Welcome back, everyone! You all enjoy your Christmas and New Years? I hope so. This is SuperHeroTimeFan, now coming back to you with a brand-new chapter for my newest Pokémon crossover story with The Mandalorian known as This Is The Pokémon Way! I am so glad that there is a lot of support for this story. I have changed the shipping so that it doesn't focus too much on Ash and Serena for their Amourshipping, but rather on Din and Cynthia, as I have plans for the two of them. Thank you especially to Austin and Restless Azure for your advice. I have made sure to take it so I can make this better. And thanks to Legend Knight 00, RonaldM40196867 and spurlinpatricksean2 for your reviews as well, and of course, to GhostSlinger15, for your ideas and suggestions too. They all mean a lot. Now, here is my newest Chapter! Please be sure to review, rate, and as always, please enjoy!
Chapter 3: The Creed
Flying through the air to the next town on the way to Snowbelle City, the Razor Crest soared through the skies. Inside, Ash and his friends, now joined by Brock, May, Dawn, Iris and Cynthia, were looking around with awe at the interior of the ship, with Din looking after Grogu at the controls.
"This is amazing!" Clemont exclaimed as he looked around, zipping all over the place. "All this time, I've wondered what an actual spaceship would look like! Now, I get to be in one myself!"
"Just comes to show that science is so amazing," Ash said before climbing up the ladder. "Thanks for the lift, Mando," he said, only to get a silent response from him. "You don't mind if we look around, do you? We're all very curious about your ship, that's all."
"Just be ready for training when we land," Din finally spoke as Grogu climbed out of his seat. "Because of my fuel shortage, I can't fly that far. Make do with the time we have when you're in my ship."
"What do you call this anyways?" Ash asked.
Din turned his head. "The Razor Crest."
"Razor Crest, got it," Ash repeated before seeing Grogu. "If you need us, we'll be looking after Grogu down below." He said before taking him to safely climb down the ladder.
"Well?" Serena asked as Ash came down, holding Grogu. "What did Mando say?"
"He can't fly the Razor Crest that far, so we'll have to be ready to train when he lands," Ash said before Dawn walked over to look at Grogu. "He said it's okay for us to look after Grogu too."
"He's not a Pokémon, but he's still cute," Dawn mused, tickling his cheek. As she was and smiling as she did so, she noticed Piplup looking up to her. "No need to worry, Piplup. No one would ever replace you as my favorite."
"Pip Piplup!" Piplup said proudly.
"I gotta admit, I was scared of him a little at first," May said as she walked over to look at Grogu too. "But now, Grogu seems to be growing on me."
"We'll all have our turns with him," Serena said. "I don't think Mando would take that chance away from us."
"Wow, Mando is so cool!" Bonnie awed before coming across the remains of Zero, the Assassin Droid. "What's this? A suit?"
"Huh?" Clemont asked as he and Brock walked over. "Hmm, it doesn't appear to be hollow enough to be a suit. I don't know what it is."
"Hey, I was wondering," Iris spoke up as everyone looked to her. "What kind of training do you think Mando has in store for us?"
"Axew ew." Axew wondered as well.
"Beats me," Ash said as Pikachu ran to him. "But whatever it takes to fight off this Empire, we'll do it."
"Pikachu!"
"Could be anything," Cynthia said, looking up. "He's full of surprises and secrets, after all."
"Whatever the Empire throws at us, I'm sure we'll be ready." Serena said.
"That's right," Ash said, leaning against a panel and unknowingly pressing some buttons. "Whatever it…"
Before Ash could go on, a compartment opened. Everyone looked to Ash first before seeing the compartment. Much to their shock, inside was an armory of weapons, from different blades to blasters of different kinds.
"What is this?" Dawn asked. "Why does he carry so much weapons?"
"And what's this?" Iris asked, looking at an old Stormtrooper Helmet. She noticed the symbol on it. "This… belonged to the Empire?"
"I don't think his way of fighting… and our way of fighting… are the same as we thought." May said.
"He had a gun when we met him," Ash said. "I think that when he said he fought the Empire… it wasn't at all like what we do in our fights."
"Pika…"
"Suddenly, I've got a bad feeling about this." Brock said.
In the cockpit, Din was listening to everything that was said. He turned his head away and landed the Razor Crest down in an open area of the near forest and started to get out.
"Time to set up camp." Din said. He looked to Grogu and patted him on the head before grabbing his rifle and his satchel, where Grogu climbed into. As he did, he looked to his new spear with contemplation.
"Is that… Beskar?" Clemont asked as Ash closed the armory up.
Din nodded before walking past the broken cradle that used to carry Grogu.
"Whoa, he had a cradle all this time and you never fixed it?" Dawn asked. "No offense, Mando, but that's a red light right there."
"Where are the wheels? And the handle?" May asked as Clemont picked it up.
"Had none. It floats," Din said before picking up his leftover Krayt Dragon meat. "I'll fix us up some steak." He said, walking out.
"Hmm…" Clemont said, adjusting his glasses as he looked to the broken cradle. "I think I have an idea."
Watching from their hot air balloon nearby, Jessie, James and Meowth were watching as Din started to set up camp before aiming around with his rifle.
"Mando doesn't seem like your average twerp grownup," Jessie said. "Especially if he's carrying stuff like that."
"And if that child is as powerful as we've seen and heard, we'll need to come up with a plan to get him, and let the Boss know about this new development too." James said.
"Wobba!" Wobbuffet agreed.
"Hmm…" Meowth said, looking down before Ash and his friends walked out from the Razor Crest. "I have an idea," he said. "We got anything from the last robot we used to try and capture Pikachu?"
"Mando, about that floating cradle," Clemont said as Din set up the Dragon Meat. "With your permission, could I try to fix it?"
Din just focused on setting up the steak before perking his head at Clemont's request.
"See, I'm an inventor, but I think I could make the cradle work again." Clemont explained.
"Sure," Din said. "Do it."
"Thank you!" Clemont said excitedly before adjusting his glasses. "The future is now thanks to science! Clemontic gear on!" he called out, revealing the remains of some of his inventions as his glasses shone. "I thought we'd encounter a situation precisely like this one!"
"YOU DID?!" Dawn, May and Iris all exclaimed in disbelief.
"Science is so amazing!" Ash exclaimed. "So… where's the invention?"
"Does he do this all the time?" Brock whispered.
"Pretty much." Bonnie confirmed.
"De Nene." Dedenne sighed.
"See, most of these parts are from my previous inventions. Specifically, ones that floated or could fly on their own," Clemont explained. "Now, if I use the right parts, I can rebuild the cradle and make it just as good as before."
"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.
"It will take a while, but I should have something ready soon," Clemont went on as Grogu looked to some of the parts. "I just need to—"
Before Clemont could go on, an explosion went off.
"Get the kid to safety!" Din ordered, taking out his blaster.
"Grogu, come here!" Cynthia called out, grabbing Grogu and running into the Razor Crest to hide him.
"What's going on?" Iris asked.
"Gangway!"
"I know that voice!" Ash realized.
Jessie, James and Meowth all ran from the bushes with Wobbuffet. Not looking where they were going, they crashed into the group, causing them to fall. Din simply stepped out of the way and hid his blaster as he looked to the quartet.
"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed.
"Oh, come on!" Dawn complained.
"They followed you here too?!" May exclaimed.
"TWERPS!" Team Rocket exclaimed.
"Did they call you 'twerps'?" Din asked.
"Alright, what are you up to?" Brock asked. "Trying to take Pikachu again?"
"Hey, it's the biggest twerp!" Meowth exclaimed as he, Wobbuffet, James and Jessie quickly got up.
"Did he just talk?" Din asked.
"Oh, you're Mando!" James exclaimed. "You nearly beat Cynthia!"
"And the Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova Twerpettes too!" Jessie exclaimed. "Where's the redhead Twerpette?"
"Busy in Cerulean City," Ash replied. "Now, you'd better stop whatever you're up to or Pikachu will—"
"We're not after him, we swear!" Meowth exclaimed. "We were just looking for what was left of our last robot…"
"And because someone decided to put an artificial intelligence into its systems…" Jessie hissed while looking to James.
"How was I supposed to know it would turn on us?!" James exclaimed. "If anything, one of you should have pointed it out before I installed it!"
"Wait, so you lost control of one of your robots?" Bonnie asked.
"Sounds like a usual Saturday to me." Ash mused.
"Look, the point is, if you come across it, feel free to destroy it," Jessie said indignantly as Din watched cautiously. "It's what you do all the time anyways." She said before the bushes started to rustle again.
"AW MAN! GOTTA SCRAM!"
Everyone watched as Team Rocket ran off hurriedly.
"Some things never change with those," Iris mused. "I mean, except for that Wobbuffet."
All of a sudden, a small floating robot with lasers on each side came over. Everyone turned to it before it started to shoot everywhere wildly. Immediately, everyone except Din scattered out of the way.
"Looks like something Team Rocket would make!" Brock exclaimed, getting a Pokéball ready.
"Wait, where's Mando?" May asked.
"Get down!" Dawn called out, seeing Mando inspect the robot.
"You're kidding me, right?" Din asked before ten missiles hit him.
"Mando, no!" Ash yelled.
When the smoke cleared away, Din was unharmed. Dawn, Piplup, May, Iris, Axew and Brock all gasped before he whipped out his blaster, firing back. It flew out of the way and fired a net at him, but he shot it apart before dodging out of the way again. Readying his flamethrower, he sent flames at the flying robot, causing it to fly back.
"Guess we know how tough his Beskar is now." Clemont said as everyone watched in amazement.
"What's that?" Brock asked.
"What his armor is made of." Serena explained.
The robot warbled and sent out an imitation of a Pin Missile attack. Din readied his gauntlet and fired several Whistling Birds, countering all of the missiles before reeling it in with his grappling cable. When it was close enough, he took out his knife and stabbed it, causing it to make a small explosion.
"Whoa…" Bonnie said in amazement.
Cynthia, who had been looking over Grogu in the Razor Crest, came out and awed in amazement as well. She noticed Grogu walk towards him before Ash and his friends did the same.
"You were barely scratched." Cynthia said in amazement.
"Yep," Din said, putting away his blaster. "Not going to lie… that was challenging."
"You were amazing!" Ash exclaimed. "That was so awesome right there!"
"Brutal too," Brock said, placing his hand to his chin. "It would have usually taken us longer to defeat one of Team Rocket's creations."
Cynthia held Grogu carefully as she looked to Din. "I just hope he doesn't make everyone else the same way." She said quietly to herself.
Ash seemed to have the same thoughts as he looked to Cynthia. However, he was also covering up something on his left arm, something which Serena and Dawn both seemed to notice.
Din only nodded in acknowledgement to the praise before walking into the Razor Crest.
Unknown to the group, Team Rocket was actually hiding in the bushes nearby, Jessie with a camera out, having recorded everything.
"We have what we needed," Jessie said. "Part one of the plan is complete."
"Shame," James said. "A waste of a good robot too."
"Dat was da plan," Meowth said. "We use what was left from one of our robots, sic 'em on da Twoips, and see what Mando is made of. Now we have what we need to show da Boss!"
"True," James said before taking out his device. On a holographic screen, the Team Rocket secretary, Matori, showed up. "Put us through to the Boss. We have an urgent message for him."
"Okay. Please hold." Matori said before her screen disappeared.
James walked back near Jessie and Meowth, all now standing straight. Soon, a screen of the head of Team Rocket, Giovanni, showed up.
"GIOVANNI, SIR!"
"Report," Giovanni ordered. "What progress have you made on finding out about this new group and their new Pokémon?"
"Significant progress, but that's not what this call is about," Jessie said. "We have come across a new trainer. One who isn't from around here."
"And we don't mean from any Region, but from another Planet," James said. "Stand by for pictures."
Giovanni and his pet Pokémon, Persian, looked as the screen changed. It showed the Razor Crest flying through the air, Din Djarin walking out, and his battle against Garchomp, as well as his fight with the test drone.
"He appears to wear some sort of powerful armor that is impervious to any attack," James explained. "And he carries some sort of child with him, one who has the abilities of Psychic Pokémon, but yet is not a Pokémon."
"Not a Pokémon?" Giovanni asked in surprise.
"Yeah, take a look," Meowth said, changing the screen to show Grogu and his demonstrated powers. "He can move things with his mind, but we don't know how. Da Twoips, and the new trainer, Mando, call him Grogu."
"Interesting," Giovanni said. "What else is there to this Mando and Grogu?"
"We found out that a group called the Empire is hunting Grogu down," Jessie explained. "We were originally going to try and forge an alliance with them, but we discovered that they want him to take his blood. We know that even YOU would never go as far with Pokémon."
"Jess!" James whispered.
"Jessie is correct," Giovanni said. "Experimenting on Pokémon in such a way is frowned upon in this organization. But now that you know what Mando and Grogu are capable of, what did you have in mind?" he asked, as he remembered how bad his experience was with trying to control Mewtwo from so long ago.
"The twerps and Mando are trying to train Grogu, teach him to control his powers," Jessie said. "We suggest to take him and do it instead, so that he could grow up to become a powerful member of Team Rocket."
"Teach him the Team Rocket Way." James clarified.
Giovanni nodded back at Headquarters. "Very well," he said. "Find Grogu, find out more about him, and take him so he can be trained by us."
"We shall also require our past Pokémon to help," Jessie said. "I request Seviper, Yanmega, Frillish and Woobat."
"And as for me, I would like to use Mime Jr., for his powers that match those of Grogu's, Carnivine, Yamask and Amoonguss."
"Request approved," Giovanni said. "If you come across this Mando again, whether you succeed or fail in your first encounter, report to me on what else you discover. I will be waiting."
"SIR!"
Giovanni signed off, getting the Trio to ease up.
"Da Boss trusts us!" Meowth said happily.
"Now we need to find out more about Grogu." James said.
That night, as May was setting up plates with Bonnie at the table, Din walked out from the Razor Crest. Everyone looked to him, seeing that he had a bag over his shoulder in addition to the large piece of meat in his hands.
"What's that?" Ash asked.
"Meat from Tatooine, another planet," Din explained. "My share from a Krayt Dragon."
"I don't think I've ever heard of that kind of Dragon Pokémon before." Iris said.
"Axew." Axew said.
"There aren't any Pokémon where Mando comes from," Ash said. "But from the sounds of it, a Krayt Dragon must be… a real dragon?!"
"Yep," Din said, setting the meat down. "Stand back."
Everyone nodded and stepped back as Din readied his arm. He aimed it out and sent out fire from his flamethrower, cooking the Krayt Dragon meat completely, as well as starting the campfire from the wood set down.
"Dig in." Din said.
Everyone smiled as they sat down. Carefully, Clemont used one of his inventions to split the steak into several equal pieces. Din watched with interest, though not as over-exaggerated as Ash, before stopping before the entire steak could be distributed.
"What's wrong?" Din asked.
"Well, since this is our first meal from outer space, I thought we could give it a try, and then if we like it, we could save the rest for another time." Clemont said.
"Good thinking, Clemont." Brock complimented.
Everyone sat down at the table and took a single bite from their slices. Savoring every taste from that one bite, a smile came onto their faces.
"Usually, I'm not for eating something from a dragon, but since this wasn't a Pokémon, this tastes so good!" Iris exclaimed.
"Perfect all the way!" Dawn agreed.
"Glad we'll be saving the rest now." May said.
"Well, I'm sure Cilan would give a good honest evaluation of this." Ash said.
"Cilan?" Serena asked.
"A Pokémon Connoisseur who's also one of the three Striaton City Gym Leaders in Unova," Iris explained. "Though I haven't seen him since he went off to Johto."
"I actually met a connoisseur before I met up with Cynthia again," Brock recalled. "He was trying to catch a Gyrados. I don't think I ever got his name."
"Well, I'm sure Cilan would have wanted to meet him." Ash said.
"And I do admit, this meat is delicious," Cynthia said as she looked to Din, who looked to her in return. "It's times like these where I miss traveling like other trainers do."
"I never got to ask, Cynthia," Serena said. "If you're the Champion of Sinnoh, aren't you needed there?"
"Not all the time. I'm just a Pokémon Champion all the time with a lot of free time on my hands. It's others like Diantha who have a full plate, as they have other jobs," Cynthia explained. "But in all seriousness, I wanted to tag along with Mando, and now that we know someone is targeting Grogu, I want to do all I can t help protect him."
"When you're all finished up, I'll show you what you'll be using to fight them off," Din said. "I'm ready whenever you are."
"Man, that looks like a good gourmet meal." Jessie said, nearly drooling.
"Still, from the sound of this Empire, it seems we might have to up our game soon," James said. "But right now…"
"Our main priority is seeing what Mando has in store for da Twoips!" Meowth finished up.
"Wobba! Wa!" Wobbuffet agreed.
After everyone was done, Din unwrapped the other bag he had with him. Everyone crowded around before seeing most of the weapons they saw earlier hidden inside of the Razor Crest.
"Looks like Mando is packed with weapons." Jessie said as she, Meowth and James watched from a nearby bush.
"That's gonna make the job a lot harder." James mused.
"Whoa," Ash said. He suddenly winced and felt his arm. "Ouch."
"Pika-Pi?" Pikachu asked as he scuttled over.
"Ash!" Serena exclaimed as she and Dawn ran over. They noticed his wound and gasped. "How did this happen?!"
"I think it was a stray laser from that robot," Ash said. "Don't worry, it's fine."
"That's exactly why we're worrying!" Dawn panicked. "You should have let us know sooner!"
"I'm telling you, I'm okay," Ash reassured as Grogu walked over. "Hey, don't worry, Grogu, I'll be alright. I just need to let this—"
Grogu just placed his hand near the wound and closed his eyes. Everyone looked on in awe as the wound started to slowly fade away. As soon as it was gone, he fell back.
"Grogu!" Ash exclaimed before feeling where the wound was. "He healed it!"
"Dig it! That's crazy stuff!" Meowth exclaimed, but not too loudly.
"Healing powers too?" James asked. "Interesting."
"Is this another one of Grogu's abilities?" Cynthia asked.
"Yep," Din replied. "One of many."
"You hardly speak that we don't even know if you're still here." Iris mused.
"He's not much of a conversationalist." Ash explained.
Squishy looked on in interest as Dedenne climbed down from the table.
"So, what else could we train Grogu to do?" Brock asked as Clemont stopped his work on the hover crib nearby. "We can't just keep letting him catch balls."
"You said you met a Jedi. Ahsoka, I think you said her name was," May said. "What did she have that you could use to teach Grogu?"
"Well, I'm no Jedi expert, but I think they all carry some sort of weapon," Din said, tracing in the sand with his finger. Everyone crowded around to see a rough sketch of Ahsoka's lightsaber. "I believe they're called laser swords. Swords with blades made of, well, energy."
"That doesn't sound like something we should give Grogu." Clemont said.
"It does sound cool," Ash said, imagining what 'laser swords' would be like. "But how do we teach Grogu to fight with a sword?"
"Well, we could have Braixen offer her stick for him to use." Serena suggested.
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "And we can also use Greninja to teach him how to fight."
"Speaking of," Cynthia said, looking back to Din. "What kind of training do you have for everyone?"
Din got up and opened up his bag, showing off an assortment of weapons, melee and firearms alike.
"I had a feeling it would come to this." Iris worried.
"Pick one, we start tomorrow after I set up targets," Din explained. "The Empire won't be fighting the way you do." He said before walking to the Razor Crest again.
Cynthia picked up a DL-44 before walking to Din while Ash looked to the collection of blasters. He looked to Pikachu, seeming to need advice.
"Got any ideas?" Ash asked.
"Pika…" Pikachu said, rubbing the back of his head while looking to the selection.
Inside of the Razor Crest, Din was closing up his armory. As he did, Cynthia walked in.
"Can I have a word with you?" Cynthia asked. However, like when they were leaving the Pokémon Center, he did not speak. He only nodded. "Okay, the silent treatment may work for some occasions, but I need to hear what you have to say from what I am saying. You can't make soldiers out of Ash and his friends," she said sternly. "They are just kids, barely over ten. You can't expect them to start taking lives. I may be holding a gun, but I'm not going to fire it."
Din turned to Cynthia. "They'll need to survive if they ever fight the Empire," he said. "They may be gone, but these Remnants are just as dangerous as their full numbers. They won't be using Pokémon. Ash and his friends have to be ready… because when they attacked, I was not."
Cynthia gaped, her stern attitude slowly fading. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know."
"No one does," Din said, looking to everyone still choosing their weapons. "It's better off."
"That we know so little about you?" Cynthia asked.
Din nodded. "This is the way."
Cynthia watched as Din walked back out. "Maybe… but it's not the right way." She said to herself.
"How about this one?" Ash asked, picking up a sword.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu piped. Everyone looked to him before he picked up a twig and swung it around. "Pi! Pi! Pi!"
"Oh, yeah," Serena said. "It sorta does make you more like Greninja."
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, looking to a spear blaster, taken from one of the Quarren when Din was on the Moon of Kol Iben, Trask. "Is Greninja a Water-Type?"
"Yeah. He and I have been together since I got him as a Froakie since arriving in Kalos," Ash said as Din and Cynthia walked out. "I guess I could use this… and this." He said, picking up a small pistol.
"Get some rest," Din said. "Tomorrow, we start training, and…"
Din was about to go on until he heard something nearby.
"He's teaching the twerps how to fight," James whispered. "He could do the same for Grogu too!"
"Yeah, and dose laser swords he mentioned," Meowth said. "Can you imagine those?"
"Best to see what Mando's 'training' is." Jessie said before Wobbuffet came out of his Pokéball.
"Wobba!"
"Shh! Quiet!" Meowth whispered, hearing all the talking from the group stop. "What's going on?"
The Team Rocket Trio stopped and peered through the bushes. To their surprise, they saw Din looking around, getting ready to pull out his blaster.
"OH MAN! SCRAM!"
Team Rocket immediately ran off just before Din could scan where they were.
"What is it?" Iris asked, having picked up a blaster for herself.
"False alarm," Din said, easing up. "Get rest. Everything will be ready for tomorrow." He said before sitting down next to Grogu. He crossed his arms as Grogu fell asleep.
Everyone else nodded, having already chosen their weapons. Putting them next to their sleeping bags at their tents, they fell asleep as well.
Cynthia simply laid down near the campfire with her shoes removed, being the only one who did not bring a sleeping bag of her own. While a Champion like herself was used to sleeping on beds instead of bags, she was content with travelling. She noticed Grogu sleeping and smiled.
"You'll definitely get far, Grogu." Cynthia said before falling asleep.
With Team Rocket, the trio had gotten far enough out of Din's sight.
"Dat was too close!" Meowth panted.
"We're gonna need a new strategy." James said.
"Del!"
"Look!" Jessie exclaimed, pointing to the sky as a flying bird Pokémon came down. "It's the Team Rocket Delibird!"
"Deli!" Delibird called, landing and laying out several Pokéballs.
"The Pokémon we requested from headquarters!" James exclaimed happily. "Thanks, Delibird!"
"Give da Boss our gratitude!" Meowth said happily.
"Delibird!" Delibird cried before flying off.
"Now let's get them!" Jessie exclaimed, spinning around and kicking a tree.
James and Meowth suddenly heard a familiar buzzing coming from the tree and gulped.
"TEAM ROCKET'S RUNNING OFF AGAIN!"
"Wobbuffet!"
The next morning, Cynthia woke up. She let out a loud yawn, something she would not have allowed Ash or any of his friends to hear from her in public, and got her shoes on. As she was, she noticed a shadow over her. Looking to the side, she saw Grogu already awake before looking up, seeing someone in white armor, the Imperial symbol on its shoulder. She gasped and staggered back. Reaching for her blaster, she prepared to turn off the safety until she noticed something off about the new figure; it was not standing naturally.
"What the—?" Cynthia asked. She got up and looked to Grogu before getting one of her Pokéballs ready. She looked around, seeing more figures in the same way, before seeing Din walk over. "These… these are the targets?" she asked.
"I'll explain when everyone else is awake." Din simply said.
"Man, that was a long run." Meowth said as he, Jessie, James and Wobbuffet walked back to where the group was.
"Wobba!" Wobbuffet agreed.
"Mando sure is scary if he was able to nearly know where we were." James said.
"Get it together!" Jessie ordered. "We have a new twerp to train, and we need to know what we'll be up against!"
"Did you have to kick a tree with Beedrill again?" James asked. "You know what happens whenever we disturb them!"
"Well, as soon as we see what the training is, we can…"
"Look!" Meowth exclaimed.
Jessie and James stopped and looked ahead, seeing the white armored figures. As they started to hide, they all heard yelps of surprise, including the surprised cries of the Pokémon of Ash and the rest of the group.
"Those look like the guys in black suits we came across the other day!" James exclaimed.
"What do ya think is goin' on?" Meowth asked.
"Let's find out." Jessie said.
"Wobbuffet!"
"What are these?!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Dedenne!" Dedenne chirped while Squishy appeared to be having a staring contest with one of the armored figures.
"Wait, where's Mando and Grogu?" Ash asked.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as well.
"You're up." Din said, causing everyone to turn to him.
"Mando, what are these things?!" Brock exclaimed.
"Your targets," Din explained. "These are deserted armors of the soldiers of the Empire, Stormtroopers."
"Stormtroopers?" Dawn asked.
"Come in different types, but if you're lucky, you'll only get to face the default batch," Din explained. "Need me to tell you what you're gonna be doing?"
"That would be nice." May said, still recovering from the shock upon waking up.
"Each of you will attack the armors with whatever skills you have. No use of Pokémon," Din explained. "They won't be using any, and they might see your Pokémon as creatures they can just open fire on."
"Pika?!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"No one's hurting you, don't worry." Dawn reassured as Piplup started to stand tall to show he was not afraid, but was failing to do so.
"Also, I took any blades away you got," Din went on. "I don't want you cutting yourself, so if you want melee training, you'll be using the sticks I replaced your bladed weapons with."
"They sure are sturdy." Iris admitted, seeing the more durable wooden sticks placed next to the firearms they had chosen.
"But don't think this will be an easy go," Din continued. "I've programmed each of these armor targets to attack back, one shot each," he went on. "You all aren't the first group I've trained to fight," he added on. "But know that you have to use all your skills in order to show you have what it takes to fight the Empire."
"Just give us the word." Brock said.
"And no need to worry!" Dawn reassured.
Din nodded and pressed a remote. "Begin."
The armored targets glowed to life as everyone got their weapons. Team Rocket stumbled back as one of the drones close to them sprang to life.
May aimed her pistol and fired at one of the Stormtrooper targets, grazing parts of its armor. After a few more misfires, she hit it in the helmet, causing him to fire back. She gasped and ran out of the way as Dawn was using her spear blaster to fire at another Stormtrooper. She ducked from one of its blasts and shot again before rolling to the side. She noticed the position of the blade on her blaster and ran forward, swinging her blade up to knock the target back a few feet.
"Wow, impressive!" Serena exclaimed from nearby, backing away and keeping her weapon, an NN-14, ready to fire. "How are you and May so good?"
"When we traveled with Ash, we took down some criminal organizations. Dangerous ones too," May explained before she and Dawn used their Coordinator moves to swiftly knock back both of their targets. "Aqua and Magma for me."
"Galactic for me," Dawn said before shooting at the target advancing on Serena. "What about you?"
"Well, we encountered some thieves after a Legendary Pokémon friend of ours and some guys in red suits, so there's that," Serena said. She switched the safety off of her blaster and dodged from an incoming blast before firing back, causing the target to stumble. "I can't believe we always get into so much trouble."
"No one is perfect." Dawn said with a grin.
Iris dodged from the blaster fire of two Stormtrooper Targets and leapt to the trees. Keeping a small pistol ready, she leapt down on top of one target as the other aimed at her. Quickly, she shot at it, causing it to take aim. At the right moment, she leapt off of the target she was on, getting the two to shoot each other.
"I knew those moves would come in handy!" Iris cheered before shooting the two Stormtroopers again.
Cynthia aimed carefully at a Stormtrooper target and fired. Like with the others, it fired back, but she dodged out of the way and fired back several times, not letting up. Din looked to her, an impressed look appearing under his helmet.
"Come on!" Brock called, firing at another Stormtrooper with a Carbine. All the blasts repeated three times as each shot was fired before the targets fired back. Getting behind a rock, he noticed Clemont running and armed with a small pistol of his own.
"What's with you?" Brock asked.
"I've never been one for so much exercise," Clemont panted. He turned around and fired at the Stormtrooper target he was with, getting it to falter. "But the way these work… they're amazing!"
"A real man of science," Brock said. He turned and fired as well. "Guess aside from cooking, we have some stuff in common."
"Go, Big Brother!" Bonnie cheered from the sidelines.
"De Nene!" Dedenne cheered as well.
Din turned to Bonnie. "Glad you decided to sit out," he said. "The other kids I helped out just hid. You're brave enough to see it without wincing."
"I want to show the Empire a thing or two myself!" Bonnie exclaimed before hugging Grogu tightly. "And someone will need to keep an eye on Grogu too."
Squishy seemed to nod as Grogu cooed at him. He warbled back, the two having a brief conversation now.
"Maybe a shield for you then." Din decided.
"Whoa, that Twoipette's braver than I pegged her for!" Meowth exclaimed.
"I hope those fellows are still bad aim, because she'll need that shield!" James exclaimed.
Ash was leaping from rock to rock nearby, almost moving like his Greninja. Jumping over the Stormtrooper target, he fired at it, causing it to fire back. He landed, using a smaller rock he picked up to throw to counter the blast. It successfully shattered, as he had planned, and fired back, knocking the Stormtrooper Target down.
"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu cheered.
"Thanks," Ash said as he readied his blaster again. "This is new to me too, but there's no way I'm letting this Empire take Grogu without a fight."
"So far, so good." Din said. Suddenly, something caught his attention, and he turned around, shooting a falling cube to pieces before it could land over Bonnie, Dedenne, Grogu and Squishy.
"What is it?" Cynthia asked.
"Wait," Ash said, running over with Pikachu as well. "I know this thing!"
"Are you saying…?" Brock asked as the targets stopped firing.
"Seviper, haze!"
"Look out!" Ash called before everyone ran from a poison-type attack.
Din took cover and grabbed Grogu before taking out his pulse rifle. "What was that?" he asked.
To answer his question, Jessie appeared.
"Prepare for trouble, and watch your aim." Jessie started out.
"And make it double, we're bringing our game!" James continued.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the deceptions of light and dark."
"To knock your armor right out of the park!"
"Jessie!"
"And James."
"Team Rocket blasts off, as fast as the day."
"Surrender now, for this is the way!"
"Meowth I say!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Mime, Mime!"
"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed.
"They've got a Wobbuffet and a Mime Jr.?!" Iris exclaimed.
"Wait, they were in Unova too?!" Dawn exclaimed, having left after the Junior Cup. "If you said something about them, I would have stayed a bit longer!"
"Too many Twerpettes to keep track of," Jessie said. "Besides, who would you be without us?"
"You're not getting Pikachu!" Ash protested as he readied his Pokéball while Pikachu ran forward.
"Pika!"
"They're after Pikachu?" Din asked.
"A lot of the time, ever since I was in Kanto," Ash explained before turning back to Team Rocket. "You're not taking him with all of us against all of you!"
"With these numbers, it's not him we're after this time for once," James said. "We know all about little Grogu there."
"You sided with the Empire?" Din asked, aiming his rifle.
"After hearing about that foul Gideon and the need for the green twerp's blood? As if!" James exclaimed. "If anything, we're taking him to train the right way!"
"What?!" Ash exclaimed, outraged.
"Hey, show some gratitude!" Meowth yelled. "We're teaching him to become stronger, and you can focus on your own twenty-year show-long dreams! A win for us all!"
"Not unless you're a part of it!" Iris yelled.
"You always were the pathetic one in Unova," Jessie mocked. "Such a kid."
"What was that?!" Iris seethed.
"You're in over your heads if you think you can take a child like that," Cynthia said as Din aimed his pulse rifle. "That's lower than—"
Before Cynthia could go on, Din shot at Team Rocket's balloon. The trio and their Pokémon shrieked as they flew out of the way before landing perfectly on the ground.
"You let these drag on way too long." Din said.
"No more holding back, if that's what you want!" Jessie exclaimed, taking out two Pokéballs. "Gourgeist, Seviper, show them what's what!"
"Inkay, Carnivine, join the fight!" James called out, tossing his two Pokéballs as well.
"Inkay!" Inkay called as he was let out of his Pokéball.
"Car NNIIVVIIIIIINE!" Carnivine yelled before flying back to James and biting him on the head.
"That's some grass-type!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Nah, it just happens every episode." Meowth said.
"I said fight, not bite! It's great to see you too, Carnivine, but now, attack with Leech Seed!" James exclaimed before throwing his grass Pokémon off towards the group.
"Quilava, counter with flamethrower!" Dawn called out, sending out her Quilava from one of her Pokéballs.
"Come on out, Glaceon, and freeze Seviper!" May called out, sending out her ice-evolved Eevee.
Glaceon came out with Quilava and the two fired their attacks. As they did, Din watched before taking out his own Pokéball.
"Bonnie, get the kid to safety." Din ordered.
"But I want to help too!" Bonnie argued.
"I looked up the stats of your Dedenne, and you should be able to hold off any of Team Rocket's Pokémon if they get him," Din explained. "So go, now!"
Bonnie nodded before looking to Grogu. "Come on, Grogu! Let's get you away from these bad guys!"
"Nenene!" Dedenne agreed before the two helped Grogu get away.
"Noivern, Supersonic!" Ash called out, releasing his Noivern.
Noivern flew up and released his Supersonic attack, forcing Gourgeist back.
"Mime Jr., use Teeter Dance!" James called out. "And bring Grogu here!"
"Mime, Mime, Mime!" Mime Jr. called out before using his Teeter Dance.
Pikachu, Piplup, Axew and Dedenne suddenly felt themselves glow blue, as did Iris, Dawn and Bonnie. They were all caught up in his dance, causing Grogu to look on before holding out his hand to Mime Jr., and his eyes closing. He started to glow blue, but kept pushing on.
Mime Jr. continued to use Teeter Dance until he was lifted into the air. Everyone watched before Din released his Rhyhorn.
"Drill Run." Din whispered.
Rhyhorn roared and charged at Mime Jr., just as it started to fall. Ramming into him like a drill, he was knocked back.
"What move was that?!" Brock exclaimed. "I didn't even hear you call it out!"
"Why do you call out anything in fights?" Din asked before aiming his blaster just as Seviper was closing in on him. Timing it carefully, he shot at his tail, causing him to slither back for protection.
"What are you doing?!" Ash asked,
"What I have to so Grogu stays safe!" Din replied. "My creed states we do anything necessary to get the job done."
"You don't kill Pokémon, or humans!" Cynthia argued. "Some, like the ones that Team Rocket have, might be evil, but they don't deserve to be killed."
"They're literally being flames and iced."
"Because those aren't potentially harmful!" Serena exclaimed. "If you resort to killing them, you'd be no better than the Empire!"
Din looked to Serena, his eyes seeming to narrow for her outburst. However, she kept a calm demeanor before taking out her Pokéball. "Braixen, use Fire Blast!" she ordered, releasing Braixen.
Braixen took out her stick from her tail and sent forth her fire blast.
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash ordered.
"Pika… Chu!" Pikachu called out, sending his Electro Ball forward.
"If those guys in armor find us, we'll never get Grogu to the boss!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Then we'd better wrap this up!" James exclaimed. "Carnivine, Bullet Seed on the Mandalorian, and Mime Jr., use Psychic to take Grogu!"
Din shook his head. "I already know what they're doing," he said before aiming out his flamethrower. "Why do they do it?" he asked.
"Carnivine!" Carnivine called out, sending out his Bullet Seed attack.
Din fired his flamethrower, cancelling out the attack, before aiming it at Carnivine. Carnivine flew out of the way, but Clemont had tossed his Pokéball with Brock.
"Chespin, use Pin Missile!" Clemont ordered.
"Croagunk, use Poison Jab!" Brock ordered.
Din watched and deactivated his flamethrower as Chespin sent out his Pin Missile attack. The attack stunned Carnivine before the Poison Jab from Croagunk knocked him to the ground.
"Impressive." Din noted before seeing Grogu suddenly fly up. Looking around, he saw Mime Jr. pull him towards the rest of Team Rocket before they recalled their Pokémon.
"Don't worry, we'll train him!" Jessie called out. "And then he can take out the Empire!"
"And take some Pokémon for ourselves too." James added on before Team Rocket started to get away in their balloon.
"We gotta stop them!" Ash called out.
"Right with you." Din said, aiming his rifle.
"Mando… what does that do?" Ash asked nervously.
"Make them pay for taking my kid," Din said, fully prepared for what was about to happen. "Disintegration set."
"Mando, please! This isn't the right way to do it!" Ash called out before Din fired. However, he missed, and ended up releasing a sand bag from the balloon.
"I think this was a mistake!" Meowth panicked.
"I respect your creed. You don't have to show your face, but you don't have to kill too!" Ash pleaded. "If you're better than the Empire… don't use that setting!"
Din aimed again, and now had James locked in his sights.
James seemed to realize this and moved away, but saw Din readjusting his aim.
"I have a bad feeling about this!" James whimpered.
Din prepared to pull the trigger, but thought of what Ash had said. He lowered his weapon and handed something to Ash.
"Use this," Din ordered. "I have an idea."
"What is this?" Ash asked.
"Throw it like a Pokéball on my signal." Din simply replied before flying off with his jetpack.
"He's flying right at us!" Meowth yelled.
Din flew up to the basket level of the balloon and aimed his blaster. All of Team Rocket screamed and threw their hands into the air before he flew in. Looking to where Grogu was, he grabbed him and pulled him out. Team Rocket regained themselves as soon as he flew out.
"Hey! No one steals from us and gets away with it!" Jessie yelled. "Gourgeist, Shadow Ball that Mandalorian!"
"Ash, now! And Pikachu too!" Din called out. "Throw it!"
"Go, now!" Ash called out, throwing the device at the balloon.
Before Gourgeist could attack after being released, the device, revealed to be a grenade, landed in the basket. All of Team Rocket looked to it before it released a shock pulse, causing the balloon to lower down.
"Non-lethal." Din explained as he flew down.
"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed before looking to Pikachu. "Now! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu replied before jumping up. "Pika… CCCHHHUUUUU!"
Team Rocket yelled before the Thunderbolt hit them. Combined with the Shock Grenade, an explosion went off, sending them all flying.
"To think we almost had Dat green Twoip!" Meowth complained.
"Even more to report to the boss." James said.
"Mando made us look like fools!" Jessie complained. "And now…"
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAAAIIIIINNNN!"
"Wobbuffet!"
With a twinkle in the sky, Team Rocket seemed to disappear.
"Nice work." Din complimented.
"You too," Ash said. "But… what did I throw?"
"Non-lethal weapon, a shock grenade," Din explained. "Can knock out the power on anything or stun enemies. You threw it like a Pokéball, just like what I was going for."
"Good thinking," Cynthia said. "Remember, you don't always have to kill. It might be in your creed, but you don't have to follow the exact words to a tee."
"I can't guarantee that I'll stop my methods of killing," Din said. "But at least I can try."
Ash nodded. "This is the way." He said.
Din nodded in response. "This is the way."
In the forest far away from the group, Team Rocket had landed, and watched as the Razor Crest was now flying off again. They narrowed their eyes before looking back to a transmission they were sending.
"As you can see from this footage, the Mandalorian seems to take protecting Grogu seriously," James said to Giovanni as he watched from headquarters. "Because of that, we were unable to procure him."
"I see," Giovanni said. "And you said he was also willing to kill you to keep this Grogu safe?"
"That he was," Jessie replied. "Singed off some of my hair too."
"Then it's a good thing you have your extra Pokémon for firepower," Giovanni said. "As of now, you are in charge of procuring this asset for our cause. We will not experiment on him, but he will be trained in our ways. I know I can count on you."
"YES SIR!" All of Team Rocket replied before the transmission ended. As soon as it did, they cheered.
"Da Boss is counting on us!" Meowth said with a smile.
"So let's recruit Grogu as best as we can!" James agreed.
"So… how was our training?" Serena asked Din as the Razor Crest flew.
"You did well against the targets… and against Team Rocket too," Din replied. "I think there's a way both kinds of training could work."
"Still, if we ever come across real Stormtroopers, we'd better hold onto these." Dawn said.
"You're doing well," Din said before looking to Clemont. "And the Pram?"
"Still coming along."
"Then rest up," Din said. "And be sure to train Grogu too."
"And remember what we said about the Creed," Serena said. "This is the way."
"This is the way." Din said.
Everyone nodded before Din flew the Razor Crest further to Snowbelle City.
Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait, but around the time I was writing this, my grandmother passed away. I meant for this to come earlier, but better late than never. I hope you don't mind the delay, and that you enjoyed this Chapter. Don't move, because there's a surprise coming up soon. Please review, rate, and as always, if you can, Private Message me for anything on the Story. After all, I am always keen to hear from you. For now, this is SuperHeroTimeFan signing off. Have a great week, everyone! See you soon!