Chapter 10, everybody! In which we follow the bouncing pink things….

Pokeevee57, thanks for the review! Thank you, glad you liked the chapter and the reference. :D Yes indeed…and yes, that was good. I hope to continue to please!

Hunter Redflame, thanks for the review! I do too—I think when I first wrote it, I was eager to get on to the character interactions, and when it came time to do the Brock battle, it just seemed better to skip it. Yes—Thunder would be a good one, or Swift (spam that one every time I run into a horde). Glad you're enjoying the pacing so far—I didn't want to go too fast or too slow, so this is good. And not any time soon, I'm sure. Demeaning Face is best move. :) Thank you, I hope to continue to please! :D

Yana5, thanks for the review! I hope I can continue to please!

Vismur, thanks for the review! Ah, glad it made you laugh. :D I suppose it makes a good noodle incident—and yes, this might become a problem later….Just a bit. ;) And of course! Pikachu does not approve of random guys coming out of nowhere. Me too. :D

Maerk Andrew, thanks for the review! I'll try (throws textbook at Ash). Eh, to be fair, he does ask first—if they say no, he doesn't bother. Thank you, I'm glad you like it so far, and I hope to continue to please! And maybe….

Neoxistatehuaki, thanks for the review! Thank you, I'm glad you've found it entertaining so far, and I hope to continue to please! :D

Analon, thanks for the review! Glad you like it so far, and I hope to continue to please!

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

And now, for something completely different:

Coming soon to theaters: Lilo and Stitch—the adventures of a Pa'u Oricorio and her Sableye friend in the island region of Alola. See the sights, surf the waves, and mind the Pyukumuku. Sponsored by Fangdango—when the sight of a Raticate is a good thing!

Weird guy woke up an hour later with some assistance from Misty's Goldeen using Water Sport.

His struggle to wakefulness was arrested by Pikachu sitting firmly on his chest.

"Hi," Ash greeted, sitting cross-legged next to him. "We're going to ask you some questions, if you don't mind—"

"Like why you were going to attack us," Misty pointed out, standing with her hands on her hips.

"And why you make it a habit to sneak up on people in the middle of the night," Brock contributed, also standing and with his arms sternly crossed—the full gym-leader treatment.

"May I explain with the Pikachu off my chest, yes?" weird-guy asked.

"Pika," Pikachu said sternly, cheeks sparking.

"Pikachu would rather stay there," Ash pointed out. "At least until we know you aren't going to attack us again."

"So why did you?" Misty asked. "Attack us, I mean."

"I heard you were capturing Clefairy—I am studying Clefairy. I cannot let you catch them," weird-guy explained.

"There were civil ways to explain that," Brock stated.

"Those are coming to mind now."

"So you know where Clefairy are?" Ash asked.

"I will not let you catch them. I will take that secret to my grave."

Ash looked at the others.

"I think you'll have to give up on catching one," Misty said.

"What about just seeing one?" Ash asked weird-guy. "I'm filling out a Pokedex for Professor Oak—"

"Ah, he is one of my colleagues!" weird-guy said.

"Seriously?"

"Yes! I am Professor Seymour, studying potential Fairy-types in Kanto!"

"And you couldn't have just explained that?" Brock asked.

"I have tried that—it has not ended well."

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"Bad trainers."

"Ah."

"So are we allowed to see them?" Misty asked. "Or are you going to attack us again?"

"I will escort you to them, yes—but no captures," Professor Seymour insisted.

Ash looked at the others, who nodded.

"We can live with that," he said.

Pikachu glanced up at Ash as they walked through the cave systems to find him fiddling with his Pokedex—something about checking to see if it had video.

Pikachu, meanwhile, was having to fight to keep his cheeks from sparking. Idiot yutz kid—and the other two were no better, following this nut into a cave system. They could get irreparably lost in this!

He stopped to peer into the gloom behind them. If he squinted, he could catch a glimpse of that monster.

He was tempted to ask if he'd get them back out, discarded it as too much trouble, heavily tempted to just run, but decided against that as well—he was only sticking with Ash because Darkrai scared him to bits. He didn't want to know what would happen if he didn't go along with the kid. That thing was a predator of epic proportions—Pikachu didn't even make a blip on its radar as far as power went.

So what if he wasn't trapped in a Pokéball? He was still trapped.

Granted, it was fun learning Iron Tail—and taking down an Onix! He doubted many Pikachu could claim that!

He glanced back up at the kid—the Pokedex was put away, now, and he was looking around eagerly.

"We are close now, yes," the nut said. "Remember—no catching. And be quiet, yes—don't startle them."

They reached a cavern with an open ceiling—like a meteor had punched through eons ago. It was a brilliant blue—the cavern somehow reflected the full moon.

The nut shooed them over behind a rock, an easy feat, considering how stunned they all were.

Pikachu's ears twitched as the first Clefairy hopped out.

"Seymour?" it asked.

Pikachu glanced at the nut, who was kneeling in what he probably thought was a non-threatening position. It seemed to satisfy the Clefairy, though, who called to its compatriots. Soon, the cavern was full of bouncing pink things.

Something moved, and Pikachu glanced to see Ash fishing in his pockets.

"Hey, you promised," Pikachu chided.

Ash held a finger to his mouth as he pulled his Pokedex back out.

"I figured out the video on this," he explained quietly. "Professor Oak will flip when he sees this!"

Pikachu watched, surprised, as Ash quietly filmed, thrilled to death at what he was seeing.

Perhaps he was wrong about him—maybe there were worse things than being stuck with some kid who maybe had more of a moral code than most humans.

"There is a Shadow over him."

Pikachu turned, startled, to see something that looked like a large Clefairy—a Clefable. "Huh?" he asked.

"A Shadow hangs over him," the Clefable repeated—there was something oddly blank about its eyes. "A darkness that clings to him—he has been tainted by its contact."

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, guys, look."

Pikachu glanced over to see the humans watching them, Ash filming them now. Thank goodness all they could hear was Pikachu and Clefable. They probably thought it was cute.

"Explain," Pikachu demanded, turning back to the Clefable. "What are you talking about?"

"A darkness from afar," the Clefable said. "It came escaping its sins. The boy…it has latched to the boy. He will carry its taint for all eternity."

"What do you mean? Stop talking in riddles!"

"He was chosen…and then the shadow came. His destiny is forever altered."

"If you don't start talking straight, I'm going to fry you like an egg!" Pikachu growled, cheeks sparking.

"Pikachu, no," Ash hissed. "Play nice."

"Play nice!? If you knew what this pink fluffball was saying—"

He froze, realizing what he was about to say.

"You care for the boy," the Clefable said.

"You shut up!" Pikachu snapped, rounding on it.

But before anything else could happen, an explosion sounded, shaking the cavern and sending rocks and startled Geodude tumbling.

Pikachu glanced up, startled, to see two humans and a Meowth standing at the cavern's edge.

"Prepare for trouble!" the girl said.

"And make it double!" the boy rejoined.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight fight fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" the Meowth said.

"Who are you nuts supposed to be?" Pikachu asked, as the humans asked similar variations.

"We're Team Rocket, you twerps!" the Meowth declared, pointing dramatically.

"They can't understand you, moron," Pikachu snarled.

"Shut it, you rat!"

Pikachu's next comment was cut off by a low chuckle and a cacophony of Clefairy shrieks.

"What's going on?" Pikachu asked frantically, as he and the humans were herded into the caves by a press of pink.

"Ultima Umbra."

"What?" Pikachu asked, managing to stay long enough to look at the peculiar Clefable.

"Last Shadow," the Clefable translated.