Grotto PKMN Center, Sinnoh

In the morning, Logan woke up to be in a dark place. He looked around confusedly, trying to see where he was. His paws felt something soft and comfortable. He tried to stretch his limbs, but the soft material around him was preventing his movement.

His paw began emanating heat as he got a bit agitated, "Lemme out, or I'm blowing this thing to pieces!"

He was suddenly dropped on the floor, making his let out a pained groan.

Once he was let out, he faced a familiar Aipom.

"What the? Leah?" Logan asked, looking at her, "Where am I?"

"You're in our room," Logan heard a door shut behind him, and it was revealed to be Frost.

"So could anyone tell me what the hell is going on?" The Scorbunny stood up to see his whole team sitting in various areas of the room.

"Well," Simon cleared his throat, "My studies have found that Nidoran and Nidorino have been gathering in a certain location more and more since around... Two days ago."

"Isn't that when me, Jacob, and Sophie fought Nidoking?" The Scorbunny looked at Simon, his mind racing.

"So that's when I suggested getting you, since you're kind of the leader and all," Leah continued for Simon, "What should we do next?"

"The answer's obvious," Logan grinned, "We go in for an ambush!"

"You know, Logan..." Frost looked at him with a smile, "You have some crazy ideas sometimes, but that idea right there, might've been the stupidest yet. We'd all die!"

"Okay, fair point," The Scorbunny sighed, "Maybe instead of going in for an ambush, we get the location and research in order to do one on a larger scale."

"Exactly as I suggested," Simon smiled, satisfied with his answer.

"Logan, what changed?" Leah suddenly piped up, "It seems like you actually know what you're doing? You have a set goal for the end of this, don't you?"

"Of course I do," He stood up, "Defeat Nidoking, and take the Grotto back."

Forest Grotto, Sinnoh

Later on, the five snuck out of the center, and began following Simon to where he had documented. As they were walking, Leah kept glancing at Logan every minute or so, and the Scorbunny didn't seem to notice.

She didn't know how to bring up the fact that Logan had hardly checked up on them ever since he was assigned to stay with Oliver, Jacob, and Sophie. It was almost like they didn't really exist for a while. Was she the only one to notice this?

And his plan to defeat Nidoking? It was ambitious, sure. Possible? Hard maybe. Insane? Definitely. She could hardly begin to wrap her head around this idea.

"Hey, Chomps," Frost looked over to her Carnivine friend, breaking the silence, "I know you really wanna bite, but this time around, we're going for stealth."

Chomps nodded, understanding.

"But if anything goes wrong, I want you to bite as hard as you can."

The Carnivine's expression brightened as he quickly nodded.

Simon looked at the two, a slight amusement in his expression, "Hopefully, nothing will go wrong. I wouldn't want to have to fight my way out of an army."

Frost snorted, "You could always teleport if things get hairy, like all Abra do."

"That is a hurtful stereotype."

"You really love starting fights don't you, Frost?" Logan looked back at her.

She giggled, "Nah, only with you, because you react the best," The Sneasel stuck her tongue out at him teasingly.

The Scorbunny huffed, turning away.

Leah picked at the bandaging around her paws, looking around at the familiar forest around her. The rest of her team seemed so carefree, cracking jokes with each other as they walked closer and closer towards where Simon had theorized to be Nidoking's den.

She had noticed that Logan's nerves about anything Nidoking-related seemed to be calmed. He was putting actual thought into what came next, completely different to how he was before everything happened.

It had to do with the "defeat Nidoking" thing, she was sure of it.

But how could he be so calm about something like that? He's basically putting himself on the line for what is sure to be the battle of his life. Was she just being paranoid, or could this be something he could actually pull off?

She looked at Logan once more, her face filled with concern.

Meanwhile...

A familiar Buneary woke up, stretching her arms and legs before taking a peek out of the small den she had created in the ground. Being a bunny-like Pokémon, she was in her element when it came to that. But was it safe to come out?

For the past few nights she had gotten used to fending various Nidoran and Nidorino off on her expedition to find somewhere comfortable to stay for a while. This was the first morning she was waking up with a decent night's sleep.

She was feeling refreshed, and ready to train a bit more.

Ever since she had found herself near "The King's" den, she had been using the Nidoran and Nidorino for free training, since they basically threw themselves at her.

But they weren't strong enough.

Not as strong as him.

She was getting ready to meet this 'King' The two Nidoran were talking about that day. Maybe then she could get stronger.

She stuffed her things into her small, brown backpack before throwing it over her shoulders.

Dawn took a small step forward before hearing voices nearby. The Buneary's eyes darted left, in the direction she heard speaking, and she quickly hopped into a bush to look in that direction.

It was a gang of Pokémon, led by a Scorbunny who was talking to a Sneasel in an agitated voice. Dawn's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the group. Could this be a gang of Pokémon that were sent out to find her by the king?

She didn't want to know, or find out. Her survival instincts were speaking to her, and they wanted her to attack.

The Buneary lunged out of the bush before going to tackle the nearest Pokémon to her, the Abra. What she didn't account for, however, was how quickly the Abra teleported away.

She slid on the ground between the group of Pokémon, who were quick to react to Dawn's sudden presence, especially the Scorbunny.

"Logan, go!" Simon shouted from above as both Chomps and Frost jumped out of the way.

Logan quickly prepared his paws before using his Flame Shots to fire himself at Dawn as quickly as he could. Dawn's body glowed white as she dashed forward at Logan with a Quick Attack.

The Scorbunny was surprised that she wasn't retreating, and flipped himself to go in for a kick to the top of her head.

Dawn managed to avoid the attack before grabbing Logan's ankle and swinging him around a few times.

As she was swinging him, she noticed something above her. It was Frost, who's claw was glowing a shade of baby blue. The Buneary threw Logan before rolling out of the way and using a Quick Attack to escape from an incoming attack from Leah.

"Chomps!" Frost shouted, looking at the Carnivine, holding a small green object with red stripes in her right paw, "Go crazy!"

Chomps' eyes seemed to light up at the sight. A Carnivine Candy. Where did she find one? It didn't matter in Chomps' eyes. He knew he couldn't handle candy at all, especially candy made to boost his species' strength.

Frost threw the Carnivine Candy at Chomps.

Dawn heard Frost's call to Chomps, and decided that she couldn't let the Carnivine get at that candy. She jumped up towards the candy and intercepted it, throwing it away in an undetermined direction.

While she was still in the air, she shot out a powerful Thunderbolt that was aimed in no particular direction. Logan looked at the attack, and jumped behind a large rock to avoid the attack.

The Scorbunny waited for the attack to finish before vaulting over the rock to prepare another Flame Shot, "Leah, now!"

The Aipom gave an understanding nod before jumping up and digging into the ground at a high speed. Dawn looked around at the ground, making sure she wouldn't be ambushed from below.

As she tried to pay attention to Leah's location, she avoided various attacks from Frost, Simon, and a slightly agitated Chomps. Simon suddenly levitated away and out of sight behind a tree, using Psychic to pick up a few varying sized rocks.

Once Leah hopped out of the ground from another point in the ground, she gave Logan a signal.

The Scorbunny grinned toothily before running towards Leah's original entrance point and firing off two large Flame Shots into it.

Dawn suddenly jumped back, as she felt the ground below her begin to bloat. The earth in that area was suddenly blown up as an explosion emerged from the hole. The Buneary staggered back and fell onto her backside as she winced softly, closing her eyes for a moment.

When she opened her eyes, she was met by something white blocking her vision. It was Logan's paw which was pointed at her face, just begging her to move even an inch.

"You're definitely better than those Nidoran..." The Buneary looked at Logan's paw.

"Better than those Nidoran?" Simon, who had various rocks aimed at Dawn, asked, "You're not with Nidoking, are you?"

"Who?" Dawn simply asked, looking at them.

"Everyone drop the defenses!" The Abra yelled at the rest of his team, "We've got the wrong idea!"

Leah, who was already halfway back in the ground, popped her head back out to look at Simon. Frost and Chomps, who were positioned on either side of Dawn, dropped their guard and looked at their Abra companion.

"I don't think she's with Nidoking," Simon looked at her, "Where exactly are you from?"

She pushed Logan's paw away, standing up, "Definitely not here. What's it to you?"

"We were trying to sneak into Nidoking's place," Logan quickly answered, not missing a beat.

Frost looked at the Scorbunny, "Don't tell her our plan!"

"But she's not with Nidoking, right?" Logan asked confusedly.

"She could just be saying that, dumbass!"

"Who are you calling a dumbass?"

As Logan and Frost restlessly bickered, Dawn looked around the forest area. She noticed two Nidoran walking past them behind some trees. They seemed too busy talking to each other than what was around them.

Leah also noticed this, as she and Dawn moved closer to them to listen in.

"I think today's the day," Ness smiled, looking over to his friend Nix, "I'm gonna confess my feelings to that cute Nidoran girl."

"Cool, have you talked to her before?" Nix looked back at him.

"Of course I have."

"About?"

"Well it was about the current state of the Grotto..."

"I thought you were gonna say you didn't talk to her at all."

"What do you think I am, a Torchic?"

"I'll answer that when you actually ask her out."

"Fair..."

Leah and Dawn both looked back at the group, where the main center of attention was the upcoming fight between Logan and Frost.

"Guys!" Leah ran over to them, pushing them away from each other, "You can fight later, we might have a direct path to Nidoking's location."

"Really?" Logan looked at the Aipom.

Leah, with a deadpan stare, pointed over to the two Nidoran walking away in the distance.

"Shit!" The Scorbunny ran past Leah, "C'mon guys, we're moving!"

The team followed behind Logan, passing by Dawn in the process. Leah exchanged a glance with the Buneary before grabbing her paw and dragging Dawn along with her.

"What the? What are you doing?" Dawn asked loudly.

"Making sure you don't get killed out here alone," The Aipom replied quickly, still holding her paw, "I don't think it's in me to leave someone alone..."

The Buneary didn't resist, letting out a faint sigh.

"Fine, I have nothing else to do anyways."

The six watched closely as the two Nidoran looked around before burrowing into the ground right next to a large oak tree. The area where they dug was stripped of all grass, nearly appearing as a brown circle in the section of cleared forest.

After the group assumed that the two Nidoran wouldn't be coming back, they hopped out of their hiding place and walked up to the patch of dirt.

"Leah, you're up," Logan looked at the Aipom, who simply nodded in response.

As she began digging, Dawn looked around the area. She couldn't believe herself for getting into such a stupid situation. All it took was a few words to sway her into going along. She was about to leave, when a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Aren't you coming too?"

The Buneary turned around to see Logan looking back at her.

"I'm not," She answered quickly, "There's nothing I need to do here. I'm not trying to get myself killed."

"What's the fun in being scared?" The Scorbunny asked cockily, as if to challenge her.

"Who said I was scared?" Dawn quickly spat, crossing her arms.

"Nobody, but you're kinda being a bit of a... Coward right now."

The name he called her instantly struck a nerve. Her teeth instantly grit together as she gently tugged on the fur on her lower body. Her right eye twitched gently while she let out a long exhale. This guy really wanted to die, huh? She couldn't back away now, as if she had ever backed down before from that. Never again.

"I'm coming," The Buneary walked over, her ears scrunching up more than they already were as she watched Leah dig into the ground.

Once Leah's body was completely in, Logan followed behind. Dawn was getting ready to go behind him, but was surprised when Logan came flying out and into Dawn's body.

The two tumbled back and landed on the ground, letting out groans.

"Guys, we need to run, now!" Leah jumped out of the hole.

"What?" Dawn sat up, pushing Logan off of her.

"Nidoking, he..." Leah huffed, completely exhausted.

Before she could finish, a large amount of dirt was kicked up as a thunderous quake rumbled beneath them. The Buneary shielded her eyes from dirt, and looked up to see Nidoking standing there, dirt nearly covering his whole body.

Dawn's heart stopped for a brief moment as she looked at the looming figure over them.

"Dang it!" Ness exclaimed, "Right when we had them... The King won't be happy. I feel bad for who has to tell him this time. Well... It's not like he's gonna vocalize that disappointment. He doesn't speak anyways..."

The two Nidoran walked in silence for a moment, Dawn silently following them from the trees above them. Nix raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ness.

"You know it's your turn, right?" Nix asked, to which Ness gasped.

"What!? No!" Ness put his paws on his head. "You gotta help me, Nix!"

"Nah, I'm good." He shrugged.

"I wasn't asking!" He shouted as the two walked into what seemed like a den.

Dawn knew that she wouldn't be able to follow. Wherever they were going, she knew that it was probably leading down somewhere she wouldn't be able to escape from.

"I've been in this area before, how could I be so stupid?" She thought in anger, mentally shaming herself, "This is 'The King', huh?"

A roar from Nidoking shot her back to reality, forcing her to face the current situation at hand. Dawn stood up and turned around the second she could.

Leah ran past her, jumping up to grab a tree branch. "Scatter! Meet back at the treehouse if you're alive!"

"Try not to die, Logan!" Frost yelled.

"Shut up!" The Scorbunny fired a Flame Shot in her direction, getting Nidoking's attention.

Nidoking looked over at the Scorbunny, and instantly recognized him. He let out a sharp roar, his feet digging into the ground as he turned to chase Logan.

Dawn decided to follow behind Leah, watching Logan get chased by Nidoking.

"That guy is a goner for sure..."

At the treehouse, Dawn was laying down on the couch as she, and Logan's team waited for Logan to get back.

"So how often do you pick up random Pokémon and bring them to your house?" Dawn broke the silence.

"Only once or twice," Leah answered her question, "There was this other time recently when we brought a Pikachu here."

"A Pikachu?" The Buneary's scrunched up ears twitched a bit, "Did the Pikachu have strange powers?"

"Hm..." The Aipom put a paw to her chin.

Leah thought for a while. Strange powers? Nothing with Jacob seemed out of the ordinary to her. She hadn't interacted with him much when it came to battle, and to her, he wasn't really anything special. Just a normal Pikachu.

"No, the Pikachu we helped didn't really have any weird powers, why?"

"No reason..."

"Looking for someone specific...?" Leah looked over at the Buneary with a cheeky smile.

"Don't go there. I'll kill you."

As Leah let out a soft chuckle, the two suddenly heard a distant sound that seemed to be approaching by the second. It got louder and louder, Dawn even having to scrunch her ears up more in order to not listen further.

The yelling revealed to be Logan, who used his Flame Shots to fly into the window nearby, rolling to a smooth landing.

Frost walked up to the Scorbunny, a paw on her hip. "Nice landing, Logan."

"Guys, I lost 'em!" Logan shot to his feet, wearing a wide grin, "We can get back to the Pokémon Center now!"

"Pokémon Center?" Dawn looked between the group.

"Wait..." Simon looked at her confusedly, "Don't tell me you were surviving outdoors throughout all of this madness."

"You should come with us!" Leah gave her a smile, "They've got good food, medical care, and anything you can think of!"

Dawn began walking towards the window, "I'll... Check it out sometime."

And with that single statement, the Buneary jumped out of the window, and quickly left in a different direction.

The five watched from the window as the Buneary ran off before Simon let out a faint sigh.

"So what now? We failed our mission," The Abra looked down, "What are we going to do?"

"I wouldn't say today was a total fail," Logan smiled softly, looking out of the window, "We just might have made a new ally for our fight against Nidoking..."

As Logan, Leah, Frost, and Chomps starred out of the window to watch the sun set, Simon's right eye twitched softly. "That doesn't answer my question, idiot!"