Did I... did I really only update twice last year?! Man, getting this chapter out feels like walking out into the sun after being indoors for days on end. I'm relieved that it's happened, I'm sure many people are too. It made me so happy to see that even in the interim of this ridiculous hiatus people were still sending this story reviews and encouraging me to update. Thank-you, everyone.
The Impossible Tree House
The day after the Contest they finally left. On the way out of Verdanturf Town wide plains stretched as far as they could see and the road was dead straight but with no end in sight just yet. The group stopped by a small lake surrounded by reeds and high grass for a night. Hilary and the bladers looked on past the campsite, wondering how much further they had to go before the grasslands ended. Mari, who knew, didn't let on, preferring it to be a surprise for them. Even though the sun was hot the winds were cool and constant, making the trek rather nice.
Finally, as afternoon arrived on their second day, something appeared in the distance. Little points of green jutted unevenly into the sky – a grove of trees. Likely another trainer garden but nonetheless a godsend after a long trek in an unsheltered grassland with the sun beating on them. As the light began to get more orange with the approach of evening, the shade line of the trees was finally within their reach. Tyson dropped himself on the ground under the shade.
"Trees!" he cried out as if he hadn't seen trees in years.
Hilary rolled her eyes. "No need to be so dramatic."
"Yeah, you're acting like the past couple of days were awful," Ray agreed. "It was really nice."
"Why do you guys have to be on my case," Tyson groused, sitting up to glare at them.
"He's just happy we found trees," Max said in Tyson's defence, walking up to a tree with thick, green-brown foliage with pink fruits poking through the leaves. "Look! It's the sweet curly ones."
"That's right, trees are awesome," Daichi added, jumping onto the trunk of a taller Oran tree, "especially when they've got food."
"Setting up camp near trainer gardens is nice," Mari said. "Our Pokémon are probably still tired and hurt, berries will help them heal. Lots of wild Pokémon at that lake."
Tyson gestured to them with a sharp look on his face, daring Hilary and Ray to argue those points. They both sighed and concurred. The aggressiveness of wild Pokémon was still something Hilary and the bladers hadn't quite gotten used to. Most wild animals in their own world would steer clear if a human got near but Pokémon just jumped out of the grass right in front of you with their claws out, no matter what you were or how big you were relative to them.
While most of the group set down their packs and began to unpack things to set up camp, Daichi continued swinging through the trees, observing all the berries available and marvelling at the brightly coloured leaves changing abruptly from tree to tree. Then all of a sudden a much larger tree appeared through the branches. Daichi poked his head out as far as the berry tree branches would carry him to look it up and down. It had a very thick, dark brown trunk and a dense canopy that obscured all the branches. Behind it there appeared to be many others like it—the trainer garden had been planted around the edge of this patch of bigger trees. This particular tree had thick ropes of vines growing (suspiciously) neatly down only one side and upon examining the canopy a little harder he noticed that some parts of the leaves didn't seem right – just a bit too square. Dropping down and hanging from the trees by his knees, he called back to the group:
"Hey, guys! Come check this out!"
"What is it?" Tyson called back.
"Excuse me, we have a camp to set up right now," Hilary snapped. "Whatever it is we can look at it later."
Tyson ignored her and got up, jogging over to where Daichi was hanging. The redhead pointed to the bigger tree and the vines. Tyson pushed through a small gap between berry trees to stand under the vines and look up with narrowed eyes.
"There's something up there," he muttered. He took hold of the vines and pulled them, testing their ability to take his weight. They were sturdy. "Okay, I'm going up."
He kept ignoring Hilary shouting at him to stop playing and help as he hefted himself up. His hands and feet navigated gaps and loops for holds to climb. It was surprisingly easy, just like climbing a ladder. Getting to the top, he squeezed through a dark, leafy gap in the canopy. For a couple of seconds there were only leaves and twigs, snatching and snapping until his head popped out in a large room. He sat there gawking in amazement. Then there was a heavy pull on his legs that almost caused him to lose grip as Daichi climbed up his back and forced himself into what little space was left. He also gazed in amazement even while Tyson snapped at him.
The big room in front of them was wooden from floor to ceiling but with an impossible construction that saw the branches of the tree criss-cross and lie beside each other so regularly that it couldn't be natural, yet it seemed that they had, in fact, just decided to grow that way. They closed over them in a dense dome that gave the room metres of head space. Perhaps even more remarkable was that the room held an assortment of furniture, pot plants and other decorations. There was a bunk bed to one side next to a little table with an idling laptop. Two large mats lay side-by-side, both blue although one had a wave pattern and the other had lightning bolts. The mats and the two shelves that stood adjacent to each other hosted a modest collection of Pokémon dolls, including one almost life-size Charizard. The branch walls were also regular enough to hang posters. There was a cute one with three yellow mouse-like critters, a large one depicting Groudon and Kyogre in a showdown, and one depicting Steven Stone backed by an intimidating four-armed metal monster. That one had a love heart drawn in pink marker around Steven's face.
"Cool!" Daichi exclaimed. "It's a tree house!"
"It's one heck of a tree house," Tyson muttered, still very awestruck. Daichi suddenly pulled hard on Tyson's hair to climb up and over, then step off his head to jump inside, pushing his cap over his eyes. Tyson yanked it back to where it should be. "Hey!"
He scrambled up hot after Daichi but he only made it two steps inside. Suddenly he was spinning. Whatever had caught him spun him three times and then shoved him back to the entrance, where he fell and landed in a heap at the base of the trunk. Just to add insult to injury (and another injury) the egg case broke its fall on his face.
Tyson rubbed his head and groaned. His head was dizzy and when he opened his eyes his vision swam, trying to put together three images of Hilary glaring at him with her arms akimbo.
"Are you satisfied now that you've gone and hurt yourself?" Hilary chastised. "What if you'd gone and broken the egg Elena gave you, huh? What then?"
Tyson's vision was still swimming as Max suddenly appeared in front of him. He could only barely tell the difference between them.
"Tyson, are you okay?" He showed something large, bulbous and yellow-coloured. "Eat this one. I think it's one of the berries that helps you heal."
Never one to reject anything edible, Tyson opened his mouth wide and chomped the berry down whole, never mind that it had been about as big as Max's hand. It was so soft that he could probably have chewed it without any teeth but the juice was so incredibly sour that it burned his tongue and the walls of his mouth. The shock of the taste had him getting right to his feet like he hadn't taken a big fall, only for him to crash into the tree trunk and fall right back down.
"Maybe I was wrong?" Max muttered.
Hilary smacked herself in the face and dragged her palm down. "Why don't you listen to anyone?"
Tyson sat up holding his aching nose and hoping it wasn't broken. He looked up angrily and shook his fist with the other hand. "Dahchi, you derk!"
"Why do you have to make trouble at this time of day?" Ray piped up, disgruntled. Tyson turned and saw him making his way over with Kai and Mari following out of curiosity.
"Dere's a secret tree hoose!" Tyson said.
"It'll still be there in the morning but we won't be able to set up camp after dark."
"Found a secret base?" Mari said excitedly. "Anyone up there?"
"Daichi!" Tyson growled, rubbing his face. "I'm gonna get him back for stepping on my head!" He scrambled up the vines again before anyone could stop him.
"Careful!" Mari called. "Might hit the same-"
Tyson fell back to the ground with a thud that made them all wince.
"-trap."
"That's it, I'm taking over care of the egg," Hilary declared, bending over to pick up the case.
Tyson suddenly bolted upright and scooted out of her reach. "No! Elena gave it to me, not you!"
"You aren't looking after it properly! At this rate it'll break before it even hatches."
Tyson looked at his egg nervously. The shell stared back at him with dull blue but it was lopsided on its cushion and the case already had scuffs and the occasional crack from rough treatment, inside as well as out. The egg itself had no outward signs of damage, though. All things considered, it had survived excellently given the ordeals it had gone through with him since leaving Rustboro City.
"It's fine, see," Tyson pouted, holding the case up for Hilary to get a good look.
"It's in terrible condition!"
"That's just the container!"
With timing that was almost certainly deliberate, Max interrupted: "I can't help wondering what they're hiding up there that they need to set traps."
"Whatever it is, they can keep it," Hilary grumbled.
"Sure they can," Mari responded, looking up the vine ladder. "Though wouldn't it be interesting to find out what's up there? Maybe the owners will come back."
"Wouldn't that be a bad thing," Ray wondered aloud, "if they came back and found us snooping around their stuff?"
"Either way, probably have to go up there and force Daichi to come back. Isn't showing any sign of coming down by himself."
As she said that, Tyson was already climbing up the vines on a path of vengeance. When he got back inside he heard Daichi whoop loudly as he went down a slide shaped like a dragon Pokémon. Fuming at how casual the kid was being, Tyson took a careful step to dodge the trap he'd triggered last time but was still too distracted to bother with actually checking what he was walking into. He suddenly went backwards like he'd stepped on a conveyor. The spinning trap caught him, giving him the triple whirl again before spitting him back at the exit. Only this time, Ray was coming up right behind him. Tyson was too dizzy stop and Ray didn't have anywhere to move in order to avoid the inevitable collision. They both tumbled down the tree. Ray landed first on his back and had only a split second to even register the hurting before Tyson came down on top of him and squeezed the air out of him.
"This place is great!" Daichi exclaimed, oblivious to the most recent entry attempt. Getting up, something at the other end of the room caught his eye. Between two decorative tufts of grass in shallow pans stood a wooden dojo sign and a green, triangular flag with a personalised insignia. "I wonder what this is for?"
"Multi battles, huh..."
Daichi sprang three feet off the floor in surprise. He turned around. Kai had been casually looking over his shoulder, reading the script on the wooden sign. He looked at Daichi but said nothing and his expression didn't give anything away. Daichi tried to stare him back down but the way Kai looked at him like he expected nothing and everything all at once made him uncomfortable. Why was Tyson even friends with him?
"How did you get up here?" he demanded, furious with the older boy for no good reason.
Kai just stared at him. He could disclose about how Tyson and Ray had fallen out of the tree together and had Mari, Max and Hilary fawning over them while Kai decided to see if he'd have better luck dodging the traps, he'd put Togepi up first so he'd have his arms free to climb in, only for her to set off both traps and bean him in the face twice. But that sounded embarrassing even in his head so he didn't. Plus, watching Daichi huff and squirm was amusing.
"Fine! It's not like I care or anything! And what would you know about multi battles anyway?"
Forget it, Daichi was irritating. Kai's eyebrows tilted inwards in annoyance. "That's what the sign says."
"The sign?" Daichi turned back to the dojo sign. Blocks of kana spelled out a phrase in fine strokes of black ink but the calligraphy was so fancy Daichi couldn't make it out even if he squinted. He turned his confused squint back to Kai, who's annoyance then became exasperated disappointment. Not that Daichi could tell, most of Kai's expressions all looked the same to him.
"It says: 'In this base we do multi battles'," Kai said slowly and clearly as though he were explaining it to a toddler.
Daichi huffed. "I could have told you that."
Kai rolled his eyes, which puffed Daichi up even more.
"You think you're such a know-it-all, don't you? So then what's the flag for?"
Kai shut his eyes, thinking that if he rolled them harder they might possibly fall out.
"See, you don't know!" Daichi reached for the flag. "I bet it's some kind of game. Maybe I'll get a prize."
He was so close that he could have closed his hand over the flag pole when all of a sudden there was a mighty scream. Kai and Daichi both stepped back (Daichi more animatedly than Kai) as a shadow leaped out from behind one of the grass tufts. It was a younger boy with brown hair, dressed in a black shozoku with orange cloth wound around his lower legs. His bright red scarf waved behind him as he came down upon them, ready to unleash his sword from the sheath on his back. Kai and Daichi darted out of his range as he sliced down between them. And then they got a good look at his sword. It was made of cardboard.
"Impressed by my disguise?" the ninja boy chuckled. He dramatically stood up and put his cardboard sword away with a flourish like a TV ninja then stamped a foot and struck a pose with one hand out. "Who dares to attack the secret base of Team Honey Bean?!"
Kai and Daichi stared at him.
"Honey Bean?" Daichi deadpanned.
"I didn't make it up," the ninja boy excused, going pink in the cheeks.
"But you joined so the joke's still on you."
"Shut up! First you think you can get away with taking our flag and then you talk down on the team!"
"I only did one of those things!" Daichi interjected.
"I, the mighty ninja Dylan, challenge you to a multi-battle!"
"Fine by us," Kai said, taking out Poochyena's Pokéball.
"Fine!" Daichi shouted, taking out Geodude, "so where's your partner?"
"Not that smart, huh?" Dylan chuckled.
Daichi fumed but before he could scream out a retort Kai interjected: "A multi battle only requires that there are more than two participants—one on two is a legal form of multi battle so long as both sides have two Pokémon on the field. Keep up with the rules."
Daichi growled and glared at Kai but there was a battle imminent. He could get Kai back later when the older boy least expected it. "Then don't cry when you lose," he uttered, throwing Geodude out. Kai followed suit with Poochyena.
"Go Smoky and Ninpo!" Dylan shouted, throwing two Pokémon out. One was a Nincada but the other was a floating, purple ball that neither Kai or Daichi had ever seen before. Not one to ignore an impulse, Daichi whipped out his Pokédex.
"Koffing, the poison gas Pokémon," the Pokédex recited. "Its thin, flimsy body is filled with toxic gases that are slightly lighter than air. When agitated, it raises the toxicity of its gases and jets them out of its body. In hot places, its flammable gases may cause it to explode without warning."
"Deadly, ne?" Dylan smirked proudly. Red flags went up in Kai's mind when the ninja boy pulled up his face mask.
"Daichi, cover your mouth and nose!" he warned, pulling his scarf over his face and wrapping a tail around Togepi's.
"Poison Gas, Smoky!" Dylan commanded.
Smoky the Koffing puffed up. It squeezed itself to spurt a stinky, purple gas out of some of the pimple-like protrusions on its body angled to Kai and Daichi's side of the field. Poochyena and Geodude started as the gas washed over them thickly. As it dissipated, Kai and Daichi noticed their Pokémon coughing and weeping as though they were allergic.
"Ninpo, Fury Swipes on Poochyena!" Dylan ordered.
"Sand Attack!" Kai shouted, muffled by his scarf. His eyes were also starting to water from the lingering gas.
The Nincada scuttled in close with its claws bared. Poochyena didn't have any sand or dirt but with her strong claws she scratched up some of the wood on the floor and flung it into Ninpo's eyes. That barely deterred it and it flung its claws rapidly, landing several scratches on Poochyena. It didn't notice its other opponent until Geodude bowled it over like a tenpin in a Rollout attack. He tried to roll on to hit the Koffing but it puffed itself up to float out of the way.
"Poochyena, get under Geodude," Kai commanded.
Poochyena glanced at him confusedly, thinking he would prefer she got back at Nincada but ran towards her ally anyway. She circled around to the front of him and lowered her body to the ground. Geodude's rough, rocky body still hurt as he rolled over her and launched into the air, adding more pain to the full-body ache of poison coursing through her veins. The rock-type hit Koffing hard.
"Alright, Geodude! Now get 'im with Magnitude!" Daichi said.
Geodude didn't question the order, hitting the floor hard. The tree house swayed in the minor tremor but it hit everyone except the Pokémon Daichi wanted to target.
"Eh? What's going on?"
Kai put his hand over his face in embarrassment. Why did he get stuck with such a stupid teammate? On the other side of the field, Dylan stared at him, perplexed.
"Pokémon that float or fly don't get hit by ground-type attacks," Dylan told him slowly. "That's logic."
Always the focused one, Kai commanded Poochyena to take out Nincada with Assurance. The dark aura from her paws engulfed Ninpo, seeking the areas of it that were already damaged and exacerbating them. The Nincada curled up on its back, looking like it might be dead. Though the attack was successful, Poochyena wobbled, barely able to keep standing between the poison and the accidental onslaught from Magnitude. Dylan had to return Ninpo.
"Smoky, get back at Poochyena with Sludge!"
"Poochyena, Bite!"
The Koffing's cheeks puffed up, making a gurgling sound as it hacked up something from deep inside it. Poochyena was only a second faster. She clamped onto its face with a painful bite but it returned the favour by spitting a large glob of unsanitary sludge from a point blank range. She fell, out of the fight. In the end Geodude saved the battle, taking out Koffing with a Smack Down. It hit the floor like a rubber ball and didn't float back up. Dylan returned it, pouting.
"Take that!" Daichi laughed.
"I have failed to defend the flag," the ninja boy said in a low voice like a parody of dramatic dialogue from period ninja films. "This loss brings shame upon the team. I must preserve my honour!"
He picked up his sword. Turning the tip around he stabbed it into his belly. Of course, being cardboard, it didn't go through but he made a lot of gurgling and gagging noises as he collapsed on the floor, pretending to die. Kai and Daichi stared at him, baffled by the theatrics.
"Oh, well," Daichi shrugged, stepping over Dylan to yank the flag out of its stand. "This is mine now!"
His victory dance was interrupted by the voice that he deemed the most annoying: "Daichi! Get back down here before it gets dark!" Hilary yelled. By the clarity, she must have at least made it up the vines. "I know you're up here too, Kai!"
"You just try to catch me!" Daichi taunted. "I bet you won't even get past the traps!"
"Don't step on the mats," Kai called back. Daichi glared at his traitorous teammate.
Knowing there were traps, Hilary observed the floor carefully before she pulled herself up. She stepped over a small mat with a whirl and a another one right after it with a backwards arrow before standing in front of the pair with her hands on her hips and an angry huff. "You guys are going to regret making me come up here! I'd expect this from Daichi but you too, Kai?"
Daichi huffed but Kai ignored her. He crouched down next to his Poochyena and rifled through one of his bag's pockets for an antidote. Even while unconscious, she was still poisoned. As he injected her with the medicine Geodude wandered over to him behind Daichi's back, nudging the medicine pocket with interest. Kai obligingly reached into a different pocket and handed him a Pecha berry.
"You're not the boss of us!" Daichi yelled at her. "If you wanted to set up camp that badly why didn't you and the other guys just do it yourselves?"
"Setting up camp is supposed to be a team effort!"
"You already had a team!"
Speaking of the team, there was a sudden cry of alarmed frustration followed by a chorus of brief screams and then: "Tyson! Kai just told us not to step on the mats!"
Hilary, Kai and Daichi turned back to the entrance. Ray had both feet and one hand grabbing the branches making up the walls to prevent himself from landing on the trap mats while grabbing hold of Tyson's collar to stop him from falling back down the hole, luckily for Max who was just entering. The blond sighed with relief and Tyson got his footing back on the floor. Ray did a somersault off the walls, staying clear of the meddlesome traps.
"We're just curious as well," Max explained, "especially since it sounded like there was a battle up here."
"If you're all up here who's getting a start on our camp?" Hilary demanded.
"Mari, maybe?" Daichi suggested.
"Not by myself, no," she answered, poking her red head through the entrance. The bright smile on her face belied the negative response.
Hilary glared at her with a growl and then turned to Daichi. "See what you've started?"
Before Daichi could insult her, Tyson interrupted: "Where's the fight at?"
"You're too late, 'cause I already won," Daichi bragged, rubbing his top lip with his finger.
"No way you beat Kai!"
"I could beat Kai any day I want! But actually, me and Kai both fought that guy." He hooked his thumb at Dylan still playing dead on the floor. "He insisted on fighting us at the same time but I was the only one to come out on top."
Tyson wasn't impressed. Daichi's stupid grin was too annoying to look at. "Probably because he did all the work for you."
"Hey! Geodude did a ton of work!" Daichi protested. Geodude rumbled his agreement. "And I got the flag so if you want it you'll have to go through me!"
"Fine by me! One-on-one, let's do it."
"No!" Dylan screamed, giving up his pretence to sit up. "Single battles violate the rules of the flag! Multi-battles only!"
Tyson rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Hey, Max, let's team up against Daichi."
Max turned away from the play equipment he was eyeing. Having a great training basement at home was great but he still wished he had a tree house big and sturdy enough that he could have his own private jungle gym in it too. However, no jungle gym would trump a battle in terms of fun, so he stepped up next to Tyson still not sure why they were having this multi-battle but in for it all the same.
"I'm choosing Combusken," Tyson declared, sending out said fire-type.
"Go, Wingull!"
Daichi sent out Lotad and Slakoth. "We're gonna defend this flag with all we've got, so don't think it's gonna be easy."
Max and Tyson glanced at each other. They turned back to the battlefield with smiles on their faces.
"Combusken, use Rock Smash." Tyson said, pointing at Slakoth.
"Wingull, use Wing Attack," Max said, pointing at Lotad.
Combusken and Wingull charged, both faster than the Pokémon on Daichi's side. A hard whack from Combusken's foot and Wingull's silver wings sent Slakoth and Lotad spinning out, immediately unable to battle. Daichi's jaw dropped.
"Looks like that flag's ours now," Tyson laughed. He crossed the former battlefield and snatched it from Daichi's grasp.
Max chuckled as well. "Come on, Daichi, you could have put up a better fight."
Daichi huffed but he had to return his Pokémon. Mari guffawed loudly over his rapid defeat and Hilary had her cheeks puffed up trying not to smile and keep a grouchy expression on her face. Ray was grinning while he leaned against the wall but the smile fell when he heard something else—new voices. They were beside him, coming up the vine ladder, he was sure.
"Hey, Tia! Seems like someone came to visit today!"
"Really, Mia? Hurry up! Gotta defend the flag!"
Tyson and Max turned in interest, since they were the ones who currently held the flag. Even they could hear the giggly voices speaking loudly. Two girls skipped into the tree house excitedly, identical in every way from their blue-haired pixie cuts to the yellow dresses with over-the-knee socks and Mary-Janes. Upon their arrival, Dylan was suddenly back from the pretend dead again with a teary-eyed sorry expression.
"I have failed! The flag has been stolen!" he cried. "It is up to you to restore honour to the secret base!"
"True, we've got visitors," one of the twins exclaimed.
"Lots of visitors," her sister said.
"They're strong," Dylan told them. He pointed to Kai and Daichi. "They defeated me in a battle and took the flag, then they," he pointed to Tyson and Max, "defeated him," pointing to Daichi, "and now they have the flag!"
The twins looked at each other with grins.
"Gotta get the flag back," said one of them, only identifiable by the parting in her fringe being on the left in contrast to her sister.
"Yeah! Can't let other trainers steal the flag from our secret base without a fight."
"Well then bring it on," Tyson challenged, waving the flag in front of them arrogantly. "We're not giving this up so easily! Right, Max?"
"I guess not," the blond said.
"Whaddya mean 'guess not'?!"
"I don't see what the big deal about the flag is! But it's not like I wanna lose over it."
"Then we challenge you to a multi-battle!" Mia and Tia declared, both pointing at Tyson and Max.
"If we win, you give us back our flag and give us a gift," said the twin with the right parting.
"If you win, we'll tell you which one of us is Tia and which one is Mia," said the one with the left parting.
"Why don't you just tell us? We're all confused," Hilary deadpanned but of course got ignored by the fired up battle pairs.
"Then get ready to fess up," Tyson said, returning Combusken. Max did the same for Wingull, figuring Tyson was in the right about choosing a fresh battle partner for a new battle. They adjusted their standings to make sure there was room between all the players for the next battle before Tyson and Max sent out Shroomish and Mudkip.
The twins looked at each other and smiled, taking out their Pokéballs at the same time that they announced in unison: "Go, Plusle and Minun!"
Two cute rabbit-like creatures appeared on their side of the field, almost identical except for the shape of their tails and the colour contrasting their yellow fur on their ears, hands, tails and cheeks. One of them had blue contrasts with a single bar for a tail and minuses on its cheeks while the other's contrasts were red with a three-pronged tail and plusses on its cheeks.
"Are they the same creature?" Ray wondered, taking out his Pokédex to investigate.
"Plusle, the Cheering Pokémon. It loves to cheer for its partners. By shorting electricity from its hands it creates pom-poms to cheer on its allies. If its partner loses, it cries loudly. If it runs low on electricity it drains some from other sources, such as power poles. It is not known to evolve but seems to be related to Minun."
"Minun, the cheering Pokémon. It loves to cheer for its partners. By shorting electricity from its body it creates fireworks to cheer on its allies. If its friends are losing, it lets off more sparks. If it runs low on electricity it drains some from other sources, such as power poles. It is not known to evolve but seems to be related to Plusle."
"Yeah, clearly related," Ray muttered, noting the extremely similar entries.
"Mudkip, use Mud Slap!" Max commanded, getting straight into it.
"Shroomish, Leech Seed!"
"Minun, Helping Hand!"
The Minun cheered. Sparks around its hands became like little gloves of light as it clapped. Mudkip's cheeks puffed up as he drew from his mud sac - a technique he'd recently learned - to hurl mud across the battlefield. Minun threw its light gloves in the air just before getting hit in the face with smothering mud. Plusle jumped up to catch the lights its partner worked hard to create, powering through being hit with a seed that germinated rapidly and tangled around its shoulders.
"Plusle, Electro Ball at Mudkip!"
With its electric mittens giving it a boost, Plusle gathered a large ball of electrical energy in front of it. It wound back like a baseball pitcher and threw it right at Mudkip. A curveball too, so Mudkip wasn't able to dodge it effectively. The shock rattled his very bones as the electricity danced all over his wet skin. Meanwhile, Minun sat up and tried to rub the mud out of its eyes unsuccessfully.
"You won't get away with knocking our teammate like that!" Tyson shouted. "Headbutt it, Shroomish."
Shroomish lowered himself and charged towards Plusle, butting it in the midsection as it landed. Mudkip hurled another Mud Slap from his mud sac, spitting it in Plusle's face this time. Minun squeaked in distress upon seeing its partner take so many attacks and stared letting off sparks. Yet one of the twins confidently directed it to use Nuzzle against Shroomish. The grass-type wasn't too far away so it was easy for Minun to jump and latch on and rub its sparking face against him adorably, sending him rigid with paralysis. Following Tyson's command, Shroomish retaliated with Mega Drain. At such close range, there was no way to miss. Meanwhile, Plusle struggled to its feet, feeling its energy drained by the weed encircling it. It gave its partner a boost with its Helping Hand, managing to pass it on before Mudkip tackled it to the ground. Minun kicked off Shroomish, knocking him off his little feet, to charge at Mudkip with a body covered in bright sparks but with its eyes irritated by grainy mud it missed its mark. Mudkip hosed it down with Water Gun and for good measure Shroomish jumped off his ally like a springboard to give Minun a merciless Headbutt.
The twins stared at the battlefield with their jaws hanging open in shock. Tyson and Max high-fived while Mari appointed herself the referee and declared: "Plusle and Minun are unable to battle. Tyson and Max win!"
"No way," Dylan wept theatrically. "Even the secret base bosses couldn't win..."
The twins slumped and fell on their behinds. Then the girl with the right parting began to cry. Her sister hugged her around the shoulders to comfort her despite tears forming in her own eyes.
"Don't cry, sis."
"No fair!" the crying twin wailed. "Every trainer that came here in the past few weeks beat us! This is our base and we never win!"
"Geez, Tyson," Hilary snapped, giving said boy an accusing glare, "way to go. Making girls cry like that."
"Don't pin it on me!" Tyson yelled. "Max was a part of this too!"
"Let's not do the blame game," Max said, putting his hands up defensively. "It was a fair fight, after all."
"That's right, so that means we get to keep the flag and the girls have gotta pay up," Tyson said, grinning triumphantly. "Spill it, who's who here?"
The twin who wasn't crying sighed in defeat. "Okaaaaay," she whined and then gestured to herself. "Mia and Tia," she gestured to her crying sister. "People say I'm the tough one and she's the sensitive one."
"More like she's the cry-baby one," Tyson teased.
"You don't need to be a jerk just because you won!" Hilary scolded him.
"What are you even going to do with their flag?" Ray asked, sincerely curious. "We can't just carry a random flag with us everywhere we go."
"Won't get to!" Dylan declared, standing up again with determination. "One of the guys who beat us lately agreed to join our base. When he gets here you'll be forced to return our flag and our honour!"
"Yeah!" Tia sobbed. "He's really strong!"
"Who is?" yet another new voice queried from the entrance and prompting everyone to turn that way again. A bespectacled boy with lavender hair who looked too old to be engaging with the childish antics of the three members of Team Honey Bean had his head poking up through the entrance. He climbed up and dodged the traps easily like he did it every day.
"Ryan?!" everyone exclaimed.
"He's here!" Tia cheered. "Saved!"
"You're the 'really strong' guy?" Tyson asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"How did you get here before us?" Max wondered aloud.
"Left Verdanturf a few days ago," Ryan answered, a little perplexed. "Thought you guys would've been in Mauville by now. Nonetheless, great to see you again so soon."
"We would have been in Mauville by now if someone," Tyson griped, side-eyeing Hilary indiscreetly, "hadn't made us stick around for a beauty pageant!"
"It was not a beauty pageant!" Hilary yelled back.
"Don't forget training," Ray reminded him.
"Training, huh," Ryan said, coming closer to be more a part of the conversation. "Wow, you guys are the real deal then. Really serious about the Mauville Gym."
Mia and Tia stood up, flanking Ryan and pouting with their hands balled into unthreatening fists. "Even if you're friends, Ryan's part of our secret team!" Mia insisted.
"He'll defeat you and take back our flag!" Tia added.
"And restore our honour!" Dylan tacked on the end.
"Speaking of which, how did that come about?" Max once again wondered aloud.
Ryan laughed lightly, precluding a tale of small coincidence: "Place I'm staying in Hoenn is around this area. Found this place one night while training with Lucario and decided to join the team."
"You beat them and took their flag too, didn't you," Daichi intuited. Ryan's embarrassed flush told them everything.
"Then you joined because you felt bad that Tia cried," Ray concluded, "and with you in the team officially the flag was ipso facto back in their possession."
"May have gone a little like that..." Ryan chuckled nervously. "Why don't you join the team too? Being part of a secret base is pretty fun. Usually just play games and do crafts whenever we meet up but sometimes we go on treasure hunts."
"Heck no," Tyson rejected immediately. He held up the Nest Ball, ready to return Shroomish. "We don't have time to mess around playing with kids. Besides, if we join then we don't have a reason to battle you. I know that Lucario of yours is pretty strong."
"Of course," Hilary sighed as though the whole process made her exhausted. Ray also put his head in his hand exasperatedly.
"Sounds like you're challenging me to a multi-battle," Ryan remarked cheekily.
"Damn right we are!"
"Guess since you won't join the team, it's up to me to regain the flag." His hands went to his belt to select two Pokéballs.
"Now we're talkin'," Tyson grinned, bringing Combusken back onto the field. Max returned Mudkip and sent out Wingull.
Ryan expanded both Pokéballs and let them fly at the same time, releasing the two Pokémon his opponents least expected. "Do you best, Skitty and Shedinja!"
"What?!" Tyson exclaimed angrily, looking at the adorably innocent Skitty and the expressionless Shedinja. "You're making fun of us! Combusken, Double Kick on Shedinja!"
"Wingull, use Supersonic on Skitty," Max directed unsurely, wondering what Ryan's possible strategy could be.
"Fake Out and Hone Claws," Ryan commanded with a smile, trusting his two Pokémon to know which order they were receiving.
Shedinja rapidly whet its claws to a sharpened point, managing to move no part of it except its stiff arms. Skitty leaped at Wingull in a rapid move. Wingull was surprised to have her come so close so quickly and she took advantage of that to slap him on the face with both paws, making him flinch. The biggest surprise, however, was when Combusken got close enough for his first kick only for his foot to suddenly stop on Shedinja's hide, making a dull thunk like a hit to a cardboard box. Shedinja remained unmoved. Combusken tried again to fulfil his orders but no matter how hard or fast he made his kicks they wouldn't make a dent on Shedinja.
"Tyson, that's a fighting-type move," Mari coached from the sidelines. "They don't affect ghost-types."
"Right," Tyson responded. "Combusken, forget that and use Flame Charge!"
"Wingull, use Water Pulse," Max said.
"Ally Switch and Safeguard," Ryan ordered with a smile.
Combusken's feathers caught aflame and he charged for Shedinja but in a split second it was gone from his target and replaced with Skitty. Her tail whiskers glowed and caused a shining blue aura to coat Ryan's side of the field briefly before Combusken tackled her down. Water Pulse fizzled away to bubbles on Shedinja's body.
"Do water-type moves not affect ghost-types either?" Max wondered in disbelief. Before any advice could be offered from the sidelines, he went on: "Wingull, try a Wing Attack."
"Flame Charge again! This time we hit it!" Tyson yelled.
"Ally Switch and Protect."
Once again Shedinja was gone from the sights of its double assailants, replaced by Skitty enveloped in a greenish force field. The attacks bounced off harmlessly.
"Go for Combusken with Shadow Claw and Attract," Ryan directed.
Combusken lit its feathers again for another Flame Charge but became distracted by an adorable fawning display from Skitty. She blew him a little kiss using her tail like a hand and suddenly he felt like his heart had been metaphorically pierced. So he wasn't prepared when Shedinja's claws slashed him with a ghostly power that made him feel hollow for a moment. Wingull tried to confuse again with Supersonic but an invisible barrier absorbed the sound waves before they could reach Shedinja.
"Ack! This is really hard," Max said, trying to think of what his next move should be.
"We've got him on the ropes," Tyson replied, sure of himself. "He's mostly on the defensive, just keep chipping away and we'll get him."
"That isn't going to work!"
"Yes it will!"
"It won't!"
"Play Rough with Combusken," Ryan called out while Tyson and Max bickered, "Shadow Claw on Wingull."
Tyson started, attention called back to the battle. "Use Rock Smash!"
Combusken heard but was too enamoured by the fact that the Skitty he inexplicably had a crush on was charging towards him. She tackled him down and beat him over and over, too roughly to really be called playing. Wingull took a hard hit from Shedinja while Max was still thinking. He looked to Max in confusion, wondering why a command wasn't forthcoming immediately. Then Max came up with an idea.
"Tyson, go back to using Flame Charge on Shedinja," he told his battle partner. "Trust me."
"Sure, better than this sorry state," Tyson grumbled over Combusken's infatuation. "Flame Charge on Shedinja."
Ryan frowned, realising Max was up to something but he had to protect his team. "Ally Switch and Play Rough."
"Wing Attack!" Max ordered.
Combusken was barely hanging on after Skitty's assault but he leaped to his feet and charged at Shedinja with his remaining strength. Ryan gasped in dread but couldn't take his commands back after Max's final order; his Pokémon were too fast. Shedinja had already switched places, landing right in the pathway of Wingull's shining wings. Skitty landed in front of Combusken but his charge already had too much momentum to stop. He bowled Skitty over, messing up her fur. Wingull's left wing smashed into Shedinja with a hard crack like a piñata bursting open. It flew across the base and hit the wall. It remained motionless as it tumbled down but when it hit the floor flat on its face it didn't levitate back up. Seeing her battle partner go down and miffed that her attraction hadn't kept her from taking damage, Skitty screeched as she jumped on Combusken to deliver the tussle that ended him.
"Shedinja and Combusken are out of the battle," Mari announced, making sure there were no arguments.
Ryan and Tyson returned their fainted Pokémon. Despite the loss, Tyson grinned and slapped Max on the shoulder. "You got 'im! It's all yours now."
"Don't relax," Ryan warned them, "Skitty can do a lot more. Assist!"
Skitty's paw pads and whiskers glowed as she focussed. Max ordered Wingull to put up Mist. Skitty's fur took on the same glow as her paws and whiskers but then flickered out anticlimactically. She whined.
"Me First didn't work that time," Ryan consoled her gently, "but he's weak so go for Double Slap."
Wingull didn't leave the cover of Mist to launch a Water Pulse. The waves rang in her large ears but Skitty persevered to jump in with her front paws out to bat at Wingull. She only got in two slaps. He'd glided away and the Mist hadn't descended enough to get a good shot at him. Under Ryan's direction she tried another Assist while Wingull turned around to swoop on her with Wing Attack. But she was still faster. Her fur crackled with electricity. She hissed and a thunder bolt zapped from her fur and snaked towards its target, electrocuting Wingull out of the air before he could make his attack.
"Wingull is unable to battle," Mari declared, "Ryan's win!"
The twins and Dylan cheered, jumping in the air for how ecstatic they were. Hilary joined them, which got Tyson to snap at her only for her to reply with something snarky but he quickly turned his attention to Daichi when the loud redhead also cheered at Tyson's defeat. Ray smiled as both he and Kai applauded in a sincere congratulatory manner for what had honestly been a close battle. Meanwhile, Max sighed disappointedly and returned Wingull.
"Don't look so down."
Blue eyes looked up to see Ryan walking towards him with Skitty in his arms. "It was a close battle and you did well to catch on to Shedinja's ability as quickly as you did."
"Ability?" Max echoed curiously.
"Shedinja has an interesting ability called Wonder Guard," Ryan explained. "It's immune to attacks that don't do super effective damage."
"That explains it," Max said in awe. "Though I think you're giving me too much credit. I only noticed that you were invested in having Shedinja avoid Wing Attack and Flame Charge, I had no idea that that was a special ability."
"Don't talk yourself down. Most novices wouldn't have noticed even that much."
Max grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks," he said bashfully. "That ability really threw us for a loop, though. I wish any of my Pokémon had a cool ability."
"Your Pokémon do have an ability, even if you don't notice it," Ryan told him. "Every Pokémon has an ability, usually defined by its species but some abilities are so obtuse that it can take an experienced eye to notice them. Take Skitty here - she has an ability called Cute Charm. Sometimes, without using Attract, an opposing Pokémon of the opposite gender will spontaneously fall in love with her in the middle of battle because she's just so cute."
Ryan tickled her under the chin and she mewled happily, lapping up both the attention and the compliment.
"That seems unfair," Max muttered.
"Is it really that unfair if every Pokémon gets an ability?" Ryan questioned.
"Perhaps not... but Wingull and Mudkip don't seem to have an ability at all."
"That likely isn't true. Can't say I've seen enough of Wingull in battle to figure out what his ability is but you'll find out one day."
"I hope so. That's one more layer of strategy to think about. That Wonder Guard made your Shedinja really tough. I thought you were going easy on us."
"Kind of was..." Ryan admitted sheepishly.
"Don't tell Tyson, then." They both laughed.
Suddenly Hilary clapped her hands like a teacher trying to calm a noisy class. "Okay, children, now that you've finished playing capture the flag may I remind you that we still have a camp to set up."
"Probably don't want to be doing that right now," Ryan advised. "Pretty dark out by the time I got here."
"Ugh! I don't believe it!" Hilary groaned, smacking her forehead. "I knew this would happen!"
"I'm sure we can think of something," Ray reasoned. "Ryan, could you lend us your Raichu's help to light up our campsite while we finish it?"
"That's a pretty good idea," Ryan replied thoughtfully, "but, if I may suggest, the Day Care Centre I'm working at isn't far from here. They also do a trainer's inn on the side since they're halfway between Verdanturf and Mauville. It would be more comfortable to stay there."
"Isn't that still at least a solid hour's walk from here?" Mari asked, folding her hands behind her head. "Be hard in the dark."
"Would but the Day Care Centre has better aid and care facilities than a trainer garden can offer," Ryan argued. "There are a few Pokémon that really need it."
"True but what about these kids?" Tyson asked, swinging his hand in the direction of the twins and Dylan, who now had their flag safely back in their possession. "We can't just leave them here."
"You can leave us here," Tia told them.
"Yeah, no problem," Mia added.
"Already told our parents that we were going to camp in our secret base for a little while," Dylan explained. "Mom and dad said yes so long as I make sure I come home in time for grandma's visit."
Hilary and the bladers stared at them, flabbergasted.
"Your parents really just let you camp out of town for days by yourselves?" Hilary said incredulously.
"We've got our Pokémon," Mia replied.
"They keep us company and keep us safe," Tia added.
"Once they've rested in our secret base we'll be okay to go home."
"And if there's any trouble they can't handle we can call Ryan."
Hilary and the bladers still looked uncomfortable about this arrangement but they were in essence being shooed off. Team Honey Bean wasn't keen for any more opportunities to relinquish their flag. Going the extra mile to get to the Day Care Centre had consensus approval so they bid their goodbyes to the kids in order to leave the secret base. However, when they got back to their unattended belongings at the campsite that never eventuated, they wouldn't like what they found.
While they were gone a pair of criminal grunts had rifled through their things. The remoteness had made this location seem deserted but they hadn't counted on being followed.
Guided by the light of a battery-powered lamp, Jemima tried another search of Mari's bag. She turned up nothing but items, food, and the gas cooker—nothing of value to her and Jamie. With a pout, she dumped the bag on the ground, not caring that the contents spilled out.
"Took all of their Pokémon with them wherever they went!" she complained loudly.
"Don't shout," Jamie mumbled, lying reclined on his side while using the training ball from Kai's bag to play with Purrloin. They rolled it back and forth between each other.
"Maybe we should just take their items anyway."
"Why bother? Just stuff you can get at any Pokémart."
"But we're criminals, we should make the most of that," Jemima insisted, going over to Jamie and Purrlion and catching the training ball halfway between them. "Do crime just for the heck of it."
"Now that's just petty," an eerie voice sang down from above. Jamie and Jemima shivered and she dropped the training ball. "Thought we were above petty crime."
The pair looked up. Sitting in a branch in one of the taller trees was a blonde woman in dark clothes, the same one who'd visited the Battle Tent several days earlier.
Jemima shrieked. "K-k-k-k-Kaiya?! Wh-wh-wh-what brings you h-h-here?"
Jamie was quick to get back on his feet, keeping his fright-filled eyes on the woman in the tree. Kaiya smirked and tilted her chin smugly, enjoying the effect she had on the grunts. She leaned back on the trunk and put one knee up to prop her elbow for further intimidation.
After letting them squirm for a few seconds she finally replied: "Nothing."
Jamie and Jemima glanced at each other with just their eyes. "N-nothing?" Jemima asked.
"Yep," Kaiya said with a shrug. "Got bored, wanted to see what you were up to but you're pretty lame, as usual. Bringing the standards down."
"J-just making the m-most of being criminals," Jamie excused.
"Oh, please! That all you got? If you're going to make us out to be petty thieves might as well play for stakes that aren't trash," she scoffed. Her right hand disappeared behind her hip and reappeared mysteriously holding an egg with a navy blue narrow end and a red wide end and a jagged division between them like the divide between two vicious jaws. It was so large it couldn't have fit in her pocket. She smiled as she examined its rough surface. "Cobalt's gonna love this."
The grunts stayed quiet, not daring to interrupt in case there was a point being made. Kaiya looked down at them in annoyance. "Oh come on! I'm holding an egg and you don't even have any dumb questions like 'wow, Kaiya, where'd you get that?' or 'what're we doing tonight, Kaiya?' or 'who's that Pokémon?' Really?"
"C-c-course! The Day Care Centre," Jemima said. "It's not far, w-we can do petty crime there i-i-if you want!"
"Only steal the water-types," Kaiya reminded them. Then she laughed, head tilted back in an uproar. "Still gets me every time! Who's that guy who says that? One of the bandanna guys... anyway, he's an idiot."
Kaiya's hand tilted, letting the egg drop like it was worth nothing. Both Jemima and Jamie's eyes widened in panic seeing it fall and Jemima rushed forward to catch it.
"Aw, you do care," Kaiya crooned patronisingly. She rolled backwards off the branch but she didn't fall. In fact, not an inch of her body appeared on the other side. Jamie and Jemima looked around nervously for any sign of her but it was as though she had vanished. Then Jamie started when a cold hand came down on his shoulder and Kaiya appeared from behind him with no warning. He had no idea how she got there. "Listen, that Day Care isn't too far away. Continuing on their way, these amateurs are going to be there at some point and by the time they get there you're going to be causing a problem that'll have that dopey old couple being all like 'oh no, we have a problem that needs a hero' and you know little miss Red won't be able to resist that."
"Okay but," Jamie said even though he believed he'd regret it, "how is this going to help achieve our goals?"
Kaiya stared at him blankly for several tense seconds. The smile she gave him afterwards wasn't the slightest bit friendly. "Wouldn't have a clue but tell me when you work it out."
She shoved him aside and sauntered over to Jemima with her hand held out. "Pass that back." Jemima wordlessly thrust the egg back into her hand. Kaiya examined it with a wicked smirk. "A dark type, hm? There's a bigger, badder boss who'd get a kick out of this. You two better get out of here before anyone comes back."
Kaiya began to walk away back towards Verdanturf Town but after just a couple of metres she stopped and turned around, staring at the pair unnervingly. "And I'd better hear about some shenanigans at the Day Care by tomorrow night or you'll have hell to pay."
Jemima and Jamie tensed, feeling a cold fire within them. They exchanged glances before turning and running down the road they knew would lead to the Day Care, fearing the consequences from their executive if they didn't fulfil her odd whim.