I blinked at this response. I was getting pressured already by a Pokémon GANG? I mean, what was this guy's problem? I then remember how all those people were staring at me. Were visitors not welcome here? No. That can't be it. My brothers would've let me know by now before they left. I then looked up at the Charmeleon and rubbed where he threw the rock at me.

"What do you mean, your 'territory'?" I asked and slowly stood back up to my feet.

"This is my turf. I own this part of this here place," King said with a grin, "and you're trespassing."

I raised an eyebrow as my face showed an expression of EXTREME disbelief and said, "You honestly expect me to believe that you own a section of this place?"

King's face immediately got serious with an angry look and said, "Are you calling me a liar?"

The group all looked at each other; some with dread, and some with smirks. This was a sign that if I kept going like that, this King would get all up in my face. The last thing I need is to make an enemy on my first day of being here. So I shook my head.

"No, absolutely not," I said, "It's just hard for me to believe that this Wishcash Elder person would give a teenager a part of this place."

This caused King to growl and clench his fists. Oops. That wasn't the response I'd thought he'd give. But I kept my cool glance at him and then said this.

I said, "Besides, including that name, I only know five people here. I have no idea really what this place is; all I know is the name."

King and his group blinked in shock as they kept looking at me. Yes, it worked. It had calmed King down as he was interested in me rather than a bully.

"Really? You don't know anything about this place?" he asked.

"You know, now that he mentions it, King," a Scyther said, "I've never seen this Pikachu at all before."

"He might be new to Pokémon Square," a Yamask said.

"Ahh… so he's a new guy in these parts, eh?" King said as he smirked at me.

"Why do I get the feeling that by how he said that and how he's grinning that it's not good?" I thought.

He smirked at me and advanced a bit closer. He folded his arms and raised his head so he was looking down on me. He grinned as his tail swished.

"So, what's your name, newbie?" he asked me.

"M-My name is Thomas," I introduced myself.

"Oh, really? So, Thomas, why are you here?" he asked.

"At the entrance here?" I asked.

"No, bonehead," he said, making his group giggle a bit, "I meant in Pokémon Square in general."

I felt like rolling my eyes and saying rotten stuff to this guy. You can't call me a bonehead for that if you're not specific, dragon breath. Of course, I decided to still be nice.

"Actually, I was brought here by two Rescue Team members. They told me to wait outside here until they get back," I said with a smile.

The group gasped and talked amongst themselves. A part of me got happy and safe about that. It seemed that the Rescue Teams were kind of an authority or respected Pokémon around here. Judging by the actions and faces of the group, they might have been afraid they would get into trouble with the Elder or Rescue Teams if they messed with me.

But something wasn't right about King. He wasn't backing down. In fact, his grin actually grew and his eyes showed he was getting excited. He nodded as he chuckled to himself.

"So… if they brought you here, then that must mean you're strong, right?" he asked.

My face suddenly went pale. Oh, no. Don't tell me this Pokémon wants to duke it out with me here and now. I began to feel nervous as I shook a little.

"W-Wait, I didn't say that!" I said urgently.

"Hey, guys, circle us so he doesn't get away," King turned to the group and said, "I want to test how strong this guy is."

With that, his group slowly circled around us, preventing me escape. Oh crap, oh crap, oh CRAP! There was no way out of the circle. Even if I made a break for it, I wasn't certain that the Pokémon near it would attack me to send me back into the fight. And there was NO WAY I was gonna survive this fight with this King guy, even if I tried.

"Come on, pipsqueak," he taunted as he dropping into a fighting stance, "show me what you got."

"King, if you even blow smoke in Thomas' face, I'll douse your tail flame," I heard someone threaten King.

Everybody turned to see the person who would dare to try and stop this match. But as they saw who it was, everybody slowly backed away breaking the circle. However, it made my heart rise in joy and relief. It was Sasuke and Naruto, standing near the entrance. They had serious looks on their faces as they made their way over to me.

"OH, THANK GOD!" I exclaimed as I let myself fall on my rear and sit.

Naruto immediately rushed over to me and looked me all over as Sasuke stepped in between us and King. The puppy sniffed around to see if any blood was on my fur. When that was okay, he looked up at me.

"Thomas, are you hurt in any way?" he asked.

"Other than the fact that my forehead was drilled with a rock, no," I said.

It was then that Sasuke and Naruto got real scary and serious looks on their faces and glanced back to King, who was standing his ground. He looked back to see that the group that hung out with him was shaking and trembling in fear. He scoffed and turned to them.

"Look, if you all are scared, then go. I don't want to worry about you if you're only gonna act like cowards every time a Rescue Team member shows up. Get outta here," he said.

With that, the group collectively ran away from the area. What fragile bonds of trust and loyalty they had. They were willing to pick on the new guy… yet unable to stay when two strong Rescue Members show up? Pathetic. It was then Naruto stood up and helped me up, before looking at King.

"King… not again," he groaned, "That's the fifth time according to the town you've picked on someone who's not around these parts. For someone who wants to be a Rescue Team member, this isn't the way to get respect and show you're worthy of being one."

"Kid wasn't from these parts. I thought I would break him in," King said in a cool way.

"This isn't just some kid," Sasuke said, "This is our little brother."

"Your WHAT!?" King said with disbelief as he yelled angrily, "Sasuke, you and Naruto have lived here for ten years! No where among that time did this Pikachu live in Pokémon Square."

"That's cause we recently took him in," Naruto said, "And for the reason he's here with us, is because we're adding him to our team."

SAY WHAT!?

Naruto and Sasuke were adding me to their Rescue Team? Were they nuts!? I couldn't fight! What makes them think I could add to the team!?

"Are you kidding me!? You're honestly adding this kid to your team?" King asked in an angry voice.

"S-Sasuke! Naruto! I'm the one getting elected, and even I don't think that's a smart idea!" I joined in too.

Naruto winked to me lovingly and said, "Don't worry; we know what we're doing."

"He's our brother. We can choose to put him in if we want," Sasuke said.

King growled and said, "The pipsqueak couldn't even dodge the rock I threw at him!"

"You threw at like a hundred miles an hour when I wasn't paying attention! I was minding my own business! How could I have known!?" I yelled, in which if this was an anime, I'd have dinner-plate white eyes. (DON'T LAUGH AT ME!)

"Besides, Thomas just barely survived a Monster House, King," Sasuke further explained.

Huh? Monster House? What's that? Do monsters exist in this world? I don't know what it was, but it was apparently bad for King to gasp and somewhat look at me with pity. But why would Sasuke say…

Oh, I get it. This is the alibi. That smack on the head earlier was to show that I had survived this "Monster House" and still had some scars. I get it now. Very clever, you two…

"Dude, seriously? That's rough," King said.

"Yeah, he still has a major bump on his head from it," Naruto replied, "In fact, we're about to explain the whole story to Whiscash Elder, so Thomas can stay here."

"I'm gonna go in then and listen to it then. That way, I can understand why the kid is acting so foreign to us," King said as he walked into the entrance, "See you inside."

As he walked away, Sasuke and Naruto did one more body check to see if I had any injuries. After seeing where the rock hit me went back to normal and didn't hurt anymore, they hugged me and snuggled a bit. I blinked at them as they let go.

"We're sorry, Thomas," Sasuke apologized, "I honestly didn't think you would be one of King's victims."

Geez, already not even a full day into the Pokémon world, and people are already beating me with rocks. Hahaha! I must be that good…. Ehhehe…. Never mind.

"So, who is that King?" I asked.

Naruto answered as he sat down and itched his left ear with his left hind leg, "That would be King, one of the rising Pokémon here. He really wants to be part of a Rescue Team. However, to outsiders and younger Pokémon, he's known as the town bully."

"He's the younger brother of one of the members of Team A.C.T," Sasuke added.

"Team A.C.T? Who are they?" I asked.

"In the Pokémon Square, there are many teams. But there are five teams that are the strongest. These teams, in no order, are Lucario, Champ, Tactics, A.C.T, and Justice. Team A.C.T is a three-Pokémon team of Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyrannitar. They are the second highest rank possible of Diamond," Naruto answered.

"Charizard's fire is said to melt mountains. Tyrannitar's armor skin cannot be penetrated. And with a I.Q of over 5,000 and amazing psychic abilities, Alakazam is the leader," Sasuke added.

"Wow… this Rescue Team business sounds powerful…" I said.

"It does, but right now, it's time for you to meet the Elder, silly," Naruto said happily, "Follow us."

And with that, I walked with Naruto and Sasuke into the entrance. I was a little scared about meeting Whichcash Elder and joining this Rescue Team, but if I got to spend time with my brothers, then I would do it, no matter how scared I was.

-