Quest complete: Lol, no worries. That fact that you reviewed last chapter managed to sustain me for these past months and to be completely honest (i like to think that i write only for myself but then...) I was really keen to update just to see your reaction in a review again. I just wonder if you're still reading (just don't tell your parents you read this, they might be mad).
Day Care Robbery
It was late enough that they were starting to fall asleep on their feet when the party arrived at the Day Care Centre. They decided to go straight to bed, rather than stay up perturbed by the mess they'd found once they'd returned to their bags. Nothing appeared to have been stolen and only a few bags of food and training equipment had been chewed or scratched, leading Mari to assure them that their bags were mostly likely attacked by wild Pokémon looking for food and using their training ball as a toy.
Their sleeping arrangements were similar to what was available at the Pretty Petal Flower Shop. There were spare linens and futons to roll out in a large room with plenty of space for them all to sleep and access to a guest bathroom with shower and toilet cubicles. The room itself was otherwise bare, with a wooden floor, sliding doors and windows high up on the walls like the Petalburg Gym. One of the doors went back to the reception room but the other went out back to the paddocks they had yet to see. Tired as they were, nobody grasped the major disadvantage to this until dawn broke.
Max was sleeping soundly just like his friends around him until all of a sudden something startled him awake when it bounced on his face and smothered him for a couple of panicky seconds. It didn't hurt—it felt like a soft, warm rubber ball. He sat up quickly and the thing rolled off his face and into his lap, bouncing there lightly as though it had the weight of a balloon despite him knowing it certainly didn't since it had attacked his face. Looking down, a round, pink face looked back up at him from a round, pink body with a tuft of curls on the top and a spiral mark on its forehead. It squeaked adorably and puffed up, gaining a bit of extra height on its next bounce. Max sighed with relief.
"You scared me, cutie," he muttered with a smile, giving it a pat on the head. "If you wanted to play you could have just said so—no need to wake me up like that."
Another squeak and a thunk startled him to sit up straight. He turned to their bags lined up against one of the walls. Three small Pokémon scurried about, having frightened themselves when they tipped over Tyson's bag whilst investigating it. Max could tell that one of them was a Mudkip but had no idea what the other two could be having never seen them before. At the end of the row of bags a little Growlithe was dragging Mari's bag away from the rest in order to go about chewing the straps more thoroughly while a Ralts (much smaller than Hilary's) had opened up Rei's bag and was taking nibbles on each of his berries before discarding them on the floor.
"Ack! Stop that!" Max exclaimed, flinging the sheet off and getting up in such a hurry that he didn't notice the pink Pokémon bounce away like a ball. It didn't really mind, though. The Pokémon around the bags glanced at him and then scattered as he ran up waving his hands to shoo them away. With another sigh, he got down to set things back to rights. There was no saving the berries that had been nibbled though he'd have to explain to Ray how some of his berries mysteriously disappeared.
Wondering where all those Pokémon had come from, Max lifted his gaze to survey the room. Aside from the troublemakers by the bags, a few other small Pokémon had wandered in to leisurely investigate the visitors. A snake with large, red fangs slithered around the futons, lifting its head curiously to see over the shapes in the sheets; a grey, legless piglet with a pearl on its head bounced around on its tail particularly fascinated with Tyson as he drooled in his sleep, mumbling about "peanut butter hotdog cakes"; and a Nincada crawled towards Kai's bed, which he surely would not appreciate in the probable instance that it woke him up. It didn't escape Max's notice that one bed other than his own was unoccupied, namely Ray's. It had been folded up neatly as though his friend had no intention of returning to bed. The sliding door leading to the yard out the back was open a fraction and two Wingull chicks with fluffy feathers were just waddling through, eager to join the investigation of the new guests. Max smiled, knowing where he would certainly find Ray.
Pushing the door open a bit more to get outside, Max breathed in the fresh, crisp morning air. The sun's light glowed over the treetops and even though it hadn't properly broken over the landscape yet there was enough light there for Max to see the paddocks and pens stretched before him full of lush, green grass, ponds, and Pokémon. Many of them were already lifting their heads to rise for the day. Just as he'd thought, Ray was already out there but he wasn't alone. His Skitty ran up and down the fence, presumably chasing something in the grass that Max couldn't see, while his Taillow napped on a fence post with his head under his wing, evidently finding it too early to be awake. Right beside Ray stood his Grovyle, glancing at him every now and again to make sure he was copying Ray's form correctly as they went through the motions of standing meditative poses. As he'd explained to Max before during their first campaign to a beyblading championship, it was something particularly unique to his tribe – not quite tai chi, not quite yoga – and he practised in the early hours of the dawn whenever he could manage. The American had somewhat tried his hand at learning but found it a little difficult so he stuck with the simpler form of meditation.
"Morning, Ray!" Max called, mindful not to be too loud so as not to wake the others still sleeping in the room behind him.
Ray opened his eyes that had been softly closed in a peaceful trance and turned to look at Max over his shoulder without otherwise breaking pose or losing balance. "Good morning. It's early, isn't it?"
"Someone kinda woke me up," Max chuckled. He gestured over his shoulder. "I think you left the door open."
"Oh, sorry. It wasn't Skitty, was it?"
"Nah, some other curious little guy. There are all kinds of Pokémon around here, just look at them all," he gazed out over the paddocks again as he said that. "I wanna look them all up in the Pokédex but I don't know where to begin."
"You could have probably started with whatever's in the room," Ray cheekily replied with a smile, dropping his form. "Nonetheless, it was careless of me to leave the door open like that. I'll go and sh-"
A scream cut him off.
"Tyson?" Ray and Max both exclaimed. They ran back into the room, wondering if perhaps one of the Pokémon had attacked. They threw open the doors together and looked inside.
In the low light they could still see Tyson standing up on his futon and waving his pillow to ward off the snake that had crept under his blanket while Max wasn't looking. His scream had roused the rest of the team and startled all of the baby Pokémon inside, including Togepi, who was wailing over the rude awakening. Hilary and Daichi both glared at him as they sat up.
"What gives, Tyson?" Hilary snapped. "The sun isn't even up."
"This creepy… thing crawled into my bed!" he shouted back at her.
Daichi's brain took a moment to process what it was seeing when he looked at it but once it caught up with him he also screamed. "It's the Magma guy's snake!"
"What Magma guy?" Mari asked, perplexed. "And what's a snake?"
"You weren't there but we told you about it," Tyson explained. "One of the Magma guys in the mysterious cave had a snake like this."
"Had a Seviper?"
"Yeah, that thing," Tyson muttered. He paused in trying to hit it away and went through the pockets of his shorts that were folded up next to his bed for his Pokédex. Aiming the camera at it, the Pokédex informed: "Seviper, the Fang Snake Pokémon. It has a long-occurring blood feud with Zangoose. It counters Zangoose's agility by swinging its bladed tail, which secretes a horrible poison. It whets its tail on rocks to keep it as sharp as a sword."
"Man, that's a serious Pokémon. And now it won't get out of my bed!"
Mari giggled. "Well, since we're all awake now we might as well get up. Seems like Kai is."
Kai glanced at her, not breaking his movements as he folded up his linens. The truth he wouldn't tell anyone was that he wasn't comfortable going back to sleep with that Nincada hanging around so close by. Togepi disagreed completely, tucking herself back into her shell for some more sleep on Kai's pillow. Hilary groaned, flopping back onto her bedding.
"Five more minutes," she whined.
"That's usually my line," Tyson teased. He'd given up trying to nudge the Seviper out of his bed and instead picked it up to carry it outside but it squirmed relentlessly against the handling.
"We did get to sleep kind of late," Ray excused.
"But you were already awake," Max pointed out.
"I wanted to meditate and give my Pokémon some fresh air but you guys can take the time you need."
"Plus, we can use this time too," Mari suggested. "We should probably clean up before breakfast since we didn't get around to it last night.
Ray looked back at the yard behind him. The sun brightened the world just a smidge more as it came up and he kept a keen eye on his Taillow for signs that he was ready to wake up and take flight. His Zubat flapped into view from wherever he had spent the night and hung on a wooden fence beam, folding his wings to snooze.
"I still have some meditation I want to accomplish, so you guys can decide amongst yourselves who gets the showers first," he said, mindful of the fact that the bathroom here wasn't as large as one at a Pokémon Centre so they couldn't all go at once.
"I'll join you," Max added.
"Is no one going to address the issue of there being a bunch of random Pokémon in our room?" Tyson grumbled. He tossed the Seviper outside, wanting it as far away from himself as possible as quickly as possible in case it decided to slice him with its poisonous tail.
"You and Kai seem to have that under control," Mari replied, standing up and stretching. Tyson looked over at Kai, jealous of how the Pokémon seemed to just obey him when he shooed them away from their bags. "Looks like me, Hilary, and Daichi get first dibs, then."
Since there was no argument, everything progressed smoothly from there. By the time the sun had properly broken over the horizon they had already folded away the linens and lined them up to the side of the room where their bags had been previously. They had begun preparing their bags for travelling when there was a knock on the door to the main building. The door opened and in walked an elderly woman. Despite the early hour she was already dressed for the day in maroon robes with a sleeved, white smock over them and had her long, white hair up in a tidy bun. She looked around the room in pleasant surprise and smiled.
"Well, look at this!" she said. "My, aren't you all well-prepared."
"Morning, ma'am," Mari said. "Everything okay?"
"Oh, don't mind me, just stopped in to see if you were awake yet and if you'd like some breakfast."
"Heck yes!" Tyson exclaimed in response.
The old woman laughed. "My, aren't you eager? I could prepare something for you but with so many of you I'm going to need some volunteers to help out."
"I'll do it," Hilary offered immediately, standing up.
"No way, if you cook it'll end up awful somehow," Tyson protested.
"I can cook just fine!" Hilary shouted back at him.
"I'll help too," Ray said.
"Me too," Max added.
"At this rate it sounds like breakfast is going to be over-spiced vegetables slathered in mustard," Tyson complained.
"If you want something in particular you could just ask," Hilary retorted, "or better yet, you could help."
Mari groaned as they began to bicker. "How can they argue so much before breakfast?"
Breakfast thankfully went without a major incident, both in the cooking department and the time afterwards. The all-purpose nature of their lodgings meant that there was no dining table so they put their meal on little tea tables, placed tightly together to look like one table, and sat on the floor with cushions while they ate. The old woman even decided to join them, bringing along her husband—a bald, elderly man with thick facial hair who wore a dark blue robe. They set up one more place for Ryan, although Hilary, Mari, and the bladers had yet to see him that morning.
"So, what are all the Pokémon on the ranch for?" Max asked as they were finishing.
"Don't raise them for anything in particular," the old man explained. "Sometimes we do a bit of training with them to help them get a bit stronger but they mostly belong to other trainers."
"Is that what's meant by 'Day Care'?" Hilary inquired.
"Indeed," the old woman nodded. "We take care of other trainers' Pokémon temporarily but as well as that we also take pairs of Pokémon from trainers who need a safe place for their Pokémon to breed."
"No wonder all those Pokémon in here before were so small," Daichi remarked. "They must have been babies."
"Were the Pokémon bothering you?"
"It's okay," Ray assured her. "We were able to deal with it."
"On a different topic, you seem to have had a good night's sleep," the old man commented. "Arrived very late last night; barely had time to get introduced yet you appear to be well acquainted with my wife, Rae."
"Indeed," the old woman nodded again. "Dear, you should have seen them earlier, they were so helpful in the kitchen! Please, allow me to introduce you all formally. This is my husband Eli."
Rae quickly went through the names of the party, getting it over with promptly. However, before they could move on to further conversation the door to the main part of the house burst open. Everyone turned to it with a start. In the doorway stood Ryan, arms spread on the doorframe and panting hard with his glasses askew. He had a different pair this time, not the brown-tinted lenses they remembered seeing. These ones were clear and slim with a stylish metal frame.
"Oh, Ryan," Eli said, not seeming to notice his obvious distress. "How nice that you were finally able to join us. Prepared something for you but it's probably a little cold by now."
Ryan swallowed after getting his breath and pushed his glasses up to sit properly on his face. "It's terrible! Mr Dae, Mrs Kär, you have to come right away!"
"But you haven't had breakfast yet."
"Maybe we should hear this out first," Ray suggested. "It sounds urgent."
"The Pokémon eggs!" Ryan cried. "They're all gone!"
Mari stood up first, taking the initiative to declare that this situation was bad news. They all got to their feet – the young ones faster than the elders – to follow Ryan back into the centre, leaving everything as it was in their rush. Only Tyson bothered to grab the strap of his egg case and hang it over his shoulder, worried that something might happen to it too. They all followed him down the corridor running through the entire building to a room at the very end. It was another large room like the one Hilary, Mari, and the bladers had slept in but this room was half panelled in glass as a sun room. The shaded half was being used as a store for some of the Day Care supplies while under the sun were three rows of shelves designed to hold eggs, cradling them at a comfortable angle. Sunlight glinted off the metal shelf frames and the wire slots, every one of which was empty.
Mari walked purposefully past Ryan towards the shelves, stopping at the nearest one. She squinted at it and peered into the joints, as if she might find clues there. "Were all of these cradles full?"
"Some of them," Ryan answered, "but that was still a lot of eggs."
"A hundred and fourteen," Rae supplied accurately.
"How could someone be able to carry off that many Pokémon eggs at once?" Eli wondered, completely bewildered.
"However they did it, they can't have gotten far with so many at once," Tyson rationalised, "which means we could still find them."
"Just what I was thinking," Mari said, mumbling a little bit as she was preoccupied with examining the shelves. She crouched down to look underneath. "Need to start looking for clues quickly. Longer they have, the further away they could get."
Ryan, Hilary, and the bladers agreed and spread out around the room to help with the search. The old couple exchanged worried glances.
"Going to call the police," Rae decided. She hurried out of the room to the reception office as fast as her old legs could take her.
Ryan looked about. He'd finished covering the area near the first aid kit and non-perishable medical supplies and was searching for another good area to go over that wasn't already covered. That's when he spotted Daichi near the end of the shelf closest to the east wall, squatting down to collect something. He jogged over to crouch next to him.
"Find something?"
Daichi showed him the clump he had so far collected between his left thumb and forefinger. "I think it's hair… or fur."
"Could it be from a Pokémon?" Mari interjected, sidling into the conversation. She kneeled down to get a closer look.
Ryan smiled knowingly. "Wanna see a trick?"
He got up and ran back to one of the cabinets in the storage area to open up a drawer, coming back holding a lighter. He pinched a tiny sample from Daichi's fingers and held them carefully as he lit a flame under them. The hairs caught alight like a match and burned briefly only for the fire to simmer away to nothing but smoke, leaving behind singed follicles.
"Pokémon fur is fire resistant," Ryan explained, grinning at the success of his experiment. "Non-Pokémon hair would burn quickly and shrivel up. So, it's a Pokémon, coloured purple."
"Narrows things down," Mari said with a smile, taking her Pokédex out of her back pocket.
Daichi cocked his head to the side as she pressed buttons. "What are you doing now?"
"Search function on the Pokédex," Mari replied without pause. "Can narrow down possibilities of what Pokémon you're looking for if you know a few details like type, colour, ability, and all that." She stared at the screen as it loaded up any Pokémon that matched her current criteria. "Hm… hard to match. Should definitely be one of the darker ones but which?"
"Hey!" Max called across the room. "Kai found something. Come take a look."
That attracted everyone's attention. They paused what they were looking at to rush to the back of the room where Kai and Max stood by a glass-panelled door leading out to the paddocks. The greenhouse side of the room was of an old design, so all of the panels were small with thin wooden frames between them. Kai didn't turn to the others as they arrived like Max did, instead he kept intensely looking at one panel very close to the inside doorhandle with the deadbolt over the top of it. Togepi had no idea what was happening but it sure seemed lively.
"What is it?" Mari got to the point.
"I'm not sure," Max replied. "I just noticed Kai was looking at one thing in particular for a while and he said he'd found something."
"And of course he couldn't just tell us," Tyson quipped, "because that would be teamwork." Kai didn't bother to spare Tyson a withering look for that remark. He just rolled his eyes out of sight of everyone else.
Mari peered closer at the spot. "This panel…" she murmured to herself, "has a weird crack."
She reached out to touch the glass along the edge of the perfect crack. At the slightest touch a perfectly round piece cut from the panel fell out and smashed on the ground outside.
"The thief could have cut that so they could disable the deadbolt while they were on the outside," Ray deduced.
"To make a cut like that efficiently they'd either need a specialised tool or a Pokémon," Ryan pointed out.
"Already know a Pokémon's been in here, so…" Mari said, going back to her Pokédex. "Judging by the size of the opening, it must be in a pretty small size class."
She fiddled with the Pokédex functions again. It took less than a second to fine tune the small number of results, to which Mari made a small noise of surprise.
"Narrowed it down?" Eli asked hopefully.
"Not completely," Mari said, turning the Pokédex screen to face them, "but look at this. One of the possible results is a Purrloin. Pretty sure we know a couple with a Purrloin following them around who have a history of thievery."
"Isn't the evidence too circumstantial to go making accusations yet?" Ray wondered aloud.
"Closest lead we've got," Mari argued. "Matches their modus operandi pretty well. And if it's that Team Aqua pair again it means that, like last time, they've probably got a pretty low-tech getaway plan, which means they'd have to stockpile the eggs somewhere nearby to prepare them for transport. If we spread out to look now we could still catch them!"
"What you're saying is just conjecture," Ray countered.
"I know those guys are bad," Max interjected sympathetically, "and I know you miss Woofy but that's no reason to accuse them of just any theft."
"I think she's right," Tyson piped up, crossing his arm self-assuredly.
"What makes you think that?" Hilary asked.
"I just have a hunch."
The others all groaned, made weak at the knees by the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Hey, come on! It's worth considering," Tyson maintained. "I say we go with what Mari's plan is right now. We can split into groups to search the perimeter of the ranch and see if we find anybody, or at the very least an egg stockpile, and if we don't then we can come back here and see if we can find more clues."
"That's the kind of plan I like," Daichi snickered, already swinging his arms to warm up. "I'm ready for action."
"Thanks, Tyson," Mari smiled. "Eli, can you show us a map of the ranch boundaries so we can decide how best to divide the search?"
"Yes, I think I know where I put that old thing," he responded before shuffling to the trunks at the back of the room to find it.
"We could find the same information on the PokéNav or the map, couldn't we?" Ray asked.
"Yeah, just think the large format map will be easier to plan on," Mari replied. "Reminds me, though, probably a good idea to have a map-holder in each group so we don't all get lost. Think about it when we get there. Important thing right now is that we have a quick plan of action. So… groups."
They were split evenly into pairs to go along the perimeter of the ranch. Mari and Tyson ran off to the furthermost corner, Ray and Daichi were to search the eastern side close to the grasslands, Hilary and Kai were sent to the western forest edge, while the old couple stayed at the homestead to wait on the police and keep an eye out for anything. Meanwhile, Max and Ryan were sent to the ranch's reservoir.
Although it was called a reservoir, it was more like a man-made lake. Pokémon frolicked in or on the edge of the water, among lilies and reeds that had likely self-seeded from elsewhere. On the far edge closest to the fence the vegetation had been allowed to get overgrown and hang over the water.
"Being honest, don't really have a lot of expectations," Ryan admitted as they stood on the inner edge looking out over the large body of water. "With how bushy it is on the other side, it'd be really hard to escape this way without leaving some sort of trail."
"But with the bushes being so thick it's also really easy to hide, isn't it?" Max countered. He and Ryan exchanged glances. "We won't get anywhere unless we start looking, right?"
Ryan nodded at Max's pragmatism. "I'll go this way around the edge," he said, pointing to his left. "You go the other way. If they're here at all, we'll sandwich them."
Max nodded with a small noise of affirmation and then the two of them turned to follow opposite paths. It was a large enough lake that getting around just one side of it was a scenic route, complete with some angles of picturesque beauty and charm. The lovely weather only made it more so but the current crime overshadowed it. Max had to stay focused and determined until he got to the other side.
He reached the juncture where the forest met the lake and the paddock. No significant details really stood out to him as he looked up and down the unruly hedgerow, making him twist his lip in disquietude. He was about to run off along the hedges when a squeak got his attention. In the lake beside him, a shiny, blue ball bobbed in the water. He stared at it for a while, sure that that was where the sound had come from despite it having no face for the sound to have come out of and it overall seemed inanimate. Then it wobbled. That was curious, since there had been no waves in the lake or sudden winds that would have caused it. It wasn't too far away from the bank and when he crouched down Max could reach it with both hands to pick it up. As he lifted it, the creature that had been holding on to the back of it with its only two stubby legs lost its grip and fell, dangling from the blue ball with a black, zigzag tail. It had a somewhat round body with small, round ears and white cheeks and an adorable face that was currently scrunched up in fear. It squealed as it squeezed its eyes shut and flailed wildly, almost hitting Max, so he had to hold it at arm's length until it wore itself out.
"It's okay, little guy, I'm not here to hurt you," Max assured it. He smiled brightly at it. "You're so cute, why would anyone ever hurt you?"
The creature seemed to understand human words enough that it was able to heed Max's assurances. Its expression remained wary and fearful but it managed to look at him with curiosity.
"I think I've seen one of you before – at the Petalburg Gym, I think – but I don't remember what you are," Max thought aloud, putting it down to get out his Pokédex. The blue creature rolled to its feet and tried to flee but its tiny body didn't have the strength to drag its own tail behind it. The black zigzag section stretched and then yanked it back like a spring, forcing it to remain. That only made it easier for him to register it on the camera.
"Azurill, the polka dot Pokémon," the Pokédex reported. "Its large tail is very bouncy and full of nutrients this Pokémon needs to grow. It is used as a flotation device but it can also be used to attack by flailing it around. On sunny days, groups of Azurill are often found splashing and playing with their tails by the water's edge."
"That clinches it," Max nodded in perfunctory manner as though he'd merely been informed of a dry scientific fact, shutting his Pokédex. "You are definitely the cutest thing ever."
He lunged forward to grab it in a hug. It squealed in panic and swung around to thump him in the solar plexus with its tail. Though the shiny blue, bulb looked like a light rubber ball, the blow felt like a small sack of potatoes had been pitched at him. All the wind left him in a single breath and he fell flat on his back. At that point, he would have liked to stay down to catch his breath but the Azurill didn't let up, jumping onto his belly and bouncing there on its tail. Max rolled over to force it off him, resting his forehead on his hands as he tried not to breathe in dirt.
"That was… pretty mean…" he gasped, "but I guess… I surprised you… didn't I?"
He looked up to the Azurill standing beside him, huffy and stamping its feet aggressively. Despite the confident show of force, when Max pushed himself up onto his knees it squealed and hid behind its tail again.
"Aw, don't be scared. Would it be easier if I found a friend for you?"
Max reached into his pocket for one of his Pokéballs and released Mudkip in front of him. The small amphibian blinked and cocked his head to the side, wondering why he'd been brought out in front of this strange blue ball. Azurill peered out from behind its tail and upon seeing Mudkip puffed itself up and jumped up and down, kicking its legs about like it was splashing in water. The sudden movement startled Mudkip and he dashed to hide behind Max with only his quivering tail fin poking out. Max laughed.
"Though it might be difficult to be friends if you're afraid of each other."
Azurill saw Mudkip run to hide behind this strange human and her fear scaled back once again. She jumped onto her tail and bounced around the human to try to greet this new Pokémon properly. She'd seen many of them hatch up at the human den but she'd never seen one cower from her quite like this and it stirred up a strange emotion in her that she couldn't comprehend. The only thing she understood of it was that she wanted to get him to play with her instead of fight her.
Max let them discover each other on their own, observing them tilting their heads and making adorable vocalisations. At first, Mudkip shied away again, croaking timidly but Azurill pressed on with excited squeaks. The joyous sight of watching her bounce on her own tail got Mudkip to lift his head and his fins twitched in interest. Even Max couldn't keep his wonder completely silent, letting out an audible gasp at the sight that reminded him of those hopping balls that he used to bounce on as a child. When she wasn't attempting to drag her tail Azurill moved much more freely, going in circles and dodging Mudkip's attempts to swat, nip, or tackle her tail. Max watched them for minutes, fighting the urge to intervene and cuddle them both for being so cute. He wanted to look after them both and got to thinking about asking the old couple about this Pokémon, which is when – with a start – he remembered what he should have been doing.
"I need to stay on Team Aqua's trail!" he exclaimed as he stood up. "They could have even gotten away with the eggs by now."
Azurill squealed in fright, losing her balance on her tail. She hopped back up to escape back to the lake but Max grabbed her, lifting her off the ground.
"Hold up! Whatever I said or did just then, I'm sorry. You don't have to run away."
Azurill glanced at him with teary eyes before turning away to stare at the bushes. Max followed her gaze to a spot a couple of metres down the hedgerow from where he stood. The bushes didn't seem as thick there, like they'd been trimmed or hadn't grown as close together as the others. Keeping his hold on Azurill, Max crept towards the space and crouched down. The gap between the bushes was big enough that he could crawl through easily, someone twice his size probably could have managed it. In his hands, Azurill quivered, as though afraid of whatever lay beyond.
"Did something scary come through here?" Max asked her. "Don't worry, I'm after some scary people. I'll knock 'em out for you."
He winked and then cradled her against him firmly with one arm so that he could crawl through the gap. Mudkip didn't want to go but he would have been left behind otherwise, so he followed dutifully.
The forest behind the hedgerow should have been hard walking. It was terribly overgrown but there was an easier albeit rough path through it. Nothing formal, just broken or trampled branches from someone bashing their way through it beforehand. Instantly suspicious. There was no good reason for anyone to be walking through here where the only living creatures he encountered were some beetle-like bug-types that he released Wingull to take care of, seeing as there wasn't much space on the ground for Mudkip to manoeuvre in. As he followed the path he came across a simple post-and-wire fence with the wire snapped and twisted up out of the way of whoever had come through, possibly dragging something with them. A nervous feeling churned in Max's gut. He kept telling himself it was only conjecture so far but every step he took seemed to be getting closer and closer to the actual thieves and he had let Ryan take off in the opposite direction with the only communication device between them. He didn't feel the slightest bit prepared as he pushed on and came to the end of the choked tangled of underbrush that had ringed the outer edge of the reservoir where the forest opened up to a grassland. In the open area, there was no missing the large pile of colourful eggs all bundled together inside a net. Max felt both in awe of and betrayed by his fortune.
Upon inspection, the net was made of a thick, white rope and had six metal rings at each of its corners that were gathered together in a closed hook at the top with its own large ring attached. Clearly it was ready to go somewhere but there was nobody around to take it. The sight of the net and the eggs had Azurill quivering in agitation. Max put her down and grabbed hold of the net, carefully tugging at it to make the pile roll. The clattering noise they made grated on his ears simply for the fear of having one of the eggs crack while they were all sliding over each other but since he had nothing to cut the ropes with it was the only way to reach the hook and release them unless he climbed the pile; he didn't trust that the eggs wouldn't break under his own weight.
The sound of a loud engine overhead made him look up and curse to himself. He'd hoped he would be able to free the eggs from the net before the thieves came back, although he had no idea what he'd do with them once he did (hide them in the bushes, perhaps). A propeller-driven aircraft with chain and hook attached to the bottom of its basket rapidly approached, kicking up a gust as it got closer.
"Mari was right," Max moaned, "it is those guys."
The drone-like vehicle hovered over the egg pile and Max could already see the occupants even from afar because their hair colours were so bright. Jamie's bright orange puff of hair stood out even as he stood back and piloted with a remote controller while Jemima's ribbon of lavender hair blew about as she leaned over the edge of the basket, holding on to a bar above her head.
"Well, look who it is!" she yelled over the propellers, more amused than disappointed if the smirk on her face was anything to go by. She struck a more dynamic pose and sang out: "Prepare for trouble!"
"Really? Gonna do it just for him?" Jamie interrupted. "He's already heard…"
"Shut up and do your part!"
Jamie sighed. "Fine… Make it double."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nations."
"To denounce the evils of truth and woe."
"To extend our reach to the depths below."
"Jemima!"
"Jamie…"
"Team Aqua, diving deep at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."
Purrloin peeked over the edge of the basket to meow in agreement.
"I already know who you jerks are!" Max yelled back at them.
Jemima's eyebrow twitched at his impudence. "Weakling with the wimpy Mudkip! Maybe this time we should actually steal it from you!"
"Careful," Jamie warned, unheard by Max down below but Jemima pouted as she turned to him. "Friends could be somewhere…"
"Won't take long!" Jemima argued. "Besides, clearly he's here to interfere! Zangoose, let's stop him!"
White light shot to the ground like a lightning bolt and took the form of Zangoose. She rose up on her hind legs with teeth and claws bared to snarl at her opponents. Max took a step away from the net to take up a wide, determined stance against the Zangoose but her intimidating appearance sent Mudkip and Azurill scampering to cower behind Max's legs. It took Max a second to realise that they had put him on the frontline and he looked down at them in a panic.
"H-hey! Don't freak out! We've got two against one, so we'll be fine. Mudkip, hit it with Mud Slap! And Azurill, you… er, I don't actually know what you can do."
Zangoose charged for them, preparing a Slash. Mudkip gulped but reluctantly ran out from behind Max to meet her head-on. He hacked up a mouthful of mud and sprayed it right in Zangoose's face. She shut her eyes against the gritty mud but she was close enough that her claws still got a good cut across Mudkip's face. Max fumbled in his pockets to get out his Pokédex to help. Seeing this and the success of Mudkip's attack, Azurill puffed herself up with all her courage and jumped on her tail to bounce into the battle. She tried to contribute by doing the only thing she knew how to do: she jumped up and down, flailing her legs and hoping it looked menacing.
"Are you trying to do something cool?" Max wondered hopefully, turning his Pokédex to her and setting it to Attackdex. The 'dex took a moment to read her movements and dashed his hopes with the move it had determined. "Nope, just Splash. Is there anything else you can do?"
While he was distracted, Zangoose tried a Crush Claw on Mudkip. She was fast but the mud in her eyes made her vision blurry and she missed, tearing up the dirt and grass. Mudkip jumped further out of her reach and turned to Max worriedly, looking for what to do next.
"Try Water Gun, Azurill," Max commanded, reading from a list of possible moves in the Pokédex. Azurill turned to him with her lip wobbling, confused by the expectant words coming out of his mouth. Max yanked at his hair and screwed his eyes shut in frustration. Mari had told them literally right at the start that Pokémon didn't automatically know the words for things they could do. It didn't help that he had no idea how much this Azurill had learned but the 'dex said it should know Water Gun from the get go. His eyes snapped open with an epiphany. "Mudkip, show how Water Gun is done!"
Mudkip narrowly dodged another Crush Claw from Zangoose. He spat a jet of water at her that pushed her back only slightly. She stood upright again, focussing on the direction Water Gun had come from. Jemima screamed at her to go for a Slash. Mudkip tried to run again but she managed to strike him across the side, her claws leaving red lacerations in their wake. Meanwhile, Azurill watched Mudkip and her mouth made a little 'o' shape. She knew she could do that. She puffed up her cheeks as she searched for the water in her reserves and spat a small jet of her own, hitting Zangoose in the side of the head with all the effectiveness of a water pistol. It turned Zangoose's attention on her.
"Zangoose, leave the baby!" Jemima ordered. "Focus on Mudkip! Use Slash!"
"Mud Slap!" Max ordered as a counter. "Azurill, try Tail Whip."
Azurill gave him another sad and confused lip. She looked to the battle and did Splash again. Max smacked his palm over his face. Meanwhile, Zangoose loomed over Mudkip. Her eyes gleamed as she brought her claws down, going for a critical hit. Mudkip fell over backwards trying to escape her and curled up tight. By coincidence, she missed, her claws grazing both his sides and trapping him between them. With her face right over him, he coughed up another spray of mud, getting a good hit. She yanked her claws out of the ground and roared angrily at the extra mud in her eyes.
"Mudkip, show Azurill Tail Whip," Max directed. Mudkip got up and wagged his tail at Zangoose, hitting her harmlessly but it got her annoyed enough that she tried to take a swipe. He ducked under it easily and bounded away. Azurill again watched closely. While she had never tried it before it looked easy enough. She turned around, staying balanced on her bouncy tail and squeaked to get Zangoose's attention. Then she waggled the black part of her tail. Zangoose let her guard down even more, half-heartedly trying to hit Mudkip with another Slash just because Jemima told her to.
Jemima ground her teeth together. "Jamie! Help me out!" she yelled at him.
"You got this," he replied lazily. "Don't need more than Zangoose for…"
"Battle has already taken longer than I want it to and it's pissing me off!" Jemima growled, shaking her fist. "Get Dustox out so we can knock out these Pokémon before someone stronger shows up!"
"Steering," Jamie offered as an excuse, turning his full attention away from the battle to the remote in his hand. He watched the screen in the middle of the remote that showed a view from landing camera that spotted the ground right below them. As the battle waged on he'd driven them carefully closer to the egg net. He turned to Purrloin. "Got the claw?"
Purrloin held a smaller remote in both hands but had to put it on the floor to operate it. Jamie watched the screen on his own remote and saw the hook twitch and move from side-to-side with Purrloin's inputs. He smirked, confident that their plan was coming to fruition.
Back on the ground, Mudkip and Azurill teamed up with another Water Gun just so Azurill could get the hang of hearing the command. Then Max commanded Mudkip to go in for a Tackle while Azurill backed him up with Water Gun. Zangoose missed another Slash as he ran at her. He charged straight into her belly, winding her so that Azurill's piddly Water Gun could knock her onto her backside.
Mudkip was on a high for all his success now. He confidently followed an order for a second Tackle but even through the mud in her eyes, Zangoose struck lucky with Crush Claw. She missed his face but her claws crashed into his chest so hard the tips even pierced flesh and the force of impact cracked his rib bones. It was the most powerful hit he had had to endure thus far, even counting the sting from Seedot's type advantage and the Stone Edge he had suffered from a Torkoal. He screamed out in pain. His body ached everywhere, especially around his cracked ribs. He thought he could win before but that seemed unrealistic now; he could barely move. But his trainer had guided him this far, he couldn't let him down now. With the force of his own desperation, his body grew hot.
"What the-?" Max gasped, seeing the red glow and sweat building up on Mudkip. "I didn't set up Bide."
It didn't really look like Bide either, although it was similar. Max lifted his Pokédex camera to Mudkip. With a large bellow Mudkip charged back at Zangoose. His pent-up energy exploded in her face, knocking her off her feet and putting her in as much pain as he was in.
The Attackdex verdict came back as a surprise. "'Endeavour'?" Max breathed in awe. "That's a new one. Will it work again? Mudkip, Endeavour!"
Mudkip whined and shook himself. Even if he had understood what that new word meant yet, he couldn't muster another one, not yet anyway. He didn't have the drive for it anymore now that Zangoose was weakened. Max didn't have time to waste with that right now, since Zangoose was already starting to struggle back to her feet, so he commanded Mudkip to finish with another Tackle, while Azurill tried to contribute with another Water Gun. Mudkip's attack slammed her in the neck and she made a choked noise in surprise before she was out cold.
Max and Azurill both cheered now that Jemima was forced to return Zangoose. Mudkip slumped onto his belly, glad that that was finally over even though he could barely breathe. Max ran to his side and picked him up. He cradled his Pokémon in his arms, brows furrowing in concern as he examined the bleeding and bruised Crush Claw wound on Mudkip's chest. Had that attack been better aimed and if Zangoose had had the surety of perfect vision it could have killed him. Max swallowed a lump in his throat at the thought. The wound actually could still kill him but they'd gone out prepared for the possibility of a battle this time, so Max reached into one of his pockets for one of the Sitrus berries he knew was there.
"Eat this," he told Mudkip gently, pressing the berry to his lips to encourage him to take it. "You did such a good job and this battle was tough."
Mudkip chewed on the berry while Azurill sniffed Max's pants. She wanted a berry too but she had no way to get one from him without any arms.
The wind had gradually picked up but Max hadn't paid much mind until now when it was causing his hair – short enough as it was – to whip wildly around his head. He looked up. The drone carrier had gotten much closer than he realised and the metal hook attached to it stretched out towards the ring on the top of the net. Max returned Mudkip and once his arm was free he pulled out his other Pokéball.
"Wingull, we have to cut it!" he said as he brought out his second Pokémon. Wingull squawked as the wind buffeted him, taking a while to find his balance in the air. Max wasn't sure at first what he was going to do but it didn't take long to come to him: "Use Wing Attack on that hook!"
Wingull's wings shone and he took a flying run up towards the mechanical arm but he was cut off by a Dustox that took the hit instead. It was knocked back, falling into the mechanical arm and causing it to shudder to an emergency stop.
"Oh, now you're going to help!" Jemima snapped at Jamie.
"Woulda broken our machine," Jamie grumbled back. He called down to Dustox. "Poison Powder!"
"Supersonic!" Max commanded.
Dustox fluttered frantically, spreading a violet powder everywhere that was picked up by the wind. Max covered his mouth and nose with his shirt and crouched low to avoid it until the wind scattered it completely but Wingull couldn't avoid the cloud up in the air. He tried to confuse it but he couldn't get a good aim with Supersonic while trying to navigate the wild air currents the propellers kicked up. The powder stung his eyes and tasted bitter in his beak. He could already feel it making him weaker.
"Try another Wing Attack!" Max urged him.
"Use Venoshock!" Jamie smirked.
Dustox's mouthparts wriggled as something liquid gurgled and bubbled behind them. Then it burst forth in a purple stream, shooting Wingull in the face before he could finish his attack. It knocked him out of the air, stinging him like fire until he was out cold on the ground. Max returned him as the mechanical arm restarted and stretched out to the ring. The hook end opened up to grasp it.
Max released Mudkip back onto the field. Between a quick break and a Sitrus berry he was a bit better, no longer bleeding and breathing easier but the way his legs shook betrayed how tired he really was. He spotted Dustox hovering above them and turned back to Max in disbelief. Max's lips pulled into a tight, grim line. He didn't want to pull Mudkip back out but the way he saw it there wasn't much choice.
"Mudkip, use Mad Slap," Max ordered.
Mudkip hesitated but he heard Dustox's trainer telling it to use Poison Powder so he turned to his opponent and sprayed mud at it. Dustox had come low to the ground to shower him in poisonous dust so the shot was easy but poison settled in through his eyes, nose and mouth, causing the ache in his muscles and joints to sharpen. Dustox's flaps faltered and it almost fell out of the sky but recovered to turn around and obey when Jamie told it to follow up with Venoshock. Max and Azurill dived and bounced out of the way respectively as the stream of purple liquid went too wide due to Dustox's partially concealed vision.
"I've gotta get it weaker if I want to stand a chance," Max thought. "Mudkip, try your new move: Endeavour!"
Mudkip glanced at him uncertainly. There was that new word again. He didn't know what to do with a command like that but he needed to work it out fast because Dustox tried for another Venoshock. It missed while his trainer insisted on 'Endeavour'. He tried to think. New words often came with new moves. Maybe that's what his trainer wanted? He did his best to recall what it was like the first time, pulling from deep within to find power from the pain. His skin grew hot like a Bide but unlike that old move he no longer had to wait for it. He looked up to see Dustox swooping in for another attack. Mudkip leaped for it. Venoshock hit the spot where he once was. He collided head-to-head with Dustox and the raw power erupted, bursting with explosive force and burning like a fire. Mudkip grabbed a hold of Dustox with all four limbs, wanting it to feel that burn for as long as possible. Dustox let out a high-pitched buzz, flailing about to shake him off. Mudkip didn't let go until he felt the power burn out. He landed on the ground, panting hard with the effort while Dustox staggered about in the air, aching with pain. Poison tingled in Mudkip's veins and he nearly doubled over with nausea.
"Alright, Mudkip!" Max cheered. Mudkip smiled to himself. He'd guessed right after all. "Let's finish it off! Water Gun!"
Mudkip spat a shot of water and Dustox prepared Venoshock again. Water Gun hit its mark and sent Dustox teetering, messing up its aim. But it did not relent and Max could only watch in dismay as the attack hosed a streak along the ground and then doused Mudkip. He spasmed hard from the impact and then collapsed.
The hook and the ring clicked together. Max returned Mudkip and turned to the net full of eggs. The drone began to lift carefully with Dustox guarding its getaway.
"Azurill, use Water Gun," Max commanded half-heartedly. He had nothing else left and he knew it but he didn't want to give up. They were going to get away with this and everything he threw at them didn't stop them. Azurill didn't seem to notice his feelings, so keyed up by the thrill of battle that she listened to his command anyway and squirted water at Dustox. It shook it off easily.
"Dustox, cover them both in Poison Powder," Jamie commanded. His smirk widened as though he was taking pleasure in leaving them to die like this.
Max covered his mouth and nose and scooted back, keeping his eyes on Dustox in fear. He wondered if that would prevent Poison Powder from seeping in—probably not, he supposed, but it was the only thing he could think of to protect himself. Dustox descended to get closer to him and Azurill, just to make sure its powder wouldn't miss. Azurill squirted another Water Gun, making it flinch but unable to stop it. Max wanted to close his eyes, not have to witness the agent of his own death staring at him but like a train wreck he couldn't look away. Dustox's wings primed, violet dust glistening. Then all of a sudden with was shot out of the air with a focused burst of pressurised air.
"WTF?" Jamie exclaimed, watching his Dustox tumble over the ground. "What-?"
A red creature dashed out of the forest, nothing more than a blur until it skidded to stop in front of Max and Azurill. Max's hand slackened, allowing his shirt collar to fall and reveal his slackened jaw. He and Azurill gazed up at the back of the bipedal insect that stood as tall as a man with a red exoskeleton that shone like polished armour. It gnashed its claw hands and lifted them menacingly. The eyelike markings on them made it look like it had three heads.
"That is…" Max started, almost too awed to speak. "Isn't that Ryan's… what is it again?"
He looked down at his Pokédex, switching it back to its encyclopaedic setting. Even from the back, the device recognised what it was: "Scizor, the Pincer Pokémon. Its exoskeleton is as hard as steel and so tough that it is not easily fazed by some attacks. The wings on its back do not allow it fly, it instead uses them for temperature regulation, cooling its body so that it does not melt from overheating."
Jemima screamed, grabbing Jamie by the jacket and shaking his furiously. "Jamie! Get Spinda out! We've almost gotten away!"
"Nice Vacuum Wave!" someone praised. Max turned around to find Ryan chasing his Pokémon out of the forest. "Cut that machine with X-scissor."
Scizor's wings hummed as they beat against her body. Jamie only managed to return Dustox before Scizor leaped at their mechanical arm with her claws up. She slashed them diagonally across each other, making an x-shape and cleaving the mechanical arm in two. The hook end toppled down. Luckily for the eggs, they had barely made it off the ground. The drone jerked, Jamie almost losing control from the sudden loss of the excess weight.
"Change of plans! Retreat!" Jemima shrieked.
The drone took off higher and higher into the sky. Scizor leaped for it to halt it with some kind of special slash but Max never got to see what it really did because they were already too high up for her to reach. She landed and Ryan clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Got away," he muttered. He turned to Max, who looked to him, stunned. "You okay?"
Max nodded dumbly. It almost didn't feel real. He'd just escaped being poisoned by a Pokémon, Ryan was here and he was alive. "How… how did you find me?" he said, trying to swallow back a sob.
Ryan gave him a sympathetic smile. "Weren't battling quietly," he joked. "And anyway, this was our arrangement. Went all around the perimeter of the lake to meet you on the other side, only had to go a bit further on to find you."
"All my Pokémon are poisoned… and knocked out." Max grabbed his ankles, curling in on himself. "I thought I was going to die."
Ryan knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're alright, Max, made it. Let's go back to the Day Care and get your Pokémon fixed up. Scizor can watch over the eggs until we get word to the others and they come to pick them up." He nodded to Scizor and she returned the gesture.
Azurill bounced on her tail happily. It had gotten scary there for a bit but she'd done it. She'd helped beat the scary crew who had kicked her into the lake early that morning and she had stayed there to hide from them, thinking she could never stop them. But now here she was. She turned to look at Max. He stared blankly between his knees with a dispirited expression but she was too giddy to care. She'd won and he'd helped. She felt like she was going to burst.
Suddenly she was glowing. Max and Ryan both turned to her in surprise to see her covered in bright white light so luminous they couldn't look directly at it. Her body swelled to twice its size and her ears grew bigger and rounder. The glow slowly faded away, leaving a whole new Pokémon standing before the boys. They stared at her, slack-jawed.
"That…" Ryan stammered, suddenly lost for words. "Was that your Azurill?"
"No, it was just…" Max tried to explain, flailing his arms, "it was just random! I just found it in the reservoir. What just happened?"
"Huh…" Ryan murmured, turning to look at it again. "Thought it looked like one of ours but then it evolved so I wasn't sure. Most trainers find it a little tricky to evolve an Azurill."
Max didn't reply, gobsmacked by that information and the fact that it had evolved right in front of him. That meant it was something different now, didn't it? He lifted his Pokédex again to investigate:
"Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. The tip of its tail is filled with a light oil that floats on water and keeps it from drowning even in a vicious current. The same water-repellent oil covers its fur, which allows it to move freely underwater or float on the surface as it likes."
Max stared at Azurill—no, Marill, now—still lost for words but a smile grew on his face. He wasn't sure yet what Ryan meant about Azurill being difficult to evolve but he got the sense that he'd just achieved something.
"We should go tell Eli and Rae," Ryan declared, standing up and tugging Max's sleeve to encourage him to follow.
"Yeah," Max replied, standing up on his own. They waved goodbye to Scizor, promising to be back soon once they had reported to the group. Ryan couldn't hold off and began dialling the Day Care centre on his Pokégear.
A couple of hours later Mari finally placed the last egg on the shelf and stood back to sigh and wipe her forehead as if it had made her sweat. There had been too many eggs to carry at once and the understorey was too thick and shabby for a wheelbarrow so it took the combined effort of all the young trainers to move the eggs from the net to the paddock and from there use a wheelbarrow to cart them up to the main building in batches. The police came and went, getting the report and statement from the old couple while the teenagers were at work but they did take the net and the mechanical arm as evidence. Being one of the better hands with tools, Max offered to patch up the fence with materials the Day Care Couple kept just in case of fence breakage. Kai tagged along with him to help. He said nothing but kept glancing at the round, blue and white Pokémon that had suddenly insisted on following Max around everywhere.
By the time they were all gathered together again it was lunchtime. They all sat in the same arrangement as breakfast in the large room where the travellers had lodged the night before. Ryan could barely speak, too busy shovelling food in his mouth. No surprise, since he had missed breakfast that morning so he would be hungrier than everyone else. In any case, it gave everyone a break from listening to him talk about the Marill over and over again.
The Marill in question rolled around on the floor, occasionally going over to a bowl of pellets to take a few nibbles. She was enjoying her new roly-poly body and her tail that was now lighter than her body and followed her around without complaint. Eli and Rae had treated Max's Pokémon and they were left to recuperate in a different room while everyone else's Pokémon lunched with the human group or in the small paddock just outside.
Mari put her chopsticks down over her rice bowl, having cleaned all of her dishes. "All's well that ends well, then," she said with a smile.
"Depends on your definition of 'well'," Max muttered. His stomach still churned with leftover nervousness from the ordeal, so he was only taking small bites.
"I'm jealous!" Daichi complained. "In the end, only Max got to have a battle. It was sooo boring for the rest of us."
"What I wouldn't give to have had your experience," Max deadpanned.
"Held his own really well," Ryan added. "Least, I assume so, since it took me a while to get to him. Even evolved that Azurill!"
"Yes, we know," Hilary said flatly. "You haven't stopped talking about it."
"Really amazing though," Mari remarked, turning to look at Max, "evolving an Azurill the day you met it. Would have taken me weeks, at least."
"Yeah, you guys keep going on about how hard it is," Max said, toying with the vegetables in the side dish, "but I don't get it. It just happened in front of me and I swear I didn't do anything."
"Must have done something," Rae insisted.
"Azurill is a special Pokémon, with the mind and soul of a baby for its whole life," Eli explained, "until it evolves. But because it is so innocent, it takes a precious bond with an Azurill to encourage the maturity it needs to evolve. Many trainers usually spend a considerable amount of time and effort to cultivate a bond like that."
Tyson chuckled. "That sounds like something Max would do. He makes friends so fast he even gave a Pokémon a power up."
"Say, why don't you keep that Marill?" Rae suggested.
"K-keep it?" Max baulked. "B-but it's not mine. I mean, all the Pokémon here belong to other people, don't they?"
"Not all of them," Eli admitted.
"Sometimes Pokémon get forgotten or abandoned here," Rae elaborated sadly. "Their trainers leave them and then don't come back. For others, like that Marill there, the trainer was surprised to find that their Pokémon had laid an egg while it was here and didn't want the egg when they took their Pokémon back. That Azurill has lived here since she was born five years ago and in all this time we've never seen any sign that she might evolve, even as other baby Pokémon around her did the same."
"She doesn't belong to anyone, really," Eli finished. "You can be her first trainer."
"Really?" Max smiled. As terrified as he had been, helping that Azurill through battle had put a pinch of pride in him so the unexpected offer was good to hear.
"That's great, Max," Ray congratulated him. "This makes your third Pokémon."
"Now you can challenge any Gym," Daichi added, "even the dumb ones that make you have at least three Pokémon before you can battle."
Max laughed at that statement, which was so characteristic of Daichi's priorities but, honestly, he was just happy that Marill would get to stay with him.
"Well, it was great being here and all," Tyson announced, grabbing everyone's attention, "but we should get moving. Ray, check the Poryjin Z tracker to see which direction we need to go next."
"Porygon Z," Mari corrected.
Ray began to fulfil that order, getting as far as taking out the PokéNav and scrolling through apps but then Max interrupted:
"My Pokémon are still recovering from Team Aqua! Can't you just let them have a break?"
"And waste precious time that we could spend looking for Borykin G?"
"Porygon Z! What the heck?! That wasn't even close to correct," Mari snapped.
"Why are you looking for a Porygon Z?" Ryan asked. "That's a Pokémon for a more advanced trainer, would think."
"We don't want to train it," Tyson answered, "it has something we need."
"Okay," Ryan said, cocking an eyebrow at the vague answer, "but unless it's within a day's travel from here, there's not much point rushing after it."
"It's not close," Ray confirmed, looking up from the app. "It's appeared somewhere south of here near a place called…" he paused to read the text on the screen, "Slateport City."
"Pretty far," Mari nodded, throwing her hands up and giving a shrug. "Might as well just relax here until tomorrow and then continue to Mauville City. Could get in some more training during the afternoon."
"Not this argument again!" Tyson groaned.
"Not to mention, it'll make your travels easier," Ryan said. "If you were able to leave early in the morning on foot, you'd only need one more night to make it to Mauville City. If you left now, you'd have to camp twice. Better to reduce the amount of time you spend out in the wild."
"No way! Camping is great!" Daichi protested.
"Maybe for you," Hilary said, "but I'm siding with Ryan."
"Second," Mari chimed. "Sleeping under the stars is super great but the chance of being attacked by a wild Pokémon in your sleep is not so great."
"Third," Max agreed. "I need all the help I can get at this point. I think Marill only knows, like, three things."
"Plus, your Pokémon need some serious grooming," Ryan added.
"Hey!" Hilary huffed in offence. "I've been grooming mine diligently this whole time!"
"Well, yeah, yours do look the best," Ryan agreed, looking specifically at Ralts, Wurmple, and Surskit.
"You think?" Ray wondered, turning to look at all of their Pokémon behind them. "I didn't really think about grooming but they look alright to me."
"Not in bad shape, no," Ryan conceded, "but there's some opportunity for improvement. There are regular grooming tasks you need to do just for basic hygiene. I could teach you what you need to do for all of your Pokémon." He leaned forward, eyes sparkling excitedly. That somehow made Hilary and the bladers less inclined to let him teach them.
By then it had been decided. One more night at the Day Care Centre before they continued on their way to Mauville City and the Mauville City Gym. Hilary and the bladers had no idea what would await them there—it would shock them for sure.
A/N: Lol, electric pun. Because Mauville City. I hope this chapter didn't bleed your eyes for how long it was but if you're still liking, please review. I'm back on a Pokemon/Beyblade kick at the moment so this is the best time to pump me up for more. Also, watching Beyblade AMV's on youtube by this guy who goes by the name Bladera123 really inspires me, especially when I wanna get some action going in my writing.
You may notice I'm trying to do Pokemon-science again. Literally just this last chapter I had a character explain that 'ground-type' moves don't hit flying Pokemon but then Mud-Slap hits a Pokemon that flies (actually, this would be legal in the Pokemon games because Dustox is bug/poison). I did it anyway, though, because I'm writing this with real life logic, not with video game logic. Attacks like Magnitude and Earthquake still wouldn't hit but in the case of a move where all they're doing is spitting up sludge, no reason why it can't hit anything within range. Also, you probably already noticed but Pokemon don't learn their attacks in order either ('order' as determined by level-up in the games). Again, that's because of RL-logic; I want to sometimes show them learning moves at times when it would be appropriate for them to muster them. That's why Mudkip learns the attack of desperation, Endeavour, when he hasn't even learned Mud Sport or Rock Throw.