Author's Note:

Been awhile...I say that a lot. I apologize...it's been slow going. Summers get me behind on things for whatever reason. But alas, here we are. Hopefully people still read this...ha ha...ha.

Just to recap for those who have forgotten: Bonnie has started her journey, she's met Max, Sadie, Wally, May and the Trainer School kids from Rustboro. She's travelling with Clyde and Rotom and she's caught a shiny Wurmple that is now a Silcoon. She's in Petalburg doing a bit of training with May, but she'll be on her way to Rustboro within the chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 9: Moths to a Butterfly

Bonnie and Clyde had decided, upon invitation from Norman and Caroline, to stay over at Max and May's place for the next couple of nights. Max's friends had also been invited, but with Max setting off after lunch the day they'd arrived, after a short battle with May, Tommy had rushed to get ahead. Kenny stayed that night, but he also left the next morning. Anita was the only one to stay behind, as interested as Bonnie was in getting the chance to train a little bit with May.

In fact, they were doing just that on the third day since Bonnie and Clyde had arrived, with May having offered one final training session before she would accompany them part of the way to the Petalburg Woods. Anita was taking part in the training as well, having grown quite interested in the idea of contests, but she had decided she'd be heading to Oldale Town before going back towards Rustboro City, so she was quite motivated to take as much in on the final session as possible.

"All right, Beautifly, show everyone your Silver Wind!" May called out, tossing a frisbee out in front of the beautiful butterfly, who swiftly moved back and flapped her wings, sending out a shining, silver gust that seemed to take hold of the frisbee, spinning it faster and faster as it guided it through the air and over towards where Bonnie and Anita stood, the latter jumping up to catch it.

"Wow, May, Beautifly is so amazing!" Anita shouted excitedly, throwing the frisbee back towards the Coordinator. "I've never thought of contests being so fun, but you make it look so cool!"

May chuckled at that, blushing a bit. "Thanks Anita," she said, smiling up at Beautifly as it landed atop her head. "It certainly is fun. I'm glad I was able to discover coordinating on my journey with Ash. To think I didn't even like Pokemon when I first set out!"

Bonnie was surprised at that, exchanging a glance with Dedenne who had scurried up to her shoulder. She couldn't imagine the thought of not liking Pokemon. It was hard enough for her not to imagine every Pokemon as being cute in some way. It didn't surprise her that May had come to love them eventually, but to see her so adept at working with them was quite impressive with knowing how she'd first thought of them.

Her eyes then drifted down to Silcoon, who she had called out to watch Beautifly in action, wanting it to see what it could be like in the future when it evolved. Obviously she wasn't the only one impressed by May and Beautifly, considering the bug type's shining eyes. "You're excited about getting to fly like that some day, huh Silcoon?" she asked, kneeling down next to it, and gently reaching out to pet it, feeling the strange silky outside of the cocoon.

Anita had heard her, the slightly older girl kneeling down as well to look at Silcoon, who she'd immediately been impressed with upon seeing its different colouring. "Yeah Silcoon!" she said excitedly. "You'll be able to do all sorts of things in the air. Being able to fly will change everything for you! I know my Pidgey loves being in the air." She then pulled out her pokeball, clicking it open before Bonnie could realize what was happening.

"No wait-"

As Pidgey appeared with a flash, Bonnie felt Silcoon hit her chest immediately, the bug type latching onto her with a String Shot. The sudden weight caused her to lose her balance and she fell backwards, Dedenne barely managing to leap off in time to avoid being crushed underneath her. Luckily, Bonnie wasn't hurt, though, and she simply made sure that Silcoon wasn't too badly freaked out.

"Oh no, I'm sorry!" Anita said, scrambling to get Pidgey to come to her after it started to hop curiously over towards Silcoon and Bonnie.

"What's wrong? You okay, Bonnie?" May called out, running over to check on her, Beautifly flying ahead of her and landing on Bonnie's head as she looked down at Silcoon.

"It's okay," Bonnie said quickly, carefully getting rid of the webs on her shirt. "Silcoon's just a bit afraid of flying type Pokemon. I think it must've had a bad experience with them before I got it, so it just needs to get used to them. Once it evolves into a Beautifly, I bet it'll be as confident as ever!"

May seemed to appreciate that attitude, smiling at her Beautifly while it blinked down at Silcoon, who seemed to be recovering. "That's the spirit, Bonnie! It will make it much easier for Silcoon to face its fears if it can also fly."

"I wonder why it's so spooked, though," Anita said quietly, looking thoughtfully down at her Pidgey, who definitely didn't look too threatening at the moment, especially as it seemed to be feeling guilty about scaring Silcoon.

"Coon silcoon," the Cocoon Pokemon murmured, looking up at Bonnie. She felt bad for it, seeing that it clearly wanted to grow stronger, but that there was this one big obstacle to get past to do so.

"Don't worry, Silcoon! We'll train hard, just like Ash would do, and you'll be able to beat any flying type Pokemon that gets in your way!" she told it confidently. "Maybe we can find a good place to train when we leave for Rustboro City."

"It'll definitely be good for Silcoon to get out a little more again," May said, nodding at Bonnie's words, glancing up as she noticed Clyde and Rotom emerging from the gym, where they had been spending time with Norman's Pokemon, Rotom having been extremely excited about gathering data on them during their time there. "Maybe you can even catch another Pokemon. I'm sure my brother has probably got another already."

Bonnie got the sense that May was purposely getting her a little more fired up...and it was working. She quickly stood up, Dedenne scurrying back up to her shoulder as she held Silcoon up in front of her. "We won't let Max get too far ahead, will we guys?" she declared, looking into Silcoon's blue eyes, before looking to Dedenne. "And we'll beat him the next time we see him."

Butch and Cassidy had always been loyal to Team Rocket, doing whatever was asked of them, and working their hardest to achieve glory for the organization, Giovanni, and themselves to improve their status with him. This was likely the biggest operation the two had ever received. To go undercover was always a difficult job, but to have it be with a powerful, up and coming, rival organization in another region...they knew there was a real opportunity to gain some respect and notoriety.

This was why it was so frustrating to have stumbled into the task of trailing after a child. It was too much like Jessie, James and Meowth. It was also disappointing for them to know that Giovanni wanted them to remain in that position. Butch had a feeling it was still somewhat of a demotion, despite the good points about this girl being a friend of Ash Ketchum's. It didn't help knowing that Giovanni had other Team Rocket members doing what was clearly more important work in other parts of Team Archaic.

"We'd better make our call to Lyanna," Cassidy suddenly said, the two of them making their way out of the bushes where they were awaiting the arrival of their targets, who appeared to finally by leaving Petalburg City, joined by the Gym Leader's daughter. Butch could tell his longtime partner was angry, but she was taking this task seriously, as they both did with anything Giovanni ordered, and they were going to be careful to give their necessary updates to the woman Giovanni had put in charge of monitoring their mission.

Butch nodded, kicking aside a Wurmple that had started to crawl over his foot. It was a particularly busy area, with Wurmple, Silcoon, Cascoon, Beautifly and Dustox all over the place. However, they needed to stay close enough to the path to get a good view, so there was no avoiding the bug types. If only they would stop crawling over us, though, Butch thought angrily.

Cassidy stopped in the middle of a clearing, placing the call to headquarters, while Butch and Raticate quickly joined her, Butch appearing next to her as soon as the screen in front of them showed the face of their new, temporary boss.

Special Agent Lyanna was a beautiful woman, although Butch would never admit that to Cassidy, who had muttered some nasty things about her. Lyanna seemed to be in her early to mid thirties, with blonde hair tied back in a pony tail and blue eyes that were piercing behind her glasses. She had a very commanding presence, but Butch couldn't help but sense there was more kindness to her than she let on. At the very least, with their limited reports thus far, she hadn't belittled them the way other Team Rocket members might have. Nonetheless, she was someone that Butch, and he was sure Cassidy as well, would never want to be on the wrong side of. She was incredibly perceptive, and had a clear policy to never back down, which was evidenced by her warning to fight back with everything they had if Team Archaic ever tried to harm them.

"Agents Butch and Cassidy," Lyanna said, nodding to the two Team Rocket agents as she looked at them. Butch could definitely appreciate that she knew his name...something Cassidy even forgot many times.

"Special Agent Lyanna," Cassidy answered, nodding back. "We're calling in to give an update on our mission."

Butch shrugged. "Not much of an update."

Cassidy stomped on his foot at that, making his eyes water as Lyanna narrowed her eyes, waiting for them to continue. "We've established position for monitoring our targets. The girl and her friend have been joined temporarily by the Petalburg Gym Leader's daughter it seems. They're making their way to the Petalburg Woods, and likely to Rustboro City after that for the girl's first gym battle."

"Rustboro City has the Devon Corporation," Lyanna said thoughtfully, nodding at the quick report, actually seeming to find it somewhat useful. "I'll check in with some of our other agents to see if any operations are planned for Devon Corp. I believe Darwin was interested at one point. It may be a good opportunity to increase your standing within the organization. As for the girl..." She paused a moment, taking a deep breath as she seemed to think it over. "I think you should test her. The companion she had with her in Oldale Town is nowhere in sight, correct?"

"Correct," Cassidy answered, fist clenched at her side as she seemed to be excited about the prospect of going after that little brat. "He appears to be long gone on his own gym quest."

"It's possible he's in Rustboro City," Butch pointed out, not wanting to get too carried away.

Lyanna waved her hand dismissively. "That's not important right now. If you're needed in Rustboro City, the girl may need to be dealt with. Other agents can handle the rest. You'll need to be sure of what you're up against."

"She's a child!" Cassidy almost shouted, eyes widening quickly as she immediately shut herself up, noticing Lyanna's eyes flash.

"She's a Pokemon Trainer," the Team Rocket admin responded. "She travelled with a talented trainer that has given this organization more headaches than you could count, and participated in the defence of Lumiose City during the Team Flare attack. Don't underestimate her."

Butch nodded before Cassidy could say anymore. "Understood, Special Agent Lyanna. We'll see what we can do."

Lyanna stared back a moment, showing no emotion, before her eyes drifted, looking behind Butch and Cassidy, who both turned around, noticing a Wurmple slowly climbing a tree. "Perhaps Giovanni would be interested in acquiring some Pokemon for the new recruits. See how your targets handle such a situation."

"Yes ma'am!" Butch and Cassidy answered immediately, nodding as they looked back to her. "For the glory of Team Rocket!"

"Raticate!"

"So what was it like travelling the Hoenn region with Ash, May?" Bonnie asked, a spring in her step as she and her companions walked along Route 104 on their way to the Petalburg Woods. "Was he always so full of energy?"

May laughed at that. "You bet! I'd never met anyone like him. It was pretty hard keeping up with him at times, but he did teach me a lot. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for him. He was a mentor to me and Max. Same with Brock."

Bonnie nodded, thinking that it sounded much like how Ash had mentored their group in Kalos. Even for her, being so young and having to wait so long for her dream of becoming a Pokemon Trainer, Ash had taught her so much. It wasn't even just the battles that she'd seen, it was the way he befriended Pokemon, worked with others, pushed through every barrier and never gave up. She couldn't wait to put all of the things she'd learned from him to the test.

"You know, Ash would've loved the challenge of training Silcoon to get over its fears and grow stronger together," May said quietly, looking to the path ahead where a Beautifly was flying. "I remember how any time his Pokemon had a problem, he would spend hours, days, or even weeks to help them fix it. He'll be impressed to know what you've been doing with Silcoon so far."

Bonnie smiled, happy to hear that, excitedly thinking about the next time she could talk to Ash. She wondered what he'd be doing next, now that he'd won a Pokemon League. She supposed that he would be challenging the Alola Elite Four, but they were a newly developed league, so it was possible that he might be doing something else. Whatever it was, though, she was sure he'd be working hard to keep getting better.

"Lots of Wurmple and its evolved forms around here," Clyde suddenly said, pointing to a pair of Wurmple crossing the path in front of them, while Rotom took a picture of another pair in a tree to their left. Another pair of Beautifly were also flying overhead, crossing paths with a Dustox. Bonnie could even see some Silcoon and Cascoon around, noticing the different colouring from her own Silcoon.

"Zzt, it appears this area is very heavily populated with them at nearly eighty point three percent of the Pokemon population!" Rotom announced, snapping a few more pictures. "It may be a good idea for Pokemon Trainer Bonnie to do some training here, to see how Silcoon interacts with its own kind."

"Sounds like a good idea," May said, nodding in agreement and pulling out her own pokeball, quickly calling out her Beautifly. "Beautifly should enjoy this, too!"

Bonnie watched a moment, Dedenne scurrying up to the top of her head to get a better view himself, as the two Beautifly up ahead came flying over to greet May's. It seemed to be going well, the three butterflies happily flying into the air together, doing some sort of a strange dance as their pre-evolved forms gathered at the edges of the bushes and trees to watch.

"All right, Silcoon, come on out!" Bonnie finally shouted, tossing her pokeball up into the air. It flashed brightly, getting the attention of a few of the other Pokemon, and then a moment later, her shiny Silcoon appeared on the ground in front of her, looking around curiously, before suddenly appearing to tense up. At least...as much as a cocoon could appear tensed up. "Silcoon?"

"Beauuutifly!" one of the Beautifly suddenly cried out, sounding angry for some reason as it departed to aerial dance with May's Beautifly. It darted down towards Silcoon, and Bonnie's eyes widened as it flapped its wings, hitting it with a Gust attack.

"Coooon!" Silcoon cried out, body flashing briefly as it used Harden, trying to brace itself for what came next, its body sliding a bit from the Gust. It was then that the other Beautifly darted down, striking Silcoon with a Tackle attack, bouncing off just a little due to the Harden. It flew back up to hover next to the other Beautifly, the two readying another attack.

"Hey! Stop!" Bonnie shouted, getting ready to run forward, stunned by what was happening.

"Beautifly, Silver Wind!" May suddenly ordered, her own Butterfly Pokemon moving to attack. Bonnie was amazed at how quickly it moved, now that it wasn't doing the attack just for show. It was still beautiful, but this attack definitely held more power to it as the silvery gust of wind blew out, striking the opposing Beautifly head on, sending them flying back.

It didn't end there, though, as out of nowhere, another shape joined the fray. As the two Beautifly attempted to right themselves midair, they were struck by a Tackle attack from the side. It appeared to be the Dustox from earlier, the Poison Moth Pokemon putting everything into the attack and driving the two Butterfly Pokemon hard into the bushes at the side of the path. They were up a moment after, looking stunned at the onslaught they'd received, but still locking their eyes on Bonnie's Silcoon. It appeared they weren't alone, either, a few Wurmple and other Silcoon appearing out of the bushes and glaring in their direction.

"What's going on? What did Silcoon do to them?" Bonnie asked, panic in her voice.

"Sil silcoon!" Silcoon whined, sounding like it was pleading with its fellow bug types.

Dedenne quickly hopped off of Bonnie's head, running out to stand guard in front of the bug type, Clyde's Treecko joining him a moment later.

"Blaziken, let's go!" May then called out, throwing out a pokeball, the powerful fire type emerging.

Bonnie had seen Blaziken a couple of times in May's demonstrations, but this was the first time she was able to get a grasp of how powerful it was. Immediately, the hostile bug types were hesitant to approach, fearful of the heat radiating from the fire type before them.

"Dustox!" the Poison Moth Pokemon cried out, joining the group guarding Bonnie's Silcoon. A few Wurmple seemed to be turning now, facing towards the Beautifly that had attacked, although Bonnie didn't get the sense they were happy about it.

The attackers waited another moment, looking angrily towards Silcoon, but the guard around Silcoon was too intimidating, particularly with Blaziken. It also seemed as though Dustox had the respect of many of the Wurmple around, and it was having no part in attacking Silcoon, so the odds weren't looking good for the hostile Beautifly. Finally, after one last glare, they turned and headed into the bushes, most of the Silcoon retreating into the trees with them while half the Wurmple followed.

For a moment, they all stayed still and quiet, and then the remaining Wurmple and Cascoon also retreated into the bushes. Bonnie noticed a few of them cast angry glances in her Silcoon's direction, but she pushed that from her mind as she started to make her way forward. She stopped, however, when the Dustox descended to the ground, landing in front of Silcoon.

"Tox dustox," it said quietly, looking sympathetic. It lowered its head, touching it to Silcoon. "Dustox."

Bonnie looked at her friends in confusion, wondering if they were thinking the same as her. Rotom was the first to voice the thought. "Zzt, it appears Silcoon may originally be from this location and is from this group of Wurmple."

May didn't seem too convinced, however. "I don't know...Bonnie, didn't you say you caught your Silcoon between Littleroot and Oldale Town? That would be a long distance for it to have gone out on its own if it had been part of this group. Especially if it has a fear of flying types."

Clyde's eyes widened at that, though, looking towards Silcoon and Dustox, the two bug types appearing to communicate something to May's Beautifly, while Dedenne, Treecko and Blaziken watched on. "Wait a minute...that could have something to do with why Silcoon is afraid of flying types!"

"Tox dustox!" Dustox cried out, looking towards Clyde upon hearing that. "Dustox!"

"Coon," Silcoon whimpered out, glancing back at Bonnie, appearing to confirm Clyde's suspicions. It was still confusing, though, as there was no answer as to how all of this came to be. Clearly Silcoon wasn't welcome here for some reason, and somehow ended up over on Route 101. The whole thing was giving her a headache...a particularly painful one.

She finally went forward, kneeling down next to Silcoon. "Silcoon...is this where you're originally from?" It nodded, looking sadly back towards the bushes where the rest of the Wurmple and its evolved forms were, now hidden. "Were they always this mean to you? Is that why you left?"

"Silcoon," it answered, the sadness quite evident. Clearly it had no idea why it had been mistreated. Clyde had an idea, however, looking like he understood the bug type's loneliness it seemed to be feeling.

"It may be due to the fact that Silcoon is a different colour. The other Wurmple, Silcoon, Cascoon and the Beautifly and Dustox may feel it's a threat from Taillow and other flying types that go after bug Pokemon." He paused, looking towards the Dustox that was obviously involved in Silcoon's departure. "Did you fly Silcoon away when it was a Wurmple, Dustox?"

The Poison Moth Pokemon nodded, looking sadly towards its friend. It made Bonnie feel sick, her headache growing worse as she looked at her Pokemon that had been kicked out of its home for nothing more than how it was born. She wanted to do something about it, but had no idea what. It explained a lot about Silcoon, but it left more unanswered.

"Agh!" she suddenly cried out, her headache suddenly becoming a sharp pain in her head as a light flashed before her eyes. She blinked, clutching her head, before giving it a quick shake, May walking over to her, looking concerned.

"You okay, Bonnie?" the Coordinator asked, the others looking over as well, Dedenne scurrying back up to perch on her shoulder.

"Yeah...just...this is giving me – agh!" She clutched her head again, and this time, it was more than just a bright light in front of her eyes.

It was an image. It was only briefly in front of her eyes, and somewhat blurry, but Bonnie could see enough. She could see a Wurmple, and she knew it was her Silcoon due to its shiny colour, and it seemed to be getting carried by a Dustox, which she assumed was the one in front of them. So Dustox helped fly Wurmple away, she realized, taking a breath before the pain came back again, another image flashing before her.

This time, it was Wurmple falling to the ground, the String Shot that had been carrying it snapped by a Taillow flying through the air. Dustox seemed to be hit as well, body at a strange angle, unable to see where Wurmple was going. Bonnie could sense the pure fear from her Pokemon. It must've been absolutely terrifying, especially after being pushed out of its home.

"Bonnie? You sure you're okay?"

She looked up, the images gone, and noticed her friends and the Pokemon all looking at her. Her eyes quickly met Silcoon's and she was sure it had somehow let her know what had happened. She was still a little confused, but she definitely had a rough idea. Of course...the whole idea of having images of things she'd never seen before flashing in her mind was a little weird, but she supposed it was a bit like how she had sensed Squishy's pain back in Kalos. Maybe she could do that with other Pokemon...

"Zzt, Pokemon Trainer Bonnie appears unwell!" Rotom cried out, quickly floating towards her. "I am very concerned."

"It's fine, Rotom...just a weird head thing." They all still seemed concerned, but Bonnie just waved her hand dismissively. "Really, it's fine. I'd rather worry about Silcoon." She decided to move the subject along, ignoring her friends concerned looks. "Silcoon, I want to help you show those meanies just how awesome you are. We're going to do some training right here and you're going to prove they made a mistake in being mean to you!"

May was clearly eager to help with that, as was her Beautifly, and the two quickly voiced their agreement, while the Dustox also cried out excitedly. Bonnie smiled, glad to see that at least one member of this group seemed to recognize how great her Pokemon was. She was going to make sure it demonstrated that it was as strong as any of them.

Silcoon seemed hesitant at first, but as it looked around, seeing the other Pokemon of their group, and the supportive smiles of their friends, it seemed to be emboldened. With a final glance at Dustox, it turned to Bonnie again, eyes narrowed in determination. "Silcoon!"

"All right!" May called out excitedly. "Silcoon's learned a bunch the last couple of days, so let's get to it! That String Shot should turn some heads!"

Bonnie nodded, glad to have May's help, particularly with her Beautifly there, and she quickly got up, taking Silcoon a little further up the path to a clearer spot, noticing some eyes watching them from the bushes. She could see May taking position in front of the others, Dustox hovering in front to join Beautifly, so she put Silcoon down and then turned around, ready to get started. "All right, May, let's see what Silcoon can do!"

"You got it! Beautifly-"

BOOM!

Bonnie whipped around upon hearing the explosion, hearing her friends gasp behind her as she looked, her jaw dropping as she saw smoke shooting into the air. She could see a few Beautifly flying away, along with some Taillow in the distance that seemed to be spooked. A moment later, she could also hear the cries of fear. The Pokemon were in trouble.

"What was that?!" Clyde called out, running up to stand next to Bonnie, eyes wide with fear. He was clearly worried about the same thing as Bonnie. "You don't think it's...?"

"Only one way to find out," Bonnie said, narrowing her eyes. She quickly picked up Silcoon, and then started running, hearing her companions behind her, and also noticing shuffling in the bushes as the other Wurmple seemed to be joining in.

As they ran forward, the cries seemed to grow louder, and Bonnie had the same sense of fear she'd had when approaching the Oldale Ruins when Alden had been attacked. She didn't want it to be Team Archaic, but she knew in her heart it was. There was something about them that made her think she'd be crossing paths with them again, and here it was. As they rounded a corner, they immediately saw the dissipating dust cloud, and the harmed Pokemon in an open clearing, all wrapped up in a net.

Bonnie could see a few different Pokemon, such as a couple of Taillow, a Caterpie, and a Metapod, but the majority seemed to be the group that had been attacking Silcoon earlier. There was smoke and dust all over them, and they seemed to all be groggy, or otherwise unconscious, and Bonnie knew they'd been attacked with some kind of explosive. It infuriated her to see all these Pokemon hurt, even if they'd been mean to Silcoon earlier. Nobody deserved this. Whoever did these kinds of things...

"Well...well...well...we meet again, little brat."

Bonnie's eyes snapped up, glaring in the direction of the voice, seeing the familiar faces of Butch and Cassidy as the smoke in front of them finally faded. Of course it was them. They seemed stupid enough to harm Pokemon that they likely wanted to at least make use of. Stupid and cruel...Bonnie hated that combination.

"Butch and Cassidy..." she muttered, placing Silcoon down in front of her, noticing the eyes of a few of the netted bug types watching, looking too fearful to be angry. "You-"

"She remembered my name!" Butch suddenly cried out happily, looking at Bonnie surprisingly fondly. "Can you believe it?!"

"Shut up!" Cassidy yelled, hitting him upside the head and tossing out a pokeball, her Sableye emerging. "Little brat...you've caused some problems for us already and we only just met you. If I were you, I'd get out of our way so we can deliver these Pokemon safely to our boss."

"Yeah, for the glory of-"

"I told you to shut up!"

"Those two are weird, aren't they?" Clyde whispered, shuffling over, somewhat hiding behind Bonnie. "I have no idea why Team Archaic would even hire people like them."

"As far as we know, Team Archaic is full of people like them," Bonnie pointed out, shaking her head as Dedenne hopped out in front of her.

Clyde didn't say anything in response, while May stepped up to Bonnie's side. "So these guys are in Team Archaic, huh? I feel like I recognize them from somewhere..."

Butch and Cassidy's eyes widened at that, but Cassidy was reasonably quick in answering. "I suppose my beautiful face was on the news. We need to be more careful...as amazing as it is for the people of Hoenn to see me!"

"I don't think that's what it was..." May muttered, looking thoughtful.

"It doesn't matter," Bonnie muttered, pointing to the trapped Pokemon. "We need to free those Pokemon."

"Silcoon!" Silcoon cried out in agreement, shuffling forward to stand next to Dedenne, some of the trapped Wurmple in the net looking surprised.

"Of course!" May answered, nodding to her Blaziken to join Bonnie's Pokemon. "Let's do this!"

"Biff! Help out here!" Cassidy yelled at her partner, gesturing to her Sableye as Raticate hopped forward. Butch nodded, ignoring the name error as he called out his Mightyena. "You'll learn not to mess with us, you little brats! Sableye, Shadow Claw!"

"Blaze Kick, Blaziken!"

Bonnie watched in fascination as the two Pokemon leaped at one another, the ghostly fiend extending its shadowy claw outward as May's fire type propelled itself forward, aiming out with a flaming leg. They met midair, an explosion rocking the middle of the clearing. However, one Pokemon clearly got the worst of it.

"Sableyyyeee!" the ghost and dark type cried out as it flew up into the air, its ghostly body smoking while Blaziken righted itself a few feet in front of May and Bonnie.

Bonnie wasn't going to waste any time either, knowing that this was a perfect chance to act, herself. "Dedenne, use Nuzzle!"

Butch could see that he needed to act, thought, quickly ordering an Iron Tail to intercept. May was just as quick, though, pointing forward as Beautifly shot forth. "Beautifly, Aerial Ace!"

The timing was perfect. As Sableye fell towards an incoming Dedenne, the little rodent's cheeks sparking, Mightyena move in to intercept. However, Beautifly timed its own interception perfectly, slamming into the dark type just in time for Dedenne to strike Sableye with the paralyzing Nuzzle.

"Now Blaziken, one more Blaze Kick on Sableye, and Beautifly, use Silver Wind on Mightyena!" May shouted, her commanding voice seeming to boost the confidence of her Pokemon even more. It helped Bonnie as well.

"Dedenne, hit Mightyena as well! Thunder Shock!"

"Nene!"

"Blaze!"

As Sableye was finished off with a flaming kick to the side, sending it flying into the ground in front of a stunned Cassidy, Beautifly was darting into the air, watched in awe by all of its counterparts trapped in the net. "Beauuutifly!" it cried out, sending the silvery gust down towards Mightyena, who was now on its feet, before being thrown into the air by the attack. Then, before hitting the ground, it was struck again, this time by Dedenne's Thunder Shock, causing it to convulse in midair, before hitting the ground hard in front of Butch.

"Zzt, very well done Pokemon Trainer Bonnie!" Rotom praised unexpectedly. "This will not qualify as your first win as a Pokemon Trainer, but you have done far more than you did when battling alongside Pokemon Trainer Wally."

Cassidy clearly had no interest in giving in yet, though, as she and Butch quickly recalled their Pokemon in frustration. "Raticate, use Super Fang!"

"Rrraticate!" the Mouse Pokemon screeched, bolting towards a vulnerable Dedenne as its fangs glowed white. Bonnie's heart immediately began to race, watching as Dedenne was dropping towards the ground from his previous attack.

"Coon!"

The String Shot was flawless, striking Raticate square in the middle of the face, shutting its mouth, and proceeding to wrap around its head. Bonnie would've laughed if it hadn't been such a tense situation, with much of the battle still at stake. "Nice one, Silcoon!" she shouted, noticing what sounded like cheers from Silcoon's former bullies.

"Hit it with a Silver Wind, Beautifly!" May shouted, giving Bonnie's Silcoon a thumbs up for its save, while Dedenne scurried back.

Silcoon's friend in Dustox wasn't going to be denied its part, though, swooping forward as Beautifly prepared its attack. Just as May's Butterfly Pokemon was sending out its silvery gust, Dustox unleashed a wave of Stun Spore that the Silver Wind picked up perfectly. Bonnie could see it take effect immediately, watching as Raticate froze in midair while it was attempting to rid itself of the webs around its head. The Mouse Pokemon was completely still as it hit Cassidy in the stomach. It appeared as though they had won this, and Bonnie smirked at their opponents.

"Ready to give up?" she taunted, taking a step forward while Dedenne's cheeks sparked threateningly. Silcoon even sent out a quick String Shot that hit Raticate one more time, wrapping its legs together. Bonnie couldn't help but feel proud about her Pokemon's perfect aim. That String Shot was going to be useful in their coming battles.

Cassidy smirked back, however, standing up quickly, holding tight to Raticate. She pulled something that appeared to be some kind of remote out of her pocket and quickly clicked a button. "We're always equipped with emergency escape methods!" she called out smugly as the ground beneath them shook.

Bonnie's eyes widened, watching as the ground between them broke apart, a huge hot air balloon expanding in front of them, much like Team Rocket's Meowth balloon, but with this one being a Raticate. It started to float up quickly, three ropes falling below. Butch and Cassidy each grabbed one, while the third seemed to be holding onto the net that held the Pokemon.

"No!" Bonnie shouted, starting to run forward as the net was slowly being lifted off of the ground, while Butch and Cassidy pulled themselves up into the carrier.

Bonnie ran, but she could see she wasn't going to reach the net in time. She could see May's Beautifly and the Dustox flying above to try to get at Butch and Cassidy as well, but the balloon was equipped with some kind of flamethrower that was holding the flying bug types at bay. Panic struck her as she realized the net was getting too far out of reach, knowing they wouldn't be able to go after them.

That was when Silcoon's perfect String Shot came in handy once more.

"Coon! Silcoon!"

It was a call to arms. Silcoon's String Shot was the first to hit the net, slowing the ascent of the balloon a bit, but clearly not enough on its own. However, the Wurmple and Cascoon that seemed to follow Dustox joined in immediately, firing out their own String Shot attacks, each hitting the net and making a definite impact.

"They're pulling it back!" Clyde shouted excitedly. Bonnie glanced at him, raising an eyebrow at his sudden burst of emotion, noting that this was the second time he'd avoided battle with Team Archaic. That wasn't important at the moment, though, as they needed to help Silcoon and the others.

"Let's help!" she shouted, running forward to grab onto a handful of String Shots and begin pulling, noticing the strain in the webs she held. Her friends joined in, even Rotom and Dedenne participating as best they could, while Treecko sent a few Bullet Seeds up into the air in what seemed to be an attempt to break the net.

Bonnie smiled at that idea, seeing Dustox and Beautifly up in the air take note as well, changing target to the net, while the healthier bug types inside fired a few String Shots towards the ground, helping the tug of war. Butch and Cassidy were clearly agitated, but there was little they could do...or so Bonnie thought.

"I don't think so, brats!" Cassidy seemed to screech, clicking another button on her remote. Bonnie gasped as she saw the carrier holding Butch and Cassidy open near the bottom, a flame suddenly bursting out like a rocket. "See ya later!"

"No!" Bonnie shouted, pulling her hardest on the webs, but immediately feeling them strain and break, the jet fueled balloon too powerful. "Come on guys! More String Shots! Silcoon!"

Her bug type clearly heard her, as she heard it cry out, the strain in its voice evident. Out of the corner of her eye, though, Bonnie could see a particularly thick String Shot strike the net near the top, where it was connected to the hot air balloon. It was straining, but momentarily, it held the balloon at bay, emboldening the other bug types to renew their efforts.

"Go! More power!" Bonnie yelled, taking command along with her Pokemon.

"NENE!"

"Silcoon!"

Bonnie could hear Cassidy shriek, clearly stunned by the show of force by the Pokemon below, but it was clear it wasn't enough. Bonnie could tell they needed more. She shouted again, pulling with all her might on the webs she held. And then a bright light expanded in front of her.

"COOOOOONNN!"

"Zzt! Silcoon is..."

"COOOOUUUTIFLLLYYY!"

Bonnie opened her eyes wide as the lights dimmed, seeing one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen in front of her. A shiny Beautifly! Where May's Beautifly's wings were grey, Bonnie's Beautifly's were purple. Where May's Beautifly's wing pattern was yellow, Bonnie's was cream coloured. Its whole body seemed to exude an aura of beauty.

"Zzt! Bonnie, your Beautifly is a female! The red spots on its wings are smaller, showing that it is not a male!"

As cool as that was, Bonnie didn't care in the moment, just glad to see her Silcoon...or Beautifly, showing its new found power. It sent out another String Shot, and this time, it seemed to be doing the trick, wrapping tightly around the rope of the net, pulling hard, and snapping it.

"Bonnie! When, Silcoon evolve into Beautifly, they learn a new move!" May called out, looking in awe at Bonnie's Pokemon. "Gust!"

She nodded, locking eyes with her newly evolved Pokemon. "Beautifly, use Gust and send those meanies away!"

"Beautifly, join in with Silver Wind!"

The two Butterfly Pokemon quickly shot into the air, darting towards Butch and Cassidy at full speed, flapping their wings to generate a swirling gust of wind. The Team Archaic members could only watch in fear, glancing down to see their prized Pokemon being brought slowly to the ground by Dustox's own Gust.

"Flyyy!" the two Beautifly cried out, their attacks joining and exploding Butch and Cassidy's balloon, sending their carrier flying fast into the distance.

"Good riddance!" Bonnie shouted, pumping her fist as she looked to Clyde, who was opening up the net to free the Pokemon.

"Nice job, Bonnie!" she turned around, seeing May run up to her as she heard the relieved cries of all the Pokemon, including the two bully Beautifly who seemed to be looking guiltily up in the air. "Your Beautifly is amazing!"

"She sure is!" Bonnie agreed, making a point to look at the bullies. "The best Beautifly I could ask for!" At that moment, her bug type reached her, landing atop her head and nuzzling her affectionately, just as happy about the heroic victory. "Beautifly! Great job!"

"Beauuutifly!"

"I've never seen anything like that before!" Clyde said excitedly, joining Bonnie and May. "That was incredible strength. That motivation must've been what did it."

"Zzt, Beautifly is Pokemon Trainer Bonnie's first fully evolved Pokemon!" Rotom suddenly called out. "This is a very important moment in her Pokemon journey!" He quickly took a picture, Bonnie rolling her eyes once it was done, but still giving the PokeDex a high five.

"Tox dustox!"

Bonnie glanced up, seeing the friendly Dustox hovering next to her Beautifly, looking extremely proud. She couldn't have been happier seeing it, knowing that Dustox had been Beautifly's only friend until she'd found it. It was just as important in helping the Butterfly Pokemon grow stronger, supporting it through the bullying and helping it when it was attacked. Bonnie wasn't quite sure if this would help Beautifly get over its fear of flying Pokemon, but at least now she could fight on even terms.

"Beautifly beauuutifly."

The group turned, seeing the two Beautifly that had attacked Bonnie's now approaching her. Their heads were bowed, and they looked very solemn. It was clear they were apologizing.

"Tox!" Dustox seemed to spit out, tensing up angrily. However, Bonnie's Beautifly wouldn't have that, shaking her head and then looking towards her counterparts.

"Beauuutifly!" she sang out gracefully, slowly flapping her wings and nodding. Bonnie wasn't sure if she'd have forgiven them so quickly herself, but she decided that if Beautifly was willing to do so, she could as well. All it proved was how great a Pokemon she had.

"Bonnie," May whispered next to her as the two watched Beautifly and her old group that had once looked down on her, "I think that Rustboro Gym badge is as good as yours."

Bonnie glanced down to Dedenne, who was listening in, the Antenna Pokemon smiling excitedly at those words. "You bet it is!"

Author's Note:

Rusty? I believe it was rusty...but hopefully you enjoyed. I love me some powerful bug type badassery! With String Shot no less! Might be a bit of a quick turnaround for Silcoon...Beautifly, but I think the big moment was more of a necessity to make it grow stronger, rather than a bunch of training sessions. But of course, Bonnie's been doing some training regardless. Anyways, hopefully it worked well enough.

As for the mental connection thing...more on that next chapter, but essentially it's a bit of an expansion on Bonnie's connection with Squishy and just applying it to others a bit. You'll see soon enough, though. Hopefully it's not too weird.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.