Chapter 32: Get Mixed with the Big and Bad!
Last time on "Pokémon Alola Journey", as Ash, Kaito, and Mallow met up with Lana, the Water Type user wanted to show her friends on how much Popplio's ability to blow strong balloons had grown, which proved to have improved by a lot!
With the balloon being able to hold Pokémon inside, Pikachu and Vulpix were to have their turn first. But when Rowlet is awakened by Bounsweet's Sweet Scent attack, the Grass Quill Pokémon recklessly knocks both Popplio and Vulpix into the balloon, along with himself.
With the wind carrying them away, the four Pokémon School students makes chase after them, only for the Pokémon trio to land in Team Rocket's forest base! With Rowlet unable to fly due to the ring stuck around his neck, Popplio and Vulpix were forced to help him move.
It was at that time when Litten showed up to save the Pokémon trio from both Meowth and Mareanie, as the Fire Cat Pokémon brings them over to where Stoutland was! At inspecting the trio, Stoutland recognizes Rowlet as a Pokémon belonging to Ash.
At realizing that the two are friends, Vulpix confesses that her human father is Kaito, to Stoutland's amusement and Litten's shock as they began to think over on what they could do to get back to them before it starts to get dark. But it seemed to be hopeless as the trio had no idea where they are in the first place!
"Why not let owl there fly around? I mean, you're a Flying Type, aren't you?" Litten asked, only to be reminded of Popplio that Rowlet couldn't do anything that involved flight right now.
"He can't... Did you forget about the weird ring stuck around his neck? He can't fly unless we get that thing off of him..." Popplio reminded sadly, before looking out to where the blue sky is.
"Buizel... Lana... And everyone else... Where could they be now? What can we do now...? Without Rowlet being able to fly, there's no telling on where they could be at! They could be at the woods, the town, the beach... Anywhere!" Popplio whimpered.
Seeing the Sea Lion Pokémon starting to panic, the young Fox Pokémon began to worry of what might happen if she were to not find Kaito and Buizel soon.
"Daddy... Big bro Buizel..." Vulpix whimpered, catching Litten's attention, who turned to where Vulpix sat sadly before the Fire Cat Pokémon narrowed his eyes. It was at that point when Popplio began to freak out.
"AUGH! This is never going to work out! We can't just go around aimlessly, and...!" Popplio started to shriek before she noticed Rowlet had fallen asleep, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.
"YOU'RE SLEEPING!?" Popplio shrieked before she slapped Rowlet away with her paws. Vulpix watched in surprise before she watched the Sea Lion Pokémon hit Rowlet hard enough to send the Grass Quill Pokémon bounce everywhere!
Once the bouncing had stopped, the Grass Quill Pokémon groaned, before managing to get up and jump up and down angrily for how uncomfortable he felt with the ring around his neck.
"Don't be angry at me! I'm not the one who wanted this dumb ring around my neck! Blame it on those Team Rocket jerks that started this in the first place!" Rowlet complained, earning narrowed eyes from Popplio.
"Well then... Litten, maybe you can help these three find their way back." Stoutland suggested, catching the Fire Cat Pokémon by surprise.
"Wait, what...? Me?" Litten asked in disbelief, before allowing his old friend explain.
"Yes, of course. We both know some of the area around here in town, with you knowing the most, since you travel around the area. If you could guide these three, then I'm sure you'll lead them to where Young Kaito and his friends are." Stoutland explained.
At the explanation, the Fire Cat Pokémon was hesitant, as he didn't want to go meeting any humans for a while, since he wasn't comfortable being around them with the exception of the Alola boy, who saved his life a few times.
"Well, yeah, I could... but..." Litten tried to make up an excuse on why he didn't want to go, until he turned to see Popplio giving him sparkly eyes of joy.
"Will you? Oh please, oh please, oh please?" Popplio pleaded, causing Litten to gulp before remaining hesitant.
"I-I don't know... Well..." Litten started to say again before he thought he heard whimpering from his left as he turned to see Vulpix sniffling a little. Her eyes looked like they were about to spill tears before she asked weakly.
"You... don't want to...? Big bro Litten...?" Vulpix sniffled, which shot an arrow to the Fire Cat Pokémon's heart before he began to sweat. With the sparkly eyes Popplio giving him and the crying face Vulpix was giving him as well, it was starting to get very hard to say no.
Not to mention, it was Old Man Stoutland's suggestion in the first place. If he were to refuse right now... Well then, the Fire Cat Pokémon knew that things were going to get very ugly for him if he said the one wrong word.
"Alright... Fine. I'll help you guys get back to Kaito and the others. So... stop crying, would you?" Litten sighed, before he jumped off the crate, earning a grateful bark from the Sea Lion Pokémon while Vulpix slowly wiped the tears away from her face.
"That's great! Thank you! Thank you!" Popplio cried out gratefully, with Vulpix giving a small nod and weak smile. With the decision made, the Fire Cat Pokémon began to take the lead in helping the three lost ones to find their way back to the Trainers.
Meanwhile...
Ash, Kaito, Lana, and Mallow reunited with one another at the marketplace, all frowning together at the lack of results they found.
"Anything?" Ash asked, only to get a shaking head from Mallow.
"Nothing. And I asked a whole bunch of people!" Mallow explained, with Lana adding in her disappointing results.
"Nobody's seen them." Lana said sadly, causing Kaito to bite his lips before he scratched the back of his head in annoyance.
"Now what do we do? If we keep searching like this, then none of us will get anywhere. It'll be nighttime by the time we find them maybe..." Kaito grunted, annoyed with no one having luck on the search.
Pikachu and Buizel both frowned together, as did the two Rockruff. But just as things looked like it could get worse, the two Puppy Pokémon perked their heads before they began to sniff on the ground, trying to see where their friends' scents might be.
At seeing them act like this, the Alola boy blinked before he suggested of what their Rock Type friends could do.
"Oh, of course...! Why didn't I think of that?" Kaito exclaimed, catching the others' attention before they turned to where the Alola boy was looking at.
"What's up...?" Ash asked, until Rotom figured what the two were up to.
"Wow! Would you look at that! Rockruff has a powerful sense of smell that can distinguish scents! So they can trace Popplio, Rowlet, and Vulpix by using their scents!" Rotom buzzed.
"Yeah... That would make things a lot more easier for us!" Kaito agreed, with Mallow nodding.
"Right! It's gotta work!" Mallow exclaimed as the Rotom Pokédex making a suggestion of how they can find their missing Pokémon friends.
"So let's get Rockruff familiar with Rowlet, Popplio, and Vulpix's scents right away!" Rotom suggested, causing Kaito to blink before he smiled. He knelt down to the two Rock Types, showing his arms and hands to the two.
"I've been carrying Vulpix for quite a while ever since she hatched from her Egg. So maybe you two can find a whiff of scent from my arms and hands?" Kaito asked. His Rockruff barked affirmatively, with Ash's Rockruff doing the same.
The two began to sniff over his hands and arms, before they both perked up and barked together happily!
"Looks like they've got Vulpix's scent..." Kaito pointed out, causing the others to nod before Ash thought about where Rowlet's scent might be.
"Scents, huh? What would have Rowlet's scent...?" Ash asked, before his Rock Type barked in reminder. At feeling Rockruff trying to reach for his backpack, the Kanto Trainer grinned in realization.
"That's it!" Ash exclaimed before he gestured the two Rockruff to sniff at his backpack.
"Okay, you two... Give this a sniff. You both gotta learn Rowlet's scent!" Ash requested, causing the two Rock Types to look inside the backpack and sniff for the Grass Quill Pokémon's scent.
"Of course! Rowlet always sleeps in there." Mallow exclaimed, understanding on why the backpack was being inspected. With the Rock Types being done sniffing the backpack, Lana came over to offer her hands as well.
"Here... It's Popplio's scent. I hold her all the time." Lana explained, allowing the two Puppy Pokémon to sniff her hands, before they both barked with bright expressions, as they began to track for their lost friends.
"Now remember what you two learned!" Mallow advised, with Kaito putting his hopes on the two Pokémon.
"We're counting on you two..." Kaito called out, before he and the others watched the two sniff around the area, before they both suddenly turned. With their tails wagging and the two barking at their friends, the students all smiled in realization.
"Wow! That was quick!" Mallow exclaimed, impressed with how fast the two did to find their Pokémon friends' scent.
"When Rockruff wags their tail, they're trying to let you know they found something!" Rotom buzzed, causing the Kanto Trainer to feel hopeful to where their Pokémon friends might've went.
"So we should go that way, right?" Ash asked, before he began to run first.
"Toward the forest...!" Mallow breathed out, realizing where the two could be leading them to.
"Thanks so much, you two!" Lana said thankfully, with Kaito running with his three classmates.
"Rock!" The two Puppy Pokémon cried out together in unison, before the four students and their Pokémon friends began their search to reunite with their lost Pokémon friends.
Back to Litten and the others...
With Litten leading three lost Pokémon, Popplio started to have fun with bouncing Rowlet up and down, thanks to the balloon she made to keep Rowlet safe, as the Grass Quill Pokémon couldn't walk properly with the ring stuck around his neck.
"Here!" Popplio barked before she bounced the balloon to where there was a small stream! Rowlet yelped before he found himself running on the water, thanks to him being inside the Sea Lion Pokémon's balloon.
"Hey... I'm running on water... I'm actually running on water!" Rowlet chirped before he began to make his exercise. Finding it a bit funny, the Sea Lion Pokémon giggled while Litten watched with a sweat drop and a sigh.
Vulpix on the other hand, walked besides the Fire Cat Pokémon, questioning Litten as to where they were going.
"Big bro Litten... Where are we going to go first?" Vulpix asked, causing the Fire Cat Pokémon to think of a place before he made a suggestion.
"Why don't we head for another part of the town? Your Daddy and your other friends could be there as we speak." Litten suggested, causing the Fox Pokémon to slowly nod before the four continued on to head to a different area of the town.
But what the four didn't know, was that Kaito and the others were searching for them in a different path!
Back to Kaito and the others...
As the students and their Pokémon friends were following the two Puppy Pokémon, they all had to come to a stop when the two Rock Types both whimpered at losing the familiar scents that they were trying to track.
"Did you lose the scents, guys...?" Ash asked, causing the two to whimper together in response, causing the students and their Pokémon friends to frown.
"Poor Rockruff..." Mallow spoke out, feeling bad for the two, as the boys approached their Rock Types, reassuring them to keep on trying.
"Rockruff? Let's keep on trying anyway. Sound good?" Ash asked, causing his Rock Type to bark in response, his face morphing from a sad expression to a bright expression!
"Same here... Let's keep on trying. We should be able to find them altogether if we work hard together, right?" Kaito asked, causing his Puppy Pokémon to smile and nod before he nuzzled his human brother, along with Buizel.
The two accepted his affection before the group continued their search for the three missing Pokémon. They ran up to the forest, as they had seen the balloon go that far ahead. But what they didn't know, was that the their missing Pokémon friends were in town!
They were searching for their human and Pokémon friends as well, with Litten guiding them around town. The search on both sides didn't seem to be having any luck, as neither of the sides knew where the other were.
After the students and their Pokémon friends searched in the forest, they searched around town once more to look for their missing Pokémon friends. As for Vulpix and the others, they were making their way around town.
But on the way to finding their human and Pokémon friends, they were a little distracted during their search. One time, was when the four met up with some girls that were smitten with the four Pokémon that looked cute to them.
Litten sweat dropped at seeing Rowlet getting TOO comfortable with the girls watching over him, while Vulpix felt a little uncomfortable with many eyes looking down at her. But Popplio wasn't amused as she snapped at the Grass Quill Pokémon to get ahold of himself.
Eventually, the four Pokémon made their leave from the girls before they approached to where there seemed to be a small lighthouse up ahead. The four watched the sun setting down, with the sea reflecting its evening light.
By the time the sun was getting farther and farther down, Litten motioned for the others to come, as he knew that time was running out. It wouldn't be long before it would get too dark for them to continue the search.
So with that in mind, the four Pokémon continued to make their way around town to search for the humans and Pokémon. But with time passing by and with all the walking they had to do, Vulpix found herself starting to get a little fatigued.
As she was still a young Pokémon, she wasn't used to making long walks and runs, especially since it was to walk around in the forest and around the whole town. At noticing this, Litten slowed their pace down, so that the Fox Pokémon would get a little rest during their little walk.
For the Pokémon School students and their Pokémon friends, they still had no luck with finding their missing Pokémon friends. Their scents were long gone, which meant that the two Puppy Pokémon couldn't help much with the search.
As they all approached to where the beach was, they noticed on how late it was getting, with the sun setting down fast.
"It's getting late..." Lana pointed out, with Kaito biting his lips.
"At this rate... No. We can't give up now... Come on!" Kaito grunted before he began to make his way to a different area in town.
"Kai! Wait up!" Ash exclaimed as he ran after the Alola boy, with Mallow and Lana behind him.
But what they didn't notice, was that the three missing Pokémon and Litten were not too far from where they were! Litten was continuing to lead the three, until he noticed Popplio getting exhausted, with Vulpix panting heavily.
Pokémon POV
"You alright?" Litten asked, causing Popplio to shake her head.
"This is getting nowhere... It's starting to get late, and we still haven't found a trace of Lana and the others..." Popplio whimpered as Vulpix sniffled a little, as she began to lose hope of finding her human father and the rest of her family.
"What if we never find Daddy and the others...? Will we be separated from each other forever?" Vulpix sniffled, causing Litten to frown. It was true that he and the others didn't make any progress on finding the humans, but...
"Come on, don't say that. We will find them, whether if it takes all day or night-" Litten started to say before he perked up, feeling a presence from above!
"LOOK OUT!" Litten yowled, causing the three Pokémon to all yelp in surprise as a net snared the four of them from the ground!
End POV
Both Ash and Kaito's Rockruff perked up as their tails began to wag! The four students noticed this as they realized what this meant.
"Their tails are wagging! Does that mean...!?" Ash started to ask, with Kaito giving the answer.
"They must've found their scents again!" Kaito pointed out, earning affirmative barks from the two Rock Types, before they began to follow the scent. Sniffing to where it leads to, the two Puppy Pokémon dashed to a different direction!
"It's that way!" Mallow called out as the four students followed their Rock Type friends to find their missing Pokémon friends.
Unfortunately, while they were caught up to where they could've gone, the three missing Pokémon and Litten were all caught and lifted up on a net! As they were lifted up, Vulpix perked her ears to hear familiar laughs not too far from where they were!
"The beauty so radiant, the flowers and moon hide in shame!"
"The nobly heroic man of our times!"
"A glittering dark star that always shines bright!"
"Short, sweet, and light!"
"We know how to do it right!"
The three and Litten all watched to see that it was none other than Team Rocket, who had caught them off their tracks! Meowth smirked, turning to his two comrades for the clever trap they all set up together.
"You guys are geniuses! You beat them at their Twerpy game!" Meowth exclaimed, praising his two comrades while James smiled.
"But, of course! They don't call Team Rocket a team for a joke." James reminded, with Mareanie jumping up and down in agreement.
With that being said, the trio angrily turned to the four Pokémon, remembering of what they had done to jeopardize their progress on building their secret base at Bewear's cave.
"Ugh! Thanks to you brats, our plans to finish our secret base are kaput!" Jessie shrieked, with James pointing at the ring stuck on Rowlet's neck.
"Give us back our all-important eavesdropping ring!" James demanded, as they began to creep up to the four captured Pokémon. But at noticing Litten, the three stopped with Jessie narrowing her eyes.
"Translate..." was all Jessie needed to say for James to take out his book and recognize the new Pokémon.
"It's an extra Pokémon! Let's see... It's a Litten, a Fire Cat Pokémon." James explained, as Meowth twitched his eyes. He still remembered the bitter defeat he was forced to take when Litten defeated him in their duel.
"I was just about to catch those three and YOU messed it up!" Meowth snapped angrily, causing his two comrades to turn to the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Oh? A party crasher, eh?" James guessed, as Litten hissed at the three.
Pokémon POV
"You let these three go right now!" Litten demanded, much to Meowth's surprise as Jessie called for another translation.
"Translate." Jessie requested, with Meowth doing so.
"Litten said let them go." Meowth translated, causing the trio to frown at the Fire Type for the bitter, but bold attitude the Fire Cat Pokémon was giving off.
"What an attitude. Posing as a hero..." James scoffed, with Jessie smirking as she pointed out to the one that didn't care for being captured.
"You do know your friend's asleep... Don't you?" Jessie asked, causing Vulpix, Popplio, and Litten to all turn and see... Rowlet asleep!?
"Some stress...!" James laughed as the Fox Pokémon sniffed at the sleeping Grass Quill Pokémon.
"R-Rowlet...? Are you sleeping...?" Vulpix cooed in worry while a tick mark appeared on the Sea Lion Pokémon's head.
"Y-You... YOU IDIOT! WAKE UP! THIS IS NO TIME FOR A NAP!" Popplio shrieked as she bounced Rowlet's head on the ground, much to the Grass Quill's Pokémon's dismay and shock.
"AUGH! I'm up! I'm up!" Rowlet yelped as he winced for the violent bounces he was forced to do, due to Popplio hitting his head. Meowth smirked, before he made an offer to the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"You really know how to rock and roll! Hey, wanna join Team Rocket?" Meowth asked, causing Litten to narrow his eyes.
"Say what...?" Litten hissed before the Team Rocket members agreed to having new teammates join them.
"Good idea!" James smirked.
"We can use you..." Jessie sneered as she and her comrades began to approach the four captured Pokémon, causing Vulpix to whimper at the sight of her enemies approaching her in a creepy way!
"N-No! Stay away! Stay away, you meanies! I don't want to be with any of you!" Vulpix shrieked as she covered her head, with her body shaking in fear. At hearing her cry, Litten breathed out an Ember attack, burning the evil trio!
They all began to dance around, trying to put the flames out from their heads.
"HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!" The trio screamed together before they managed to put the flames out from their heads. Both Vulpix and Popplio watched the Fire Cat Pokémon with awestruck expressions, before the trio fell back to remember the hot attack they had to take!
"I remember getting fried by that move! That's the Litten who grabbed our grub!" Meowth snapped, remembering when Litten had stolen an apple slice from them once, causing themselves to get burned in the process when they tried to get it back.
"It is!?" Jessie gulped before Litten narrowed his eyes at the Team Rocket members.
"Yeah, that's right... It's yours truly. I only did that because I was desperate... Desperate because I needed to eat, and because there is someone I needed to look after, no matter what happened..." Litten explained, catching both Vulpix and Popplio by surprise.
"Big bro Litten...?" Vulpix cooed in worry while Popplio gaped at the story Litten was about to explain.
"Oh... Yeah? Sounds like you got some serious backstory." Meowth stated, as he listened to the Fire Cat Pokémon speak.
"You may think I had a good life with the way I was, but in reality... It was nothing good at all. Being tossed around like garbage by other Pokémon, being tricked by so many humans... there was nothing good about my life until I met the old man..."
"Heck, there was even a group of Meowth and Persian tailing after me, with me having no idea on what I did to them. All I knew, was that they enjoyed toying with me, like I was some sort of toy for them to play around with, whether I was alive or not..."
The story from Litten's past began to influence Mareanie, Rowlet, Popplio, and Wobbuffet! Vulpix felt tears welling in her eyes, feeling sadness for the Fire Cat Pokémon as Litten continued on with his backstory.
"I couldn't trust anyone... No one except for Kai, that nice human lady, and the old man... They were the only ones who cared for me so far whenever I had trouble. But while away from them, I had to learn on how to survive alone..."
"And now, here I am... I'm here to protect the young ones from danger, such as the ones you've captured right now. If you want to get to them... you're going to get through me if you even want to lay a finger or paw on them! I'll protect them with my life if I have to!" Litten explained seriously.
"Big bro Litten..." Vulpix whimpered before she nudged his cheek, trying to comfort the Fire Cat Pokémon, catching Litten by surprise before he slowly accepted the comfort that the Fox Pokémon was trying to give to him.
While Jessie and James watched with bewildered faces on seeing the Pokémon being sympathetic and sorry for the Fire Cat Pokémon, Meowth felt tears starting to well up in his eyes too as he slowly wiped them away.
"I feel your pain... Who knew a Pokémon could go through stuff like that stuff?" Meowth sniffled, as he recalled of the past that he had to go through before meeting Jessie and James.
"What stuff!? Meowth, translations!" Jessie shrieked, as she was desperate to know what Litten was saying to him and the other Pokémon. The same went for James as he requested the same from his Pokémon comrade.
"Fill us in, please, old chum!" James agreed, before Meowth began to explain of what the Fire Cat Pokémon had to go through.
"That Pokémon is a true leader. Litten's dedicated to life and world for the sake of the weak! We're talking a PHD from the school of hard knocks!" Meowth explained with a sad smile and teary eyes.
That left the two Team Rocket members a bit hesitant, while looking a little touched for Litten at the same time.
"I'm actually touched..." Jessie admitted, with James commenting on Litten's dedication for the weak.
"So selfless..." James commented, with Meowth continuing on.
"Litten's such a great Pokémon... in such a cruel world!" Meowth sniffed, before an idea came to the Team Rocket member's mind before he made a suggestion for the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Hey, now, DIG! Put your skills to good use! Hook up with our Team Rocket team and live the dream! We'll take that old school of hard knocks and turn it into a college of lucky breaks!" Meowth suggested loudly.
"I second that!" James agreed, liking his comrade's idea.
"Say the word, and we'll forget about the food snatching." Jessie assured with a smile. At the offer Team Rocket was making to their Fire Cat Pokémon, both Vulpix and Popplio were starting to get worried of what Litten might say.
Even Rowlet was wide awake to hear of what the Fire Type was going to decide. For the Fox Pokémon, she shook her head as she pleaded with Litten to stay on their side instead of being on the enemy's side.
"Don't do it, big bro Litten! Don't do it! Please! I don't want to be your enemy and I don't want to fight you later on if we meet again!" Vulpix pleaded, causing Litten to bite his lips before he twitched his eyes in hesitation.
"You three... Don't worry about a thing. I've got this handled. You don't need to worry about fighting me later..." Litten assured, causing the three Pokémon to still be worried as the Fire Cat Pokémon made his decision.
"Fine... You three got a deal. I'll join your little team." Litten declared, shocking Vulpix as she completely disregarded of what the Fire Cat Pokémon had said earlier, before shaking in both fear and worry.
"B-Big bro L-Litten..." Vulpix stuttered silently, inaudible enough to not let the Fire Cat Pokémon hear as Meowth smirked.
"Litten just gave the membership green light!" Meowth pointed out at hearing Litten's acceptance to become a member of their team.
"REALLY!?" Jessie and James asked in unison, causing Litten to smile and nod in affirmation, confirming that he accepted their offer. At his decision, the evil trio grinned together brightly for having a new member join their team.
"Straight from a big-hearted Pokémon!" Meowth exclaimed, with Jessie joining in on the cheer.
"Yay! It reminds me of the old saying, 'the bigger they are, the bigger they are'!" Jessie shrieked happily, with James adding in on his excitement.
"With a big dose of hard work, you'll rocket to success!" James assured, with both Wobbuffet and Mareanie crying out their agreement.
With the deal done and settled, Meowth pressed a button for the cage to release Litten while leaving the three young Pokémon captive so that the Fire Cat Pokémon would be able to be a part of their team.
"We'll break you out of there and as for you Twerp Pokémon... Stay put, if you know what's good for you!" Meowth warned, causing Vulpix to shrink back a little in fear before she turned to the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"This isn't happening, isn't it...? It can't be..." Vulpix thought as she began to whimper at the belief of her new Fire Type friend leaving her to join the bad guys. But just as the cage bars were gone, Litten smirked.
"I got you now!" Litten yelled as he scratched at the net trapping him and the others! That shocked the evil trio as they realized they were tricked by the crafty Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Oh no!" The evil trio called out before Popplio blew several balloons to trap their enemies, before Rowlet managed to use his body to use Peck to bounce them all into the air! With the evil trio trapped in midair, both Litten and Popplio made the finishing touch.
"Take this! Ember!"
"Bubblebeam!"
Bubblebeam and Ember blasted the trapped Team Rocket trio and their Pokémon comrades in the air, causing them to have their first blast off in the Alola region.
"Listen, bub! You've got a special place in my heart! It's Litten joins Team Rocket, or BUST!" Meowth snapped, before Jessie gave a reminder to her teammates of what they were waiting to do for a while.
"All right, is everybody ready?" Jessie asked with a smile.
"An Alolan first, to boot!" James agreed, as he knew what Jessie was saying.
"And here we go!" Meowth finished as the trio spoke their usual motto for their blastoff in the air.
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Team Rocket screamed. By the time they were soon out of sight, Kaito, Ash, Lana, and Mallow had arrived at the rooftop of the building to see something twinkling for a second at the evening sky.
End POV
"Huh? What...?" Ash asked, surprised for what he just heard and seen right now. Before he could question of what happened, a coo from Vulpix caught everyone's attention as the three missing Pokémon ran into their Trainers' arms!
"You're all safe!" Ash exclaimed as Lana took Popplio into her arms happily.
"Popplio! Missed you so much!" Lana said happily, with the Sea Lion Pokémon barking happily back in response. Kaito caught Vulpix in his arms, as the Fox Pokémon snuggled into her human father's chest, as Kaito hugged her back.
"Vulpix... It's so great to see you safe. You have no idea on how worried we were for you and the others..." Kaito said softly, with Buizel and Rockruff joining on the hug. Cooing happily, Vulpix nuzzled her family while Mallow sighed in relief.
"I'm so relieved..." Mallow sighed, before Ash turned to see Rowlet struggling to fly as the ring was still stuck around his neck!
"Rowlet! Hey, what's that ring around your neck? I'll get that thing... off of you!" Ash grunted as he got ahold of his Grass Quill Pokémon before he managed to get the ring off of him!
At feeling his wings being free for him to use and fly, the Grass Quill Pokémon sighed in relief before he nuzzled onto his Kanto Trainer, who grinned at seeing his Grass-Flying Type looking all better now.
"You look a whole lot better... Hey, what's that?" Ash started to say before he heard a familiar meow. Kaito blinked before he turned his head to see his old friend standing on the top of the roof's railing!
"Litten... It's you!" Kaito breathed out, with Vulpix turning to see her savior starting to make his leave. Popplio and Rowlet just watched while Rotom recognized the Fire Cat Pokémon that the boys had run into before!
"Ash! Kaito! That's the same Litten who was with Stoutland!" Rotom buzzed in reminder, catching the Kanto Trainer by surprise. But for the Alola boy, he gave a knowing smile, before he made his thanks to the Fire Cat Pokémon.
"Litten... You looked out for them when they were in trouble, right? Thanks for that... And thanks for looking after Vulpix for me... I don't know what would've happened if I couldn't find her again. Thanks..." Kaito said thankfully.
Silence passed for a moment before the Fire Cat Pokémon nodded back, having a small smile on his face. Before he began to make his leave, Vulpix called out for Litten, catching everyone's attention.
"Vul!" Vulpix cried out, stopping Litten in his tracks as he watched the Fox Pokémon jump out of Kaito's arms as she ran over to where her savior stood.
Pokémon POV
"Are you really going to leave us... Big bro Litten? When can I see you again?" Vulpix asked sadly, sad on having to say goodbye to the Pokémon she began to admire ever since he rescued her and her friends.
Litten blinked, before he gave a soft smile. Jumping off the railing to meet up with her, the Fire Cat Pokémon nuzzled his nose onto her face, making the Fox Pokémon blink as Litten spoke softly to her.
"We'll meet again soon, Vulpix. That's a promise. You better look out for your Daddy over there, okay? He may be nice and caring, but he can get himself hurt because he's looking out for others." Litten assured, before he glanced at Kaito.
"O-Okay... I will. And it's a promise, okay?" Vulpix asked, causing Litten to nod in understanding. Nodding back, the Fox Pokémon was about to walk back towards her family, before she stopped herself as she turned to the Fire Cat Pokémon.
Confused as to why she was looking back at him, Litten was about to ask before he felt something soft on his cheek! Freezing in his tracks, the Fire Cat Pokémon widened his eyes with his tail raising up as Vulpix smiled back sweetly before she ran into her human father's arms.
Popplio, Pikachu, Buizel, Bounsweet, and the two Rockruff were shocked at this, as were Kaito, Lana, and Mallow. Ash blinked before he tilted his head, being a little clueless as usual about what happened just now.
As for Litten, he began to sputter, unable to meow a word as he felt faint with what Vulpix did just now. But at seeing Kaito and his two Pokémon smiling at him slyly for what Vulpix did, Litten shook his head furiously before he jumped off the building, his face being redder than it already was.
End POV
"Litten!" Ash called out as he and the others watched the Fire Cat Pokémon jump onto another building before it stared back to where everyone else was standing at.
"Litten! Take care of the big guy, would you!?" Kaito called out, causing Litten to blink before he meowed back, as if he was saying that he would, before jumping off to another building, leaving the group to watch it leave out of their sight.
"Ash, Kai... Litten left again. Aren't you two sad?" Lana asked, with Mallow commenting on mysterious Litten can be, when it comes to interacting with people or Pokémon.
"Wow... Litten sure is a mystery..." Mallow commented, causing Ash to grin before he answered the Water Type user's question.
"We'll meet again. Right, Kai?" Ash asked, turning to the Alola boy. Hearing Ash call out to him, the Alola boy smiled and nodded before he watched to see the sun setting down at the sky.
"Yeah... We will." Kaito said briefly, as the group watched the sunset.
At meeting Litten once again, the Alola boy knew that Ash was right. No matter where Litten would be or where he went, the Alola boy knew that as they were friends, they would meet each other again someday when the time was right.
To be continued...
Kaito's Team:
Buizel (M): (Ice Beam, Agility, Rain Dance, Aqua Jet)
Rockruff (M): (Crunch, Dig, Rock Slide, Howl)
Vulpix (F): (Ember, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes, Quick Attack)
Next chapters:
Chapter 33: A Persistent Rival! It's Sho!
Chapter 34: The Brutal Battle That Strikes!
Chapter 35: A Trainer Who Rocks with Rockruff!
Chapter 36: The Mysterious Trainer Named Tokio!
Chapter 37: The Training to Battle a Mythical!
Next chapter preview:
Sho: AH HA! I finally found you! Kaito Shirogane! Today is the day when I finally defeat you once and for all!
Kaito: Uh huh... And who are you supposed to be? Some hot-headed Trainer that is eager to battle someone that's busy?
Sho: WHAT!? You know who I am! I'm your rival! Sho Kitagawa! The strongest Pokémon Trainer you've ever faced before!
Ash: Hey, Kai... Do you actually know this guy? He seems to know you a lot, for someone that's really loud and hot-tempered.
Kaito: I actually don't know him... He seems to know me for some reason, but I can't think of a reason on why that is.
Sho: UGH! Forget it! You won't get away from me! We're going to battle, whether you like it or not! Prepare yourself for battle!
Events that occurred:
- Litten briefly reunites with Ash and Kaito