Author's Note: Sudden burst of inspiration for this chapter. Not much plot-wise, but we're inching ever closer to the end. I don't know exactly when that will be, but I hope to finish this story before I go off to college. Which means that, when I'm writing, I'll be focusing on this more than on my other pieces. I like this one particularly from my Doctor Who fics because it flows more easily for me, and the love you guys show is just astounding. This, at 2,000 views and all other stats, is my most popular one yet, so it only makes sense to keep on writing this one. Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving in advance. Without further ado, here's the next chapter.


The Pokémon had all gotten into the TARDIS after everyone got on the same page regarding what they knew and what they didn't know. They were ready to set off when Rory pointed out that the Doctor still hadn't come back. Wondering where he was, Amy and Rory peeked through the door and saw that the Doctor was running all over the room, chased by several officers. And here I thought that he might have actually stayed out of trouble for the first time ever, they both thought.

"Doctor?" Rory called. "What are you doing?"

"Get back here right now before I come out there and bring you back myself," Amy threatened.

"I'm coming!" the Doctor screamed. "I'm coming!" He hurriedly ran for the TARDIS, frosting falling off from his face and the officers quickly catching up to him.

"Get back here!" one voice called out. "That cake was for our boss's birthday today!"

"I said I was sorry!" the Doctor yelled back. "You told me I could have a taste!"

"Half the cake is not 'a taste!'"

"It is in my culture! How was I supposed to know it was different around here?"

Without waiting for a response, he finally zeroed in on his ship. Amy and Rory jumped out of the way as he burst in and quickly slammed the doors behind him, the Doctor not wanting to face the consequences of taking perhaps a bit too much cake. He dashed for the controls and activated the sequence for a quick escape. Blind panic definitely clouded his judgment, and it took a while for him to settle down.

When he finally did, he found himself facing a rather annoyed Amy, Rory having gotten out of the way of the argument he knew was about to erupt between the two. "What?" the Doctor innocently inquired, seemingly oblivious to exactly why Amy was cross with him.

"Don't you 'What?' me," she snapped. "You know exactly what. We're supposed to be finding out where a huge threat to this world is, and you stopped for cake!"

"What? You didn't expect me to fight evil on an empty stomach, did you? I saw a big, colorful cake, and big, colorful cakes are cool! Well, not cool but very sweet and delicious! You have to live in the moment, Pond! And besides, the only other food in the room was a bowl of carrots. Big colorful cake or bowl of carrots. I would have to be insane to take the carrots."

"Says the man who likes fish fingers and custard."

"Fish fingers and custard are great, and I know you and Rory are slowly coming around to it."

As soon as he heard his name mentioned, Rory decided to stop the argument now before it really became heated. "Okay, okay. That's enough of the food conversation. We really need to focus on the matter at hand: this Hunter J person."

The Doctor looked relieved by how Rory had intervened before something bad happened to him, and he voiced his gratitude. "Oh, thank you for saving me from your wife's wrath, Rory. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't stepped in…"

"Probably this." Before anyone else could react, Amy leveled her husband and shot another Flamethrower at the Doctor.

"GAH! NOT AGAIN! And I forgot to refill that bucket!" He rushed through the corridors, hoping to get to the swimming pool fast.

Amy smiled as Piplup wandered up to the console. "What was all that commotion about?" he asked.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm just reminding both the high and mighty Time Lord over there and my husband right here who the real boss is around here."

Rory stood up while clutching his head. "How did you do that?" he moaned. "I've got to be at least four times heavier than you are!"

"Don't ever underestimate me, husband. Otherwise I just might have to keep doing it."

Rory sighed as he saw the amused look on Piplup's face. He then turned and saw a pouty Doctor wearing something different from what he had been expecting. Instead of the familiar tweed jacket, he was now sporting a purple-brown cashmere frock coat. His shirt was much more subdued, and his bowtie was jet-black. "What's with the dim change of clothes?"

"I'm in mourning for my attire," he moped. "That bowtie was one of my favorites, and that jacket was the very same one I picked up in that hospital."

Amy frowned for a moment. His current state of dress was more adult and sober than his normal clothes, and something about it screamed of a sadness and regret that she felt didn't suit him. "You don't plan on wearing that now, do you?"

The Doctor shook his head. "As soon as we get home, I'm getting my jacket and bowtie fixed. I'd feel rather better with them on, but I think this one is appropriate for a good mourning. Besides, I still look good."

Amy smiled, not wanting to further the Doctor's state of distress. It was far too childish how he reacted to the loss of his clothes, but it did seem to her that the Doctor's clothes did look somewhat cool, though she would never admit it to him.

"So…now can we get serious about the matter at hand?" Rory cautiously asked. He certainly didn't want to draw his wife's ire again, but he knew that the more time they wasted arguing, the less time they would have to save the world.

Both nodded at Rory's statement. Although they often joked around, they knew when it was time to get serious. The Doctor turned to Piplup. "Right. Well, now that we know enough about who we're going up against, I think it's time we meet them face to face. Do you have anything we could use to track Chimchar down?"

Piplup nodded. He located the team Treasure Box and opened its secret compartment. Inside it was a stone with a strange engraving. To the ordinary eye, it was an intriguing picture on a rock but nothing more than that. He, however, knew the truth to the artifact. It had been Chimchar's personal treasure simply because he knew there was something special about it. It had turned out that it was part of the gateway to Temporal Tower. It had mysteriously reappeared sometime after they had managed to save the world from Darkrai's first plan to cover the world in darkness. They had returned once to see what had become of the gateway without the missing piece, but it looked entirely intact, as if there had been a new piece made to fill the void. They had attributed it to Dialga wanting to give them a memento of their accomplishments, but its significance now may be greater than ever before.

He handed it over to the Doctor, who nodded in thanks and quickly ran over to the console. The TARDIS scanned it and locked onto the DNA signature at the very same point in time they were in. He set the coordinates to a location a bit away, not wanting to land right in the middle of wherever they were going to protect the TARDIS. Satisfied with the destination input, he pulled the lever, initiating the engines with the familiar sounds of the TARDIS at work.

"Here we are! Middle of the Cave of Origin in the Hoenn region. Strange place for a base of a shady organization, but, then again, the basement of an arcade would also be an unusual place. We're inside Sootopolis City, a site where there was a battle between Groudon, the legendary Pokémon of the Land, and Kyogre, the legendary Pokémon of the Sea. The clash threatened to upset the balance of nature and destroy the world, but Rayquaza, the legendary Pokémon of the Sky, intervened and settled the dispute. Although people remember that two organizations of the Hoenn region, Team Aqua and Team Magma, had summoned Kyogre and Groudon respectively, almost no one knows who had managed to awaken Rayquaza…"

"Um, Doctor," Piplup interrupted. "Not to be rude by intruding in your interesting story, but I'm not sure where Manaphy and Bidoof are."

The Doctor facepalmed. "Well I suppose they just wandered off into the corridors of the TARDIS. As long as she likes them, they won't get lost, but we better go after them before we set out." They all went through a door leading to the TARDIS's inner corridors, quickly reaching a fork between two paths. "All righty then! Amy and Rory! Take the left path and stick together. I'll accompany Piplup on the right path." He grabbed Piplup by his small arm—or was it technically a flipper?—and hurried down the right corridor before hastily turning around. "Oh! Forgot one important thing." He took out a device from his pocket and handed it to Rory. "Once you two manage to find whoever you found, call us on that by holding down the red button and then press the blue button to get back to the central console. It'll save time later. Now go!"

Before another word could be spoken, the Doctor had already disappeared along with Piplup. Amy sighed before turning her attention to her husband. "Alright, Rory. Let's go!" He nodded, and they set off, hoping this trip through the TARDIS corridors would be far easier than that time the House had taken over the TARDIS.


"So, where do you suppose they might be?" Piplup asked once the Doctor finally let go.

"Bidoof, I'm not certain of. I don't know him quite well enough yet. Actually, I don't think I know enough of anything about this world well enough yet because usually I know a lot of things about wherever we go whenever I get there. …Rambling again, but, back to the point, I think a good place to look for Manaphy would be the swimming pool. The TARDIS corridors change all the time, but I typically know how to find my way to the swimming pool, just like I did a few minutes ago. Of course, I'm just assuming that's where Manaphy turned up, but I would say that's a good guess."

Piplup slowly nodded. Although the Doctor had been speaking at about a million miles a second, he had been able to understand him for the most part. He saw that the Doctor was about to start going off again when a rumbling came from both their stomachs.

"Hm…I guess that cake wasn't very filling. And I don't suppose you've had a bite to eat in a while, have you?" Piplup shook his head in denial. "Well, that's not very good. Can't fight evil on an empty stomach. Trust me, some of my worst plans and some of my best-laid plans failed because my stomach refused to cooperate with me. Let's find our way to the kitchen, and I'll make something delicious. Sounds good, eh?"

Not waiting for a response, the Doctor grabbed Piplup again and sped through the corridors. They quickly found their destination, and Piplup was amazed by the assortment of food lying around. Fruits of all shape, size, and color were stacked against an array of fresh vegetables. The savory smell of some sort of meat wafted through, as well as the aroma of something fresh baking. Such sensory overload was enough to stun him before the Doctor laid a hand on his shoulder.

"That's the same reaction everyone has once they find the kitchen. It's almost as satisfying as the 'bigger on the inside' moment. Now, I know what I want, and I hope you do give it a try."

He rushed through, grabbing some things and placing them in an appliance of some sort. They quickly popped out, and the Doctor quickly plated them. He then took out some sort of package, tore it open, and poured its contents into a giant bowl. He then added some water, stirred it rapidly, and put it into a different appliance, quickly taking it out once it was done.

"Here we are, then. Grab these first, dip them in here, and enjoy."

Piplup shrugged and followed his instructions. After taking one of the foreign objects, he dipped it in the bowl, filled with some sort of yellow substance, and popped it into his mouth. It was an odd yet satisfying combination. It was a sweet coating encasing a juicy, satisfying substance. "What is it?" he asked.

The Doctor gave a goofy, childlike grin. "Fish fingers and custard!" he declared as he took one for himself. "One day, people will know how wonderful they are. Did you know, that one time when I found myself surrounded by zombies I made them as a sort of a last meal and they repelled the zombies, allowing me to escape unscathed? Amy says it's because they think it's rubbish, but I know that zombies can't handle the pure goodness that is fish fingers and custard!"

A noise interrupted his thoughts as footsteps seemed to be dashing towards them. "Did you hear that?" Piplup asked.

"Yes…I wonder who that could be."

They heard a voice call out. "Come on, little guy. I heard the voices over here." To the surprise of both of them, a man wearing dark brown clothes, a light brown hat, and a green pack appeared, a familiar Pokémon by his side.

"Bidoof!"

"Piplup!"

As the Pokémon raced towards each other, the Doctor turned his attention to the man he remembered was called Mike Smith. He appeared much thinner than last time, likely because he hadn't had anything to eat except for whatever he had in his pack. A lost look was plastered on a cold face. "How did you get here?" he asked.

The man didn't seem to recognize the Doctor. "I've been wandering around for who knows how long. I ran out of food and water several days ago and had been waiting to die when I saw that Bidoof wandering around. The little guy looked lost, so I took him to wherever I could hear a voice."

The Doctor didn't speak for a moment, but he soon decided what he was going to do. "Here…take some of these." He passed the fish fingers and custard over, and he devoured the food eagerly.

When he finished, he already seemed to look much healthier. Color seemed to return to his face, and his breathing became more relaxed. "Thank you…that was very good…" He looked the Doctor in the eye, and realization quickly struck him. "Wait a minute! You're…"

"Yes, the Doctor. You're welcome for saving your life twice now."

"Saving my life? I've been wandering around for ages, left to die alone and afraid."

"But it hasn't even been a day in the TARDIS…unless she's been playing games with you. Oh, that naughty girl…but she let you find us when you wanted to help. So, I want to know this. What happened to that other bloke? I know I brought both of you onto the TARDIS."

"Oh…him…. We went our separate ways when he thought we should turn left and I thought we should turn right. If it hasn't even been a day in here…"

"Time is moving differently. The TARDIS showed mercy on you because you chose to do a good deed, but I'm not sure your friend would do the same…"

Mike sighed. "Yeah…the Admin isn't a very charitable guy. Loyal to a fault, he would probably follow our Boss's orders no matter what happened. I would imagine he's still trying to do part of what our mission was."

"Which was?"

"Hm…well since scouting the land is out of the question, finding out about the chosen ones would be the next priority…and assuming that were out of the question, the next priority would be capturing Manaphy…"

"Wait…what?"

"Yeah…Boss wanted Manaphy for control of the seas or something like that. I don't even know why I followed her for so long. I may have fallen on hard times, but I'm not foolhardy enough to try capturing a legendary Pokémon. If I ever get out of here, I'm quitting. I mean, what are the chances we'd even find Manaphy to begin with?"

But the Doctor had already tuned him out. He took out the device and held down the red button. "Come in! Amy, Rory! Do you read me?"


"Loud and clear, Doctor," Rory responded.

"Listen," came the Doctor's voice, "you have to watch out for a man dressed in purple. He was one of the blokes we ran into on that airship, and he's after Manaphy."

"No kidding," he said, staring right at a man matching the Doctor's short description. He was holding a case that contained Manaphy, trapped in a covering of stone, and he was running. "He's already been captured, but Amy and I are hot on his tail…no pun intended."

"The TARDIS won't let him escape, so you'll be bound to catch him eventually. I'm going to try and find you two. I'd tell you to stay out of trouble, but we both know it's far too late for that. So, good luck!"

The signal was cut off, and Rory sighed. He sped up, hoping to keep up with his wife. Amy was running as fast as she could, but the man was somehow even faster than her. He darted through a door and pressed a button to close and seal it. She was forced to stop herself before she collided head-on into the wall.

"Oh, no you don't!" she screamed. "Come on, Rory! We can't let him get away!"

They darted down another corridor, ending up in a rather large room with the man inside it. It seemed to be the perfect battleground: lots of earth available for digging through and lots of space for flight. The man, of course, was not pleased with the sight of them. "How the heck did you two get in here?!" he screamed at them. Amy stared him down as Rory closed the door behind them. "Well, I don't know why you're still following me, if you're real, or if I've become completely insane, but we will fight to our last breath." He took out two Poké Balls. "Raichu! Swampert! Go!"

They opened up, revealing an orange and yellow mouse-like Pokémon and a cobalt blue Pokémon with orange gills. Amy took the initiative and struck first. She summoned the green sphere that was an Energy Ball attack and aimed it at the Swampert, knowing that it would likely knock it out with one hit. Unfortunately, the man had seen the attack coming ahead of time.

"Swampert, use Dig!"

It evaded Amy's attack and disappeared into the ground. She growled as she leaped back, not wanting to make herself an easy target for the Raichu.

"Raichu, use Dig!"

So the Raichu too was underground. Rory knew that he had an attack that would greatly affect their opponents, but he needed to make sure Amy didn't get caught up in it. Without any warning, he threw Amy up and unleashed a powerful Earthquake attack, dragging a weak Swampert and a knocked out Raichu out of the ground. He caught his wife before she hit the ground, and, though she was a bit annoyed by the fact that he hadn't even given her a warning, she knew that Rory had done the right thing.

"Damn you!" he screamed. "Damn you all!" He didn't bother sending back the Raichu before grabbing another Poké Ball from his pockets. "Go! Rampardos!"

The ball opened, revealing a dinosaur-like Pokémon. It roared in fury, obviously having not been treated well. Both Amy and Rory flinched from its raw fury and anger at being bound to a cruel master. Without waiting for orders, it sped towards Amy with a Double-Edge attack. Amy quickly burrowed beneath the ground, and the Pokémon ran into the wall. Rory didn't waste the opportunity for an easy strike; he landed a devastating Iron Tail, knocking the Rampardos out instantly. The Swampert moved towards Rory, but Amy quickly leaped up and struck down the already weak Pokémon.

The man scowled again. "NO! I! WILL! NOT! LOSE!" He took out two more Poké Balls. "Golem! Magnezone! Go!"

These two Pokémon were familiar to the couple, and they wasted no time executing their attacks. Amy first launched an Energy Ball attack that struck the Golem down before the man could bellow an order. Rory's Flamethrower then decimated the Magnezone's strength. The battle was getting just way too easy.

"DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" The man had completely lost his mind. He took out something that was definitely not a Poké Ball. It looked more like…

"Rory! It's a bomb!" His eyes widened as the man chucked it towards Amy. He quickly grabbed her and flew up before the bomb went off, creating a gaping hole in the room. The man lost his balance and fell in, dropping the container with Manaphy in it at the very edge of the chasm.

As Rory flew down to solid ground, he and Amy heard a familiar noise coming from outside the door. It opened, revealing the Doctor putting back his screwdriver. "See? Told you I'd find them." He was addressing someone else, and they saw Piplup, Bidoof, and some strange man appear. "Amy! Rory! How'd everything go?"

"Well, we fought, but the man had a bomb. He used it to try and kill us—nothing new there—and he fell into the hole he made."

"Where's Manaphy?" Piplup asked with a very tense and worried tone. Very understandable to them, considering he had taken care of him at a young age.

"Well, he put Manaphy into a case that's right over…" Rory trailed off when the ground beneath the case gave through. "NO!"

"Rory, don't worry," the Doctor said. "The TARDIS is very smart. Watch." He held out his hand, and the case fell right into it. "See? Perfectly fine…well, not perfectly fine…unless perfectly fine means encased in solid rock…"

"WHAT?!" Piplup yelled.

"It's all right. There are some handy features here." He moved some of the controls on the case, and a light enveloped Manaphy's body. The case shattered, and Manaphy returned to normal. "See? Nothing to it."

Piplup breathed a sigh of relief as Manaphy asked what had happened. The Doctor introduced Mike to the group, telling them that he had learned a little bit more about the organization they were up against. He didn't give many specifics, but Amy and Rory were used to that. They grabbed each other as the Doctor pressed the blue button on his device, warping them all to the main console.

"Right, so, we've all gathered together. It's time we met this Hunter J face-to-face. Mike, I'll need your help to guide us through the facility. It's all right if you don't have all the passwords. I have a universal password right in my pocket. We're all going to stay together at first, but we'll eventually divide ourselves into two groups: Manaphy, Bidoof, Piplup, and Mike on one side and Amy, Rory and me on the other. Now, we're going to run into a ton of people who will all have Pokémon trained to stop us. So, I'll leave battle strategies to our more experienced members."

Piplup nodded. As he discussed his plans with Bidoof and Manaphy, Mike gave a Poké Ball to the Doctor. "This Poké Ball contains Phi…er…Henry. Once we're done, I think he'd like to go back to his family. I trust that you'll know how to work with him."

The Doctor nodded. "Right, then. We're off to save the world now." He walked towards the door and turned around with his trademark grin. "Geronimo!"


I love the love you guys are showing for this piece and appreciate every review, favorite, follow, etc. this story gets. It sounds cheesy, but it really does help fuel motivation to get these chapters up. Feel free to leave a review about anything. How you've felt about the story so far, how you're day is going, maybe even how you felt about the 50th. Can't wait to hear from you, and I hope to get that next chapter up soon.