Author's Note:
Here it is, the chapter based on the day care between Mauville and Vurdenturf. I know I skipped over Mauville, but we will go there eventually, this was just the easiest way to make the story flow around this part. Two Pokémon are caught in this chapter, and they are easily the most asked about Pokémon when seeing if they'd go to a particular trainer. I hope you like what I've done with them. We also get to see an at the lab scene, which'll be fun. We also get some info on a big character from the Kalos region, this is an early appearance so she's not quite as along as she is in the Kalos games. I've also made some changes to her but she's still the same character at the base. Along with a catch up on Aqua, specifically the undercover trainer from before. This chapter is mostly an original creation, but it should still be fun. As an easter egg for my planning of the Hoenn arc, the individual Pokémon that I have the group interact with (other than those captured) in this chapter are Pokémon that at one point I planned for them to have but changed my mind on. Not much else to say, just remember to vote in the poll and with that, let's begin!
Chapter Twenty-Three: Sibling Rivalry
She looked across the pond near where their hideout is located. Her hand tightly gripped a Pokéball as she nervously looked over the crystal-clear water.
On top of the lake was a small, pale blue, insectoid Pokémon. It had semi-circular pink markings under it's dark, circular eyes. It's round body had four long, skinny legs extending out from beneath it, which allowed it to stand on the surface of the water. The top of it's head was a yellow cap with a single antenna pointed out, almost like a hat. Despite being so small, she couldn't stop the nervous jittery shaking throughout her body.
"There's nothing to worry about, Serena," Matt encouraged, "Surskit are some of the softest Pokémon around and while it might be a bug type, it's also part water type. You've got nothing to worry about, just go out and catch the little one and you'll be one step closer to overcoming your fear."
Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her gaze. He was right, of course, when she was travelling around, she got to know several bug types and didn't mind spending time with any of them after such an adjustment period so if she could have one be a part of her team then that would be the next step.
"Right, thanks Matt," she nodded towards her commanding officer. Despite being a criminal, he really isn't that bad and has become a sort of father figure.
"Don't mention it, we're all a part of the aqua family after all," he smiled, "so will ya'll be using Tentacruel to make quick work of it?"
"Actually, I was thinking Carvanha," she admitted, "we've been training but not had the chance to battle properly yet."
"That should certainly make this more interesting," he chuckled, "but be careful lassie, after all they are part dark and bug respectively, so Surskit has an advantage in this match up."
Nodding in understanding, she stepped up to the lake. Taking a deep breath, she tossed her device up into the air, "I call... Carvanha!"
In a flash of light, her recently caught fish Pokémon splashed into the water. He turned around and stared at her with narrowed eyes. While he is rough around the edges, they seemed to come to an understanding... mainly thanks to Tentacruel keeping him in line whilst training.
"Alright Carvanha," she greeted, "we're gonna try and catch Surskit so go out to attack it and lead it back near the shore."
With a swift nod of his head, he turned around and took off across the water. Easily picking up speed, a shield of water surrounded his small body.
He zoomed across the surface, throwing large waves up either side. Smashing into the bug water type, it skidded to the side as he stopped, facing them.
Letting out a series of yells, the bug shook its entire body and turned to her fish. Even from this distance, she saw shock and anger on the bug types face. Her dark water type turned around and began swimming back towards her with the pond skater Pokémon speeding behind.
Surskit stopped in its tracks and launched out a few large bubbles. Protecting it from a direct attack.
She didn't even need to instruct her savage Pokémon as he dived under the water. Looking through the bubble, she saw him dive up, under Surskit.
Both Pokémon went high into the air, clearing the bubble. A purple tint coloured his fangs as both Pokémon smashed through the bubble on the way down.
The two Pokémon landed on top of the water, as two small fangs formed on over Surskit's mouth. It leaped forward and sunk them down on her fish Pokémon with him flinching in pain. Surskit shook it's body, clearly affected by his rough skin as it created some distance.
Turning around, the pond skater launched out a series of strings. With a web forming as it flew towards her savage Pokémon.
"Aqua Jet to dodge then going in for the finish!" she shouted.
Her dark water type shot off across the surface of the water. A barrier of the element surrounding him just like before.
Slicing through the webbing, it floated atop the water, harmless. With the savage Pokémon smashing straight into their opponent.
Trapped in his jaw, Surskit attempted to break free as they moved back to the shore. A purple tint entered his fangs again, as he shot out of the water.
Taking the bug with him, he used aqua jet a final time and shot out of the pool. Smashing into a nearby tree, the pond skater fell down against the trunk, as he flopped back on the ground, splashing his way back to the water.
Seeing her Pokémon make it safely back into his natural habitat, she took out a Pokéball and turned to the water bug type.
"Go Pokéball!" she yelled, tossing the empty device at the fallen bug water type. It landed on top and bounced up, opening up and engulfing the pond skater in a red light. Sucking it inside, the device closed and landed back on the grass. Wobbling weakly, it barely hit the third shake before dinging, "alright! We did it, Carvanha! We caught a Surskit."
"Congratulations, Serena," Matt applauded, "and your one step closer to overcoming your fear of bug Pokémon."
"Thanks," she replied, making her way over to the device. Pausing as her hand hovered over the device, she realised that despite knowing what laid inside, it wasn't as scary as previous bug types she encountered. Maybe all that time with Heracross, Ledian, Beedrill and even Pinsir already helped ease her phobia.
She picked up the device and put it into her pocket. Making her way over to the lake, she found her fish swimming around in a worked-up manner. Chuckling at the sight, she pulled out her other Pokéball and held it out.
"Alright return and rest up for now, Carvanha," she informed, with a red light shooting out and absorbing him back into the device, "and thank you."
Turning towards Matt, he smiled and nodded. No more words needed to be shared as they made their way back towards the base. It was a comfortable silence as her hand fiddled in the hoodie pocket with the three Pokéballs. She really misses her previous teammates but given the role she's having to portray, having a complete team would've raised suspicions. As she mulled over what Marill and the others might be up to, a women stood in the path ahead.
She was slightly shorter than Matt, and no-where near as muscular but she still seemed well built. Her hair was long and black, free flowing behind her head with several stylised spikes to each side, and two streaks of aqua blue added in. A pair of science goggles rested on her forehead, above her crystal blue eyes and long black lashes. She wore a long-sleeved top, ending in gloves over each hand, which revealed her midriff completely, with the aqua symbol over her chest. While she had long, dark blue, stylised trousers with lighter blue patterns diversaving it. A golden anchor belt around her waist helped empathize her admittedly amazing figure. She had her arms crossed foot tapping with an annoyed expression overhead face.
"Here you are, Mathew," she sighed, "I've been waiting for you."
"Hey Shelly, I was just helping one of our top field agents catch a new Pokémon," he replied, "since we don't have any missions scheduled for a few weeks I thought-"
"Well, that's where your wrong," she cut him off, "you haven't forgotten about the millennium mission, I hope."
"Of course, not," he declared, "but that's a mission for the research and science division. Hence your own presence. Not for the tactical field team."
"Plans change," she informed, "our scouts have mentioned magma preparing a team the same location. Due to the high chance of resistance, Archie's instructed me to bring the field team to help handle them."
"If it's a chance to stick it to those magma thugs then we're all in," he smirked, "go ahead and get your plan in place and I'll go with Serena to prep the troops."
"Good," she nodded, turning on a heel before marching away. She waited until the women was out of sight before turning to Matt.
"And who was that?" she asked.
"That's commander Shelly, head of the research and science team in Aqua," he smiled, "I know she can seem a little uptight but she's alright when you get to know her. The captain, Archie, is actually married to her. They met when he helped her with his ship on one of her research expeditions. It's just when their work to do, she can be all business, but she cares for the family as much as the rest of us."
"If you say so," she replied, following his lead back to the base. Her hand rested in her pocket before slightly pulling out a small device. It was a messenger to send information back to her handler. Not putting it on show, she carefully typed away on what she gathered from the conversation.
Serena smiled as she stretched her arms up under the warm Hoenn sun. Embracing the warm weather, she subtly glanced to the side and found Ash checking her out. Smiling at his bright red cheeks as he turned to look the other way, she felt a child-like giddiness bubble in her stomach.
Appreciating the broadening shoulders thanks to the workout programme Brawly gave him, she leaned her head back. Her mind travelling back to the earlier training session just after breakfast. It was pretty similar as the other training sessions with them splitting into pairs for specific practises. She was working with her pure grass type on mastering the move drain punch when some sort of fight broke out.
It was between her Meditite and Hitmontop. The latter has taken his girlfriend's training as his own responsibility since she joined the group and today, she was battling against Ash's Duskull. From what she could gather, her psychic fighting type had been unable to land a direct hit despite being burned and taking several shadow sneaks head on. It wasn't too surprising, after all, the ghost already battled Brawly's Meditite, whose far more experienced.
However, the handstand Pokémon a made a point to berate her in front of everyone. Causing a massive scene. Even Duskull tried to apologise for how it turned out and received a flurry of bullet punches to the face for his trouble.
Detaching the device off her belt, she held the pure fighting types Pokéball in her hand. Staring down at it, she frowned.
What has gotten into him, recently? She wasn't convinced their relationship was as real as he claimed as when pushed on why he likes the meditate Pokémon, all he could say was, she's a girl and a fighting type. It was hardly a good bases for a full relationship, let alone a crush waiting to blossom. They decided to set off after the dispute and give everyone a chance to calm down, but her thoughts were stuck on what to do with the two of them.
From what she knows of the psychic fighting type, she doesn't even seem too interested in Hitmontop. Had he not taken the lead in pursing their relationship then she doubts anything would've happened. Meditite even seemed interested in performing but her handstand Pokémon has been insistent on the battle training for her. Maybe she should try to create a little distance between them and see what's actually going on with each of them.
"I can already see it!" Max's voice drew her out of her thoughts.
A head she saw a medium sized building in front of expansive fields behind with a smallish mountain rock and lake. Multiple people and Pokémon filled the lands behind like some sort of get together. It was almost like Professor Oak's lab back in Pallet, but on a much smaller scale.
She had seen that the path to Vurdenturf was home to a day care, which was open to the public and Max was super excited for the chance to visit.
Watching the young boy run ahead, she smiled and took off after him as her friends followed shortly behind. It didn't take them long to reach the build where a couple of adults. The man was a large build, around forty with medium length brown hair and an orange short sleeved shirt. While the women looked slightly younger but only by a year or two with longer burgundy hair and a pink polo shirt with short sleeves. Both smiled as they approached the group.
"Hiya, I take it you kids are here to visit the day care as well?" the man greeted.
"We are!" Max cheered, "I can't wait to see all the baby Pokémon!"
"Well, you're more than welcome to come in and play with all the Pokémon we keep here," the women smiled, "my name is Jeannie, and this is my husband, Christopher."
"Please, Chris is fine," he interjected, "now the rules are simple. You can interact with any of the Pokémon, but no battling allowed. Each of the Pokémon already have registered Pokéballs so catching them is impossible anyway. Should you find a Pokémon you wish to take with you and the Pokémon in question is fine with it, then just come and find one of us and we'll complete the transaction."
"Transaction?" Ash questioned, "you mean we'd need to pay?"
"This isn't some sort of poacher business where we hunt wild Pokémon for trainers," Chris raised his hand as a sign to settle down, "but we are the home for many wild Pokémon whose eggs were found abandonded in the wild and haven't go homes to go to. We also take other trainers Pokémon for brief periods if those particular mon's are trying to conceive an egg themselves."
"We can't feed and properly care for the numerous Pokémon here without some sort of incoming," Jeannie continued, "so yes, we do charge for each transaction, but our top priority is the Pokémon's wellbeing. We use the trainer's liscen's to do a full check on each potential adopter before completion."
"It makes sense to me," Brock mused, "after all, it takes a lot of work to help so many Pokémon and the charge can act as a deterrent to those trainers just looking for an easy catch."
"So do you have a species your specifically after or just going to browser?" Jeannie asked, "we can't guarantee to have every species, but we have a lot of them. Of course, our fields are designed with different habitats in mind for the different Pokémon's need."
"Do you have Nidoking's? Or maybe Arcanine?" Max asked, "oooh, or Rhyperior. They are really strong."
"Sorry, lad, but as a day care we specialise in younger, unevolved Pokémon," Chris apologised, "why don't ya'll go ahead and see what we have to offer."
Smiling at the couple, they made their way through the gate, and she takes in the full sight of the fields. She could already see many Pokémon which they had already encountered in their journey, like a bunch of Zigzagoon playing chase with a bunch of kids. Even some birds like Taillow and Wingull flying around.
As she scanned the field, walking forward, one particular caught her attention. It was a yellow, quadrupedal Pokémon with a hump on it's back which was shaped like a volcano. The hump was green at the very top and faded out to yellow with small green spots. It's head had bangs on top of it's head, sleepy eyes with brown circles around them. With short, stubby legs holding it up.
The Pokémon had a small smile on it's face as it slowly walked towards her. Kneeling down on the grass so they were at a closer height, it reached her and nuzzled it's head against her cheek. Smiling at the show of affection, she rubbed it's head and pulled out her Pokédex to scan it:
Numel, The Numb Pokémon. Numel stores magma of almost two-thousand-and-two-hundred degrees fahrenheit within its body. If it gets wet, the magma cools and hardens. In that event, the Pokémon's body grows heavy, and its movements become sluggish. Females have larger humps than males
"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Numel," she smiled.
"Num Numel," it replied, as she took in the sight of her hump.
"Would you mind showing me around for a little bit?" she asked.
"Numel," she smiled, turning around, and walking out across the field grassy field.
As they walked, she caught sight of Brock sitting down on a blanket. Slakoth was laid out on his stomach, fast asleep while Lotad stared endlessly out across the day care fields. While Electrike laid in his lap, lightly pawing at his missing limb.
Frowning at the sight, she couldn't stop the feeling of pity for the small Pokémon. He's only interacted with Brock and Pikachu out of the group, but she couldn't imagine the kind of stress losing a leg would bring. The pure electric type wiggled in his position and climbed out of Brock's embrace. He moved his two front paws forward but as he attempted to use his last back leg, he fell flat on his face.
Brock scooped him up with a sympathetic look written on his face. While she couldn't make out what was said, it was clearly some sort of speech about how they'll get him walking together. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a bowl and poured in some Pokémon food.
Before he could set his canine down to eat, however, another Pokémon shuffled over and swallowed the bowl whole. Spitting it back out, cleared of food with a loud burp. It was a round, green, amorphous Pokémon. It had a black diamond marking on it's back and a yellow, feather-like adornment on it's head. It's face consisted of puckered lips and slanted eyes which appeared closed. It had two stubby appendages that were the same shape as it's lips.
She had to admit, it was a little cute as it looked up to her friend with a pleading look. She could just hear it asking, 'please sir, may I have some more?' in a completely innocent voice. Pulling her device out once more, she scanned the little one:
Gulpin, The Stomach Pokémon. Virtually all of Gulpin's body is its stomach. As a result, it can swallow something its own size. This Pokémon's stomach contains a special fluid that digests anything. The females have shorter feather's than males
The doctor-in-training smiled and scratched the poison type on top of his head. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a second bowl before filling out two more bowls, one for Electrike and another for Gulpin.
Smiling at the sight, she continued forward. Numel raised her head up under hand. Taking the hint, she scratched the fire ground type.
Her eyes travelled over to an open patch of grass where Max was laid flat on his stomach with a Pokémon in front of him. It was a small, bipedal Pokémon covered in light blue fur, munching on an apple. It's head was spherical with ear-like, fingerless arms on either side and a bulbous growth on it's forehead. It's wide mouth was quickly gobbling the piece of fruit, with a serrated upper jaw and a pink tongue. It's eyes appeared closed, each curving upward to a point in the centre. The fur on its body ended in a zigzag pattern, extending over it's short legs. While it had a long tail, for it's body size, which was completely black, ending in a round, flattened tip with a white, eye-like spot. She used her device once more and scanned the small Pokémon:
Wynaut, The Bright Pokémon. The baby pre-evolution of Wobbuffet. Wynaut can always be seen with a big, happy smile on its face. Look at its tail to determine if it is angry. When angered, this Pokémon will be slapping the ground with its tail
She couldn't help but smile at the sight. Max really did remind her off Ash as a young child. Put any Pokémon in front of him and he'll be complete mesmerised with it. He is far more studious and smarter but then again, he's hardly as heroic. It's almost like combining Ash with Brock, to some degree.
"Hey Serena, I see you made a friend too," a familiar voice called out. She turned around to greet her female friend but stopped as she saw something unexpected. May was stood in front of her with an annoyed expression on her face. Her hair was dripping wet with her top completely soaked.
"What-"
"Don't ask," she snapped back.
A joyous laughter and clapping hands drew her attention. Looking down by the girl's feet, she saw a new Pokémon sat. It was a spherical, chubby Pokémon with a short, flat tail. It's underbody and lower face was a beige colour, along with the two stubby flippers, which were slapping its stomach like some sort of round of applause. It had black, circular eyes; small tusks protruding from it's upper jaw; and small round ears. While the fur on it's back was a pale blue colour with white patches along the side which resembled snow. She used her Pokédex once more:
Spheal, The Clap Pokémon. Spheal is much faster rolling than walking to get around. When groups of this Pokémon eat, they all clap at once to show their appreciation. Because of this, their mealtimes are noisy
"Hey Numel," she greeted, "do you think you could help dry May off?"
"Num," she nodded, taking a deep breath. Shooting out a series of small fire balls out of her mouth. Despite shooting high into the air, only close enough for the heat to help dry off her hair and clothes, May made a dive to the ground as Spheal continue to laugh and cheer.
"Urg," she groaned, pushing herself up as Numel stopped her ember, "this is just not the day."
"What's the matter, May?" she asked, offering a hand to the brunette. She took the open-offer and Serena helped pull her back up to her feet.
"I guess I'm just not excited at the thought of baby Pokémon," she admitted, "honestly, I just don't like the idea of kids at all. They're all really annoying, I mean you've met Max."
"It sounds like you've already decided on that," she replied, "but in the future you might change your mind. I get that raising a baby is a lot of responsibility even if it's a baby Pokémon but-"
"I get you might like it but whether it's a human or Pokémon. I don't want a baby," she replied, "no matter how far you look into the future. Now if you excuse me, I need to clean myself up."
"Alright then," she sighed as her friend stormed off towards the fence away from the day care.
She couldn't help but feel down about May's decision. Of course, everyone has to make that choice for themselves and while she knows she's a long, long way off from it. Part of her feels like just deciding so soon is denying her a great experience. She knew Ash never consider the thought of kids before he hatched and raised Togepi. Now he's probably more excited than anyone else... While she would like kids one day... far in the future... it's the knowledge that all aura users, like Ash, end up with twins. The thought of having two kids at the same time... that is something else entirely.
Shaking her head of the thought, she noticed Numel walking away from her. She was about to find out why when she saw a tree filled with aspear berries.
The fire ground type leaned against the trunk and began munching away without a care in the world. Deciding not to bother her any further, she smiled at the sight. Even if those particular berries are used to help those who are suffering from cold moves and freezing induced illness', she can believe Pokémon like Numel hardly ever need it for such an occasion, being a fire type and all.
She continued to look around and had to cover her mouth as she watched Ash playing with another Pokémon. He was spinning around on the spot with said Pokémon crawling around his body. It was a small, whitish, insectoid Pokémon. It had a pointed snout, a thin stripe that dips in a V-shaped pattern between it's eyes, and two whisker-like antennae on it's face. It's eyes were black with green iris-like rings inside. On it's back was a pair of small, green wings. It's hind legs were white, but the forelegs were brown and had sharp claws. She pulled out her device once more to scan it:
Nincada, The Trainee Pokémon. Nincada lives underground for many years in complete darkness. This Pokémon absorbs nutrients from the roots of trees. Because it lived almost entirely underground, it is nearly blind. It uses its antennae instead
Putting the device away, she couldn't help but feel happy at the fun the two of them seemed to be having. He always did have a way with Pokémon and seeing that he hasn't lost his touch is really heart-warming.
A bright flash appeared in front of her, as a little weight appeared in her arms. Her attention turned downward as she saw a new Pokémon in her arms.
She saw a small, humanoid Pokémon with a white body. It had thin arms and legs that widened towards the feet. There was a wispy extension trailing off the back of its feet, creating the overall impression of a nightgown or oversized dress. As it looked up at her, she found most of its face was covered by green hair that resembled a bowl cut, but a pair of pinkish-red eyes was sometimes visible. There were two flat, red horns on top of it's head, sticking out of the green hair. One large one towards the front and a smaller one at the back.
"Hi," a squeaky male voice greeted, "your Serena. The dancer from tele and your pretty. Really pretty."
"Sorry about my little brother," another voice added, female this time. She glanced to the side of the Pokémon to see another one looking up at her but this one had her arms crossed and a stricter gaze in the little eyes that peered through the green hair, "he can... be a handful. Now come on, we need to go bro."
"Aww, come on sis, can't you sense it?" he asked, turning around in her hands, "she's a good person."
"She's that dancer you won't shut up about," she replied, "she could have a heart of darkness and you wouldn't care if you thought she'd teach you to dance and perform like she did in that silly-"
"The showcase wasn't silly!" he cried out, "and I know you can sense it. She doesn't have a heart of darkness."
"No one even through a punch," she declared, "what are ya gonna do if someone tries to pick a fight with you? Dance? Sure, that'll help."
"Hey-"
"And your right, she might not have a heart of darkness," she declared, "but we've had countless 'nice' trainers pass through, just like her. Like mother said, we need to be more careful with who we go with and not just settle. Our entire future relies on this one decision."
Serena felt a sweat form on her forehead as she watched the two siblings go back and forth. It was funny, it was almost like watching May and Max go at it, and while she never had a sibling herself, she knew how Ash and Drake interact. They are almost complete opposites and that would cause rifts between them, especially back before they competed in the indigo league. She couldn't help an awkward air surround her as the two Pokémon continued to fight.
Turning around, she saw Jeannie walking towards her with a quirked eyebrow up, with a look of contempt on her face. She stopped just a short couple of meters away and looked at her as he face relaxed into a wide smile.
"Oh well, one of the Ralts siblings seem to have taken a liking to you," Jeannie smiled, as she approached, "that is quite the surprising development."
"It is?" Serena asked, "how come?"
"Well, they weren't found in the wild like most of the Pokémon here and they didn't have their parents stay here to conceive," she explained, "its unique with them because their mother, a Gardevoir and the trainer for their mother are famous actresses in the Kalos region. Whilst she was shooting a movie, Gardevoir got a little close with one of her co-staring actors. A Gallade, I believe. Thus, these two were brought into the world."
"So why are they here?" she asked, "I mean. If she's from Kalos then surely there's a day-care in that region as well."
"True but from what I understand, neither the trainer or the mother wished for their existence to become common knowledge," the day care owner continued with arms crossed, "they are also accomplished trainers and had spent some considerable time in Hoenn as a result. She even took one of our Marill's under her wing years ago. So, she trusts us to bring them into this world and out of their egg. She's still kept in touch but both of them wished for the Pokémon to pick suitable trainers to grow with. Ralts, as a species, are incredibly perceptive and can sense what's in other's hearts so they are more careful with picking their trainers... and yes, with the entire line, it's always a choice on their part."
"So why are you telling me all this?" she asked.
"Because it seems that little guy has already made his mind up," she smiled, "I think he'd like to go with you, Serena. You're the first human, other than myself, Chris or our daughter Nicolette, that either of these have shown themselves too."
"I-I'm really flattered. Honestly," she sighed, before lifting up the psychic fairy type in her arms, "but I'm sorry Ralts. I don't think I can take you."
"What?!" Ralts' mental voice quivered, a small droplet of water trickled down his cheek, "why?"
"If you don't mind my asking, Serena," Jeannie stepped forward, "what's the issue here."
"It's nothing against you, Ralts," she clarified before turning her attention to the burgundy-haired women, "but I don't think I could pay to take a Pokémon with me. I understand you need the money to run this place but... a good friend of mine, she was a Furret, was taken by a Pokémon hunter who sells those she captures on the black market and paying for Pokémon just... it feels like a betrayal to her even though under the surface, I know it's not the same."
"Is the payment all that's stopping you, Serena?" she asked.
"Yeah. Well, I kinda feel weird about this arrangement anyway but each path I go down, it leads back to money in exchange for Pokémon," she replied.
"Then I don't think you have anything to worry about," Jeannie smiled, "the trainer of Ralts' mother, as I said, is an actress and also holds a high position in the Kalos champion league. She has been covering all their costs whilst we find them suitable trainers. She didn't want anything to be in the way of them finding the perfect partner, even age. She was willing to cover their stay until a child of any age became old enough to take them as a Pokémon, if needed."
"Whoa," she gasped, a little taken back. Her gaze turned downward to the small psychic fairy type in her arms, who looked up with a hopeful glistening within his eyes and bottom lip quivering.
"Please, Serena," his voice echoed in her head, "I really want to learn to dance like you did on the tele. We'll be big stars just like mummy."
"When you put it like that, I don't think I can say no," she smiled, "if that's alright with you, Jeannie."
"Of course," she smiled, "I'll go inside to fill out the paperwork. Although it does make me worry for his sister. She's far more offensive and has been a little overprotective. I don't know how she'll handle him leaving like this. But just to double check, you'll be happy for me to tell their mother's trainer that you're the one taking him?"
"Yeah, I mean if she's a part of the champion league then I don't see an issue with it," she shrugged, "what is her name, anyway?"
"Diantha," Jeannie smiled, "she specialises in fairy types and is the top position of the Kalos elite four. Like Drake is in Hoenn or Lance in Kanto."
"Cool," Serena smiled, "if it's alright with you then. I'll go and introduce him to the rest of my team. Get him to know the guys and gals."
"Of course," she smiled, "like we said, just don't battle the Pokémon on our fields. That doesn't prevent your Pokémon socialising."
Nodding with a smile on her face, she looked down at the small Pokémon. He had his arms stretched around her midriff with a bright smile on his face. He almost reminded her of Togepi with his pure joy and openly shows of affection but without being babied.
Looking around the field, she located a small pond. Setting off towards her, she couldn't help but smile... Although she saw the other Ralts following close by.
Ash smiled as he watched the Nincada scatter away. It was really fun just getting to play with the little guy.
As he shook his head, unable to wipe the wide grin off his face, he took a look around the fields. Something that caught his attention was Serena, who was sat by a lake side with her team of Kabutops, Hitmontop, Cacnea, Dustox, Feebas and Meditite. Along with two knew Pokémon, both of the same species. He quickly took off towards them, and soon one of the Pokémon, which was stood off to the side turned to look at him.
Blinking... he flashed back to that night in Pallet. After the Indigo league where he had a dream warning him about Drake's future. His head flashed with that dream once more-
He's stood on a battlefield with President Goodshow handing him a trophy. His array of Pokémon that he met over Kanto and Johto stood in a crowd before him, cheering in rudy manner. He can also see the small collection of Pokémon he's already met during the Hoenn adventure, like Duskull, Taillow, Treecko and Corphish. Although one Pokémon stood tall over the others in that team.
It was a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon whose white body resembled a flowing gown or dress. As he took in their appearance, he felt a motherly presence from her, not to different from the one his own mother gives off. Her hair, arms, and the underside of her gown was green. Her hair curled over the face and down the side of her head. Her arms were long with three fingers making up each hand and slender long, white, legs. A red, fin-like horn extended out from her chest. A band of green on her chest extended to the centre of the front horn and connected to her sleeve-like arms. Looking deep into her red eyes were short spikes, resembling a sort of mask.
Blinking, he was back at the day care. Looking deep into the small Pokémon's eyes... they were the same ones as that Pokémon from his dream.
"H-hello?" he greeted.
"Hi," a female mental voice appeared in his head as she turned away. Arms crossed.
Surprised by the attitude filled in the response, he shook his head and turned towards his girlfriend, who was sat on the grass with another of those small, white Pokémon in her lap. He went to sit down but stopped himself as he saw Kabutops, stabbing the ground in front of Hitmontop... whose eyes bulged with crossed arms, his nostrils inflating with each breath. Meditite was stood by herself, her back to the others, whilst curled up in a ball.
"Erm," he greeted, "is this a bad time?"
"Huh?" Serena replied, turning towards him, "oh, hi Ash. We've just got a little incident."
"What happened?" he asked, taking a seat next to her. S
he held a Pokéball out and recalled her pure fighting type before glancing down at the device and sighing in defeat. Shaking her head, she clipped it back on to her belt before turning towards him once more. Forcing a smile onto her face.
"Well... this is Ralts," she explained, "long story short, he saw my performance at the Rustboro showcase. And he'll be joining the team. We came over here to introduce ever since Feebas can swim in the pond and... he tried to speak with Meditite."
"I'm guessing Hitmontop didn't take to nicely to that," he guessed.
"Kabutops blocked him from making any sort of move but..." she paused, "it doesn't help that Ralts is part fairy type. Or that he's big on dancing. I don't know what I'm gonna do with him, but I thought Sylveon had this situation sorted."
"I think he only doesn't attack her ever day because he knows she's tougher than he is," Ash guessed, "and remember Togetic. He only stopped trying to attack him because Pikachu zapped him hard enough to make his point. It was a good deterrent but clearly didn't resolve his underlying issues with fairy types."
"I know," she sighed, turning downward, and scratching the top of Ralts head, "but how can I resolve his issue if he won't tell me why he feels this way."
"It's just like I did with Sandslash," he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, "over time, just keep trying to bond and he'll eventually open up. But since we're doing some introductions, why don't I introduce my team to him as well?"
"Sure!" she beamed, "but... do you know where Sylveon and Pikachu went? I haven't seen them since we entered the fields."
"Pikachu said something about..." he paused, and his eyes widened, "testing the facilities."
Both of them shuddered at the thought of what their Pokémon were up to. Before either of them could respond, a bright light flashed off his belt and his pure ghost type materialised in front of them, with a wide grin taking over his face, "giggidy!"
Shaking his head, he reached to his belt and one by one released the rest of his team. Along with Duskull, Treecko appeared with arms crossed and his twig rolling around in his mouth. Donphan stood still with a bright smile on his face as both his trunk and ears waved up and down. Corphish stood with a bright smile, snapping his claws together and Taillow stood still, with a serious expression in her narrowed eyes.
"Hey guys, we just wanted to introduce you to Ralts," he explained, gesturing to the small Pokémon in Serena's lap, "it looks like he'll be coming with us so make him field welcome."
Donphan was the first to approach and held his trunk out. The small psychic fairy type accepted the gesture and shook it, like a makeshift handshake.
"Oh wow, you're a little brother too!" he beamed, "but you get on really well with your sibling! Maybe because he's an older brother and not sister!"
"How... did you know about Togetic?" Ash asked, no-one imparticular.
"You see, Ash, Ralts and their entire line are really intune with others emotions," Serena explained, "I guess that small contact was enough for him to search into Donphan's heart and see what he's truly like."
Ralts teleported off her lap. Reappearing on Corphish's back, "and you can't wait to see Feebas evolve!" He teleported once more and appeared right next to Treecko, holding his hand, "and you are thinking about someone really special... Megan? Meganium? Yeah, Meganium!"
His grass starter had his cheeks burst bright red at the indication as he jolted his hand back. Swinging his tail around, it sent Ralts flying through the air, but he disappeared in a bright light before remerging right in front of Taillow.
"And you-"
He was cut off by two wings which trapped him in a sort of hug. With one covering his mouth, as she peered over his shoulder with narrowed eyes, "-mention one more word, and all you will feel is pain."
"Leave him alone, Taillow," he shook his head as her eyes met his. Glancing into the small psychic fairy type's eyes, he could see pure unadulterated fear.
"Let him go before I make you," the older sister stepped forward, between Ash and his female bird.
Taillow scoffed in response, releasing her grip, and giving the male psi Pokémon a slight push. He stumbled out of the way as she rolled her neck, "I'd like to see you try, Princess."
"No!" he stepped up, stumbling to get between them, "no. No one will be trying anything."
"You're her trainer, right?" the female Ralts asked.
"Yeah, I am," he nodded, "sorry about Taillow. She can be-"
"And what are you to her?" she cut him off, gesturing to Serena, who scooped the male Ralts back up.
"Well... Serena's my girlfriend," he replied, "but what's this got to do with anything?"
"And you can understand me without my use of telepathy?" she quirked an eyebrow up, "how so?"
"Long story," he replied, "one I don't particularly want to get into."
"Is it the same story how you put that image in my head?" she asked, "when we first saw each other. You grimaced and the image of a stadium flashed in front of my eyes. You were there and so were a bunch of Pokémon. Some of which I reconsign here today."
"I..." he paused, wondering how best to describe it, "I had that dream a few years back. Part of me thought it was just a silly dream but now I believe it might some sort of vision... of things to come. The Pokémon that was there, they're friends. Part of my team already."
"Huh," she mused, disappearing in a teleport light.
Before anyone could move, she remerged holding two marble-like stones in her hands. Both had a sort of flame symbol in the middle with one being a combination of pink and light green, same to her hair and horn. While the other used the same colours but much darker shades.
"Our mother left these with us on the last visit," she explained, "she said they'd be able to help achieve a full connection with whoever we choose to be partners with. Do you know what these are?"
"Mega stones," Serena interjected.
"So, you have heard of them," she replied, "now tell me, are you capable of wielding such power?"
"Well... no," Ash replied lamely, "we've seen a couple Pokémon mega evolve and I even faced a mega Ampharos during my last gym battle in Johto."
"Don't forget we saw Ethan's mega Tyranitar at the Radio tower," Serena added.
"Yes," she nodded, "that champions public use of the power has brought it as common knowledge. Not the secret held between those of power, that it previously had been. It was after that display, that our mother gave these two me."
"She never told me that!" the male Ralts crossed his arms.
"Because you're too young to understand their importance!" she sneered back, "and she made me promise to keep both of them and my brother safe."
"What are you saying?" he asked.
"I guess... if that really was a premonition and he's already made his mind up, I don't have much choice here," she sighed, briefly looking down at the marble-stone before turning upwards and locking eyes with Ash, "I wanted to join your team... if you can beat me in battle, that is."
"I erm, I guess," he stuttered, "yeah. I'd love to have you join the team. B-but we can't battle on day care grounds."
"We can do it on the other side of the fence," she shrugged.
"If we hurry, Jeannie could complete your paperwork whilst she's doing mine," Serena opted, "and do it whilst you have your battle."
Nodding in agreement, they quickly recalled their teams before he followed his girlfriend towards the main cabin by the fence. She was carrying her new Ralts in her arms as the one who challenged him walked alongside. It was a little weird, couldn't she have just teleported ahead?
Serena pushed her way into the cabin and held the door for her boyfriend who followed with the other Ralts by his side. Looking around the room, she found the female day care owner stood by a computer behind a desk. She looked up and smiled in their direction.
"Ah, Serena, I was just about to find you," she smiled, "all that's left is for your trainers license to be inserted into the desktop so we can finish registering you as Ralts trainer."
Smiling she stepped forward and pulled out her Pokédex. Loading up her trainer's license on the device she handed it over and the women gladly accepted it, inserting it into the slot below her desktop. It took about half a minute before she placed the device and a Pokéball back on the desk.
"Here you go, Serena, your Pokédex and Ralts Pokéball," she smiled, "he's officially apart of your team."
"Thank you, Jeannie," she smiled, grabbing the Pokédex first. She felt it over the psychic fairy type in her arms and scanned him:
Ralts, The Feeling Pokémon. Ralts senses the emotions of people and Pokémon using the horns on its head. This Pokémon rarely appears before people, but when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition
Type: Psychic / Fairy
Ability: Synchronize
Hidden Ability: Telepathy (Note: This hidden ability is currently unlocked)
Gender: Male
Nature: Hasty (Note: This could change when/if this Pokémon evolves)
Move(s): Growl, Disarming Voice, Double Team, Confusion, Hypnosis, Teleport
Serena's Pokédex switched screens to a list of her current on hand team, although both Sylveon and Ralts were black out images, "please select which Pokémon you wish to send back."
Scanning each option, she didn't need to think too hard about which one to send back. Her finger flicked over the options and tapped her Hitmontop's image, with his Pokéball teleporting off her belt shortly after.
Normally, she would've sent Kabutops back but after how he's been acting. She just feels he needs some time to chill without herself, or Meditite overhead. Not to mention, not having his intimidation will make Ralts feel a lot more welcome to her team. Sighing, she reached to the desk and took the Pokéball, clipping it back onto her belt. She looked down at her newest team member and smiled.
"Well, it's official Ralts," she declared, "your apart of the team."
"Yes!" he cheered, leaping up into the air with a fist in the air.
"Now unless you forgot, we have some other business to deal with," his sister's voice added.
"Oh erm, right," she mareepishly chuckled, turning back to the day care owner, "Jeannie, would you be able to do the same thing for Ralts sister. She seems to want to go with Ash but want's to battle him first. We were gonna do it out front because of the rule of the day care fields."
"Of course," she smiled, "I had a feeling she might. After all, she's so overprotective of her brother, she wouldn't just let him go with a trainer. So, Ash, if you wouldn't mind. Could you leave your Pokédex with me so I can complete the transferring of trainer ship then I'll bring it and Ralts Pokéball back out to you."
"Sure," he smiled, taking his own device out and loading up his trainer's license. Handing it over, Serena leads the way back outside and over the fence onto the dirt road directly in front of the day care. The female Ralts wasted no time in picking a starting position as Ash faced off against her.
"I can be a referee," she offered, standing between them.
"Thanks, but no thanks," Ralts scoffed, "the rules are simple. You can go through as many of your team as you'd like and if they concede defeat, I'll stop hurting them. This is just so I can see what I've got to work with."
"It might be tougher than your expecting, Ralts," Ash smirked, a Pokéball in hand. She quickly scooted off to the side to watch, as her Ralts teleported onto the top of her head, "I choose you, Duskull!"
His pure ghost type appeared in between the two trainers. He floated around as his singular red eye locked on the small psi Pokémon. She didn't need to consider why he was Ash's first option. After all, as a ghost type he has the best type advantage over a psychic type like Ralts.
The requiem Pokémon continued floating around, moving closer towards the sister. Blue balls of fire formed around him, shooting out towards their opponent.
Ralts disappeared in a flash of light, with multiple copies forming around him. A wave of blue psychic type energy surrounds the field. The will-o-wisp balls turned around and started flying in all directions. With all the different colours flying around, she couldn't make out the shadows to find the real Ralts.
"Shadow sneak to get to safety then look for other shadows, Duskull!" Ash's voice called.
His immature Pokémon disappeared in a large black shadow on the ground. Travelling over the ground in a zigzag pattern, it was difficult to follow.
The confusion wave disappeared with the will-o-wisp as the pure ghost type jumped out of the ground. Surrounded in ghost type energy, Ralts leaped back.
Taking a deep breath, she let out a loud, high pitched screech. The sound wave had a light pink tint of fairy type energy.
It blew the pure ghost type back onto the ground. Rolling in the dirt as she landed on her feet, running forward.
Her eyes glew bright red as she got directly in his face. Red beams shot out of her eyes and into the mask-face of the requiem Pokémon, who fell fast asleep.
She stood over the sleeping Pokémon and closed her eyes. Balls of blue energy shot out of the pure ghost type and into Ralts. Her entire body glew white and her body began to change shape as Duskull rolled over, revealing his single eye was replaced with a swirl.
"Return and rest up buddy," he recalled his ghost type. She used her esp to take the device off him, planning on healing up the little guy as the battle continues. All of their attentions focused on the evolving psi Pokémon.
As the glowing faded, stood a taller bipedal, humanoid Pokémon which seemed to be wearing a ballerina skirt. Most of her body was white still, and there were three ruffles of each hip. Beneath the ruffles, she had skinny, long, green legs, with pointed feet. Just adding to her ballerina demeanour. Her arms were also thin with two digits each. She had green hair that covered most of her face and reached her shoulders on either side, resembling two ponytails. Large, red eyes were no-longer covered and visible on both sides of her hair, which covered her face. On each side of her head were flat, red horns, similar to her pre-evolution but Serena couldn't help but see them as sorts of hair pins... maybe it was due to the rest of her appearance resembling a dancer.
"Well..." her mental voice echoed, "things just got interesting... so who's next?"
"How come your sister knows Dream eater?" Serena asked her newest capture, "I thought her move set would be similar to yours."
"That's thanks to our mother. She's been getting training advice on every visit," he explained, "while I was learning more about dancing... there was this large human a few weeks back who wanted to take me because he saw me dancing and she used this combination to wipe out over half his team."
"She sounds tougher than I was expecting," Serena admitted, "I hope Ash will be alright."
"She's actually nicer than what you've seen so far," he replied, "she's putting on a tough-girl act."
"How come?" Serena asked.
"I think it's because of you and Taillow," he shrugged, "don't know why but if she meets another strong female, she tries to prove she's the alpha, for lack of a better word. So, I think she feels threatened by both of you. The only females she hasn't done that with are our mother, Jeannie, and Jeannie's daughter."
"I can understand that. It's a defence mechanism," she replied, "I use to do something similar with this older girl back home. She's called Daisy Oak."
"It sounds weird to me," he shrugged, "but then again, Hitmontop did something similar to me so maybe I'm the weird one."
"Don't worry about Hitmontop and just so you know, it doesn't matter if you're an alpha or not," she replied, "just as long as your happy as you."
She took her backpack off her back and unzipped it as Ralts teleported next to it. He reached in and pulled out a revive smelling salt. Releasing Ash's pure ghost type onto her lap. Taking the medicine from her newest team member, she cracked it open and held it under his nose. It took a couple of seconds before he dazily came back around. Reassuring him, she took a potion bottle from Ralts before spraying it on him and recalling him back to the device to rest.
"Alright Corphish, I choose you!" he shouted, as he tossed the second Pokéball into the air. In a flash of light, his pure water type landed on the ground and snapped his claws in an aggressive manner. His eyes narrowed as he tensed up.
The newly evolved Kirlia spun on the spot. A white ball of energy formed between her hands as she held it out. A multicoloured beam shot out across the field.
Corphish held both his claws out and opened them wide. Each shot out a barrage of bubble beams which struck the oncoming psybeam.
Each attack smashed together and battled against each other. Evening out around the middle of two Pokémon, with both Pokémon ending their moves.
Without missing a beat, he charged forward with his claws spewing with water. Leaping at their opponent, he swung his crab hammer around. Landing right where the emotion Pokémon was stood. She swirled out of the way, as he spun on a heel, leaping towards her once more.
Kirlia held her arms in front of her, with glowing eyes. A weak psychic field caught him and paused him mid-air, cancelling the attack, as she used a hypnosis.
"Knock Off to protect!" he shouted.
The two claws glew black with a purple outline. Breaking free from the confusion hold, he moved them into the path of the double red beams.
Flexing both claws to the side, he fell onto the floor. Thrusting his claws forward, balls of dark type energy flew forward and smashed into their opponent.
He leaped forward as she stumbled from the blows. His claws snapped down on her stubby arms in vice grips.
She spun around, taking him for a ride. They continued until Corphish went flying off, smashing into the dirt as a series of green glowing leaves followed.
They shot out and scrapped against the ruffian Pokémon, who cried out in pain. With the magical leaves flying off away from the field.
"Do you yield?" Kirlia's mental voice echoed.
"Mi wud radda yuh nuh chat to mi," he spat back.
"Erm, what does that mean, Corphish?" Ash asked.
"Get lost," he spat as he stood back up.
Aiming his two claws once more, he launched out two barrage of bubble beams. She spun out of the way, launching her own attack out with a second series of magical leaves. They shot straight towards him, but he quickly moved his claws. Snapping them open and shut, he cut each leaf in half.
Running forward he raised both claws. Coating them in dark type energy, he blocked the second oncoming psybeam. With one last leap, he smashed into her.
Knocking her onto the ground, he began mercilessly beating them down on her. The dark type energy switched to water splashing around.
"Alright, get off her!" Ash called out.
His ruffian Pokémon stopped bashing his claws down, whilst panting heavily. Looking around, he seemed to stare at Ash for a second before crawling off the downed psychic fairy type. Who rolled onto her stomach and struggled to push herself up?
"I'm not through with you yet," Kirlia spat.
"Yes, you are," Ash replied, "if it makes you feel better then I'll forfeit but you're in no condition to continue, Kirlia."
"You don't know my limits," she declared, taking her first step forward.
"I do know that you know the move teleport," he replied, "you could've easily avoided most, if not all of our attacks. But you choose not to."
"My brother likes to teleport, as I'm sure you've seen," she replied, "but I have standards. Teleporting is an easy out and should I wish to get stronger than I can't be taking an easy way out."
He smiled at the little statement as a voice called out. Turning towards the source, she saw Jeannie approaching with both a Pokédex and Pokéball in hand, with a smile on her face. She handed both over to Ash, as Serena joined him. He thanked her before clipping the latter device to her belt and used the former to scan his newest team member:
Kirlia, The emotion Pokémon. The evolved form of Ralts. It is said that a Kirlia that is exposed to the positive emotions of its Trainer grows beautiful. This Pokémon controls psychokinetic powers with its highly developed brain
Type: Psychic / Fairy
Ability: Trace
Hidden Ability: Telepathy (Note: This hidden ability is currently unlocked)
Gender: Female
Nature: Sassy (Note: This could change when/if this Pokémon evolves)
Move(s): Growl, Disarming Voice, Double Team, Confusion, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Teleport, Draining Kiss, Psybeam, Magical Leaf, Lucky Chant
Ash's Pokédex switched screens to a list of his current on hand team, although Pikachu, Corphish and Kirlia were blacked out images, "please select which Pokémon you wish to send back."
He went through the images of, Donphan, Duskull, Taillow and Treecko. She knew he would've normally sent Donphan back as the one whose been on his team for the longest time, but he promised the little guy the chance to battle in Mauville's gym. With that in mind, she watched him move his finger over Duskull's image and tap it. With the device transporting from her very hand in a flashing light.
"I hope you take good care of Kirlia, as well Ash," Jeannie smiled, "and I believe you said you were travelling to Vurdenturf town, correct?"
"Yeah," Serena interjected, "I'm going to compete in a showcase."
"Well if you don't mind going out of your way, there's going to be a comet falling over this path with the coming week," she smiled, "there's a travelling circus who's posted their journey across this route during the millennium comet time as a sort of celebration. I think that young boy you're travelling with, as well as the rest of you will have a fun time if you take the detour."
"Well... I'd say it's up to you, Serena," Ash smiled, "after all, it would be your showcase we'd risk missing."
"Honestly... that sounds like a fine idea," she smiled, "this millennium comet is a one-time thing for us to see and honestly... I think I'd have to call over a bunch of the others from the lab to do a routine Jigglypuff choreographed. Feebas has been working hard but it's just got me and her in it and performers need at least two Pokémon for the freestyle performance. Plus, it might be close to the contest day for when we get there, so May can compete."
"So, your happy to skip it for this circus?" he double checked.
"Yes, Ash, I am," she confirmed, "and now with Ralts, we can work on another performance together. Maybe even involve Meditite with it."
She caught sight of her newest capture, as his cheeks burst into bright red flames. He held onto her lower leg and tried to hide behind her, like a young child might with their mother. She couldn't help but chuckle at his shyness, it was very adorable.
Duskull popped out of his Pokéball and looked around at the large, metal room.
So, this was the lab that he's been told about. As he floated towards one of the walls, the sound of music hit his ears. Intrigued, he flew into the wall and phased through into what seemed to be some sort of bathroom. Steam filled the room as the shadow of a large turtle behind the curtain drew his attention
'It's that dude, Blue, happy to pull through'
'Path to be number one, Won't catch me on route two'
'The gang got a loose screw, I ain't talking 'bout the magnet'
'Attractin' the fans get loud when I'm battlin!'
The voice of said turtle was unmistakeably male. Widening his single eye in shock, he began coughing as he floated backwards into the original metal room, where he spun around. Shooting as far away from the rapping as he could, he tried to rub the image out of his red eye.
Not watching where he was going the fresh scent of air filled his nostrils with a cool breeze. Looking around, he found himself high above the ground and on the outside of the building he just left. Looking below, he saw two Pokémon. One with a large plant on it's back and the other small and white, flying around.
He made a b-line straight down. Stopping just in front of them.
"Hello?" the large one questioned, "and you are?"
"Do you have any bleach?" he asked.
"What do you need bleach for, silly?" the smaller one asked, "did you make a mess? If so, we can help clean it up, but bleach is dangerous and could make you go blind."
"We told you that so he wouldn't try to clean up his mess after he practised ancient power in the lab," the large one sighed, "but yes, what would you like bleach for?"
"Well... my trainer just sent me here and I heard music," he explained, "I went to investigate and found a large, rapping turtle in the shower... so going blind seems like a good compromise right now."
"That's Blastoise, he's got the same trainer as me and Togetic here. We're also kinda like the welcome squad who helps keep everyone in order," the large one continued, "so who are you and which trainer do you have?"
"Well, I'm Duskull," he greeted, "and am I ghost type. But you probably already know that."
"You do seem really ghostly," the small one, who he guessed was Togetic replied, "so does that mean your like aunt Gengar?"
"I hope not," the large one muttered, mostly under his breath, "but it's nice to meet you, Duskull. I'm Venusaur. And unless I'm mistaken, Donphan and Granbull mentioned Duskull being one the first Pokémon Ash caught in Hoenn."
"Yes, Ash," he nodded, "he's, my trainer."
"Yippee!" Togetic squealed, "that means your apart of daddies team too!"
"Daddy?" he blinked, "I... I didn't take Ash for the bestiality type... or is Serena your mummy? In which case I have a lot more questions."
"Serena's not mummy... she's my step-mummy," Togetic replied, a bright smile on his face, "but what does bestiality mean?"
"Your too young to know that word," Venusaur shook his head, "anyway Duskull. We try not to focus on such things here. So, would you like a tour or make your way around yourself? This entire ranch is a part of the lab and we've got different areas for the different activities."
"I'd like to find my own way, if that's okay," he replied. Receiving a nod from the large plant Pokémon, he took off over the grassy field. Despite feeling the sun, it wasn't nearly as warm as he was used to.
He came to a stop as something caught his attention. A group of Pokémon, some of which he recognized from being shown them by Ash and Serena when they were talking about their teams. The first was, he believed, Delphox, who was dancing around a ring of fire with a stick in hand. It appeared to be a sort of sparkler to add to the appeal. While some sort of vine monster and tall yellow electric type were nearby in some sort of battle.
A flaming wheel road around nearby but as he watched, he realised it was also some sort of fire-based performance. The group of female Pokémon were all sweaty from their respective workouts.
He felt his cheeks heat up watching them, with his eye bursting out. Steam blew out of his ears and nose, as his throat dried up.
"Wait up, Duskull!" a squeaky voice called out. He turned around to find Togetic flying towards him. The flying Pokémon stopped with a pair of sunglasses in his stubby arm, "here are your own pair of Squirtle squad shades!"
"What's a Squirtle squad?" he asked, accepting the object, inspecting them as he flicked them open. He placed them over his face but due to his singular large eye, rather than the traditional pair, it just felt awkward.
"The Squirtle squad is a brotherhood of friends who defend what we all hold dear!" Togetic declared, striking a pose, "I'm not sure what it means but Blastoise makes it sound fun, and these glasses are fun too! So, we give all new visitors to the lab a pair... but Venusaur doesn't know that yet."
"How come?" Duskull asked.
"Well... Mr Blastoise said it's because his mind is too small," he replied, scratching his chin, "and would disapprove of the expansion."
"So, it's a secret club that's disapproved off?" he asked, "sounds like a cult, if you ask me... so does this Squirtle squad have sexy times?"
"Cult?" Togetic asked, "sexy times? What does this mean?"
"I'll take it as a know," he replied, "and... I guess your daddy will tell you when you're older... and Serena will tell him when he's older... or show him."
"Okie-dokie!" he brightly replied, "and if you like watching those performances then you need to find Jigglypuff."
"Jigglypuff?" he questioned.
"She's apart of Serena's team, just like all of those over there," the fairy flying type beamed, "and she does a lot of the choreographing for these performances. I think she's working on the water performance with Dewgong and Kingdra right now... to add in the part with Serena and her new water type."
Following the small Pokémon, they soon came to the stop of the hill. He looked over towards a small pond, just north of the much larger lake where two water-based Pokémon were performing with the sun sparkling against their scales. A small, round, pink Pokémon with a clip board was nearby, calling out to them.
"I know being a ghost makes this seem literal but," he paused, turning to face Togetic head on, "I think I've died and gone to the hall of origins!"
Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...