Omega: So, filler again or something worthwhile?

Ohirume: Filler. For the most part.

Seishin: But we all know Rob wouldn't make it that meaningless.

Omega: Since when do you support him?

Seishin: … good question.

I don't own Pokémon or Ben 10.

.

.

The Legend of Tomo

.

After leaving the Big P. Ranch, Ash and friends continued towards the Safari Zone; still following the trail Lara pointed out for them. The sun had just set, so they went ahead and set up camp for the night and got dinner ready.

So, Ash had a chance to show everyone the new form.

Charmander looked up at the ponyta in awe, "Woah."

Squirtle grinned, "Alright! What's this one know?!"

Ash smiled sadly, "Unfortunately, nothing I can teach you."

Squirtle pouted, "Aww man."

Ash chuckled nervously, "Sorry." He perked up, "Regardless, I already know this form has Stomp, Double Kick," He glanced at Charmander, "and Flame Charge."

"WHAT?!" Vulpix shouted before she ran over to the group with Quick Attack. Everyone flinched from the sudden action.

She ignored that and looked up at Ash, "Are you serious?! Do you actually know Flame Charge?!"

Ash blinked in surprise, "Uh yeah." He smiled, "I'm guessing you want to learn it?"

"Wha- YES!" Vulpix blurted out, "Seriously! Suzie tried to teach me that for three freaking months and we couldn't crack it!"

"Uh." Charmander spoke up with a raised claw and raised brow, "What's Flame Charge?"

Ash smirked, "Sit tight and I'll show you." He looked over at Brock's larger Rock-type, "Hey, Onix!" The snake looked over. Ash continued, "Mind helping me show off a Fire-type move?"

Onix slithered over and raised a brow, "What do I have to do?"

Ash smiled up at him, "Nothing much. Just stand there and brace yourself."

Onix nodded, "Alright." He remained where he laid.

Ash turned around and ran further away from the snake. He stopped and turned around, "Alright! Now watch closely! This move's only other style is for flight capable Pokémon, so you won't have to worry about that!" He focused on Charmander, "For now!"

Ash broke into a sprint towards Onix. Mid run, he became engulfed in a cloak of fire and gained speed. He crashed into Onix with a headbutt and a large explosion kicked up a cloud of dust.

The dust cleared to reveal a barely scathed Onix and Ash walking back towards the group. Onix took that as his cue to slither back over to Brock.

The larger Fire-type smiled down at the smaller ones, "So, what do you think?"

Charmander stared at Ash in awe; bright eyed with an even brighter smile, "Coooool!" He looked at Ash hopefully, "Can I really learn that?!"

Vulpix ran next to him excitedly, "And me?!"

Ash smiled at them, "Of course. We gotta put this form to use anyway."

"YES!" Charmander and Vulpix cheered.

Mankey stepped forward with a determined glare, "And what about that Double Kick?"

Soot looked at him with a sad smile, "Uh, sorry Mankey. Your kind can't learn that."

Mankey's eyes widened, "What?! How?! It doesn't sound that difficult!"

Ash shrugged, "Hard to say. It's kind of like how some Pokémon can't learn Tackle."

Clefairy blinked in surprise, "What kind of Pokémon can't learn Tackle?"

Soot sweat dropped, "Pikachu, charmander, mankey, muk, krabby, and clefairy."

Charmander, Krabby, Pikachu, and Clefairy stared at her in surprise, "Really?"

Muk looked at them with a raised brow, "You didn't already know that?"

Mankey's eye twitched, "How the Yvel does that make sense?! All you have to do is run into the opponent!"

Ash sighed, "We know. People have been debating this nonsense for years. It's gotten to the point that researchers have stopped looking into it for the sake of their own sanity."

.

**Time Skip**

The group continued on their journey and were currently walking through a dense forest with wild Pokémon running all around. By this point, they found out that Lara's 'About a day's walk' claim didn't take into account that they would be the one's walking.

Although, that wasn't what was getting on Ash's nerves right this moment. This was:

"This is the life." Misty said as lounged on the ponyta's back with a relaxed smile and her eyes closed.

"Maybe for you." Ash grumbled. He glared back at her, "You know I can't do this all the time, right?"

Soot snickered and translated.

Misty glanced at him with one eye and smirked, "Maybe. But you still do owe me for destroying my bike."

Brock, Pikachu, and Clefairy looked at her in surprise, "Huh?" By the way, the Mouse and Fairy were on Brock's shoulders at the moment.

Ash sweat dropped, "You're still upset about that? You haven't brought that up since Viridian Forest."

Soot translated again.

Misty closed her eyes again; still smirking, "Oh, I'm not upset anymore. But that doesn't change the fact that you owe me."

The Fire Horse looked ahead; still sweat dropping, 'Almost starting to regret showing the watch to Rapidash.'

A few minutes later, the symbol on Ash's below his neck started beeping and flashing red.

Misty pouted, "Aww man." She sat up and climbed down.

Ash sighed in relief, "Finally." He lit up red and emerged as himself.

Pikachu and Clefairy jumped down and prepared to jump back onto Ash's shoulders. Until-

"Wha-"

Everyone flinched and they looked over to see Officer Jenny wearing a chansey hat and poking out of a bush with a tranquilizer gun in hand. She was staring at Ash in shock.

Brock sweat dropped, "Uh oh."

Misty looked at Ash and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Sorry."

Ash groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, "We used to be good at keeping this stuff secret."

Soot sighed, "Good times."

.

*Jenny's tent; one routine Ash and Soot's life explanation later

"And that's everything." Ash said before yawning, "I know it's a lot to take in all at once."

Jenny blinked in surprise from across the table, "No kidding."

Misty shrugged, "You get used to it."

Soot sighed, "Now that that's over with," She looked at Jenny with a raised brow, "What were you doing in that bush?"

Jenny snapped out of it, "Oh. This is actually a national Pokémon preservation area and I'm the ranger. We've had some scares about poachers recently, and I thought that you all might have been them." She chuckled nervously and scratched her cheek, "Although, I guess that'd be pretty absurd after everything you just told me."

Ash chuckled, "I guess it would be." He frowned, "Jenny, can trust you to keep this a secret?" His frown deepened, "Even if it has to be from the rest of your family?"

Jenny immediately nodded with a smile, "Oh yeah. Of course."

Soot blinked in surprise, "Wait, really? Just like that?"

Jenny shrugged, "Well, yeah. If I had a secret like that, I sure as Yvel wouldn't want too many people to find out."

Ash blinked in surprise before smiling, "Well, thank you, then."

Brock rubbed the back of his head with a smile, "Huh. Lucky break."

Misty sweat dropped with a smile, "Life as usual, I guess."

An alarm started beeping. Everyone looked over at the map to find a red light flashing just beyond the tree line.

Jenny's eyes narrowed, "Crag! Poachers!" She ran outside and jumped into her jeep.

Everyone else ran over to her.

"Let us come along." Brock said with a determined glare.

Misty nodded, "We can help."

Jenny frowned, "I appreciate it, but there isn't enough room for everyone."

Ash smirked and sprung up the dial on his watch, "No problem. Pikachu, Clefairy, and I will go ahead." He slammed down on the watch, became engulfed in green light, and emerged in braviary form.

Pikachu and Clefairy climbed on the Valiant Pokémon's back and he lifted off. Soot, Brock, and Misty jumped into the jeep.

Jenny stared in surprise at the leaving Flying-type, "That'll take some getting used to."

Soot looked at her, "It takes everyone some getting used." She glared ahead, "Now hurry!"

Jenny snapped out of it and hit the gas.

.

*Ash, Pikachu, Clefairy

The trio scrutinized the ground below for the threat.

After a second, Clefairy pointed at the ground, "Hey! Look!"

The other followed her gaze and found a massive herd of kangaskhan below them.

Pikachu blinked in surprise, "Kangaskhan?"

Ash frowned, "Crag. That's what the poachers are after. Kangaskhan are an endangered species. Catching a wild one legally is an extremely complicated process that usually involves a mutual agreement."

Clefairy giggled, "Sounds like someone who would join our team. Right Pikachu?"

No response.

Clefairy blinked in surprise and looked over to find the Mouse Pokémon staring at the kangaskhan blankly. She moved closer and nudged him, "Pikachu?"

Pikachu snapped out of it and blinked rapidly, "Huh?"

Ash glanced back at him, "Are you alright?"

Pikachu held his head, "Uh, yeah. I think so. I just got weird feeling when I saw them."

Ash raised a brow, "Have you met one before?"

"I don't- I don't think so." Pikachu responded; feeling unsure. His ear twitched and looked back towards the ground. He flinched and pointed, "Ash! Lookout!"

Ash and Clefairy looked back and grimaced upon seeing a rocket headed towards them.

"Hold on!" Ash shouted before rolling out of the way of the explosive. Pikachu and Clefairy gripped the feathers on the back of Ash's head for dear life; making the bird grimace in the process.

Ash righted himself in the air and looked around for the source. His eyes narrowed upon finding Jessie and James both holding a large rocket launcher, "Freaking Yvel!"

Clefairy followed his gaze and her eyes narrowed, "Team Rocket!"

Pikachu glared at the tRio, "We have to stop-"

They heard a loud explosion from above and looked up to see five lesser explosions go off around the original.

Ash stared in confusion, "Wait, it was a firework? Why would-"

He was cut off by something beeping. The three Pokémon all looked down to see the watch's symbol flashing red.

Ash's eyes twitched, "Are you kidding me?"

.

*Brock, Misty, Soot, Jenny; moments earlier

The group pulled up in the jeep and looked out into the group of kangaskhan in awe.

Misty smiled brightly, "Oh wow!"

Brock looked around in awe, "Kangaskhan! I've never seen so many!"

Jenny nodded with a smile, "Now you can see why I work so hard to protect this place."

Everyone flinched as a firework exploded in the sky. They all looked up to see five lesser explosions go off around the first. Also, Ash.

Soot blinked, "Found dad."

Ash took a nosedive straight towards the ground. Pikachu and Clefairy held on for dear life as they fell.

Misty's eyes widened, "What's he doing?"

Soot squinted before her eyes shot open in shock, "He's timing out!" She looked towards the Rock-type trainer, "Brock, I need Marionetter!" She shifted her eyes to their inherent state.

Brock nodded. The pair jumped out of the jeep and Brock pulled at the zipper on Soot's back.

Brock crossed his arms as the strings attached to his fingers, "Soot, Marionetter!" He quickly went through the motions to get Soot onto her hind legs.

Jenny watched in awe, "Woah." She smiled brightly, 'It's even cooler than my stepsister said!'

Faux: Wait. Stepsister? I don't remember that.

Ohirume: Because, I made it up. But, can honestly tell me that's the weirdest way for two Jenny's to be related?

Faux: … Fair enough.

Soot glared up at Ash, "Alright Brock, listen closely!"

.

*Ash

Ash started sweating as he dove towards the ground; the beeping ringing out as he plummeted, 'Crag! There's not enough time!' "Guys! Be ready!"

Pikachu stared at Ash in shock, "Wait! What do you mean be-"

A red flash engulfed Ash and faded to reveal him back in human form.

Ash gulped, "That."

Clefairy and Pikachu screamed as they fell.

Ash pulled back and grabbed them, "Gotcha!" He held them tight as they free fell through the air.

Ash squinted as he tried to find some kind of way out of this, 'Brock or Misty? No. Neither of them have a Pokémon that can help with this. Pidgeotto. No. She's not strong enough to carry us all. And catching us at this speed would only hurt her. Red gloves…' He gritted his teeth, "Crag."

He quickly reached around to remove his backpack, tore off his green gloves, and slipped on the red ones.

"Pikachu! Clefairy! Hold on tight!" Ash shouted as he held a hand his hands towards the ground.

"Might I propose something a little safer?"

Ash, Pikachu, and Clefairy flinched and looked over to find Soot free falling next to them; upside down and forelegs behind her head casually.

Soot smiled, "I think I can soften the impact some."

Ash frowned, "Wait, Soot! I don't know about-"

"Too late." Soot interrupted before shouting, "Brock! Now!"

Down below, Brock quickly moved his arms like instructed. Soot reached out, grabbed Ash by the arm, and pulled herself forward to wrap her limbs around the trainer. A split second later, they all crashed into the ground; Soot on her back and everyone else on top of her.

Jenny's eyes widened and she flinched, "Dear Arc!"

Misty chuckled, "Don't worry. Soot can't be hurt while she's like that."

"I'm not so sure about that." Brock said as he held up his hands.

Misty and Jenny looked at him. Misty's eyes widened when the strings were nowhere to be seen.

Jenny blinked in surprise, "Should we be worried now?"

"Maybe." Misty said.

Brock jumped back in the jeep. Jenny pulled a one-eighty and they all sped over to the trainer and Pokémon. In their haste, they failed to notice the kangaskhan break into a frightened stampede.

When the car stopped, Brock and Misty jumped out and ran over. Soot was laying on her back, Ash was on top of her, and Pikachu and Clefairy were on the ground in a daze; having rolled off Ash's back soon after landing.

"Ash! Soot!" Misty called out as she crouched down in front of them.

Brock followed suit with a worried expression, "Are you guys okay?!

Pikachu sat up, shook in head, and shot them a glance, "Thanks for the concern."

Ash rolled off the dog and held his head as he laid on the ground, "I'll live."

Soot smiled at them, "Yeah. I'm good."

Brock raised a brow, "But- the strings."

Soot chuckled nervously, "That happens when I take too much damage." She sweat dropped, "I'm stuck this for the next half-hour."

Misty sweat dropped with a glare, "Okay. You two really need to stop letting us find out about stuff like this. You're going to give us panic attacks at some point."

Ash chuckled nervously, "Sorry."

Brock smiled, "Still, it's good to know you're alright." He looked at Soot with a raised brow, "But, what was the point of the arms behind the head thing?"

Soot smirked, "There wasn't a point. I just thought it'd look cool."

A round of rocket fire behind them caused everyone to flinch and look back at the kangaskhan. They were all trapped in a large net.

Jenny's eyes widened, "Oh no! The kangaskhan."

Jessie, James, and Meowth pulled up in red jeep with a large a box of pokéballs in the back.

Brock deadpanned, "And the poachers are Team Rocket."

Misty sweat dropped, "Typical."

Jenny looked at them in shock, "You know them?!"

Ash sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. They've been following us for months." He got back to his feet in a slump as he glared at the jeep, "Still, we have to stop them." He took a step forward, flinched, and fell to a knee.

Brock grimaced and put hand on his shoulder to stop him, "Ash, wait! You're hurt!"

Ash pushed his hand away and glared ahead, "I'm just a little sore. I can still-"

"GET AWAY FROM THEM! / KANGA KANGASKHAN!"

Everyone looked up to see a young, boomerang wielding boy in a loin cloth with spiral markings on his cheeks swing in on a vine. He immediately ran towards the trapped her with a determined glare.

Jenny smiled brightly, "Tomo!"

Misty looked at her in surprise, "You know him?"

Jenny nodded, "He's been raised by the kangaskhan for years. Heck, he's their leader!"

"He was actually raised by Pokémon?" Brock asked surprise.

Soot glanced at Misty with a sly smirk, "Told ya it happens." She glanced at Ash with an excited smile, "Dad help me up! I wanna see this!"

.

*Team Rocket

Tomo ran forward and cut the rope with his boomerang

He pointed away from the next, "Hurry! Get out of there!"

The kangaskhan all smiled and started walking out.

Jessie glared, "What does that little savage think he's doing?!"

James glared as well, "You can't have them! We caught them!"

Tomo glared at the tRio before jumping onto a tree branch and pointing at them, "Everyone attack!"

The kangaskhan all started glaring at the three of them.

Jessie's eyes widened, "I don't like the way they're looking at us."

"We need ta get out a here! Fast!" Meowth shouted.

Tomo held out a hand, "Don't let them get away!"

Almost immediately, the tRio found themselves surrounded by kangaskhan.

James gulped, "Crag."

One of the kangaskhan knocked the jeep into the air with her tail. Team Rocket screamed as they fell back to the earth … only to be batted back into the air by another kangaskhan. This continued happened three more times until a larger kangaskhan without a child charged them with a spin style Dizzy Punch.

The jeep and Rockets shot into the air immediately.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" *ding*

Tomo smirked and pumped a fist, "Victory!"

The kangaskhan all followed suit, "VICTORY!"

Tomo jumped down from the tree and into the larger one's pouch. He pointed ahead with a smile, "Let's head home."

The herd all started walking into the open field with the largest leading the them.

.

*Ash and others

Misty blinked in surprise, "Woah."

Soot laughed like crazy; her limp form held up by her foreleg slung across Ash's back, and Pikachu and Clefairy propping up her head from her shoulders, "O-oh dear Arceus! That was awesome!"

Pikachu struggled to keep her head up, "Calm down! This is a lot harder than it looks!"

"Your laughing's not making it any easier!" Clefairy shouted.

Brock stared in surprise, "With that kind of talent, he could become an amazing trainer when he grows up."

Jenny smiled sadly, "Maybe. But, after all this time, I'm not sure he'd actually take up a living like that."

A helicopter whirring in the distance caught everyone's attention. It started descending in front of them.

Ash blinked in surprise and looked at the ranger, "Did you call in reinforcements?"

Jenny raised a brow, "That I did not."

The helicopter landed and two adults of highly differing height stepped out of it; both wearing safari style outfits. The woman had red hair and was wearing mostly bright colors. The man was wearing a black and white, striped suit and had a cane.

"Pardon the noise." The short man said with a smile before focusing on Jenny, "Are you the Safari Zone Pokémon Ranger?"

Jenny raised a brow, "Not exactly. I am the local ranger, but this is a national preserve. Not the Safari Zone."

The man's smile didn't falter, "What's the difference?"

Everyone -except the woman- sweat dropped.

Jenny shook it off before asking, "Anyway. Could you please explain why you chose to land your helicopter here?"

"Apologies." The man said; still smiling, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Tommy's father. I came here because I heard that someone had seen my son, Tommy, in this area."

Ash blinked in surprise, "Your son?" He looked closer and noticed the familiar markings on the man's cheeks. He raised a brow and pointed at the man, "He wouldn't happen to have dark blue hair and the same the birthmarks on his cheeks that you have. Would he?"

The woman brightly, "So you have seen him!"

Illavera: Wait. His parents are still alive?

Gem: Why would you think otherwise?

Illavera: *sweat drops* I thought it was going to be like the Tarzan thing.

Seishin: 'Fraid not. But, fun fact, Tomo's original, Japanese name was Tarsan.

Mizuro: Wait, seriously?

Seishin: Seriously. ^^ Pretty sure they changed it because of copyright. Like Yu-Gi-Oh's Prinzessin.

Mizuro: Oh right. It used to be Cinderella.

Gem: Who's-

Ohirume: Gem. Later.

Jenny's eyes widened in shock, "Wait a second! You mean your Tomo's birth parents?!"

The woman blinked in surprise, "Tomo?"

.

**Time Skip**

Everyone had moved back to Jenny's tent. The held-hour passed so Soot could finally deactivate Marionetter and sit at the table with everyone else. Tommy's parents had just finished their explanation about how the boy wound up in the preservation area. Five years ago.

Clefairy sniffled, "That's so sad."

Pikachu sweat dropped, "Kind of. But probably not for the reason you're thinking."

Ash stared at the man with a deadpanned expression, "You held your child out of a helicopter … and dropped him."

The father's smile still didn't falter, "It was an honest mistake."

Soot sweat dropped, 'Yeah … right.'

Brock sweat dropped as well, 'And I thought my parents made poor choices.'

Jenny raised a brow, "If that's really true, why did it take you this long to track him down?"

The mother looked down sorrowfully, "We looked as hard as we could. But we couldn't find him anywhere." She looked back up with a frown, "But then, someone sent us a picture of a young boy who looks like Tommy and leads a huge pack of Kangaskhan here in the Safari- oh, sorry. Preservation area."

Jenny sweat dropped with a deadpanned expression, "Be that as it may. That still doesn't explain why it took this long." She pulled out and held up a clipboard with Tomo's picture on it, "Especially since his address has been in the directory for around three years."

The woman's eyes widened in shock, "Huh?"

The man just kept smiling, "Really? Thank goodness."

Misty sweat dropped, 'Are these people serious?'

Ash's eyes twitched before he took a breath to calm himself. He looked back at the parents, "We actually saw him just before you showed up."

The woman looked at the ranger hopefully, "Please. I'm begging you to take us to him."

Jenny frowned, "I'm afraid I don't have the time. I need to be on alert in case more poachers show up."

The man looked around at Ash and the others; still smiling, "What about all of you then? Might you please help us find our boy?"

Ash looked down thoughtfully, 'At the very least, we can get them all to meet with each other. There shouldn't be any harm in that.' He looked back at the parents and nodded, "Alright. We'll help you find him."

Brock and Misty shared an unsure look before nodding and looking back at the pair.

Misty smiled sadly, "It should be a lot easier with all of us looking."

Brock nodded with a sad smile, "We'll help however we can."

The man stood up in his chair, "Thank you all so much. Now we can finally be united with our son and live together as a family."

.

**Time Skip**

Ash lead the way through the forest; having memorized Jenny's map before leaving. The parent's requested that they be carried towards the address, to which the group politely declined.

The father then proposed that he ride Soot towards their destination. This time, before anyone could tell him no, he jumped onto her back.

You can imagine how Ash took that. Put simply, Intimidate.

The man and his wife followed the group from a considerable distance and not just because of Ash.

The father panted heavily; his smile finally gone, "Oh- oh, my. This is more exercise than I'd hoped for."

The mother sweat dropped, "Perhaps we should have hired a Pokémon of our own."

The father looked ahead towards Ash, "Could you please reconsider? I can even pay-"

He was cut off by Ash shooting back an Intimidate boosted glare. Brock and Misty put their hands over their eyes at the word 'could.'

The parents flinched and stopped in their tracks.

Ash let his eyes return to normal and looked ahead again.

Misty moved her hand away and glanced at Ash with a raised brow, "Do you really have to keep using Intimidate like that? I think you're gonna end up giving them nightmares."

Ash glared ahead and crossed his arms, "Nobody rides my little girl and gets away with it."

Clefairy looked at Ash with a raised brow, "Huh? But me and Pikachu-"

"Let me clarify." Ash raised as he raised a finger, "No human rides Soot. You two are a lot lighter and are part of my team."

Brock sweat dropped, "Noted."

Soot snickered. She stopped and her ears perked up when she heard something whimpering ahead.

Ash and Pikachu heard it as well and looked ahead. They all found an infant kangaskhan covered in bruises.

Ash and Soot grimaced and ran ahead. Brock and Misty followed. They all crouched down around her.

Misty looked at the hatchling sorrowfully, "A baby kangaskhan."

Ash frowned worriedly, "Poor thing."

Soot looked over at the Pewter leader, "Brock, you have a potion, right?"

Brock nodded with a smile, "Of course." He reached around and pulled out a red and yellow spray bottle, "I always make sure to restock whenever I can. Leave it to me."

The Rock-type trainer moved closer to pet the Normal-type, "Don't worry. You'll be just fine." He pointed the spray bottle at her, "This'll sting a little, but I promise it'll help." He started spraying the kangaskhan.

The infant started screeching and flailing from the spray. Kangaskhan kept whining even after Brock stopped spraying.

Brock sighed, "I'm sorry. But I still need to get the-"

Misty flinched and pointed back the way they came, "Brock, look out!"

"Huh?" Brock looked back, grimaced, and moved out of the way of the passing boomerang. Misty ducked as well.

The pair flinched and she looked over at Ash, "Ash, look ou-" They stopped and stared in mild surprise when they saw Ash holding the boomerang; one of the tips a held inch from his face.

Ash raised a brow, "What?" Ash heard something land and looked over to see Tomo behind the others. Everyone else followed his gaze.

The boy glared at them with a clenched fist, "You hurt Kangaskhan! That bad!" He pointed at Ash, "And give back boomerang!"

Ash blinked in surprise, 'I guess he can speak human.' "Sorry." He threw the boomerang backwards. It slung around and flew back to the wild boy.

Tomo caught it, "Thank you." He pointed at them accusingly, "Now! Leave Kangaskhan alone!"

Misty ran forward and spread her arms out defensively, "It's not like that. Brock was helping them. The medicine just stings a little."

Tomo raised a brow, "Medicine?"

Soot walked up, "It's how humans heal beings. They don't have any abilities to heal so they made other things that can."

Tomo's eyes narrowed, "That no make sense! Why healing hurt?!"

Soot sighed, "It's called disinfectant. It makes sure that cut and bruises get better and that they won't get worse later. Stinging is just a side effect." She smiled softly, "It really is helping. I promise."

Tomo glanced at Brock warily, "That true?"

Brock nodded, "I swear it is." His frowned deepened, "But I need to get her back. It's still going to sting."

Soot perked up and looked at Brock, "Or maybe it won't."

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy looked at the Dark-type in confusion, "Huh?"

Soot shifted her eyes; making Tomo's eyes widened in shock, "Watch."

She walked over to Kangaskhan. The hatchling flinched and cowered away from her.

Soot smiled softly, "Don't worry. I promise this won't hurt even a little bit." She reached out a paw to the other Pokémon's neck and shoved a claw into it.

Tomo's eyes widened in shock before he glared and held up his boomerang, "You monster!"

Ash moved in front of him with an outstretched hand, "Tomo wait! Kangaskhan isn't being hurt." He pointed back towards Soot, "Look closer."

Tomo looked and blinked in surprise. Kangaskhan was looking down at the foreleg in confusion and even poking at it. The little one laughed when their paw went straight through it like it wasn't there.

Soot smiled, "Feels funny. Doesn't it?"

Tomo stared in shock, "Wha- what?"

Ash smiled at him, "My hatchling has banette inheritance. In other words, she has abilities similar to Ghost-type's; without actually being one. She made her claw intangible so it could harmlessly go into Kangaskhan's neck."

Tomo blinked in surprise, "But- why?"

Soot smiled at him, "You'll see." She looked at Brock, "Go ahead and spray her back."

Brock nodded; deciding not to question it, "Alright."

He walked around the pair. Kangaskhan watched as he did. She started trembling when he held up the bottle and put her paws over her eyes when he started spraying. Kangaskhan waited frightenedly for the stinging.

She stopped trembling, moved her paws away, and blinked in surprise when it never came. She looked back to see Brock still spraying.

Misty watched in awe, "Woah." She smiled at the canine, "Soot, that's incredible!"

Brock raised brow, "How are you doing that?"

Soot smiled, "It's a concept similar to Marionetter and how I can knockout my sense of smell. I used my claw to make a portion her of her medulla oblongata intangible. Specifically, a portion that connects to the part of her parietal lobe that identifies pain. It's exactly as complex as it sounds."

Omega: … Okay. How do you enough about biology to appropriately know those terms, but not enough to know that that hardly makes sense?

Ohirume: *sigh* 1. We all know I'm better at mathematics than biology. Don't judge me for being an amateur at this subject.

2. I got that stuff by looking up how we feel pain and remembering the purpose -but mostly the name- of the medulla oblongata from that episode of Futurama where Fry got worms from a gas station bathroom sandwich.

Nuevo and Luke: Wait, what?

Mizuro and Seishin: *snickers* Classic.

Ohirume: And 3. It's pseudo-realistic fiction. Not everything has to make perfect sense. Just enough to teach the reader(s) about something. In this case, certain parts of the brain.

Omega: *blinks in surprise* Okay, then.

Everyone -except Ash and Kangaskhan- just stared at her blankly, "Huh?" Kangaskhan cocked her head in confusion.

Ash chuckled, "It's a really advanced thing Soot can do to help beings not feel pain. It took a lot of training and practice to get it right."

Soot snickered, "Yeah. I actually had to study most of the library's biology textbooks to even start to figure out how to do this."

Misty stared at Soot in awe, "Wow."

Brock frowned and looked at Soot warily, "Now, when you guys say practice-"

Soot chuckled, "Don't worry. We used biology dummies and x-rays. No humans or Pokémon were damaged at any point of me figuring this out." She stopped and reconsidered her statement, "Well … no real ones. A lot of the dummies' brains fell out early on."

Brock and Misty gulped.

Brock stopped spraying. After a few more seconds, Soot moved her claw out of the baby's neck and let her eyes return to normal. Kangaskhan looked over themselves curiously.

Pikachu and Clefairy ran over to her.

Clefairy smiled, "How do you feel?"

Kangaskhan looked over at them before tagging Pikachu and running off while laughing.

Pikachu chuckled, "A lot better by the looks of it." He smirked and tagged Clefairy, "You're it!" He lit up with Quick Attack and sped away.

Clefairy glared, "Hey!" She ran after them.

Tomo blinked in surprise, 'It actually worked.' He frowned and looked at Brock apologetically, "Tomo sorry for before."

Brock smiled softly, "It's okay. You were just looking out for Kangaskhan."

Something panting behind them caught everyone's attention. They looked over to see the father slumped over and panting heavily, and the mother sweat dropping with a soft smile.

Tomo blinked in surprise, "Who you two?"

Ash and Soot frowned, 'He doesn't remember them.'

The man held up a hand, "Just- just a minute."

The woman knelt down, "Tommy, it's us. Mama and Papa. We're you're parents."

Tomo raised a brow, "Parents?"

Ash smiled softly, "You're male and female meemas. They've been looking for you for a while."

Tomo blinked, "Meemas?" He frowned and shook his head, "No. Tomo meema Kangaskhan. Meema Kangaskhan."

Misty sighed and crossed her arms, "He really doesn't remember them."

Brock frowned, "He was only three when they were separated."

Soot looked down thoughtfully, "Maybe we could use something to jog his memory. Like an old toy or a picture."

Ash nodded, "It's probably our best bet." He looked over to the parents, "Do either of you have-" He stopped, and his eyes widened in shock.

Before anyone else could react, Ash sprouted his claws and ran at Tomo. He quickly ran around him and slashed the father's raised cane in half as it fell towards the boy. The cut off portion fell to the ground with a thud.

Mizuro: D- did he just try to-

Nuevo: *wide eyed shock* Yeah.

Seishin: *sigh* The worst part is, he actually succeeded in the anime.

Illavera: I- I thought this was supposed to be a kid's show.

…

Ohirume: Quick warning.

I might have gone overboard with the way Ash talks to the father for the rest of this scene. But I couldn't think of another route that I felt made sense.

Apologies in advance to anyone this might upset.

Everyone stared at the scene in shock.

Tomo glared and pointed at the man accusingly, "You try attack Tomo! You not meema! You just bad human!"

His mother stepped forward with an outstretched man, "Tommy, please-"

"NO!" Tomo shouted, "I don't care what you say! You aren't my meemas!" With that, he turned and ran towards Kangaskhan, scooped her up, and jumped into a tree. He continued jumping from tree to tree and out of site.

The mother started tearing up, "Tommy." She fell to her knees sorrowfully.

Misty stomped over and glared at the man, "What the Yvel is wrong with you?!"

The man frowned, "I was trying to jog his memory of us."

Brock glared as well, "And you thought hitting him would be the way to do that?!"

The man sweat dropped, "W-well, it seemed like a good idea."

Soot huffed, "Like holding him out of a helicopter?"

Tommy's father smiled sadly, "But it's like I said, that was an honest mistake."

Ash stared at the man; dumbfound, "Are freaking kidding me? Are you actually so arrogant that you're still trying to justify doing something that stupid?"

The man frowned, "B- but-"

"Stop it!" Ash interrupted in an annoyed tone; making everyone flinch, "How can you not have learned anything from all of this?!"

The guy gulped, "I- it was a mistake."

Ash's glared intensified, "Yeah! People make mistakes!" He held up a finger with each following sentence, "Missing something important to your kid because of work. Not listening when they have something they want to say. Letting-" He stopped and gritted his teeth, "Letting them see something that would hurt them and not knowing how to comfort them."

Soot's eyes widened slightly. She glanced to the side sorrowfully.

"Those are mistakes that a father can make, so long as they learn from them!" Ash continued; now in the man's face. He gripped him by the collar of his shirt, "You held your child out of a moving vehicle -ONE THAT FLIES- and dropped him! And you're still trying to pass it off as something that just happens?! You had five years -FIVE! YEARS!- to learn something from all of this and you couldn't even do that!" He spoke in a cold tone and shifted to intimidate; making the humans flinch, "How someone like you became a father is beyond me."

His returned his eyes to normal, let go of the man, and started walking past him, "According to the map, Tomo's heading in the direction of a cliff. I'm going after him to make sure nothing happens."

Brock nodded, "Good luck."

Ash broke into a sprint down the path.

The man just stared into distance in shock and started tearing up before he looked down sorrowfully.

Soot glanced at the man before looking up at Brock and Misty, "We should probably head back to the tent."

The pair nodded, "Right."

They all left the area; paying no mind to the parents.

.

*Ash

The trainer glanced to the side curiously as he barreled down the path, 'Huh. Definitely a little faster than before. Maybe Jenny has a speed gun.'

He quickly found the Tomo and the young kangaskhan high in a tree; sitting on a branch. He skidded to a halt and looked up at them, "Tomo!"

The boy flinched and looked back at him. His eyes narrowed and he started jumping from tree to tree again.

Ash grimaced, "Crag." He jogged after him, "Tomo wait!"

Tomo glared back, "No! Tomo not letting you take him back to bad humans!"

Ash frowned, "That's not what I'm trying to do! There's a-" His eyes widened, "Tomo! Stop!"

The boy glared back as he jumped off the branch again, "Tomo said you not-" He stopped, and his eyes widened when he saw the cliff's edge behind him.

Ash grimaced and broke into a sprint towards the cliff. He quickly slipped on his red gloves, sprung up the dial on watch, and jumped.

.

*Tomo and Kangaskhan

Tomo looked towards the ground below and his eyes widened in shock. He let go of his boomerang and wrapped his arms around Kangaskhan as they plummeted.

The hatchling screamed as the wind rushed past. Tomo closed his eyes and held the Pokémon tighter.

Their eyes shot open in shock when a loud explosion rang out above them. They looked up to see a large burst of flames fade behind Ash as he shot towards them with a determined glare.

He reached them in a matter of seconds and wrapped his left arm around them. Before Tomo or Kangaskhan could even blink, Ash slammed the face of the watch against his forehead and became engulfed in green light.

Tomo and Kangaskhan shied away from the flash. When it faded, they looked back and their eyes widened in shock at the sight of the dragonite now holding them.

Ash glared at and held out a paw to the ground, "HURRICANE!" His horns and antenna started glowing blue. A massive whirlwind whipped up on the ground below the trio and caught them. The winds faded and Ash landed softly with the human and kangaskhan in his arms.

Ash put them down, hit the symbol on his chest, and returned to normal. He looked at them worriedly and crouched down to put a hand Tomo's shoulder, "Are you two okay?"

Tomo stared at Ash in shock, "Y- you human … or Pokémon?"

Ash chuckled softly, 'Good question.' He stood back up and walked over to Tomo's boomerang, "I'll take that as a yes." He picked it up and handed it back to the boy.

Tomo blinked before taking it back, "Thank y-" He grimaced and started holding his head. Kangaskhan frowned and nudged up against the boy worriedly.

Ash's eyes widened and he held out a hand worriedly, "What's wrong?! You didn't hit your head, did you?!"

Tomo shook his head, "No. Tomo … Tomo see things during fall. See kangaskhan herd and other Pokémon Tomo know."

Ash frowned, "That might've been your life flashing before your eyes. People say this kind of thing can happen in a life-threatening or traumatic situation. You saw everything you've experienced all at once."

Tomo looked at Ash in mild confusion, "Then why Tomo see woman from before in different clothes?" He put a hand to his head, "Why Tomo remembering feeling happy around Mama?" He stopped and blinked in surprise, "Wha- Mama? Why Tomo call her-" His eyes widened in shock and he looked at Ash, "They- They really meemas?"

Ash frowned but nodded, "Yeah. They are."

Tomo jumped to his feet, "Then why man attack Tomo?! Meemas not supposed to hurt hatchlings!"

Ash looked down sorrowfully, "I can't say for certain." His eyes widened in shock and he looked back, "Did you hear that?"

Tomo blinked in surprise, "What?"

Ash closed his eyes and put a hand to his ear.

It was faint, but he could hear a bad kangaskhan impression being broadcasted through a mechanical tone.

Ash scowled, 'Why the Yvel would someone need a-' His eyes shot open in shock, "Crag!"

Tomo and Kangaskhan flinched from the outburst. "What wrong?!" Tomo asked.

Ash gritted his teeth, "The poachers from before are back! They're after the kangaskhan again!"

Kangaskhan's eyes widened before looking on the same direction as Ash.

Tomo grimaced and glared at the cliff, "We need hurry!" He ran toward and jumped up to the cliff face and tried climbing. After a few seconds, he lost his grip and fell back.

Ash ran over, caught him, and put him back down. He looked up the cliff, "It's too steep. Climbing it won't work."

Tomo glared at him, "That not mean we give up! Herd needs help!"

Ash smirked, "Glad we agree." He held up his arm and used a thumb to feel his pulse, 'One more shouldn't cause any lasting damage.' He looked back at Tomo, "Grab Kangaskhan and climb on my back."

Tomo raised a brow, "Huh?" Kangaskhan cocked her head.

"Trust me." Ash said before crouching down, "Come on! We don't have time to lose!"

Tomo looked up the cliff worriedly before looking at Ash and nodding, "Alright." He scooped up Kangaskhan and did as Ash said; holding on to his backpack.

Ash smiled, "Now hold on tight." He ran away from the cliff to get a running start and turned around to face it.

Ash held his left hand towards the cliff and sprouted the claws from it; making Tomo and Kangskhan's eyes widened in surprise. Ash quickly fired all five into the same point on cliffside. A baseball sized section of rock broke free and fell to the ground; leaving behind a small hole.

Before Tomo could say anything, Ash charged the cliff and jumped. He shoved his foot into the carved foothold and jumped again; gaining more altitude.

Tomo grimaced, "We not make it!"

Ash held his hands down towards the ground and scowled in pain. The palms of his red gloves started sparking wildly before massive fiery explosion burst from them; propelling the group higher. Ash shot past the cliff's edge and landed in a crouch.

He immediately fell to his knees and held his wrist, 'Oh dear Arceus, that hurt!' "Okay, maybe Soot has a point with these things."

Tomo climbed down, and he and Kangaskhan stared at Ash in awe. The boy glanced over the side of the cliff before looking back at Ash, "How- How you do that?"

Ash glanced at him with one eye, "Later. You need to get the kangaskhan. They're still in trouble."

Tomo frowned worriedly and held out a hand, "But, you hurt."

Ash pushed his hand back and forced a smile, "I'll be fine. You need to help your herd. I'll catch up later."

Tomo stared at Ash in shock before nodding with a worried frown, "Okay. But I leave hatchling with you for safety."

Ash chuckled softly, "Fair enough. Now hurry."

Tomo nodded, jumped into a nearby tree, and continued jumping. He disappeared into the distance in a matter of seconds.

Ash stood back up but instantly grimaced and fell to his knees again. He put a hand to his head and groaned.

Kangaskhan flinched and ran over to him. She looked up at the human sadly.

Ash smiled softly and pet the Normal-type, "I'm okay. Really." 'Yeah right. You can barely stand.' Ash sighed and moved to sit down, 'Okay. Too weak to stand. Lightheaded.' He put a hand to his forehead, 'Temperature dropping to about a hundred degrees. Not good.' He grimaced, 'I really messed up. Seriously! Why didn't I just turn into Braviary or Dragonite again?!'

Ash heard Tomo shouting his battle cry in the distance.

The trainer glared into the distance; still grimacing, 'This is no time to beat myself up. They still might need help.' He shook his head, 'Okay. Think.' He glanced at the watch, 'I only have three forms that don't care about blood loss. Banette isn't fast enough and Stone Edge isn't of any use for something this prolonged. Which leaves-' He sighed in annoyance, "Freaking Yvel."

Kangaskhan blinked in surprise and cocked her head in confusion.

Ash noticed and smiled softly, "Don't worry." He brought up the watch and sprung up the dial. He found the form he had in mind and groaned, "Why did it have to be you?"

He hit the dial and became engulfed in green light again.

Kangaskhan shied away from the light again. When it faded, she looked back and stared in jaw dropped shock at the sight of the creature before her.

.

*Tomo

The wild boy continued jumping through the trees towards the herd. He swung in on a vine and landed on the ground. He looked out into the field and his eyes widened in shock.

Most of the herd was unconscious on the ground with the rest struggling to stay awake. Moving towards them was a gargantuan kangaskhan robot.

Tomo's eyes narrowed, "You bad kangaskhan! Tomo angry!"

He reeled back and threw his boomerang at the machine. The thrown tool shot towards the fake kangaskhan … only for it to bounce off the head with a clang and fall back towards Tomo.

Tomo's eyes widened in shock at seeing his attack do nothing, "What?!"

The robot turned to face him and pointed its arms at him. Both claws shot off with a burst of flames spewing behind them.

Tomo grimaced and jumped over the first one. He stared in horror upon seeing the second one approach him rapidly. He crossed his arms to brace himself right before a ball of rainbow light intercepted the fist and batted it away.

The sphere of light faded and Clefairy skid across the ground with a determined glare. That glare broke into an overjoyed smile as she jumped around excitedly, "Woo! That was so cool!" She looked in the direction she came with a bright smile, "Did you guys see that?!"

"Very cool, Clefairy." Came a snickering, familiar voice.

Soot, Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Jenny pulled up in the jeep. The robot's fists had already flown back to their source.

Soot and Pikachu jumped out of the jeep and glared at the mech. Clefairy ran over and joined them.

Brock looked around in confusion, "Wait, where's Ash?"

Tomo looked at him, "Other guy with baby Kangaskhan; keeping her safe."

Soot frowned, "He didn't come with you?"

Tomo shook his head, "He tired from saving Tomo and Kangaskhan from cliff. He shoot fire and turn into dragonite."

Misty flinched, "Wait, what?! You found out about the watch too?!"

Tomo blinked in surprise, "Watch?"

Pikachu sweat dropped, "Two people we just met in one day. Must be a new record."

Jenny blinked in surprise and looked at Soot, "He can turn into a dragonite?"

Soot sighed, "Later." She glared at the robot, "Right now, we have bigger things to worry ab-" She stopped and blinked in surprise when she felt the ground rumbling slightly. She, Pikachu and Clefairy looked at the ground in confusion, "What the?"

Brock frowned, "What's wrong?"

Soot's eyes narrowed, "Something's moving beneath us." She put an ear to the ground, "It sounds like-"

Everyone flinched and looked over as something big and green burst out of the ground. The young kangaskhan climbed out of the hole a moment later and immediately ran over to Tomo.

Tomo flinched and crouched down to her, "What?! Kangaskhan?! Why are you here?! Where's the other guy?!"

Kangaskhan pointed into the field; where everyone else was staring in shock. Tomo looked over as well and his eye widened in shock.

Standing before them was a tall, slim plant-like creature with five long vines instead of legs. Its hands had four long, skinny fingers and it had a pair of structures resembling a carnivine's jaws around its head; attached to the sides of its neck. It had one pupil-less, bulbous blue eye on its face and two more identical, bulging eyes on each shoulder. On its back were two rows of four black, seed-like pods and on its chest was the watch's symbol.

Ash glared at the robot angrily.

Ohirume: Oh, like it wasn't obvious.

Soot deadpanned, 'Son of a glitch. Why him?'

.

*Team Rocket

Jessie's eyes widened in shock, "Woah!"

Meowth stared in shock, "What da Yvel is dat?! Some kinda supa Grass-type?!"

James was flipping through his book frantically, "I- I can't find anything like it! The closest thing I can think of is a carnivine!"

Jessie's eyes widened, "Wait." She looked at her Teammates, "What if it's a new species?"

James's eyes widened in realization and he looked back at her, "Do you really think so, Jess?"

Meowth smiled brightly, "If it is, imagine what da boss'll say if we bring it in!"

Jessie smirked wickedly, "Yeah! Forget the kangaskhan! We're going after that thing!"

James grinned and pulled a lever, "Roger that! Rocket Punch!"

.

*Back to the group

The robot's fists fired off again and flew towards Ash.

His eye narrowed before crouched down and sprung high into the air. His arm stretched towards a nearby tree and he reeled himself towards it. The fists followed like heat seekers.

Ash removed four of the pods from his back and threw them and at the fists; two each.

The pods thrown at the left attached to the fist and sprouted a series of vines. The vines quickly wrapped around the jets on the back of the fist and crushed them before anyone could blink. The fist crashed into the ground.

The other pods exploded on contact with the right fist. The giant metal structure lost control and flew around wildly.

Jenny stared at Ash in shock, "Wh- what the Yvel is that thing?"

Tomo stared in shock as well, "Tomo never even heard of Pokémon like this!"

Misty blinked in surprise, "Wait a second." She looked down and started listing things off on her fingers, "Monster we've never heard of before. Human like stature. Ash isn't here. Ash is Ash." She deadpanned and pointed at the creature, "That's Frenzy Plant, isn't it?"

Soot snickered, "Bingo."

Jenny looked at her in confusion, "Frenzy Plant?" She looked back at the creature; still confused, "What the Yvel kind of style is that? Enhance? Cloak?"

Soot chuckled, "Wrong idea. That's actually dad. The watch has a few forms like this that we call non-Pokémon." She looked back at Ash and smirked, "And luckily, Frenzy Plant is the freak that dad has the most control over. In terms of power, try imagining a carnivine with tangrowth, shaymin, Mega sceptile and venasaur inheritance that can effortlessly regenerate his entire body from nothing but an arm and can continuously use actual Frenzy Plant without ever having to recharge."

Everyone stared at her in shock, before looking back at Ash in awe, "Woah."

Something occurred to Brock and he looked down at Soot curiously, "Wait. If Frenzy Plant is that good, why has Ash never used it until now?"

Soot frowned and looked down; eyes shaded, "Because Frenzy Plant has the worst personality glitch of them all. One that counteracts every single advantage the form brings."

Everyone stared at the Dark-type in shock.

Misty gulped, "Wh-what is it?"

Soot groaned, "It's-"

"LOOK OUT!" Jenny shouted; cutting off Soot. Everyone else followed her gaze and grimaced upon finding the fist that got the explosive pods shooting towards them rapidly and out of control.

Ash noticed, stretched an arm towards them, dug into the ground in front of them, and pulled himself over. He landed and dug both his arm into the ground. A massive vine wall made of tree bark weaved itself together in front of them and blocked the metal fist as it tried to break through. Ash's eye narrowed and shoved his arms forward. The wall fell forward and sent the fist tumbling back towards the robot.

Although unseen by anyone else, Jessie, James, and Meowth's jaws dropped in absolute shock.

Ash brought the all back up to protect everyone before looking back worriedly, "Are you guys bouquet?" He said in a deep, gravelly voice.

Misty sighed in relief before smiling at him, "We're alright, Ash. Thanks for-" She stopped and blinked in surprise upon realizing what he said, "Wait, what?"

Ash blinked in confusion; showing that only the eye on his face had eyelids, "I asked if you were bouquet. Leek if any of you were dirt or in grain?" He rubbed the back of his head; minding the jaws, "Elm sorry about that. I probably shootn't of used the exploding ones."

Everyone, except Soot, stared at him in confusion.

Soot sighed, "Dad, we're fine. Just get back to the fight."

Ash sweat dropped, "Uh, fir."

The 'plant's' arm stretched to the edge of his wooden structure and he looked back at them, "Just promise to stamen sprout of harm's way."

He retracted his arm and swung around the wall.

Jenny stared in shock as Ash left, "What the Yvel just happened?"

"Plant puns. The glitch is freaking plant puns." Soot responded in with a twitching eye as she spoke through clenched teeth, "Nearly every sentence that thing mutters includes some form of pun about plants or fungus or WHATEVER THE YVEL ELSE GROWS FROM THE GROUND!" She took a deep breath ending in an annoyed sigh, "The worst part is, it's impossible to stop him. Because he doesn't even realize he's doing it."

Brock sweat dropped, "It's even worse than you described."

Pikachu sweat dropped as well, "No kidding."

Clefairy giggled, "I think it's funny."

Pikachu and Soot sweat dropped.

Ohirume: I feel the need to apologize fully for this personality glitch.

It was just as painful for me to write as it will be for all of you to read.

Seishin: BTW, Rob was going to make a list a of usable puns and post it on "Random-ish stuff on the side." But then we found a website that already did that for us. Disclaimer down below.

Omega: I envy every last one of you people. You don't have to live as a figment of the moron who comes up with this ****.

…

Ohirume: All puns come from the "Plant Puns," "Flower Puns," "Leaf Puns," and "Tree Puns" pages on Punpedia.

I am not even joking. That website actually ******* exists and has puns for ANYTHING. Some undoubtably better than others.

Seishin: It's my new favorite website.

Omega: Again. I envy all of you.

.

*tRio

The group flinched as the plant monster slung around the shield and towards them.

Jessie's eyes narrowed as she pulled a lever, "Take this!"

The robot aimed its claws again. Although-

"Wait a sec! Where's da otha Rocket Fist?!" Meowth shouted at seeing only the right one in place.

James sweat dropped and pointed into the field, "Over there."

His partners looked over to see the wild vines (Seishin: :D) compacting the large structure into a ball of scrap metal.

"Oh, come on! Those things are expensive!" Jessie shouted furiously before she groaned, "Whatever! Just shoot it!"

James pushed a button, "Rocket Punch!"

The fist shot off the Rocket's mech again.

Meowth glanced at James while sweat dropped, "Do ya have ta say dat every time?"

James nodded with a smirk, "I do."

.

*Ash

Frenzy Plant's eye narrowed as he smirked at the approaching fist. He extended his fingers to wrap around it fist and used to it as leverage to swing onto the robot's head.

Ash held out his hands, 'Tree this on fir size!' He held his hands high into the air.

Dozens of massive vines burst out of the ground, started wrapping around the robot, and constricting it. The left arm had already starting to creak and warp.

The mech's eyes lit up yellow as it started struggling to break free. A few of the vines snapped.

Ash grimaced, 'Crop!' He started looking around, 'There's pot to be a weak point somewhere.'

The right arm broke free and swept at Ash. He jumped high over the fist and grappled onto the constrained machine's shoulder. He started swinging around the robot and looking over the body for some weakness.

After a second, he noticed something glinting on the hip, 'Wheat the?'

He swung in closer and found a wide fuel gauge above a gray gas cap.

Ash sweat dropped, 'Dry wood they put a fuel gauge on the outside?' He sighed, 'Ah, to cell with it.'

He quickly removed the gas cap, removed a pod from his back, and shoved said pod into the tank. He reached an arm back towards the trees and reeled himself back. The pod exploded from the inside and set the robot on fire.

Ash landed and grinned, "Swheat! It worked!"

Tomo smiled and clenched a fist, "Grass-type Ash do it!"

Soot smirked, "Finish them off dad!"

Ash nodded and held out his arms. His fingers elongated and became thinner, and a handful of grass blades sprouted from his arms. He crouched down and prepared to pounce … until the symbol on his chest started and flashing red. Again.

Brock, Misty, Soot, Pikachu, and Clefairy sweat dropped, "Are you kidding me?"

Jenny and Tomo blinked in surprise, "Huh?"

Ash glared at the symbol angrily, "Agrain?!" He groaned, stretched an arm past his friends, grabbed onto a tree and pulled himself out of sight. A faint red flash shown deep in the jungle. Ash sprinted back into the clearing a few seconds later.

Misty sweat dropped, "Seriously? This is the third time you've timed out at the worst possible moment today."

Ash sweat dropped, "Well aware." He glared at the robot, "But right now, we have more important things to worry about."

HEY! Jessie shouted over a load speaker, Where'd the plant thing go?!

Jenny glared at them, "As if we'd tell you!"

Meowth's angry voice came next, Let's see if you keep quiet afta our Supa Punch!

James spoke up as the robot's eyes went from yellow to red, One Super Punch coming-

A helicopter whirring in the distance cut him off and caught everyone's attention. They all looked over to see the parents' helicopter flying directly towards the robot and strike it head on. The resulting explosion annihilated the robot, shot the tRio into the distance, and "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Everyone stared in shock at the flaming pile of ex-robot and helicopter.

"Tommy's parents…" Misty said sorrowfully.

Brock clenched a fist and looked down sorrowfully, "They sacrificed themselves for their son."

Ash looked down shamefully, "And I did was yell at them."

Soot looked down shamefully, "We never even learned their names."

Tomo started tearing up, "No." He fell to his knees, "Mama! Papa!"

"What did you say?"

Everyone flinched and looked over to see the parents standing next to the group.

The mother stared at Tomo in shock, "Tommy." She started tearing up, ran towards him, and scooped him into a hug, "You remember us!"

Tomo stared into the distance in shock as she held him, "M- Mama?" He teared up and hugged her back, "You okay!"

Jenny blinked in surprise and looked at the man in shock, "Wait, you two weren't in that thing?!"

The father raised a brow, "What? Of course not. We aren't idiots."

Brock pointed at the wreckage while still looking at the man, "But then, how did do that?"

The man held up a large RC transmitter, "We installed a remote-control option a few years back."

Soot raised a brow, "Why?"

The man blinked in surprise, "There's a reason we shouldn't have?"

Nobody knew how to respond to that.

The man looked back at Tomo and his wife with a frown. He took a deep breath before he started walking over to them.

"Tommy." The man said as stood across from his son.

Tomo looked back at him with a frown and warry look.

The father frowned, "Son. I'm sorry about everything."

Tomo blinked in surprise. Ash perked up a little bit.

The man continued, "I'm sorry for ever holding you out of the helicopter. I'm sorry for trying to hit you on the head earlier. But, most of all, I'm sorry that it took until now for me apologize for all of this." He looked down sorrowfully, "And even more so for me to realize that I had to apologize at all."

Tomo looked at the man sorrowfully, "Papa."

The man looked down shamefully, "I've been a terrible father to you, and I was too stupid and arrogant to even realize it." He looked back up at Tomo with a sad smile, "But I want that all to change. I want us to be a family again."

The mother nodded with a soft smile, "That's all we ever wanted, Tommy. For us to be one big happy family."

The man walked closer, "I know I have a lot of work to do to make up for everything. And I know it will take time for us to really be a family again." He held out a hand to boy with a hopeful smile, "But I hope you'll let us join your family so we can start."

Soot blinked in surprise, "Huh?"

Misty stared at the group blankly, "Did he just say-"

"Yeah." Brock said in a mild daze.

Ash chuckled lightly, "Gotta admit. I did not see that coming."

Tomo stared at the man in shock, "Y- you want to stay with Tomo?"

The mother nodded, "We know how much you love the kangaskhan. So, we decided we'll stay here with you to help protect them."

The father walked over to stand next to his wife and nodded too, "All we want is our boy back. By any means necessary."

Tomo started tearing up, "Mama. Papa." He took on an overjoyed smile with tears in his eyes and ran over to pull them into a group hug.

Tomo's mother crouched down to hug him back, "We'll be together from now on, Tommy."

Tomo's father nodded as he hugged his son back, "And that's a promise."

The boy smiled, "Good."

Everyone else watched with soft smiles as the fixed family held each other.

Soot nudged up against Ash. Ash smiled softly and pet her.

.

.

Omega: *sniffles*

Seishin: *wild laughter* Oh my brothers! Omega's crying again! How long has it been?! Fifteen chapters?!

Ohirume: Yup. I counted.

Omega: Can you stop with that?! I! AM! NOT! HEARTLESS!