I UPDATED ON TIME! Hell, I updated EARLIER than I was suppoused to! I know I changed my update day to Tuesdays but now that school's started again, I think it's just gonna be whenever I get the chance to update it. I just finished this chapter, and it's crazy long and dramatic, so I figure if there's a delay on the next chapter, this will make up for it :P

Last time: Michelle confronted Jake with her revelation that he was Paul's son. She is right, but is faced with more ire from the boy. Offended by Jake's insults of his and Michelle's father, Aiden challenges Jake to a battle, but not before checking up on his newly hatched Riolu, who is now fully healed. During the battle, Michelle observes that Jake seems to be different than his father, but finds that she still can't fully trust him. After leaving Aiden and Michelle, Jake calls his Uncle Reggie and has a heart to heart conversation with the breeder, and is sent a brand new Pokemon. Meanwhile, Aiden finds out the sight of his next gym battle: Celadon City, the same place where Michelle's next Contest will be.

Chapter 23: Cave In!

"This looks like a good place to stop for lunch, doesn't it?"

The group had been walking through a group of mountains, on their way to Celadon City, and Brandon had stopped at a flat clearing. It was wide open, with plenty of space for them to set up camp and, most importantly for Aiden, for Brandon to cook lunch.

"Yeah, it's perfect!" Michelle smiled.

"Pi-chu!" Pichu agreed. Just then, a small gurgling noise filled the air, causing the three humans to look around in bewilderment. When Michelle glanced down at her shoulder, she realized that Pichu was blushing, on top of looking rather frustrated.

"You're hungry too, aren't you, Pichu?" Michelle smirked.

"Cha…" Pichu's ears drooped.

"It's not a problem," Brandon chuckled. "Come on! All the Pokémon are gonna' eat too!"

"Pi!" Pichu leapt off of Michelle's shoulder and scurried into the clearing.

With Pichu happily running around to burn off some of her extra energy before lunch, Michelle giggled and pulled out her two other poke balls, throwing them in the air as she called, "alright, guys! Lunch time!"

Appearing from inside their red and white balls were Ponyta and Butterfree. Ponyta neighed happily and trotted over to the side of the mountain, where a small patch of fine grass was growing. Leaning her head down, Ponyta began to happily munch on the grass, and Michelle didn't stop her. She knew that Ponyta loved to graze as a snack. Butterfree, on the other hand, floated over to where Pichu was and proceeded to playfully chase around the baby mouse, who laughed in response.

"Great idea, Shelly!" Aiden took out his four poke balls, holding two spheres in each hand before enlarging them and tossing them up. "Come on out, guys!"

Appearing in a surprisingly neat row were Squirtle, Growlithe, Absol, and, the newest member of Aiden's team: Riolu. Squirtle, the proud and highly independent Pokémon, climbed up a small collection of rocks in order to settle himself on a stone jutting out from the side of the mountain. He just sat there, watching over everyone else in the clearing. Growlithe and Absol both decided to take a little nap in the sun, finding a good spot that was showered in light before lying down and closing their eyes. This left Riolu all alone, and confused as to what he should do.

"Aw, it's okay, Riolu!" Michelle giggled when she saw the confusion set on the baby Pokémon's face. "You can go play with Pichu and Butterfree if you'd like. I'm sure they'd love to have another playmate!"

The emanation Pokémon looked somewhat frightened, but nevertheless toddled, albeit unsurely, over to where Pichu and Butterfree were busy playing. He just stood there silently, not entirely sure of what to do. Sighing, Aiden stepped forward and stood by Riolu's side, putting a big smile on his face.

"Hey, guys!" He called to catch Pichu and Butterfree's attention, which Riolu hadn't been brave enough to do. The two Pokémon stopped and stared up at Aiden curiously. "Would you mind if Riolu played with you?"

Pichu didn't look too excited at the prospect, but Butterfree was quick to nod and flutter over to Riolu, offering one of her blue feet to the little fighting type. Unsurely, he reached out and shook her foot, and once that was accomplished, Butterfree gave the baby a small tap on the head and urged him to chase after her, much like Pichu had already been doing. Riolu grinned and began to run after Butterfree on the tips of his back paws; the same way he walked. Pichu watched the two with a scowl on her face, which led to Michelle gently scolding the Pokémon.

"Pichu, behave," the red head warned. "Riolu is a little shy, and he just needs to make some friends! You could try being his friend, you know, and not such a little brat."

Pichu acted offended by her trainer's words, gasping and holding a small paw over her heart. Michelle's only response was a wry smirk, however. She wasn't buying Pichu's little act. Sighing, the small electric mouse turned back towards the game she had previously been partaking in and soon enough rejoined, keeping on Riolu's heels as both baby Pokémon chased after the butterfly.

"There, not so hard!" Michelle giggled.

While those three were now settled and playing together, Brandon chucked his own three poke balls, releasing his current team of Cranidos, Numel, and Rhyhorn. Cranidos was fully prepared to assist his trainer in cooking lunch for everyone, which was made obvious when the head butt Pokémon scurried over to Brandon and stood by the young breeder's leg. Numel was just fine trotting over to the same patch of grass where Ponyta was located and joining the fire pony in on her pre-lunch munching. Rhyhorn, meanwhile, chose to practice his attacks by continuously knocking his head against the side of the mountain, making sure to keep a good distance away from the ledge where Squirtle was relaxing. He didn't want to disturb the small blue turtle, after all.

Aiden and Michelle worked together to set up the table and dishes while Brandon cooked stew. Once the table was set, the twins then went to work on laying out the Pokémon's bowls and filling them up with the type special food that Brandon made for all of them. The creatures must have been starving, because they all abandoned their individual activities very quickly as soon as they saw their bowls had been filled. Even Riolu was eating very heartily, which brought a smile to Aiden's face. You couldn't at all tell that Riolu had hatched too early and was extremely weak for the first few hours of his life.

Not long after the Pokémon's lunch had been set up, the humans' meal was finished cooking. Brandon ladled the thick broth into the three bowls, and then they all sat around the table in order to get their fix. Lunch was almost always a quiet affair, solely because everyone was so busy stuffing their faces. Walking on foot for so long tended to really drum up the appetites of the three young trainers, especially Aiden. When he was just sitting on his butt on the couch, he could go through around three plates of food. So, when the boy was actually being active and wearing himself down, the amount he could eat increased greatly. Michelle found it to be a little startling, and she was always surprised when her mother was never fazed.

"He's a growing boy," she had always said whenever she saw the look of disgust on her oldest daughter's face, "besides, he's got your father's appetite. There was no way around that, I suppose."

Michelle smiled to herself as she continued to eat her stew. She loved her family, and missed them every day she was on the road. Of course, she loved being on her Pokémon journey, and traveling with her brother and Brandon only made it even more fun. But that didn't mean she was any less homesick. Michelle thought about her family all the time. It was only natural, after all, because they loved her so much. That was their job. All families were supposed to love their children.

I wonder what it's like for Jake, having Paul as his father, Michelle allowed her thoughts to wander all over the place. I wonder if Paul is even a good father. He doesn't really sound like it to me. He sounds like he was a mean trainer. If he couldn't handle Pokémon…how could he handle a kid? Maybe I should have asked Jake. But Jake is a little odd. He's so angry…it's weird. But I don't want to dislike him. I'm not Aiden. I want to give him a chance as a person. That doesn't mean he won't blow it, though. Maybe Paul messed him up. I don't know.

"Michelle! Earth to Michelle!"

The coordinator's head snapped up, and she found herself staring at her twin brother. Both he and Brandon were staring at Michelle like she had too many eyes, which confused the girl to no end.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Michelle raised an eyebrow.

"You completely spaced out," Aiden replied, eating another spoonful of stew.

"So?"

"It was weird," Aiden continued after swallowing his mouthful. "What are you thinking so hard about, anyway?"

"Oh, nothing," Michelle shrugged, stirring her spoon through her lunch.

I can't tell him I'm thinking about Jake. He'd be so ticked. But I can't tell him I'm thinking about home, either. He'd probably just tease me for being homesick.

Aiden just kept on giving his sister an incredulous stare. He had no idea why she was acting so weird. Whatever was on her mind…she sure was giving a lot of thought to it. Aiden wasn't good at understanding girls, though. He lived with his mother and two sisters, but he could never understand their thought processes. Aiden much better related to his father. So, he decided to leave Michelle alone to her thoughts. Maybe she was just thinking up new strategies for her next Contest and wasn't up for sharing them. Aiden could understand that.

Once lunch was done for both the humans and Pokémon, the three trainers started to clean up. The pot that had been used to make the stew had been washed out and filled up with water; its new use as a makeshift sink for the dirty dishes. Aiden gathered the empty bowls from both the table and the ground and handed them off to Brandon, who was busy scrubbing the containers with dish soap. Michelle's job, on the other hand, was to dry off the dishes with a cloth once Brandon was done washing them. Once they were all clean and dry, they were returned to Aiden's hands for the boy to stuff back into their sacks, which were then stored in Brandon's backpack.

While the trainers were busy with their post lunch chores, most of the Pokémon had decided to settle in and take naps. Pichu and Riolu, however, had other plans. One would think that the baby Pokémon of the group would be the first ones to nap following a big meal. For those two, it was the opposite. They had gained their second winds, and were now raring to play. Pichu was still a little wary of Riolu, but the rest of the Pokémon were already asleep, so the little electric type didn't have much of a choice when it came to a playmate. Besides, Riolu was just as energetic as she was at this point.

Pichu had discovered that she was much bossier than Riolu, and the small mouse decided to use this to her advantage. With that, she could get Riolu to play any game she wanted. Smirking, Pichu pounced on Riolu's wide blue tail, causing the emanation Pokémon to yelp. Riolu was nearly a foot and a half taller than Pichu, so he did have the size advantage on her. But that wasn't anything that Pichu couldn't deal with. Hence her jumping onto his tail.

While Riolu was still whimpering and rubbing at his backside, Pichu bounded to his front and stood up on her hind paws, pointing down the slope of the mountain. Riolu removed his paws from his bottom and inched closer to Pichu's side, looking over the edge of the clearing where the group had settled. The slope that Pichu was motioning towards led towards some smaller mountains.

"Pi pichu pi pichupipi," Pichu squeaked to the fighting type. I want to jump from mountain to mountain.

Riolu whined again, but not out of pain. This time, it was out uncertainty. He wanted to be friends with Pichu and play with her, but Riolu was afraid of upsetting Aiden. Riolu really liked his trainer; he took care of him, especially when he hadn't been feeling too well. Not to mention, Riolu was afraid of getting himself into trouble. He was a timid Pokémon, and that didn't exactly mesh with Pichu's bold nature.

Pichu, however, was getting tired of waiting for Riolu to answer her. She wanted to go play, and if Riolu wasn't willing to do what she wanted, then he could just stay behind all alone, without so much as a playmate to speak of.

"Chu," Pichu ran down the slope before Riolu could say anything. Red eyes widening, Riolu looked over his shoulder to see what the humans were up to. They were still busy with their dishes, and hadn't noticed Pichu run off down the hill. Grimacing, Riolu figured he had no other choice but to follow after Pichu, since he really did want to make some friends. So, with that decision made, Riolu chased after the electric type, down the dusty slope and towards the collection of smaller mountains that decorated the lower level of the clearing where the group was currently settled.

As soon as Riolu had started to run off, Michelle had picked her head up in order to hand off one of the dried dishes to Aiden. She immediately caught sight of Riolu disappearing and audibly gasped, alerting both her brother and Brandon. The boys looked up as well and saw the flash of blue that was Riolu hurrying away from their camp.

"Where the heck is Riolu running off too?!" Aiden jumped to his feet.

"I don't know…" Michelle narrowed her eyes, searching for some kind of clue. "But, not for nothing…I don't see Pichu around here, either."

"Knowing that little baby mouse of yours, I'd say she goaded Riolu into playing," Brandon eyed Michelle. "And by playing-"

"You mean getting into trouble," Michelle sighed.

"You've got it," Brandon smirked.

"I'll go get them," Michelle offered to her brother. "This is Pichu's doing, after all. You just finish up the dishes with Brandon, and I'll catch those two."

"Fine by me," Aiden shrugged, storing another bowl into its satchel.

With the boys continuing their chores, Michelle ran down the dusty slope of the mountain, in hot pursuit of the two baby Pokémon. She was definitely going to scold Pichu once she caught up with them. Riolu was a sweet and innocent little thing, and while Pichu often acted the part, Michelle knew the use's true nature was one that was very mischievous. Trouble was Pichu's middle name, for sure.

Several hundred feet away, Pichu had already reached one of the smaller mountains and was attempting to climb its front. She dug her paws into the rock and started the ascent, but it was a little hard to do when she didn't have claws or nails. Just cute little soft paws that definitely weren't made for climbing anything but your common tree in the forest. Pichu just kept on sliding back down, huffing in annoyance every time her fuzzy yellow butt hit the ground. Riolu just watched curiously from behind, wondering how in the world Pichu expected to get to the top of the diminutive mountain. After Pichu failed for the umpteenth time, Riolu decided to step in and see what he could do with the climbing aspect. Because he was a fighting type, Riolu had very strong muscles. Even though he was just a baby Pokémon, Riolu was still much stronger than Pichu was. He clamped his paws onto the rock and managed to pull himself up, clambering up the rock with unprecedented ease. From below, Pichu looked up and watched in pure shock. Go figure, the Pokémon she had dragged along solely to present her own dominance had managed to show her up. Needless to say, Pichu wasn't too happy about it, but she couldn't say she wasn't impressed.

"Pichu! Riolu!"

The small mouse looked over her shoulder, ears twitching at the call of her name. Riolu, on the other hand, was too busy climbing the small mountain to do the same. He hadn't even heard the shout of his name. Michelle appeared, having finally caught up to the two runaways. She glared down at Pichu, whose big ears flopped down.

"You know you've been bad, don't you?" Michelle asked. She didn't like to yell at her Pokémon. She could give a good scolding, however.

"Pi," Pichu muttered.

"You shouldn't be spreading your influence onto Riolu," Michelle shook her head. "Don't turn him into a naughty Pokémon, too!"

"Chu!" Pichu argued. She didn't like that connotation very much.

While her partner Pokémon was still strung up on being called naughty, Michelle peered up and caught sight of Riolu scaling the side of the mountain. She raised an eyebrow and watched out of fascination for a few moments before thinking that if her brother knew she had let his baby Pokémon ascend a mountain, he probably wouldn't be too thrilled. Aiden was just as protective of Riolu as she was of Pichu, despite his best efforts to hide such feelings.

"Hey, Riolu, get down from there!" Michelle called sweetly to the emanation Pokémon. "It's dangerous up there!"

Finally, Riolu looked down at the red head. This forced him to realize just how high up he actually was. Frowning, Riolu froze up and squeezed himself closer against the mountain. Michelle sighed and shook her head. How could she have known that Riolu would've gained a fear of heights during this little adventure?

"Well, I don't have Butterfree with me, since she's napping back at the campsite," Michelle groaned. "How am I gonna' get you down, Riolu?"

"Ri!" Riolu cried. He obviously had no clue as to how that was going to work out.

Suddenly, from the base of the mountain, a hole started to form, much to Michelle and Pichu's surprise. Pichu, in fact, was a little bit more startled than her trainer, and jumped up onto the coordinator's shoulder. With Pichu perched safely, Michelle leaned in closer, trying to figure out what was creating that growing hole. Finally, the rock broke open and revealed the dark insides of the mountain. This showed to Michelle that the mountain was actually hollow to some extent.

"So, these little mountains aren't actually mountains," Michelle looked around in interest. "They're caves!"

From inside the newly carved hole, a fuzzy brown head poked its way out from inside the rock formation. Michelle blinked and locked her emerald eyes on the creature. It was completely adorable; with big, brown eyes, long, pointed ears, and a cream colored ring of fur around its neck.

"I know who you are," Michelle breathed, retrieving her light blue pokedex to scan the Pokémon anyway.

Eevee, the evolution Pokémon. Eevee's genetic structure is irregularly shaped, which enables them to evolve into different Pokémon depending on their location or evolutional circumstance.

"Eevee is such a cool Pokémon!" Michelle squealed, smiling down at the fuzzy normal type. "Mom used to have one when she was younger, and then she evolved it into Vaporeon using a water stone! And May had an Eevee too, who evolved into Glaceon by touching the Ice Rock in Sinnoh! Sam's Dad had an Eevee back when he and my Dad were just beginning trainers, and his Eevee evolved into Umbreon. Even Clarisse had an Eevee at one point, who's now her Espeon. It's amazing that you can evolve into almost any type of Pokémon, Eevee! If I had one of you, I wonder which one I'd evolve you into…"

"Vee…"

Michelle leaned in closer to the little evolution Pokémon and realized it was trembling. It's expression also wasn't exactly one of joy. In fact, it looked quite terrified.

"Hey, what's wrong, Eevee?" Michelle frowned. "You seem really scared for some reason."

At that same moment, Riolu's paws slipped from the rocky façade of the cave and he went tumbling through the air. Both Michelle and Pichu gasped in fear, but Eevee was ready to fix the situation. The little brown ball of fur jumped out of the cave, streaks of white appearing behind the small creature as it managed to get underneath Riolu and prevent the baby Pokémon from hitting the ground.

"Wow, that was some quick attack!" Michelle beamed.

"Pi!" Pichu agreed.

Riolu smiled and started to thank Eevee in his own language. The normal type, however, still looked very concerned. Michelle frowned and knelt down by Eevee. Fortunately, the little thing didn't seem to be afraid of humans.

"I'd love to know what's wrong," Michelle informed the scared little thing. "Maybe I could help you!"

"Ee?" Eevee glanced up at the red head.

"I'm a Pokémon trainer," Michelle smiled. "It's my job to help Pokémon! I'll always do anything I can. So, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can probably help you out!"

Eevee squeaked quietly before running down deeper into the collection of caves. Michelle got back up to her feet and assumed that Eevee wanted her to follow it.

"Come on, Riolu," Michelle beckoned to the baby fighting type. He nodded and began to scurry alongside Michelle as she ran after the alarmed Eevee. About midway down, in a wide open space, Eevee stopped and began to sniff the air. Michelle halted behind the furry normal type and waited for it to pick up on whatever it was searching out. After a moment, Eevee made a sharp turn left on its heels, and Michelle was soon booking it right behind. This led them to a much more cluttered area of the terrain; there were caves practically on top of one another. They were all very small, and Michelle was certain that she wouldn't be able to fit into any of them. A small Pokémon like Eevee, however, definitely could.

They were hiding behind one of the smaller caves; an end one. That left a path that led out into the center of the clustered caverns. Peeking just a little bit of its face out, Eevee peered into the center of the rocky ring. Michelle did the same, and found that in the middle of the circle of caves was another flat surface; this one quite a bit smaller than all of the previous ones that Michelle had run across. The clearing was cluttered with a mess of machines, laptops, and other devices that Michelle had no idea were. Amongst these quietly beeping machines was a person; a teenage boy with blood red hair. It was long, nearly down to his shoulders in fact, and the bangs were swept up until they hung out in the air. Layers of spike edged hair also framed his face, which held almost no complexion to it whatsoever. His skin was very light, almost milky in tone. The teen's eyes were definitely his most striking and interesting feature; the left one was a bright red, almost like the candied cherries that were put into cookies. His right eye, however, was a very dark and shaded gray, so much so in fact that it looked more black than anything. A deep red scar was marked on the boy's face, right above and below his black hued eye. It was longer on the top than it was on the bottom; nearly reaching his eyebrow, in fact. His outfit choice was also an intriguing one; a black kimono top bordered in the same bloody red as his hair, and a pair of armored pants that reminded Michelle of what a medieval knight might have worn. They were made of a deep red metallic, with pointed gold accents from his shins all the way up to the very tops of his thighs. On his feet was a pair of very sleek boots, the body of which was black leather and adorned by red zippers.

Call it a hunch, but Michelle had a feeling the boy was up to no good.

Suddenly, one of his machines; a small black box with some kind of satellite sticking out from the top, began to beep relentlessly. The boy growled at this and got to his feet, looking around the area. Eevee whimpered and backed up so it was once again hidden behind the cave. Michelle followed suit and crouched down low, Riolu snuggling up to her side. He was scared. And Pichu was shaking as well. Michelle knew from her father that Pokémon could sense a lot of things that humans couldn't. Maybe they were getting the feeling that something really bad was about to happen.

The loud, angry beeping continued to fill the air. The teenage boy only began to look more confused, and more annoyed. He knew there had to be a reason as to why his devices were acting up. He had just fine tuned them, so obviously they weren't malfunctioning. Something…or someone…was near.

He stepped away from his machines and stared out over the edge of the cliff he had made his home base. A little group of Eevee had been there; these caverns, he'd assumed, were their homes. But Eevee was one of the most useless Pokémon he could think of, so the boy did the most natural thing he could possibly think to do: sick all of his Pokémon onto the little creatures and send them running for their lives. That had been the fun before the business.

The teenager could see off the edge of the cliff by peeking between two of the caves. It required a little bit of maneuvering and the smallest amount of climbing; simply getting one's foot into the parted rock. All he saw below, however, was more rock and the occasional desert tree. He swore, if those dumb Eevee had come back thinking they could reclaim their territory, he'd-

"Hey, what's with all of this?"

"Looks awfully familiar, doesn't it?"

"You're right, Sneasel! It does!"

At this, the teenager narrowed his two differently colored eyes. He could recognize those voices from anywhere. They were the voices of three bumbling idiots who drove him insane. Of course they would find him out here, in one of the most remote places possible. How fitting.

Michelle, meanwhile, registered those voices in her head as well. She didn't feel as afraid of them as the other boy, however, so she once again peered out from behind the cavern to see what those three crooks were up to now.

Jewel was holding one of the small, gray boxes to her chest, staring down at it with her sky blue eyes. She began to shake it, as though it was a present and she was a curious child trying to figure out what was inside.

"Whatever they are, they're dumb," Jewel muttered. "They don't do anything!"

"Don't they look familiar to you too, Jewelley?" Jason prodded.

"No! Why would a bunch of dumb things like this ring any of my bells?"

"Because they look like Magnus' toys," Sneasel supplied.

This caught Michelle's interest. She had never heard the name Magnus before. Who was that? She figured that if Team Rocket knew him, he was probably part of that gross, villainous team.

"You three are surefire fools if you consider those gadgets to be toys."

The three operatives shrieked and spun around, finding the blood red haired boy to be staring out at them from between two of the caves. He looked highly irritated, but even with that angry look on his face, Michelle couldn't help but to notice he still didn't gain any color in his face. Not even the tiniest hint of a fury fueled blush, in fact.

"Magnus, sir!" Jason laughed nervously, causing the older boy to scowl. "Long time no see…"

"Any time passed without seeing you isn't long enough," Magnus retorted.

A shiver went up Jason's spine as the older boy stared him down. Truth be told, Jason was rather afraid of him. Magnus had been raised to hold power over everyone else, and he did it very well. Of course he did; lest he disappoint his father.

"What are you doing out here?" Sneasel asked, trying to not to show the red haired teen that he too was afraid of him. "Did the boss send you to do some of his work?"

"I'm on my own mission, for your information," Magnus huffed. "This has nothing to do with my father's plans."

"Then what are you doing out here?" Jason asked in a timid voice.

"That is classified information," Magnus replied simply.

"But-"Jewel began before being cut off by her boss's son.

"I'm so sick of you three," Magnus seethed, eyeing the trio with deeply narrowed eyes. "I didn't chase away an entire pack of Pokémon just to have you interfere with my plans! Get out of here!"

At this, Eevee whimpered, and Michelle lowered her gaze back onto the cowering little normal type. Magnus' words seemed to have really bothered Eevee, even more so than the small Pokémon already was.

"Eevee…" Michelle breathed, "Did Magnus chase you away from your home?"

Slowly, Eevee nodded in conferment. Michelle growled quietly and bore her eyes into the back of the evil teenager. She knew he had been up to no good! As if learning he was part of Team Rocket hadn't confirmed that, discovering he was responsible for taking over a group of Pokémon's home was even worse. Messing with Pokémon that way was completely vile, and Michelle wouldn't stand for it.

"Pi," Pichu snarled from her trainer's shoulder.

"You're just as mad as I am, aren't you?" Michelle turned her head.

"Pi-pi!"

"Ri-o!" Riolu barked from the ground. He obviously didn't like Magnus or his tactics, either.

"Think we should do something about it?" Michelle glanced between the two angry Pokémon.

"Chu."

"Ri!"

"Alright," Michelle nodded before standing up to her full height. "Then let's go."

Eevee watched in half horror, half admiration as Michelle stepped out from behind the cave, Pichu still glaring angrily at Magnus from her shoulder. Riolu too moved out, standing by Michelle's legs the entire time.

"Hey, just what do you think you're doing?!"

The trio of young Team Rocket, along with Magnus, all whipped around so they had Michelle in their eyesight. Jason, Jewel, and Sneasel all gasped, while Magnus chuckled darkly and cast the red headed girl a sly grin.

"Well, well. I've been waiting for you…Michelle."

XXX

"What do you think is taking Michelle so long?"

Brandon turned his eyes onto Aiden. The younger boy had just finished putting away the last of the now clean dishes, and he was looking obviously concerned.

"I'm not sure," Brandon answered honestly. "You wouldn't think that Pichu and Riolu would go that far in such a short amount of time."

"I think something is wrong."

At this, Brandon raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"I've just got a feeling," Aiden slowly stood up, staring down the long slope that Michelle had previously descended down in order to chase after their two young Pokémon. "And when it comes to Michelle…my feelings are usually right."

Brandon couldn't argue with that. He had known Aiden and Michelle since they were all just babies, after all, and Brandon had always been aware of the special bond the siblings shared. They had always been able to sense one another's emotions, and could tell when the other was in trouble. Though a bit strange, it proved to be very helpful, especially on this journey of theirs.

"I believe you, then," Brandon pulled out his three poke balls and returned his companions. "If you think Michelle is in danger, then we've got to go and find her."

Aiden nodded and followed Brandon's lead; returning his Pokémon to their spheres. He did the same for Michelle's Pokémon and dropped them off in her backpack, so they were safe. Once they were all back in their balls, the raven haired boy led the way down the dusty path that Michelle had previously taken, keeping his eyes open for his twin sister. Brandon followed behind closely, carrying both his backpack and Michelle's.

"Well, well. I've been waiting for you…Michelle."

Aiden stopped short, Brandon accidentally walking into him. Standing right in front of Aiden, with her back towards him, was none other than Michelle. Aiden was a little surprised to see she hadn't gotten very far, considering how long she'd been gone for. She had Pichu on her shoulder and Riolu by her side as well, which also brought a sense of relief to the young trainer. Michelle had wrangled up the Pokémon, as well.

But standing before Michelle was a more troubling sight for the boy. It was those three losers from Team Rocket, and an older boy who Aiden had never seen before. His dark red hair and creepy, differently colored eyes were boring straight into his sister. And the fact that he had known her name, while not exactly surprising because of their parents' fame, was still creepy. Especially since he'd apparently been waiting for her.

"What do you mean you've been waiting?" Michelle asked, as though she'd read Aiden's mind.

"You needn't have to worry about the nuances, for now," Magnus assured the girl. "All you have to do is come with me. Not so hard, right?"

"You're insane if you think I would just blindly follow you out of here," Michelle bit.

"Oh, I don't expect that," Magnus smirked. "It would be lovely, but I know that's not going to happen. You're a smart girl. I have incentives for you to come with me. Things I can offer you that not even your parents' names could bring you. Wouldn't you love to discover those things? The feeling of true power?"

"No thanks, I'm not a disgusting human being like you and the rest of Team Rocket are," Michelle narrowed her eyes, slowly turning her gaze onto the offended trio standing behind Magnus.

"Hey, that was cold!" Jason frowned.

"Leave it up to a brat to be so hurtful," Sneasel sighed.

Aiden could no longer take watching this. With a snarl, he charged forward, much to Brandon's shock. The young breeder watched in horror as his best friend pulled up next to his sister, a look of pure fury etched on his face.

"You leave my sister alone!" Aiden barked, causing Michelle's head to snap to the side.

"Aiden!" She gasped.

"Excellent, now the both of them are here," Magnus cackled. "It's too easy to get the two of you in one place! My father will be pleased."

"She already said she's not going with you!" Aiden threw a protective arm out in front of Michelle. "So get out of here before I make you really sorry for messing with her!"

"It's not just her I want," Magnus' voice was coy, "I want a complete set. You and her. One is great, but two is even better. It's all my father has ever wanted. And I'm not about to let his dream die. But…since you two are so difficult to persuade…" Magnus pulled out a poke ball, "I see we'll have to do this the hard way."

"Fine, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get!" Aiden shouted, whipping out his own poke ball. "Squirtle, I choose you!"

The blue turtle appeared before his trainer, glaring at the red haired boy standing just a few feet away. Pichu, who was now sparking from the cheeks, jumped down from Michelle's shoulder and joined the water type, prepared to take down whichever Pokémon Magnus would call upon.

They wouldn't have to wait much longer, however, as Magnus tossed his own red and white sphere with a simple flick of the wrist. The ball burst open and spit out a ray of blue light, which turned into the solid mass of a black and red furred Pokémon with a devious smirk on its face.

"Is that…" Michelle's eyes widened.

"I think so," Aiden held up his poke dex with shaky hands.

Zoroark, the illusion fox Pokémon. Zoroark is able to transform itself into other forms and create illusions that are indistinguishable from reality, all of which are used to delude its opponents and others alike.

"Zoroark is from the Unova region," Michelle breathed. "Dad's told us about it before, but I've never seen a real one."

"It's a rare Pokémon," Aiden noted before turning his expression into one of anger. "They probably stole it."

"How cute, making accusations like you're a little detective," Magnus narrowed his differently colored eyes before pointing out a threatening finger towards the two, "Zoroark, teach those two a lesson! Night slash!"

Zoroark took a graceful and long stride forward, practically flying through the air as he extended both of his arms to reveal claws that were glowing a deep crimson. His left claws slashed Pichu, while the right hit Squirtle, sending both Pokémon skidding backwards in obvious pain.

"Pichu, no!" Michelle cried.

"We've gotta' fight back!" Aiden shook his head. "Squirtle, use water gun!"

Realizing her brother was right, Michelle put on a brave, determined face and ordered, "Pichu, charge beam!"

Squirtle's powerful blast of water was met with a shock of electricity coming from a sphere formed at Pichu's paws. The fusion of water and electricity hit Zoroark at the same time, and while the dark type was visibly wincing, it didn't appear that the attack had done much damage.

"Hey, for a bunch of brats, they aren't battling fairly!" Jason accused.

"Yeah, two on one is cheating!" Sneasel agreed.

"As much as we don't like Magnus, he is the boss's son," Jewel glanced at her teammates. "And that means we have to help him out."

Jason nodded in agreement. Simultaneously, the two siblings pulled out their poke balls and called, "Nidoran! Go!"

The two poison pin Pokémon appeared side by side, close to where Zoroark stood. The dark type glanced down and glared at the two smaller creatures, who visibly shied away from such a dark look. Magnus, just like his Pokémon, was not pleased by the appearance of the two Nidoran.

"I don't need help from a bunch of fools!" Magnus barked at his two operatives. "Stay out of my way!"

"We can't let you battle two on one!" Jason was shocked.

"My Zoroark is far more powerful than those two weaklings," Magnus eyed Pichu and Squirtle. "Now, back off!"

"Use bubble!" Aiden ordered his Pokémon. Squirtle spat out a stream of bubbles right at the female Nidoran, making direct contact and causing the poison type to cry out in pain.

"Useless, just like I thought," Magnus sneered, much to Jewel's displeasure.

"My Nidoran is not useless!" Jewel argued. "I'll show you! Nidoran, poison sting!"

"You too, Nidoran!" Jason chimed.

The two Pokémon fired off a series of bright purple spikes, both of which made contact with Pichu and Squirtle. Brandon was unamused that Team Rocket was now the ones utilizing unfair battle tactics, and he wasn't about to stand by and let it happen.

"Hey, three on two is cheating too!" Brandon barked, throwing his own poke ball. "Rhyhorn, rock blast!"

Brandon's spikes Pokémon appeared, and as soon as it had materialized, three bright yellow rings appeared around the dual type's body before turning white, and then into circle of rock that were fired off towards Zoroark and the two Nidoran. The dark type had enough experience to know to jump out of the way and avoid the attack. The two poison types, however, couldn't get out of the way fast enough and instead knocked heads as they attempted to run, their pain only being compounded as they were hit by Rhyhorn's rock type attack.

"Thanks, Brand-o," Aiden took a sigh of relief.

"Don't mention it," the breeder in training smirked.

"Using friendship in a battle, how quaint," Magnus spat before yelling, "Zoroark, punishment!"

The dark type's slender arms began to glow purple, and in one single swoop, the illusion fox nailed all three of his opponents into the side of a nearby cave, causing them great pain between both the attack and the brunt force of which they'd been smashed against the rocky surface.

"This is bad!" Brandon warned while Aiden and Michelle gasped in horror.

From behind one of the caves, Eevee peered out and watched the "battle" in horror. It was a completely unfair match up. And those Pokémon were just trying to defend him! It all led back to Eevee. Growling, Eevee bent down by his legs and set a harsh glare onto Magnus, and then Zoroark. Eevee knew he couldn't just stand around any longer…he needed to help out, too. This was his home, after all, and now he was going to defend it and his newfound friends.

"Now that that's done…" Magnus smiled evilly at Aiden and Michelle, sending a shiver up both trainers' spines, "Zoroark, get those two with foul play."

Zoroark smirked once again and held his claws out in front of himself, until a large ring of gold formed and was sent towards the frozen in fear siblings.

"That's the strongest dark type move a Pokémon can use!" Brandon screamed at his friends. "Get out of the way! Guys!"

It was no use. Aiden and Michelle were too stunned to move, and too stunned to even hear Brandon's warning. Just as the golden ring was about to hit them, the brother and sister pair were knocked out of the way by a strong, but small, force. They hit the ground, which hurt, but must have hurt much less than getting hit by foul play would have. Michelle was the first to sit up, pushing herself up by her hands. With weary eyes, she was able to see a small brown ball of fur standing only inches away from her and Aiden, smiling determinedly at them.

"Eevee!" Michelle gasped. "It was you!"

Aiden scrambled up now and also caught sight of the normal type. "An Eevee?"

"These caves were the homes of Eevee and its pack, but Magnus shooed them away so he could get his evil plan underway, whatever it is," Michelle explained. "I found Eevee running away and scared because of him, using dig to get through different caves in order to escape!"

"Great, so this guy's even worse than I thought," Aiden winced in pain as he pushed down even more on his hands.

"Aiden, are you okay?" Michelle crawled closer to her brother.

"I hurt my shoulder," Aiden groaned. "I can barely move my arm…"

"It's probably shocked," Michelle growled, knowing this was all Magnus' fault.

"Vee!"

Eevee was now standing guard before the two siblings, looking ready to attack Zoroark head on. Magnus, however, didn't look interested in such a battle. Instead, he simply rolled his eyes and yelled, "Zoroark, night daze."

The dark type's eyes began to glow blue as his dark body became surrounded by a crimson aura. As the aura around its arms grew thicker and brighter, Zoroark threw its arms down so they smashed against the ground, creating a force field of pink and crimson energy that exploded around the entire area in a fierce bubble. The power from the attack blew Aiden, Michelle, Brandon, and all of their Pokémon back further, until they were all smacked against one of the surrounding caves. As soon as the power died down, Michelle made to jump to her feet, but nearly fell back down. Brandon managed to catch the girl before she hit the ground again, and the coordinator threw her friend a grateful glance.

"Hey…they're gone!"

Michelle and Brandon both looked down at Aiden, who was now sitting up and staring across the open clearing. The two upright trainers glanced in the same direction, and realized that Aiden was right. Magnus, Jason, Jewel, and their five Pokémon were now nowhere to be seen.

"It makes no sense," Brandon sighed. Michelle was now standing up on her own, but Brandon still had his arms wrapped around her waist. Once the two realized they were still situated like that, they both blushed furiously and separated themselves, not daring to look at one another. Their embarrassed looks only ceased once Aiden got to his own feet and turned his attention onto the two, with a sense of bewilderment surrounding him.

"Why do you think Team Rocket is so fascinated with us?" Michelle finally managed to ask her brother.

"I don't know," Aiden answered honestly. "I don't even know what Magnus was trying to do out here. He's a bad guy, that's for sure."

"Ee…vee…"

Riolu turned his head to the side, where he found Eevee still cowering sadly. Michelle walked over and knelt beside the furry brown Pokémon, stroking him on his head. "You're sad about not being able to find your friends, aren't you, Eevee?"

"Vee," Eevee nodded.

"Well, you saved me and Aiden from Magnus, so I think I owe you," Michelle smiled. "Why don't you come along with us? I'm sure we'll run into your friends eventually. But I don't want you to stay out here on your own! That's no fun."

Eevee glanced up at Michelle and carefully studied the girl's face. She gave the Pokémon a confident smile, to which the evolution Pokémon squealed and tried to jump into Michelle's lap.

"I guess that's a yes!" Brandon chuckled.

"Alright, Eevee," Michelle pulled out an empty poke ball that would soon contain the sweet little normal type, "welcome to the team!"

XXX

After using Zoroark's night daze as a diversion, Magnus had kicked Jason, Jewel, and Sneasel off the cliff and gotten away using a jetpack, after returning his partner Pokémon to its poke ball. Once in the air, Magnus raised his wrist to his face, staring down at the rectangular shaped watch on which he had just punched in a few numbers. After waiting a few seconds, the image of Giovanni appeared, staring back at the boy.

"The targets showed up while I was in the middle of my mission," Magnus informed the mafia boss, "but those three sniveling idiots managed to ruin the whole plot before I had a chance to carry it out."

"It figures, they're just like those older imbeciles who took them in," Giovanni scowled. "Don't dwell on such failures, Magnus. You are much smarter than they are, and you have a job to do."

"Right."

"I'll be sending a pair of more competent operatives your way, to protect you from those three buffoons," Giovanni added. "For now, continue to keep an eye out for the targets. We're not ready to strike just yet, but I want to know exactly where they are and where they are going."

"Yes, father."

A new Pokemon for Michelle and some more about Team Rocket's plan revealed. What do you guys think of Magnus? I'm pretty pleased with the way he came out :P He'll be showing up a few more times...he's an integral part of Team Rocket's plan. And who do you think these new operatives are that Giovanni is sending?

I love all the ideas and suppourt you guys give me in your reviews, so thanks a bunch! I'll continue to try and entertain you with Aiden and Michelle's little journey ^^