So You're Having a Bad Day

Alec's POV

The group currently had stopped for a water break, as the days had been pretty hot recently. "Pikachu, be sure to drink lots of water before we head out," Ash reminded his partner.

"It looks like it's going to be hot again today," Clemont commented.

"We'll just have to make the best of it and stop often," Alec stated as he sat next to Serena, who was looking something up on her guidebook.

"Let's see, my fortune for today is… Huh? Troubles await you? What does that mean?" she asked in surprise.

"I wanna know my fortune too," Bonnie said eagerly.

"Well, let's see, Bonnie's fortune today is… Today will be the worst day you've had all year. You'll be sorry you got up this morning and watch out for things made of gold," Serena said.

"Hey, that's bad," Bonnie protested.

"Ah, don't take those things seriously. Stuff like that usually isn't very accurate and the times it is right is just because you make it right," Alec told the girls.

"'Kay you guys, let's move out," Ash said as he stood up. An explosion then happened nearby, hitting close to Pancham and Chespin.

"You okay?" Serena asked Pancham.

"Who did that?" Ash asked, looking up to see Team Rocket's balloon floating overhead.

"Why your favorite raves," Jessie answered.

"You did miss us, didn't you?" James asked.

"They always do," Meowth stated.

[Thaaaat's right,] Wobbuffet commented.

Jessie then threw a device and it captured Pancham and Chespin in a net. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

"Ethan, Night Shade!" Alec called out. The two Pokémon fired at the cage, but it wasn't affected by the attacks.

"And our anti-moves wins!" James shouted.

"If that's the case, Luxray, use Swift!" Clemont commanded. Luxray shot the stars but instead of hitting the net, they hit the balloon. The attack made a hole and the balloon fell to the ground, releasing Pancham and Chespin at the same time.

"What's that?" Ash asked, looking at some fruit that rolled up to the group.

"It must be theirs," Clemont answered.

"Criminals! Those berries happen to belong to us," Jessie declared.

"Picked fresh today," James added.

"Find your own grub!" Meowth shouted.

"We're not stealing anything," Serena countered.

[Theifs!] a voice suddenly shouted. Everyone turned to see three Pangoro appear, looking pissed off. They then started firing attacks at everyone, clearly not picking sides.

"Pangoro, calm down, please!" Clemont shouted.

"They're not listening. Run for it!" Alec shouted and everyone started running.

Bonnie's POV

After she had run off, she stopped to take a bit of a breather and heard more heavy breathing nearby. "Meowth? Inferno?" Bonnie asked, seeing the two cats.

"Fun-sized Twerpette?" Meowth asked. Before Bonnie could say any counter, Pangoro appeared. The three started running with Inferno firing Ember back at Pangoro to slow it down. Bonnie then felt the ground leave her feet and saw they had ran over a cliff.

Bonnie landed on a vine, but it didn't last long before it snapped. She fell on the ground and looked at her bag. "That was no fun. Dedenne? Are you okay?" she asked.

"De ne ne," Dedenne answered.

"Where are we?" Bonnie wondered as she stood up and felt something tug on her waist.

"Stop pulling me!" Meowth shouted.

"What's this?" Bonnie asked, seeing the vine that tied her and Meowth together. "Cut it out will you?!" she shouted, pulling on the vine.

"Cool your jets. It's nothing but a teensy little vine," Meowth said before trying to cut the vine with Fury Swipes, but his claws didn't do any damage.

"Merow, raow," Inferno said before using Slash on the vines, not doing a thing. Inferno looked like he was about to use Ember, but before he could Pangoro showed up again.

"I'm out of here!" Meowth shouted, trying to pull the vine one way while Bonnie pulled the opposite way. Inferno pushed Meowth and Bonnie in the same direction and they started running again.

Ash's POV

After stopping for a quick rest, Ash asked himself, "What was that all about?" He then asked, "Everybody okay?" but only saw Pancham and Ethan.

"Breon," Ethan answered.

"Pan pan, chum chum," Pancham answered.

"Everybody? Where'd they go?" Ash asked.

Serena's POV

Serena panted heavily after she stopped running. "I guess we got away," she said before looking around, only seeing Frogadier, Chespin, and Dragona. "Where'd everybody go?" she wondered.

[We must have gotten separated,] Dragona theorized.

Snake's POV

Snake found himself with Hawlucha, Luxray, and Fletchinder. [So, any ideas on how to find the others?] Hawlucha asked.

[All fly up and see if I can find anyone,] Fletchinder said, taking off to the sky.

Clemont's POV

Clemont was with Pikachu, Bunnelby, Skiddo, and Cell. "I'm guessing we got separated from the others," Clemont said. He then suddenly noticed that Cell looked pretty worried. "Are you okay?" he asked the Reuniculus.

"Reun," she answered worriedly.

"We'd better look around, I'm sure we'll find them soon," he reassured her and the five started moving.

Alec's POV

Alec looked around when he finished running and only saw Braixen and Light. "Ethan?! Serena? Anyone?" Alec called out but got on response.

[Do you think Serena's alright?] Braixen asked.

[I'm sure she's fine Braixen,] Light reassured her.

"We'd better start finding them though. Team Rocket and those Pangoro are still out there," Alec said the three started moving out.

Inferno's POV

Bonnie and Meowth were still trying to get the vine off each other but so far it wasn't happening. Inferno had suggested using Ember to weaken the rope but they both turned that down real quick. "Guess we're stuck. Here's the deal, I'm escorting you two back to twerpy buddies," Meowth said.

[Like we'd believe some dishonorable scum like you,] Inferno hissed.

"Oh really, you're more likely to escort us back to Team Rocket so you can steal Dedenne and Inferno. I know a lie when I hear one," Bonnie said, looking suspicious.

"I'd never do such a thing," Meowth protested.

"It's written all over your face," Bonnie countered.

"My face? This cute mug only has whiskers and no newsprint!" Meowth shouted.

"Is that thing made out of gold?" Bonnie suddenly asked, flicking Meowth's charm.

"Hey! I'll have you know that this charm is a part of my charm!" Meowth shouted.

[It looks stupid,] Inferno mumbled.

"What was that?!" Meowth asked angrily.

Bonnie then suddenly screamed. [What is it?] Inferno asked, dropping into a combat stance and looking around.

"I get it! My fortune said that today was going to be the worst day ever! And to watch out for things made of gold!" she shouted, looking worriedly at Meowth's charm.

"Hey! Now that's just plain rude!" Meowth protested before trying to pull Bonnie in a direction.

"Will you stop pulling on me!" she shouted, pulling back on the vine.

[This is going to be a long day,] Inferno grumbled.

Ethan's POV

After a bit of searching, there still was no sign of the others. "Hey! Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Alec!" Ash called out.

[Hello!] Pancham shouted. Ethan, however, was sniffing around hoping to find a scent.

"Let's head for higher ground, we might see better," Ash suggested, looking at a rock they could use.

[I think we should get lower, I can find a scent better that way,] Ethan pointed out, but then remembered that Ash couldn't understand him as he and Pancham went off. [I really miss being understood,] Ethan muttered.

Cell's POV

She and the others were searching the immediate area, calling out for anyone but having no luck. Cell was getting more and more worried, but she reminded herself she had to stay calm. Now wasn't the time for a Psychic Surge, as her trainer called it. Cell had a hard time controlling her psychic energy at times, but it was a lot worse before she got help controlling it. Still, she preferred being near a Dark-type just to be safe.

"It's okay, you leave it to me," Clemont said after a bit. "I know just the thing to do."

[What would that be?] Pikachu asked.

Clemont laughed. "The future is now thanks to science; Clemontic gear on! My Body Detecting Radar Bot Mark III!" he shouted, pulling out a small red sphere.

[That's amazing!] Pikachu said in awe.

[Cool,] Skiddo said.

[Wait, if that's Mark III, then what happened to I and II?] Cell asked out loud.

[They blew up,] Bunnelby said plainly.

"Also called, The Life Detector," Clemont added. "Alright, switch on," he said, tapping the top which caused a balloon to open and the device to float up. Clemont then pulled out a tablet. "This is what's called a Thermograph, which detects warm bodies. In other words, people and Pokémon."

[Science is so amazing!] Pikachu said.

"But it can't tell us what it's reacting to, whether it be people or Pokémon," Clemont added, which caused the Pokémon to flop to the ground. Clemont then continued. "This here is us and… Wait, what's that?" he asked, pointing to a large red dot heading right towards them. "It may be someone," he said as the thing approached, which turned out to be Pangoro.

[Found you!] he shouted before firing Hidden Power. Cell used Psychic and sent the move back at the user.

"Now's our chance to escape!" Clemont shouted.

[Before we leave though, I'm going to give this guy a parting gift,] Cell said before using Dazzling Gleam. The five then turned and ran.

"That was really amazing Cell," Clemont commented.

[Thanks,] she replied.

Serena's POV

Serena, Frogadier, Chespin, and Dragona, were still wandering around looking for the others and the Dragonite was getting restless. "Hey, Ash, Alec, Clemont, Bonnie! Where are they?" Serena asked aloud.

[I would like to know too,] Chespin said while Dragona merely grunted. Serena didn't know how Alec dealt with a Pokémon like her, but then again, all her Pokémon were really sweet so she supposed Alec was used to it, but nothing Serena said seemed to get through to her.

[Wait,] Frogadier said, holding his arm out.

[Don't order me around!] Dragona shouted, walking past Frogadier. Only to be attacked by a Pangoro immediately.

[Give us back what you stole!] he shouted.

"What do you-" Serena started but before she could finish Dragona broke free and hit Pangoro with Aerial Ace followed by a Fire Blast. Pangoro clearly knew he was outmatched as he ran off.

[That takes care of that,] Dragona boasted.

[Are you dumb?] Frogadier asked accusingly. [That kind of recklessness could get someone hurt.]

[Whatever. Not like it matters,] Dragona replied uninterested in what Frogadier had to say.

"If you had waited a little longer I might have figured out what was going on!" Serena shouted at Dragona, her patience for the Dragonite at its peak.

[You clearly weren't fast enough then,] Dragona responded.

"How does Alec deal with you, I'll never know," Serena muttered to herself as they continued.

Alec's POV

Since Alec had no way of figuring out where the others could be, he, Light, and Braixen were wandering in a random direction hoping they would find someone. [Do you think Serena's alright?] Braixen asked suddenly.

"I'm sure she's fine Braixen. We'll find her," Alec reassured her.

[I'm sure Serena has one of our team with her. Any of them would be able to help her. Even Dragona in her own way,] Light added.

[What do you mean?] Braixen asked.

"Dragona is like most of my other Dragon-types, more so even. She's the type to punch things first, ask questions later. I hope Serena isn't with her, those two would probably irritate each other to no end," Alec answered. "Let's keep moving."

Inferno's POV

"I'm starving," Meowth complained after a bit of walking. Inferno had to admit that his stomach was empty too.

"Me too," Bonnie agreed.

[I could use something myself,] Dedenne admitted, popping out of Bonnie's bag.

[There's something,] Inferno said, looking at a tree of Nanab berries. Meowth and Bonnie climbed up the tree and Meowth grabbed a clump off the tree. When they were on the ground, Meowth ate the whole thing without a second thought.

"Hey! You were supposed to share with us!" Bonnie protested.

"Nope. I picked it," Meowth responded.

[Don't worry, I'll get us some,] Dedenne said, before climbing up the tree. Once at the branches, he grabbed three clumps and threw them down to Bonnie.

"Nice shot. Thanks, pal," Meowth said to Dedenne.

"Nope. You didn't get these, so they're mine," Bonnie told Meowth.

"No fair, you got three," Meowth protested.

"Well one's for Inferno," Bonnie said, giving him the berry. Inferno ate it in one bite. "And you didn't share with me," Bonnie added.

"Hey! Fine, if you wanna be that way, then I'm staying here," Meowth said, plopping himself onto the floor.

"Say that again," Bonnie said, starting to walk off but having a hard time moving Meowth. "Dedenne, use Nuzzle!" Bonnie ordered. Dedenne jumped down from the tree, priming his cheeks as he did so and electrocuted Meowth. The electricity then went up the vine to shock Bonnie.

[Are you two done arguing?] Inferno asked once Dedenne's attack stopped.

"Fighting like this isn't good for our health," Meowth commented.

"You're right," Bonnie admitted, taking a piece of the berry off so everyone could have one. She then gave it to the others.

Ethan's POV

After getting to the vantage point, almost the entire forest was visible. "We can see everything from here," Ash commented, looking around. Ethan and Pancham did so as well and the three noticed Fletchinder flying around. "Hey, Fletchinder!" Ash shouted.

[We're over here!] Ethan called out.

[We'll be there soon!] Fletchinder called out before flying off. It didn't take long for Fletchinder, Luxray, Hawlucha, and Snake to show up at the outcropping.

"It's good to see you're all okay," Ash told them.

[Snake, have you seen anyone else?] Ethan asked.

[No. Until Fletchinder led us to you you're the first ones we've seen,] Snake answered.

[Damn. We'll just have to keep looking then,] Ethan said.

"Fletchinder, can you look for the others from the air?" Ash asked him.

[I'm on it,] Fletchinder answered before flying off again but staying insight of the group.

With Fletchinder's help, they were able to find Serena, Frogadier, Chespin, and Dragona pretty quickly. "You're safe!" Serena said excitedly as Pancham jumped into her arms.

[Everything good Dragona?] Ethan asked.

[Oh, it's great. Just beat up a Pangoro that tried to attack us, no big deal,] she answered.

"What she means is, she ignored Frogadier's warning, got jumped on, and sent Pangoro away before I could get any information on why they were chasing us," Serena responded.

[Ah, details,] Dragona muttered.

[Get up in the air and help look for the others. And don't engage any Pangoro,] Ethan told her. Dragona looked like she wanted to counter, but Ethan shouted, [Now!] while stomping his paw on the ground. Dragona flinched back before flying off without a word.

[How Flame deals with her is beyond me sometimes,] Snake commented.

"Wow, Ethan. I could seem to get anywhere with Dragona," Serena told him.

[She's stubborn like that. You, unfortunately, get used to it,] Ethan admitted.

"Hey Ash, do you know where Alec, Braixen, and Skiddo are?" Serena asked him.

"No. I don't know where Clemont, Bonnie, and Pikachu are either," Ash answered.

The group continued looking and they were able to find Clemont, Pikachu, Cell, Skiddo, and Bunnelby. Upon seeing them, Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms as Skiddo ran up to Serena, Chespin and Luxray ran up to Clemont, and Cell floated up to Snake and Ethan. [You alright Cell?] Ethan asked her.

[I'm good. I was thankfully able to avoid a Psychic Surge while I was with Clemont,] Cell answered.

"Where's Bonnie and Alec?" Clemont asked, noticing who was missing.

"They're not with you?" Ash asked in surprise.

[And where's Light,] Snake asked worriedly.

[I'm sure she's fine, Snake. She's likely with Alec at this point. They are connected,] Ethan told him.

[I'm just worried,] Snake admitted.

Alec's POV

The three were continuing to wander around when Alec found an open field that had a large berry tree in the center that looked like the ones that Team Rocket had. "Think this is where they got their berries?" Alec wondered aloud. He then heard stomach's growl, including his own.

[Maybe we should get something to eat,] Braixen suggested, holding her stomach while sounding embarrassed.

[Agreed,] Light said. As they approached the tree, they were cut off by the three Pangoro.

[You will pay!] one of them, probably the leader, shouted. The Pangoro then used attacks and Alec, Braixen, and Light were able to avoid it.

"Please calm down! We don't want to fight!" Alec shouted, but the Pangoro weren't listening. "Looks like we don't have a choice. Light, Mega Evolve!" Alec shouted. "Now, Thunderbolt! Braixen, use Flamethrower!" he ordered when Light finished transforming. The two attacks hit two of the Pangoro, but the third used Hidden Power towards Light and Braixen. "Block with your own Hidden Power!" Alec called out. Braixen followed through, causing an explosion. "Now Dragon Pulse!" The dragon energy burst from the smoke and bit down on the remaining Pangoro before exploding.

[Think that did it?] Braixen asked. All three Pangoro then got up and focused their attacks on Light.

"Braixen, duck. Light, Signal Beam from all angles!" Alec shouted as he dove to the ground. Braixen did so as well and Light got on all fours and fired the Bug-type move from all her orbs. The Pangoro then regrouped for an attack, but Alec called out, "Ice Beam!" and froze the Pangoro in a block of ice. "Listen to me. I don't know why you've been attacking us but I sure would like to," Alec told them.

[Because you stole our berries!] the lead Pangoro shouted.

"We didn't steal anything," Alec told them. Seeing the Pangoro were shocked, he quickly added, "And I can understand you, so don't worry about that."

[You see, the three of us like to come to this every year since it produces the best berries here. But when we arrived this year we saw some thieves running off with some of the berries. We followed them and when we saw you all with some of them we assumed you were responsible,] Pangoro told him.

"We weren't the one who stole your berries. We saw them with a group called Team Rocket when they tried to steal our Pokémon," Alec told them. He then turned to Braixen. "Get them out," he told her. Braixen nodded and used Flamethrower on the ice, melting it.

Once free, Pangoro thought over what Alec said. [Hmm, I suppose you could be telling the truth. We probably should have asked questions before attacking, but I guess in the heat of the moment we weren't thinking,] Pangoro said.

[Stay away from him!] Dragona shouted as she dove down towards the Pangoro.

"Dragona! Stand down!" Alec shouted. Dragona stopped in mid-air and looked at Alec confused.

[But they're the-] she started.

"Were solving the problem Dragona, just come over here please," Alec interrupted. Dragona obeyed and flew over to stand by Light, who was now turning back to normal. "Sorry about that," Alec apologized to the Pangoro.

[It's fine. Though I suppose the rest of you deserve to be heard out. Come on, we know where they are and we were about to go over when you should up,] Pangoro said and they led Alec to the others.

When they arrived, the Pangoro were in front and everyone was together and Alec even saw Meowth with them. "Pangoro!" Ash shouted in surprise as some of the Pokémon prepared to fight.

"It's fine guys," Alec said, stepping past Pangoro.

"Alec! Braixen!" Serena shouted, seeing them both. Braixen ran up to Serena and Skiddo while Alec's Pokémon ran up to him.

"It's good to see you too," Alec greeted them.

"So Alec, what was this all about?" Clemont asked.

"And why were you with Pangoro?" Bonnie added.

"I think it's best if we show you," Alec answered.

[I'd have to agree,] Pangoro responded. They led the group back to the tree and Alec explained the situation to them.

"So all this time it was a misunderstanding," Ash said relieved as Meowth looked worried.

[Wait a minute. This one looks like one of the thieves,] one of the Pangoro said, looking at Meowth with suspicion.

"You know, that's funny," Meowth said nervously.

"There you are Meowth," Jessie called out. "We've been looking all over for you," she added, coming up with James holding the net of berries.

"Oh, three Pangoro," he commented.

"Why did you have to show up now?" Meowth asked. Team Rocket started doing their motto and Meowth joined in because of peer pressure. "Oopsie, I guess the catchy lyrics dragged me in," he said, realizing what just happened.

"Dragged into what?" James asked as he and Jessie ate a berry.

Pangoro then used Slash on the net, causing the berries to fall to the ground. [So you're the ones who stole our berries,] he said angrily.

"Now that they know it was us, they're not too pleased," Meowth said sweating.

"'Not pleased'? What does that mean?" Jessie asked, backing up a bit.

"That sounds painful," James added. The Pangoro then attacked sending Team Rocket into a blastoff.

The group helped the Pangoro gather up the berries and put them in a pile near them. "There you go. That's all of them," Ash said when they finished.

Pangoro held up some berries to the group. "What's this about?" Serena asked.

[Consider this our apology for causing you all so much trouble,] Pangoro said. They said their thanks and started eating with the Pangoro, who brought down more berries as needed.

By the time the group prepared to set off, it was sundown. "Thanks for the food," Clemont thanked them as they left with Pangoro waving them goodbye.