Due to an overwhelming comeback reception (mainly for my MHA stories, but hey, I expected as much), I decided to upload again since today is Sunday (for me at least). I'll try and publish every Sunday from now on until each of my stories are caught up. Unfortunately, my most popular story on here atm, A World Without You, is already caught up and might take a while for a new update. Apologies for that. Anyway, please enjoy today's updates. Toodles~


Robert waved back one last time at his family as he and his two friends truly began their journey in Unova. "I can still remember the first time I did this," Robert reminisced. "The start of my first Unovan journey." He smiled, looking up into the sky. "I wonder how those two are doing..."

"Hey, earth to Robert," Alex waved her hand in front of his face as they made their way towards Route 19, the taller buildings of Aspertia thinning out as they neared the edge of the city. "You had taken a call earlier from someone. Mind telling us what it was about anytime soon?"

"Ah, right," Robert nodded. "There's somewhere we need to stop by before Virbank City. Professor Juniper called me and asked for a favor..."


"I'll be right back," Robert told his two friends as he backed out of the Pokemon Center. He slid open the side to reveal another screen. He hit the answer key and the main screen flickered to life, showing Professor Juniper. The other screen showed Robert's own face.

"Good morning Robert," The Professor waved her hand, smiling. "I hope you're doing well."

"Of course," Robert nodded, deciding not to tell her about the incident last night with the thugs. "How's everything at the lab?"

She sighed good naturedly. "Oh you know, the usual. That same Pokemon of yours is causing mischief again. He's quite a handful." She smiled again. "However, that just comes with the job."

Robert chuckled. "I plan on staying here for another couple days then I'll begin to make my way back to Nuvema To-" A large shape suddenly appeared in the small screen. A massive blue head with large black fins sprouting from her head and orange ones on her cheeks. "Swaaaa!" She cried, trying to grab the Xtransceiver as her arm slid over Juniper's head.

"Hey!" Professor Juniper cried out, struggling to push the Pokemon away. "Yes, it's Robert, but-Gah!"

Robert laughed, wiping an imaginary tear away. "Hey there, how have you been doing?"

"Swaaaaaaam!"

Robert grinned. "I've missed you too. But please behave girl."

Professor Juniper managed to finally push the Pokemon away, sighing as she examined her now disheveled hair. "Anyway, could you make a stop by Floccesy Ranch as soon as possible? It seems that Pokemon on the ranch are getting sick and the ranchers don't know why. I was hoping you could take a look since you're the only person from my lab that's the closest to there."

"Yeah, of course," Robert nodded, proud that he had been given such an important task. "I'll get right on it!"

He reentered the Pokemon Center and saw Alex tapping Cubchoo's head with a pokeball. He was sucked in and after three rotations, the ball glowed green.

"Congrats," Robert said, then looked around. "Where's Zeno?"

She jerked a thumb behind her. "In the back room. Probably best not to interrupt. He's trying to get Joltik to feel safe with him."

Robert nodded. "I need to head back to the house, so meet me there once Zeno is done."

"Will do," Alex said as Robert left.


"So how is Joltik?" Robert asked when he was done explaining.

Zeno glanced down at his waist where his pokeballs were clipped. "I wish I could say perfectly fine, but that would be a lie. Mind you, Nurse Joy and Audino did a wonderful job, but..." He shook his head. "Anyway, if we need to help some sick Pokémon, shouldn't we be trying to get there as fast as possible?"

"You two want to help?" Robert palmed his forehead. "What am I saying? You two are always willing to help. But yeah," He lowered his hand. "We should pick up the pace."

"As much as I would love to see the sights on ground level," Zeno unclipped a pokeball on his left waist, enlarging it. "Flying will also give an unique experience."

"You'll need a license for that," Robert joked as Corviknight was released.

"Say what now?" Zeno glanced at him.

"He's joking," Alex rolled her eyes. "But there is some truth what he's saying. You do know a certain number of gym badges are required for flying your Pokemon around, right?"

"Well, yeah," Zeno rubbed the back of his head. "But, I already have eight from Kalos and one here. Not to mention the trials back in Alola."

"It was meant to be a joke," Robert pinched the bridge of his nose. "And Alex started ruining it with her logic. Let's just get going."


"THIS IS SO NOT COMFORTABLE!" Robert yelled as Corviknight flew over Route 19, Floccesy Town coming up just ahead. Robert, being ever generous, demanded that he would take the least comfortable seat. "It'll be a fun experience," he had claimed.

"Fun, yes," Robert said to himself, though not like he could really hear it thanks to the roaring of the wind. "Uncomfortable, yes. Suicidal, most definitely yes."

"You doing okay down there!?" Alex poked her head from where she was clinging to Zeno's back to look down at Robert, whose arms were clutched in Corviknight's talons. While it felt secure, it also didn't at the same time.

"Oh yeah!" Robert yelled back, feeling snarky all of a sudden. "It feels just great! You should really try it sometime and see how you like it!"

"What!?" Alex put a hand to her ear. "I didn't quite catch that!"

Robert grumbled to himself as he stared down as they zoomed over Floccesy Town. Robert pounded on his ride's metal plating. "HEY! HEAD A BIT MORE NORTH TOWARDS THAT CIRCLE OF TREELESS LAND! IF YOU SEE THE BARN, WE'RE GOOD! IF YOU DON'T, WE MIGHT JUST BE IN ANOTHER DIMENSION!"

Not long later, Zeno yelled, "DON'T BITE YOUR TONGUE DOWN THERE!"

"WHY-!? OH CRAAAAAAAAP!" Robert screamed as Corviknight went into a dive and the breath was driven from his lungs. The Raven Pokemon extended his wings, bringing them out of the dive and soaring them gently towards the ground. Once the ground was just a foot away, Corviknight's talons released Robert and he stumbled forwards, legs shaky as Zeno and Alex hopped off.

"Never again," Robert gasped. "Never again!"

"Oh come on," Alex patted Corviknight's back, who was looking pleased with himself. "He did an amazing job. All we need to do is put a saddle on him and we'll be good to go. It was a tad uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable!?" Robert lurched forwards, pinching Alex's cheek. "Let me tell you what's really uncomfortable." Suffice to say, Robert was soon back on the ground, nursing his now wounded head. Alex rolled her shoulder and huffed. "Pinch my cheek again and I'll clobber you harder."

Robert heard the sound of someone running. "Oh, might you be the Professor's Assistant? You're much earlier than expected."

Robert glanced up to see a brown haired woman wearing a green cap and a bucket held at her side. A Herdier bounded along beside her as she came to a stop in front of Zeno.

"Right here," Robert pulled himself back up, dusting off his jeans. "What's the situation like?" He noted that the lady, who introduced herself as Rebecca, looked like she didn't get much sleep. Her hair was matted and eyes worn.

"It's gotten worse since we've called Professor Juniper," she said as she led the three of them towards the barn. "We've called down Floccesy Town's Nurse Joy, but..." She slid the barn door open and the reek of sickness assaulted Robert's senses. Huddled on the piles of hay were Mareep, Flaaffy, and a single Ampharos who looked weak, but was walking from Mareep to Mareep, providing energy. Nurse Joy was tending to a Flaaffy next to a man with a red bandana who wore similar green clothes to Rebecca. Audino was on the opposite side of the Flaaffy, using Heal Pulse, but it didn't seem to have much effect.

Nurse Joy glanced up. "Is he here?"

"Yes," Robert hurried over, bending down to examine the Electric type. He pursed his lip, noting the obvious fever and inability to move much. "It's almost like an extreme form of Toxic. I'm assuming you've already tried Antidotes and such?"

"Of course," Nurse Joy nodded. She looked like she was trying to act professional, but Robert could tell she was feeling anxious. "I haven't had time to try and get blood samples submitted, but I've called a backup Nurse Joy to come and do that."

"It might take too long," Robert shook his head. He slung off his backpack, rifling through it. He retrieved a pouch and unzipped it. He produced a needle and a small device. He drew a sample and had the device scan the blood. The results were a bit odd to say the least.

"They have some weird chemicals in their blood, that's for sure," Robert narrowed his eyes. "Not something you would find anywhere near a ranch..." He looked at the man, whose name was Tom and who seemed to be Rebecca's husband. "Do all the Pokemon here eat the same thing?"

He nodded. "Our own special mix of pokefood, been using it my whole life. Even Herdier eats it."

Robert glanced back at Herdier. The Pokemon was sniffing the sick Pokemon and licking them to comfort them. He furrowed his brows. If Herdier was able to do that and not get sick as a result, then that meant whatever was making these Pokemon sick wasn't transmittable through air or skin. That also meant that however they contracted this sickness it would have had to been ingested someway or got into their blood via a wound.

"Tell me," Robert stood, looking at both husband and wife. "Have you noticed anything strange growing around here? Anything that's new and odd?"

They shook their heads and Robert rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He walked out of the barn, looking around. The sound of the river was both equally soothing and distracting.

Robert wheeled around. "Do you let the Pokemon drink from the river?"

"Yes," Rebecca said, then gasped, eyes widening. "You don't think they're getting sick from the water do you!?"

Robert couldn't answer that quite yet. "Does Herdier drink from the river."

"Sometimes," Tom answered. "I don't think he has lately though. He mostly drinks from his dish inside the house which we fill from the tap. We have some strong filters, so if it has something to do with the river, it might not be getting through the pipes."

"Maybe," Robert ran over to the river. It looked like a regular flowing river with nothing off about it. He grabbed his monstrosity of a device that used to be a pokedex and began tampering with its base settings. He set it to scan the water and compared the results to the blood sample he took.

"Pretty decent match," Robert stood, turning to face Rebecca, Tom, and Zeno and Alex who were standing just behind them. "Don't let any of your Pokemon drink from the river for the time being until I figure out why there are foreign chemicals in it." He turned away, activating his Xtransceiver. Professor Juniper picked up on the second ring.

"How is it?" She asked. She was definitely in work mode, her expression serious.

"I'm sending you data on their conditions now," Robert informed her. "Traditional healing won't work, so you'll have to make an antidote from scratch."

"Will do," Juniper glanced to the side at the sound of a beep. "I've got the data. Did you figure out how they're getting sick?"

"The chemicals are present in the river," Robert looked back at the flowing water and gazed where it was flowing from. Beyond the farm lay a forest, which was upstream. "I'm going to see if I can find anything upstream that could be the cause. "Considering the amount of chemicals I found in this spot, whatever is causing this must be nearby."

"I'll leave it to you then," Juniper nodded. "As soon as the antidote is made, I'll be sending it on over."

"That's perfect," Robert nodded. "I best be going." He ended the call, nodding to the farm owners. "Professor Juniper will get the cure ready and I'll go look for the cause of all this."

"Count us in," Zeno said next to Alex. He grinned. "We might as well help out however we can while we're here."

"Then I'll be counting on you two," Robert turned towards the forest. "Let's go!"


"Well?" Alex asked, crouching next to Robert as he took a sample of the river again. They had been in the forest for about a half hour at this point, continuing to follow the river.

"It's definitely stronger," Robert looked around. "And that's bad. Who knows what this will do to the wild Pokemon out here. I'll have to check in with Juniper about getting a team out here to help out the Pokemon."

The sound of a branch creaking and two figures landed on the ground next to them. Zeno brushed some leaves off of him while Greninja adjusted his tongue. "Only if you can find them that is."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

Zeno shrugged. "Greninja and I didn't find any Pokemon. Haven't you noticed the lack of Bug and Flying types around here? Usually there would be plenty in a forest like this, but..."

"Ignoring the fact you were going Tarzan up there," Robert stood. "Did you find anything else out?"

"Actually," Zeno nodded upstream. "There is something. I only got a look from a distance and I figured I'd come back and get you two."

"Lead the way," Robert said. After a couple minutes, Robert could see something up ahead. He pushed his way through the foliage and came to a stop next to the bank of the river. Lying in the river, trapped by rocks protruding from the water, were a half a dozen medium-sized crates.

"Boxes?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "What a find."

"It's what's in the boxes that I'm worried about," Robert eyed the river. "The current is a little strong."

"Florges," Alex said, sending out the Fairy type. "We need your help to get those crates out of the river."

She nodded, holding out her hands as her eyes glowed pink. Half of the crates were lifted from the river and set on the bank. The last three were safely put down a couple seconds later.

"Alright," Robert pulled two gloves on as he nodded to Florges. "Can you rip the top of one of the crates off please?" She nodded, breaking one off and setting it to the side. Robert leaned over the crate to see bundles of soggy wrapping paper. He moved them aside to reveal rotted clear pink capsules. He lifted one out, shaking it slightly. The pink liquid inside sloshed about. He shifted through the rest inside, which amounted to over a couple dozen, and found that most were broken or close to it.

"What is it?" Zeno asked.

"I dunno," Robert shook his head, baffled. "Some sort of drug perhaps? But why all the way out here?"

"Well, we found what was leaking out into the river," Alex said. "Problem solved?"

"Not quite," Robert stood. "These crates need to be removed and brought in for testing. Plus, who knows what effect this will have on the local wildlife. I suspect the chemicals in the river will get washed away down into the ocean, but that will raise even more problems. Forget the Pokemon drinking this stuff, what about the ones that have to live in it?" He disposed of his gloves, running his hand through his hair. "This is going to be a serious mess and whoever caused it is going to have to answer for a lot."


"There seems to be a couple crates missing," the business man sighed as his Natu flew back to his shoulder as he stepped out of the truck at the edge of the shipping yard. "What happened?"

"A couple of the guys said they lost a few when they were hauling 'em through the forest outside Virbank," the driver said, wiping his hands as he slammed the back of the truck shut. "Will that be a problem?"

"Imbeciles," he muttered under his breath. Louder, "Aside from losing some of our profits, if those get into the hands of the authorities, who's telling when our organization will come under speculation." He turned around, heading into the shipping yard. "I'll inform the boss."

"This could be bad for our operations," he lit a cigarette as he walked. "This will need to be handled quickly and quietly. If news of this reaches the higher ups..." He shuddered to think of what would happen if that came to pass. He wasn't afraid of many people, but there was one man he feared above all else. "If there happens to be any witnesses, well, I pity them."