Time for another chapter. You can guess what the title is a reference to.
Perhaps one of our heroes will catch a Goldeen sometime.
I try to have my characters catch Pokemon gradually though.
I figured it would be better if I gave each Pokemon personality.
As such, I'll be featuring two Pokemon that haven't appeared in a while.
Chapter 42: Goldeen Needs Log
For the time being, Lucy and Jake decided to go to Mt. Ember.
It seemed that Moltres was still there.
Though it was anyone's guess as to whether she would lay eggs or not.
As a legendary Pokemon, she did not do so often. Otherwise, her offspring wouldn't be…legendary.
She didn't need to incubate them though. They were naturally hot.
It was doubtful an Ekans or an Arbok would try to eat one.
Lucy's Dugtrio decided to look around. She liked to be out of her Pokeball sometimes.
Perhaps there were stones to be found.
She came back a short while later.
But Lucy noticed something strange.
"Wait, hold on, one of you looks a bit different…" noted Lucy.
Upon closer inspection, one of the Diglett had hair on her head.
Lucy's actual Diglett showed up shortly afterwards and joined up with the Digduo.
"I think there was a bit of a mix up." noted Jake.
The Diglett nodded. Sometimes that happened.
"May I ask why you have hair on your head?" asked the boy.
It didn't seem normal for a Diglett to have one.
"Diglett." explained the strange Diglett.
To be honest, she wondered why the Dugtrio she joined up with temporarily did not have hair.
Now that he thought of it, Eevees were known to adapt to their environments.
Could it be that other Pokemon could adapt as well?
Perhaps it had to do with the volcanic rock around Mt. Ember.
"I guess you're a special Diglett." noted Jake.
Diglett nodded. She was a special Diglett.
According to the Pokedex…this Diglett was still ground type. But it was steel type as well. So it could resist techniques that other ground Pokemon would be weak against.
And yes, it did have to do with Mt. Ember's volcanic rock.
"Why'd you pair up with my friends' Digletts?" asked Jake.
"Diglett." explained the Alolan Diglett. She was feeling lonely.
"I've been there." nodded the boy. His father hadn't had the money to school him. Though it hadn't stopped him from learning how to become a Pokemon trainer.
It was good that he had friends these days.
Suddenly, Diglett had an idea.
"Diglett?" asked the steel Diglett.
"What's that? You're asking if I have room for one more? We have access to a PC system, so yes." explained Jake.
It would take forever to fill out all the PC boxes.
Diglett was happy to hear that. Whoever came up with that idea was a genius.
Jake recruited Diglett to his team.
Afterwards, they noticed something strange.
There seemed to be Team Rocket Grunts on the mountain.
But Team Rocket had been disbanded some time ago.
What was going on?
It didn't seem like they were seeing things. There were no Stantler around. They would prefer a grassy climate.
Perhaps he should listen to their conversation.
"Is this where the Ruby is?" asked one of the Grunts.
"I'm sure." answered the senior of the two.
"By the way, what were the passwords again?" asked the junior.
"You forgot already?" asked the senior.
The junior nodded.
The senior Rocket Grunt sighed.
"Repeat after me. The first password is "Goldeen needs log." The second is…"
Suddenly, he noticed Jake.
"It's the traitor!" exclaimed the senior Team Rocket Grunt, pointing at Jake.
"I thought Team Rocket was disbanded…" questioned Jake.
Perhaps news didn't travel too far from Kanto.
Johto seemed to know about it though. He knew that Kurt knew about them despite living away from Kanto.
The Grunt scratched his head.
"Perhaps we'll talk about that later with the boss. But for now it's time for you to pay the price for your betrayal!" exclaimed one of the Grunts.
It seemed they knew about Jake's betrayal…despite not knowing of Giovanni's arrest.
Meanwhile, Lucy's Natu witnessed Moltres in the sky.
Perhaps she would be able to fly like that someday.
It was a possibility.
She foresaw her evolving in the future.
Jake sent out Primeape.
"Primeape!" exclaimed the fighting Pokemon.
It would be best for the Team Rocket Grunts not to make Primeape angry.
Lucy showed up.
She sent out Golduck.
"Golduck!" exclaimed Lucy's Golduck.
He knew that Mr. Fuji didn't approve of Team Rocket's Pokemon abuse…and he was inclined to agree with him.
It was only a matter of time before those who were pushed would push back.
Fortunately, Golduck was doing well.
Golducks were rather strong. They were well balanced when it came to stats. Though there were some trainers who preferred a speciality.
Of course, it helped that the grunts had low level Pokemon compared to theirs.
One of them sent out a Cubone.
But he didn't do well against Golduck.
"Cubone…" murmured the bone Pokemon.
Water wasn't exactly his friend. Perhaps this was why they lived in caves. So they didn't have to worry about rain.
Likewise, Chinchou was capable of zapping Golbat when he tried to get too close.
"Golbat!" exclaimed the bat Pokemon.
Golbat ended up fainting.
Cubone too.
He wanted his mama.
Surprisingly, she was still alive.
She was feeling a bit under the weather though.
Maybe she should visit the Pokemon Center?
"Dang it, we lost!" exclaimed one of the grunts.
It was so frustrating losing to mere children.
They thought they were better than that.
Although, it did seem those kids were collecting gym badges.
One of them looked familiar, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.
"I guess it's time for us to retreat." noted another one of the grunts.
The two of them returned to the hideout.
But it wasn't time to celebrate.
"If Team Rocket is here, the Sevii Islands could be in trouble." noted Jake.
It might be best if they tried to defend it. Pokemon could end up being stolen.
Problem is, they didn't know where their hideout was.
There were seven islands, so there was a lot of distance to cover.
And even if there was, something told Jake that they would need two passwords. And they only had one.
Although, it was possible that a local had seen something.
It might be best to ask around.
It was also possible that one of them knew about one of their operations.
Knowing Team Rocket, it would involve Pokemon.
On the way out, Clefairy noticed that they left a ruby behind.
It looked precious, so she decided to take it.
Meanwhile…
"So let me get this straight, Sevii Islands is home to an icy cavern?" asked Ned.
One of the locals nodded.
"Odd, doesn't Sevii Islands generally have a warm climate?" questioned the boy. He had checked the temperature and the weather.
"Some trainers like to catch ice types." noted the local. It's their first line of defense against dragon types. Especially the ones that could fly.
"Fair enough." nodded the blonde.
Sure enough, his Seel loved it inside.
He began to slide around on his belly.
"This reminds me of Seafoam Islands." noted Ned.
Seel nodded. The similarities were rather surprising.
Articuno decided not to make it her home sweet home though.
Perhaps she preferred a place that was more…foamy.
Lucy's Lapras happened to like it there as well.
It wasn't a surprise, since she and Seel shared the same typing.
Lapras would probably beat Seel in a fight though. She had a much higher stat total.
Though things would probably be different if Seel became a Dewgong.
Lucy wondered if Team Rocket was planning an operation here.
Some of the wild Pokemon seemed on edge.
The Lapras especially.
And yes, there were Lapras here.
Luckily, they were breeding fairly well.
She decided to go fishing.
She ended up catching a Goldeen.
"You remind me a bit of Magikarp…" noted Lucy. Maybe because of their similar sizes.
Goldeen assured her she wouldn't evolve into anything aggressive.
However, she kindly asked if she would not be donated to an aquarium.
She preferred having a free environment. Some water Pokemon didn't mind aquariums, but she was an exception.
The aquarium staff would probably be worried about her horn piercing the glass, anyway.
"I guess I won't. I'm not sure how you would feel about being inside a Pokeball though." noted Lucy.
It would essentially be the same thing, only without the glass.
"Goldeen." explained Lucy's Goldeen.
"You wouldn't mind a Pokeball?" asked Lucy.
Goldeen nodded. She would get to travel places that way. Though she would prefer if Lucy let her go for a swim if water was nearby.
"That sounds reasonable." noted the girl.
Having discussed the terms of her capture, Goldeen accepted Lucy as her trainer.
"Maybe you'll get along with my Golduck." noted Lucy.
Goldeen was glad that Golduck didn't suffer from the headaches Psyduck were known for.
"You might not get along with Ponyta though." remarked the girl.
She was a fire type.
Personally, Ponyta and Goldeen didn't think that they were so different.
Perhaps it had to do with the horns on their heads.
Goldeen would evolve a bit faster than Ponyta would though.
Jake showed up.
He heard rumors that Team Rocket had been spotted in the area.
Goldeen seemed drawn to the lights Chinchou had.
Like Goldeen, Chinchou had another evolution.
She would evolve faster than Goldeen would though. Some water Pokemon evolved faster than others. Squirtles evolved fairly quickly, for instance. Though they had another evolution after that.
"By the way, why does your Clefairy not like Pokeballs?" asked Ned.
"Are you claustrophobic by any chance?" questioned Lucy.
Clefairy shook her head. She was not claustrophobic.
Otherwise, she probably wouldn't be piloting a small spaceship.
"Do you like wide open spaces?" asked the girl.
"Clefairy." nodded the fairy Pokemon.
She was a very social Pokemon. Of course, Clefairies had a tendency to gather together during a full moon.
"I see." nodded Lucy.
Clefairy pulled out a ruby.
"What's that you've got?" asked her trainer.
"Clef!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. She found it close to where the Team Rocket Grunts were.
"You don't suppose this is what the Team Rocket Grunts are looking for, do you?" asked Jake.
Lucy gave this some thought.
"It looks pretty valuable." noted the girl.
If Team Rocket sold that, they could earn a lot of money.
It might be enough for them to get back on their feet after their downfall in Kanto even.
"We should probably put this somewhere where Team Rocket can't get it." noted Jake.
It would be bad if Team Rocket returned.
And they had just dealt with Team Shadow too.
They decided to donate it to a museum.
Their security seemed top-notch.
Conveniently, there was one on Sevii Islands.
Specifically, Six Island.
But the curator had something interesting to say.
"Did you know that there's another just like it?" asked the man.
"Really?" asked Chris.
The curator nodded.
It was a Sapphire.
"Hmm, something tells me that Team Rocket will be looking for that too." noted Ned.
It would be best if they found it before they did.
The last thing they needed was for Team Rocket to get a sharp increase in their income.
The only problem was, they didn't know where the Sapphire was.
For now, they decided to focus on something else.
Apparently, Team Rocket was causing problems in the cave they were in before. It seemed the rumors were true.
Sure enough, they were stuffing Pokemon in bags.
No doubt they would sell them to corrupt clients.
"Stop right there!" exclaimed Lucy.
"You kids again?" asked one of the Grunts.
He had heard of them.
Lucy sent out Hitmonchan and Chris sent out Hitmonlee.
Hitmonlee was looking for an opportunity to stretch out his legs. They could stretch pretty far.
Likewise, Hitmonchan wanted an opportunity for exercise.
Luckily, the two weren't hard to deal with.
Namely because they chose Pokemon weak to fighting types.
"Rattata…" murmured the rat Pokemon.
And yes, the cold caused his teeth to chatter. With their front teeth being so big, it was pretty noticable.
Luckily, Houndour didn't mind the cold. But who says Hitmonchan used Ice Punch on him? He used Mach Punch on him. That really smarted.
Especially since it was a critical hit.
"How did we lose?" asked one of the Grunts.
The Grunt next to him shrugged.
It looked as if the wild Pokemon were safe.
Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan cheered.
But the mystery remained as to where the Sapphire was.
Fortunately, the curator gave them a decent tip.
Apparently, the Sapphire was located somewhere in the Ruin Valley.
It was located on the same island they were currently on.
So perhaps they should search there.
It seemed to be worth a shot.
But unbeknownst to the heroes, somebody else was there at the Ruin Valley.
His name was Gideon.
He was also searching for the Sapphire.
His superiors promised him a profit of the cut if he collected the sapphire for them.
So he decided to take them up on that offer.
"This is going to make me rich." he thought.
Perhaps our heroes can shut down the Team Rocket Sevii Island Branch. They shut down the one in Kanto after all. And that branch was a lot bigger.
I figured I would incorporate the Team Rocket Executives in this fanfic.
And yes, I foreshadowed somebody catching a Goldeen.