Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Look, I have a present for you. You guys all waited so long for the last update of this story, and I felt so bad. So, here's the new chapter, updated ON TIME for your reading enjoyment :) And the only reason next week's update will be a few days late is because I'm on vacation ;)
Last time: Brandon, feeling a little depressed due to the accomplishments of his friends but having nothing to show for his own, enters a breeding tournament by the suggestion of a fellow breeder named Liana. He does very well, until he becomes thwarted by a selfish breeder named Hermes who tries to rig the tournament in his favor. During the first aid round, however, Brandon abandons his chances to win by taking care of a badly pisoned Rhyhorn, who goes on to become the newest Pokemon on his team! He even gets Liana's number in his pokegear! Now, the group is continuing their trek to Saffron City for Michelle's next Contest and Aiden's next gym battle.
Chapter 18: Nursery Times!
Aiden and Michelle were pleased to see Brandon doing much better than he had been recently. After competing in the Payne City breeding competition, and winning, Brandon's spirits had been greatly improved. Not to mention, he'd won a new friend through it: Rhyhorn.
"You really kicked some serious butt in that competition, Brandon," Aiden complimented his best friend as they made their way down a dirt road. "You showed 'em how breeding is done!"
"Thanks, bud," Brandon held out a fist, which Aiden bumped with his own. "It was pretty awesome, wasn't it?"
"I thought you did great," Michelle agreed with her brother, a delicate smile on her face.
"Pi pichu!" Pichu squeaked from Michelle's shoulder.
"Plus, I got to meet Liana!" Brandon sighed, a blush overtaking his face. "She was so pretty…"
Aiden smirked and rolled his eyes, while Michelle just sighed. She truly wondered if Brandon would ever be able to get over his girl crazy tendencies.
"Let me get your brain off the pretty girls for a bit," Michelle looked up at the aspiring breeder, "where are we headed?"
Brandon took out his poke gear and scanned the map he had brought up on the screen. "Well, according to the map, we're just about to enter Superiority Village."
"Never heard of it," Aiden commented.
"It's also a mouthful," Michelle added.
"The place isn't very big, according to the map here, but the highlight of the village is its Pokémon nursery," Brandon cited. "It's one of the best nurseries in the business!"
"It says that on the map?" Aiden asked.
Chuckling, Brandon shook his head and refuted, "nah, I've got all that info in my head! A breeder's gotta know this stuff, after all."
"Oh, I would love to go visit a Pokémon nursery!" Michelle's eyes lit up. "A whole place full of adorable baby Pokémon sounds so wonderful!"
"Pi…" Pichu growled, causing Michelle to laugh.
"Don't get jealous, Pichu. You're still my baby Pokémon!"
This seemed to placate the little electric mouse, who quieted down and stopped squeaking in displeasure.
It took only a few more minutes of walking by the trainers before they reached a hand painted wooden sign that read:
Welcome to Superiority Village!
Home of the world famous Superiority Pokémon Nursery
"Guess you were right, Brandon," Michelle smiled at her friend.
"I know what I'm talking about," Brandon smirked.
The village itself was obviously quite small. The houses were scarce and tiny; all of them resembled log cabins and had naturally colored shutters and doors. There were small, rolling hills of green, along with scattered patches of colorful wildflowers. To the east was a very diminutive lake, rocks and various grasses sticking up from the water.
"So where's this Pokémon nursery?" Aiden looked around the village. It was a tiny place, so the building shouldn't have been that hard to find.
"According to the map here on my poke gear, the nursery is up north, right in the middle of the village," Brandon read off his screen.
The group of young trainers walked in that direction, keeping an eye out for a noticeable building that could pass as a Pokémon nursery. They just kept passing the small wooden houses, however, and seeing nothing that caught their attention.
"I don't get it, where is the nursery?" Brandon muttered. "My map couldn't be wrong, could it?"
Michelle squinted and locked her eyes on a house just ahead of them. With her eyesight narrowed, the coordinator spotted a hand painted sign on the side of the seemingly regular house.
"Hey, guys," Michelle alerted the boys, "I found the nursery!"
Aiden and Brandon looked up in surprise, eyeing the red head standing before them.
"Michelle, I don't see anything," Brandon calmly informed the girl.
"Yeah, that's just another house," Aiden folded his arms across his chest.
"No," Michelle refuted before pointing at the sign that was posted on the side of the house. "Read that sign! It's the Pokémon Nursery! We were looking for a bigger building when really, it's just another one of the houses here."
Aiden and Brandon both leaned in to read the sign. As it would turn out, Michelle was right. This was, in fact, the village's famed Pokémon Nursery.
"Huh, I really thought it'd be bigger," Aiden blinked.
"Can we go inside?" Michelle's whole face was li up. She had always loved baby Pokémon, and she certainly wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to see an entire building full of the adorable little creatures.
"Sure," Brandon chuckled.
Before he could even finish saying that one little word, Michelle had whipped around and opened the door to the little house, alarming her two traveling partners. Pichu was surprised as well, and it led to her having to grip Michelle's cropped, denim jacket with her little paws in order to avoid falling off.
As soon as Michelle entered the building, she was met with a small desk with an old woman standing behind it.
"Oh, good morning to you!" The woman greeted.
"Hi!" Michelle's voice was bubbling with excitement. "I'm a Pokémon coordinator, my name's Michelle. My friend was telling me all about this place, and I had to come visit it!"
"Ah, yes, trainers from all over come to our quaint little village to see our Pokémon Nursery!" The woman nodded. Leaning forward, she squinted slightly, confusing Michelle.
"Is something wrong?" Michelle asked curiously.
"No, not a thing," the woman shook her head now. "You just look familiar, for some strange reason…"
The door opened behind Michelle, Brandon and Aiden revealing themselves behind the girl. The old woman no longer had to wonder why Michelle looked so familiar when she caught sight of the young, raven haired boy standing behind her, causing her to gasp and shoot up, frightening the three young trainers.
"That's it!" The woman beamed, the trainers exchanging bewildered looks. "That's where I recognize you from!" She shuffled out from behind the desk, smiling broadly at the three. Pointing her finger and moving it between Aiden and Michelle and cried, "You two are the Pokémon Master's children!"
Brandon made a strangled laughing noise, while Aiden and Michelle blushed slightly.
"Not this again…" Michelle muttered.
"Yes, why didn't I see that before?" The lady laughed. "You two look just like your mother and father! It's uncanny!"
"What's going on out here, Stella?"
The old woman whipped around and shouted excitedly, "Stanley, come here! Look! You won't believe who just walked into this little place of ours!"
An old man had appeared, walking in through a door that was situated behind the desk. He was eyeing the three young trainers, trying to figure out what his wife had gotten so excited about. It was when he saw Aiden, however, that things clicked for him.
"Well, I'll be," Stanley whistled, making his way over towards his wife. "Those are the Pokémon Master's children, aren't they?"
"They sure are," Stella's eyes were bright. "This is truly incredible!"
"Thanks…" Aiden managed to cease his blushing, "uh…I'm Aiden. It's nice to meet you!"
"And I'm Brandon," the breeder added somewhat awkwardly.
"Oh, aren't you just the cutest things!" Stella marveled. "I'm so excited that you've decided to come visit our Pokémon Nursery! My name is Stella, and that right there is my husband, Stanley. We run the Nursery together as a couple."
"Aw, that's so cute!" Michelle trilled.
"Pi-chu, pi," Pichu squeaked from Michelle's shoulder.
"Oh, just look at that little one," Stella lifted Pichu up into the air, before Michelle could even think to say anything. "What a precious baby!"
"Thanks," Michelle smiled sweetly at the old lady. "Pichu is my partner. She's a real cutie!"
"I would sure say so," Stella nodded. "And a very young one at that!"
"You can tell how old Pichu is?" Brandon raised an eyebrow. He was intrigued. He knew that Pichu was young, most certainly just a baby, but he had no idea how old the little thing really was.
"Well, I can't be certain, seeing as I don't know when she hatched from her egg," Stella replied. "You mean to tell me she didn't hatch right in front of you?"
"No, I found her injured in the forest behind our house," Michelle shook her head. "She actually got hurt protecting my brother and I by using thundershock on a flock of angry Spearrow."
"Her own thundershock knocked her out, eh?" Stella smiled lovingly. "Yes, then she really is a very little baby. In all honestly, probably just a few weeks old!"
"A few weeks?!" Michelle gasped. She couldn't believe how young her Pichu was. Pichu was pretty much a newborn!
"Yes, I'd say when she hurt herself protecting you, she must have been very newly hatched," Stella nodded. "Maybe even only a few days old. This is without a doubt a newborn Pichu."
Grinning, Michelle took her partner back from Stella and cradled the baby Pokémon in her arm, gently tickling the mouse's belly as she cooed, "oh, you're just a teensy tiny baby, aren't you, Pichu? You're my little baby!"
Pichu giggled, loving the attention from her trainer. Brandon watched the girl admirably, while Aiden just rolled his eyes. His sister could get pretty weird with Pichu sometimes. It was like Michelle thought Pichu was her own baby or something.
"If you love your little Pichu that much, then you're just going to love seeing all of the baby Pokémon we have here at the nursery!" Stella beamed. "Would you like to come meet them all?"
"Yes, please!" Michelle squealed, obviously very excited at just the thought.
"Excellent!" Stella waved her hand at the trainers as she walked towards the door that was situated behind the building's front desk. "Follow me!"
Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon did just that, following both Stanley and Stella into the next room. What they were met with were the sight of Pokémon eggs, all over the room. They were in baskets, on pillows, and in incubators, all different colors filling the room.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Brandon marveled.
"Yeah, look at all of the eggs!" Michelle's eyes were sparkling.
"We always have lots of Pokémon eggs in the nursery," Stanley informed the interested young trainers. "Many times, the eggs will come from Pokémon who are left in our care by their trainers. The trainers usually don't want the eggs for themselves, so we keep them here nice and safe until they hatch."
"You must have all different kinds of Pokémon in these eggs," Aiden awed, walking over to a shelf of them. He examined each one very carefully, chuckling softly as he ran his fingers across one that was light purple in color.
"You have a very gentle touch, young man."
Aiden became startled by a sudden voice in his ear, but relaxed when he realized it was only Stella. Letting out a long sigh, Aiden covered his heart for a second before standing to his full height and sheepishly admitting, "yeah, I guess you could say that…"
"You certainly seem to be enamored by the eggs," Stella grinned. "Have you had experience with raising an egg before?"
"Uh, well, I guess kind of," Aiden shrugged. "When my sister and I were little kids, my parents once gave us a Bulbasaur egg to take care of. It was because my Mom was going to have a baby, and I wasn't adjusting very well. So they thought using a Pokémon egg would teach Michelle and I what to expect."
"Oh yeah, that cute little Bulbasaur!" Michelle giggled, having overheard Aiden and Stella's conversation. "That was so much fun! Even though we kind of fought over the egg…"
"We both wanted to give it lots of attention, but our own attention," Aiden chuckled. "So sharing was kind of a problem."
"I was surprised that Aiden wanted so much to do with it, though," Michelle smiled at the memory. "He was your typical rough little boy, who didn't want to be gentle with things and didn't want to waste his time on anything that needed special care and attention. But he really did love that egg."
"And that taught me to appreciate the baby, too," Aiden grinned. "I got really excited about becoming a big brother. I got more gentle with my Mom and stopped acting out so much about it. I remember touching her belly and thinking it was so cool that my own little sister was in there!"
"And now he's very protective of Elizabeth," Brandon smirked.
"Your little sister, correct?" Stella giggled.
"Yep, Lizzie," Aiden nodded, his eyes shining. "She's like…my best little friend. I tease her sometimes, but really I love her more than anything else in the whole world. I've been crazy protective of her since before she was even born. I miss her a lot while I'm out on my journey, actually."
Stella smiled sympathetically at the boy. "I was right about you, Aiden." The boy picked his head up in interest. "Very gentle. You're a sweet boy. You have amazingly strong paternal instincts, despite your tender age."
Aiden was flustered by this, but quickly calmed down as he murmured, "wait…what's paternal mean?"
"Oh boy," Brandon sighed.
"You really are dense, aren't you?" Michelle placed her hands on her hips.
"I am not!" Aiden argued. "I just don't know what paternal means! And you do?"
"Of course I do," Michelle huffed. "Paternal means you're fatherly. Like Dad. He's extremely paternal because his characteristics make for a perfect father."
"Michelle's got the right idea," Brandon smiled at the girl, who returned the action whole heartedly.
"Yeah, well that's just because she reads her stupid books," Aiden muttered. Looking over at Stella, he affirmed, "I'm not paternal. I'm just a good big brother, that's all."
Smirking, Stella shook her head and replied, "I'll show you. Just follow me." And with that, she made her way towards another back door, with Brandon and Michelle eagerly following. Aiden, however, was not quite as willing.
"I am not paternal," Aiden grumbled. "I wouldn't make a good Dad…that's just weird."
As it would turn out, the back door led to the outside of the nursery; the back of the building. It was a large space, closed off by a wooden fence, and filled with frolicking Pokémon, many of which appeared to be just babies.
"These are all of the Pokémon we have here at the nursery," Stella elucidated. "Mostly little ones that hatched from their eggs. We also watch after trainers' Pokémon if they come by and want to drop them off for a little bit of rest and socializing."
"They all look so cute running around and playing together!" Michelle gushed. She knelt down and, much to her delight, a small pink Pokémon with a full head of blonde hair came rushing up to her, its pouty lips set into a big smile.
"Smoo!"
"Oh, aren't you just precious!" Michelle squealed, pulling out her pokedex to scan the creature.
Smoochum, the kiss Pokémon. Smoochum's lips are sensitive enough where they can be used to identify and examine different objects. They prefer colder areas and are very conscious about their appearance.
"Smoochum!" The baby Pokémon cried, jumping into Michelle's arms and snuggling against the girl.
"Oh my gosh, you are adorable!" Michelle hugged the Pokémon back. On her shoulder, Pichu growled in jealousy. She obviously didn't like sharing her trainer with other baby Pokémon. Sighing, Michelle picked Pichu off of her shoulder and sat the electric type down in front of her, placing Smoochum at her side. "Don't be such a little brat, Pichu. Why don't you and Smoochum become friends?"
Pichu gave Smoochum a dirty look, but that didn't seem to affect the little ice type. Giggling, she leaned forward and pressed a big kiss against Pichu's cheek, causing the mouse to cry out and rub furiously at her cheeks.
"Well, this isn't exactly working out like I'd hoped," Michelle sweat dropped.
While Michelle was busying herself with Pichu and Smoochum, a small brown and green Pokémon wandered up to Brandon, its yellow eyes wide with innocence.
"Hey, that's a Bonsly!" Brandon noted, kneeling down in front of the rock type. "My Uncle Brock used to have one, and it evolved into the Sudowoodo he has now!"
This was finally enough to catch Aiden's attention. He scurried up next to Brandon and uttered a simple, "cool!" before taking out his own pokedex to scan the Pokémon.
Bonsly, the bonsai Pokémon. They prefer dry areas, and often use a brigade of fake tears in order to get attention.
"Bonsly is a pretty awesome Pokémon," Aiden smiled. "I bet all that fake crying works wonders in getting what it wants!"
As if on cue, the baby rock type started bawling, causing both Brandon and Aiden to grimace and cover their ears.
"Man, I haven't heard crying that loud since Elizabeth was a baby!" Aiden complained.
"I haven't heard crying that loud period!" Brandon winced.
"Aw, come on now, Bonsly." Stella picked the Pokémon up in her arms and simply held it, causing the rock type to cease its fit of tears. "See? Much better!"
Aiden and Brandon uncovered their ears, staring at Stella in amazement.
"Wow, you're really good at that," Aiden blinked.
"All Bonsly ever wants is to be held," Stella giggled. "And he'll cry and scream bloody murder until you do just that! It's not ideal, but it's effective. Besides, it's in his nature."
"I hear ya'," Brandon smirked, standing to his full height. "My Uncle tells me all the time that when his Sudowoodo was still a Bonsly, it would cry all the time just for attention. It's like taking care of a real, human baby, I guess."
"Indeed it is," Stella agreed. Looking up at the raven haired boy standing next to Brandon, Stella prodded, "come with me, Aiden. There's something I want to see."
"What?" Aiden questioned, not exactly sure he wanted to take part in this.
"Oh, it's nothing bad," Stella waved a hand at the boy. "Just follow me! I'm curious."
Sighing, Aiden followed after the old woman, wondering what in the world she could possibly want from him. As it would turn out, Stella was leading over to the corner of the enclosure, where a little red and yellow Pokémon was sitting all by himself, looking down sheepishly at his feet.
"Whoa," Aiden breathed, holding his red pokdex in front of it.
Magby, the live coal Pokémon. Magby can breathe out 1,100 degree Fahrenheit flames and shoot smog from its mouth. Their health is determined by the color of the flames that spew from its mouth.
"This little one right here is a bit shy," Stella explained. "He usually spends all day sitting by himself. The other Pokémon all try to play with him, but he'd much rather be by himself. A trainer with such a kind streak such as yourself should be able to open him up a little bit."
"You think I can do that to Magby?" Aiden pointed at himself.
"It's well worth a try!" Stella smiled.
Shrugging, Aiden knelt down in front of Magby, smiling softly at the shy baby Pokémon. "Hey there! My name's Aiden. It's nice to meet ya', Magby!"
In turn, the live coal Pokémon whimpered and backed away slightly, causing Aiden to frown.
"Hey, come on now, we can be friends!" Aiden smiled encouragingly at the fire type. Magby still didn't look so sure though. Twisting his mouth, Aiden thought back to the times where he'd have to help Elizabeth try something she was originally too hesitant to. Grinning, Aiden held a hand out towards Magby and crooned in an even more gentle voice, "Magby, don't you trust me? I really want to be friends with you. I can show you how much fun it is to play with others!"
Still looking a little distrustful, Magby slowly nodded and placed his paw in Aiden's hand. This caused Stella to smile. She really did know that Aiden was something special.
Laughing innocently, Aiden stood up and motioned for Magby to follow him to the middle of the enclosure. Whimpering, Magby slowly followed after the boy, still worried about what might happen to him. Leaning down, Aiden picked up a small purple ball that had been lying on the grass. He figured it was in there for the Pokémon to play with. Smiling at Magby, Aiden once again sat down on the field, this time cross legged. Tilting his head, Magby followed suit, sitting down several feet away from Aiden.
"That's great!" Aiden complimented the creature. "Ready? The ball is coming your way!"
Magby flinched and covered his face, cowering in fear as he expected the ball to come flying at him with brute force. That wasn't the case, however. Instead, the ball lightly tapped his foot, having been rolled over to him by Aiden. Opening one eye, and then the other, Magby looked at Aiden once again, who was giving the baby fire type an encouraging grin.
"Be?" Magby murmured, placing his paws on the top of the ball.
"Roll it back to me now, Magby!" Aiden called.
Blinking his innocence filled eyes, Magby gently pushed the purple ball, watching as it rolled back towards Aiden. Reaching out, the boy stopped the ball as soon as it rolled up in front of him, and he threw Magby a huge grin. "That was great! You're great at this, Magby!"
Such a compliment really seemed to excite the baby fire type. He let out a happy cry, waving his paws in the air. Aiden and Magby continued to roll the ball back and forth for a little while, until Smoochum and Bonsly made their way over, showing interest in the little game that was being played. Magby whined softly and shot Aiden a scared look, but the boy simply encouraged his newfound friend.
"Smoochum and Bonsly just want to play, like you and I have been doing!" Aiden reassured the Pokémon. "This is a great way to make some new friends. How about we all play together for a little while?"
Smoochum and Bonsly cheered at the idea, and even Magby began to look a little less hesitant. With the live coal Pokémon's blessing, the two other baby Pokémon sat down to form a small circle with Magby and Aiden, the group gently pushing the ball back and forth to one another while they laughed at their innocent fun.
XXX
From a nearby tree, three binocular lenses poked out of the leaves, setting themselves on the scene of Aiden playing with the three baby Pokémon.
"Look at that stupid brat, playing with those stupid baby Pokémon."
Frowning at his sister, Jason lowered his binoculars and asked, "Aw, Jewel, you don't think baby Pokémon are adorable?"
"No," Jewel answered quite simply. "They're useless. You can never win a battle with one of those things. They're cute, but that's it. Not good battlers at all."
"Yeah, not like me!" Sneasel snickered. "All baby Pokémon are good for is looking cute and crying all the time."
"But the female brat has a baby Pokémon who manages to beat us quite handedly," Jason reminded his two companions, who blanched. They had actually forgotten the fact that Pichu was a baby Pokémon.
"Well, that's a rare case," Jewel scoffed, "which is why we have to nab that Pichu for the boss! Rare Pokémon are his thing, you know."
"So, do you think maybe the boss would like those other baby Pokémon, too?" Jason asked.
"No," Jewel scoffed. "I just got finished telling you that baby Pokémon are useless! Why in the world would the boss want a gaggle of useless Pokémon?"
"Not for nothing, the boss could make use of those Pokémon, even if they aren't good for battle," Jason huffed.
"What are you talking about, Jason?" Jewel demanded.
"What I'm trying to say is that maybe we could capture those baby Pokémon, not for the boss to use as battlers, but to have as friends!" Jason smiled. "You have to admit that they are very cute, and sure to bring a smile to the face of even the most cold hearted man! When the boss is in a bad mood, I'm sure that seeing the face of such a sweet and innocent Pokémon would cheer him right up."
"You're insane," Jewel muttered.
"Actually, Jewel, he's making a good point!" Sneasel smiled.
"What, are you catching his stupidity?" Jewel smacked her forehead. "I wasn't aware that was contagious…"
"No!" Sneasel haughtily refuted before continuing on with his explanation, "I think Jason's right. The boss might really love having some cute baby Pokémon around! They sure are fun to play with, most humans think. Besides, those old people have a bunch of eggs in that building, and you don't know what's in them!"
That was enough to catch Jewel's interest. Smiling evilly at the ice type, she drawled, "So you mean that a legendary Pokémon could hatch from one of those eggs?"
"Maybe," Sneasel nodded. "You never know until it actually hatches!"
Smirking, Jewel raised a hand to her face and held her chin between her fingers. It was quite a good plan. Jewel could certainly go along with that.
"Then that's what we'll do!" Jewel decided, much to the delight of her counterparts. "We'll grab that Pichu, those other baby Pokémon, and a bunch of eggs! Glad I thought of it."
That little comment, however, was enough to cause Jason and Sneasel to nearly fall out of the tree entirely.
XXX
Brandon and Michelle were actually very surprised by how much the baby Pokémon loved playing with Aiden.
He was a real natural with them, just as Stella had expected. He had opened Magby up so quickly that now the little fire type wasn't even thinking twice about playing with the other Pokémon. He was doing it on his own free will and having a great time.
"I don't care what Aiden says," Michelle furrowed her brow. "He's paternal."
"Absolutely," Brandon nodded. "But I knew that from how close he is with Lizzie. He'll make a great father someday."
"I'm not having any babies!" Aiden jumped to his feet, suddenly extremely frantic over Brandon's simple comment.
"That's what they all say," Brandon deadpanned.
"But one day, you'll find a pretty girl and fall in looove and then you'll have babies," Michelle was practically snickering at the idea. "Although, you'll need some luck in finding a girl who won't be floored by your unbelievable lack of brains."
"Why you little-" Aiden was about to lunge at Michelle, but he stopped right away when he heard several frightened cries come from behind him.
Whipping around, he found that all of the baby Pokémon who had been playing in the enclosure were now trapped in a net, including the Magby who he had just managed to get out of his shell.
"What's the big idea?!" Aiden stormed.
Michelle started to look around the enclosure, and after a few turns of her head, she shrieked and began to panic. "Hey, where's Pichu?! I can't find her anywhere!"
"Pi-chu!"
The three young trainers all stared up at the net, where Michelle's beloved Pichu was being smushed against the mesh. She had a frown on her fuzzy yellow face and was obviously uncomfortable. Michelle, not at all amused seeing her Pichu in such a predicament, scowled and began to chase after the net, much to Aiden and Brandon's concern.
"Don't worry, Pichu," Michelle yelled, "I'll save you!"
"Might want to rethink that one, bratette!"
Michelle gasped and skidded to a halt. "Wait a minute, I know that voice…and I know that stupid nickname, too!"
From above the full net, the familiar Sneasel shaped balloon presented itself to the young trainers, causing them all to grunt in sheer annoyance.
"Who are those people?" Stella blinked.
"Team Rocket," Aiden seethed. "They're bad guys who steal Pokémon that don't belong to them."
"Stealing?" Stella gasped before glowering at the balloon. "You give those baby Pokémon back right this instance!"
"Clearly this old lady has no idea how Team Rocket operates," Jewel smirked. "We'll just have to give ourselves the proper introduction, then, since the brat didn't do it right!"
"You got that right, Jewel!" Sneasel snickered.
"Listen up, and prepare for us!"
"Give up now, or we'll make a fuss!"
"We're here to start trouble!"
"And surely burst your bubble!"
"Truth and love, we will defy!"
"Like shooting stars, we're sure to fly!"
"Jewel!"
"Jason!"
"Team Rocket, here to succeed!"
"Our great history you soon will read!"
"Sneasel, agreed!"
"A talking Sneasel?" Stella gaped.
"Yeah, but it doesn't really say anything intelligent," Michelle bit, holding a poke ball in her hand. She was determined to get Pichu back. "Ponyta, let's go!"
The fire horse appeared in front of her trainer, neighing in displeasure as soon as she set her large, black eyes on the group of villains.
"Ponyta, use ember on Team Rocket's balloon!" Michelle ordered. Just as the fire type unleashed her attack, Jewel scoffed and withdrew her own poke ball.
"Oh, please! Venonat, confusion!"
The purple Pokémon's eyes began to glow blue, and that shining hue was soon transmitted to the embers, outlining them in the bright color. This sent the embers right back at Ponyta, causing the fire type to be hit by her own attack.
"Ponyta!" Michelle cried out in horror.
"I'm so sick of these guys," Aiden muttered, throwing his own poke ball as he yelled, "Absol, future sight!"
The dark type's eyes began to glow a bright blue, even brighter than Venonat's own eyes had been just moments ago. Once the glow disappeared, a strike of bright blue lightning shot out from the sky and struck Team Rocket's balloon, creating a gaping hole in the material.
Crying out in horror, Jason managed to chuck his own poke ball and shouted, "Zubat! Bite that insufferable fuzz ball!"
The blue bat appeared, swooping down towards Absol and sinking its sharp fangs into the Pokémon's neck. Absol cried out in pain, thrashing his head around to try and get the dual type Pokémon off of him.
"Absol!" Aiden gasped.
At the same time, Team Rocket's balloon crashed right into the ground, being surrounded by a flurry of smoke and kicked up dirt. Michelle's heart began to race, fearing that her Pichu and all of the other baby Pokémon had been injured in the fall. Somehow, however, the net had landed on the ground gently enough where every single captured Pokémon was in perfect health; just still trapped in the net.
"I'll get 'em out," Brandon nodded, throwing his own poke ball, "Rhyhorn, use bulldoze!"
The spikes Pokémon appeared and began stomping on the ground, eventually charging forward with his head down until he came in contact with the net. His front horn tore right into the net, creating a gaping hole from which the baby Pokémon managed to escape from.
"You did it, Brandon!" Michelle cheered. Pichu came running right up to her trainer, causing Michelle to smile and open her arms in order to catch the little electric type in them. Squealing, Pichu began to rub herself against Michelle while the girl giggled happily. "I'm so glad you're safe, Pichu!"
The other baby Pokémon hurried over to Aiden and gathered around the boy's feet, much to Stella's delight.
"Great, you're all safe!" Aiden smiled down at the Pokémon before glaring at Team Rocket. They were scraped and dirtied from the fall their balloon had taken, but despite those minor setbacks, the trio was still ready to take on their nemesis.
"They must be joking," Brandon scoffed upon seeing the villains'' determined looks.
"They might be jokes, but their intentions sure aren't," Michelle sighed before throwing her arm out and yelling, "Ponyta, fire spin!"
Ponyta opened her mouth and unleashed a swirling burst of red-orange fire. It managed to strike Team Rocket before they could even attempt to do anything, adding charred onto their list of physical ailments.
"Ugh, you stupid brat!" Jewel whined, wiping the ash out of her eyes. She continued to glare at Michelle, who looked nothing less but pleased with what she had done. "You're so smug! You're going to get it! Venonat, leech life!"
The ball of purple fur ran forward and latched its teeth into Ponyta's neck, causing the fire horse to cry out in pain.
"Ponyta!" Michelle cried.
"What's happening?!" Aiden gasped.
"Leech life is a move where the attacking Pokémon sucks the blood of its opponent in order to gain energy for itself!" Brandon replied hurriedly.
"EW! Don't suck my poor Ponyta's blood!" Michelle wailed. She raced forward and grabbed onto Venonat, trying to pull the insect Pokémon off of her fire type. Eventually, she succeeded and threw the dual type off in the direction of its trainer. Jewel managed to catch Venonat before proceeding to give Michelle an even dirtier look.
"Oh, don't you give me that!" Michelle scolded. "You were sucking my Pokémon's blood!"
"I wasn't!" Jewel refuted quite angrily. "Venonat was, you annoying little brat! Next time, I'll have it suck your blood!"
Michelle whimpered and backed away. She, like her mother, was terrified by both blood and needles. So something latching onto her skin and sucking out her blood like some kind of thirsty vampire was not exactly Michelle's idea of fun.
"Hey, no one is allowed to freak my sister out like that but me!" Aiden stormed. "Absol, quick attack, let's go!"
The disaster Pokémon ran so quickly that streaks of white appeared behind him. Once close enough, he rammed his head into Venonat's body, sending the dual type flying into its trainer and her two counterparts.
"Why you!" Jason snarled once he'd managed to sit up. "Zubat, you use leech life too!"
"Not again you don't," Aiden bit. "Absol, block it with night slash!"
The dark type continued to dart towards the blue bat Pokémon. Leaping up in the air so they could be equal, Absol threw his front claws out in front of him, the nails growing a bright crimson. Zubat, at the same time, had opened its mouth and was showing off a pair of pearly white fangs to the disaster Pokémon heading in its direction. Not at all deterred by such a threat, Absol held out his claws until they made contact with Zubat's teeth. It stopped the bat Pokémon from sinking its teeth into Absol, and furthermore, Absol managed to use the collected power in his claws to his advantage. Maneuvering his paws, Absol swiped Zubat across its body, causing the dual type to cry out in pain as it went fluttering listlessly towards the ground.
"That's it, Absol!" Aiden cheered as his dark type Pokémon landed back on his paws.
"Sol," Absol replied simply, closing his eyes and gently bowing his head.
"Oh, my Zubat!" Jason cried out in horror, running over to his beaten bat Pokémon and scooping it up in his arms.
"Alright, it's time for you three to get out of here," Michelle placed her hands on her hips. She really had had enough of these clowns. Even battling them was getting to be a chore! "Pichu, use thundershock!"
"Pi!" Pichu nodded before jumping up in the air and powering herself up with bright yellow electricity. "Pi…chu!"
A strong bolt of the electricity went barreling towards Team Rocket and managed to shock all three of them plus their Pokémon, creating a small explosion and sending the evil group up flying in the air.
"No fair!" Jason wailed.
"Yeah, we didn't even get to try stealing all those eggs!" Sneasel added.
"Somehow, this is all your fault!" Jewel pointed at a shocked Jason before scrunching up her nose and pointing a second finger at Sneasel. "You too!"
"WHAT?!" The two accused cried out before they disappeared into the sky.
"Good riddance," Michelle smirked. She looked down in order to check on Pichu, since the baby Pokémon could sometimes be affected after using her thunder attack. Indeed, the little mouse had received a small shock in response to the attack, and was now a bit weak. "Aw, poor thing," Michelle sighed, lifting Pichu up in her arms. The baby Pokémon whimpered, but that was all they heard out of the thing. She didn't cry or yelp. The return damage really hadn't been that bad.
"Did those three crooks say they wanted to steal some of our eggs?" Stella frowned.
"Probably," Brandon nodded. "They really have no shame."
"But they didn't get any of 'em!" Aiden cheered. Throwing in a laugh, he added brightly, "or any of the baby Pokémon, either!"
At his feet, the group of rescued baby Pokémon began to celebrate once again, jumping up on Aiden's legs and crying out happily in all of their perspective languages.
"Yeah, I'm really glad you're all safe and sound!" Aiden chuckled, kneeling down so he could pet all of the joyful Pokémon. "It's awesome!"
"I'm still just amazed by how much those babies love you, Aiden," Stella beamed at the young boy. "They can usually be so shy, especially Magby. Bu you managed to get them all out of their shells! Why, you even had Magby playing with the others."
"It was no big deal," Aiden blushed slightly. "They're lots of fun!"
"I want to thank you for all of the kindness you've exhibited," Stella grinned.
"Huh?" Aiden got to his feet and gave the old woman a confused stare. "What do you mean?"
Right on time, Stanley came back outside, this time with a case in hand. It was gray on the top and bottom, with a small red knob perched on the top cover. Inside of the clear middle, a Pokémon egg could be seen sitting inside. It was predominantly blue, with a yellow ring towards the top of the oval and a patch of black underneath, wrapping around the entire egg and ending in spikes.
"Please, Aiden," Stanley offered the case to the young boy. "We'd like you to take this egg with you."
"M-me?" Aiden stammered, pointing at himself.
"You've shown how well you work with baby Pokémon, so why not raise one of your own?" Stella questioned with a smile. "I'm sure it'll turn out to be a strong, lovely Pokémon!"
"Are you sure?" Aiden's eyes were wide.
"Of course we are," Stanley nodded. "Take it! It's all yours!"
Beaming, Aiden took the case from Stanley and began to examine it. He had no idea which Pokémon could possibly be inside; that was part of the fun!
"That red knob on top is a poke ball," Stella informed the boy, tapping on the red circle. "Once the Pokémon hatches, you can use that ball to catch it!"
"Thank you so much!" Aiden chuckled, hugging the case to his chest. "I'll take the best care of it! I promise!"
"We know you will, boy," Stanley grinned. "Good luck on the rest of your journey!"
"And with your new Pokémon!" Stella added.
"Thanks," Aiden gave a small nod as he continued to admire his new egg. "I will!"
Aiden's got an egg! Any guesses as to which Pokemon will hatch from it? ;)