A Fiery Union
"Gooon!" A Zigzagoon cried out as Riolu's Aura Sphere launched him across the field, the raccoon Pokemon flew across the field before plopping onto his side. Swirls filled his eyes as he uttered out a defeated groan. "Zigzagoon..."
"Alright, Riolu. We just won our first official battle!" Zach cheerfully exclaimed.
"Rio!" Riolu cheerfully cried out before leaping up to share a high five with his trainer.
"Way to go you two!" May cheered.
The rival trainer hung his head and uttered out a light groan as he recalled Zigzagoon to it's Pokeball. The trainer then handed Zach some prize money before heading back towards Oldale Town.
"And now we've got money for supplies!" Zach grinned. He hadn't taken much with him as he didn't want an unfair advantage, it wouldn't be as much fun obtaining a Mega Stone if he simply bought one with his father's money. He wanted to find and earn one on his own, plus battling trainers had some incentive apart from experience.
"Rio!" Riolu beamed.
"And now to help you find a wild Pokemon," May sweated lightly as Zach turned towards her.
"W-What? I-I actually thought I'd wait a bit."
"Well we don't have to but if you're serious about entering Pokemon Contests, you're going to have a difficult time matching up to the others." Zach spoke before his cheeks began glowing bright red as he shifted his gaze to the side. "Er-Not that I don't have faith in you, I'm sure you'll look great out there! It's just that the other Coordinators will be utilizing two Pokemon during both the performance and battle stages, you might be able to pull off the performance half with just Torchic but she won't last long if she's set up against two Pokemon. You'll need somebody to back her up and the Pokemon that live around here are perfect for new trainers like us, easy to raise and quick to grow up!" He was extremely familiar with the layout as he'd watched plenty of Pokemon Contests while hanging out at Dawn's place. She loved watching Contests as much as he enjoyed watching Pokemon battles.
"I see," May frowned lightly though a light blush began to form across her cheeks upon realizing his wording. 'I'll look great out there? D-Did he mean that or is he being his usual supportive self?' "Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a look." She softly spoke while offering a light smile.
Zach offered her a smile of his own before the pair set off to find a wild Pokemon, their search was seemingly unfruitful at first as it took nearly an hour before they successfully located a Pokemon. "Oh wow, a Ralts!" Zach uttered out a gasp of amazement. The species was quite difficult to locate as they typically avoided contact with other wild Pokemon and even more difficult to obtain.
"She's cute," A smile crossed May's lips as she reached for Torchic's Pokeball. "Torchic use Ember!" She cried out while hurling the Fire type's ball into the air.
"No wait-" Zach tried to warn May but it was too late.
"Ralts?" Ralts turned around upon hearing May's shout and uttered out a startled gasp before teleporting out of range.
"Torchic?!" Torchic gasped out before angrily stomping her feet. "Torchic, tor!" She ranted out.
"Huh?" May blinked while forming quite the confused expression.
"It knows Teleport," Zach explained while lightly sweating. "It's easier to just toss an empty ball at it and hope for the best."
"But I thought we were supposed to weaken Pokemon first?" May questioned with a light tilt of her head.
"It increases your chances but there are also Pokeballs that allow one to catch a Pokemon without hurting it." Zach explained while fishing a Quick Ball from his pocket. "The Quick Ball has an increased chance at catching a Pokemon before you engage in battle with it, it's nifty for catching speedy Pokemon or tricky ones such as Ralts and Abra."
"I see." May gave a light nod of understanding before perking back up. "Alright, I'm ready to try again. Let's find another Poke-"
"Rio!" Riolu motioned towards the distance.
"Hm?" Zach followed Riolu's gaze and noticed that it matched with the trajectory of Torchic's flames. "Did Torchic hit something?"
"Rio!" Riolu swiftly nodded in response.
May's eyes lit up before the pair rushed ahead to see what Torchic's Ember had hit. A small red lump came into view as they raced across the clearing and upon closer examination, they'd find that Torchic's attack had knocked out the small Bug type Pokemon.
"A Wurmple," Zach spoke while giving the Bug a soft poke to see if it still had a pulse. "It should be fine after a bit of rest."
"Wurmple?" May couldn't help but shiver, finding Wurmple's appearance rather creepy. "What's that?"
"It's one of the Pokemon that I was referring to, they're easy to catch and raise." Zach explained while retrieving his Rotom Phone from his jacket before opening up Wurmple's Pokedex page. "It doesn't take long for trainers to raise them into Beautifly or Dustox."
"Wow," May's eyes lit up upon taking in Beautifly's Pokedex picture. "They sure are beautiful!" May enlarged another Pokeball and prepared to throw it towards the unconscious Pokemon before pausing in place. "Hold up, Wurmple can evolve into two separate Pokemon? How can I ensure that my Wurmple evolves into Beautifly?"
"It's simple really, Wurmple evolves into Silcoon during the day and it'll evolve into Cascoon at night."
"Ah, then that won't be a problem!" May beamed while giving the ball a light throw, knowing that he was sure to help her get Wurmple the experience it needed. The ball whisked through the air before opening as it approached Wurmple, absorbing the worm Pokemon in a beam of bright red light. The ball fell to the ground and began steadily shaking back and forth before chiming out to announce the capture complete.
"Wurmple the Worm Pokemon, it sticks to tree branches and eats leaves. The thread it spits from its mouth, which becomes gooey when it touches air, slows the movement of its foes."
"I-I did it, I just caught my first Pokemon!" May gasped, the shock quickly turned to excitement as she clasped her hands around the ball.
"Way to go May!" Zach cheered.
"Rio!"
"Torchic, tor!"
"Welcome to the team, Wurmple! I can't wait to meet you." May spoke while offering the ball a light smile.
"You really aren't going to catch anything else?" May asked while the two walked down the trail that led to Petalburgh City, the vast cityscape was already in view and laid just ahead of them. A few hours had passed since May had captured Wurmple, Zach encountered a few more trainers along the way and battled them gaining experience for both his current team members. And after stopping for lunch, Zach and Poochyena helped May get Wurmple some experience before the group hit the road once more.
"There's no point in doing so right now, if I fill up my team then I'll be stuck and unable to catch anything else! Until I find a place to store my Pokemon, I'll just have to wait for the right Pokemon to come along." Zach explained with a light shrug.
"You could always ask my dad, he already offered to watch my Pokemon if I managed to catch enough. I'm sure he'll be willing to look after yours as well!" May suggested.
"I don't want to be a burden," Zach spoke while nervously rubbing his arm. "Besides Norman already owns over a dozen Pokemon, the Gym's not that big. Even if Norman's Pokemon are okay with it, we can't be certain how mine will behave." And there were a fair number of larger Pokemon out there that he planned on capturing.
"You won't be a burden." May softly spoke while gently placing her hand around his, Riolu smirked at the sight. Her family was well aware that May was in love with Zach, Max loved teasing her while Caroline often encouraged May to be bold and confront Zach about how she felt 'before it was too late'. She was certain that Norman would be willing to watch over Zach's Pokemon.
Zach stared off while appearing to be deep in thought. "Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt to a-"
"Oi! I'll kick your ass, ya daft bugger!"
"Huh?" Zach, May and Riolu turned and noticed a kid, not much younger than Max playing with an action figure that greatly resembled a girl they once knew.
"That's quite the brash toy." May was surprised the kid's parent let him have it, if Max came home with something like that then Norman would have locked him up until he was in his twenties.
"That looks like an official Pokemon League action figure," Zach spoke, recognizing the similarities between it and that of his Cynthia and Mustard action figures. "It's detailed, motion adjustable and has a voice box."
"That's because it is," The kid excitedly exclaimed upon taking notice of them. "This is Gloria Campbell, the brand new Kalos Champion and this is her signature catchphrase!"
"Huh, she sort of resembles you." May gave Zach's arm a light nudge while offering him a playful smirk.
"Eh, I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Zach shrugged.
"Rio." Riolu nodded.
"I'll be taking that," The kid's father turned up and snatched the figure from the kid's hand. "You can have it back once I take the batteries out."
"Aw man, it won't be as cool!" The kid hung his head.
"Excuse me but where did he find that?" Zach couldn't help but ask. It was difficult obtaining Champion action figures outside of their respective regions and it sounded as if the kid just got his from somewhere.
"He got it from the Galar Festival," The kid's father spoke while thumbing towards a set of tents that had been propped up on the outskirts of Petalburgh City. "Apparently Galar is where she hails from, I guess they're celebrating her victory over the Kalos region."
"Hopefully in a respectful manner," Zach knew that there was some bad blood between Galar and Kalos, the regions went to war with each other at some point in the past and there was still animosity between them to this day.
"I don't care if it's respectful or not, I'll be writing a letter to this Gloria girl. She's got to learn to watch her behavior now that she is a role model! Come Junior," The father began dragging the kid away while Zach and May turned their attention towards the Galar Festival, loud cheers could be heard as people participated in carnival games. There was even a merry-go-round that contained statues of a beautiful white unicorn Pokemon.
May glanced towards Zach and noticed that his eyes had lit up.
"You want to go, don't you?" She smirked. She knew he was probably hoping to see Mustard or some Galar Pokemon.
"Yes please!"
"Rio!"
May lightly shook her head and offered the pair a light smirk as they began making their way towards the festival. Various souvenirs and trinkets could be seen on display at market booths while various food vendors sold treats that were unique to the Galar region. Riolu paused in place as he got a good whiff of a chocolate desert, his eyes widened while drool poured from his mouth.
"Rio..."
Zach similarly found his focus stolen upon spotting a vendor that appeared to be selling Pokemon, one of which he'd been a fan of for quite some time. "No way!" Zach fanboyed out and raced through the crowd. May stared after him before turning her attention towards Riolu who was trying to snatch up some treats.
"Rio... rio...!"
May couldn't help but giggle out, finding Riolu's fascination with chocolate rather amusing. She placed a few Pokedollars onto the vendor's table so Riolu could take the treats without causing harm. "He's with me."
"No way, I can't believe a Scorbunny's right here in Hoenn!" Zach squealed out, his eyes sparkled as he took in the view. Before him stood a table full of white rabbits that had orange tipped ears and feet, the rabbits swayed back and forth as they interacted with each other.
"Oho, we've got a Scorbunny fan right here!" A man with a foreign accent spoke as he shot up from behind the table, a trail of white paint could be seen along his arm while a tank full of Magikarp stood behind him. "Then I trust that you're aware of how valuable these Pokemon are?"
"No sir, I just love Scorbunny! I've wanted one ever since I saw a Cinderace battling it out with Mustard's Urshifu!" Zach excitedly exclaimed, his eyes remained locked on the Scorbunny as they swayed about.
"Oh?" A wide smirk spread against the Magikarp Salesman's face, he didn't keep up to date with current events so he had no idea who he was even speaking to. He thought Zach was just a patsy. "Then I suppose you'll be willing to shell out twenty thousand Pokedollars? After all I'm trying to run a business here, exporting these bunnies ain't cheap then there are the maintenance costs, and not to mention the fact that Scorbunny's the most popular Galar Pokemon!" The Magikarp Salesman exclaimed while a fleet of people walked directly past Zach, each one carrying a Sobble plush.
Zach opened up his wallet and began eagerly counting up his bills before sweating. "I only have five hundred Pokedollars, a stick of gum and a coupon for a free Mountain Dewott at participating Burger Kingdra's."
The Magikarp Salesman eagerly reached out and pulled the contents from Zach's hands. "Sold!" The Magikarp Salesman promptly shoved one of the swaying Scorbunny and it's Pokeball into his arms. "Now remember, no refunds!"
"Why would I ever want a refund? I got one of the coolest Pokemon around and I'm never going to let it out of my sight!" Zach excitedly exclaimed while pulling Scorbunny close to his chest. "Welcome to the team, Scorbunny!"
"Spinda..."
"Oh hey, that's a cute Pokemon!" May exclaimed as she and Riolu caught up to Zach, Riolu was too busy eating his treat to realize that something was wrong.
"That he is, I can't wait to start training with him!"
May couldn't help but giggle out, finding his excitement rather adorable. She had a clear head but unfortunately lacked the knowledge that Zach had just been scammed, never having seen a Scorbunny or a Spinda until today.
"Spin!" Spinda's cry wasn't a clear indication either as there were some Pokemon that couldn't say their name.
May smiled before jerking her head towards some nearby booths, she noticed a few couples standing before some carnival games with the boyfriends attempting to win some prizes for their girlfriends. May looked thoughtful for a moment before turning towards Zach with a pleading expression. "Mind winning me something?"
Zach nervously sweated as May stared at him with a pleading expression, he never could say no when she gave him that look. "Sure, I'll try and win you something!" May uttered out a light squeal, tightly wrapping her arms around him before eagerly pulling him towards a nearby carnival game.
"Hey Bill, take a look at this."
A green haired man turned towards his partner while slowly pulling a baked pretzel away from his mouth as a dark red tint quickly formed across his face. "Damn it, Cassidy. Why do I constantly have to remind you that my name is Butch?!" He angrily hurled the half eaten pretzel at his blonde haired partner who swiftly sidestepped to avoid getting slapped in the face by the object.
"Calm down and pay attention," Cassidy pointed towards Zach as he walked by with the disguised Spinda. "You see that kid over there? He's got a Scorbunny with him, Scorbunny grow up to become quite the powerful Pokemon and we're in need of Pokemon like that if we're to start up a new Team Rocket branch!"
"I'm still uncertain about that, you honestly think that a third Team Rocket faction will fare better than the previous two?" Butch faintly sweated. "Besides we were stranded on a deserted island for months and nobody bothered looking for us, how will it be any different than before?"
"Because we're in charge this time." Cassidy smirked while giving her chest a light tap.
"Meowth, meow!" An Alolan Meowth eagerly exclaimed, standing alongside the two while staring off with a bold expression.
"I don't know about you Butch but I'm tired of being pushed around and it's time we did something about it. The heat's too strong in Kanto/Johto, Unova already has several mafia factions going to war with each other, and Kalos is pretty much untouchable thanks to Lysandre's efforts at eliminating crime there. Hoenn lacks any criminal activity-"
"That we know of." Butch was quick to add causing Cassidy to give her partner a light glare.
"Regardless there's no competition that can outsmart us, we've been in the game for over a decade so it should be easy setting up a branch of operations here. We just need to obtain more Pokemon while also finding a way to make some quick cash, Scorbunny is the ideal way to go. If we can't use her to get stronger then we'll simply blackmail the kid's father and make some quick cash!"
"Meowth..." The Alolan Meowth flattened his ears while giving Cassidy a look. 'She can't be serious? That's just asking for his aunt to come down on us.'
Butch stared off into the distance for a brief moment before turning back towards his partners while giving off a reluctant nod. "I still say we should get out while we have the chance but I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
Cassidy and Meowth smirked. "That's the spirit, Biff!"
"Meowth!"
"It's Butch..." Butch sighed out.
"Oh come on, that one clearly hit the bottles!" Zach shouted out as the ball smacked against the bottle tower, the bottles didn't even react to the impact. The prize for knocking the bottles down was a rather large Eevee plush and upon spotting it, Zach was determined to win it for May. She always had a fondness for Eevee, finding the species rather adorable.
"Too bad kid, try again." The attendant spoke with a mocking smirk.
"Rio..." Riolu's ears moved back as he saw his trainer attempt another go at it, he'd already failed three times and Riolu didn't want to see him fail again. The jackal pup pushed his chocolate treat into Spinda's paw before sneaking off towards the back of the carnival booth.
Zach pulled his arm back before hurling the ball forward, the ball shot through the air before smacking the tower's base. "Rio..." Riolu leaped up and thrusted his palm against the opposite end, smashing the bottles into smithereens! Zach and May's eyes widened while the attendant's jaw dropped, neither of them noticed Riolu casually slinking back.
"Wow." May breathed out.
"Whoa, did I do that...?" Zach sweated.
The attendant quietly reached for the giant Eevee plush before shoving it into Zach's arms.
"Rio?" The jackal pup shot a quick look around, wondering where Scorbunny and his treat had gotten off to as neither were in sight. He dropped to his knees and closed his eyes as he began meditating, focusing on the aura around them as he attempted to search for the Pokemon.
"Here you go," May couldn't help but squeal as the Eevee plush was placed into her arms, her body quivered as she began feeling faint. 'It's almost as if I'm dreaming, the only thing missing is-Should I go for it? Now's a perfect time...' She could easily wave it off as a friendly gesture if he questioned it. May took a deep breath before making her move.
"Rio rio!" Riolu frantically spoke, the jackal pup leaped up and down while pointing towards the crowd.
"Huh? What is it, buddy?" Zach turned to face his partner, May kissed his cheek a few seconds afterwards but the action seemingly went unnoticed.
'Too slow.' May clenched her fists while silently cursing the fact that something just had to go wrong.
"Rio rio!" Riolu motioned towards where Scorbunny had been standing before motioning back towards crowd. "Rio riooo!" He performed an aggressive stance and uttered out a light cackle before frantically motioning towards the crowd once more.
"W-Was Scorbunny taken?!" Zach shot a quick look around but didn't see the rabbit Pokemon anywhere.
"Rio!" Riolu gave a light nod of confirmation before frantically pointing towards the direction they'd gone. "Rioooo!"
"Then let's go get him back!"
"No way, it's just a Spinda that was painted to look like a Scorbunny!" Butch gasped out upon pulling out his Rotom Phone to read the creature's ability and move set.
"What?! Oh that's just great, the kid obviously got scammed and now we've fallen for the same scam!" Cassidy growled while angrily punching a nearby tree trunk. "I can't believe we fell for it."
"Should we just let Spinda go?" Butch questioned with a bit of a hopeful tune, hoping that the mistake would make Cassidy see sense.
"No, we can still make some money by exporting her out of the region. They're outright unobtainable in most of the known regions, we should make a fair bit of money off him." Cassidy smirked.
"Meowth!" Meowth added on with a sly smirk.
Butch uttered out a reluctant sigh upon realizing that he was outvoted. "Alright, I suppose we might as well start supper then."
"Agreed, we've got to keep in proper form if we want the others to respect our authority!" Cassidy grinned.
"Meowth!"
"Here Spinda, can't let you starve." Butch placed a bowl of Pokemon chow into the cage before closing the door, locking it shut behind him before making his way towards his partners.
Spinda picked at his food before shrugging as he pushed the bowl to the side. "Scor..." Spinda perked up upon noticing what appeared to be another painted Spinda standing in front of the cage.
"Spinda?" Spinda tilted his head and watched as the other Spinda opened the cage door before stepping on inside, the two Pokemon stared at each other for a brief moment before Scorbunny walked right past Spinda and began scarfing down the food.
"Scor scor!"
"Spinda..." Spinda shrugged before walking out of the cage, his body swayed back and forth in a dizzy fashion causing his rear to nudge the cage door shut.
"Meowth?" Meowth jerked his head towards the cage, his eyes narrowed as he looked around with a suspicious expression before shrugging it off. Scorbunny was in the cage scarfing down food and Spinda had waddled out of sight, the Pokemon had performed a successful switcheroo with Team Rocket being none the wiser to it.
"Spinda... spin..." Spinda swayed past Riolu, Zach and May as they raced down the trail, Riolu paused for a brief moment and glanced back at Spinda before shrugging it off as he continued the pursuit. The group continued racing ahead until they came across the clearing where Team Rocket had set up camp. Upon noticing the caged Scorbunny, Zach wasted no time in rushing over and yanked open the cage door before scooping Scorbunny up into his arms.
"There you are, Scorbunny! I was so worried that something had happened to you!" Zach exclaimed while hugging the rabbit Pokemon.
"Scor...?" Scorbunny perked up, a light blush formed across her cheeks upon receiving affectionate attention. Something she'd been hungry for, she meant no disrespect towards her caretaker but she never gave her the attention she needed. Not understanding that there was a good reason for it. Scorbunny formed a warm smile and silently placed her paws around Zach while resting her head up against his chest. "Scor!"
"MEOWTH!" An electrical bolt shot at the ground in front of the pair causing them to leap away from each other before turning their gaze towards the attack's source, finding a fierce looking Alolan Meowth leering at them.
"Rio!" Riolu quickly leaped in between Zach and Meowth, waving his paw at Meowth while daring the feline to step closer.
"Well well well, looks like the kid's shown up." Butch spoke while raising from his seat.
"And he brought his girlfriend with him," Cassidy gave the two a mocking smirk. "Never should have come here, Houndoom let's go!"
"You too, Skarmory!" Butch shouted out.
"Houn!" The canine snarled out as he emerged from his Pokeball.
"SKAR!" The armored bird viciously cawed out.
May froze up and trembled lightly while steadily reaching for her own Pokeball. "T-Torchic, we need you!"
"Poochyena, help us out!" Zach shouted while tossing Poochyena's Nest Ball forward.
"Pooch!" Poochyena leered up at Houndoom while Torchic boldly gazed up towards Aggron.
"Torchic, tor!"
"Rio!" Riolu took a combat stance as he stared Meowth down.
"Scor!" Scorbunny boldly leaped forward to assist Riolu. Riolu gave her a light look before turning his attention towards Meowth.
"Aura Sphere!" Zach swiftly called out.
"Rio..." Riolu began charging up an aura sphere only to gasp out as Scorbunny raced into firing range. The jackal pup quickly cancelled the attack and uttered out a growl of frustration as Scorbunny tackled Meowth, the Alola Meowth uttered out a grunt of frustration and pushed his enemy away before getting blasted in the face by Riolu's aura sphere!
"Meoooowth!" Meowth cried out as he was sent flying back.
"Whoa!" Butch and Cassidy's heads turned upwards and followed Meowth until his body struck against the ground. Meowth faceplanted against the ground and uttered out a light grunt before going limp, his body motionless as he fell into an unconscious state.
"That was some Aura Sphere..." Butch commented.
"Definitely impressive but he's still just an inexperienced teenager, that Riolu will make an excellent addition to our ranks once we're through with him." Cassidy smirked. "Houndoom use Flamethrower!"
"Skarmory use Steel Wing!"
"Houn!" Houndoom took a deep breath before blasting Torchic with a powerful stream of fire.
"Skar!" Skarmory's wings glowed bright silver as the armored bird swooped across the field, knocking Poochyena away!
"Pooch!" Poochyena flew back a few feet before landing in a defeated slump in front of his trainer's feet.
"Torchic, tor!" Torchic cried out as the flames raced across his body, the chicken Pokemon's body went limp before falling down beside Poochyena leaving Riolu and Scorbunny to fend for themselves.
"Riolu use Aura Sphere on Houndoom, Scorbunny use Ember on Skarmory!" Zach swiftly ordered out. He knew they were outmatched but they had to hope for the best, it wasn't like they could outrun Houndoom and Skarmory.
"Rioooo!" A powerful sphere of aura formed between Riolu's paws before it was launched off towards his opponent, the aura blast struck Houndoom and pushed him back but the canine merely snarled out before firing off a pulse of dark energy.
"Scor!" Scorbunny eagerly fired an array of embers at Skarmory causing the bird to grunt before performing a counterattack, his drill began rapidly spinning in place as he lashed out causing Scorbunny to swirl in place before she was flung back alongside Riolu!
"Rio!"
"Scor!" The Pokemon grunted out as they hit the ground in front of Zach and May, swirls filled their eyes as they laid motionless against the ground.
Zach gritted his teeth while May clung to his arm, fearing what Butch and Cassidy would do to them now that they were defenseless.
"Meowth..." Meowth shot up with a feral expression, electricity crackled from his cheeks as he leered at them.
"Alright now we'll tie them up and ransom them off!" Cassidy smirked while producing a string of rope. "Houndoom, Skarmory make sure they don't run off."
"Houn..."
"Skar!" Houndoom and Skarmory stepped closer before taking positions around Zach and May, surrounding them while Cassidy approached with the rope.
"EXPLOUD!" A loud ferocious cry echoed from a nearby bush.
"Huh?" Cassidy jerked her head to the side before uttering out a frightened gasp as quite the rowdy Exploud burst from the bushes.
"EXPLOUD!" Fire engulfed his right fist shortly before he punched Skarmory across the face!
"Skar!" The armored bird uttered out a pained grunt. Exploud swiftly turned it's attention towards Houndoom before hoisting the canine into his grasp as he leaped into the air, Exploud performed a loop midair before flinging his opponent towards the ground below.
"Meowth!" The Alolan Meowth shot off a thunder bolt towards his opponent, giving him an electrical shock but it did little to deter the feisty creature. Exploud lashed out with a quick punch, sending Meowth flying back towards Butch and Cassidy before a powerful series of sound waves erupted from his body.
"EXPLOUD!" The feisty Pokemon cried out as he fired off the powerful sound attack, the attack launched Butch, Cassidy and their Pokemon off the ground and sent them careening off into the distance.
"No way, I can't believe we're blasting off like those chumps!"
"Meoooowth!"
Exploud breathed heavily and slowly turned his attention towards Zach and May, the two froze up for a brief second before swiftly returning Poochyena and Torchic to their Pokeballs. Zach attempted to return Scorbunny to her Pokeball but found his attempt unsuccessful, confusion struck his face but he couldn't afford to question it so he simply scooped Scorbunny up alongside the unconscious jackal pup before the pair raced back towards Petalburg City.
"You think we lost him?" May panted out as she stared towards her best friend, the pair were currently hiding within a bush. Not daring to lead a rowdy wild Pokemon into town as there was a great likelihood that somebody would get hurt.
"I-I'm not sure..." Zach gazed down towards Riolu who began lightly stirring within his arms. "Riolu, you feeling good enough to scan the area? We need to make sure that it's safe."
"Rio..." Riolu lightly nodded before closing his eyes. He sensed several Zigzagoon, Wurmple and Taillow within the area but there wasn't any sign or trace of Exploud's species. "Rio!"
"All clear? Perfect!" Zach hopped and performed a quick glance of the area before helping May up onto her feet.
"That was too close for comfort," May breathed out while performing a light shiver.
"Y-Yeah, we were definitely lucky there. I'm guessing that they had set up camp in Exploud's territory, the species can be quite territorial and insanely aggressive." Zach glanced towards the direction that they'd came from but there wasn't any sign of Exploud. "Though there is one thing that's been bothering me the past while," He spoke while turning his attention towards Scorbunny. "Why didn't the Pokeball work on you?"
"Scor..." Scorbunny leaped into his arms and nestled against his chest, May found Scorbunny's behavior rather adorable but couldn't help but feel jealous of the Pokemon.
"Maybe the ball's broken?" May suggested.
Zach stared at the Pokeball for a moment before dropping it to the ground, crushing it beneath his shoe a few seconds afterwards before pulling another ball from his pocket. He gave Scorbunny's forehead a light tap but it had little effect as Scorbunny remained where she was. "That's strange, it should only do that if-" Zach went silent for a brief moment as he retrieved his Rotom Phone from his pocket, swiftly opening up the Pokedex app which displayed entry pages for Riolu, Poochyena and one other Pokemon but it sure wasn't a Scorbunny!
"Spinda?!" Zach gasped out upon realizing that he'd been had. He then recalled the Spinda that had waltzed right past them on their way to rescue 'Scorbunny' earlier that evening. Sweat poured down his forehead as he realized that Spinda was around somewhere. "W-We should track Spinda down, make sure that it's okay."
"Rio." Riolu swiftly nodded. The jackal pup walked along the trail before stopping as he dropped to one knee, his eyes closed as he read the aura around him before picking up Spinda's trail. "Rio!"
"Great job Riolu, let's go!"
"Rio!" The three raced down the trail as Riolu followed Spinda's aura before eventually coming across another clearing. "Rio!" Riolu exclaimed while pointing ahead towards a Spinda, the Spinda had a singular draconic splotch across it's forehead.
"Heh, it's just like you!" May offered him a light smirk while nudging his right arm.
Zach couldn't help but smirk at her comment before taking a step forward, intending on asking Spinda if he'd like to stay only to freeze up as another Spinda swayed into view.
"Spinda!" The female Spinda cried out, a singular maple leaf splotch was present upon her forehead.
"Spinda..." Hearts filled the draconic Spinda's eyes as he swayed his way over to her, the two Spinda stared into each other's eyes for a moment before nuzzling against each other.
"Spin..."
"Da..."
"Rio..." Riolu looked up at his trainer, hoping that he didn't have to try and explain what the Spinda just said to each other.
"D-Did Spinda just get a mate...?" Zach asked, a smile formed across his lips before he turned his back to Spinda. He didn't dare try and ruin Spinda's happiness, if there were other Spinda around then he didn't have to fear his Spinda dying of starvation. The maple patterned Spinda would help him learn how to fend for himself. "Let's head back to Petalburg, we've got to find Scorbunny's real trainer."
"Oh praise Arceus, you're okay!"
"Huh?" Zach and May turned and spotted a rather attractive woman pushing her way through the festival crowd in an attempt to reach the pair. She didn't appear to be much older than the two of them, most likely a year or two difference between them. Her long orange hair was tied into a ponytail and contained various heart shaped beads. She wore a teal colored sweater, sky blue jeans and a pair of teal colored boots.
"Scor!" Scorbunny performed an energetic wave upon spotting the older woman but she made no attempt to leave Zach's arms.
"Are you Scorbunny's trainer...?" Zach cautiously questioned, wanting to make sure that he gave Scorbunny to the right person.
"Yes and no, I watch over the starter Pokemon for my grandma but I'm not their trainer. Starter Pokemon are supposed to be free of attachments and untamed so trainers can form bonds and raise them without much hassle." It wasn't perfect as there was still a few times where starter Pokemon outright disobeyed their trainers, Professor Sycamore seemingly lost a Froakie several years back before it resurfaced in the Johto region under the care of an young trainer. But a vast majority of the Pokemon were generally well behaved and became quick friends with those that adopted them.
"You're Professor Magnolia?!" Zach exclaimed.
Sonia sweated. "Professor Magnolia is my grandmother, my name's Sonia and I'm working towards becoming a Pokemon professor of my own right." She volunteered for the trip as she thought spending some time in the Hoenn region would do wonders for her research, she wasn't aware that she'd be standing around for most of it.
"Well what's Scorbunny doing here with you then?" May couldn't help but ask.
"Well you see, tomorrow's the final day of the Galar Festival and we'll be hosting a battle tournament to end it with a literal bang! The tournament consists of a series of double battles where each team is paired off against another group of prospecting trainers, each battle consists of each team member utilizing one of their Pokemon and whichever team is left standing at the end wins the round. However the overall winner of the tournament will win a Pokemon egg of their choosing!" Sonia exclaimed while motioning towards Scorbunny. "I brought Scorbunny, Sobble and Grookey along in order to showcase what some of the eggs will grow into, you see we're midway through Galar's current season so nobody will be coming to get them."
"Makes sense." Zach knew that things worked differently in the Galar region, any prospecting trainers had to be attending the Galar League's opening ceremony or they'd be forced to wait until the next season started up.
"But then there was a bit of an incident..." Sonia leered towards a nearby table where a Grookey could be seen innocently whistling, a stick hidden behind his back while a Sobble teared up next to him.
"Sobb..." Sobble cried out, a light bandage was visible atop his forehead.
"I tried calming Sobble down and failed to notice Scorbunny wandering around, if I were to guess she was probably hungry. Her metabolism is much faster than the other Scorbunny we've had."
"Scor..." Scorbunny nervously rubbed the back of her neck while forming a light smirk.
"If that's the case then the vendors likely chased her off, I found her in the middle of the woods." Zach motioned towards the nearby woods causing Scorbunny to nervously sweat once more.
"Scor..."
"There was a bit of a ruckus, I'm not sure exactly how it happened but some criminals got a hold of her. We rescued her thinking that she was my Scorbunny, we weren't aware that I-Well I got scammed." Zach hung his head while May glared towards the Magikarp Salesman's vendor stall. The salesman saw her looking at him and smirked before pointing towards a sign that read: 'No refunds!'
"I see." Sonia formed a light glare upon noticing the salesman. "Well I'll have to inform Officer Jenny about this, that man's just taking advantage of people that don't know better."
Zach sweated lightly before holding Scorbunny out towards Sonia. "I'm just glad that she's okay, I-"
"SCOR!" Scorbunny pulled herself free from Sonia's grasp before leaping back into Zach's arms, nestling affectionately against his chest.
"S-Scorbunny?" Zach gasped out.
"Rio..." Riolu shook his head while a light smirk formed across his face.
Sonia's eyes widened from shock before forming a smirk of her own as she silently shook her head while uttering out a light sigh. "I understand now, Scorbunny's simply been waiting too long for a trainer to come pick her up and has been craving for some affection and attention. As a caretaker you have to watch how much you bond with a Pokemon, you can't do too much of it or else they'll get attached and refuse to leave the lab, possibly even disobeying whoever takes them." Sonia explained. "I'm guessing what I could offer wasn't enough and as soon as somebody offered her lots of attention and affection, she latched onto them." Sonia reached into her pocket and produced a Pokeball before offering it to him.
Zach stared at the ball for a moment before looking up at her with a look of disbelief. "You serious...? I-I can actually have her?!"
May couldn't help but smile at the sight, she was thrilled that Zach got the Pokemon that he'd wanted.
"Rio!" Riolu cheered at the prospect of having another team member.
Sonia smirked upon noticing his excitement, he was definitely the right partner for Scorbunny. "Of course, she's clearly attached to you and from the look of things? I'd say she's leveled up, all official starter Pokemon must be level five to keep things fair!" Sonia exclaimed before lifting a finger. "But there's a catch."
"Huh?" Zach and Riolu tilted their heads. "What's that?"
"Rio?"
"You see, there's quite a large number of Pokemon that are either difficult to obtain or simply unobtainable within the Galar region." Sonia explained. "I do a lot of field research to help my gran and further my own research but there's only so much that I can do on my own. So I'd like to ask a simple request, send your excess Pokemon to my-or rather my gran's lab. I can tell just from looking at you that you're a battler, having a trainer like you on our side would be quite beneficial. It'll allow the lab to have some Pokemon that aren't my own and give you a place to store your excess Pokemon." Sonia noticed the distinct lack of Treecko, Mudkip and Torchic so she assumed that he was in need of such a thing.
Zach's eyes widened upon hearing her offer. Galar may be across the ocean but Sonia could transfer his Pokemon to him in an instant, it wasn't like he was banishing them as he'd still rotate members in. Besides he was sure to find himself in a similar situation if he happened across a suitable storage place in the Hoenn region, he was heading for the Sinnoh region once their Hoenn adventure was complete so this situation was bound to happen sooner or later. Plus Sonia seemed nice, he felt his Pokemon would be in safe hands with her. "It's a deal!" Zach excitedly shouted out, drawing quite the attention to himself.
"No way, it's Zach!"
"Chimchar, chim!"
Zach turned upon hearing the familiar cry and noticed Barry pushing his way through the crowd. "Barry?! What are you doing here?"
"You honestly didn't think that I'd let you get ahead of me, did you? I've come to the Hoenn region so we can test each other's strength and grow stronger, it wouldn't be as much fun without having my rival around!" Barry excitedly exclaimed while punching the air in front of him.
"Chimchar, chim!" Chimchar copied his trainer's action.
"You better be competing in the tournament tomorrow, if I win simply because you didn't compete then I'll be forced to fine you!" Barry cried out while pointing towards Zach.
"Chimchar, chim!"
Zach and May couldn't help but sweat at how in synch the two were.
"Sure, why not? It'll be fun battling against you!"
"Rio!" Zach and Riolu gazed towards Barry and Chimchar, their gazes full of determination.
Scorbunny joins the team! I love Hoenn's Fire types but didn't feel like they would fit his team. Blaziken would but I didn't want to take it from May, and giving them both a Blaziken felt a bit ridiculous. I don't think I have to explain Camerupt's situation haha
Scarlet and Violet news today, Professors being exclusive is a bit strange but I'm in love with the box art legendary Pokemon! I might go with Scarlet but we'll see what else the games have in store first. Definitely going all in on Sprigatito though, love the little guy! :D