Chapter 5: Date in the Desert

Ash, Pikachu and Cappy were flying on the Odyssey on their way to the Sand Kingdom. Having met the Koopalings and stopping Boom-Boom and Pom-Pom to get the Power Moons, the quest to rescue Serena resumed. On an orange hand-held device, a large brownish red theropod was on a screen held by Cappy. The dinosaur had an orange crown-like crest on its forehead, pieces of orange scales around the back and tail and a grayish underbelly. "TYRANTRUM, THE DESPOT POKÉMON, AND THE EVOLVED FORM OF TYRUNT," it computed. "TYRANTRUM'S JAW CAN TEAR THROUGH THICK METAL AS IF IT WAS MERE PAPER. 100 MILLION YEARS AGO, TYRANTRUM WAS CONSIDERED A KING OF ALL POKÉMON."

"So, this is a Tyrantrum," Cappy realized. "I can see how you compared this to the T-Rex."

"Yeah, but I can't argue about how fun it was to be the T-Rex," Ash nodded, back in his Pokémon Trainer clothes.

("But that moment is still going to give me nightmares,") Pikachu shuttered. That's when Cappy handed the device back to Ash and brought out a new pamphlet.

"Now, onto the next kingdom…" he started. "The Sand Kingdom… Enjoy the small, but lively desert village and its charming inhabitants. Wonder and the Inverted Pyramid and its upside-down magic, and watch for the gem iconography carved in relief of the ruins." Ash and Pikachu looked to each other.

"Inverted… pyramid?" repeated Ash.

("Not the first pyramid we've seen,") Pikachu pointed out.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound the same as the Battle Pyramid that Brandon pilots," Ash brought up. Cappy blinked to the names.

"Battle Pyramid?" he repeated. "Brandon?"

"Yeah, Pikachu and I challenged the Kanto Battle Frontier and beat all of the Frontier Brains," Ash explained. "The last Frontier Brain was Brandon who's Battle Pyramid can fly. In fact, he flew the Battle Pyramid to Snowpoint City in Sinnoh with some business with Pokémon." Cappy had a laugh to it.

"Well, the Inverted Pyramid is vastly different," he briefed. "You'll see when we arrive." Arriving in a desert, the Odyssey landed as Ash stepped out, wearing a colorful poncho and a sombrero, but kept his jeans on.

"This fits better than what you had me wear in the Cascade Kingdom," he mentioned. Pikachu sighed, seeing all sorts of sand which had reddish colors. That's when there was barking. Ash and Pikachu turned to see a puppy wearing a cowboy hat approaching the Mouse Pokémon. A Shiba Inu puppy sniffed at Pikachu before barking happily. Seeing this, Ash giggled to this sight. "Looks like you made a friend, buddy."

("I-I guess…") stuttered Pikachu. Ash came to the two and knelt.

"Hey, are you interested in my partner?" he asked. The Shiba Inu barked happily, its little curving tail wagging a little. "I see… I could almost see my mom taking you in to raise." The puppy's panting had Ash giggle.

("We can take him along!") suggested Pikachu. Ash saw his Pokémon's gesture and an idea seemed to form.

"You want to join?" he asked. The puppy leaped up and gave the trainer a tongue bath, tickling Ash. "Okay! Let's head into town." With a new friend on board, the growing group headed to a town when they saw a pyramid in the distance, upside-down. They gasped. "Look at that!" The Pokémon couldn't believe the sight.

("I-It's… upside-down like it said in the brochure!") he gulped. Cappy reacted by moving the sombrero he disguised himself as.

"Behold the Inverted Pyramid!" he identified. Ash felt befuddled.

"All I see is that the pyramid's upside-down," he believed. "How is it inverted?" It took a second to realize his question. "Wait, what does 'inverted' mean?" Cappy wasn't sure of an answer.

"Let's just get going…" he surrendered before going into town where they saw human-like creatures with similar ponchos and sombreros, but also had blue or green skulls. They also had stars in their absent eye holes and maracas as hands. A blue skull citizen came to Ash and the creatures.

"¡Hola!" he greeted. "Bienvenidos a Tostarena." Pikachu looked puzzled but Ash was ready.

"¡Gracias!" he returned. "Entonces, esto es Tostarena." The blue skull awed the language used.

"¡Me entiendes!" he realized. Tugging on his pant leg, Pikachu seemed confused as to what Ash and the blue skull were saying.

"Oh, you wanted to know what this guy and I were saying?" he asked. Pikachu nodded, interested. "Well, he greeted us to Tostarena, which is this place. I repeated and he understood that we can speak in the same language."

("Better you than me…") mulled Pikachu.

"Well, this is what happens with these Tostarenans," Cappy informed. That's when the green Tostarenan came up in a hurry.

"¡Hermano!" he called the blue Tostarenan. Everyone turned to see the green Tostarenan with an envelope on his sombrero.

"Take a look!" noticed Cappy as the green Tostarenan arrived.

"¿Qué pasa?" the blue Tostarenan asked.

"Me dijeron que diera esta carta, (I was told to give this letter,)" the green Tostarenan replied. Hearing of the delivery, Ash wondered about it.

"¿A quién va dirigido? (Who is it addressed to?)" he questioned.

"Alguien llamado Ash," the green Tostarenan answered. Ash seemed a bit stunned.

"¿Para mí?" he realized as he plucked the envelope from the Tostarenan's head and opened it where Cappy read it.

ASH,
WE DID KINDA STEPPED ON THE WRONG FOOT FOR INTRODUCTIONS. I HOPE WE CAN MAKE A RESOLUTION SOON. I'M ON TOP OF THE INVERTED PYRAMID.

WITH LOVE,
HARIET BROODAL

Everyone seemed stunned to the letter. "Hariet's anxious to see me," Ash assessed as they turned to the pyramid. The puppy whimpered, worried to its new friend. Hearing the puppy, it became a concern for Ash. "¿Puedes cuidar a este cachorro por mí? (Can you watch over this puppy for me?)" The Tostarenans nodded.

"Ten cuidado, amigo, (Be careful, friend,") the blue acknowledged. The green Tostarenan tapped a maraca on the blue's shoulder. "¡Buena idea!" He turned to Ash. "Puedes conseguir un viaje en el Jaxi. (You can get a ride on the Jaxi.)" Ash blinks, unsure of the offer.

"Jaxi?" he repeated. That's when something roared and everyone turned to the sound. Entering Tostarena was a moving stone statue. It was a mix of a sphinx and a jaguar with a lion mane. It stopped close to the group.

"So, who called for a Jaxi?" it grumbled. The green Tostarenan came forward while Ash and Pikachu gasped in shock, hearing a talking statue speak to them.

"Así es, Jaxi," he admitted.

"And it's for him?" asked the Jaxi as his head faced Ash. The blue Tostarenan nodded. "Okay, let me get you to the Inverted Pyramid. I sense that Bonneter like when Mario had him before." Cappy popped up before facing Jaxi.

"He's a new partner after something happened to Tiara," he briefed. Jaxi turned his body around.

"That can be discussed along the way," he halted. "Any case, let's get going!" Ash and Pikachu boarded Jaxi before it ran off from Tostarena. Jaxi raced across the sands before reaching the pyramid. They soon arrived at the upside-down pyramid. On the ride, Ash and Pikachu noticed the Broodals' airship.

"Thanks, Jaxi!" acknowledged Ash.

"Well, next time," Jaxi began. "It's 30 coins. I just wanted to show you what it's like."

"Right…" scoffed Ash. "Thanks, anyway." He and Pikachu entered the pyramid and saw moving pictures on a wall with an odd pipe protruding out of it. The wall seemed like one made of pixels. "I wonder…" He ran to the ledge leading to a pit that didn't seem to have a bottom from the black void. He jumped from the narrow ledges and even bounced off a Bullet Bill. Seeing red and blue parts of the wall, he wondered about how to climb it. "Let's go inside."

("I'm with you,") Pikachu squeaked. They entered the pipe and came out the other side… on a wall looking pixelated. Ash tried to say something, but he couldn't move much. He felt stiff and a speech bubble emerged.

Ash- OH NO! I FEEL LIKE I'M IN AN OLD VIDEO GAME!

Pikachu jumped a couple of times, but that was it.

Ash- WELL, NO NEED TO GET UPSET. I GUESS WE NEED TO USE THIS TO CLIMB UP THE PYRAMID.

Ash led and jumped onto the platforms with Pikachu closely behind. When Ash jump from the blue wall to the red, he flipped and was upside down. Another speech bubble arose.

Ash- WHAT THE- WHY AM I UPSIDE-DOWN?

The pair saw Bullet Bills flying below them. Pikachu performed short hops to tell Ash something. Ash copied with a couple of short hops as well. Ash and Pikachu reached the wall which wasn't red or blue and waited on Bullet Bills to pass. They jumped to the ceiling and to the floor. They crossed a cavern by staying upside-down on the red before clearing the path and entering a pipe. This took them outside where they hung upside-down still. Another speech bubble arose.

Ash- SO, WE'RE OUTSIDE AGAIN. WE CAN'T STOP.

Ash and Pikachu raced on, jumping on Goombas in their path. A short dash later, they entered another pipe. They were back inside. They watched a Bullet Bill go from the wall to the outside, becoming the Bullet Bill from the entrance. One more speech bubble popped up.

Ash- IF WE GO THROUGH THAT PART, WE'LL BE BACK TO NORMAL.

They raced up the steps and passed from the wall, reverting back to their original forms. Ash and Pikachu took a breather. "Okay, now I know what it was like being in a video game back before I had you," Ash huffed.

("I don't know how!") squeaked Pikachu. They scurried through the inside of the pyramid before stepping outside. When they came out, Hariet spotted the pair.

"HANDSOME!" she called out. Ash and Pikachu turned to find Hariet waiving over to the two. "Hey, come on up! It's just me!" They climbed to the top where they met.

"Hariet…" named Ash. "What brings you up here?" Hariet pointed a finger, touching the tip of Ash's nose.

"I thought this would be a great spot for us to discuss why you need to need the Power Moons that are right here." She pointed to a chest behind her.

"I highly doubt this Broodal will hand it over that easily," Cappy warned.

("Yeah, what's her game plan?") wondered Pikachu. Her stilettos clapping the stone of the pyramid, Hariet came to Ash.

"So, you're goin' after our boss, right?" she questioned. "Because of that girl he picked up? What significance to you have with her?" Ash felt cornered with the questionnaire.

"Of course I am," he confirmed the first question. "Besides, we were heading back to Lumiose City for one last night before Pikachu and I headed back to Pallet Town."

"So, a celebration?"

"Yeah, after all of our accomplishments together: Bonnie, Clemont… They helped out." The added name made Hariet a little suspicious.

"Bonnie? Did you have two girls to love?" There was a gawk from Ash.

"No, and Bonnie only saw me as a big brother to her."

"Oh, I see… So, it's a celebration before you had gone home. I'm almost relieved that you don't have a girl in mind. For a minute, I had believed that you were chasin' the girl because you loved her… Oh, I almost can see her wishin' us in romance and a litter to bear!" She walked to the side of the Inverted Pyramid and looked out to Tostarena. Ash and Pikachu followed. "This is quite a view, don'cha think?" Joining Hariet, Ash and Pikachu looked to the same town.

"From up here, it is!"

"And I can understand why you're doin' this. I mean, not that I agree with it, but you've got family, right?"

"We all do: Serena's mom in Vaniville Town, my mom in Pallet Town…"

"And I got my brothers. See, it would be easier to get it done and then we could have quality time together, sharin' some carrot cake, carrot juice…" This made Ash's stomach rumble. They had a slight giggle. "Oh dear… Maybe mentionin' food wasn't the wise thing to say."

"Yeah, you attracted my stomach!" While they laughed, another airship flew above. Looking up, it had Morton's bust. "We're getting a visit from Morton?" Hariet blinked before turning to Ash.

"Who?" The airship stopped and Morton jumped down. He stared at the two.

"So, you are boy who fight Larry?" he growled as he wove a wand in their direction. "Morton will make you pay!" Ash stood in front of Hariet and Pikachu.

"What does your boss want with Serena?" he asked. Morton stomped towards the group.

"Morton will not tell you what Boss wants," he denied. "Morton tell you what Morton wants! Morton wants you destroyed!" Ash watched as he turned to Hariet.

"Hey, you know him!" she claimed. "I don't!" Morton summoned a large black hammer and anger in his face.

"Morton smash for girl!" he shouted before smashing his hammer to the ground. The pyramid shook from the strike and made everybody try to stay upright. The pyramid soon began to levitate from the ground and expose a hole where icy winds blew out. The shaking was enough to which all four fell out and into the hole. What awaited the Broodal, Koopaling, trainer and Pokémon?

TO BE CONTINUED...