Chapter 3: Trying for the Family Stone

On a bright Saturday morning, Bryan laid on his bed while playing on his computer. He was watching some random funny internet videos while in his black pajama shorts and white t-shirt that read "Weekend Warrior." For some reason, he was interested in videos about gaming parodies and talking oranges. After a few minutes, Prowl started barging into the room with bagging red basketball shorts and a black muscle T. "Hey Bryan, I need to use the computer."

Bryan replied, "Can I just watch one more video first?" In response, Prowl picked up Bryan by the collar of his shirt and flung to the other bed across the room. He landed on his back, but made a soft landing. Prowl began closing the Tabs off the computers. "Hey!" Bryan yelled furiously.

"Don't worry; I'll be done in a few minutes. Uh oh, now it wants to update Adobe. Yeah…this is gonna take a while." Bryan simply pouted and folded his arms. Prowl then came up with a suggestion, "Quit complaining. Just watch some TV until it's done."

"Fine," Bryan left the room and walked downstairs to the living room. He made his way to the television and grabbed the remote. Bryan jumped on the couch and started flicking through each channel. So far, there was nothing good to watch except for teenage reality shows and telemarketing programs. He didn't really seem too interested in any programs on since everything pointed out to older viewers. "Forget it, this is pointless," Bryan gave up as he threw the remote on the couch and started to leave. As the remote landed, the television quickly flicked to a program that had only just started.

As Sunnyshore City lies ahead along with Ash's eighth and final Sinnoh Region Gym badge challenge, our heroes find themselves lost in a deep forest.

Since Raimundo had arrived in this foreign land, he decided to stick with Ash and his crew to see if he will get the chance to run into this "champion" of Sinnoh. During his stay, Rai decided to get some practice in combat going since he lacked the Pokémon or skills to handle himself in a crisis. By then, the answers he needs to find a way out of this world would turn up. If he's on a mission to save the universe from destruction given to him by a beautiful maiden, he will need to have the experience that comes with the job. So, every now and then he would get some training with Pikachu and Piplup. Surprising enough, he didn't consider this to be an anime. As a kid, he assumed it was just a game made by Nintendo and the show done by the same people who did Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Fighting Foodons.

For now, helping Ash get to the next city seemed like a top priority at this point. Being the oldest of the group, he sort of felt out of place as being a new member. "Hey Brock, are we there yet? Because it looks like we've been walking for a while," Rai asked.

"Hmm, that's strange. I'm almost certain we're on the right path," replied Brock. He was looking down on his blue Pokégear that almost resembled a flip phone.

"So I'll take that as a no?" said Rai.

As they continued walking, a voice was heard from up in the trees. "Murkrow," a small dark blue bird with red eyes stood on a small branch. It had a somewhat large beak with its tail appearing to be wrapped in a small patch tied with a red ring. "Murkrow," the bird repeated.

Dawn pointed to the small bird in the tree, "Hey look, it's a Murkrow!"

"Yeah, you're right," said Ash.

Murkrow was looking off into space as if it was concentrating. Its eyes automatically focused on the small group and took off over their heads. In seconds, it had disappeared into the forest.

"You know what they say," started Brock, "something bad may happen when a Murkrow flies over your head late at night."

Dawn began to worry, "Wow, it's bad enough that we're lost, but now something worse is gonna happen?"

"'It's just superstition Dawn, just some stories made up to try and scare you," stated Rai.

"And plus it's not even night yet," said Ash.

"Yeah, that's true." Brock agreed.

Dawn smiled, "Being superstitious is just plain silly."

"Piplup," cried Piplup on top of Dawn's head.

Suddenly, the ground shook with a strong force. "Rai, I think you might have spoken too soon," cried Dawn. Everyone looked ahead of the path. The quaking only continued and the force getting stronger. It felt like something was starting to approach them. Out of nowhere, a large creature stood over the heroes. Its long neck was wrapped in yellow coils like large, razor claws. Running down its neck was a red and black stripped pattern connecting to a larger grey body from behind. It stood on its six sturdy legs as thick as an elephant's. Its face represented a pair of yellow mantis pincers around its mouth. On its forehead was a crescent moon and underneath it had small red eyes that gazed on the small prey below. The long black wings on its back grew to about 10 feet and had large red spikes growing out.

"AAAHHHH!" Everyone gasped at the sudden sight of the gargantuan beast. In a quick haste, Ash pulled out his Pokédex to scan for information. The beast only rose its thick foot to crush the team below. Rai and Dawn grabbed Ash as they all rushed to get away.

The gang had been running for a while, hoping to escape from the creature. They stopped a few yards away to catch their breath. "I think…we're safe now…" Brock said as he tried to breath.

"Man, my heart," Ash huffed.

"What the hell was that?!" yelled out Rai, clenching his chest trying to keep his heart from having an attack.

"Wait hold on a sec, did you hear that?" asked Dawn.

"AH!" Ash pointed into the forest as both his eyes and Piplup's grew wide. A rapid stream of water began rushing towards the group. They were now being swept up by the current as they tried to keep their heads in the air. They flailed and kicked as hard as they could, but the current was too much.

"Come on, snap out of it, please!" A young girl cried out. She looked down on everyone who was on the ground crying out and acting like they were drowning. Piplup, Pikachu, Dawn, and Ash were trying desperately to swim on their stomachs, Brock was trying to do the backstroke, and Rai had his head stuck in the ground clawing his way deeper. As soon as she spoke, everyone had snap out of their illusions and came to.

Ash was the first to notice, "Hold on, what just happened guys?"

"What you all just experienced was an illusion from Murkrow's confuse ray," the girl explained. She had orange eyes with green hair that fans out from the back of her head. She wore a white long sleeved shirt with a brown tan blouse with a green square collar over it. She had a short green skirt along with white knee socks and brown hiking boots. Brock shoved Ash to the side as his eyes filled with pink hearts. Meanwhile, Dawn, Piplup, and Pikachu were trying to pull Rai's head out of the ground.

"Hi!" Brock proclaimed, "I'm Brock and I'm not really confused. I'm sure your beauty is as real as real gets. Unless you somehow to be an illusion Murkrow's confuse ray created too! ~"

"Croagunk!" in an instant, a blue frog launched a sharp jab to Brock's backside and leaving him paralyzed. He then slowly dragged Brock away from the scene. The girl only sweat dropped.

"Don't give it a second thought, hehe. It happens all the time," Dawn responded. With everyone back together they all made their introductions.

"Hi, I'm Ash."

"I'm Dawn."

"Name's Raimundo," as he cleaned his dirt filled ears, "or Rai for short."

The girl smiled back, "I'm Rihanna! I live in a village very close to the forest."

"Thank you very much for helping us out," complimented Dawn.

"So how did you know we were seeing illusions then?" asked Brock after his speedy recovery. Everyone sweat dropped from his sudden return.

"Some fast recovery," Dawn said wittingly.

Damn, the guy can take a hit to the trunk and keep his cool, Rai thought, got to give him credit.

"That's an easy one," Rihanna's tone in her voice turned to sorrow. "The reason I know is because Murkrow is my brother's Pokémon." Everyone was shocked to find out the truth behind Murkrow.

The Murkrow had flown for a bit before resting on a tree branch. "Murkrow," a boy called out to the small bird. It looked down on the small boy who had green hair and orange eyes. He wore an orange collared shirt over a red T-shirt. He had on white shorts along with red shoes. As he let out an expression of determination, he pulled out his Pokéball. Alright, he thought.

"Tell me, why would you go and think your brother would go out and do something like that?" Ash had asked. Everyone was sitting on large stones hoping to hear how Rihanna's brother is involved with the recent mishap.

Rihanna told her story, "He's never done something like that. To tell you the truth, I haven't the foggiest idea. Mitchell's a Pokémon trainer like me. Whenever we have the time, we always used to battle each other. Mitchell and I were always constantly competing against each other. So, I guess that made us true rivals. But one day, Mitchell decided to go up on the mountain and train with Murkrow, and that's when he started playing pranks on travelers. Like today with you."

"Oh, aw man," said Ash. He can rationalize with her situation. He knows what it's like to have a rival and become determined to be the better trainer.

"Why not just ask your brother why he does that?" asked Dawn.

"It'd be a lot easier if you guys just talked it out," added Rai.

"He's always avoiding me, so I can't." Rihanna replied. "Like whenever I try to talk to him, he just runs. That's why I'm looking so hard for a Dusk Stone".

"A what stone?" Rai asked.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu was confused as well.

Rihanna showed Rai an image of a purple stone on her light blue Pokédex. "A Dusk Stone," said Rihanna. "There should be one somewhere in the forest. I'm going to use it to evolve my Misdreavus into a Mismagius."

"And how is that gonna help your brother?" he asked.

"It's what I heard from grandpa," answered Rihanna. "He said that Mismagius can chant spells that may bring people happiness. Now maybe if I was to use that spell on Mitchell then…"

"…then perhaps you and Mitchell could make up, right?" Brock stated.

"But do you think Mitchell will be happy with a spell?" Dawn asked.

"Don't know, but I kind of run out of ideas," Rihanna said solemnly.

"Now Rihanna, wipe the sorrow from those pretty eyes," Brock had proclaimed boldly and with confidence. "Ah, if only I could rid you of your sadness for just a little while. Of course, the only thing for me to do, Rihanna, is pitch in and help you!"

Rihanna had soon become overjoyed to the thought of everyone aiding her in her time of need. "You will? I'm just thrilled!"

"Oh, know, I'm the thrilled one!" shouted Brock.

That and you've got a thing for her, Rai thought.

Meanwhile, a trio of strangers was hiding in a nearby bush listening in on the team's conversation. Two of them were adults that wore white uniforms along with black glove and black boots. However one was a woman with long red hair who had a white skirt along with boots reaching to her thigh. The other was a man who had short blue hair, but they both had a big red "R" on the chest of their uniform. The final member was a small feline with large whiskers and fine white fur. It had a coin sticking on top of its forehead along with a curly tail that was brown at the coiled up end. They were very interested at the details they just overheard. This proved they were very skilled experts at gathering intelligence.

"Now there's some news of note, a spell that sends people to their happy place," the man pointed out.

"Music to my fined tuned ears! I heard every wonderful word!" said the red head. "It's true girls want to have fun, but just have fun happily!"

"True, but I wanna have fun too!" the cat added.

"Well, in order for us to hop on the happiness express, we need to find the dusk stone; pronto!" the red head woman leapt from the bushes as she surveyed each rock that was on the ground, looking for the dusk stone.

"I doubt that Jessie would know a dusk stone if it gave her a back bite," said the man.

"And though I'd like to see it, that ain't happening," said the cat.

Jessie's mood became gloomy as she realized what her cohorts had said was true. Busted. I figured since dusk is around the corner, the dusk theory would turn every stone into a dusk stone. Is that so wrong? she said to herself.

"Jess, cheer up," James lifting her spirits, "I have a special tool just for an occasion such as this! Presenting…" he lifted two metal rods from his pockets, "my newest and patented device, The Dusk Stone Detection Device!"

Jessie was in a fit of rage, "Please! Wire rods!"

"No dusk stone in its right mind is showing up on with those!" Meowth declared.

"Hah, hah, hah! These are what are commonly known as dowsing rods!" James explained his idea. "Since days of old, they've been used to locate underground minerals for a long time." He started to place his rods in front of him and began searching the area. "As we close in on the dusk stone, the rods will open wide!" He pointed the rods to the floor. Nothing happened. "See! It's not there and that proves it!"

"Then it's off to find our happiness elsewhere!" Jessie yelled with glee.

"Dowsing our troubles away!" Meowth called out.

As the groups went in search of the dusk stones, there was a dark figure lurking through the nearby bushes. Its eyes fixated on the different people nearby, but more sternly on the man with the scythe.

After some time, Ash, Dawn, Rai, and Brock have been following Rihanna to a specific area where they might find some dusk stones. Eventually, they came across a small grey shrine with three stone steps leading up to it.

"Hey Rihanna, what's that?" Brock asked.

"Grandpa told me about that too. Back when he was young, people used to mine for dusk stones near this shrine."

"Wow, maybe there are some of them left," said Dawn.

Rihanna mentioned, "The problem is I've looked around her several times but I've never found anything."

Brock added, "Don't worry; we'll help you find a dusk stone."

"Yeah," said Ash. "Let's split up and look."

Brock then figured out how to separate the group. "Alright, Ash, Dawn, and Rai, you three look over there."

"Sounds like a plan," said Rai.

"Right," stated Ash.

"Got it," said Dawn. The three left the group and took off searching.

Brock turned over to Rihanna, "How about this. Let's ask your Misdreavus to come out and give us a hand while we look for it."

"Misdreavus?" Rihanna was perplexed.

Brock explained, "Murkrow and Misdreavus are the only Pokémon that evolve with a dusk stone, so maybe Misdreavus will be able to find it."

Rihanna realized this possibility, "You know, I've never even thought of that. Sounds like it just might work. Ok, let's do it now." Rihanna brought out her pokéball. "Misdreavus, go!" Rihanna threw the ball and in a bright light, a ghostly blue Pokémon with red beads and yellow eyes flew right out. "Would you please help us find a dusk stone?" The Pokémon began to float in a specific direction, then beyond a patch of bushes. "I think Misdreavus is sensing something."

"Let's go check it out," declared Brock. Rihanna and Brock began chasing after Misdreavus into the forest.

Ash, Dawn, and Rai were all walking down a dirt path keeping an eye out for any dusk stones nearby.

"Now, Piplup, if you find a dusk stone, you let us know right away," Dawn said.

"Piplup," it replied. As they continued their search, Rai was in deep thought; reminiscing how siblings often fight and compete with one another. It gave him a quick reminisce of his family whenever he had to take on his younger brothers to settle a dispute. Whether it was fighting for the bathroom or the last slice of pizza.

"Hey Rai, you okay?" asked Ash.

"Huh, no I'm fine. Rihanna kind of reminded me of how my family is sometimes," replied Rai.

"Wow, you have siblings too?" questioned Dawn.

Rai smiled, "Yeah, we may hate each other's guts every once and a while, but we know we look out for one another; No matter how bad things get."

During their conversation, a small bird flew behind Piplup and pecked the back of its head. Piplup tumbled over in front of the group.

"It's Murkrow!" yelled Dawn.

"We're not falling for it again," called out Ash, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt; let's go!"

"Pika…CHU!" Pikachu let out a shocking stream of lightning straight at Murkrow. It landed a direct hit and plummeted to the ground.

"Bull's-eye!" said Rai.

"Murkrow, No!" a voice called out from behind the trees. A small boy had witnessed what happened and ran towards the fainted bird. He picked up Murkrow and glared at the strangers. "Alright, what are you doing to my Murkrow?"

"Now hold on a minute, you two were the ones who snuck up on us," Ash called out. Rai walked over to the young boy and grabbed him by the back of the collar. He raised him in the air until they were eye level.

"So you're Mitchell. Alright shorty, why are you causing trouble with that Murkrow," Rai demanded.

"Hey, knock it off!" Mitchell cried out.

"Your sister is really worried about you," Dawn cried.

"Hah, give me a break. She doesn't care about me at all," Mitchell stated.

"That's not what we heard from your sister," replied Rai still holding the child. He then dropped him, having Mitchell land on his rear end.

Dawn pointed out, "Yeah, she's looking for a dusk stone to try and evolve her Misdreavus into a Mismagius to try and make you happy with its spell, see?"

Mitchell suddenly had a surprised look on his face after hearing what Dawn had said.

Brock and Rihanna were running through the forest trying to catch up with Misdreavus. It started crying out more frequently and loudly as they ventured further and further.

"Wow, Misdeavus's cries are getting a lot louder!" cried Rihanna.

"Yeah," Brock said, "and I think we might be closing in on a dusk stone and fast!"

"Closer, closer, closer…!" yelled James as the three hoodlums were following the dowsing rods to locate the dusk stones. Suddenly, the rods separated from each other. "Dusk stone, Bingo! Any closer and we be behind it."

"Happy times!" cried Jessie.

"I'm gonna find a happy place of my own," said Meowth. Just then, James fell over the edge of a large hill. Followed by Jessie and Meowth rolling right behind. All three of them landed on solid rock in an abandoned mine site.

Meowth got up and noticed the opening of a mine tunnel. "Dig that door! I'll bet someone dug that door to dig in that mine!"

"Maybe digging for… a dusk stone?" Jessie added.

James recovered his composer, "You see? Dowsing's the real deal for a determined digger!"

Jessie was in bliss as to how they might find their reward, "Just think, we can end up unearthing a dusk family or two!"

James shouted in approval, "It's great, it's our fate. Happy days await!" Immediately, they searched on all fours near the entrance of the mine. They checked each small rock and peeked around every corner in hopes that they would find at least one dusk stone.

"Hey," Meowth called out, "when we find a dusk stone, we can evolve a Misdreavus into a Mismagius and give it to the boss." An image of Team Rocket's boss, Giovanni, had popped in their heads as he seemed slumped and tired in his orange tuxedo. "Think of it when he gets home after a lousy day at the office."

(all voicing in this daydream are done by the talent of Meowth)

Ugh, this has got to be the worst day of my doctorial life, said Giovanni.

Mismagius, cried the Pokémon. It was a taller version of Misdreavus, but was now purple and looked to be wearing a witch-like hat. Around the edge of its body was the color pink. It floated next to Giovanni and released an array of green light around him. He was then fully healed, sitting on his bed with delight.

There's nothing like a Mismagius spell to keep the old boss thinking happy thoughts, he said in satisfaction, I'd take your spells over a message any day! And this day is a perfect day to give Meowth and his friends a happy time they'll never forget!

Team Rocket then began snapping their fingers as they stride back and forth in their own rhythm. "We're playing it cool, happiness rules, we're rich!"

"Of course," Jessie pondered, "once we find a dusk stone, we'll have to find a Misdreavus too."

""It would be handy if one was just lying around," James said as we searched the area vaguely.

"Hate to burst your bubble bub, but this is real life; not a movie or a novel," stated Meowth. He then looked up in the air, only to see a blue figure floating high above the hill they fell before. "AH! A Misdreavus!"

They then yelled in unison, "LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!" But, their joy was cut short when they noticed two kids began to slide down the hill.

Mitchell had taken off ahead of Ash and the others with Murkrow in his arms.

"Come on Mitchell, wait up!" Ash called out. He managed to grab Mitchell and come to a stop.

"Leave me alone!" Mitchell responded. "I need to go and find the dusk stone before my sister does, see?"

"But the reason why Rihanna is looking for the dusk stone is to help you out," said Dawn.

"Hah, Rihanna doesn't care about me. The only reason she wants to evolve her Misdreavus into a Mismagius is so she can beat me every time we battle and that's all." Mitchell declared.

Both Ash and Dawn were shocked by the statement Mitchell made, except for Rai who stood their puzzled by what Mitchell thought. "That isn't what Rihanna told us by a long shot," said Ash.

Dawn was upset, "What makes you think that anyway?"

Mitchell began to tell his story, "Okay, see every time we battle, Rihanna always beats me. Obviously I want to beat her so I decided to go train up on the mountain and become stronger."

A few days before…

Mitchell and Murkrow were in the middle of the forest training with small white rubber balls. Mitchell threw the balls at Murkrow and it would counter attack by knocking them away with its wings. "Hit it. Use wing attack," said Mitchell. He continued to throw the balls faster, but Murkrow had missed and taken a hit. Mitchell ordered, "That's not what I said, use wing attack!" Mitchell continued to pelt Murkrow with ball after ball until a red anime vain popped on his head. In a huff, Murkrow flew away. "Hey! Where are you going? Murkrow, come back here!"

"That's it, now Murkrow won't listen to a single thing I tell it," Mitchell concluded.

"Wait, are you saying that you had nothing to do with Murkrow's confuse ray or any of those illusions we saw?" questioned Dawn.

Mitchell replied, "Right, nothing. If you want to know the truth, the whole thing is Rihanna's fault."

"Figures," Rai spoke out.

"Rai, what do you mean?" asked Ash.

Rai exclaimed, "Look at you Mitchell. You can't even take care of your own Pokémon and you go on and blame someone else for your problems? I'm not surprised that Murkrow decided to dump your ass after the way you've trained it. And you call yourself a Pokémon trainer."

"That was a little harsh Rai," Dawn objected.

"No, he needs to start taking some responsibility for his actions," Rai protested, "especially toward how is Pokémon feel."

Mitchell had a sudden realization of what Rai had told him. He remembered how he started hurting Murkrow with each rubber ball during their training. Mitchell didn't hold back and just kept on pushing it. "I-I never thought of that," Mitchell began to sob, "I'm so sorry Murkrow. I was angry that I couldn't beat Rihanna, so I took it out on you. It must've hurt, getting hit all those times." As Mitchell started to cry, tears started to drip on the unconscious bird. Its eyes slowly began to open. Rai started to walk away from the scene.

"Hey Rai, where are you going?" Ash asked.

"I'm going to look for Brock and Rihanna. It's best to give the kid some space. You two look after him, okay?" answered Rai.

"Alright," Dawn said. Ash and Dawn watched as Rai started heading into the forest.

I have a feeling someone's been following us for a while now, Rai thought. As soon as he was out of sight from the others, he began running at high speed.

Brock and Rihanna laid at the entrance to the mine. They were still dazed after falling a few feet from above. Meanwhile, Team Rocket had hidden nearby a group of bushes, making sure not to be seen.

"Two twerps, the taller one alongside a taller twerpet," stated Jessie.

The two started to get up. "Where are we?" Rihanna asked. "I've never seen this in the forest."

"Do you think this is the place your grandfather was talking about when he said they used to mine dusk stones around here?" questioned Brock.

"Misdreavus!" the Pokémon began to float away from the two trainers. Both had noticed that Misdreavus was looking at a peculiar large rock. With a quick thought, Brock found a long broken shovel handle and shoved it underneath the rock. He put all his strength into lifting it and forced the rock to fall over. Once the rock was moved, a small glimmer came from the crater. A small purple stone stuck out from inside the Earth.

"Rihanna, look! That stone!" Brock called out.

Rihanna went over to pick it up. "We found it! It's a dusk stone!" she screamed in joy.

"So we did," Brock added.

Overjoyed, she jumped to Brock and gave him a big hug. "Thank you! I never would have found it if it wasn't for you and your hard work!" Brocks face had started to turn red from the sudden contact, along with a stupid grin on his face.

"Well, thanks to Misdreavus," Brock saying shyly. The two looked over to see that Misdreavus was poking near a bush. In a flash, a net came down and swoop the ghost inside.

"Misdreavus!" Rihanna called out.

"You're grounded pal!" Meowth shouted.

"Happiness in a net!" yelled out Jessie.

"Who in the world are you supposed to be!?" Rihanna cried.

"We're from out of this world can't you tell?" started Jessie.

"Our grass is always greener!" added James.

Jessie: On the wind!

James: Past the stars!

Meowth: Nener Neener!

Jessie: Happiness searching at a break neck pace,

James: dashing hope with a smile on my face.

Jessie: Joy By any other name just as happy,

James: While you twerps are so sappy.

Jessie!

James!

Meowth's the name!

Jessie: Putting the do gooders in their place,

James: We're Team Rocket...

Together: IN YOUR FACE!

Wobbuffet!

Mime, Mime!

"Their Team Rocket, and they're less than successful…," explained Brock, "disastrous bunch of crooks."

"Give me back my Misdreavus, now!" Rihanna demanded.

Jessie gave an upset look, "No, you think I'm handing over my happiness to a twerp with a tude?"

James said, "We're soon to evolve Misdreavus utilizing a dusk stone and then Mismagius will bring us happiness to our hearts content!"

"Hand over one dusk stone please and make it fast," demanded Meowth.

"No! Misdreavus rip the net and come here!" Rihanna shouted.

Meowth then started to shake the net holding Misdreavus. "Nope, this may come as a shock, but…" With a push of a button, the net gave out an electric shock. Misdreavus yelled in pain and in seconds, Misdreavus was knocked out.

"No! Misdreavus!" cried Rihanna.

Brock pulled out his pokéball. "Sudowoodo, come out now!" Brock's pokéball let out a bright light and out came a small brown Pokémon that resembled a tree with green round orbs that looked like bushes at the edge of its fingertips. "Sudowoodo, save Rihanna's Misdreavus!" The tree Pokémon began charging at Team Rocket.

Jessie looked over to Meowth, "Meowth, let's get that dusk stone and dust those dumb-dumbs stat!"

"Where it's at!" said Meowth. "I'm down with this dilemma. So I brought my Happy Place Robo-Remote!" Meowth pulled out a large rectangular remote with a red button. Once he pressed the button, a large aircraft started appearing over the forest. It was in the shape of a bird with brown and white feathers. It had a large violet beak and two large round bubbles popping out of its chest. On its head, a big red "R" left its calling card.

In the far off distance, Ash, Dawn, and Mitchell could see the large mechanism flying high above the trees. "Aw man, what's that!?" Ash cried.

"Pika!"

"I've never seen a pidgey that big!" Mitchell described. Ash and Dawn looked at one another with a serious look. They already had an idea on who it was.

"That can't be a pidgey!" Rihanna said as she looked up at the sky. The giant bird mechanism began to descend.

"I wonder if it's Team Rockets," said Brock. As the machine landed in front of the criminals, the ground shook from the impact causing Sudowoodo to lose its balance.

Meowth swung the net, releasing Misdreavus and sending it flying into the machines bubble container. "It's into the Port-O-Pidgey Mark II for you!" With a quick jump (and cheap sweeping animation) Team Rocket landed in their seats inside the pidgey-shaped machine.

"Misdreavus is trapped!" yelled Rihanna.

Brock needed to take action and fast. "Sudowoodo, use Double-Edge!" Sudowoodo charged at the mechanism at ramming speed leaving behind a trail of bright yellow momentum.

"Sudowoodo!"

"Meowth, you do have a plan?" questioned Jessie.

"Everything I ever learned about pidgey I programmed into the Port-O-Pidgey Mark II, including an awesome gust like you won't believe," Meowth explained as he pressed the buttons on the keyboard. On the head of the robot, a huge metal fan poked out and blew a mighty wind. The force was strong enough to stop Sudowoodo's charge and keep it from moving.

"I'm a fan of your work Meowth, but this is silly," said James.

Sudowoodo tried desperately to go up against the gust, but was blown back and rammed into the side of the hill.

"Wow, I say if it's not broke, don't fix!" Jessie cried with joy.

"Don't give up Sudowoodo. Get going and use Double-Edge again!" With Brock's Reassurance, Sudowoodo stood up and began to charge once more straight at Team Rocket.

Meowth spoke through the machine's speakers. "Next, Sand-Attack!" Arms formed through small holes of the Port-O-Pidgey. One left hand carried a small stick while the other had the brush side of a broom. The arms joined the two pieces and began sweeping the dirt from the ground. "I love stirring things up!" The dirt blocked Sudowoodo's vision, leaving it unable to continue its attack.

"How do you create doom and gloom with a broom?" asked James.

"That way; since it's working!" said Jessie.

"And now it's that time to shoot a wing," said Meowth as he pushed more buttons.

"A wing? Surely you speak of Wing-Attack, yes," James corrected.

"No, wing. Watch as I give it the gas. Wow, what a blast!" cried Meowth.

Meowth flipped a large lever set in front of him. "Rocket wing away! The giant pidgey began to raise its arm from its side. It pointed straight at Sudowoodo and shot out with rockets. Just before the wing slammed right into Sudowoodo, the sound of steel clashing pierced through the dusty storm. The wing had been sent flying back around and reconnecting with the machine. As everyone watched the clouds of sand disappear, a tall figure stood in front of Sudowoodo.

"I've heard of living on a wing and a prayer, but this might be taking it too far," said Rai. He lifted his scythe over his shoulder and stood ready for battle against the robot.

"Rai, you're here!" Brock called out.

Team Rocket looked down at the new opponent standing in front of them. ""Hey, who's the new twerp carrying around the sharp object?" asked Jessie.

"It looks like he may be the new sheriff in town," added James.

"Don't know, but I think it's time we cut him down to size," stated Meowth. Pressing the buttons, the large fan turned back on and started to fire away the strong winds. Thinking fast, he dug the shaft deep into the earth and held his ground against the gale force. Sudowoodo was blown back again by the wind and landed a few feet near Brock. Pushing with all his strength, Rai charged forward for an attack.

"Let's get our claws on that dusk stone and glide away!" cried Jessie.

"A, okay!" replied Meowth, "Time to play!" With the push of a button, the Pidgey machine took off into the air. Rai missed his target and ended up getting his scythe stuck in a tree.

"Seriously! This again!" Rai started to budge his cutter out by pushing his foot off the trunk.

Brock ran quickly to the warn-out Sudowoodo and pulled out his pokéball. "Sudowoodo, return." A red laser shot at Sudowoodo and returned it into the ball. Brock clenched it hard knowing he failed to stop Team Rocket. Just then, he heard Rihanna screaming.

"Give it back!" she cried, still holding on to the dusk stone. "Stop! Let go!" A giant mechanical arm grabbed the dusk stone and was trying to pry it from Rihanna. Rai finally removed his scythe from the tree and ran to aid Rihanna.

"Hand over the dusk stone and you can have your hands back!" Meowth yelled through the speakers.

"I'll never let go!" Rihanna yelled. The machine began to take off, along with Rihanna and the dusk stone.

Rai ran as fast as he could. "Oh no, you don't!" he called out. He swung his scythe overhead and hooked the cutter onto the foot of the robot pidgey. Both Rihanna and Rai were now being lifted high into the sky.

"Rihanna! Rai!" Brock shouted.

"Those twerps just don't tire!" cried James.

"Meowth, the time has come to drop them midair!" proclaimed Jessie.

"That sounds fair!" Meowth agreed.

Ash, Dawn, and Mitchell made their way to the top of the hill. As the machine raised higher up, it eventually appeared before them.

"Ah man, I knew it was Team Rocket!" said Ash. They immediately noticed that both Rai and Rihanna were hanging on for dear life.

"Rihanna!" cried Mitchell.

Rihanna started shouting, "You can't have Misdreavus and you're not getting the dusk stone. I need them both to help Mitchell feel happy and that's that!"

Mitchell's face grew serious after hearing what his sister admitted to what she was doing all along.

"Ash!" Brock called out, "Rihanna's Misdreavus is inside that robot!"

"You might wanna make it quick seeing we're starting to lose ground!" yelled Rai.

"Then we've got to stop them," cried Dawn.

"Pika-," Pikachu began charging for an electric thunderbolt.

"Pikachu," Ash commanded, "you can't use thunderbolt now." Launching a static shock to the machine may work, but Ash knew it may result in a possible explosion that could put Rihanna and the others in danger. With a new plan, Ash pulled out his pokéball and called out his other Pokémon. "Staraptor, I choose you!" Once the pokéball flew open, a bright light revealed a large brown bird with feathers covering its left eye. Its red eyes and black-tip beak gave it a serious look along with its white pattern stomach and crescent-shaped head. "You gotta help Rihanna and Rai, okay?" With a quick nod, Staraptor took off toward the machine.

"I wanna help Rihanna too!" said Mitchell. He threw out his pokéball. "Murkrow, come on out!" In a bright light, Murkrow came out in front of him. "Murkrow, work with Staraptor and get Rihanna back her safe," Mitchell requested. Murkrow only stared blankly at him. "Please Murkrow, for me," he pleaded. Still no response. "Murkrow…" after a moment of thought, Murkrow flew off to catch up with Staraptor.

Meanwhile, Rai and Rihanna were holding onto the machine with either the dusk stone or the scythe. Alright, if the kids can pull off a rescue I might as well help, Rai thought. He swung his body in order to climb up the shaft of the stick. In doing so, he grabbed a hold of the Pidgey bot's foot and stood on top of it. Ok, now what? As he was thinking, the wind rustled his clothes and the sound of metal chained around his waist. "Wait my tool belt!" Rai cried out. He stuck the scythe around the backside of his belt so it wouldn't fall off. Quickly searching through his tools, he managed to come across two long screwdrivers; one being a flat head and the other a cross. Hmm, I wonder…, Rai climbed up the leg of the machine until he was to the point where the leg and body connected. "This should be fun…"

After finally triumphing over the heroes, Team Rocket had begun celebrating their awaited victory. "We're free to roam around the cabin!" Jessie cried out.

"This is without a doubt one of our hap-happiness flights I've ever flown!" James added.

"You're not alone!" shouted Meowth.

Staraptor and Murkrow started flying in closer to the mechanism. Using its talons, Staraptor grabbed a hold of Rihanna's shoulders. Murkrow swooped past and started pecking at the robotic arm holding the dusk stone. Team Rocket looked through the cockpit and saw what was going on. "No! Not our dusk stone!" Jessie cried. After a few more pecks, the arm finally shattered. Rihanna quickly managed to grab the stone before it fell. Staraptor and Murkrow flew away back to the others.

"I feel our happiness slipping away," said Jessie.

"Meowth, unslip it!" Yelled James.

"U-turn, coming up!" said Meowth. The Port-O-Pidgey suddenly started veering left until its direction was aimed at Ash and the others.

Staraptor gently placed Rihanna on the ground with Ash, Dawn and Mitchell.

"You're safe," said Mitchell in relief.

Rihanna was still worried, "But they got Misdreavus." Looking back up, they could see the machine moving closer to them. Inside was Misdreavus, looking upset, trapped in the glass dome.

"Can't use thunderbolt with Misdreavus inside," Ash stated.

"Wait, look there!" cried Dawn. Everyone turned their gaze to the bottom of the machine. They could see a figure climbing up along the surface.

"Hey, it's Raimundo!" said Ash.

Using his arms, Rai forced the drivers into the metal body while pushing himself upward with his legs. As he continued, he made his way over to Misdreavus. Rai swapped out one of his screwdrivers and pulled out an iron hammer with a black plastic grip. "Who said hammers didn't solve everything?" With one full swing, Rai smashed the glass container, giving Misdreavus a chance to escape. Team Rocket gasped from losing their prize. "Guess this where I get off," pulling his tools away, Rai jumped back and started falling away from the machine. Staraptor flew in and grabbed Rai by the neck of his red baseball T-shirt.

"Now Pikachu, Thunderbolt, let's go!" Pikachu began charging a high voltage of electricity.

"Piiikaaaaaa…" From the bushes, a figure leapt out next to Pikachu.

"How come I get the feeling we're all leaning into a punch!" cried Meowth.

"Cuz we are!" cried James.

"Waa! Not my poor and exquisitely beautiful face!" cried Jessie.

"CHUUUU!" a ray of two lightning bolts shot out to fry the Pidgey robot. The machine blew up in a puff of smoke and sending Team Rocket into the sky.

"We're blasting off again!" they screamed as they disappeared in the distance, leaving only a twinkle behind.

"We did Rihanna, Wow!" cried Mitchell.

"We did it!" cried Rihanna. They both laughed and hugged each other after finally being reunited.

"Hold up," Rai pondered as he landed, "I saw two thunderbolts when it hit Team Rocket. How did that happen?" Something started climbing up Rai's leg, up through his shirt, and popping out of the collar to meet Rai face-to-face.

"Pika?"

"Pikachu," asked Ash, "why are you…"

"Pikachu?"

Looking down at the ground, everyone saw Ash's Pikachu standing next to him. Doing a double take, Rai looked at the Pikachu in front of him and back at Ash's Pikachu. Then, Rai finally put it all together. "So YOU were the one I was after."

"Huh," Ash and Dawn were confused.

"Let me explain…" said Rai.

Once everyone grouped back together, Rai explained what had happened earlier.

"After we agreed to after the dusk stone, I had a feeling we were being spied on. So, after we found Mitchell I went off to see if I can track down the culprit. When I was searching, I noticed Team Rocket had been hiding nearby. I decided to stay quiet until Brock or Rihanna would need help if things got out of hand. I didn't realize this little guy was following us around too." Rai petted the top of the wild Pikachu's head.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. Are you gonna keep it?" asked Ash.

"Depends. What the hell do I feed this thing?" the wild Pikachu only smiled at the puzzled Rai. He looked back over at Rihanna and Mitchell. "As for you two…"

"Maybe this would be a good time to talk," Brock said, "since it was a misunderstanding and nothing more."

Mitchell started off, "Rihanna, I'm sorry."

Rihanna added in, "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I assumed that Murkrow's pranks were yours." Rihanna held out the dusk stone in her hand. "Now what should we do with this? I don't need to evolve my Misdreavus into Mismagius anymore because you don't need a happiness spell anymore."

"I'll take it," Rai offered.

"Rai," Dawn sweat dropped.

"I was kidding," said Rai. Still…

Mitchell had an idea, "Hey, how about whoever wins the most battles out of ten gets the stone?"

"Yeah, great idea!" Rihanna agreed.

"Let's do it!" Mitchell said with confidence.

"It's such a relief their finally getting along, like a family should," Ash spoke.

"Yeah, and both of them are training really hard," Dawn added.

Ash looked over to his little partner. "And, hey Pikachu, what do say we do the same?"

"Pika!" it cried with joy.

Rai grinned, then over at his new partner, "Guess I should give you a name, huh."

"Chu!" it smiled.

Family disputes can arise. But, in Rihanna and Mitchell's situation, a little help from our heroes has settled their disagreement once and for all. And now that Ash has drawn training inspiration from new friends, the journey continues!

"I can still hear that guy!" said Rai.

*Ending Credits*

Prowl came down the stairs after finally finishing on the computer.

"Alright Bryan, you can have the computer now. I turned it off by accident so…..yeah." However, Prowl noticed the television had been on and displaying animation credits.

"Hey Prowl, what's up?" Bryan asked, walking in from the hallway restroom.

"Damn it, Bryan. At least turn off the T.V. when you're done with it," Prowl demanded.

"I was taking a-"

"Don't...need to know." Prowl picked up the remote and shut the television off.

*click*

-To Be Continued-

Alright! Another chapter out of the way. So far things are starting to build up. The rights of the episodes I use in this story belong to their rightful owners. Though, I haven't picked out the name for the Pikachu yet. If you got any suggestions, send a comment along with a review. See ya in the next part!