Anonymous Review Replies!

Guest: Oh, it totally is! But when you want to go home again, what can you do? ;p

Guest: Aw, thank you! Reviews like that really make my day :) I wondered whether the number of freshly updated fics a day has gone down or whether that was just my subjective impression, yeah...I wonder whether that will change after the movie comes out (despite, uh, *everything* to do with that movie. Help.) Hope you like the new chapter, though! I try my hardest to keep everyone IC and the storyline fresh, so I'm glad it works :)

Guest: Yes a heist! I've never written one, so I'm really pumped :D

LoneGarurumon: Hahah, yeah, this fic wouldn't be half as fun if Sonic and Co didn't have *that* threat hanging over their heads, right? ;p And yeeeeah, who could that be with that contract with Team Rocket, OHOHOHOH-*clears throat* erm. yeah. Very mysterious. The Bug Catcher thing...gotta admit, this is mainly me finding the idea hilarious that all the "BUG CATCHER wants to fight!" announcements you get in the Pokémon game really mean that the surname Catcher (I mean, Ash is called Ketchum, that's probably a name variant of that...) and the first name Bug is like a *really* popular combination in the Pokémon world. Trying to find a Bug Catcher on Facebook would be a nightmare. XD

yeeanupdate: no worries, it's the Pokémon world. That is basically the default :p

Cytisus: Awesome! I am always really happy to hear when I write a crossover that it's also enjoyable when one only knows one of the two franchises. :) And yup, there are *definitely* some Pokémon approaching Great Old Ones-levels of weirdness, not gonna lie. XD Let's hope our heroes won't have to deal with too many of those...!

Chapter Fourteen: On The Road Again

"So...any concrete ideas on how we're supposed to get that Emerald back, yet?" Knuckles asked, drumming his glove on the table with the newspaper. Tails cleared his throat.

"Well...first, we need to go to Pewter City, obviously. And then once we're there, we should check out the Museum in daylight. Like. Check it out a lot."

Sonic raised an eye ridge. "You mainly wanna go there 'cause it said 'Science Museum', don't you."

Tails blushed. "No! I mean...yeahthatskindacoolbut...'casing the joint' is really important, too, right?"

Sonic laughed. "Yeah, no prob. We'll have a look around the place by daylight first. Brock, is Pewter City far from here?"

"Not that far. It's the next town after Viridian City. If we leave soon and spend the night in Viridian City, we should get there sometime before midday tomorrow. It's about six hours on foot." Brock smiled. "Looking forward to seeing the old place again."

"About six hours on foot?" Amy looked surprised. "You seem to like exercise a lot more than the humans on our planet, that's for sure...do you do this amount of walking often?"

"We kinda do, yeah." Ash laughed a bit. "But it's exciting, isn't it? Exploring, meeting new people, always looking out in case there's a new Pokémon species around...I really like it."

"Heh. Minus the Pokémon species thing I totally agree," Sonic flashed a smile toward the boy, then jumped off his own chair, twisting a bit to see how Brock's bandages held. "Thanks for patching me up, by the way."

"No problem," Brock shook his head. "Ash gets burnt about once every two weeks by his own fire Pokémon, so I'm pretty used to it."

"Hey!"

"Eh, don't worry. People who don't end up in hospital every once in a while just have no concept of fun," Sonic said easily, walking past Ash and patting him on his back. "If we're gonna be stuck walking for the next few hours, I'll just make a few quick laps around the farm until everyone's ready. See ya in a mo'." And then he was already gone, leaving only a small, settling dust cloud in his wake. Knuckles massaged his temples.

"Right. So he's gone and we made it almost to the advanced point in planning where we decided to maybe have a look at the museum we want to break into. Why do I have the worst feeling about this...?"

xxx

"Amy?"

"Oh. Hey, Sonic," the pink hedgehog had been leaning against the wall next to the entrance door of Oak's farmhouse and now flashed the returned hero a surprised smile as he screeched to a stop beside her. "Good that you're back. Ash just went to say goodbye to his mum and then we're all ready to leave."

"Are they? Cool," Sonic replied easily. "Can't wait to get moving again. Even if it is at human walking pace."

"A terrible fate, I'm sure," Amy said mildly and Sonic snorted. There was a longer pause, both of them mainly lounging against the wall of the old house and watching the late afternoon sun as a breeze ruffled the grass under their feet. After a little while, Sonic tilted his head slightly back.

"Hey...Ames?"

"Hm?" She turned her head, but Sonic was still looking up at the sky, green eyes only flicking over to her for moment with a small, appreciative smile.

"Just wanted to say...I thought you did good in there. Handled that situation with Ash pretty well."

"Oh. Right." Amy glanced at once at the ground, a bit of an embarrassed blush on her face. "I didn't say anything I didn't completely believe in, though. I was actually a bit scared when I was stranded with Misty's sisters, you know?" She asked, briefly looking up at him, before her lips curved up into a smile again. "But as soon as I saw you, I knew things would turn out to be alright. You kinda have that effect on people. Or, well...at least on me."

For a second, Sonic blinked, looking like he was about to reply to that, but then the moment was effectively ended by the door opening and Tails bursting through, bouncing excitedly.

"Sonic! Sonic! We're all ready to go! And professor Oak's laboratory is AWESOME!" he announced, right before he even seemed to notice Amy. "Oh hey, there you are. Misty was looking for you" he said - right before noticing Amy's expression. "Uh, you alright? You look like you ate something bad...?"

Amy heaved a very big sigh.

xxx

"Well, here we are," Brock said, stemming his hands onto his hips as they emerged from the forest canopy of Route 1 for the second time that day. "Welcome to Viridian City once more."

"About time," Misty stretched and yawned. "All I want now is some food, a shower, and to sleep."

"Yes. About that.," Knuckles's expression was dry, "Is there somewhere for 'Pokémon' to stay that isn't a kennel?"

"Knux. Give it a rest." Sonic rolled his eyes, but fortunately, Ash was quick to reply with a smile,

"Oh, definitely. Pokémon centers provide free accommodation for travelling trainers and their Pokémon, and there's usually some bunk beds free in the rooms you get, so you can sleep with us there."

"Thanks very much, Ash. Sounds great," Amy replied dutifully with a friendly nod. "Let's go get some food, then! Can we go there to eat?" she asked, pointing at a small restaurant across the street. "That one looks nice."

"Um...usually we can't really afford eating out-" Brock began, but Misty interrupted,

"Aw, nonsense! Ash's mum gave us some extra money to treat our guests, right? Come on, we haven't eaten out in ages!"

"Pika pika!"

"See? Pikachu agrees with me."

"Y'know, I don't think-" Ash began, but then was already tugged along by Misty, following an enthusiastic Amy to the restaurant door. There were a few people on the street looking at their little group curiously, but, while slightly unusual to have so many Pokémon out walking along with you at once, it wasn't that unheard of.

"One table, please," Misty announced as soon they had entered the door. "With...uh, seven seats."

"...seven?" the waiter, a middle-aged, lean man with a thin black moustache let his eyes trail doubtfully over their little troupe. "Uh, surely you don't mean for your...Pokémon...?"

"They're very well behaved," Brock said with the brittle cheerfulness that suggested he, much like anyone in Knuckles' company, had learned very quickly what the little twitching muscle under the echidna's eye meant. The waiter still looked at them somewhat unconvinced, but then seemed to reach the conclusion that money was money, even if it came from underage eccentrics.

"...very well. Please follow me," he said, leading them to a place set for eight toward the back of the restaurant. A few of the patrons threw them glances as they passed, but, as Sonic guessed, if none of them opened their mouths within earshot of them, probably wouldn't give them too much attention.

As always, it was the duty of the protagonist to be completely and utterly wrong in such matters.

"Oh my gods, you eat Pokémon?!" Amy asked Misty with wide eyes, as they were all reading the menus, most of the dishes there featured with pictures and helpful explanations about the culinary aspects of the creatures.

Misty squirmed a bit in her seat. "Well, not the ones we keep as friends, obviously-" she began, right before Amy interrupted her with the widest hungry grin,

"This is amazing! I want the magikarp!"

"This is pathetic. Not even a single insect dish on this thing," Knuckles grumbled under his breath.

Sonic shrugged. "So get the pokepuffs. They're under the 'treats' section and they're pretty good."

Knuckles' gaze darkened. "I will not-"

"Oh. My. Gosh. Are your Pokémon like, pretending to read the menu?! That is SO. CUTE!" a high-pitched, female voice suddenly announced, letting all of them jump in their seats. Next to their table, a teenage human couple had appeared, both of them sun-tanned and blond-haired, the two of them looking at the four (now sweat-dropping) Mobians absolutely enraptured.

"Did you train them to do that?!" the boy of the pair asked, excitedly. "Y'know, it's because we're also trick Pokémon trainers. Do you give them treats, or-?"

"Actually," Knuckles cut in with a deadpan, "We're the amazing travelling circus troupe. Please come see our show next Thursday. And until then, go away."

The human couple gaped. Everyone else at the table was basically staring at Knuckles with 'oh shit what did you do'-expressions. Then, predictably:

"...oh my gosh, your Pokémon can SPEAK?!"

"Uh, er, well-" Misty immediately began stammering, but Knuckles cut her off,

"What? No. Of course not."

"Er...but...but..." the male of the couple was now blinking at the echidna, looking baffled and glancing from him to the humans and back. Knuckles cleared his throat.

"Of course our, er, pokemans can't talk. I'm actually the dorky-looking kid with the cap over there," Knuckles jerked a thumb at Ash, "and I have this stunning ventriloquism act. And now, either you beat it, or you'll have to buy a ticket."

"Wow, er, your voice sounds incredibly deep for your age-" the girl managed, still gawking at Ash, but her boyfriend had already grabbed her arm, pulling at her to leave with him, and the couple managed a hasty retreat. At the table, Tails was now wearing a very apologetic smile, Sonic seemed to have trouble not to break out into audible snickering and Knuckles was very calmly studying his menu again, only Amy sympathetically patting a still stammering Ash's hand.

xxx

"Okay, so you gotta promise to stop stuff like that. The people here don't know any better, alright?" Misty asked a bit wearily as they left the restaurant later. "You can't just be rude to others because they assume you're trained Pokémon."

"Oh, don't worry, it's not just the people here. Knux is rude to everyone," Sonic replied with an easy shrug, earning himself a grunt from the echidna and a sigh from the others in their group. Bellies filled, they were now en route to the Pokémon center where Ash had said they would be able to spend the night, but briefly slowed down as they saw another Police officer (who looked exactly like the police woman from the station this morning, but, as they had learned, this didn't exactly have to mean anything) beleaguered by three wildly gesturing citizens.

"Officer Jenny! You have to come down to my metal shop to investigate the theft!"

"No! She needs to come down to my engine parts ware house first!"

"Okay, the most valuable thing are my stolen power tools, so I think it's clear that I-!"

"Huh? Sounds like you have a bit of a problem with thievery in this city, I think..." Amy glanced up at Brock, who was also frowning at the small commotion.

"Not usually, actually, no," he said. "It sounds a bit like what Team Rocket sometimes goes after for their weird schemes and machines they build, but usually they never steal things in such a quantity. I hope they're not up to anything."

"You mean, the guys we met this morning?" Tails asked. "They didn't seem like much of a threat..."

"Not those three, no," Misty said, "But they are part of a more powerful criminal organization. I hope this doesn't mean they are building something really big this time."

"Well, if they attack while we're still here, we can take them apart for ya," Sonic winked. "Believe it or not, we have some experience with giant battle mechs..."

"Of course you do," Misty sighed as they entered the Pokécenter doors. Inside was a brightly lit, light-blue tiled lobby with cheerful young red-headed women in nurse outfits standing behind a counter and hurrying to and fro with carts laden with Pokéballs and hospital utensils. One of them greeted them with a happy smile as they walked up to the counter.

"Hello, welcome to the Viridian City Pokémon center! I'm nurse Joy, how can I help you?"

"Hello. We've just come from Pallet Town, we were wondering if we could stay here for the night?"

"Of course!" The young woman nodded. "Dorm rooms 2 and 3 should be free. Girls are on the left side of the corridor, boys on the right. Have a good night's sleep!" Then she glanced at their entourage and added: "Do you also need some treatment for your Pokémon? Your, uh...blue porcupine…type...looks a bit banged up...?"

"Ah, no, no worries, thank you," Misty said quickly as Ash took the keys from the nurse, "He just likes to play rough with the others."

"Gender-separated dorm rooms, huh?" Amy asked her as soon as they had stepped through the door leading to the corridor behind the lobby which was lined with numbered rooms.

"For underage trainers, yeah," she said, "Though of course, they wouldn't really apply that to Pokémon, so if you want to, you can go and sleep with the boys."

"Ahahahah, no. Forget it," Amy said, giving the other girl a grin. "Worst idea in the world, trust me!"

xxx

"Only three beds in here. Huh. Seems they've given us a small one," Brock remarked as the five of them stepped into the room that had been labelled with the number 3. "I guess they expected you would probably sleep in your Pokéballs..."

"Pika pika?!"

"No, Pikachu, no one is going to put you in a Pokéball," Ash reassured the small yellow mouse on his shoulder absent-mindedly. "You'll bunk up with me, as always." Casting a glance at the three Mobians in the room, he ventured: "So, uh, will you be able to fit on a bed together, or...?"

"Well, all of us got used to sleeping in cramped spaces at one point or another," Sonic scratched his ear. "I guess we'll manage. Somehow."

This, as it turned out about thirty minutes later, had not been quite the truth.

xxx

"Sonic! Will you watch your infernal quills! This bed is too damned small as it is!"

"Tails manages to sleep around my quills just fine!"

"That's because Tails weighs approximately one and a half pounds and has all the body mass of an emaciated goldfish. Everything else is just fur padding, no wonder he doesn't feel them," Knuckles grated. "You hedgehog people are like evolution's worst mistake."

"Excuse me?" Now there was the definite rustling of someone sitting up in bed in agitation. "My species was the one chosen for the Ultimate Lifeform blue print!"

"And Shadow would be a better bedfellow than you, you wriggling case of restless leg syndrome personified!"

"One of those legs, mister, is about to find a permanent home in your -"

"Will you be quiet! Please!"

The scuffling lump of limbs, spikes and well-practiced mutual resentment in the third bed stilled. Ash sat up higher and looked at the frozen display, which at the moment included Knuckles, kneeling and holding a deeply displeased Sonic up by his ankle, while the upside-down hedgehog had apparently been trying to bite into the echidna's tail. Between them and around them, a sprawled and snoring Tails was somehow managing to take up the rest of the bed and not be disturbed in the least. Now the two awake Mobians were giving Ash two slightly embarrassed and faintly guilty expressions. Since none of them were wearing any clothing any more, a small part of Ash also noted, that apparently, yes, the spikes on Knuckles' hands had not been part of his gloves.

In the third bed, Brock rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head.

"Ash, I swear I'm going to release Onyx and murdercrush them if they don't shut up right this minute."

"Uh..." the younger boy tried, but by then, Knuckles had already ungently dropped Sonic back to the bed, shook his head and twisted around to start pulling on his shoes and gloves again.

"Forget this. I'm going to sleep outside."

There was thump as he slid off the bed and a creak as he opened the window to climb out. Ash blinked sleepily.

"Uh...where is he going to...?"

"Probably up a tree," Sonic commented, groggily reaching down to retrieve the blanket again and curling up in a spiky ball under it. "Don't worry, that's normal."

"Right..." Ash managed, also sinking back into the pillows. But it seemed like Sonic had spoken the truth, at least – soon enough, there was only silent breathing to be heard in their dorm room, and the only disturbance for the rest of the night was only a very brief crash and then a fading scream from outside when a very unlucky trainer had probably tried to capture a sleeping Knuckles and found that to be a very bad idea.

To be continued...

There, hope you liked! The plot is plodding along, our heroes are on their way to Pewter City and if everything goes well, they'll even make it there alive. :p As always, would love to hear what you liked, found interesting or funny and if you read, please review! :D