With that, Zev took a leaping bound and jumped onto a tree limb, thus leaping out of view. The crowd murmured among each other as most of them left to go back into town, including Caterpie and his mother. After they had said their thanks and good-byes, I turned back to the pond. I watched Team Pitchblack wait patiently in another tent to get their lecture from the Elder finished. It was during this that the remaining five of us from the mission stood in front of the Elder as Sasuke gave the official version of the report. I won't go into basics, so we'll skip to the important part.

"So, an Ariados attacked you pretty badly?" Whiscash Elder asked.

"Yes," Sasuke nodded and answered, "He was very vicious and bloodthirsty. In fact, he tried to eat Caterpie and Zev when we were there."

"It's unknown if he was that way to begin with or it was from the fissure that opened up," Naruto said.

"I see," Whiscash Elder said nodding, "It might be a good idea to put some town check watches around there, just in case."

Lucario stepped forward and said, "I can make sure some protection is brought up, sir."

"Thank you, Lucario," the Elder said, as he turned to us and said, "And thank you, the five of you. We couldn't have done this without you and Zev helping. If any of you see Zev in the future, please tell him that I thank him. So, is there anything else I need to know?"

We all started to shake our heads when a certain Riolu nodded and stepped forward. We blinked in surprise as he bowed and then raised his head to the Elder.

"Actually, if I may, there is something I would like to address," Batsu said.

"You have my permission, Batsu. Please tell me what it is you want me to know," Whiscash Elder said.

"Although during the mission I was not the leader, I noticed all the orders that Sasuke commanded on the battlefield. During the mission, there were two incidents where King and Thomas disobeyed his orders," the Riolu said.

That little snitch! He's upset so badly about me and King disobeying orders, he's tattling on us to the Elder? What the heck!? Was breaking the rules that BIG of a horrible thing? I didn't know. All I know is King's eyes widened in an anime style as Sasuke and Naruto gasped and looked at each other. I blinked in shock and kept quiet as King whirled his head over, looking at Batsu with eyes so white and huge, they could've been mistaken for dinner plates.

"W-What the!? Batsu!" he roared, "What the heck are you doing!?"

"Rules are rules, King," Batsu replied looking at him without any fear or hesitation, "If anyone breaks them, the Elder should know about them."

It was then Lucario took a good look at me and kept his eyes there. I felt a bit uncomfortable; the strongest Pokémon just heard I broke a rule and now was staring at me. You can imagine the anxiety I felt a bit about that. I was afraid he would be ordered to attack me for it or something.

"Is that so?" Whiscash Elder said, "What did they do?"

"Well, first was King; when we had found Caterpie, Sasuke had ordered us to stay back to see if he could try to get Caterpie without starting a fight in the first place. As he was getting close, King became impatient and charged out to Sasuke's side, causing Ariados to become aggressive and the whole fight to start in the first place. He had put Caterpie at risk with his actions," Batsu explained.

As the adults turned to see the Pokémon mentioned, the Fire-type smiled nervously and rubbed his neck, saying, "Yeah, guilty as charged. I can't deny it; you know me. Patience is not one of my strong points…"

It was then that Whiscash Elder chuckled and said, "Just like your older brother from Team A.C.T when he was a teenager; rash, impulsive, and stubborn."

He sighed with a smile and said, "King, if you want to truly be in a Rescue Team, you will need to follow your leader's orders from now on. This will be your warning, okay?"

King smiled with a smirk and said, "Thank you, Elder."

Lucario, who was by the way still staring at me, asked, "Batsu, how did Thomas disobey?"

Batsu nodded and answered, "When we had rescued Caterpie and gotten out of battle, we had noticed that Zev had indeed been captured by Ariados. Although Naruto and Caterpie didn't want to, Sasuke made a decision to get Caterpie out first and then put a poster for Zev's rescue. But Thomas refused to leave until he rescued Zev and dashed back to rescue him, causing us to have to fight again and put Caterpie at risk."

I gritted my teeth behind my closed lips as my eyes shot up towards the sky in a bitter frustration. I felt Sasuke's paw touch my left shoulder, rubbing love and comfort into me. I calmed down as both of my brothers smiled and Naruto wagged his tail. I looked to see Lucario still looking at me and Whiscash Elder turn to me.

"Judging by what you have shown me and done, Thomas, I assume you have a good reason for doing this," he smiled and said.

I nodded and said, "When I went back to see what had happened, Ariados was about to bite into Zev's neck and eat him. If I had obeyed Sasuke, Zev would've died!"

"Hmmm…" Whiscash Elder said, "I mean, you and King both disobeyed, but the reason that yours is more important and urgent is that it involves somebody's life, not just the child."

"I know, and I'm really sorry if I broke a rule, but I couldn't live with myself if Zev could've used help and we let him die just cause we followed the rules," I pleaded.

"I understand, Thomas, but still it's a very serious issue; I do hope you understand," I nodded as he said to me.

"Sir, I believe we should not let him join the team," Lucario said to Whiscash Elder.

All of us, excluding Batsu, gasped at this. I was being banned… when I technically haven't started in a Rescue Team yet? Just because I disobeyed a rule? But King did too; how come he gets a free pass? I blinked in shock as Sasuke shook his head and looked at them.

"W-What? But why? He's not even on an official team yet!" he pleaded.

"I know, and I am truly sorry, Sasuke," the Elder said, "but it was a clear disobedience to the rules, even if it was for a good cause."

"But why isn't King getting in trouble either?" Naruto whined, "It's not fair just because he's the younger brother of a Diamond-rank team!"

"Look, I may not be getting in trouble," King nodded and agreed, "but don't ya think you're being too hard on the pipsqueak? I mean, this was his first mission. Also, this is his first time being in the Square and he just survived a Monster House."

"That may be so, King," the Elder said, "but if Thomas were to get away with this, people would start bending and breaking the rules. This we cannot allow."

Batsu folded his arms. He had his eyes closed and although he wasn't smiling, he looked satisfied. My brothers and even King felt badly. They realized what the situation was back there, and truly felt the way I felt about Zev, even if King was a bit sore against him.

"So, I'm getting in trouble for breaking the rules to save somebody's life?" I asked, being upset.

"You heard from the Elder himself, Pikachu," Lucario said, "If you break the rules, you must face the consequences. Therefore, you will not be able to join a Rescue Team from here on. Do I make myself clear?"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Lucario. Get off the kid's back for once," we all heard someone say.

We turned to the right to see another Lucario, leaning against a tree with his arms folded. He was the same shade of colors as Lucario, but he seemed younger. With his eyes closed and a slight smile, he had a smart and warm demeanor around him. He wore a white cape of some sort, like a medieval one and white gloves that showed the fingers of his paws. It also seemed that he had a sword of some sort on his right side.

"Zeke," Whiscash Elder said surprised, "It's very good to see you again, my friend. What is your concern?"

"It's good to see you too, sir," Zeke bowed and turned to Lucario after walking over, "It's just I think Lucario and his son really need to chill a little bit. They've been breathing on Thomas' neck ever since he got here."

"I'm not being harsh on him," Lucario replied, "Thomas has broken a rule and is being punished for it."

"And?" Zeke said, "King broke a rule too, yet you're letting him walk with a warning just because he's related to a member of one of the top Rescue Teams? That's not fair in any way. It's like you said; you cannot judge someone based on their reputation. So, either you need to ban both Thomas and King, or give both of them a warning."

I didn't know who this Zeke guy was, but if he was willing to stand up for me, then I'll let him speak for me. Naruto and Sasuke smiled and snuggled into me as I giggled, feeling their fur on mine. King was a bit nervous of his warning turning into a ban, but he agreed.

"Plus," Zeke continued, "True; if you don't follow the rules, you will be punished. But I think those who don't break the rules to save someone else should be punished threefold, don't you think?"

"What do you mean, Zeke?" the Elder asked.

Zeke shrugged and replied, "Well, isn't the motto of the Rescue Team about no greater gift to lay down a life for a friend? It appears to me that this Thomas broke the rules to risk his life to save another. I'd say he broke a rule in order to follow the motto of our very foundation."

Batsu looked at Zeke and asked with a serious stare, "Are you saying that it was right for Thomas and King to break the rules in which we lay down to maintain law and order?"

"Listen, Batsu," Zeke said, "There are many instances that a team will face an impossible situation that will require to break the rules in order to complete their mission. However, some teams are lucky and never had to break any, like your father's team. Batsu, you're just a beginner, so trust me when I say this; when you're a high-rank team on the battlefield, bending the rules will almost become second-nature to you."

Lucario lowered his eyebrows as he looked at Zeke and said, "That may be true, but if we allow this to happen, the rules will seem less important to others."

"Oh?" Zeke said, "This was Thomas and King's first mission. People are bound to make slip-ups and mistakes on the first mission. If I recall, Sasuke, Naruto, and even your own son did poorly on their first mission. In fact, your son did so bad, that you even begged for the Elder to give him a second chance."

I blinked upon hearing that. Batsu did THAT bad? I looked at him; he had an annoyed glare on his face as he looked at the conversation happening. King, my brothers, and I noticed that the Elder nodded and was starting to think of something.

"So, let me ask you this, Lucario," Zeke asked with a raised eyebrow, and a slight smirk, "Is the real reason you're getting Thomas into trouble because of rule-breaking, or is it because you don't want anybody to argue with your son and for him to look good by reporting this?"

Upon hearing that, Lucario gave one nasty angry look at Zeke, who still had the smirk on his face. We all heard a clear of a throat as we turned to the Elder.

"Please, that's enough, both of you," he said, "I don't need the two of you starting a fight here."

"My apologies," Lucario said, backing down with a relaxed face.

"Me too, I didn't mean to cause trouble," he said, "However, I would like to ask Thomas a question."

He turned to me and asked, "Why did you exactly go back to save Zev?"

With all eyes turning back to me, I took a deep breath and said, "Because I had promised him as a Pokémon that I would give him that bag after the mission. If I had failed or betrayed him, I would be scum. I wanted him to know that even though people hated him, he could trust somebody to be honest and trustworthy with him."

"Ahh, I see," Zeke said, turning to the Elder with a face of 'See my point'.

"Plus," Sasuke said, "we know that a lot of the teams wouldn't save Zev if he was in trouble. Whiscash Elder, Thomas was probably his only hope."

"So, we beg you, sir," Naruto pleaded, "Please don't ban Thomas, and King for that matter too."

Whiscash Elder's whiskers itched his head as he thought for a second. We all wait patiently as I wondered what he was thinking about. He then nodded and took a deep breath.

"All right… Thomas, I've decided to give you a warning, just like King," he said to Sasuke, Naruto, and my delights, "I really am thankful you saved Zev, but next time, be more careful, okay?"

I smiled wide and said, "Thank you. I'm so happy for this second chance."

Lucario and Batsu surprisingly didn't object or show they were upset; they nodded at what the Elder said and agreed. Zeke rubbed his neck and looked around. He then nodded to the Elder.

"Well, I'm gonna head back to my base, sir. I'll see you later," Zeke said.

As he walked towards us, he looked at me and said, "You're pretty interesting, Thomas. I'll keep my eye on you."

With that, he walked out of the pond area and out of view. Lucario then motioned Batsu to come over to him. His son obeyed and walked to his side as he looked to the Elder.

"My son and are gonna go home for the night, sir. You have a wonderful day," Lucario said, with him and his son turning away.

"I'm also gonna head home. Laters," King said, giving us a peace sign and walking away, as Lucario and Batsu did the same.

As they headed out of view, I turned back and asked, "Excuse me, sir? I only want to ask one more question. Who was that Lucario?"

"You met Zeke, the leader of the Platinum-ranked Team Fountainhead. He's a very individualistic person, and if he's watching you, you must be really strong and skilled in his eyes," Whiscash Elder said, "You also have my attention too, so I'll be watching your progress. Now if you excuse me, I must talk with Team Pitchblack. Thomas, welcome to your new home, and I hope you and your brothers have a wonderful day."

-