A few days after Gardevoir's trip to Paris, something was up in Japan, mainly Osaka. Somewhere in the middle of the city, four strangers dressed in cloaks were standing around in an alleyway. But who were these people and what were they up to?

This would soon become clear when a young boy entered the alleyway and said, "Alright, I'm here," one of them nodding and asking in a masculine tone, "Did you bring it?" the boy nodding and replying, "Yes, but it wasn't easy. I could get in huge trouble if my dad found out I took this from his museum."

With that, the boy pulled out a golden mask with two long points sticking out of its sides. Wherever this had come from originally, it certainly looked valuable and even a bit intimidating. But what could these strangers possibly want with it?

"Thank you," said another stranger with a low feminine voice saying, "You have served us very well and for that, we shall give you what we promised."

The third cloaked figure stepped forward with a box and said in a slightly higher feminine tone, "This should more than make up for the mask," the boy smiling and saying, "Yeah, this makes it all worth it."

However, when he opened it up, all that was inside was a letter saying, 'You've been bamboozled', the boy's eyes going wide as he dropped the box, shouting, "GIVE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!" only for the forth figure to strike him on the back of the head with a karate chop, knocking him out cold.

"I am sorry, but this was necessary," the figure stated before dropping him a coin for one-hundred yen and adding, "This should at least make up for it to a certain degree."

"You're far too generous, master," one of the strangers said as forth figure sighed, "I may be a criminal, but I'm not heartless," another figure shrugging and saying, "Whatever. We got what we came for, so let's just get going already."

On that note, all four headed off into the night. But at this exact same moment, Throh and Sawk were walking by, the two headed home from a late night showing of a new action movie. Both were feeling very positive about it knowing they would have awesome dreams tonight.

However, Sawk stopped in the middle of the walk when they passed by the alleyway, the blue boy tapping his brother's shoulder as Throh turned, his eyes going wide. With that, both ran over to the human boy as he slowly regained consciousness, rubbing the back of his head while both heroes helped him up.

"Are you okay?" Throh asked as the boy nodded and replied, "Yeah. I'm glad you two are here," Sawk asking, "Who did this to you?"

"Three girls and one boy, all wearing cloaks," the boy replied, "They said they'd pay me an awesome sum if I could bring them something from the museum. See, my dad's the owner, so I know how to break in," Throh frowning and shaking his head, replying, "You should never commit illegal actions, especially if it's for money."

"I know," the boy groaned, rubbing the back of his head, "but you guys should hurry and go after them. What they had me steal was no small find."

Sawk blinked and asked, "Then what is it?" the human replying, "The mask of Giratina."

Their eyes widened as Sawk turned to his brother, saying, "I've heard about that. Giratina was a horrible monster who terrorized the world all by himself. The only one who ever managed to beat him was the great hero Arceus," Throh nodding and saying, "We can't let them get away with something so precious. For all we know, this could be more than just a simple theft."

With that, both heroes knelt down, folding their legs and cupping their hands together, the human boy blinking and asking, "What are you doing?" Sawk holding up a hand to shush him before opening his eyes and saying, "I know where they went," Throh nodding and getting up, saying, "Let's go," the two taking off from the alleyway.

As it just so happened, Throh and Sawk had somewhat of a spiritual connection to the world around them. However, it was limited to whatever was close and they could only focus on one thing at a time. In fact, they were simply following the energy patterns of one of the perpetrators, going in with the assumption that the other three were with her. It was fortunate that their assumption was correct.

As for where the cloaked figures had gone, they were currently at a local train station. Not a subway station where the bullet trains ran but the kind for freight trains. Why they chose this particular means of travel was anyone's guess, though it could have been due to the fact that subways were much more popular these days making them less likely to get caught here.

"Where is he?" one of them whined, starting to move her body as a means of overpowering her impatience.

Another simply shrugged and replied, "He'll get here when he gets here. Calm down," the one who had knocked out the boy adding, "She is correct. We need to be patient. After all, that boy has no clue where we went, so even if he does find help, he won't be of much use."

Soon enough, a freight train came by, the criminals smiling under their cloaks. It seemed their ride was finally here.

The conductor poked his head out and said, "Hey, guys, your ride is here, though don't forget how much you owe me. I feel like I shouldn't be doing this," the cloaked girls simply nodding and handing him a box, this one with actual money in it instead of just another trick before getting onto the train.

However, as the vehicle started up, Throh and Sawk had arrived just in time as the two nodded at each-other and leaped onto one of the box cars. Luckily, trains started up slowly enough for this not to be too dangerous, though now they would surely have to be careful.

"Well, we're in the clear," one of the cloaked figures said as another took a deep breath, sighing, "Finally. I don't have to wear this cloak anymore," the strangers all removing them to reveal their true forms, and sure enough, they were not human.

One was a tan-coloured boxer with five blunt protrusions coming out of her head. She wore a purple tunic and kilt. Her shoulders had pieces of skin that resembled shoulder pads covering them. Her name was Hitmonchan.

The second one had more of an ovoid body and no visible mouth. His head actually blended with his body quite well. His body was mostly brown but his arms and legs were white and slightly resembled human spines. With three fingers on each hand and three claws on his feet, this was Hitmonlee.

The third looked a tad more human-like than Hitmonlee but not quite as much as Hitmonchan. Her torso was shaped more like a perfect sphere and her eyes were black dots with little white ones in the middle. Her legs were incredibly skinny and her feet and hands were also spheres, though her feet had flat spots on the bottom so she could stand. Each foot had two claws on the front and one claw on the back. She also had a long tail with a blue sphere on the end of it with a spike sticking up out of it. She had a spike atop her head and flaps of skin hanging off the sides that resembled hair. Her name was Hitmontop.

The last member of the group looked a lot different from the other three. She looked more like a yoga instructor than a fighter as she wore puffy red pants with yellow dots on the knee areas. The rest of her body was grey and skinny save for the top of her head which had a red head piece on it with three bulb-like extensions coming out. With small pink lips that seemed to be permanently puckered, her name was Medicham.

"I never thought we'd get to take those off," Hitmontop sighed, using her tail like a stool and using the spike to stay balanced, Hitmonchan nodding and saying, "I hate to say it, but I agree. It was very hot in those things," Hitmonlee remarking, "If you ask me, you two are just a couple of babies."

The two glared at him as Hitmonchan pointed her fist at his face, saying, "Just because you're our brother doesn't mean we'll let you talk about us that way!"

Hitmonlee narrowed his eyelids and struck a fighting pose only for Hitmontop to spread her legs out. She then spun like a top and got between the two, sending both back a little bit by kicking them each in the gut.

"Stop it!" the girl snapped, "Why do you always have to fight when we're not under cover!?" the two sighing, "I'm sorry."

Medicham rolled her eyes and said, "Thank you, Hitmontop. We need to cooperate if we're going to pull this off," the woman holding up the mask and adding, "We'll be renowned far and wide once we pull this off. We could be regarded as the greatest villains of the new generation."

"Damn straight," Hitmonlee said with a chuckle, "This is gonna be awesome," Medicham's eyes widening as she held up her hand, saying, "Wait, I feel something."

"Is it a bowel movement?" Hitmonchan asked, Hitmontop saying, "Nice," the two giving each-other a high five as Medicham sighed, "No, there's someone else on this train, and they're on top of the cars. I want two of you to go and see who it is."

Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan looked at one-another and nodded, Hitmonlee poking his head out of an open window and grabbing onto the wall of the train. Hitmonchan then grabbed his legs as her brother flipped upward, propelling her onto the roof before landing against it.

However, it appeared no one was here as Hitmonchan suggested, "They're probably on one of the other cars."

The two ran along the roof and leaped into one of basket cars, the ones that did not have walls or doors for their cargo. Since the train was not being used to transport goods, it was empty so they could walk around on it.

Once again, it appeared no one was here as the two were about to head for another one only for Sawk to suddenly come up from behind one of the sides and send a hard kick into Hitmonchan's cheek, sending her flying off of the train. Before Hitmonlee could respond, Throh came out of hiding as well as he wrapped his arms around the boy from behind and tossed him backwards, sending him careening off the side.

"That was a little too easy," Throh said with a sigh before shrugging and adding, "but at least we took care of two of them. Let's find the others."

But just as the brothers were about to do so, their eyes widened when Hitmonlee performed an incredible jump that was strong enough to help him catch up with the train while holding Hitmonchan's arm. However, while the two had easily gotten back on, they still breathed a sigh of relief after doing so. Clearly, despite their cool attitude, they were a tad frightened after being sent off of a moving train like that.

"I have no idea who you two are, but you are going to pay for that!" Hitmonlee spat, Hitmonchan nodding and adding, "Yeah, you have no idea who you're messing with," before smiling at Sawk and adding, "Though I'll admit, that foot of yours does have a nice roughness to it," Sawk and Hitmonlee staring at the girl as her brother uttered, "I wish I could unhear that."

"Oh, shut up!" Hitmonchan retorted, "You're just jealous!" Hitmonlee remarking, "What are you implying!?" the girl blinking and uttering, "I just realized how awkward that sounded. Sorry," Throh and Sawk staring silently as the two villains regained focus and turned their attention back to them.

"State your names!" Sawk exclaimed, holding a fighter's stance, "I prefer to know the names of my opponents before I face them in a true fight."

Hitmonlee shrugged and replied, "He may not have asked nicely, but I like that he at least thought about it, so I think they deserve to know," the boy then sending a few high kicks to the air before stating, "I am Hitmonlee!"

Hitmonchan proceeded to punch the air a couple of times before striking a cute pose and winking at Sawk, adding, "I'm Hitmonchan."

Sawk winced as Throh nudged him, laughing deviously and whispering, "She's totally coming onto you, bro," the blue fighter groaning, "Thanks, but I already caught onto that."

Even so, the karate master shook his head and said, "We are twin brothers. I am Sawk," Throh adding, "And I am Throh!" both stating together, "And with our combined powers, we will stop whatever it is you're planning!"

Hitmonchan simply blew a kiss at Sawk before adding, "I love a man of action," Hitmonlee remarking, "Seriously, stop it! You're freaking me out!" Hitmonchan sighing, "Alas, you are right. I'll take the red one instead," the brother sighing, "Thank you."

With that, the two rushed at Throh and Sawk only for the brothers to unleash their counterattacks. However, when Sawk sent out a karate chop, Hitmonlee easily blocked it with his leg, the leg taking in no pain whatsoever almost as if it really was made of bones. In fact, the force of his leg was so strong that it was enough to knock Sawk on his back.

Throh attempted to grab Hitmonchan only for the girl to back away when he closed his arms inward, taking full advantage of this and sending a hard punch to his face. She did not let it end there as she sent multiple punches at an incredible speed.

However, there was no way the twin brothers were going to allow themselves to let the criminals get away. With that in mind, Sawk simply ignored the pain dealt by Hitmonlee's kick and rolled to the side, lowering himself into a crouching position. After that, he hit Hitmonlee's ankle with a sweep kick. Due to the strength of Hitmonlee's leg, this was not enough to knock him down but it was certainly painful enough to distract him.

Sawk took full advantage of this as cupped his hands together and sent a hard karate chop to his midsection with both hands, shouting, "BRICK BREAK!" Hitmonlee flying back a bit with his eyes wide open.

All the while, Throh eventually caught onto Hitmonchan's pattern and blocked two incoming punches before holding her close. With that, he leaped into the air, spinning himself like a ball before shouting, "ROLLING DROP!" sending the girl's head hard into the surface.

However, just as it seemed the two had won, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan easily recovered as the brother took a deep breath, saying, "Not bad, but I've faced better," Hitmonchan groaning, "That disgusting red thing touched me."

Throh felt rather offended by this as Hitmonlee sighed, "And if the blue guy had done it, you would have enjoyed it, right?" the girl batting her eyelashes innocently at her brother as he face-palmed.

However, he quickly returned his focus to the fight before leaping toward Sawk. Once again, the boy prepared himself to counter as instead of trying to block him, knowing what happened last time, he swerved to the right. However, Hitmonlee saw this coming as he sent a roundhouse kick into the side of his head before wrapping his legs around the boy's head, leaning backward and slamming his skull hard into the surface with a frankensteiner.

Throh all the while rushed at Hitmonchan with his arms at the ready only for the girl to block his hands with her fists, her gloves bursting into flame as she spat, "FIRE PUNCH!" This burned Throh's hands as he reeled them back, blowing on them as the girl took full advantage of this, punching him hard in the face with her burning fists and sending him back.

After that, Hitmonlee's foot was now covered in a blue aura as he said, "Time to deal with these pests," Hitmonchan nodding as she focused her energy, increasing the size of her fist to twice the size of her head, saying, "I'll miss you, Sawk," blowing him a kiss with her other hand.

With that, Hitmonlee leapt at Sawk, shouting, "MEGA KICK!" Hitmonchan barking, "MACH PUNCH!" and sending her fist at Throh, both brothers quickly finding themselves on the receiving end of each attack. Needless to say, this was more than enough to send them careening them off the side of the train, both falling hard against the ground while the transportation vessel was soon out of their point of view.

It would not have mattered if it was still close, though, as the two were too weak to pursue them. Luckily, they still had enough strength to move a little bit, and Sawk took full advantage of this as he whipped out a cellphone, taking a deep breath. He knew he could only make long-distance calls for emergencies, and this was certainly one of those.

The call in question was geared toward Hero Planet, mainly the office of Weedle. As it just so happened, Riolu had given everyone his number before sending them off in case they needed to contact him about something, and this was certainly one of those cases. Unfortunately, Throh and Sawk were among the few who actually kept the piece of paper they were given as most students just assumed a folded up sheet from a teacher was something to remind them of their duties.

It was rather fortunate that Weedle was just finishing up some paperwork at the moment. One second sooner and he would have been headed home already. But since he was here, he quickly answered the call, asking, "Who is this?"

"Mister Weedle, sir, it's Sawk," the boy replied as Weedle replied, "Oh, one of the top students from the first semester. What's the good word?" Sawk sighing, "I wish it was good. Unfortunately, a band of criminals just escaped from Osaka after stealing something precious from the museum," the boy not wanting to rat out the human who had handed it over.

"Well, why should that matter to me?" Weedle asked as Sawk replied, "Because it was something a hero donated there ages ago, the mask of Giratina," the caterpillar's eyes widening as he went silent, Sawk asking, "Are you still there?" Weedle shaking his head and replying, "Yes, yes I am. Do you know where they're headed?"

Sawk nodded and replied, "From what I can tell, it looks like they took the tracks leading to Tokyo, and from my research, they should be there by morning."

Weedle let out a sigh and thought, 'Great, I have to call upon them again,' before replying, "Don't worry about a thing. I'll handle this. You and your brother have done a good thing telling me."

With that, the caterpillar hung up and took a deep breath, thinking, 'Alright, you can do this. You finally have a chance to do something right as chairman. Don't let your resentment toward the Mach family ruin that.'

And with that, he sent a phone message to Aipom telling her of this, hoping she would get the message soon. Not only that, though, but he also arranged a meeting the following morning about this. After all, to have the mask of Giratina stolen was not something to take lightly, but why? How could the forces of evil benefit from having the mask of someone who was dead? Whatever the case, this could only spell trouble.