on the clear lead, spurring haughtiness in the bird and anger in the turtle. Scorbunny had given up in pacifying the two, sitting on the ground in exhaustion as he ate from his own bowl.
Gloria sighed, leaning on the table. "I'd sure like to know what the deal is. Rookidee was always a bit of a jerk, but he's just gotten worse recently."
"Nibbah..." Scorbunny nodded, downing a few treats.
Stroking his chin, Ash tried to give his two cents. "You've been on a roll and that must've inflated his ego. Unfortunately, Chewtle seems to make for an easy target."
"Because she isn't as fast as she wants to be? I still don't get that obsession of hers."
"Your other partners are a very speedy Pokémon and a nimble flier," Serena remarked, inserting herself in the conversation. "She might feel like she isn't good enough as she is."
"Wait, seriously?" Gloria frowned, almost like she found it too simple a solution. The trainer leaned over her Water type just as she finished cleaning her bowl, pulling off her brightest grin. "Come on, Chewtle, you know that's not true! You're very much an asset!"
"Chew?" Her Pokémon perked her head up, her eyes gleaning with curiosity. Just from a glance, Ash could tell that Serena's assumption was correct.
"Yeah! You know, like when you...uhh...and...well..."
The more Gloria's voice trailed off into unsure whispers and her smile faltered, the more Ash frowned for her. She tapped her forehead, trying to get something out, until Astrid shook her head. "You can't think of anything, right?"
Gloria attempted to prove the woman wrong, but as her mouth made no sound, the young girl turned her head down in resignation. Rookidee joined Astrid in chirping at the girl's expense, much to her chagrin.
Mirroring her trainer, Chewtle's smile fell as well, kicking at the dirt. "Chew..."
After shutting down the bird's sneering cries with a glare, Gloria folded her arms, tilting her head around in search for answers.
"Guess there is a problem, after all..." Left to wander, her gaze finally settled on Ash. "Come on, man, give me something here."
The man was taken off guard by the request, trying to come up with a useful reply. He glanced over Sobble, thinking of how much he was trying to grow into a stronger Pokémon, and the answer came to him spontaneously. "Working hard until the right moment is going to help, for sure."
"Pika pikachu," his partner agreed, nodding sagely.
Gloria stared at him wordlessly, her lip quivering until her mouth pursed into a rather unimpressed frown, rolling her eyes. "Of course, because that's not what I was doing. Can't you give some useful help?"
"Hey, I'm trying."
"You'd think a Pokémon Master would know better than just 'train more'." Her stare turned harsher, judgmental, and aimed straight at the man.
The insinuation didn't go over well for Ash, gritting his teeth and furrowing his brow. He just tried to help, and that was how she took his advice? He would've replied in kind, if a sharp scream didn't bring the discussion to a halt.
Everyone went into high alert, trainers and Pokémon alike standing up and trying to discern the origin of the sound.
"What was that?" Gloria asked, her prior frown replaced by apprehension. "One of those Team Yell punks again?"
"It came from the woods," Astrid noted, pointing towards the row of lush green trees on the side of the path. Ash adjusted his hat, preparing himself to trek there, only to find himself surpassed by the brown-haired blur that was Gloria, reaching the edge of the forest and turning to her team.
"Let's see what's up! Chewtle, everyone, come with me!" Her words were urgent, spurring her whole team to come along, Chewtle inexorably last as Scorbunny hopped and Rookidee flew past her. It didn't stop any of them from charging onward, however, the girl and her Pokémon disappearing behind the thicket of trees.
Ash stared after her, wondering why she was being so impatient again. Maybe it was just her natural excitement, or perhaps just a way to not have to think about her current problems. Whatever it was, the fact she had run away like that before he could reply made him groan.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, finding Serena at his side. She looked understanding, and it had a calming effect. "You know she wasn't trying to insult you. She's just frustrated."
"She could still think about her words some more..." Ash sighed out, before stretching his hands and bringing his attention back to the woods. "Whatever, we'll talk about this later."
Everyone else was in agreement, and as Pikachu leapt on the man's shoulder, every other Pokémon getting recalled, he, Serena and Astrid followed in Gloria's footsteps, keeping a steady walk for his wife's sake. The forest they found themselves in was intricate and deep, enough to force them to slow down and find Gloria soon after, tired from the race and forced to walk. Before they could acknowledge the reunion, the rustling of some nearby bushes brought them all to attention, ready to fight whatever was coming for them.
The bush parted soon after, revealing a small, quadrupedal blob-like Pokémon whose body was encased in a geometric-shaped yellow shell with blue dots on its edges. His blue eyes glimmered as soon as he saw the group, his blue feelers perking up in excitement.
"Dotdot! Dododot!" the Pokémon said, eyes shining with each cry like some sort of computer, jumping on his feet. His cheery demeanor was enough to make the trainers and Pokémon lower their guards, making way for another question in Ash's mind.
"What Pokémon is that?"
"It's a Dottler, the evolution of Blipbug...But why is one here?" Gloria scratched her head, as puzzled as the man was.
"Dotdotdot!" Without warning, or perhaps to answer the question, the Pokémon turned around and rushed ahead, leaving through the same path he came from.
The implications were obvious, and Ash made them clear. "Let's follow him."
The trainers were all in agreement, tracing the steps of the geometrical bug from the thick of the woods to a large open clearing. The bug's buzz of "Dododot!" continued guiding them, and they soon found it jumping in place and directing everyone's attention towards a black-haired boy about Gloria's age. He was heavily injured, with stippled bruises on his arms and collapsed under a tree. Everyone approached him in alarmed hurry.
"This must be his trainer..." Astrid mused, grabbing the boy's shoulders and gently shaking him up. "Hey, are you alright?"
Her percussive awakening method seemed to do the trick as the boy slowly opened his eyes with a grimace. "Mhhmmm...My head..."
"Relax, you're safe here. What happened to you?" Ash asked, kneeling at the kid's height, himself.
"I was...heading to Hulbury for my next Gym battle, but then...someone attacked us. They were like a ghost, and-" The boy went wide-eyed, turning towards his bare wrist in a panic. "M-my Dynamax Band! Did he take it?"
"Someone mugged you for your Band? Why?"
"I...I...ugh...my head..."
"Gloria, don't press him. He needs to rest," Ash tried to say. Astrid let go of the boy. Gloria quieted down, even if her curiosity looked anything but sated. They backed up as Dottler joined his trainer's side, keeping an eye on his recovery while Ash and the others considered what to do.
Astrid folded her arms with a frown, eyeing the Gym Challenger. "So…there's a Dynamax Band thief on the loose?"
"Do you think it has anything to do with Alastair? With what happened in the mine?" Serena asked, her tone serious as she balled her fists. All of the adults considered her question, the meeting with their old enemy and what he was capable of still fresh in their minds. Ash wished he could answer that definitively, but he could only shake his head, adjusting his hat. Gloria stared between them all curiously.
"Who knows..."
"Pika..."
The air hung heavy among the trio, all wondering what would the man's purpose be. The point raised by Serena had merit: Alastair was clearly interested in the Dynamax phenomenon, and gaining one of the Bands used to activate it seemed like a logical step to take. He shuddered, thinking about the kind of danger that boy had been in if that was the case. There was, after all, little doubt he had tangled with Marshadow, and Pikachu's expression said he thought the same.
Before anyone could reach a real answer, however, voices boomed through the clearing from a nearby thicket of trees.
"Are you sure dat's da way he went?"
"I think so? This forest is too dense..."
Ash blinked, turning in the direction of the familiar voices, joined by the sound of steps and grass. Gloria took a defensive stance alongside her team of Pokémon, however, readying herself to protect the injured boy. Ash and the others didn't take any precautions whatsoever, more surprised by whom those voices belonged to as they approached, sharing a look with one another.
"How can you lose someone injured on a straight line?!"
"We do have a talent for losing tings, Jess..."
"What are you implying, you stupid cat?"
"Ow!" Ash looked on in confusion, as an extremely familiar white-clad couple and a Meowth with a noticeable bump on his forehead stumbled into the clearing, the woman and the Pokémon too busy glaring at each other to notice them.
"Do you have to be so loud? We're on an undercover mission, here!"
"I only screamed because you made me!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Guys, please, someone's gonna-"
Just as the man tried to quell his teammates, the ever-known, and now visible, trio stared back at Ash and his companions, immediately going pale and at a loss for words.
It was a moment of dead silence, both parties staring at each other. The new arrivals blinked, looking ready to bolt, but clearly realizing they had no way out of their newest encounter. Gloria continued to remain on high alert, glaring at them and opening her mouth to shout. Before she could, Ash stepped forward, head tilted in recognition and opened his own.
"Team Rocket?! What are you doing here?"
Gloria whipped around, brow furrowed at the mention of the name, but Ash and the others kept staring to the trio (or borderline-quartet). Neither of the three looked to want to respond, with the ever-despondent Jessie rubbing her temple in frustration. "Just what we needed, the twerps and...extra twerpette?"
"Dat sounds too exclusive. It would make her feel uncomfortable!"
Serena quickly joined her husband in welcoming their old-time pursuers, offering a smile at her old rival. "It's been a while since we last met!"
"Yeah, guess so..." Jessie crossed her arms and turned the complete opposite way, trying to not seem appreciative.
"And still wearing the old colors, I see..." Astrid pitched in, making Ash realize how the two human members of the trio were indeed still dressed up in the familiar uniform belonging to their former organization. James sighed, seeming just as dragged along as usual.
"I tried to tell Jessie that we couldn't spend all our budget on her performance wardrobe, but she didn't listen...Though could you not call us Team Rocket? It'll tarnish our well-earned reputation!" the man said, puffing his chest with strange pride.
Jessie hadn't missed his first words, though, and immediately redirected her anger towards her human companion. James began to sweat profusely in a panic. Ash would've commented on it, if a rather annoyed-looking Gloria didn't stomp in, only then reminding the man that she was the only one to not be aware of the villains.
"Who are these people? And is that a Meowth?" She squinted her eyes towards the Pokémon, a hand on her chin. The feline companion struck a pose, as if pleased and ready to answer the inevitable question. One Gloria wasn't even bothering to ask. "No way...it doesn't look hairy or feral enough..."
Ash quirked an eyebrow, puzzled at that description. It made him wonder if Gloria had ever seen a Meowth before, for how at odds it sounded with the one before them, even including the Alolan ones.
The Meowth he was most familiar with seemed to take similar offense, no longer pleased but jabbing his paw at her. "Excuse you, I'm da best Meowth dat one could ask for!"
"Gah! It speaks!" Gloria finally realized, jumping back a few steps.
Ash tried hard not to find the whole scene amusing, choosing to answer the girl's question. "They are...well, were Team Rocket, a bunch of troublemakers that followed us for quite a while. Didn't expect to see them here in Galar..."
"Not like we wanted to be here, twerp!" Jessie snapped before her companions and Wobbuffet pulled her in, as if preventing her from saying something she shouldn't. Gloria didn't appear to care.
"They definitely have the look down...wait…" Shifting her eyes between the injured boy and the trio of once villains, Gloria frowned. "You were the ones to steal this kid's Dynamax Band!"
"I'm not so sure about that..." Serena chuckled, turning pensive, and Ash could tell that his wife already suspected something. Gloria suspected nothing, looking to the adults with indignant confusion, ready to brawl but held back. "Ash, you said that Lance was tracking down Alastair, right?"
"Yeah. Wait, you don't think...?"
She nodded, her attention back towards the last remnants of Team Rocket. "They worked undercover for ARC, after all. Would be in their wheelhouse. Jessie, are you trying to chase Alastair down?"
The whole Team Rocket swallowed down, James raising both hands as he looked to be thinking about something. "W-well..."
"My father's involved, right?" Ash saw Gloria whip around at that, brow furrowed once again, but soon turned back on the former Team Rocket, her Pokémon gearing for a fight they so wanted.
The Team Rocket trio went even paler than they already were, their exaggerated grimaces making their worry obvious. Ash found himself agreeing with that possibility: from the times they got to interact, Y had always been a slippery guy, and working together with a now jobless Team Rocket would've fit perfectly, even if nothing suggested otherwise. Before Serena could push forward with it, however, Gloria stepped in with both hands raised.
"Okay, I'm lost, can someone explain what's going on?" she asked, towards both her own group and the newcomers. She sounded extremely lost, and Ash couldn't blame her.
"Yeah, what's going on, guys?" he thus added, staring back at them. Pikachu even sparked his cheeks for old times' sake, as an incentive.
The new question pushed their old-time opponents even more on the spot, sweating profusely, to the point Ash started wondering if they had been too harsh. The thought remained fleeting as the trio started looking at each other, seemingly at a loss for ideas.
"I didn't expect we would hafta deal with da twoips..."
"If I knew they were here, I would've planned for the best reunion they'd ever see!" Jessie said, stomping a foot down.
By contrast James remained calm, pulling off a rose with surprising confidence. "Then we should stick to the classics, if that's how it'll be!"
"Time for da top act of da former Team Rocket three!"
"Wobb!"
Both Jessie and Meowth caught his drift immediately, sharing a wicked grin as all three turned back to Ash and the others. Meowth punched his palm with gusto. Astrid groaned, and Ash felt a sigh on his lips, already guessing at what was going to happen, if not why. With a jerk of his head, Pikachu leapt to the ground, cheeks sparking.
"It's been way too long since our audience got to see an old school Team Rocket showdown!" Jessie cackled, cracking her knuckles while James chuckled menacingly. "I think it's about time we staged a revival performance!"
Who exactly the 'audience' was flew past everyone's heads, including the fairly irritated Gloria, as Jessie and James leapt forward to begin a very, very familiar routine.
"Prepare for trouble, if an answer's what you seek!"
"And make it double, for we're all but weak!"
"What the...?" Gloria frowned, even more puzzled than she already was. Much different was Ash and the others' reaction, knowing better than to stop them. He sighed, rubbing at his temples and quirking an eyebrow. It didn't stop Gloria and her Pokémon from looking at the adults in confusion, pointing to the trio with her jaw hanging open.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite our people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!" the woman cried, striking a pose. Her compatriot soon joined her.
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight and fight!"
"Meowth! Dat's right!"
"Wooobbufett!" Jessie's inseparable blue Pokémon punctuated at the end, posing with the rest.
Silence followed.
A glance to the side told Ash that Gloria was no less confused, offering little reaction. For Ash, however, memories were flooding back, making him chuckle alongside Pikachu. Serena shared in it with a giggle, but Astrid just rolled her eyes.
"Man, seeing you guys do the old motto takes me back..." he said, bringing a close to his chuckles. His hands folded over his chest. "But, uh, really guys…What are you up to?"
"We're here to seize the power of Dynamax for ourselves!" Jessie snapped, looking annoyed at the motto leaving little impression. "We're the return of Team Rocket, of course, so we'll do anything we can to obtain power! Go, Gourgeist!"
"Inkay, it's your turn!"
Jessie and James threw their Poké Balls at the same time, unveiling their old partners from the Kalos region. Both Pokémon hovered closer, ready to rumble, giving a cry and same old fierce expressions.
"Now, give us all we want, or we'll take it all by force!" Jessie declared, her tone much more confident as she jabbed towards them. It was clear her villainous pride was coming back in full force. After so much time, Ash almost found it endearing, if annoyance wasn't overriding it.
"Come on, guys, we don't have to do this anymore," he said, sighing out. "We're long past these fights. It's not like you."
"That's what you think! We've grown much stronger since our last face off!" James pouted, instantly nullifying any chance of them sounding like a serious threat.
And yet, their threats were still enough for Gloria to stride in front of her traveling companions, and the boy at the base of the tree, lips pursed into a frown as she balled her fists. One fist unfurled to point straight at the quartet. "I have no clue who you are or what you're trying to do, but if you're up to no good, I'll stop you! Make you pay for getting in the way of a Gym Challenger's journey!"
"Gloria, there's no-"
"Guys, let's teach 'em a lesson!"
Completely ignoring Serena's words, Gloria's faithful Pokémon all joined her side, raring to go and face Team Rocket's Pokémon. Observing her, Ash made note of how angry she felt: it wasn't just impatience and impulsivity. She legitimately wanted to put an end to whatever dastardly scheme Team Rocket claimed to want to do, frustrated by what she must've found a colossal in-joke she wasn't part of. It made him feel a bit bad at not explaining anything, but she seemed to be past wanting them. All she wanted now was to stop the villains no one was doing anything to defeat, and to protect the injured boy behind them. He admired that, even if the circumstances made it seem more than a bit amusing.
Realizing all that, Ash and Serena glanced to each other, nodding in a silent conversation as Astrid shrugged. If Team Rocket wanted to stubbornly fight them, maybe it was better to let them sort things out with Gloria. Perhaps, it would be exactly what she needed.
"What's this? Tiny twerpette thinks she can challenge us?!" Jessie said with a barking laugh, one that made the adults step further back.
"That's a laugh! Inkay, let's show this…er…name-in-progress twerpette we mean business! Evil business!"
"Well, we mean business, too! Scorbunny, Flame Charge ahead! Chewtle, Rookidee, circle around them!"
"Nibbah!"
"Rooko!"
"Chew chew!"
All three of Gloria's companions rushed ahead, Scorbunny's body cloaked in flames as he sprinted forward, while Rookidee and Chewtle tried to cut out possible escape routes for the two hovering Pokémon.
"It's weird to think it's been ages since we got a chance for a proper twerp scuffle..." James mused, going nostalgic at the sight with a big grin on his face as he pumped his fists.
Jessie rolled her eyes. "Proper or not, put your back into it. More battle and less talk until hero twerpette is dealt with."
"Dat sounds very generic, Jess...Dey all like to be heroes."
"Aaah, whatever! Gourgeist, Seed Bomb!"
"Inkay, Psybeam!"
The barrage of seeds and the psychic ray flew for Gloria's Pokémon in an instant, forcing them to turn sharply to avoid it. Chewtle wasn't fast enough, taking the brunt of both attacks and getting blown back a few steps, causing her to stop and grimace.
Gloria didn't waste time to reformulate her offensive, punching forward. "If we can't get close, we'll hit from the distance! Rookidee, Air Slash! Scorbunny, Ember!"
"Bun! Bun! Bun!" Scorbunny shouted, a burst of flame fired with each cry for Gourgeist.
"Rookooo!" Rookidee's blast of air joined the embers in flight, the attacks mingling together into a singular blast.
"That won't be enough! Gourgeist, get rid of that with Seed Bomb!" Jessie's longtime partner obeyed in an instant, the relentless barrage of seeds forcing the combined attack to explode with no harm done, the resulting smoke covering the battlers. Which, from her grin, was just what Gloria was counting on.
"Chewtle, now! Headbutt!"
Ash and Pikachu could hardly see through the hazy smoke, yet the furious stomping of Chewtle charging for her opponents still made it through. He quirked an eyebrow, wondering how the battle would play out.
James counteracted quickly. "Inkay, Foul Play!"
The small squid jetted for the speeding turtle, fast enough to clear the smoke around him, allowing everyone to watch as he grabbed Chewtle off the ground with his tentacles. Defying the Water type's resistance, the squid twisted around and hurled her groundward, slamming right into Scorbunny and forcing him face-first in the dirt. Rookidee was taken by surprise, and a well-aimed Seed Bomb made him plummet, as well.
Gloria paled, while Jessie grinned wickedly. "Now, Leech Seed!"
Gourgeist fired another round of seeds right next to Gloria's Pokémon, and immediately, strong grey roots sprouted from the ground, wrapping themselves around the downed fighters and glowing a sick green as their energy was sapped away. All three cried out as Jessie's Pokémon feasted over their stamina.
"Get real! Do you really think that'll stop us? Guys, get out of it!" Gloria shouted, projecting confidence even as her voice cracked. Jessie, James and Meowth cackled, causing Ash to shake his head, but thumb one of his pokeballs.
The roots continued to trap and weaken them, but the trio of Pokémon powered through in their own ways at their trainer's words. Scorbunny burst into the fire of Flame Charge, Rookidee pecked away at the roots, and Chewtle headbutted through her restraints, tearing at the roots. Gourgeist's seeds were robust and built to last, but even then, the tenacity of Gloria's Pokémon was slicing a way through.
However, James was quick on the uptake. "Like we'll allow that! We know enough to not let twerps get the upper hand! Inkay, Psybeam!"
Inkay twisted his body upside down, dragging the blue beam across the ground just as Scorbunny and Rookidee managed to break free, blasting them away with only Chewtle weathering the blast, as she kept headbutting the roots at full force.
"NIBBAAH!"
"ROOKO!"
Jessie was emboldened by the cries of the two Pokémon, snapping her fingers with gusto. "Gourgeist, Leech Seed! And this time make sure they can't move!"
Another round of seeds met the ground, and a far greater number of roots sprouted from the dirt, trapping the downed Pokémon in an unescapable grip. Only Chewtle avoided that fate, smashing through her bindings surprisingly quickly just before the new ones could strike, leaving her as the only Pokémon Gloria had that was still able to fight.
"Scorbunny! Rookidee!" Gloria shouted, begging for her Pokémon to free themselves again. As much as they tried again, however, their restraints and injures prevented that. She grimaced, recognizing her powerlessness. Jessie's lips were twisted in a mocking grin, her usual arrogance flaunted stronger than ever as she laughed at Gloria's expense. Serena was also handling Braixen's pokeball.
"It's useless! My dear Gourgeist is second to none when it comes to tying up Pokémon!"
"Geist geist geist!" the Pumpkin Pokémon cackled in sync with his trainer.
"Now we just gotta deal with your little turtle, and you'll be history!" the magenta-haired woman cried. James and Meowth gave her a disbelieving expression, but quickly replaced them with the confident smirks. It just made Ash want to beat them all the more, himself, for answers, but he hung back, watching Gloria.
"Wooobbuffett!"
"Chew..." the turtle gasped. She was sweating, clearly aware that she was the last line of defense her trainer had, yet standing her ground against Gourgeist and Inkay.
In contrast with Jessie's high spirits, James turned far more pensive, scratching his head with a frown. The odd behavior made Meowth quirk an eyebrow. "Sometin' on your mind, Jimmy?"
"Being the ones on the winning side for once feels...off, somehow. Isn't this the part where things get turned around and they make us blast off? Where's that good ol' twerp spirit?"
"That's one tradition meant to be broken! If the twerp wants to leave apprentice twerp to lose, then I'll take it! Today, Team Rocket will make them blast off!" Jessie proclaimed, raising a fist to the sky in a gesture Ash found more than a little familiar.
The declaration managed to win over James enough to have him and Meowth join in her glee, just as their Pokémon floated around Chewtle to strike at a moment's notice. They really wanted the victory. At the words, Gloria and Chewtle steadied their stances, their expressions betraying how aware they were of the deck stacked against them.
She didn't look for Ash's help, though, and it allowed him to hang back.
Instead, he just continued to observe the battle intently with his old friends, while behind them, Dottler's trainer was recovering enough to pay some mild attention to it, even if very lost. The longer he observed, the more Ash determined it was somewhat surreal to witness a Team Rocket battle where the trio were the most experienced fighters, just as much as it was seeing Gloria treating the battle with a gravity that was far more unwarranted than it seemed. He could tell the Gym Challenger was trying her best, however, and the match was far from being sealed.
"How did you put up with this whole thing for years...?" Astrid asked, rolling her eyes at the still giggling villains.
"After a while you sorta get used to it. We usually didn't take long to defeat them, anyway," came the response, Ash shoving his hands in his pockets.
As Ash claimed that, his attention went to Chewtle, her body bruised all over, yet her expression still fierce and driven. It made him smile, connecting the dots on how the battle would end up going.
"We should help Gloria," Serena suggested, hugging Yamper tightly as she met her husband's gaze.
He shook his head. "Let's wait just a bit. I noticed something, and want to see if Gloria did too. Besides…she wants this. No Challenger worth their salt would give in at something like this."
Ash's wife didn't seem completely reassured, but she still chose to trust her husband, turning back to witness the fight while Astrid just shrugged, hardly invested in the whole goings-on. Ash's attention went towards Gloria once more, the nervous-looking girl still considering her options. She may not have been aware of it, but she already had all the cards she needed to overcome the trial before her. It was all a matter of if she could play the right ones to win the battle now.
Jessie didn't give her any more time to think about it, pointing right for Chewtle. "Now, let's finish this! Blast away that little thing with Seed Bomb!"
"Geist!" Gourgeist floated further up to gain a better angle, readying herself to fire another salvo of seeds.
Swallowing down, Gloria tried to keep calm. "Run away, Chewtle!"
"Chew…chew!" Even if fatigued, Chewtle forced herself to run, the various seeds Gourgeist was firing impacting on the ground to no effect. The Pumpkin Pokémon wasn't deterred, continuing to pursue the Snapping Pokémon, until Gloria's Pokémon was forced to run in circles to avoid being struck, trapped in an easy pattern for her opponents to take advantage of.
"Inkay, Psybeam!" James ordered, leading Inkay to prepare firing his own blast just as Gourgeist flew ahead of Chewtle's path, blocking her way forward and readying another round of Seed Bomb.
In the snap moment before the attacks struck and with no other options left, Gloria took a gamble. "Headbutt!"
"Chew!" Charging forward, Chewtle threw her head and sprinted into a leap, fast enough to narrowly avoid Inkay's psychic blast, surprising even Gloria.
She flew right for Jessie's faithful Pokémon, head ready to slam into her. Or at least that was the intention, until Chewtle phased through and barely landed on her feet on the other side, utterly puzzled.
"Your Headbutts will do nothing to us! Gourgeist is a Ghost type!" Jessie gloated to herself, laughing at the poor move choice with the Pumpkin Pokémon joining her immediately.
Gloria, however, wasn't paying attention to her opponent. She was instead staring at Chewtle, thinking of what had just happened. Before long, a grin formed on her face, a sign that an idea had come to her. Watching her, Ash smiled as well.
"I get it!" She punched her palm with resolution, her confidence fully regained. "Chewtle, keep using Headbutt in bursts!"
"Chew?"
"Trust me on this one!"
Chewtle didn't feel any less hesitant, but as Inkay and Gourgeist prepared another serving of attacks, she chose to give a chance to the plan, darting ahead with one Headbutt after another, settling into a rhythm shortly after.
"I don't know what you're planning to do, but we won't allow you to do it! Leech Seed! James, Meowth, stop being lazy and help!" Jessie ordered, leading Gourgeist to fire the trapping seeds ahead of Chewtle's path, sure that it would work.
Chewtle, however, ran past the seeds before they could sprout in a fierce headbutting charge, rendering the attack ineffective. Jessie blinked.
"What?! That has to be illegal!" Gourgeist shared her trainer's disbelief, firing round after round of Leech Seeds, only for none of them to land, Chewtle always a step ahead of the Grass and Ghost type's aim.
James frowned, scratching over his head. "How did she get so fast? I thought she was as slow as Jessie is to get up in the morning…"
"Keep going, Chewtle!" Gloria ordered, giving renewed energy to her Pokémon. Jessie struck James for his comment, causing Ash to wince, but he caught sight of Chewtle charging even faster than she already was, redirecting herself towards Inkay.
"Inkay, Foul Pla-" The man's order was abruptly cut short as Chewtle slammed into Inkay, the Revolving Pokémon thrown all the way to Scorbunny's root, striking it powerfully enough for a cracking sound to fill the clearing.
"Ink…inkay…" The pained squeal the squid gave made the villain panic, rushing to his Pokémon's side and grabbing it tightly.
"Inkay!" James yelled, only calming himself down as his Pokémon gave a quick nod. He faced the girl again with a fanged snarl. "How can you hit my adorable little Pokémon like that? Have you no heart?"
"You're the last person that can speak of hearts here! Hurting trainers and stealing their stuff! I won't let you!" Gloria declared with all the confidence of a righteous hero, pointing straight at Team Rocket as Chewtle and even the trapped Scorbunny and Rookidee shouted in unison. Ash chuckled silently, the scene feeling fairly amusing now that he could see it as an outsider. He had to wonder if that was the way they had looked like in their youth.
Meowth gave a long sigh, shaking his head in resignation. "Tings are sure gettin' real familiar...Guys, don't you tink we should stop before we repeat history."
"Hey! Where's your spine, Meowth?! We haven't come back just to be defeated again!"
"Uh, Jessie…you haven't forgotten da mission, have you?"
"Who cares?! This new twerpette is annoying! Gourgeist, Shadow Ball!" Upon receiving the order, and perhaps out of a desire to avenge her comrade, Gourgeist sent a volley of ghostly spheres against Chewtle, only for her to sidestep each of them by sprinting with her Headbutt in a zigzag fashion.
"Chew! Cheeeew!" Chewtle cried, pushing herself beyond her fatigue, the hugest grin on her face.
"You're doing great! Keep going!" Gloria's encouragement managed to spur her Pokémon to go even faster, until she was mere feet away from colliding with Gourgeist, the pumpkin having no time for another set of Shadow Balls.
Yet, Jessie remained fearless. "Have you forgotten already? Your headbutts will do nothing to us!"
"Then I know just what to do! Chewtle, Jaw Lock!"
"CHEW!" True to her title, Chewtle snapped her jaws open, biting down harshly on Gourgeist's hair, slamming the Pumpkin Pokémon into the dirt. Gourgeist squealed in pain, but Gloria's Pokémon was hardly finished, pulling her skyward again and letting the Grass and Ghost type rotate above her head, faster and faster.
And then, she threw her opponent right towards James and Inkay, under the panicked gaze of Jessie.
"Goooourgeist!" Jessie's Pokémon yelled, unable to restabilize herself, with James and his Pokémon only narrowly avoiding her by ducking to the side. She landed over the Leech Seed's sprouts blocking Rookidee, and a loud crack boomed through the area as the once impervious roots were ripped apart.
Before Team Rocket could do anything but pale in fear, Rookidee used his beak to slice through the compromised restraints. At the same time, Scorbunny managed to burn through his own damaged prison. They were clearly fatigued from the sapped energy, but their regained freedom was still giving them the strength to carry on with the fight.
"Nibbah!"
"Rookoko!"
Both Pokémon struck Gourgeist at the same time with an Air Slash and Ember, sending the highly damaged Pumpkin Pokémon over to Jessie's feet. The woman worriedly checked over if her Pokémon was still alright, giving Scorbunny and Rookidee the time to join back with Gloria at Chewtle's side. As Inkay and Gourgeist both weakly floated back up, Gloria wore the brightest grin she had shown yet, and Ash could tell: she knew she had already won.
With the tables turned completely, Jessie forced an uneasy grimace, both hands raised as James and Meowth emulated her. "N-now, come on, there's no need for violence. We can solve this peacefully!"
"Right, that's true! Can't you just let us go and let slide this little squabble?"
"Dats right, twoipette! You're one of dose heroic types, you hafta give us a break!" Meowth said, rubbing his paws together before he scowled at Jessie. "I told ya we shoulda split."
"People like you deserve no mercy!" Gloria shouted, waving her hand out. In fear, Meowth grabbed to Wobbuffet. "Everyone! Let's finish them!"
None of Gloria's Pokémon needed to be told what to do, as Scorbunny and Rookidee took to the air and fired an Ember and Air Slash at once, the attacks mingling together once more in a flaming stream of wind. Inkay intercepted it midway, weathering the hit so it wouldn't strike Gourgeist.
And in doing so, ended up right into Chewtle's path, the turtle dashing in long bursts with one Headbutt after another, until she finally leapt forward and struck Inkay herself with a final, powerful tackle.
The accumulated velocity of Chewtle's Headbutt was enough to send Inkay flying back again, slamming into Gourgeist and sending both Pokémon on a collision course for their trainers, before either Jessie or James could order any counter. The two Kalosian Pokémon crashed into their trainers, Meowth and even Wobbuffet, sending them all flying for the sky in a familiar, nostalgic fashion. Ash sighed and shook his head.
"Guess some traditions are meant to last..."
"This isn't fair! We almost made it!"
"Look at the bright side, Jessie. This all feels quite nostalgic, in a way..."
"Jimmy's right. So, I guess..."
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
"Wooobbuffett!"
Before long, the villains and their Pokémon disappeared with a twinkle in the sky, just as they always did, leaving behind peace and a very, very happy and smiling Gloria alongside her partner Pokémon.
"Yes! We did it! Great job, guys!" she declared, throwing a fist to the sky before tackling all three of her Pokémon into a hug, squishing her face over them.
"Chewtle chew!" the turtle shouted joyously, replying in kind. Scorbunny didn't waste time to join in, and even the usually haughty Rookidee indulged in the victory celebration, all proud of what they achieved.
With the 'crisis' now over, Ash walked closer to the Gym Challenger, his eyes still on the sky to try and catch another glimpse of his former adversaries. "Looking at them flying away never gets old."
"Pi…" Pikachu agreed, nodding with satisfaction.
"But seeing someone else deal with them is new," Serena chimed in, while Yamper leapt off her arms to bark at the group's success, quickly joined by Pikachu. Astrid and even the injured boy slowly came closer, as well. "Though, I do wish they could have answered our questions…"
Gloria basked in the attention eagerly, but as she set down her Pokémon and let the Electric types interact with them, she turned to Ash with the question she had set aside. "Who were those creeps, anyway?"
"You could call them some, uh…frenemies we crossed paths with several times in the past. I thought they had turned a new leaf by now," Ash admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Gloria blew at her bangs, the irritation over the encounter now getting to her.
"Well, looks like your 'frenemies' are up to no good again. I'm gonna watch out for them. They get in the way again, and we'll give 'em what for!" She frowned harshly, glaring skyward to underscore her words. Her drive made Ash smile again.
"They always made for excellent sparring partners at least, and it seems that hasn't changed," he replied, glancing over to Chewtle.
"Guess so." With a shrug, Gloria smiled as well, kneeling to rub the Snapping Pokémon's head softly. "Great job, Chewtle. You made it."
"Nibbah nibbah!" Scorbunny agreed, turning away from Yamper's affectionate lick to wink at his companion.
"Chew!" The turtle's usual frown was replaced by a radiant smile, all of her prior frustrations behind her.
"Using her Headbutts to thrust herself forward doesn't actually make her fast, you know," Astrid said. Ash shot her a glance of warning, but she didn't relent; her scowl over the encounter etching itself in.
Gloria's own scowl matched its ferocity as she glared in Astrid's direction, before she grinned back at her little turtle. "It's pretty much the same thing, so that's good enough for us."
The sense of accomplishment the girl and her Pokémon were feeling seemed to be enough to deter Astrid from further needling. Regardless of if it was 'real' speed or not, it was the solution Chewtle was looking for, and Ash was glad that Gloria could reach it on her own.
"Rook..." With a soft chirp, Rookidee commanded attention as he flew closer to Gloria and, more specifically, the star player of the recent scuffle. Chewtle was all but enthused by that.
Gloria perked her head towards him. "What's up, Rookidee?"
The bird didn't address his trainer's question, his focus completely on Chewtle. Gloria looked worried, probably expecting for the bird to mock and sneer at the turtle's achievement once more. Instead, the bird smiled, trying to play things cool.
"Rookoko. Rooko." Rookidee's chirping sounded much different than it usually did. It was softer, gentler, and appreciative. The meaning was clear, and it threw Gloria's group for a loop.
"Chew!" The rather puzzled Chewtle snapped back, only to turn away uneasily, barely hiding her prideful little grin. "... chew."
"Looks like someone's started to show respect," Ash commented. Gloria snickered at the scene, giving her first capture a rather smug grin.
"Rooko! Rookoko!" Rookidee chirped, his haughtiness coming back in full force as he attempted to peck at his trainer, only for Scorbunny to drag him back down.
Seeing how the situation had seemingly reached its end, Gloria chuckled out again. "Heh heh. All's well that ends well, after all."
"Dott dott! Dottler!"
The sudden, sharp bleep-like cry of the geometrical bug quickly proved otherwise, reminding everyone, and Gloria in particular, of just what had slipped from their minds. Turning, Ash saw the other Gym Challenger and his Pokémon come closer to the Postwick girl.
"Oh, bloody hell! We didn't ask about the Dynamax Band!" Gloria grimaced, instantly mortified.
The boy sighed out. "I wanted to bring it up, but you were too busy..."
"I'm sorry! I was too caught up in the moment and-"
"Yeah, yeah, that much is clear." The boy groaned, but he still put his issues aside, looking over his bare wrist. "It's okay, though, it's not a big deal. I'm not even sure those people were the ones that stole it. Don't really remember much besides the shadow…Well, I'll see what to do with Officer Jenny now."
The comment did little to clear the embarrassment Gloria was feeling, and Ash couldn't blame her. "I hope this won't cause problems with your Gym Challenge."
"Not at all. I'm sure I can request a new one from Macro Cosmos, anyway, even if they have been slowing down production on them." The boy grabbed Dottler in his arms, adjusting his backpack as he headed for the opposite path through the woods. "I'm gonna return to the Pokémon Center for now."
"Are you sure you can get there safely?" Serena asked with obvious concern.
"I rested enough. My buddy here can take care of anything." The Gym Challenger smirked as he held up his Bug type Pokémon, his eyes flickering in agreement. The boy then faced everyone else. "Good luck on your trip."
"Same to you."
With that said, the kid and his Pokémon left, leaving Ash and the others alone with their active Pokémon. Even with the source of her embarrassment gone, however, Gloria slumped her shoulders, disappointed in herself. "Well, not as neat and tidy a resolution as I expected..."
Astrid shrugged in response. "That's just life. The kid seems like he's got things figured out, anyway."
"Guess so..." Gloria sighed, clearly still dissatisfied with her major slip up. Ash was worried she would take it too hard, but thankfully that wasn't the case, as she suddenly slapped her cheeks and pulled herself back together.
"Well, now that we got a new tactic, we should capitalize on it! Let's make you even faster, Chewtle!"
"Chew chew!" replied the turtle, raring to go for another round in spite of the battle she had just fought.
Ash looked over her new training plans and attempts with Chewtle and the others alongside Serena and Astrid, feeling a sense of pride rising inside him. In a way, she was much like Sobble: their temperament may have been fairly different, but they both strived to improve themselves even in the face of mounting issues, only needing the right moment to deal with them. With how much she had already managed to improve since their adventure together began, the Pokémon Master knew that she had a very bright future ahead of her. Even with Hulbury as the next Gym battle on her plate, Ash was sure she could make it, and looked forward to accompany her every step of the way.
He only wished he could shake the question on Serena's mind, as well: who had taken the Dynamax Band, and why were his previous stalkers there in the first place? There was no answer.
And knowing that, Ash filed it away, eagerly joining Gloria in congratulating her Pokémon on the return to camp. They were ready to make for Hulbury.
Meowth wasn't sure how long their unwanted and undeserved newest trip through the air lasted, but before he and his comrades could complain about it, they arched downward for the ground until a tree thankfully broke their fall, leaving them all stuck over some branches. Now that their flight had finally ended, Meowth could finally take a gander of his surroundings, and even if he could see nothing but trees and some shallow lakes around them, he deduced they were very far from that forest, with nothing but a few harmless Pokémon around them. Not ideal for their current objective, but nothing they weren't used to after so long.
"At least da landing was much more graceful than we're used to..." the talking Pokémon mouthed out, slacking his aching body over the branch, right next to the exhausted Inkay and Gourgeist.
Jessie proved to be much less enthused at the result, wearing the most disgusted expression. "This was supposed to be our grand return to the scene, and it ended same as it always does!"
"Wooobbuffett!" her faithful Pokémon agreed, hanging upside down from a higher branch.
"It's not like we were tryin' to steal da twoip's Pokémon again for real, anyway. Dat twoipette sure is somethin'..."
"We were put on the spot and we needed a plausible cover! Blame James for pushing the idea!"
Meowth rolled his eyes at that remark, shuffling to the side and turning around for their remaining comrade to respond, expecting that discussion to blow into yet another full-blown argument. Or it would have, if Meowth didn't notice what was amiss. "Wait, where is James?"
Surprisingly, his remark managed to get Jessie to drop her complaints immediately, searching for where their partner in crime (once literally) could've ended up, with even the rest of their Pokémon joining in. The good news was that, thankfully, it didn't take long for them to locate him.
The bad news was that he was halfway stuck inside the beak of a shaggy feathered, lanky blue bird Pokémon in the middle of one of the shallow pools, who seemed barely aware that anything was amiss even as the man struggled.
"Crama!" it shouted, with no sign of distress even as James thrashed around in an attempt to break free.
Seeing the predicament their comrade was finding himself in, the remainder of the available Team Rocket members hopped off the tree and ran to grab their friend by his legs, pulling as hard as they could. After more than a few tries, James finally flew out, making the whole gang of former thieves tumble along the ground in a messy heap.
"Aaaah! I thought it was the end for me!" James admitted, huddling his arms with a look of utter horror.
Jessie rolled her eyes, squeezing her way out alongside Meowth. "Sure, like that's enough to get rid of you."
"You haven't seen the inside of that thing's mouth! He was about to eat me whole!" he pointed at the offending bird in abject fear, shivering nonstop. The bird's expression barely changed.
"You weren't even fully inside dat!"
"Crama...?"
"Eeeeek!"
James hopped onto Jessie's arms and panicked as his antics finally caught the accursed bird's attention, making the woman stumble and almost fall back in surprise. Inkay and Gourgeist flew between them to protect the former's trainer, while Meowth grumbled at how ridiculous the scene looked, even by their standards.
The former villains didn't have much time to dwell over their new James-snacking acquaintance, fortunately, as a series of beeps coming from Jessie's uniform grabbed everyone's attention. The woman was all too quick to drop James to the ground and move out of the way, ignoring her partner's pained moan as she took out the communicator they had been entrusted with, extremely similar to the ones they employed for both Team Rocket and ARC. Clearly eager to move on, Jessie accepted the communication, and as Meowth joined her side, he could see a hologram of Y projected in front of them.
"We're here," Jessie declared, sounding much more serious than she had until then.
The man acknowledged her with a nod. "How is your current situation?"
"We managed to find Alastair assaulting a Gym Challenger in an effort to steal his Dynamax Band. We tried to find the victim to ask him for more information, but we ran into...complications that required us to hide our intentions."
"That's not good. Considering what he did in the Mine, he probably wanted to study how Macro Cosmos fashioned the Bands that allow Dynamax to be controlled. Whatever he gets from that won't be anything good." The man scratched at his beard, considering everything on their plate. He knitted his brow as he thought. "I need you to regroup with us as soon as possible. We need to track down where Alastair might be going while the trail is hot, and there's no time to waste."
"Roger."
As quick as it started, the communication ended, leaving the trio of agents and their Pokémon alone once more. It was nothing they didn't expect to see, but it was still enough to makes Jessie scoff dismissively. "Us? Hmph, we're the ones doing most of the work, here!"
"He's still da new boss, and you know dat."
"And we're doing most of the work! He could give us a bit more time. Right?"
For as much as Meowth wanted to tell her that wasn't how things worked, the Pokémon couldn't deny how tiresome following orders after orders would get. Y was miles better than their old boss had ever been, for sure, and working for ARC had been a similarly great experience, but thinking about how their life had gone from taking orders to taking orders again didn't make their situation feel like much of an improvement. Perhaps he was just getting philosophical due to having just been blasted off the same way as ever, but Meowth couldn't shake off that feeling.
"Cramah!" the sharp cry of the shaggy-looking bird and a series of muffled screams brought an end to the cat's musings. Reality resumed as he and everyone else noticed James once again halfway into the waterfowl's beak, desperately trying to break free.
The topic was dropped immediately, as Meowth, Jessie, and even their Pokémon joined forces once again to break James free from his predicament. It was even more difficult than before, not helped by the fact that the bird continued to barely react.
"Dis is gonna be da start of a trend, isn't it...?" the cat asked himself before Jessie kicked him to resume pulling. He sighed. Maybe they really were stuck in this life, in the end.
Author's Note: An encounter with the former Team Rocket! Alastair's offscreen shenanigans! A random Cramorant who likes eating James! There was a bit in this chapter, but it was all rather pointed. I'll leave Viroro to talk about the bulk of the chapter, but needless to say this is actually one of the very few times we'll use TRio as antagonists in this way. For now it was to help Gloria with her team, other examples will…probably largely be the same. Point is, don't despair of them randomly interjecting on the plot often. Thank you.
Viroro: Hope you enjoyed this little return for me at the helm, with Gloria's first proper encounter with the former Team Rocket. We were deliberately aiming for this to resemble a typical Team Rocket fight, but making clear that only Gloria sees them as a threat by now and of course exploiting them for actual closure to a plotline with Chewtle finding a way around her issues, rather than a purposeless diversion. It was a bit of a challenge to write it in spite of my desire, mostly due to worries of not measuring up to Epicocity's quite great writing for Jessie, James and Meowth. Here's hoping you enjoyed the result, all the same, and that you'll keep having fun with the next chapters!
So, all that out of the way, people to thank: MeraKag, Starlit Storyteller and lluvialpz for favoriting; LordLeeLee for following; and a hugest thanks to ahmedpikamaster, StoutShako42Refined, ChE clarinetist, FantasyLover88, KnightDay19, Tenzalucard123, potat lasaro, UltimateCCC, Fury, MythGirlWrites, AnderArias, oomoepoo, AmourshippingCanon, Captainsquid12 and 1 guest for reviewing!
We reach Hulbury next time, so please look forward to it! Until then, please Review and,
Dare to Be Silly.