"Pikachuu! Pikachuu!" Serena said, cupping her hands around her mouth as she called out for her lost Pokémon.
"Oh, shut up with your wailing," Jessie said, crossing her arms. "You don't want to attract that Salamence."
"Don't you care that your friends are missing?" Serena said.
"Meowth? James?" Jessie said. She snorted. "Ptff, I could care less about those bumbling fools."
Serena raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, fine, maybe a little," Jessie said. "Ugh, don't give me that look. Those immature idiots need someone like me to look after them."
"Chespin…" the Pokémon said.
"Don't worry Chespin, we'll find Clemont soon," Serena said.
"Woooobbbuffet!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"How did you guys end up here?" Clemont said, looking at Brock and Seymour. The scientist's left leg was tied to a makeshift splint.
"The floor caved under us," Brock said. "What happened?"
"Oh, a lot of things! We found Team Rocket but then there was more Team Rocket and there were also these fossils and there was someone Serena thought…wait. Where's Bonnie?"
Brock looked around. "Oh no! She was here a second ago and…wait? Is that James? From Team Rocket?"
"Brat!" James said. "Er. I mean Brock. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"What is Team Rocket doing in Kanto?" Brock said. "Don't tell me you have been searching for Pikachu even after Ash left for Unova."
"No, no, of course not," James said, and Clemont glared at him. "Uh. Maybe."
"That's makes both Bonnie and Serena missing," said Clemont. "Oh, and Pikachu."
"And Jessie and Meowth!" James said, but Brock and Clemont shot a look at him.
"Well, I have a device for this kind of situation!" said Clemont. "The future is now, thanks to science! Citronic gear, on!"
As usual, Clemont's backpack whirled to life. In a few seconds it assembled a machine that resembled a Growlithe.
"The Sniff-O-Finder-Machine-That-Sniffs can easily find our lost friends!" Clemont said. "I'll just turn it on, and it'll go ahead and find Serena and Bonnie using their odors."
"Wow! Science is amazing!" James said.
"Hmm, that name could be better though," said Seymour.
"How exactly did you grab their scents in the first place?" asked Brock.
"Braix! Braix!" Braixen said, waving her stick around.
"Right, Braixen," Brock said. "We should get moving. Let's go find your trainer."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Pikapi?" Pikachu said, pulling himself out of some rubble.
"It's Pikachu!" Meowth said. He leaped back several feet. "Let's go! Let's catch him?"
"Ugh, where am I?" said Bonnie. She rubbed her eyes. "There's Pikachu, Dedenne's in my bag, and...huh? Where's everybody else? Ah! Meowth is here! Where did you come from?"
"Jessie? James?" Meowth said. "Oh no! They're gone!"
"Was this a plan to steal Pikachu again?" said Bonnie. She put her hands on her hips "That wasn't very nice blowing up the mountains like that."
"Pika pika," Pikachu said, copying Bonnie's pose.
"N-no, of course not!" Meowth said. "It's all Hunter J's fault that we're in this situation!"
"Ew, you're making things up." Bonnie said. "What kind of name is J? C'mon Pikachu. Let's go find Ash—er, I meant Serena and the others."
"I'll just stand here," Meowth said, crossing his arms and tapping a foot. "When you're lost, it's better to stand still and wait for others to find you."
Pikachu, Dedenne, and Bonnie paid him no mind as they walked away. After a while there was a noise—whether it be a dropping rock or a Zubat or a Salamence, no one knew—but Meowth said "Hey wait!" and ran after them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So how do you expect to find them in the dark, you idiot?" Jessie said.
"Chespin, can you do anything?" Serena said. Chespin shook his head.
"Yeah, I wish Braixen or even Pikachu was here," she said, sighing. "I don't think Pancham or Sylveon can help either."
"Well, you're useless," Jessie said.
"Hey, I don't see you offering any suggestions," Serena said, getting annoyed. She couldn't get any information about Ash from Hunter J, she was separated from the rest of the group, and now she really didn't feel like dealing with Jessie.
"How dare that you suggest me, the beautiful Jessie, lift my fingers to do a peasant's work!" she said. "I'll have you know that my beauty is heard all over the lands—what was that?"
There was a shake and the wall in front of them burst open.
"Salamence!" Jessie shrieked, leaping into Serena's arms, who couldn't support her, and they both fell down. Letting out a mighty roar, the Salamence shook the room as much as the machine did. Luckily, Hunter J wasn't nearby.
"Sylveon, I choose you!" Serena said, her voice muffled under Jessie. "Use Fairy Wind!"
Something blue spewed out of the Salamence's mouth—it morphed into the shape of a dragon as it lunged at Sylveon. However, Sylveon just smiled as the move sailed past her. The dragon's eyes widened, and then he was struck by the Fairy Wind.
"Keep on doing that!" Serena said. "And watch out for his other moves!"
The dragon breathed fire, a powerful Flamethrower, but Sylveon dodged it time. Her mouth opening wide, she launched Fairy Wind after Fairy Wind.
"And I thought Fairy attacks were supposed to be Super Effective against dragons," said a voice behind them. Again, the voice made Serena cringe as she turned around.
"You're not a Pokémon trainer, are you?" Pokémon Hunter J said, leaning on her mechanical leg. She adjusted a gear, and the metal limb let out a hiss as steam escaped.
"Yes I am!" Serena said. "I have a gym badge."
"Anyone vaguely competent has a gym badge," J said, waving an arm. "But you lack conviction. You lack resolve. Your attacks don't have any oomph. Do you know why?"
"Sylveon, prove her wrong," Serena said, pointing a finger. "Put all you got into your next Fairy Wind!"
"Salamence, Hyper Beam," J said. The Fairy Wind and Sylveon stood no chance. The beam of white, pure energy pushed aside the white and pink particles and sent Sylveon flying.
"You don't know true strength," J continued. Her robotic hand-cannon opened, revealing a brightly colored stone. She tapped it with her other hand. "Salamence, hear my command. Let our bond increase our strength! Mega evolve!"
Serena couldn't move her feet. Salamence's wings extended, the tips touching the edges of the cave. The spikes on his head elongated, enlarging his head. When the glowing subsided, Serena didn't need to hear J's command to start running.
"Draco Meteor," said the robotic voice as the cave ceiling fell for the second time that day.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Did you hear that noise?" Clemont said.
"I thought you said that you blew up the fossil digger machine thingy," James said.
"I did! It must be that Salamence," Clemont said.
Brock took out a Pokéball. "I'm counting on you, Croagunk."
The blue frog came out of Brock's Pokéball, calm and collected as always. He took a sideways look at James but didn't comment.
"Croagunk, can you sense where the Salamence is?" Brock said. Closing his eyes, the Pokémon meditated, and then nodded. He pointed one slimy hand to the east of them.
"Good work. We'll move another direction, then," Brock said.
"Amazing!" Clemont said. "Was that Anticipation? And why do you have a Croagunk, a Poison type?"
"Same reason why you have a grass type Pokémon even though you run an electric type gym," Brock said, causing Clemont to blush. "He was the first Pokémon I caught in Sinnoh, and he's been a very good friend since."
Clemont couldn't tell, but he thought the Croagunk might have been, perhaps, blushing? Regardless, his arm turned purple as he socked Brock in the stomach.
"Croagunk! I told you to stop doing that!" Brock said, on his knees and clutching his stomach.
"Ah, Brock, don't worry," Clemont said. I've also anticipated situations like this! The future is now, thanks to science! Citronic gear, on!"
Yet again Clemont's Clemontic gear spun to life. It pulled out a, well, a cart.
"This is the human-transporter-machine-thingy," Clemont said, adjusting his glasses. "It allows you to transfer people over large distances."
"That's a dumb name!" James said. "And that was already invented!"
"Woah! Science is amazing!" Brock said.
"Hang on," Seymour said, getting up onto his legs. However, he stumbled, and Clemont and James rushed to keep him up.
"There's a special rock deep in the caves," Seymour said, coughing. "I don't know what it is. But the Clefairy have been guarding it. I'm afraid this Hunter J woman that Clemont is talking about might steal it."
"Special rock? Is it a Moon Stone?" Brock said.
Seymour shook his head. "I have researched Moon Stones all of my life and it looks nothing like that. I haven't been close because of the Clefairies. But Clemont? You're from Kalos, correct? What are the chances that this could be a Mega Stone?"
"A Mega Stone?" Clemont said. "As far as I know, Clefairy can't Mega Evolve. Mega Evolution is also only for fully evolved Pokémon, like Clefable. And there's been no reports of Mega Stones in Kanto…"
Clemont's memory flashed to Ash's Pidgeot with his Mega stone in his plumage.
"Perhaps I'm wrong. We should check it out," Clemont said. "Do you know where it is?"
"Where Croagunk was pointing," Seymour said.
"Great, you want to lead us closer to that Salamence," James said, wringing his hands.
"That reminds me," Brock said. "We'll have to keep an eye out on you."
"What? Keep an eye on me?" James said. "We weren't planning to do anything to you! In fact, we were going to help you today!"
"I have an idea," Clemont said. "Give me a hand, Croagunk."
The two of them shoved the protesting James into the cot. With the press of a button, a bind went over James's protesting mouth, arms, and legs.
"Sorry you'll have to walk, Seymour," Clemont said.
The scientist eyed the indignant James. "I think I would've preferred walking anyways."
XXXXXXXXXX
"Wah! What was that?" Bonnie said. She and Meowth started hugging each other and then realized what they were doing and jumped back to opposite sides of the cave.
"Must've been that Salamence," Meowth said. "Sheesh. That woman is crazy. Let's get moving away from the scary Pokémon. Betcha everyone else is avoiding that crazy monster."
"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed, and they all moved, flinching every time rocks fell from the ceiling.
"So Meowth," Bonnie said. "How did you learn how to speak human language?"
"That's a long story," Meowth said. His face brightened as if he was dying to tell the tale. "So if you really don't want to hear it…"
"Nah, I don't," Bonnie said, which made Meowth trip and fall to the floor.
"B-but it's an epic tale! With love and romance and drama!"
"Chu, Pika," Pikachu said.
"Wait, you're right!" said Meowth. "You've tricked me like this before, little squirt!"
Bonnie just giggled—and then her mouth fell open as a boulder dropped right in front of her.
"You're lucky I saved you, brat!" Jessie said, appearing from the hole in the ceiling Her Gourgeist supported her, floating to the ground with the Team Rocket member in her ghostly arms. Meanwhile, a massive, purple snake was wrapped around Serena, a fainted Sylveon on the Arbok's head.
"Woooobbbuffet!"
"What are you doing?" Bonnie cried. "Stop choking her!"
"I'm saving her, you idiot little twerp," Jessie said. "Dumb brat thought she and her Sylveon could beat a Salamence. Hey Meowth, where's James?"
"I thought he was with you," Meowth said. "And did you find the fossils?"
"Fossils? Didn't see them," Jessie said. Arbok uncoiled and dropped the half-conscious Serena to the floor.
"Serena! Serena! Are you alright?" Bonnie said, running up to her. "Are you hurt?"
"Pi! Pi Pika! Chu chu!" Pikachu said, also concerned.
"The weakling provided no challenge," a voice said. Bonnie gasped as she saw Pokémon Hunter J descend on her Salamence, standing tall and her arms crossed. "And apparently you don't know where the fossils are. Now what purpose do you have for being alive?"
"Hey, if your Salamence didn't wreck the place, you wouldn't have lost the fossils," Meowth said, raising a paw. "Watcha blaming us for?"
"Maybe I should just bag you too," J said, raising her arm cannon. "A talking Meowth will sell for a lot on the market."
"Pika! Pika chu chu!" Pikachu said, looking at Serena for orders. However, Serena just laid there, her mouth slightly open and her eyes staring at something in the distance.
"Serena! Serena!" Bonnie wailed.
"Brick Break!" Brock said. The toad whooshed past, slamming his arms into the arm cannon. While it didn't break the device, it did deflect the energy beam—another rock turned into a gold color.
"Chespin! Bonnie! Are you safe? Are you hurt anywhere?" Clemont said, hugging Bonnie and his Pokémon. "Is Serena okay? What is she doing?"
"I don't know, brother," Bonnie said. She sniffed her nose as she looked at the girl. "She's not moving! But she's awake!"
"Braix! Braix!" Braixen said, stroking her unresponsive trainer.
"Syl…syl…" Sylveon said, having woken up.
"James! Are you alright?" Meowth said, running up to his partner. "What have they done to you!"
"Hmmph! Hmmmmph!" James said. The cat Pokémon began pressing buttons all over the cot.
"Wait, don't mess with that," Clemont said. "You're going to—"
It wasn't only Clemont this time that had poufy hair—so did Meowth and James.
"Gah! I can't believe you tied me up like that!" James said.
"Is your little reunion finished yet?" Hunter J said, looking at her nails. The group—aside from Serena—looked at her.
"Weezing, come on out!" James said, tossing the Pokéball.
"Chespin, I'm counting on you," Clemont said.
"Ches! Ches!"
"Croagunk, are you ready to rock?" Brock said. Croagunk gave him a slow look, and then nailed him in the ribs with Poison Jab. Again.
"Hyper Beam," Hunter J said, almost bored. The Salamence opened his mouth, manifesting the energy.
"Arbok, use Acid!" Jessie said.
"Chespin, Vine Whip!" said Clemont.
"Croagunk, show him your Poison Sting!" Brock said, thrusting his chest.
"Use Sludge, Weezing!" James said, pointing a finger.
The four attacks met in the center. At first it seemed like nothing would happen—the attacks met and dissipated, neither side wielding. Then, for yet another time that day, the room exploded.
"Hey! There's something down there!" Seymour said, pointing down yet another hole in the floor. Clemont briefly wondered if the mountain would cave due to the amount of holes being made.
"That's a lot of Clefairies!" Bonnie said.
The Clefairies stared back up at them, seemingly confused at their presence. There were a dozen or so in a circle, and in the center were four stones.
"That's where the fossils went," Brock said. "The Clefairies must have carried them here."
"That must be the Mega Stone," said Clemont, looking at the larger, more colorful stone.
"Mega Stone?" J said. "Interesting. Salamence, keep them at bay with Flamethrower."
"Oh no you don't! Clemont said. "Chespin, Pin Missile!"
Despite the type advantage, Chespin's attack canceled out the flame. J didn't seem to mind though. She had already leaped off her Salamence and into the pit where the angry Clefairies glared at her.
"Don't use your attacks," Hunter J said. "Unless you want to end up like your friend here."
A Clefairy in the middle of wiggling a hand was shot by the cannon. Turning into a gold statue, the Pokémon flew back and hit the wall with a clang. The rest of the Clefairies fell silent.
"No! Not the Clefairies!" Bonnie said, climbing down rocks. She ran over to some of the Clefairies, her hands trying to push them away. "Run away!"
"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Clemont said, calling from above. "Get back here right now!"
"Out of the way," Hunter J said, aiming her cannon at the girl.
Everyone's screams even jerked Serena out of her reverie as everybody, including the Team Rocket trio, looked at the statue of Bonnie, horrified. Dedenne was also a gold statue, his head poked out of Bonnie's pouch.
"Why did you do that?" Brock said. His usually calm face contorted with anger. "She didn't do anything to you! She isn't worth anything! She's just a kid!"
"She was an annoyance," Hunter J said, blowing the end of her cannon, the smoke vanishing in the wind. She strode over to the stones, her mechanical parts clanking with the cave. "Do not follow her example or you will end up like her."
There was a strangled cry. "You'll pay for this," Clemont said. "Luxray, Bunnelby, come on out! Mud Shot, Discharge, and Vine Whip!"
The three attacks were displaced by a Dragon Pulse as the Salamence landed, guarding his master.
"Double Slap, Tackle, and Wild Charge!" Clemont said.
"Draco Meteor," J said, looking slightly annoyed this time.
Blue rocks tumbled from the ceiling, but Clemont's Pokémon dodged and weaved. Each of the Pokémon crying out their names, they collided with the Salamence, inflicting a wound on the mighty mega dragon.
Hunter J grimaced as she tossed out a Pokéball. "Ariados, secure a passage for us out of here with String Shot." Her cannon arm pointed at the fossils, but instead of emitting an energy blast, it started sucking the fossils inside.
"Not this time!" Meowth said. In all of the commotion, he had sneaked up behind Hunter J. While the arm cannon sucked in two of the stones, he was able to nab the others.
"Give those back, you blasted cat," Hunter J demanded, but Meowth just stuck out his tongue at her. Ariados had used String Shot on J's arm, pulling her out of the ceiling in the cave. The Salamence roared again, this time weaker than usual, but flew out of the cave, his form reverting back to normal.
"Get back here!" Clemont said. "And come and fight!"
"You have trained your Pokémon well, little boy," J said. CLemont noticed that the String Shot was connected to a large airship which hovered in the sky. "Better than that girl brat, at least. I look forward to facing you again."
And with that she was out of sight.
"Wow!" James said. "I think we won! We didn't get blasted off for once!" He did a little dance with Weezing which Jessie and Arbok soon joined.
"Hmm, so what do we have here?" Meowth said, looking at the rocks in his paws. "We have a Dome and a Helix fossil. Hey, Clefairies? What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Clefairy! Clefairy!" they protested.
"No, it's mine!" Meowth said. "I got it fair and square!"
The Clefairies' eyes glowed as their hands shook back and forth.
"Meowth? What are they doing?" Jessie said, pausing in the middle of her dance.
"I think they're casting…Hyper Beam?" Meowth said.
The Team Rocket trio stood no chance. A beam of energy shot from every one of the Clefairies' mouths, propelling them upwards at an incredible rate.
"I knew our luck was too good to last," James said.
"Hey, at least we got two fossils," Jessie said.
"Oh no, I dropped one!" Meowth said, trying to grab it, but barely missing.
"And we're blasting off again!" they all said as they disappeared into a white star.
"Wooooobbbuufet!"
Brock caught the falling stone, flipping it and inspecting it in his hand. "This is a Helix Fossil. That means Team Rocket must have the Dome Fossil and J must have the Old Amber and the Mega Stone."
The Clefairies were looking at Brock, still fuming from earlier. A couple of them were waving their hands.
"Hey, stop, he's my friend," Seymour said, ushering the Clefairies to calm down. "Here, why not let him have the fossil? He needs it. I'll offer something in exchange."
The Clefairies hopped over, looking at the rock in Seymour's hand. Their eyes changed from anger to surprise and eagerness as they pointed at the stone.
"There, there, it's fine," Seymour said. "Take turns touching the Moon Stone."
He cracked the rock, dividing the pieces among the Clefairies. As soon as they touched the Moon Stones, they began evolving, the white light obfuscating their shape until they came Clefables.
"Clefable! Clefable!" some of them cheered. A lot of them hugged Seymour who just laughed and hugged them back.
Clemont was kneeling by Bonnie's statue, the girl in a permanent pose of keeping her head down and protecting her face. His Pokémon went up to him, Chespin and Luxray and Bunnelby nuzzling their sad trainer. Serena also walked up, finally unshaken, and placed a hand on Clemont's shoulder. However, he shrugged her off.
"I know a way to get rid the statue," Brock said, also walking up. "There's some special cases in Pokémon Hunter J's ship that revert the Pokémon—or person—back to normal. But the move Hidden Power can also remove the statue."
"Hidden Power?" Serena said, her first words in a while. "Braixen, you know what to do."
Braixen nodded. Waving her wand, orbs of white light shot out again.
Nothing happened.
"Braixen? Do it again," Serena said. She could feel her breathe going short.
"Brai-xen!" the fox Pokémon said, casting the Hidden Power.
"Is it supposed to be instant, Brock?" Seymour said.
"From what I remember, yes," Brock said.
"Again! Again! Again!" Serena said. Her voice was turning hoarse, much too hoarse for someone only worried for her friend.
"Enough," Brock said, putting a hand on Serena's shoulder. "It won't work. Maybe there's something we've missing."
"Braixen! Why are you so useless?" Serena shouted. Brock's hand left Serena's shoulder as it was a Heatran. Everybody else, including the Pokémon, snapped their faces right up to her.
"Braix..?" Braixen said, confused.
"Your Hidden Power is too weak!" Serena said. She pointed a finger at Sylveon. "And you, Sylveon!"
"Syl..?" Sylveon said. The Pokémon took a step back.
"How did you lose against a Salamence!?" Serena yelled. "You're immune to all Dragon-type moves! How did that Draco Meteor defeat you!?"
"Calm down, Serena," Seymour said. "Maybe the boulders from the ceiling caused the real damage."
"You're all weak!" Serena said, each syllable making Braixen and Sylveon cringe. "Weak and useless! You're why Bonnie is stuck in a gold statue! It's all your fault!"
"Chu! Pika pika!" Pikachu protested, getting in front of the scared Braixen and Sylveon.
"Serena, it's not their fault," Clemont said, a low growl in his voice. "It's the fault of the trainer's. It's your fault Bonnie is stuck!"
"How is it my fault that Braixen's Hidden Power can't break Bonnie out?" Serena shouted. "What am I supposed to do? Tell Braixen to believe in herself that she can break it out? Tell Braixen to try her best? Well, she's been doing that, and it's not working!"
"I don't know, but yelling at your Pokémon won't fix the problem!" Clemont said.
Serena shot looks at Clemont, her Pokémon, and finally Bonnie. Turning around, she stormed off.
"Where are you going?" Clemont said. "Get back here!"
"Braix!"
"Syl!" The two Pokémon had crept forward, wanting to comfort their trainer.
"Don't follow me!" Serena snapped back. No one noticed, but she wiped some tears off her face with her forearms.
"I should get going," Seymour said, exhaling some air he didn't know he was sucking in. "I have to find some more Moon Stones to replace the one I just used. Will you be returning to Pewter, Brock?"
Brock shook his head. He placed the Helix Fossil in Seymour's hands. "Can I trust you to return this? I feel like I'm needed more here. Clemont, let's go. Luckily, Serena went to the direction of Cerulean City. We can find some help for Bonnie there."
"I don't want to see him again," Clemont mumbled. "But if it's for Bonnie's sake…"
"Alright. Good luck," Seymour said. He sighed, putting his hands and the fossil into his lab coat pockets. "Clemont, you've mentioned Hunter J need the fossils for Project Missingno? If she can already turn living beings into statues, I shudder to think what Project Missingno can do."