.

~~**XII**~~

Here Comes the Trubbish Squad

The mid-autumn weather was surprisingly warm as the trio made their way along the path. Unfortunately Gwen had no use for her new scarf, but it wasn't going anywhere and the weather wouldn't always be so perfect. At least she wasn't burning under the sun.

There was a comfortable silence between the trio as they walked until a faint calling came from behind them. Turning, they saw a small group of little kids on tricycles heading for them. Gwen noticed one of them had a wagon attached behind it that carried...something.

A young woman and an older one were chasing from a ways behind them. "Everyone, slow down!" the younger woman called out.

"Stop those kids, please!" the older woman cried.

But the three of them were unprepared as the kids were already upon them. They held up mud balls in their hands and tossed them. Iris was quick enough to hop onto the fencing, but Gwen and Cilan weren't as the mud balls splattered at them, knocking them down.

"Attack successful!" one of the boys called.

Gwen faintly felt her beanie slip off her head and from the corner of his eye, saw it being dragged away by the...Pokemon in the wagon!

She clawed forward to retrieve it but missed. "That's my hat!" she cried. Gwen watched as the kids rode off down the path with her hat in tow...trailing through the dirt. Aww, that was her favorite beanie!

She and Cilan lifted themselves from the ground as Iris hopped down from the fence. "What's with those kids, anyway?" Iris commented.

"Axew!"

"Not exactly innocent pranksters," Cilan stated, wiping his face with a handkerchief.

"And they took off with my hat!" Gwen grumbled. "Dragging it through the dirt!"

"It's just a hat, Gwen," Iris scolded softly.

Gwen turned to her. "It's not just about the hat. I don't like my things stolen and ruined, Iris."

Iris opened her mouth to speak but another voice sounded. "I'm so sorry!" The three turned to see the two women having approached them. "Those children are from my kindergarten class," the younger one told them. "Forgive them, please!"

"We're so sorry," the older woman stated with a slight accent in her voice. It reminded Gwen something of a northern Olivine City-ish accent. Just a tad.

"We'll live," Gwen told them with a light grin. They were just kids, after all. The women, introducing themselves as Karena and her granddaughter Daniela, invited the trio to their day-care center.

"Hang on," Cilan said, grabbing Gwen's arm gently. "You have mud on your face still."

Gwen started. She'd completely forgotten! She grabbed the handkerchief from Cilan's hand as it came closer to her face and went to rub the mud off her face. She wasn't all that keen on people touching her face. "Did I get it all?" she asked after giving her face a good scrubbing.

"Just a bit," he replied, tapping his own chin to point it out.

"Thanks," Gwen said gratefully before handing the kerchief back.

The day-care was just down the road in a nice, homey cottage like building. It was at the same time clean, but messy enough to be inhabited by little children. Not only that, but-

"Pokemon Eggs!" Gwen exclaimed. There were shelves and shelves of Pokemon Eggs in containers throughout the center. It was always the perfect way to introduce young kids to Pokemon, when they were both at their earliest stages.

Karena confirmed this, having run the day-care since she was Daniela's age. Her parents had even been Pokemon Breeders. It reminded Gwen of one of her truest friends, Erik. Him and his older brother had ran, not a day-care exactly, but a Pokemon...sanctuary. A place for wild and owned Pokemon alike as well as the interaction with people of all ages. Gwen had felt so fortunate meeting them, and at the same time lamented how she hadn't met them sooner in her life. Currently, they were the ones who looked after many of Gwen's other Pokemon.

"Gwen?"

She turned to Cilan and the others. "Sorry, my mind wandered off."

Daniela waved her off. "It's my turn to apologize for my students today. You see, the children found a Trubbish just yesterday, and decided to bring it here."

Gwen knotted her brow. "A Trubbish?"

Daniela nodded. "Yes, and they found it at a junkyard located on the edge of town."

Gwen hummed and took out her PokeDex and searched. Trubbish, the Trash Bag Pokemon. Trubbish prefer to live in dirty placed like garbage dumps. It is said they were born when a chemical reaction occurred between an abandoned trash bag and industrial waste.

That alone had Gwen feeling nauseous, her hand cupping her mouth.

"Are you alright?" Cilan inquired.

"Just bad memories," Gwen answered him through her hand, the sound coming out very muffled. She moved her hand from her mouth before continuing. "We've got some rank Pokemon in Kanto and this simply reminds me of a hoard of Grimer when I visited Celadon City."

"Do they look like garbage?" Iris wondered.

"No, like sewage," Gwen responded dully. Iris made a face.

"Then you can understand why I would be anything but excited," Daniela continued, telling the three how the children insisted on keeping it but she refused and took it back to the junkyard where the kids found it and brought it back.

"And then the kids did the unthinkable," Karena finished.

Gwen was wary. What could little kids do that sounded so drastic?

She was answered when she and her friends were shown the biggest collection of junk Gwen had ever seen outside a dump. How had this group of kids made a junk fortress in the back of the day-care? It seemed to surround a treehouse at the corner of the yard.

"Pika?!"

Gwen certainly agreed. "Whoa."

"Tastes like a secret base to me," Cilan commented.

"This is awesome!" Gwen exclaimed, a wide grin on her face.

Iris turned to glare at her. "You're not supposed to be impressed, Gwen! Sheesh! You're more of a kid then they are!"

Gwen turned to her. "Come on, Iris, haven't you ever wanted a base or a treehouse to hang out in? I sure have and they provided me with much so fun!" Especially on those times when she was lonely. She made up so many fun games when hiding in a cave or in a copse of trees. Those memories were the highlight of her childhood before and after meeting Pikachu. "Right buddy?" she glanced at her buddy standing at her ankle.

"Pika pika!"

"That doesn't matter," Daniela interrupted them. "What does is that this pile of junk could collapse at any moment."

Cilan nodded. "I agree."

Karena turned to the trio. "Would you mind helping Daniela and me clean this up?"

The three of them, and Pikachu, readily agreed.

But they didn't get much of a start when the curtain-door of the treehouse opened and the kids spilled out. "Look here!" he shouted. "This is the Trubbish Squad's super secret base, and grown-ups aren't allowed to come inside."

"Right! No grown-ups allowed!" another kid parrots.

"Trubbish Squad's super secret base?" Iris sounds in a slight deadpan.

"They're just playing games," Cilan said.

Iris rolled her eyes. "Just like kids do."

Gwen kept her eyes on the kids, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Super secret base? If we know the whereabouts and the subject to this base, then it's hardly a super secret. You kinda messed up there!"

Iris and Cilan turned to her, brows knotted in confusion. Daniela and Karena did as well, Karena having something of an exasperated humorous glint in her eye and Daniela not knowing what to feel.

"What was that, Gwen?" Iris commanded, shaking her head.

Gwen looked at her, giving a slight shrug. "Just pointing out the obvious."

"Well, it won't do to humor them," Daniela scolded.

"Well, I think it should be Gwen who goes to speak with the children," Karena spoke up. All of them, Gwen included, looked at her stunned. "You have the best chance at connecting with them, Gwen," she added. "You could get them to listen instead of fighting back."

Gwen nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense. Sure." She turned to her partner. "You up for it?" Pikachu gave an affirmative and leapt onto her shoulder. She made her way to the junk fort and began to climb. She barely made a hold when the torn furniture wobbled underneath her weight. Sometimes she had to maintain balance on a constantly rocking nightstand as she pulled herself higher. But she made it to the top and sighed in relief. Falling from here shouldn't be as consequential.

And it wasn't long before the children noticed her presence. "Intruder alert! Alright then, Trubbish! Go! Attack!"

Gwen's head snapped up. "Attack?!"

Before she had the chance to respond, the Trubbish sent a Sludge attack that hit her and Pikachu square in the face.

"Good job Trubbish!" the little leader boy praised. "Now everybody fire!"

The kids gathered their mud balls and pelted them at Gwen and Pikachu, causing Gwen to lose her grip, footing, and all about sense of where she was. She went tumbling down the junk pile, tossing and turning until she landed in a big tire. Gwen groaned loudly. "And I thought that was going to be easy?" she moaned softly. "Yeah right." She might have gotten a crick in her neck from that, and definitely a sore shoulder and knee.

By the time Gwen reoriented herself and swallowed down the pain, the kids had converged in front of her. The lead boy held a wooden sword a mere inch from her face, causing her to blink. "Don't move!" he threatened.

"What's going on over there, Gwen?" Iris called.

"Don't worry, I'm handling it!" she called hastily. The last thing she wanted was to say she was "captured" by kids a decade younger than her.

The lead boy glared at her. "The prisoner will stay silent!" Two of the five kids approached with a water gun and sprayed her and Pikachu several times.

Gwen had no choice but to be herded up into the tree house and planted against the wall with a wooden sword still pointed at her. She took in her surroundings and saw the makings of a small cupboard with a small snack system, an arsenal of water guns and pails of dirt ready to be made into mud. A pulley system had even been made to lift Trubbish up and down. "I like your setup here," she commented. "You made it?"

"Yes and thank you," one of the girls said. "Trubbish has really helped in making this."

"Trubbish!"

Gwen smiled. "That's amazing! The best I ever had at your age was hiding under my covers!"

The lead boy glared at the girl. "Hey! You're not allowed to be friendly with the enemy!"

The girl lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Avey."

Gwen looked at the boy. He was wearing her beanie, the visor at the back of his head. Since it was slouchy the hat seemed to want to make for his eyes, but he made no move to fiz it. "So your name is Avey?"

His nostrils flared. "The name is Avery to you!"

"Okay," Gwen replied calmly. "I'm Gwen and this is Pikachu."

"Pika pikachu!" He gave the kids a smile.

The kids gasped in excitement. "I've never seen a real Pikachu before!" one of the exclaimed.

"Pikachu's cute!" one of the boy's added.

Another boy approached Gwen. "Mind if I pet him?"

Gwen smiled. "Go ahead."

Pikachu stepped in front of the kids and wagged his tail. "Pika." The kids then began patting his head and scratching in his ears and even pulling his cheeks. He seemed to enjoy the attention.

Gwen turned to Avery, who didn't go to pet Pikachu. "See, we came here to talk, that's all. We want to be friends."

Avery hesitated. "Really?"

She nodded. "You bet."

He paused before speaking again. "Would it be okay if I pet Pikachu, too?" he asked. Gwen nodded.

"Just watch out for his-" But it was too late as Avery grabbed for Pikachu's tail. The one thing never to do to Pikachu was mess with his tail. He hated that! Not only that, but the kids were getting a bit aggressive and grabby toward him. This was getting a bit out of hand and there would be one result.

"Watch out!" Gwen cried, grabbing Pikachu as she saw him tense. She just managed to grab him, watching all the kids back away when Pokemon and Trainer made a conspiratorial grin. The kids laughed it all up. "Now Pikachu's an Electric-Type and has a mighty Thunderbolt attack. Right buddy?"

"Pika!"

Gwen got the note and braced herself for the Thunderbolt. It wasn't his strongest, but it did give her a good jolt. "It's pretty intense, right! Pikachu's both cute and strong."

"Pikachu!"

Trubbish then stepped forward and made something of a cute pose. It put its hand on its hip, if Gwen had to compare it to human anatomy, and waved it other in the air, winking. Despite herself, Gwen giggled. It was simply cute in its attempt. It looked like a leaking trash bag, but there was something cute about its demeanor. "I guess you can be cute," Gwen said.

"Of course Trubbish is cute!" Avery affirmed.

Gwen smiled gently. "You guys really love Trubbish, don't you?"

"Yeah!" they all chimed. "we love Trubbish!" Gwen smiled.

Avery takes of Gwen's had and hands it to her. "Here Gwen, here's your hat back."

Gwen beamed at him, taking the hat and replacing it on her head. "Thanks. Now, I came to get you guys down from here and go talk to your teacher. I can go with you when you say you're sorry."

Avery glared. "We didn't do anything wrong!"

"Avery is right!"

"It's our teacher's fault!"Avery cried.

"Yeah! It's Daniela's fault!"

Gwen frowned. "Is it because she told you to take Trubbish back to the junkyard?"

Avery nodded curtly. "Yeah, and when we said no, she took Trubbish back and dumped him!"

"Trubbish isn't a bad Pokemon at all!"

"And he didn't do anything wrong!"

Gwen bit her lip. Sure Trubbish didn't do anything wrong, but..."He can get pretty stinky," she said.

Pikachu nodded. "Pika."

One of the girls nodded as well. "Yeah, he is stinky."

Avery shot her a glare. "No, he doesn't!"

"He's right!" she girl changed her mind. "He doesn't stink at all!"

"Trub!" Trubbish made a little burp and the stink immediately wafted up Gwen's nose. squeezing her nose shut, she even tried not to breathe it in. The other kids also covered their noses and mouths.

"Trubbish doesn't stink!" Avery called defiantly, despite holding his nose. The other kids parroted him.

But Gwen couldn't handle it. She shook her head and scrambled out of the treehouse. "Trubbish stinks!" It was even a moment before she was brave enough to let loose a breath as she reached outside, coughing out the air before taking it in. "Man, that is pungent!"

Pikachu coughed out breaths as well. "Pika!"

"No, it's not!" Avery called out. Gwen turned to see him still standing beside Trubbish, who looked downtrodden at Gwen's response. "Trubbish, everything is just fine."

Gwen sighed, looking from Avery to Trubbish and even the other kids who still looked at Trubbish with friendly eyes. Despite accepting that it stinks, they didn't want to give up on him. Gwen shook her head with a smile. "You've got some pretty good friends, Trubbish."

Trubbish grinned. "Trubbish!"

Suddenly, a loud rumble came from nearby. Craning her neck down around the treehouse, Gwen noticed a Sandile poking its head out from the ground. A Sandile with sunglasses.

The kids noticed him too. "Intruder alert!" Avery called. "Everyone, prepare for attack!"

Gwen followed the kids down to the ground, considering the Sandile. There was something familiar..."Wait, you're that Sandile." The one from the hot springs a while ago!

But it either didn't recognize Gwen or didn't care as it used Stone Edge against them.

"Look out!" Gwen shouted, stepping in front of the kids who stepped back. The Stone Edge didn't hit anyone, but that was only the opener. "That's Stone Edge, be careful."

Avery stepped up. "Time for a Mud Bomb counterattack!" he ordered. Each of the kids threw their mud balls at the Sandile, some with two. It didn't bother Sandile as much as it hoped with it pressing forward with another Stone Edge.

Trubbish stepped forward and growled, spitting out poison into the air and landing it just before Sandile's feet. "That's Toxic Spikes!" Gwen identified. And just as it was meant to do, it stung Sandile and halted him in his tracks. "Now, Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Sandile, go!" Pikachu's tail glowed steely grey and swiped against Sandile. Trubbish followed up with a Sludge attack that sent Sandile flying.

Avery grinned and cheered. "We did it!" The other kids joined in his cheers.

One of the girls turned. "We really did it, didn't we, Gwen?"

Gwen smiled and nodded. "You sure did!"

"Pikachu!"

Avery triumphantly placed his hands on his hips. "Yeah! Looks like the Trubbish Squad has done it again!"

Gwen and the kids gave a hearty cheer. "Hurray for the Trubbish Squad!" Gwen cheered.

"Gwen, what are you doing?"

She looked up to see Iris and Cilan, as well as Karena and Daniela, climbing atop the pile of junk. Gwen took a deep breath to respond to Iris's question. "Well, I talked to them like Karena asked," she started. "And they deserve to be listened to as well."

"No," Daniela scolded. "They need to clean up the mess they made. Not only is this unsanitary, but dangerous as well!"

"NO!" Avery screamed. "We're gonna stay here until you say we can keep Trubbish!"

"Impossible!" Daniela snapped. "You can't keep Trubbish in this class. It's not a suitable Pokemon for you kids!"

Gwen stepped forward. "But Daniela, these kids love Trubbish and Trubbish loves them. If you could just see that, maybe-"

"Gwen, stay out of this!" Daniela called. "This is my kindergarten class."

"But it's their kindergarten class too!" Gwen fought back.

"What about you saying certain Pokemon were smelly and unlikable?" Daniela said. "Do you think that sort of thing is suitable for them?"

Gwen didn't even try to take back or justify her previous words. "This isn't about me!" she said. "You could at least try to work with Trubbish!"

"No!" Daniela finalized. "It's my job to protect these children at all costs! And that means Trubbish has to leave!" She took out a Pokeball and called out her Pokemon. "Deerling, come help me!"

The small, autumn-colored deer Pokemon appeared. "Deerling!"

Gwen stood tall in front of the kids. "Then I guess I'll have to take you on! Pikachu, let's go!"

Gasps came from both her friends as well as Karena and Daniela. "What are you doing?!" Daniela shouted.

Gwen stared hard at her. "I want everyone to know that I'm part of the Trubbish Squad, too!" These kids loved and adored Trubbish and he them. That could not be a horrible thing and Gwen would stand beside them!

"Let's hear it for Gwen!" the kids cheered.

Daniela hesitates only momentarily before ordering her Deerling to use Tackle.

The move hit, but Pikachu easily took it. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Gwen called. Pikachu complied, charging his lightning and shooting it towards Deerling.

"Deerling, dodge!...Now use Tackle one more time!"

Gwen called out to Pikachu as Deerling came ramming. "Dodge it, Pikachu!" He does and Deerling rammed straight for a small bookcase. The junk on top of it teetered adnd pressed against it, needing Deerling to stay put in order to hold it up.

Karena gasped. "Deerling, don't move, not matter what! The pile is gonna collapse!"

Gwen looked around to see many of the piles begin wavering around and making loud tumbling sounds. The wall was crumbling down! She turned to the kids. "Get back up to the treehouse, now!" She ran over to Deerling and held up the boxes on top of the bookcase so it wouldn't fall on her head.

"Gwen!" she heard Cilan call out.

"Take care of the kids!" she cried, not turning. They mattered more than she did right now! She saw Daniela trying to get Avery to move, but he was still in his stubborn streak. This argument wasn't over for him, but it was putting him in danger. More of the junk came tumbling down. "Daniela, look out!"

She noticed just in time, rounding around Avery and nearly caving underneath the floor-to-ceiling wooden shelf, but managing to carry the weight on her back.

Meanwhile, Gwen's arms were beginning to ache. It wasn't only from the heavy boxes, but all the other trash that was falling on top of it. Perhaps if she and Deerling skirted away quick enough, they could allow it to fall without getting hurt. By now the kids should be up in the treehouse. She didn't dare relax her tired muscles, but boy did she want to. "I can't...keep...this...up!"

Suddenly a blast of...something shot at the boxes under her arms and the weight was lifted. Gwen turned to see Trubbish firing shots of Sludge at the piling junk and shooting it backwards, even the shelf behind Daniela, who visibly slumped afterward. She smiled down at the Pokemon. "Thanks Trubbish! You really saved us!"

"Deerling!"

"Pikachu!"

Trubbish smiled sheepishly. "Tubbish!"

Avery looked up at Daniela and began sobbing, the reality of the danger finally coming to him. "We're all really, really sorry!" he cried. "It's all our fault!" The kids parroted him from atop the treehouse.

Daniela wrapped her arms around him. "It's alright. We're all okay, and that's what matters."

The other kids came down from the treehouse and gather around Daniela and Avery, joining in the hug. "We'er so sorry!" they chanted.

"I'm sorry too," Daniela told them. "I wasn't a very good listener. I'm just so glad you're all safe."

Gwen smiled at them. "See, Daniela? Trubbish cares about these kids just as much as they do him. He'd be a prefect addition to your class."

Karena smiled gently down at Daniela. "What's it gonna be?"

Daniela sighed, looking down at the children and then to Trubbish. Gwen saw that, while she still didn't favor Trubbish, she did look at it with a more open heart. A smelly Pokemon and probably not the best of examples for little kids, but one that loved her kids and would take care of them to the best of its ability. She let out a deep breath. "Trubbish, would you like to be a part of our class?"

Trubbish perked up, a smile growing on his face. "Trubbish?! Trubbish!"

The kids gathered around him, cheering and patting him lovingly. He soaked up the attention, loving the affection and elated from his new acquisition.

Karena spoke up then. "A Trubbish will stop releasing its smelly breath the more friendly it becomes with people," she stated. "Of course, it also depends on how well you raise it."

The others gaped at her. She decided to say that now?! And she knew all along to teach them a lesson?!

"You knew this fact about Trubbish all along?" Cilan spoke up.

Karena winked. "Well, I do run a Day-Care, after all," she pointed out. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Why in the world wouldn't you tell us this in the first place?" Iris yelped.

"Because she wanted to teach us a lesson," Gwen answered, dully amused.

Karena's eye twinkled. "You have to find out your own way, whether you're raising kids or Pokemon. It's all the same." She chuckled.

Daniela groaned. "Oh grandma!"

Gwen pleaded with her friends to help her clean up the Day-Care, so for most of the night, they went back and forth hauling the junk pile back to the dump. Admittedly, it was back-breaking work and they would all be sore in the morning. But as a surprise for the kids, Gwen couldn't feel as disheartened it as the others were. "Come on, guys, we're almost done!" she called to Iris and Cilan. Trubbish had come along too, but Karena, Daniela and the others had no idea. It would be a wonderful surprise come morning!

"Gwen, why do we have to do all the cleaning?" Iris whined.

"Well, I'd much rather be cooking," Cilan confessed, hauling an old nightstand over his back.

"How about being a good samaritan, Iris?" Gwen answered. "It would make Karena, Daniela, and the kids so happy!" Then she addressed Cilan. "We all know that, Cilan. But come on, we're almost done!" Yes, with the help of not only Trubbish, but their Pokemon as well, they were making great time. Only a load or two more and they would have it finished.

And indeed the next morning, the class was so amazed to see all the trash gone and Daniela spouted numerous thank-yous. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done!" she said.

"Well, we did promise," Gwen told her. And they did say they would help out. Iris and Cilan certainly pointed that out last night.

Karena held out a case for Gwen. "Here, Gwen. It's a little thank-you gift from me."

Gwen gaped at what was inside. "A Pokemon Egg!" Indeed, it was a tan-colored and spotted Pokemon Egg held in an incubator.

"But you'll just have to wait until it hatches to find out what it is," Karena added.

Gwen held the incubator delicately, feeling the warmth through the glass. "Thank you so much!"

"All I ask is that you raise it well, okay?" Karena said.

Gwen nodded. "You bet I will!"

"Hey Gwen!" Avery called. Come back and play sometime!"

"Yeah," one of the girls added. "Don't forget that you're part of the Trubbish Squad!"

"Trubbish!"

Gwen smiled. "I will. And someday, we'll have a battle!" The kids cheered at that.

Hugging the incubator close, Gwen turned down the road with Iris and Cilan at her sides, waving goodbye to their new friends and making their way towards Nacrene City.