"Good morning, assistants! Rise and shine!" came the voice of Dr. Wright.
Slowly, the assistants dragged themselves out of their beds and plodded into the lounge. The day before had been a marathon of matches, riddled with an assortment of bizarre rules and an oddly high frequency of items. The Assist Trophy in particular was one of the more common items, and for reasons no one could quite explain, when it appeared in a match, the fighters seemed drawn to it like kittens to a fresh ball of yarn. Needless to say, the assistants were positively drained.
"Ahh, jeez," grunted Knuckles, scratching at his cheek. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really hope I don't get summoned today. Last night had me exhausted!"
"Speak for yourself," replied Guile, combing his flattop hair. "Getting summoned provides both a hands-on experience of a battle and excellent exercise."
"Exercise?" countered Knuckles. "All you do is sit in one spot and use that backflip kick thing!"
"It's called a Flash Kick, and it's still good exercise!" retorted Guile. His eyebrows were furrowed, but he was clearly in good humor. "You, of all people, could do with a little more muscle."
"Hey, come on, now!" grinned Knuckles. "You're a human and I'm an echidna. This is just how we're built!"
"Knuckles!" called Dr. Wright. "I have an important job for you."
"Huh? An important job, huh?" The echidna loped up to the tall-haired man. "Whatcha need?"
"You and…" Dr. Wright tapped his clipboard. "…two others will be assisting the caretakers in the Pokémon Day Care."
On cue, Tiki appeared in a flash of light and smoke, making Knuckles jump and clear the air in front of his face, coughing as he did so. Dr. Wright, on the other hand, was less impressed, not even flinching or looking up from his clipboard. "Yes, thank you for the theatrics, Tiki."
Knuckles, still a bit thrown from said theatrics, waved awkwardly at her. "Yo," he muttered.
"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you?" asked Tiki.
"Pfft. Me? Startled? Well, thank you for the concern, but I don't get startled easily," said Knuckles, puffing out his chest. "Now, let's get going and feed some Pokémon!"
"Just a minute," said Dr. Wright before Knuckles could even take a step. "I said you would be assisted by two other people. The second has yet to arrive."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense." said Tiki. "Who is it?"
"Oh, I think you'll know who it is very soon," said Dr. Wright cryptically.
"…It's not that Goroh guy, is it?" asked Knuckles tentatively. "'Cause honestly, that guy just feels like a total sleazebag. Then again, I'd rather have him around than that Dr. Wily guy, 'cause he's cut from the same cloth as Eggman if you ask me—"
"Waaah!"
"Oh, of course."
Waluigi, scowl as unpleasant as ever, stomped nearer. He grimaced down at the echidna. "You're my assistant, eh? Wehh. They always stick me with-a the losers. Welp!" He snapped his fingers and marched forward. "Let's get-a moving, lackeys!" He turned and strode out of the room, head held haughtily high.
Tiki gave Dr. Wright an unamused frown. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
Dr. Wright simply shrugged, but Tiki noticed an odd glimmer in his eye as he adjusted his glasses. "Call it an unhappy accident. If nothing else, I trust you and Knuckles to put up with him for this. Well, have fun!"
"Pfft. 'Have fun', he says," grumbled Knuckles. "Alright, let's get this over with." He and Tiki followed the lanky man out the door and down the hallway.
Once they were out of earshot, Dr. Wright sighed to himself. "Finally. He's out of my hair for at least a few hours."
And so, Dr. Wright sat in a nearby chair, looking forward to enjoying a Waluigi-free morning.
The party of Waluigi, Tiki, and Knuckles as they trekked towards the Day Care resembled a parade, with Waluigi as the grand marshal, and the echidna bringing up the rear. If there was an audience present, they would have been inclined to think that it was a pretty tacky parade.
As they walked, a small, yellow mouse-like creature popped out from behind a corner and walked towards them. Tiki immediately recognized it as the Pokémon Pichu. "Hello, Pichu!" she said, waving at it.
Pichu paused, its ears twitching. When it made eye contact with the manakete, it smiled and offered a friendly wave of its own.
The moment Waluigi was close enough, he stuck out one of his long legs to kick the Pokémon, sending it flying with a pitiful squeal that sounded much like a deflating balloon.
Knuckles was appalled. "Dude, what the heck?!"
"Waaah!" squawked Waluigi. "They invited that dumb mouse over Waluigi! Cheater…"
An irate Knuckles moved in to slug him, but Tiki stopped him. "Not now," she whispered. "You and I both know that both Master Hand and Dr. Wright would have your head if you started anything this early."
Defeated, Knuckles could only cross his arms and huff. "Another classic Waluigi dirtbag moment. What a surprise," he grumbled.
"Bold words from the animal that eats worms," shot Waluigi over his shoulder.
Tiki rolled her eyes as Knuckles flared his nostrils. "I take it you two are familiar with each other," said Tiki.
"Unfortunately," confirmed Knuckles. "I met him at the Olympics, with Mario and the rest of his friends. He is quite possibly the most annoying person I have ever met. Sometimes I feel like going up to Mario and asking, 'How are you able to put up with him for so long?'"
"How indeed," murmured Tiki. "At any rate, we're here."
The entrance to the Day Care was simple but distinct, with an image of Pikachu balancing on a Poké Ball above the glass doors. A young woman with pink hair was standing at the entrance, laptop by her side. "Good morning!" she greeted. "Welcome to the Pokémon Day Care!"
"Good morning!" replied Tiki in turn. "We're here to tend to the Pokémon today!"
The pink-haired woman smiled. "Okay! Before you go in, take these!" She crouched down behind her desk and reemerged with three futuristic-looking devices, which she handed to the three. Seeing the confusion on their faces, she explained, "This is a Pokédex. It will allow you to analyze each Pokémon to see what kind of care it might need." She poked at her keyboard for a few moments, and a small chime rang out. The glass doors slid open. "There you go! Have a great time!"
The Day Care was a large field that stretched out far into the distance, surrounded by a fence. It was very, very wide and very, very green. There was a mid-sized lake further in and to the side, its waters still and unmoving. Pokémon ran and frolicked on the ground and flew above their heads. One such creature, a small brown mammal, hopped up to the trio and chirped as if to say hello.
Tiki's calm and graceful demeanor immediately melted away at the sight of the creature. She picked it up and began to stroke its soft fur. "Ohhh, look at it!" she squealed. "It's so precious!"
Knuckles swiped through his Pokédex. Apparently, this Pokémon was called an Eevee, and its genetic makeup allowed it access to many evolutions. The echidna cracked a grin as he watched Tiki play with it. It was, in fact, quite precious.
"Yeah, Eevee's a pretty popular one, even back home," came an unfamiliar voice.
The trio turned to face the speaker. Standing in front of them were two humans, a man and a woman, that looked to be in their early twenties. They were dressed very similarly, both wearing identical red aprons and bandanas on their heads. The woman waved at them. "Hi. You must be today's assistants, right?"
"Oh, yes." said Tiki, waving at them. The Eevee leapt out of her arms and trotted towards the woman. "My name is Tiki, and these are Knuckles and Waluigi."
"Okay!" The woman seemed more put off with Waluigi's countenance than the manakete and echidna. She extended her hand, which Tiki took. "My name is Lydia. I'm a Pokémon breeder from Hoenn. Nice to meet you!"
"And nice to meet you, as well," responded Tiki. Behind them, the man introduced himself as Myles, also from Hoenn.
Once introductions had ended, Lydia stood up a little straighter. "Okay," she began, "your job is pretty easy, actually. We've already given the Pokémon their breakfast, so you guys get to help with the fun part!" She produced a set of three aprons, identical to the one she and Myles wore. "You guys get to help with check-ins!"
"Check-ins?" repeated Waluigi. "What, are we doctors now?"
"No, no, it's not like that," said Myles. "Basically, you just walk up to them to check in on them. Y'know, ask them how they're doing and stuff. Pokémon need socialization outside of a battle context, too!"
"So we're just playing with them?" asked Knuckles.
"Pretty much, yeah!" nodded Lydia. "Here, lemme show you. Follow me." She and the others walked over to another pen where another Pokémon was dozing. This one had a pale yellow coat, and large tufts of orange fur in its ears. When the group came closer, it hopped up and darted towards them, ears twitching.
"Hel-looo!" cooed Lydia, beckoning the Pokémon to come closer. It did so, yipping excitedly, rubbing its head against her chin.
"Oh, I think I recognize this one!" said Tiki. "This one is Fennekin, right?"
Lydia nodded in confirmation. "It's a starter Pokémon from the Kalos region," she explained, scratching the Fennekin behind its ears. "It can vent hot air from its ears." She lifted the creature to her face. "Gosh, you make me wanna move to Kalos, you're so cute! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"
The Fennekin purred and pawed at her face. Out of the corner of his eye, Knuckles could see Tiki practically melting at the sight.
Lydia stood up, taking out a Pokédex of her own to scan the Pokémon. "It doesn't look like Fennekin is in need of anything right now, so I think we can leave it alone for now." She put her Pokédex away. "Come on and we'll show you the others!"
After placing Fennekin back in its pen, Lydia and Myles guided the trio around the Day Care, introducing them to the other Pokémon as they toured. Some of the creatures were friendlier than others; while the bird Pokémon Fletchling flew over and landed on Tiki's head with a greeting chirp, Abra was much less outgoing, teleporting away the moment the group approached in spite of their best efforts.
"Oh, way to go, Waluigi," said Knuckles. "You scared it off."
"Me?!" snapped Waluigi. "I was as quiet as a mouse! If anything, it was you stomping around that scared it away!"
"Hey, you know, this is normal," said Lydia. "Abra are just shy by nature. They're psychic types; they can read minds and teleport away from danger."
"Ohh, I see now," said Tiki. "It read Waluigi's mind and decided it didn't want anything to do with him."
Waluigi rounded on the manakete. But to Waluigi's dismay, Lydia and Myles nodded in agreement. "Most likely, it read someone's mind and deemed them a threat," suggested Lydia, glancing sideways at the lanky man.
"Waahh?! Are you saying I'm a threat?" asked Waluigi.
"Well, not to me," replied Tiki.
"Maybe to Abra," chimed in Knuckles.
"I mean, you are pretty… off-putting," said Myles in a gentle tone.
"Not to mention annoying, from what I've heard," added Lydia.
"And abrasive," put in Tiki.
"Not to mention stuck-up," chimed Knuckles.
"And rude—"
"A little pompous, too—"
"Incredibly callous—"
"Alright, I get it!" squawked Waluigi. "Pearls before swine…"
For the next fifteen minutes, the rest of the Day Care excursion went off without a hitch. However, as they were tending to a green Pokémon with red flowers on its head, a beeping sound rang from Lydia's pocket. She took out a futuristic-looking device, pushed a button on it, and began to speak into it.
"Hello? …Yeah, I'm at the Day Care. Whaddya need? …Oh, no! The poor thing! …Yeah, we'll be right over! …Okay, bye." She closed the device and rushed over to Myles to relay the new information. From where Knuckles was standing, he could clearly see Myles frown.
"Okay, guys, we got bad news," said Lydia, "You know little Pichu, the fighter? Apparently, it got injured when it just… fell out of nowhere and landed in a crate of explosives! We have to go and make sure it's okay!"
Both Tiki and Knuckles looked horrified, but their alarm quickly turned into cold anger as they put two and two together. "I can only wonder how that happened…" grumbled the manakete.
"Yeah, from what Lydia said, the little guy's in real bad shape," said Myles, not picking up on the mood. He plucked out a Poké Ball from his apron and threw it. When it opened, a bizarre, sauropod-like creature with leaves on its back burst forth with a roar. Both caretakers hopped on the creature's back. "You three can deal with the rest of the Pokémon, right?" said Lydia.
"Yes, of course," replied Tiki. "I'm certain we can take care of them in your stead." Behind her, Knuckles nodded in concurrence.
Lydia hesitated. "…I know you guys are capable, but I still gotta warn you. Some of the Pokémon here are pretty temperamental. They're wild creatures. Please," she said, pointedly glancing at Waluigi, "just don't be stupid." And with that final warning, the flying sauropod took off, creating a gust of wind that nearly knocked some of the smaller Pokémon over.
Once Lydia and Myles were out of sight, Knuckles immediately rounded on Waluigi. "Are you proud of yourself?" he snarled.
Waluigi simply crossed his arms. "That little so-and-so had it coming. Thinks it can outshine Waluigi, eh? Waaah…"
Knuckles gave Tiki a look that was an equal blend of angry, exasperated and pleading. "Can I punch him? Like, just once?"
Tiki looked just as furious as the echidna, but kept her voice firm, yet calm. "No," she said simply.
"Why not?!" insisted Knuckles. "Just one little hit! He's asking for it!"
"Not right now."
"One teeny, tiny little punch, right in his jaw, where he needs it. Hard enough to shut him up, but soft enough so he doesn't get hurt too much—"
Tiki sighed. "As much as I'd like to kick his teeth in," she whispered, "now isn't the time. Especially not in front of the Pokémon."
Knuckles paused, then responded with an angry kick at the ground, scattering dirt and pebbles. "Fine. Whatever." He turned to face the lanky man. "Okay, here's the plan. Waluigi, you go and deal with those Pokémon over there, while Tiki and I take on this side. Sound fair?"
"Fine," sneered Waluigi. "I don't need you two getting in my way, anyhow." He stomped off, Pokédex in hand. Knuckles did the same, turning and walking in the opposite direction.
Finally, some peace, thought the echidna. The less nuisances I have to put up with, the better.
As if reading his mind, Tiki spoke up. "Do you really think it's a good idea, leaving Waluigi alone with the Pokémon?" she asked.
"They're not helpless, Tiki," replied Knuckles with a wave of his hand. "The Pokémon are more than capable of defending themselves. I mean, they've got ones like, uh, alien-looking starfish and fire lions and ghost chandeliers. Who knows, back in their world, they've probably got, like, big fleas that know karate! They'll be fine."
Tiki pursed her lips. "Let me rephrase that. I didn't mean he'd try to hurt them. I meant that he might be viciously attacked by superpowered wild animals."
Knuckles stopped in his tracks. "Oh." He thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh, he'll probably be fine. He's taken worse hits, and if anything too crazy happens, I can probably get there fast enough. And speaking of superpowered wild animals!" He walked up to a pen and carefully stepped over the fence. "Alright, little guys, who's first?"
A brown Pokémon with a spiky green shell on its back stepped forward. Knuckles took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the creature.
Chespin, the Spiny Nut Pokémon. This Grass-type Pokémon's shell can protect it from powerful attacks. The quills on its head are usually soft, but can be stiffened for attack as well.
It stared up at him with inquisitive eyes. Knuckles couldn't help but smile at just how cute it was. He knelt down to stroke its head, and it leaned into the touch, chirruping softly as it rubbed its head into the echidna's palm.
Knuckles nearly squealed in delight, but quickly caught himself before any sound came out. Heaven forbid Waluigi or Tiki should hear that, or worse, if Sonic should have stopped by! He had a reputation to uphold, and that hedgehog would never let him hear the end of it! Why, he'd probably—
Splash!
"Ackpth!"
Knuckles' thoughts were interrupted by a sudden blast of water at the back of his head, completely soaking him. He yelped and spluttered in surprise, nearly toppling over and smacking into the grass. Chespin squeaked and ran away.
"Bwuh—who—?!" He whirled around to see Tiki, looking like she was trying her hardest not to laugh. In her arms was a small otter holding a seashell. Based on the look the otter was giving him, it was clear to Knuckles who the culprit was.
"Sorry, Knuckles," said Tiki, still stifling a giggle. "I tried to stop it. But just look at it!" she squealed, letting the otter flop out of her arms and toddle up to the echidna. "Look at how cute it is!"
Knuckles had to admit, the otter was pretty cute, staring at him with those eyes. It was very difficult for him to stay annoyed with it for too long. "Alright," he said with a sigh. "I guess I can—"
His words were quickly interrupted by something, or someone tugging at his tail. It was Chespin, slightly soggy and gazing up at the echidna with pleading eyes. It had clearly been enjoying Knuckles' attention before the otter had sprayed it.
"Aw, look! I think it likes you!" giggled Tiki.
Knuckles sighed good-naturedly as he picked up Chespin. It chattered with delight as it climbed up onto his shoulder. "Which one is that?" he asked.
"This little guy is called Oshawott," replied Tiki, scratching the Pokémon behind its ears. "It's from the Unova region. The seashell it carries is called a scalchop, which it uses to break open berries. Look at how precious it is!" She cuddled it much like a child would cuddle a teddy bear. Oshawott made no protest towards the gesture.
Knuckles gave a small laugh. "Yeah, these guys are just like the Chao back home," he agreed.
Tiki blinked. "Chao…? What is a 'Chao'?"
"Huh? Oh!" Knuckles' eyes widened in realization. Of course she wouldn't know what a Chao was! "A Chao! They're like these, uh…" He snapped his fingers, trying to find the right words. "Little blue… sprite things from my world. They're kinda like the Pokémon here, except not… really. There were these places, they called 'em Chao Gardens, where you could raise them. You gotta take care of 'em so that they can evolve. When that happens, they go into these cocoons, and they evolve into either dark, hero or neutral Chao. Umm… I feel like Tails or Amy would be better at explaining it."
"No, no, that's fine! I think I get it now!" said Tiki encouragingly. She got up. "From what I can tell, these two only needed proper social interaction. I think we can move on now."
As the two assistants stepped out of the pen, a familiar nasal voice sounded in the distance. Tiki and Knuckles paused, exchanged a glance, and sighed as they rushed towards the source, knowing full well what was probably going on.
"Waaah! Come on, you stupid bug!"
Waluigi tapped his foot as he loomed over the Pokémon. A small insect with a cloak of white fur stared impassively back up at him.
Tiki and Knuckles arrived at the scene. A quick scan with the former's Pokédex told them that Waluigi was taking care of Spewpa, a bug type Pokémon. "Having trouble, are you?" asked the manakete.
"Waaah! I don't need your help!" replied the lanky man. "All it is is just taking care of them, right? That's what I'm doing!" He reached down to pet Spewpa, but it shuffled away.
"Have you tried being a bit… gentler?" asked Tiki without any sarcasm.
"Wehhh…" Waluigi crouched down to Spewpa so as to be at eye level. "Nice bug thing…" he muttered.
Poof!
A cloud of thick, pale yellow powder erupted from the Pokémon, enveloping Waluigi's face. He coughed and hacked as he fell over backward, while Knuckles and Tiki stepped back to stay out of the blast range.
"Whoa!" cried Knuckles. Beside him, Tiki cleared the air in front of her. "What was that?!"
"That was—ahem!—that was a Stun Spore attack," clarified Tiki. "Spewpa will use that when they feel threatened." She gave the lanky man a pointed look.
Waluigi slowly got up. "Oh, sure, blame Waluigi because this… thing tried to attack me for no reason!" He glared at Spewpa, which continued to stare blankly at him.
Tiki rolled her eyes. "Obviously, you have a lot to learn about dealing with Pokémon." Behind her, Knuckles nodded. "Looks like we'll have to stick by you so you get it right," she continued.
Knuckles stopped nodding. "What?"
Waluigi scowled and folded his arms. "Oh, great. Now I've gotta babysit Little Miss Anime and some red mutt."
"Excuse me? Red mutt?!" growled Knuckles. He moved in closer, fists raised, but Tiki stopped him.
"No one is babysitting anyone," clarified Tiki. "This is a team effort. Am I clear? Knuckles? Waluigi?" She glanced between the two.
"Hmph! Since when do you play mediator?" retorted Waluigi.
"I wouldn't have to play mediator if some people were willing to cooperate for once," Tiki shot back. "Now, are we going to do this as a team or what?" She stepped back so that she, Knuckles, and Waluigi were arranged in a circle surrounding Spewpa, and put her hand in the middle.
After a few seconds, Knuckles did the same, placing his gloved hand over Tiki's. "I'm willing to play ball if you are," he said.
Only Waluigi remained. He stood there for a long time, scowling and crossing his arms. "C'mon, Wally, just suck it up already," said Knuckles. Spewpa stared vacantly up at the lanky man.
At last, Waluigi relented. "Fine," he muttered, putting his hand in the middle.
"Good," said Tiki, withdrawing her hand. "Now, which Pokémon are we going for next?"
"Um…" Knuckles swiped through his Pokédex. "What about this one? 'Gogoat'? Let's look for that one."
The trio set out, tending to the other Pokémon they encountered along the way. They briefly spoke with a Pokémon called Dedenne, who warmed up to Tiki almost immediately. They observed Meowth, who simply lazed about in the sun. They approached Snorlax, who paid them no mind, as it was fast asleep.
At last, they found Gogoat, calmly grazing by itself in the middle of the field. It eyed the trio as they slowly approached it, but otherwise paid them no mind.
Tiki took out her Pokédex. "Apparently, this 'Gogoat' is a popular mount in its home world, and it can sense its rider's emotions through its horns." She tentatively stuck out her hand in offering. Gogoat trotted up to it and sniffed. After a moment, it allowed her to pet it, gently pressing its nose into her palm. The manakete giggled as she moved to pet its bushy, leafy mane. "You're a tranquil fellow, aren't you?"
Off to the side, Knuckles and Waluigi quietly observed the scene. The echidna side-eyed the lanky man, still wary that he might try something. Likewise, Waluigi grimaced down at Knuckles as though he were some kind of horrid bug.
Knuckles cleared his throat. "So," he began.
Waluigi's eyes narrowed. "So, what?" he replied.
"So…" Knuckles scratched his cheek. "Tiki said you can… you can ride Gogoat, where it's from."
"Wow. Nothing gets by you, does it?" Waluigi's lip curled.
"I'm just saying!" retorted Knuckles. His voice was clipped and tense. "With the way its horns're shaped, I figure it'd be kinda like riding a motorcycle."
An odd sort of smile played on Waluigi's features. "What would you know about riding a motorbike?"
"Hey, hey, I've ridden one once!" said Knuckles, going on the defensive. "I… I had to borrow Shadow's."
"Pffhaa!" guffawed the lanky man. "Of course you did!" He wiped a tear from his eye as Knuckles fumed. "Waah. It's probably for the best. A squirt like you, you couldn't handle a real bike."
"Excuse me?!" Now Knuckles was riled up! How dare he trash talk him like that?! He was saying he couldn't handle a motorbike? Yeah, 'cause Waluigi was such an accomplished biker! ...Okay, technically, he was, but still, how dare he?! Knuckles stared at the Gogoat, which was still being stroked by Tiki. Couldn't handle a real bike, eh? Well, he'd show him!
"Hey, Tiki, can I handle it for a second?" asked Knuckles.
Tiki looked up. "Oh, do you want to pet it, too?"
"Something like that."
Knuckles marched up to the Gogoat, who backed away a bit while regarding him closely. He extended his hand to its face as Tiki had earlier. It took a few steps forward and snuffled at his glove for a long time before it allowed the echidna to stroke its head and mane.
In one fluid motion, Knuckles stopped petting it and climbed up on the Gogoat's back. He gripped its horns as if they were handlebars. "Alright, let's go!" he declared.
No sooner did his hands grip its horns than it bucked him off, sending him flying a surprising distance into the lake. The resulting splash shot a tall pillar of water into the air, sending some of the smaller Pokémon fleeing.
"Knuckles!" cried Tiki. "Are you all right?" Behind her, Waluigi burst into hearty chortling at the echidna's misfortune.
Out popped Knuckles, sputtering and coughing up water as he dragged himself to the lake's shore. As he lay on the ground taking fresh air into his lungs, a fish Pokémon poked its head out of the water to see what all the commotion was about.
"What're you lookin' at?" wheezed Knuckles.
The fish simply shot him a wry look before diving back underwater. Knuckles stood up and shook himself dry, convulsing as he forced some extra droplets of water from his lungs.
Tiki came running up, with Waluigi moseying along behind. "Knuckles, are you okay?" asked the manakete, worry written all over her face.
"I'm—ge-haaa!" He coughed again, but no water came out. "I'm fine. I've been through worse."
"Waaa-hahahaha!" cackled Waluigi, slapping his knee. "You shoulda seen how far you went!"
"Not funny, Waluigi," scolded Tiki. "He could've gotten hurt!"
"I'm fine," maintained Knuckles. "Why'd it even throw me off, anyhow?"
Tiki paused. "Well, the Pokédex did say it can sense emotions through its horns… Did you touch its horns, Knuckles?"
"Yeah, it's sorta like riding a—" Knuckles stopped talking as his eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"
Tiki took a deep breath. "…Knuckles, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but… you can be a little—"
"What she's saying," interrupted Waluigi, using Knuckles' head as an armrest, "is that you're too much of a hothead to ride it. It probably read your mind and decided that you were a threat."
"Oh, really?" growled Knuckles. "Now I'm the threat?"
"Yes, that's what I just said, knucklehead," said Waluigi dryly. "But luckily for you, Waluigi is here to teach you the fine art of animal care." He puffed out his chest and twirled his mustache to accentuate his point.
Both Tiki and Knuckles looked quite unimpressed. "Is that so?" asked Tiki.
"But of course!" declared Waluigi. "They don't call me the ace animal tamer for nothing!"
"No one calls you that."
Waluigi paid them no mind as he sauntered over to the gogoat. "Watch and learn, losers!" he declared.
The moment Waluigi moved to grip its horns, Gogoat charged the man, headbutting him and sending him sprawling onto the ground. It then huffed and trotted away.
Tiki burst into bright, hearty laughter, while Knuckles was bent double in mirth. Waluigi quickly stood up and dusted himself off in an effort to save face. "And that is what happens when you're not careful around such a dangerous creature!" he declared.
Neither Tiki nor Knuckles seemed convinced. "At any rate," said Tiki, "we really should be getting a move on."
After saying goodbye to the gogoat, the trio moved on to the next pen. The sun was a little higher in the sky now, and the Pokémon were becoming more active. Even Snorlax had rolled over in its dozing to face away from the rays of sunshine beaming down on it.
Once they reached the pen, an assortment of Pokémon raced up to the fence and pawed at the wooden rails. The assistants could see two foxes that looked almost identical save for their coloration, a bizarre-looking creature with a massive metal cross on its head, a blue squid with lights on its mantle, a lavender blob, a black and pink bear that stood on two legs, a strange entity that looked a lot like Pikachu, and a shadowy, otherworldly creature with white fog billowing from its head.
"Arf arf!"
...And a huge metal ball with razor-sharp teeth was also present, its chain trailing behind it as it barreled towards the fence at high speed.
"Holy—!"
Waluigi dove out of the way, with the Pokémon at the fence following suit. Tiki and Knuckles, however, vaulted over the fence and stood directly in its path. "Oh no, you don't!" bellowed Tiki as something began to glow in her hands.
There was a brilliant flash of light and a gust of wind as the Chain Chomp stopped in its tracks, mere inches from the fence. Slowly, it backed away and bowed its head.
Knuckles, who was fully prepared to punch the Chain Chomp if the situation called for it, let go of a breath he was holding. He turned to the manakete. "Nice job, Tiki, but how did you manage to stoooouhhhh—?!"
Knuckles's eyes grew wide and his jaw went slack as he processed exactly what he was looking at. Where the humanoid Tiki had once stood was now a massive dragon with glowing red eyes, covered in snow-white scales that caught the sunlight and reflected it outward, making her glow. It growled softly at the Pokémon, who all backed away slowly.
There was a brilliant flash of light, and Tiki in her more familiar form touched down lightly on the grass. Knuckles and Waluigi stood there, mouths agape.
"…Oh! I'm sorry! Did I startle you?" asked Tiki for the second time that day.
Knuckles' mouth opened, closed, and opened again, like a Goldeen gasping for air. "Wh—what was that?!" he managed at last.
"What do you mean, 'what was that'?" said Waluigi, getting up and dusting himself off. "She turned into a dragon. In case you haven't noticed, that's a thing she does. If anything, we should be asking what that Chain Chomp is doing here!"
The Chain Chomp, hearing its name, charged at Waluigi, but at a slower pace than earlier. The lanky man squawked in alarm, fell backwards, and put up his arms in a defensive position. But just before it made impact, it stopped a finger's length in front of him, just as it had when Tiki had stopped it.
Tentatively, gingerly, Waluigi opened his eyes. The Chain Chomp stared back, eyeing him in the way only it could. Then, without a sound, it leaned forward and gently plucked Waluigi's tennis racket out of his pocket, seizing it in its teeth. It promptly turned around and sped off, loudly barking—or was it laughing?—as it did so.
"W-waaah?!" The theft quickly snapped him out of his shock. "Hey! Give that back!" He scrambled to his feet and gave chase, hollering and crowing all the way.
As Waluigi tried in vain to retrieve his tennis racket, Tiki and Knuckles got to work tending to the other Pokémon. The two foxes walked up first, the one with reddish-brown fur moving towards Knuckles, while the white one chose Tiki as its caretaker.
Tiki gently scratched behind the fox's ears with one hand and scanned it with her Pokédex with the other. "This Pokémon is called a Vulpix, and it comes in two forms. Knuckles, yours is the Kantonian form, while this little cutie is the Alolan form!"
Knuckles nodded as he scratched his Vulpix. "So is it like, the way you treat makes it look different, or is it a regional thing?"
"Regional thing," affirmed Tiki, watching the Alolan Vulpix scurry off to play with the other Pokémon. "It's not just the color, either; the Kantonian Vulpix is fire type, while the Alolan Vulpix is ice type."
"Oh, really?" asked Knuckles, scooting over to read from Tiki's Pokédex.
Tiki nodded. "If you look closely, you can also see that the Kantonian Vulpix's head is a bit smaller than their Alolan relatives." With two fingers, Tiki zoomed in on the Pokédex's screen to compare both models. "By contrast, the Alolan Vulpix—apparently older people call it Keokeo—has a larger head and eyes."
Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Huh! Never woulda noticed that." A thought suddenly came to him. "Hold up. This Alola place, it's a tropical island chain, right? So if it's in a tropical area, why is it ice type?"
"Hmmm…" Tiki scrolled down on her Pokédex. "Apparently, it adapted its biology to live on snowy mountains."
"Oh, yeah?" The echidna was fully intrigued now. "What else does that Pokédex say?"
As Knuckles and Tiki perused the database, Waluigi had finally managed to retrieve his tennis racket from the jaws of the Chain Chomp. It was a brave struggle, and the metallic beast had put up a good fight, but Waluigi managed to fool it by throwing a stick for it to chase. Now, with his mustache frayed and his clothes in tatters, he could finally get around to taking care of the Pokémon! …Provided they didn't maul him, of course.
He strode up to the first Pokémon he saw, an odd-looking creature that bore a close resemblance to Pikachu. Perfect, he thought to himself. One of Pikachu's weird cousins should be easy to handle.
Waluigi crouched down to meet its eyes. As he did, he noticed quite a few things about his new charge. What he thought was fur was actually some kind of fabric. And the alleged Pikachu's eyes were drawn on the cloth with crayons! And it's tail wasn't a tail at all! It was just an oddly shaped stick!
"Waah? What's going on here?" Waluigi took out his Pokédex to scan this mystery creature.
Mimikyu, the Disguise Pokémon. Mimikyu is a lonely Pokémon that wears a ragged cloth to protect itself from the sun. It models its disguise after Pikachu because of the popularity of Pikachu-themed merchandise, thinking that the disguise will make it popular as well. Its true form remains unknown.
Waluigi stared down at Mimikyu, which stared blankly back up at him. "So, you want to be popular, too, eh?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Mimikyu gave no response.
Waluigi sat down next to the Pokémon. "Yeah, I know what that's like," he mumbled, pulling his purple hat down over his eyes. "That Pikachu upstages everyone. It even upstages Waluigi. Lousy cheater…" The two sat in silence, watching the other Pokémon prance around the field.
"Weeh. Look at us," continued Waluigi, twirling his mustache. "Always sitting in the shadows of some other loser. Sometimes, I look at those Mario brothers, and that second-rate racer guy, and even Daisy, and I think to myself, 'That oughta be me up there, running around in the spotlight. All I've gotta do is wait.'" He crossed his arms and huffed. "I've been waiting for a good while now.
"But let me tell you," he continued. "All this waiting around hasn't done a thing! Time and time again I've been put on the backburner, because I'm 'not important' or 'too unoriginal'! How can they say that when they invite more and more of those sword-wielding nobodies every time?" He pulled his hat over his eyes again. "There is no justice in this world…"
Mimikyu said nothing. Instead, a long black limb stretched out from underneath the rag and patted Waluigi's knee in a consoling gesture.
The lanky man glanced down at Mimikyu, his gaze uncharacteristically sympathetic. "People like us—the secondary, ignored characters—gotta stick together, you know."
Back near the rest of the Pokémon, Knuckles and Tiki had finished looking through the Pokédex. Tiki seemed interested in one particular creature. "That Pokémon, the shadowy thing… what is that?"
Knuckles swiped through his Pokédex. "It says here it's called Darkrai." Both of them read the entry.
Darkrai, the Pitch-Black Pokémon. It is active during nights of the new moon. It chases intruders from its territory by lulling them to sleep and afflicting them with unending nightmares.
Knuckles shuddered. "Guhhh… Imagine being stuck in a nightmare forever. Just being trapped with your biggest fear…" He shook his head. "I can't imagine what that's like."
Tiki's face had suddenly gone very pale. "Y-yes, I suppose."
The change in demeanor did not go unnoticed. "Um… you okay?" asked the echidna.
"I'm…" Tiki paused and took a breath to gather her thoughts. "Have I ever told you about my childhood, Knuckles?"
Knuckles shook his head. Behind them, more Pokémon scurried around in the tall grass.
Tiki took another breath. "As you probably heard at orientation, I am a manakete belonging to the divine dragons. Many millennia ago, dragonkind faced extinction. Our only hope was to seal our true forms into these dragonstones—" She held up her own to show Knuckles— "and take on the forms of humans. Those of us that didn't… they lost their minds and deteriorated into madness. Degeneration, they called it."
"That's how you turned into that dragon earlier," Knuckles realized out loud.
Tiki nodded. "…Much of my youth was spent asleep," explained the manakete. "Before my mother died, she placed me into a deep sleep, fearing that should my power go unchecked, I would go mad and eventually degenerate." Knuckles opened his mouth as if to say something, but decided against it.
"During that time, I was cared for by two others of my kind: Gotoh and Ban-Ba—ah, Bantu. I would only ever awaken either to eat, or…" Tiki hesitated. "Or if I had a nightmare."
"Nightmares, huh…" Knuckles' gaze fell to the ground. "…What kind of nightmares?"
Tiki turned to look at the echidna, her face still and unreadable. "Hmmm?"
"O-Oh!" said Knuckles, slapping his forehead. "I-I'm sorry, that was… that was really invasive."
Tiki smiled. "Oh, not at all!" she reassured. Her face turned somber yet again as she stared at the grass. "Most of my nightmares had the same scenario. I would deteriorate and lose my sense of self. Then I would attack human villages and…"
The remainder of Tiki's description was left unsaid, but it hung in the air like a cold, cold fog. Tiki pointed at Darkrai, which was calmly observing them from a distance. "That Pokémon, Darkrai… it reminds me all too much of my youth spent in slumber. So forgive me if I'm a little unnerved." There was a long silence as they watched the Pokémon frolic amongst themselves.
"Hey, you know, that's fine," said Knuckles, eager to change the subject. "Let's… let's look at some of the other Pokémon. Like, uh… ooh! What about this one?"
Tiki scrolled through her Pokédex. "Oh, that one is called Genesect. It's an insect Pokémon that existed three hundred million years ago." Her brow furrowed. "Who is… Team Plasma?"
Knuckles tilted his head in confusion. "Team Plasma?" he repeated. "Lemme take a look." He and the manakete read the rest of the entry.
Genesect, the Paleozoic Pokémon. Over 300 million years ago, it was feared as the strongest of hunters. It has been modified by Team Plasma, who attached the cannon to its back.
Knuckles frowned as he read the last sentence. "Modified, eh? I dunno who this 'Team Plasma' is, but they're givin' me a bad vibe. This kinda stuff is right up Eggman's alley."
Tiki rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "I take it you're not terribly fond of this 'Eggman' fellow, then?"
The echidna sighed deeply. "Oh, you don't know the half of it, Tiki. He's always trying to take over the world with his army of robots and create his 'Eggman Empire'."
"A cruel tyrant who seeks to conquer the world…" murmured Tiki, gazing into the distance. "I've been there before. Twice, actually."
Knuckles crossed his arms. "Yeah, but Eggman keeps coming back. He's always building some new death machine or trying to take control of an ancient monster… But luckily, I'm always around to save the day," he declared, thumping his chest. "And, I guess, Sonic helps too, when he can," he added.
Tiki giggled softly. "I imagine you're quite the hero in your world, then?"
Knuckles grinned. "You bet I am! I'm not the guardian of the Master Emerald for nothing! Me 'n' Tails 'n' Sonic, as long as we're around, Eggman doesn't stand a chance!"
Knuckles' gaze wandered around the field. In front of him, both Vulpixes were play-wrestling, with the Kantonian form pressing the advantage. To the left, Waluigi seemed to be conversing with Mimikyu, with the black and pink bear silently watching them from behind a tree. And to the right, the metallic creature was simply watching the scene with the squid.
"You must be a capable leader, then."
Knuckles blinked. "What?"
"I said, you must be a capable leader, then," repeated Tiki.
The echidna blinked again. He stared down at the ground. A sudden weight made itself known in his chest. "Yeah," he mumbled. "I guess."
As much as Knuckles tried to hide it, Tiki quickly caught on to the change in his tone. "…Are you alright, Knuckles?" she asked softly.
Knuckles had turned away. From what little Tiki could see of his face, he looked much older and… paler? No, haunted was a better word for it. She knew that look all too well. "Knuckles…" she said delicately. "Have you ever… been in war before?"
For a moment, Knuckles didn't respond. It was hard to read his face. At last, he sighed a deep, fatigued sigh as though he'd just left a harrowing battle. "Did I ever tell you about the time Eggman won?"
Tiki gripped the rock she sat on. "N-no."
Knuckles nodded gravely. "Eggman… beat Sonic once. In only six months, he took over almost all of the world. Ninety-nine percent, I think."
"Oh, gods," breathed Tiki. "How did you manage it?"
He took a deep breath. "It wasn't easy…"
And so, Knuckles told Tiki everything about the war that followed. He told her of Sonic's assumed death, of the assembly of the Resistance, of one particular soldier who was vital to the reclaiming of the planet, and of the discovery that not only was Sonic still alive, there was also another Sonic who had arrived from another dimension to help them. He turned to face the manakete now, with the grief-stricken, weary look of a leader who'd barely gotten out of an ambush alive. "A couple days later, I thought of a strategy that would give us an advantage…"
"Listen up!" declared the echidna to the room. "We just got word that Eggman's forces are undermanned at his headquarters in Metropolis!"
The chameleon stepped forward. "They're probably staging somewhere else as part of Eggman's plan." he guessed. "This could be our only chance to take the city."
Knuckles grinned. "Exactly! That's why we're focusing on a full frontal assault on Metropolis!" He took out a large sheet of paper and unrolled it on the table at the center of the room. It contained a map of the city, with markings and notes detailing when and where to strike. "I'm calling it, 'Operation Big Wave'!"
"Who cares what it's called?" asked a white hedgehog from the corner. "What's important is to have a well thought out strategy."
"I thought up this strategy in about a minute and a half," said Knuckles proudly. "We're going in hard and fast, and we're not gonna stop until Eggman's army is destroyed."
There were some murmurs among the group. Move in quickly with reckless abandon? A minute and a half? It definitely seemed like a risky venture.
"Sonic is busy fighting Shadow, but the rest of us can do this!" continued the echidna. "We've got the strength and the spirit to win. There's no finer group that I'd want to fight with."
"Ha! Great speech! " laughed a large green crocodile, shooting him a thumbs-up. "Let's give Eggman an old-fashioned beatdown!"
"They have more in sheer numbers," said a fox with two tails, "so the idea of a quick, focused attack isn't bad. We also have Sonic—I mean, the other Sonic—so I have no doubt we can do this! Also, if we can destroy the Phantom Ruby, we should be able to send the other Sonic home! …At least, I hope so." He awkwardly scratched behind his head. "This is all new territory for me."
Knuckles pounded his fists together. "Okay, let's head straight for Eggman's HQ! Time to save the world, people!"
A cheer went up among the Resistance. They picked up their weapons and hoisted them high. It was time to take back the planet!
"…So then what happened?" asked Tiki. "What happened after you took Metropolis?"
Knuckles' expression darkened. "Well, we arrived at the site, and just like I said, it was undermanned…"
"Alright! Time for Operation Big Wave!" said Knuckles as he watched the rookie take out a couple of robots on the monitor. "We'll surge forward and sweep the enemy away!"
He turned to face the pink hedgehog on his right. "How's Eagle Squad holding up?" he asked.
"Eagle Squad is doing fine," replied the hedgehog. "They've got Aero-Chasers and Buzz Bombers inbound, but other than that, nothing too serious."
"Perfect!" grinned Knuckles. "Just as planned. All we need to do now is keep up the pressure until they fold!" He pushed a button to his right. "Fox Squad, report! How's it looking!"
"This is Fox Squad," came a voice from the other end, slightly muffled by static. "We've got… way more Egg Pawns than we thought, but they shouldn't be too much trouble."
"Good," responded Knuckles. "Don't let up! Show no mercy!" He turned back to watch the rookie launch off a ramp and soar through the air. Okay, great, everything was going well so far! They were one step closer to taking back the—
"Commander! We've got trouble!"
Knuckles whirled around to face the speaker, a young bee wearing a pilot's helmet. His bright eyes were wide with fear, and he was pointing frantically at the screen. "Th-there was a guy, wearing a weird mask, and—Look!" He pointed at the monitor.
The rookie was still flying through the air, but a newcomer had joined them. A mysterious being wearing a silver mask had appeared right besides them, making them flinch.
Knuckles stared at the monitor, eyes wide. "What's going—is that—"
"Infinite!" barked an all-too-familiar voice, so loud and harsh even from their headquarters. "Activate the Phantom Ruby! Make them wish they'd never been born!"
The landscape, and reality as they knew it, suddenly warped and shifted before their very eyes. The entire world seemed to invert its colors as the rookie slowly flipped upside-down and began to somehow fall upward. Amidst the chaos, the stranger had abruptly disappeared.
Without thinking, Knuckles grabbed the closest radio and pushed a button on it. "Stay calm!" he ordered, trying to keep his voice steady. "What you're seeing isn't real!"
"It's no use!" yelped a soldier. Knuckles could hear cannon blasts and screaming in the background. "Our troops are scattering in the confusion!" There was a sudden, shrill scream from the radio, and then cold static.
Knuckles felt his stomach drop. He barely even caught what Silver was saying behind him, instead choosing to stare fixedly on the main monitor. In spite of what had just happened, the rookie was making their way through the city, shooting at robots as best they could. He noted, to his alarm, that the cityscape was now filled with bizarre, monstrous figures, tall and snakelike, all bearing the same mask that the stranger was wearing.
Without warning, that mysterious figure appeared once again to invert the gravity, sending the rookie flying into a building.
"No!"
Mercifully, the rookie was able to use their weapon to swing back and land on the building's side on their feet. Despite everything, they rushed ahead.
"This is Eagle Squad!" came a voice on Knuckles' left. "We're caught in enemy crossfire!"
"Snake Squad requesting reinforcements!" came another voice to Knuckles' right.
"This is Fox Squad!" said a third. "We can't hold out much more!"
"Eighty percent of our forces have been wiped out!" cried Amy. "And we've lost contact with the rest!"
"One flip of the Phantom Ruby switch and everything falls apart on us!" groaned Vector.
Knuckles barely registered the crocodile's words as he stared at the monitor. Eighty percent. Eighty percent of their forces, people he'd readily call his friends gone, wiped out by Eggman's newest lackey. "The rookie… is our only hope now," he stammered into the radio.
He and the rest of the Resistance watched numbly as the rookie blazed through the rest of the city, almost flinching as one of the giant figures rose a hand and swatted away a chunk of road that the soldier was running on. Amy's words continued to bounce around in his head. Eighty percent gone, the remaining unaccounted for, all because of his stupid, stupid strategy—
Knuckles pounded on the control panel, making everyone in the room jump. "We can't go on like this," he growled through gritted teeth.
Espio swallowed hard. "As much as it pains me to say it," he acknowledged, "the best we can do now is to live to fight another day."
The echidna's shoulders slumped as Charmy gave the order to retreat. "We haven't lost yet," said Silver. "Let's fall back and regroup." The live feed of the scene faded from the monitor.
Knuckles sat back in his chair, exhausted by the past… He checked the clock. Thirty minutes? Only a half hour for that new guy to cut through their forces like nothing. There was a heavy silence as the rest of the Resistance stood watching in stunned realization.
"It… it was a good plan, Knuckles," said Amy reassuringly.
"It almost worked!" added Tails. "Well, up until that guy showed up…"
Knuckles gave no response. He simply sat there, staring blankly at the screen.
"Did… did Eggman win again?" asked Charmy innocently.
"Charmy, please," chided Espio, shooting the bee a warning glare.
"Lemme handle this," whispered Vector. He walked up to where Knuckles sat and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, listen. It's not the end of the road yet. That rookie made it through, didn't they? They're probably one step closer to stopping Eggman as we speak!"
"Indeed," agreed Espio. "As long as we've still got one toehold, we're not down for the count just yet."
Knuckles was silent for a minute. Ultimately, he stood up and massaged his temples. "Call any and all survivors that you can find," he ordered. "We need to think of a new plan."
Tiki could only stare at the echidna, her face a mixture of horror and sympathy. "Oh, gods, Knuckles, that… that's horrible. I'm so sorry."
But Knuckles simply waved off her sympathies. "Hey, it's fine. I… I thought up that plan in a minute and a half. Gosh, I'm such an idiot. What was I expecting to happen? I probably—"
Tiki stopped him before he could say any more. "Knuckles, you listen to me right this minute! I will not sit idly by and watch you belittle yourself so!" She took a deep breath. "I've seen my fair share of war, too, you know. I've seen even the cleverest of tacticians fall. Did this… Infinite, you called him? Had he ever done something like that before?"
The echidna thought for a moment. "…Actually, now that I think about it, I'd never even seen him before."
"Did he ever do something similar after that?"
Knuckles shook his head. "…No."
"There it is, then!" declared Tiki. "It was most likely a one-time trick!" Her voice softened. "Listen to me, Knuckles. You had no way of knowing that Infinite would be able to do that. It's like what Mar-Ma—er, Marth would tell his men: you can't blame yourself for something out of your control. What happened that day was not your fault."
"…Maybe," grouched Knuckles. "But I still gotta take responsibility for it."
Tiki contemplated his words for a bit. "That's true," she admitted. "Let me ask you this, then. If someone said that about Sonic, how would you feel?"
"I'd feel… really mad," said Knuckles. "I'd probably tell 'em off or something."
"Okay," said Tiki, nodding her head. "Now if someone—oh, let's say Waluigi—said that about Tails, how would you feel then?"
Knuckles pounded his fists together. "I'd slug 'em, that's what I'd do!"
"So why is it okay when you say it about yourself?"
Knuckles' shoulders slumped. "I—oh."
Tiki was staring directly into the echidna's eyes now. "You have quite a lot of accomplishments under your belt for someone so young. You said you've beaten Eggman many times before, right? Even then, his conquest didn't last too long." She turned to stare up at the clouds floating lazily above. "I will be frank. Even Marth made his fair share of mistakes. But he never chose to dwell on them. He remembered them, yes, but he kept them in mind to motivate him. So keep up the good fight, Knuckles. You're the guardian of the Master Emerald. I know you're more than capable."
Knuckles was silent for a long time. He simply sat there, staring up at the sky and looking very much like he was holding back from saying or doing something. At last he turned and faced Tiki with a small smile. "Thanks, Tiki," he mumbled.
"My pleasure," replied the manakete. The two sat in silence for some time.
After some time, however, Knuckles frowned. "I… well, what now?"
Tiki turned to him. "Hmm?"
"It's just… Man, this is awkward." Knuckles rubbed the back of his head. "You helped me feel better about my experience, but when you told me about your nightmares, all I could do was just change the subject, I guess. It… it doesn't seem fair to you."
Tiki giggled softly. "It's quite alright! You listened to my plight. It's nice to have someone to open up to."
Knuckles nodded. "…Yeah. Yeah, it is," he said quietly.
On the other side of the field, Waluigi had finished regaling Mimikyu with tales of thrilling tennis tournaments from a somewhat-obscure era.
"And pow!" declared Waluigi, clapping his hands together. "I sent-a that tennis ball right past that loser Skipper's racket and into the bleachers! Oh, the crowd went wild! The last of the Varsity Class defeated!" The lanky man sighed as he idly twirled his mustache. "Wehhh… I wonder what happened to that Royal Tennis Academy, eh? Last I heard of 'em, they were facing plenty of budget cuts…"
Mimikyu said nothing, for it knew nothing of the Royal Tennis Academy, or of tennis in general.
A thought suddenly came to Waluigi. "Say, wait a minute… you're a Pokémon, right?"
Mimikyu tilted its head. Or rather, it tilted the Pikachu head of its costume.
"And Pokémon have trainers…"
Mimikyu continued to stare at Waluigi.
"Maybe… maybe I could be your trainer!" Waluigi reasoned. "It'd be perfect! Two underappreciated, unrecognized talents… it's the perfect underdog story! We'd take on the world! Whaddya say?" He held out his hand for Mimikyu to take.
Mimikyu did not respond.
"Wait a minute," muttered Waluigi, abruptly withdrawing his hand. "First, I'd need to catch you in one of those Poké Balls… but where can I find one…?"
Mimikyu began to shuffle away.
"Ah, no matter! If Waluigi can't find a Poké Ball, Waluigi will just steal one instead! Waa ha ha ha! So, anyways, we—h-hey! Where're ya going?!"
Mimikyu did not listen, instead hurrying away a little faster.
"Waaah?! Well, fine! I don't need you, anyway! I'll find a different Pokémon to be my partner! There's loads of 'em here! One of them has to be desperate enough to take me! Then you'll really regret it! I'll—"
A tall shadow fell over Waluigi, interrupting his tirade. "Waah? Hey! Who's in my light?" He whirled around to face the offender. "Listen, bub, do you know who you're… who you're talking to…"
Standing in front of Waluigi was the black and pink Pokémon, staring down at him with big expressionless eyes. Its white ears twitched faintly as it sized up the lanky man. In its paws, it held a thick branch, leaves still clinging onto it.
"…Um." Waluigi darted his eyes at the nearby tree, which was conspicuously missing a bough. He scanned the Pokémon with his Pokédex.
Bewear, the Strong Arm Pokémon. Bewear possesses immense physical strength, and it is often called the most dangerous Pokémon in the Alola region. It shows affection by hugging its companions, but many trainers have left this world after their spines were shattered by a Bewear's hug.
Waluigi swallowed. His knees began to knock together. "Ahh… nice bear?" he whimpered.
Bewear set the tree branch on the ground like a fencepost. With a single swing of its massive paws, it shattered the branch, sending wood chips and leaves flying.
"Uh-oh."
Bewear looked at Waluigi dead-on, and he could've sworn its eyes glinted maliciously.
"Waaaaaaaaaaah!" Quick as a whip, Waluigi turned around and fled for his life, with Bewear in hot pursuit. Waluigi's lanky legs allowed him to cover plenty of distance, but the Bewear was speedy in its own right, taking wild swings at him that just barely clipped the nape of his neck. Other Pokémon were quick to leap out of the way of the chase to avoid being trampled.
Tiki and Knuckles, who had heard Waluigi screaming, came running up to see what was happening. Both of them stopped short when they saw what exactly had Waluigi worried.
"Waaah! Help me! Anyone!" cried Waluigi, narrowly avoiding a small Pokémon that was still wearing its eggshell.
"Wh—ohhh, jeez," said Knuckles, skidding to a stop. "What the heck is that?!"
Tiki had just finished checking her Pokédex. "Okay, don't get too close to it! It's strong enough to break someone's spine with its hugs!"
"Its hugs?!" repeated an incredulous Knuckles. "What's that gotta do with anything?"
"Oh, I don't know, it's what the Pokédex says!" replied Tiki.
"Hey!" called Waluigi. "Less arguing, more rescuing me!"
Just then, a blue squid peeked out from behind a boulder, observing the scene. When Waluigi passed by, it promptly turned upside-down and hit the ground, the force of it causing Waluigi to trip and fall flat on his face. Tiki gasped, while Knuckles took off towards Bewear.
Luckily, Waluigi was able to clamber back to his feet and run away, just as Bewear was about to catch up. However, in his haste, something fell out of his pocket and clattered to the ground.
Waluigi gasped. "My tennis racket!"
Bewear stopped where Waluigi had fallen and bent down to pick up the racket. It examined the item, turning it over in its paws and holding it up to the light. Tiki and Knuckles, who had caught up to the scene, came to a stop behind the Pokémon, making sure to stay out of swinging distance.
"Give that back!" demanded Waluigi, regaining his bearings a bit. "It's mine!"
Bewear gave the racket a practice swing, demonstrating an excellent forehand. Then, without breaking eye contact, it swiftly crushed the tennis racket between its paws. A few small splinters fell unceremoniously to the ground, the sole remnant of the piece of equipment.
Waluigi was devastated. "Noooooo!" he wailed, sinking to the ground in anguish. "My precious racket!" He glared up at Bewear, who stared blankly back down at him. "You…" he growled. "You destroyed my most precious belonging…" Slowly, Waluigi rose back to his full height. His eyes welled with tears of rage. "You… you… Waaaaaaah!" With a furious squawk, Waluigi charged the Pokémon, filled with a new fervor in spite of the size difference.
He was swiftly reminded of the size difference when the Bewear seized him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up off the ground.
Tiki inhaled sharply, wincing as the bewear tightened its grip. "Bewear! Drop him!" she ordered.
The Bewear did not budge. Waluigi flailed around in its grip.
"Let him go!" shouted Knuckles. "Don't make us make you!"
Still, the Bewear did not make any movements.
"Bewear…" said Tiki in a dangerous tone. Her hand drifted towards her dragonstone.
At last, Bewear relented. It finally relaxed its grip on the lanky man, who fell to the ground and scrambled away. The bear quickly lost interest in the scene, walking away and swinging its arms carelessly.
Knuckles walked up to the still prone Waluigi and offered a hand. "You alright, man?" he asked.
Waluigi, who had regained his composure, clambered to his feet and crossed his arms. "Bah! I didn't need your help," he grumbled. "I could've handled that thing on my own."
"No, you couldn't," deadpanned Tiki.
Waluigi merely stuck his tongue out at the manakete. "But more importantly…" He gently picked up the shards of his tennis racket, as though they were the remains of a brother. "Waaah…" he whispered mournfully.
"Oh, right," muttered Knuckles, awkwardly scuffing at the ground. "Uh… sorry about your tennis racket, man."
"Indeed," agreed Tiki, who was unsure what to make of the display. "I suppose it, ah… served you well."
"No kidding," whimpered the purple-clad man, his eyes shining. "I've probably won five or six tennis tournaments with this racket. Oh, my poor, sweet, Charlotte…"
"Yeah, I—I'm sorry, Charlotte?" asked Knuckles.
"The name I gave her," explained a tearful Waluigi. "Of all the sports equipment I own, she was nearest and dearest to my heart…"
Tiki stared blankly at Waluigi. "Oh." There was a long, terribly awkward silence, punctuated by Waluigi's sniffles and soft, grief-stricken "waah"s.
"Well, y'know," said Knuckles, mercifully breaking the silence, "I think we are just about done here, don'tcha think?"
"Oh, yes, definitely," agreed Tiki. Waluigi could only glumly nod as he cradled Charlotte's remains like a baby. Together, the three of them marched out of the Day Care, resembling a strange funeral procession with Waluigi as the pallbearer. If there was an audience present, they would have been inclined to think that it was a pretty tacky funeral.
The sun was higher in the sky now, shining through the windows and filling the hallways with light. They stopped in front of one of the windows, watching some of the younger Smashers who had gone outside to play. Tiki noted that Pichu was among them, laughing and capering across the fields.
"Look at them," murmured Waluigi. There was none of his trademark sourness in his voice as he spoke, a subdued despair taking its place. "It's a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining and children are playing. A perfect day. And yet…" He sighed deeply as he cradled what was left of Charlotte, taking out a rose with his other hand. "This world is so harsh and unforgiving. Waah…"
Knuckles and Tiki stared at him. "Uh… right," said Knuckles, his brow furrowed. "Weirdo…"
"Waluigi, do you know what karma is?" asked Tiki.
"Of course I—" Waluigi paused, then glared at Tiki from beneath his hat. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that had you not kicked Pichu earlier this morning, Charlotte would still be with us," replied Tiki, her face hard.
Waluigi's face contorted. "Have you no respect for the dead?" he spluttered.
"Dude. It's a tennis racket," countered Knuckles. "You can just get another one."
Waluigi's eyes darted back and forth between Tiki and Knuckles. He held what was once Charlotte closer to him, ignoring the fragments that embedded themselves into his face. "Neither of you are invited to the funeral," he hissed. And with those final words, he stomped off, whispering sorrowful, comforting words to the pieces of Charlotte that he carried. Tiki and Knuckles were left alone
"Sheesh. What a weirdo," muttered Knuckles as he watched him go. He turned back to Tiki. "What a morning, huh?"
Tiki nodded drowsily. "As exciting as this was, it certainly took a lot out of me. I should…" She yawned. "I really should be catching up on sleep."
Knuckles nodded. "At any rate," he said, checking his wrist for a watch that he quickly remembered he didn't have, "I need to take off anyways. You know how Guile is about being on time for training." He waved goodbye as he began to speed off. "Catch you later!" he called.
Tiki waved farewell to the echidna. She stared pensively out the window, from which she could still see some of the Pokémon in the Day Care. Sure enough, Darkrai was still there, watching the other Pokémon and not moving from its spot.
No matter how much she gazed at the Pokémon, Tiki still couldn't shake the feeling that she was in great danger.
Her and everyone else.
Author's Notes: RIP Charlotte. She will live on in our hearts and our tennis rackets.
Hey, it's been a while since we've heard from Mother Brain. Wonder what she's up to...