"Ouh! What the...?"
Gou woke up to something hitting his stomach hard. He jumped up to sit and thought for a moment that the tent had fallen on him. Bt then he noticed that Scorbunny was sleeping right next to him, apparently kicking him in the sleep with his foot.
Scorbunny mumbled something in his sleep and kicked his foot again. This time, however, the kick hit Gou's leg instead of his stomach, and he stifled swear words that were just escaping his mouth. Groaning, before Scorbunny had time to kick him somewhere else, he quickly moved his Pokemon a little further, and then slumped back to the horizontal way.
He stared at the roof of the tent in its dim silence, feeling a disgusting pain in his leg and stomach. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep again, but the sleep no longer came to his annoyance. Sighing, he got up to sit back and felt someone move beside him. And it wasn't Scorbunny.
He turned his head and saw Chloe turn her side so that her face was now facing him. Only seeing the girl made Gou remember that they were now sharing the tent, had already shared at least three nights, and he wondered how the hell he had forgotten it. She's your crush, after all! he facepalmed and he wanted to let Scorbunny kick him in the forehead once more. Idiot!
Thinking about this, his gaze wandered along with the tent, but somehow it seemed to stray in Chloe's direction all the time. He tried to stop himself from staring at the girl like some stalker, but eventually, he gave up and let his gaze stop at the girl. And he couldn't help but think that Chloe looked really cute as she slept soundly next to him, her Yamper next to her.
First, he noticed that Chloe's hair was open and spread to her sides in a beautiful, maroon waterfall. It was a little strange to see her like that, because usually Chloe kept her hair on a long braid. Gou thought the sight only made Chloe look even cuter and without considering any more, he moved one maroon lock out of Chloe's face behind her ear.
His touch caused Chloe to move in her sleep, but not wake up. Instead, a small smile rose on her face and Gou wondered what kind of dream she was seeing. And did my touch cause it, he thought and the thought made him blush a little. Or maybe quite a lot.
Gou suddenly felt like it was terribly hot in the tent, and he needed fresh air. He quickly crawled out of his sleeping bag and crawled into the tent door. When he got there, he opened the zipper of the tent and crawled out into the refreshing, or even relieving, the coolness of the morning.
After getting out of the tent, he stood up and immediately wrapped his arms around him. The morning was nothing warm, he even saw that his breathing froze a little in the air. He also felt the mist swirl on the ground at his feet and it made his feet freeze.
For a moment he wondered if he should go back to the tent right away and try to fall asleep again. The sun had not yet risen properly either. But then he felt his cheeks still glow, and somehow the thought of being alone with Chloe caused to him thoughts he didn't want to think right now. So, going inside was not an option.
He didn't want to just stand still in it, so he quickly stepped over to their portable camping table and sat down by it. The bench was cold and damp, but he didn't care about it right now. Instead, he turned his gaze straight ahead and allowed his thoughts to focus only on the landscape that opened up in front of him.
They no longer walked in the woods. Their camp was now located in front of a large, green plain and behind them was the dim border of Glimwood Tangle. They had set up their camp in it the night before, and honestly, they were all happy to leave it behind the forest. Its dim and dense corners got goosebumps run down their spines, and the idea of Team Rocket hiding behind some tree didn't attract them very much.
So, they had quickly packed up their camp after saying goodbye to Serena's Ponyta, and set out quickly to wander away from the woods. Even Lucario had stayed with them this time and had not set out to wander his own paths, but had quarreled with Greninja again about something small. It had gotten on the group's nerves and eventually Ash had decided that if Greninja and Lucario wanted to travel outside their Pokeballs, they would keep a two-meter safety distance to each other.
The rest of the day had then passed a little more calmly, and eventually they had arrived at the place they were now. They had set up camp, eaten something, and done all the usual things, before finally saying good night to each other and gone to bed.
Gou's thoughts wandered from the previous day to the plain in front of him, and he wondered how far it could go. Unlike the meadow of the Ponytas, this plain was not bordered by any forest, but was merely a field full of hay and full of hills. He watched the hay sway in slightly light wind, causing a wavy motion and thought, that it was an excellent hiding place for small Pokemon.
However, his thoughts suddenly stopped as he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Curious, he turned his gaze in that direction and saw someone coming out of the forest behind. He realized that that comer was Lucario, who had once again sneaked alone somewhere. Wondering where Ash's Pokemon had really been, he watched silently as Lucario crept back into camp and finally slipped into Ash and Serena's tent.
Gou stayed to watch the tent door closed for a moment until he sighed, and stretched his arms. He wondered what he would do right now and wondered if he should still try to go to sleep.
"Early bird, huh?" suddenly a voice was heard from behind him and he was startled violently. He quickly turned his head and saw Chloe standing behind him barefoot wearing her pink pajamas. She rubbed her eyes looking tired, and looked like she had just woken up.
She was not the only one who had also woken up. Gou also noticed that Scorbunny also stepped out of their tent, rubbing his eyes with his paw. However, he remembered very well the bunny's kick, which reminded him of his existence as an annoying pain in his leg, and therefore merely glanced at this sourly.
"No, someone woke me up in the middle of my dreams," he grunted, but Scorbunny didn't seem to notice anything. He just scratched his nose with his paw, and stared a little distracted in front of him. Actually, an entire herd of Tauros could have rushed in front of him, and he wouldn't have noticed anything. And then suddenly he turned and went back inside of the tent.
"Oh, okay," Chloe said, and Gou looked at her again. He watched as Chloe stepped up to him at their portable camping table, and sat down next to him. He could smell a faint floral scent on his nose, and concluded it came from Chloe's hair. They were still open and swaying lightly in the wind, spreading around them a floral scent that Gou found to like quite a bit. Somehow it didn't surprise him at all.
"What wake you up, by the way?" he asked Chloe to turn his thoughts away from the scent of the girl's hair, and this one turned to look at him. "You," she said, tilting his head and her mouth turned to a small smile. "I felt someone move next to me and woke up when you left to outside"
"Oh. I'm sorry," Gou said, his cheeks flushed with a little embarrassment, but Chloe just looked at him, eyes twinkling happily.
"It doesn't matter, I would have woken up pretty soon anyway," she said with a smile, leaning against the edge of the table. Gou, on the other hand, was relieved that Chloe was not angry with him after he woke her up and relaxed a little. He, too, leaned against the edge of the table, and they sat there for a moment, just staring at the sky, which the rising sun colored orange, and enjoying the silence of the morning, which only the distant sounds of the Pokemon broke from time to time.
Then suddenly Gou decided to ask something that had been bothering him for a while. "Hey Chloe," he started and the girl turned to look at him.
"Hm?" she said and Gou continued, "I've been thinking... What's your goal?"
"My goal?" Chloe asked, playing with the buttons on her pajamas. Gou nodded. "Yeah. Your dream, the thing you are aiming for. Just as Ash wants to be a Pokemon Master and Serena wants to develop into a better performer and become a Kalos Queen. So, what is your dream?"
"Oh. Well, I haven't really thought about it," Chloe said, scratching the surface of the bench with her fingernail. "Actually, I came here a bit like looking for it. I thought I'd come up with it along the way."
She didn't say it directly, but Gou still realized. "So you have no dream or goal?" he asked quietly, and Chloe shook her head. "No. I haven't," she said, not looking at Gou. She looked a little sad and Gou wondered how he could cheer her up.
And suddenly he came up with a good idea. "Maybe I can help you find it!" he exclaimed and Chloe turned to look at him in surprise. "Really?" she asked and Gou nodded with a wide smile.
"Yeah! Don't you remember, we're soul mates! And soul mates have to help others!" he explained enthusiastically and Chloe stared at him. Gou stared back and noticed that a faint blush had risen on Chloe's cheeks. Then, however, she turned her gaze away, and said, "That... that would be nice."
"Great!" exclaimed Gou with a grin and Chloe smiled slightly. Then silence descended between them and they both remained to think about Gou's recent words.
During that time, Gou constantly noticed that he was blinking at Chloe, who, however, did not notice it. He found the girl played with her hair, which she had braided again for a long braid, and staring in front of her, a thoughtful look on her face.
Somehow Gou's gaze wandered to the bench on which they sat and noticed that their hands were very close together. In fact, so close that they almost touched each other. He wondered what would happen if he now took Chloe by the hand. Would she leave it in place, or would she just shake it off? Somehow, though, he felt like Chloe wouldn't shake it off, so he decided to give it a try.
He moved his hand a little closer and at the same time bit his lip. But just as he was grabbing Chloe by the hand, the girl turned to look at him and asked, "But what about you, what is your dream?"
"Huh?" said Gou, who quickly pulled his hand away and stared into Chloe's green eyes, a little confused. She had presented it all of a sudden, brushing her hair. She had turned her green eyes toward Gou's blue ones, and Gou noticed that they had a questioning look. However, he was so surprised by Chloe's question that he could not immediately answer it.
"What do you mean?" he asked as he was still a little disappointed that he couldn't take Chloe by hand, and Chloe tilted her head. "I mean the same thing what you asked for me. What's your goal, your dream? I haven't heard you mention it in a word"
She turned her gaze again to the plain that opened in front of them, and Gou remained to thought her words. Yeah, what exactly was his goal? Did he even have one? He hadn't thought about it, and so suddenly he didn't really get anything in his head. Except one...
"I want to see, and possibly catch, Mew," he said and Chloe looked at him in surprise. "Mew? That Mythical Pokemon?" she asked in disbelief and Gou nodded. "But you know it's very unlikely. Mew isn't just some Pidgey you see everywhere."
"I know, but it's still my dream. It's been since I was little," Gou said and he remembered how Ash had said something similar to him as Chloe now at the beginning of their Galar journey. "Besides, Ash has seen it. In fact, he's seen almost all of the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. So why can't I see Mew too?"
"Because you're not a guy who rides on Lugia just because it happens to come against you! And don't argue! Even these few days I've noticed that if there's something that seems impossible, Ash Ketchum has already done it. Twice."
Gou didn't come up with anything to say, so he stayed quiet. Silence descended between them, and neither broke it for a while.
Gou was just saying something, but the arrival of Ash and Serena interrupted it. The first stepped out of the tent, yawning wide and his hair even messier, the latter less tired and putting her rose quartz necklace in place. Their arrival caused Gou and Chloe's conversation to be over and Gou wondered when he would get the next private moment with Chloe.
They ate a quick breakfast, then packed their camp and set off for Circhester and Ash's sixth Gym match. And they were all happy that they were finally able to leave the forest behind and now walk through a slightly more flat area.
Walking in it among its swaying hay, they mostly remained silent. Or well, Ash and Lucario, walking next to him, had a conversation, but they did it with the help of Aura, so the others didn't hear it. The others, on the other hand, were silent and everyone was thinking about their own stuff.
Serena, who was walking right behind Ash and Lucario with Braixen, thought of Ponyta. She had put the hair she had received from her inside her locket, with a note given by Sonia and petal. What else does this little piece of jewelry get to hold? she thought and looked at the necklace Ash had given her when he had confessed his feelings to Serena.
Speaking of Ash... He and Lucario had some interesting conversations going on, which, oddly enough, this time were not related to what Lucario was doing in the woods. No, this time it was completely different.
"By the way, I forgot to ask one thing," said Ash and Lucario sighed. "Yes, Master. What is it this time? I hope it's nothing to do with the woods or any of the stuff that has been the subject lately," he said, but Ash just grinned.
"No, it's not related to them," he said innocently, and Lucario raised his eyebrows. "Then what is it related to?" he asked and he went through all the possible options in his mind, but came up with nothing that Ash would not have already asked.
Ash's grin widened a little as he answered. "I just want to know how it felt when Astra's Lucario kissed you. You haven't talked about it since at all," he said innocently and Lucario almost fell to his feet.
"You... WHAT?! Why?" he stammered, and could do nothing for the annoying heat rising to his cheeks. "It didn't mean anything, I don't even like her!"
"Really? Because for some reason you blush when I asked about her," Ash said teasingly and Lucario looked at him grumpily.
"You were nicer when you was denser," he grunted and Ash shrugged. "Really? If I remember correctly, it was you who complained to me about it," he said thoughtfully, and glanced at Greninja and Pikachu, who talked something next to him. Lucario just grunted for a response.
"Are you sure? Because I don't remember that," he said and after that both were silent. Until Ash opened his mouth and asked, "So how was it?"
"I already said it was nothing!"
They continued their journey, and as Ash and Lucario continued to quarrel over the matter, and Serena thought about Ponyta, Gou and Chloe also walked in their own thoughts.
There were two things on Gou's mind at the time, and they were Scorbunny and Chloe. The former walked a little behind him and kicked with his feet small stones he found among the hay. Gou had already gotten them on his head a couple of times and he wondered if he should tell Scorbunny to stop it. However, he decided not to tell and Scorbunny was allowed to continue kicking the rocks.
The other thing that ran in Gou's mind was Chloe. The girl walked right next to him and blinked hay all the time, where her Yamper was hiding a little too well. She was no longer wearing the white dress, but was wearing yellow overalls and a purple-striped shirt and black sneakers. She still had her hair on a long braid and she brushed it a little distractedly as she walked.
Gou couldn't help but blink at her and wonder if he should now try to take Chloe by the hand. It wouldn't even require much, it would be enough for him to move his hand a little to the left. Doesn't seem very hard, he thought and decided to do so.
But again, this attempt was surprisingly interrupted. Namely, just as Gou was grabbing Chloe by the hand, Ash exclaimed, "Hey, someone's coming here!" and Chloe pulled her hand out of Gou's reach.
As Gou cursed his lost moment, someone really walked against them. They saw them walking to them out of the hay and saw that there were actually two people. They saw that the first comer was a man and the second a woman.
"Hello!" the man exclaimed when he noticed the crowd and waved his hand. Ash and his partners looked at each other and Serena said, "Do you also feel like he's somehow familiar?"
"Yeah," Ash said, trying to figure out who the newcomer was. He watched as he walked closer to them with his companion, and suddenly he heard Lucario say, "Motostoke."
"Motostoke? We're not...," he began, but suddenly he realized. And at the same time realized who the newcomer was.
"I know who he is!" he said and the others looked at him (Lucario didn't bother) Then he grinned and also waved his hand, exclaiming, "Hi Lucas! For a long time!"
In response to Ash's exclamation, the man, assumed to be Lucas, looked at his companion and set about jogging towards them. His companion followed, and as they got closer, the foursome also noticed Lucas' Pokemon, Infernape, coming behind him.
"Ash Ketchum! We're not seen after Motostoke!" said Lucas as they reached them and Ash grinned. Lucas' companion also jogged next to him and they noticed that a small owl-like Pokemon was sleeping on her shoulder. "And of course others too! Except I haven't met you yet"
He pointed his word to Chloe, who had caught her Yamper from the grass in her arms, and she smiled at him. "I'm Chloe and here's my Yamper," she said and Yamper barked in response. "I joined them a short time ago, I met them in Ballonlea"
"Nice," Lucas said, looking at the woman standing next to him, who was putting her hat in a better position. "I also met a new friend just recently, right, Freja?"
"Exactly two days ago," said a woman whose name was apparently Freja. She had brown hair that she had put on a high ponytail. She also had bangs that curled over her right eye, and she kept moving it aside all the time. She had green eyes and a green hat on her head that looked a bit like a beret.
As for clothes, she wore a dark green top, a green vest, and dark green, knee-length pants. She wore brown hiking boots on her legs and a light blue necklace around her neck that looked a bit like a tree leaf. In her hands she had black gloves that left her fingers free and a brown belt on her hips.
She smiled at the foursome with her right hand on her hip and her left stroking Rowlet, sleeping on her shoulder. "And my name is Freja and here's my Pokemon Harold. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise!" said Ash cheerfully and then pointed to Pikachu, who had jumped on his shoulder again. "I'm Ash Ketchum, and here's my partner Pikachu. And those two are Greninja and Lucario."
"Pika!" said Pikachu happily and Greninja nodded to Freja. Lucario, on the other hand, said nothing, for he was too focused on observing Infernape, whom he found watching Braixen with unnecessary interest.
"Yeah, and I'm Serena, and here's Braixen," Serena said with a smile and nodded toward Braixen. "Your Pokemon has a funny name. What Pokemon is that anyway?"
"Harold is Rowlet," Freja said, stroking the sleeping Pokemon. "I met him at Alola, and he's been with me ever since."
"Rowlet, huh?" said Serena and took out her Rotom. She scanned sleeping Harold with it and it said:
"Rowlet, Grass Quill Pokemon and Grass- and Flying-type. It feels relaxed in tight, dark places and has been known to use its trainer's pocket or bag as a nest"
"Yeah, I had, or still have, Rowlet and he liked to sleep in my backpack," Ash said to Rotom's speech and Serena looked at him.
"You haven't told me you have a Rowlet," she said, but Ash just shrugged. "There hasn't been a change," he said and others sweatdropped on him. Serena instead frowned at him.
She was just saying something else, but didn't have time, because then Gou opened his mouth. "Yeah yeah, Harold is nice and stuff, but I want to get noticed too," he said loudly and the others turned to look at him. "And if it's interesting, my name is Gou. Yeah, and that Pokemon standing next to me is Scorbunny."
As he spoke, he pointed to Scorbunny, who had stepped beside him and tossed the stone up and down with his paw. Freja nodded to both of them and said, "Nice to meet you all, Ash, Serena, Gou and Chloe. And the Pokemon too, of course!"
"Yeah, and now, I know exactly what time it is now," Lucas said, picking up one of his Pokeballs. Ash realized the hint right away and raised his fist resolutely, exclaiming, "Yeah! Let's battle!"
"That's what I was thinking," Lucas said with a grin and then looked around. Then he pointed to the left and said, "And there seems to be a good battle area there."
"Great!" said Ash, and ran quickly to the point indicated by Lucas. The others followed him and Lucas and Ash settled their positions, ready to start the match.
"I can be a referee," Freja said, settling in the middle of the "field". The others settled on its "edges" to watch the match and then Freja announced, "This is a one vs one battle between Ash and Lucas. The winner is the one whose Pokemon is last standing. Battlers, please choose your Pokemon!"
Ash and Lucas looked at each other and then Ash grinned. He turned to look at Pikachu sitting on his shoulder and said to him, "Pikachu, we haven't been battle together for a while. What do you say, buddy, would you like to battle a little now?"
"Pika pikachu!" said Pikachu nodding resolutely and jumped in front of Ash on the field. Lucas looked at it smirking and said, "Oh, Pikachu? Well, my choice is then..."
He nodded to Infernape, standing a short distance away, and he realized. He stepped in front of Lucas on the field and had a slightly smug grin on his face.
"...Infernape," Lucas continued to the end of his sentence and Infernape continued his smug smile. He then turned to look at the audience and winked an eye to Braixen, while showing his muscles. The gesture made Braixen blush a little in surprise, Lucario gritting his teeth, and Greninja breaking the small stick he had spun in his hands.
"Who would win? Ash and Lucas both look like strong trainers," thought Chloe next to Serena, Yamper in her arms. He sniffed ground near Chloe with great interest and it woke up Serena's interest.
"What did you say?" Serena asked a little distractedly, for she had just noticed that there was something strange in the ground and it required further investigation. She leaned closer and noticed that the ground meandered as if with small knots and rope? In wonder, she grabbed it with her hand, and then the gruesome truth brightened for her.
"We need to get out of here, quickly," she said, getting up and Chloe and Gou looked at her confused. "What do you mean?" Gou asked, but Serena did not answer him. Instead, she turned to look back at the field where the match was just beginning, and shouted, "Ash, we have to leave, fast!"
"Why? We have a match about to begin," Ash said, confused when he heard Serena's shout, and Serena was just answering him. However, she didn't have time to say anything, because then somewhere there was a loud click and then it happened.
Somewhere a long, pink... something appeared somewhere, and kidnapped Pikachu in front of Ash. "Pikapi!" exclaimed Pikachu as he was pulled into the air and Ash exclaimed, "Pikachu!" He tried to run after Pikachu, but couldn't get a meter further, because that's when more happened.
There was a quick rumble when something happened and then they saw some quick movement approaching them. However, it never reached them, and the next time they found themselves trapped in a huge net hanging from a long metal bar.
"What on the Earth is going on here!?" Lucas asked angrily as he tried not to suffocate in their trap. He had been sadly trapped between Freja, Lucario, and Gou, trying to push himself better out. "How the hell do I suddenly hang out on a huge net instead of fighting Ash?"
"That's what I'd like to know, too," said Freja, who had just been rescued Harold on her head. For some strange reason, it was still in a deep sleep, and hadn't even opened his eyes throughout the event. "Ash, do you have any idea what exactly happened?"
"No, but I'd also like to know where Pikachu disappeared," he said in the middle of the net. "I don't see it anymore, and..."
The rest of his sentence, however, was covered in loud, somewhat magnified laughter that seemed to be heard nearby. It was followed by a metallic rumble, as well as the bumps of heavy steps. And then, behind the hill in front of them, a huge robot appeared, controlled by a trio very familiar to Ash and his partners.
The trio controlled some sort of robot that was some kind of lewd combination of Greninja and Lucario. Its body from the neck was Lucario's body, but at the head it had Greninja's head, which was also at the same time a control room. Wrapped around its neck was some sort of long, pink cloth that mimicked the Greninja's tongue, and where now also hung the unhappy Pikachu tightly.
Then, as they stared at that Team Rocket's latest flash of intelligence, the robot stopped on a hill and from its speakers heard Team Rocket's familiar motto:
"Prepare for trouble!
And make it double!
To protect the world from devastation!
To unite all people within our Nation!
To denounce the evils of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the stars above!
It's Jessie!
And James!
Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!
Surrender now, or prepare to fight!
Meowth! That's right!"
When it was over, the trio remained to grin viciously from behind the control room. "You! Not again!" shouted Ash in disbelief after seeing Team Rocket and their vehicle. "I thought you'd leave me alone after yesterday!"
"Don't dream, twerp!" shouted Jessie from inside the device. "We won't leave you alone now that we've finally found you!"
"Yeah, readers are demanding to see us now that we've finally gotten into the story!" also noted Meowth, who controlled the robot. "So deal with it, twerp! Pikachu is now ours and you can't do anything about it!"
And having said that, the trio turned their robot away and set out to step away, laughing viciously as they went and leaving the group hanging on the net. And, of course, Pikachu was still a prisoner of the robot's "tongue."
"This is ridiculous," said Gou after Team Rocket disappeared behind the hill. "What exactly moves at the heads of those guys?"
"Yeah, and who are they?" asked Lucas and settled himself better position. "They seemed to have something against you, Ash"
"They were Team Rocket," Ash said, glancing at the net. "They're bad guys who steal other people's Pokemon. And for some reason they're obsessed my Pikachu."
"They don't sound very nice," Freja said, stroking the sleeping Harold. "I guess they've been chasing you for quite a long time. Have they ever considered surrendering?"
"No, and that's the funny thing is," Ash said, pausing to look at one point at the net. "When they didn't show up at Galar, I already hoped they had finally given up. Greninja, now!"
The last sentence was addressed to Greninja, who nodded and formed one shuriken with his hand. He threw it at the point indicated by Ash and severed the net rope neatly in half. As a result, the net came off the metal bar, and the crowd fell on the ground into a high pile.
For a moment, everyone tried to free themselves free from the pile, until Serena said from the bottom, "Could you move? I can't get oxygen." Everyone managed to move out of the pile and Serena took a deep breath.
"Thank you," she said, shaking the dust off her clothes. Braixen did the same for her fur and Freja checked that the sleeping Harold was okay. Then she looked at the others and asked, "Are you all right? Ash? Gou? Lucas?"
"At least I am," Gou said and Lucas nodded as well. "Me too," he said and Ash nodded after him too. "And I. And now, let's go save Pikachu!" he exclaimed, raising his fist resolutely, and the others also exclaimed, "Yeah!"
"Finally Pikachu is ours!" said James, glancing with satisfaction at Pikachu, who now hung in the cage in the "tongue" of their robot and created sour glances at his kidnappers. "So, let's raise a toast to it!"
"Yeah!" exclaimed Jessie and Meowth at the same time and Wobbuffet said, "Wobba wobba!" And then, they all (expect Wobbuffet) brought red cardboard cups into the air that contained their "victory drink."
Team Rocket had stopped to celebrate their victory a short distance from the trap of Ash and partners. They had abandoned the control room of their robot and were now outside to celebrate their supposed victory. However, they did not know that there were also a few gate crashers nearby.
Ash, Serena, and others had been hiding behind a hill in the grass, now watching Team Rocket celebrate the victory they believed. They had developed some sort of plan, and that included at least the tricks of Lucario's Aura and the stone trick of Scorbunny.
"Are you ready?" Lucas asked in a whisper and the others nodded resolutely. "Yeah, let's do this," Gou said and then nodded to Scorbunny. "Scorbunny, now"
"Bunny," said Scorbunny, and took from the ground the stone. He threw a stone in the air in front of him and then kicked it with his foot. The stone got a fiery tail and set off at a huge pace towards Team Rocket's robot. It hit Pikachu's cage-holding tongue and pierced it. It then hit the metal surface of the robot, causing a bump and a deep dent and the robot to tilt towards the ground.
"What was that?" Jessie asked as she heard the sound of the stone, looking around with caution. Meowth and James, too, were suddenly alert and Meowth revealed his nails. "Is anyone here?"
"Now, Greninja," Ash whispered and Greninja nodded. He raised his thumbs up and then formed many small shurikens with his hands. He then flew them lightning fast towards Team Rocket's robot and formed the word "I SEE YOU" on its surface.
Team Rocket looked at it in horror and James asked in a voice trembling a little, "W-who are you?" That's when the crowd behind the hill set up a performance that would make even the professional actors at Lumiose City Theater second.
"Infernape, are you ready?" asked Lucas from his Pokemon and this one raised his fist with determination. "Nape," he said and Lucas smirked. "Okay, let's get started then," he said aloud and looked at Serena.
This one nodded and looked at the little pink Pokemon standing next to her. "Hatenna, it's your turn," she whispered to her, and Hatenna nodded. Her hat began to shine blue and then she lifted Infernape with her psychic powers just above the ground.
"Braixen, your turn," Serena then whispered and Braixen nodded and raised her branch. She lit a fire in it and then blew a fiery circle behind Infernape. It remained spinning in place and at the same time Ash glanced at what Team Rocket was doing.
They had not moved anywhere. They still looked fearful, and did not seem to notice anything the crowd had been doing behind the hill. It suited the crowd very well and Ash whispered, "Let's continue"
The others nodded and Hatenna lifted Infernape a little more into the air. Then Scorbunny kicked the rock again towards the Team Rocket robot and it made it twist a little lower again.
The resulting collision made Team Rocket startle again and Jessie shouted, "W-who are you, really!?" That's when Greninja again formed small shurikens and threw them into words right in front of Team Rocket.
They were startled sharply as they appeared in front of them and James read aloud quietly, "LOOK UP" Team Rocket did as they said and then their eyes widened.
Hatenna had now lifted Infernape high onto the hill and it looked like he was hovering in the air. Braixen's circle of fire spun behind Infernape and he had raised his hands.
"Team Rocket!" he shouted with Lucas' voice and Team Rocket shivered with fear. "I'm the spirit of this plain, and I don't like your actions!"
"We haven't done anything," Jessie said barely audibly, but Infernape/Lucas disagreed.
"You're lying!" Lucas yelled and Team Rocket clung to each other in fear. "I know everything that's happened on this plain, so I also know how you stole Pikachu. And if you want to survive this with honor, you'll return Pikachu right back to his trainer!"
"Never!" cried Jessie as she gained some courage. "Pikachu is ours now, and that stupid twerp will never get it back!" James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet nodded at Jessie's words and Jessie dared to stare into the eyes of the "spirit."
However, the crowd behind the hill disagreed. "You give Pikachu back, or you get a punishment!" Infernape shouted with Lucas' voice and Lucario threw one Aura ball in front of Team Rocket. It made them startle again, and Jessie whimpered, "All right, all right."
She looked at the others, and they nodded. When she saw it, she sighed and set out to release Pikachu. Those behind the hill grinned with satisfaction. The plot was successful, as it should be.
Or would have been successful without the next unfortunate thing. Namely, Scorbunny, who had kicked the ground in front of him a little bored, somehow managed to stumble his feet. He staggered and Gou, realizing what would happen next, whispered, "No!" But it was too late.
Scorbunny swayed for a moment on the top of the hill until he started spinning quickly down the hill towards Team Rocket. Gou, who tried to rush to grab his bunny before more damage would happen, managed to nudge Hatenna. It, in turn, caused Hatenna to falter and forget to control her psychic powers. It again caused nothing to hold the Infernape in the air.
He realized it quickly and somehow tried to stay in the air waving his hands. It didn't help at all, of course, and Infernape dropped down with a loud rumble as he fell on Lucario.
The rumble caused the Yampers of Serena and Chloe to start barking loudly. They tried to silence their Pokemon, but once the Yampers start, they don't stop.
The barking made Team Rocket confused and turn their gaze in that direction. Their suspicions suddenly began to wake up, especially when they found the "spirit" lost and Scorbunny lying in front of them on the ground.
"Wait a minute...," Jessie said slowly, walking quickly to Scorbunny. He had sat up and held his head. He was dizzy. "Isn't this other twerp's Pokemon?"
"I guess you're right, Jessie," said James, and Scorbunny looked at them swallowing. That's when Jessie looked up slowly at the hill, and said, "If that twerp's Pokemon is here, then there's a twerp, too. James, let's search the place. They're not far."
Upon hearing that, Ash knew the game was over. He got up, and Serena, realizing what he was going to do, whispered, "Ash, don't!" However, Ash shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
He stepped up on the top of the hill and shouted, "No need to search, I'm right here!" Team Rocket turned their gazes from Scorbunny to him and Jessie exclaimed, "I knew you were behind this!"
"Yeah, and everyone else, too," Ash said, continuing, "And I still want Pikachu back. Lucario, Aura Sphere."
"Gladly, Master," said Lucario, stepping out from behind the hill and forming a light blue ball in his paws. He then threw it towards Team Rocket, who had time to dodge narrowly.
"Stupid twerp! You pay for that!" Jessie shouted angrily and nodded to James. "James, it's time. Morpeko has time to show how it's doing in the real battle."
"All right, Jessie," James said, picking up the Pokeball. He magnified it and threw it into the air. Then a small, Pikachu-like Pokemon appeared in front of him and again had as red eyes as yesterday.
Jessie looked at it smirking, and then said to Ash, "You probably know what time it is now?"
"Yeah," Ash said, turning his cap and there was the determined look on his face. "Let the battle begin"