Chapter 97 Sandy's Quest

After getting back to the Grand Hall, Ash decides to do another funding, and this time, he decides to go with the Obsidia Slums innovation. This time it only needs 60000$, and they are going to change the whole Obsidia slums into South Obsidia Low Income Community Estate. And the owner gives Ash the GUM Key as thanks. And just as they leave the building, they find a girl standing there, and Ash seems to find her cute for some reason.

?: Excuse me! Do you have a moment to spare for the sake of this beautiful planet?

Ash: Sure?

?: Thank you for caring about the world we live in! The truth is, despite every single one of us being dependent on this planet, many people just don't give it the time of day! Reborn has definitely come a long way, but the thoughtlessness that led to its decline before is still alive and well! Every day the environment is harmed further, many innocent and sweet Pokémon are losing their homes! Did you know that every year over 10,000 Wingull are caught in landfills that aren't properly contained? And every MONTH there are thousands of Water Pokémon in seas all across the world dying because of underwater pollution?

Serena: That sounds horrible...

Lillie: Yeah, I can't imagine that...

?: My goal is to change that! Your support can go a long way to making tomorrow a little brighter! So, would you be willing to sign this petition to make the city board acknowledge the still-lingering threat of environmental detractors in Reborn? ... Is what I'd like to say, but... The truth is, we already got plenty of signatures during the restoration, but the city still hasn't acted appropriately in response. And now, everyone's so caught up in how great the city looks now that they're forgetting everything that's slipping through the cracks! To be honest, I'm getting kind of desperate here... Ummm, hey? I'm thinking about taking matters into my own hands...

Ash: If that's the case, how about you try talking to my Mom about it? I mean, she is the head of the Grand Hall because of Ame's demise.

Sandy: Oh, no need to bother her. By the way, my name's Sandy! And you are...?

Ash: I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu.

Serena: I'm Serena.

Lillie: And I'm Lillie.

Sandy: It's a pleasure to meet you! So, let's talk about our first mission... So, let's talk about our first mission... This restoration has been a huge improvement for the region overall, but there's one part of Reborn that's suffering as a result... Malchous Forest! The deforestation of Malchous has been causing more and more Pokémon to lose their precious homes... I just can't stand by while that happens! Meet me at Malchous Forest and let's put a stop to it!

Ash: (Seeing Sandy leaves) Serena, Lillie, can you bring Mom and Adrienn to Malchous Forest? I don't think I can trust this girl for doing something reckless. I will need some help.

Serena: You've got it.

Lillie: Leave it to us.

Then Ash arrives at Malchous Forest Park on his own with Sandy, and they see some construction workers cutting the trees into timbers for the construction.

Sandy: There you are! I got nervous when I saw there were so many of them, but we should be able to handle this... Right?

Ash: Are you telling me to stop them?

Sandy: (Ignores Ash) C'mon, deep breath... I can do this. This is for the Pokémon... Let's go! (Rushes towards the workers) Excuse me! On behalf of all the Pokémon living in this forest...I'll punish you!

Much to Ash's horror, Sandy is getting into a fight with the workers, he doesn't want to do this, but he knows that Sandy can't fight on her own, so with a struggle, he engages in the fight, and hoping that his mother and Adrienn can come as fast as they can.

Sandy: Yes! That one's for the future! Now go home and rethink your destructive ways!

And after a while, Delia and Adrienn rush in with Serena, Lillie, and a worker.

Worker: That's them; those are the ones causing a disturbance.

Delia: Ash?

Ash is delighted as they got the message, and Sandy notices them as well.

Sandy: Um... Ms. Ketchum and Mx. Flores? Ah, this is lucky! I just need a moment of your time to talk about the deforestation of Malchous and other environmental concerns following the city's restoration.

Adrienn: And you must be... the Reserve Ground Leader, Sandy. I heard that you were like this.

Sandy: That's right, but what's important is that you take action to ensure the safety of our world. I've submitted several petitions in due process asking for a reformation of several policies to better the-

Delia: Yes, yes- I've read them. I understand your concerns, but in each case, it's not as simple as just immediately throwing people at the issue. We'll keep working towards a satisfactory solution, but in the meantime... Could I ask you to not accost the city workers? They're just working towards a wage; it's not their decision how much of Malchous is used. And for the record, I understand that most of these trees were generated by the PULSE incident in this area. Our priority has always been to use up that artificially augmented plant life for its resources before cutting into the natural environment. And in any case, the simple fact is that large construction projects will require a lot of wood. If you understand, then I'll ask for your patience in resolving these matters properly.

Adrienn: (Turns to the workers) Men, why don't you go ahead and take a break?

After the workers are taking a break, Delia turns to Ash, Serena, and Lillie.

Delia: Ash, keep an eye on her for me, please.

Ash nods, and then Delia and Adrienn leave, leaving the three of them alone again.

Sandy: Well... Okay. Maybe that was a little hasty, but... I'm gonna mark that down as a partial success! Now, what to do next... Mm... I know! Azurine Lake has really cleared up ever since the Water Treatment Center came back online... But the truth is, some of the chemicals used to "clean" it are actually still harmful to the Pokémon! Thanks to an anonymous source, I was able to acquire an alternate filter to apply to the main head of the Treatment Center... I think it will go a long way to protecting the Pokémon of the lake! Meet me at the central part of the Water Treatment Center, in the Opal Grid! We'll protect the lake together!

After the girl leaves, Ash and the others groan a little, and they are going to do the same thing again, call Delia and Adrienn, and Ash has to go to the Water Treatment Center with Sandy.

Sandy: Okay, there shouldn't be any issue here! I brought some tools, so let me just quickly open this up, change out the filter, and we'll be on our way! Just make sure no one is coming, okay?

Ash frowns as he sees how Sandy is working on the machine, and it causes 6 Gulpins to come out of the machine, and Ash has to help her clean the mess.

Sandy: Phew! Those little guys suddenly appearing really surprised me! I wonder where they all came from?

This time Adrienn comes with Lillie alone, and they just stare at Sandy.

Adrienn: So the "disturbance" that was reported to me...Was just you again.

Sandy: Oh, ahaha~ Where did you come from? We were just doing a regular inspection of the center to make sure everything was in proper working order! No problems here, yup! Well, we'll be moving right along!

Adrienn: (Looks at her hand) Then what's that you're holding?

Sandy: W-what, this old thing? It's just a ...Piece of junk, yup! I found it laying around so I was gonna go throw it away!

Adrienn: I don't suppose that "junk" would happen to be a filter for that machine.

Sandy: Whaaaaat? Pshaw, you're crazy! Ash, isn't xe crazy? There's no way I'd just happen to have taken this filter out of that machine or something!

Ash: Did you just say it out loud about what you were doing?

Adrienn: ...Uh huh. All right, so supposing, just hypothetically, right? Supposing you did take that filter from that machine... Why would you have done that?

Sandy: Just hypothetically, right! Umm, well, I suppose if that were something I would have done... It must have been because this filter was passing cleaning chemicals that would be unhealthy for the Pokémon in Azurine Lake...And so I would have replaced it with one that would make the water even purer!

Adrienn: And, in this hypothetical scenario... Just where would you have gotten a filter like that?

Sandy: Um... That's-

Adrienn: And would it have been an illegal acquisition?

Sandy: Ahaha, it's just hypothetical, so who really knows!

Ash, Lillie, and Adrienn stare at the girl, who tries to save herself.

Sandy: B-besides! There were a bunch of Gulpin crammed into the machine anyway! So, it was a good thing!

Adrienn: And just how would you know that if you hadn't actually opened it?

Sandy: U-um...

Adrienn: For your own sake, I hope you never have to testify in a court of law. All right, listen. The truth is, I've known that some of the chemicals permitted by the existing filter would probably still be harmful. Unfortunately, a certain corporation has had their hands in the restoration financially and their ambassador has been trying to pull us around for it. That person has significantly different values from many of us and is only concerned about what can save them money. And regrettably, that same company is the one we would have needed to finance this filter. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to report that the disturbance down here was just a gaggle of Gulpin, and nothing more. And I'm going to forget I ever saw you here. Please dispose of that filter somewhere no one will find it. But let us please not cross paths like this again. (Leaves)

Sandy: Well, that could have gone worse! But what xe said about that corporate ambassador really concerns me... I won't let Reborn rot again! Hmm... I know! Let's sneak into the Grand Hall and find that corporate office! Then we can put an end to their dark grasp on the city once and for all! (Leaves)

Ash: For some reason it is a bad idea...where is Serena?

Lillie: She's at the Grand Hall with your mom.

Ash: Then this is perfect, we have to warn her.

After getting to the Grand Hall, Ash and Lillie tell Serena and Delia the news, and Delia is surprised that Sandy has been in the office, so she wants Ash to check out what she's doing first before taking action.

Sandy: All right, you made it! I had to hide in a shipping crate to get through... How about you?

Ash: I told you my Mom is the head of the Grand Hall.

Sandy: Eh, they just let you in? Hm... Well, hiding in the shipping crate was pretty fun, so I'm not upset! Now let's see what we can do... (Reads the books on the shelves) Just a bunch of legal policies here... Transaction records... All these papers are signed or addressed "Ignosia Craudburry"... I guess that's the corporate ambassador?

Ash: Her? No wonder she would refuse something like that...

Sandy: Hm hm hm hm hm~ From the sound of it, these pipes are full of running water... That's perfect! We'll just bash them in, flood the office, and destroy all the paperwork here! That should free up the city to do what's right instead of what the companies want! Does that sound like a great idea, or does that sound like a great idea?

Ash: (Widens his eyes) You're not going to...

Sandy: All right! Let's have one for the money! Two for Pokémon! Three to get ready! And four to get gone!

Ash decides to run from the room to warn others, but it is too late, they already feel the shaking as they rush toward the cooperative room, only to find the whole place flooded.

Ash: What have you done? Sandy?

Sandy: Well, I think that about settles it! The city should be free from corporate tyranny to protect the Pokémon and environment now!

Delia: So... hypothetically speaking...

Sandy: All that corporate paperwork is gone! And that's not hypothetical. You can thank us later.

Delia: (Frowns) Please leave.

Sandy: Yup, sure thing. (Turns to Ash) Thanks for your help, Ash! You really gave me the confidence to make things happen! I think I should chill out for a little bit before I actually get arrested, but why don't you take this? People always ask me why I use this even though I mostly train Ground-types... So I think it suits you better anyway!

Ash is given the Waterium-Z for messing up things, and then she leaves.

Ash: Mom, you know that I'm not encouraging her to do such a thing...

Delia: I know, honey. I know you aren't this kind of person. Repairing that room is going to be an additional headache... But I must admit... I somewhat relish the thought that an elongated repair process will be the reason for me to ask the ambassador not to come in for some time. And it's true that there may be some binding documents destroyed in the process... But I am not about to admit that to that woman. Her heart's in the right place, but she is enough of a menace without me encouraging her. I am tired.

Ash: And for some reason, I start to have some feelings for her as well...

Delia, Serena, and Lillie gulp a little, 18 girls in Ash's harem, is that girl also be one of them?


And here is a new chapter, as you can see, Sandy will be the final member of the harem. I was either thinking of Terra or Sandy for Ground Type. But I decide to go with Sandy because Terra is too wild for Ash to handle. I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be the gym battle.