xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Castelia City, 12:00 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the docks of the largest city of the Unova region, Castelia City, a motorized rowboat carrying Keats was moving at full speed on the water until Keats slammed the bow of the boat into the front of the pier. Upon crashing into the concrete, Rotom emerged from the pocket of Keats and floated nearby.
"Did you have to zzzzlam the boat?!" Rotom exclaimed as it shifted itself behind Keats as the chubby trainer scrambled to grab his bags.
"Doesn't matter! Is Stunfisk still behind us?!" Keats shouted frantically.
"I can't tell- oh no! Here it comezzzz!" Rotom said as it scanned the water before noticing a flat creature swimming towards them.
With its mouth sticking out of the water like a shark fin as it approached, the evil and violent Stunfisk that has attacked Keats throughout Unova continued its pursuit of the bearded young man as Keats looked on in horror.
"Uh?! Uh?! Ah-ha!" Keats muttered in a panic before noticing a life preserver ring underneath his seat in the motorized rowboat. "I got an idea!" He exclaimed as pulled out one of his Pokéballs.
"What are you gonna do, zzzzt?" Rotom asked.
"Pineco! You're on call!" Keats said as he opened up Pinecos Pokéball as the pinecone shaped Pokémon emerged, standing on the inside of the boat.
"Pineco!" Pineco said as she turned towards Keats.
"Pineco! We're being chased by Stunfisk again, but I have a plan. Put this on." Keats said with a serious tone as he put the ring around Pineco with it tightly fitting around the Bug type Pokémon. "Okay Pineco, when Stunfisk gets close, I need you to use "Self-Destruct" and then we blow it away like last time. Got it?" He explained.
"Pineco!" Pineco said with serious eyes as she understood his plan.
"Again with the explosionzzzz?" Rotom questioned with a raised eyebrow on its screen.
"It's an idea that works!" Keats said as he lifted up Pineco over his shoulders.
Standing on the boat, Keats proceeded to chuck Pineco into the water as Stunfisk continued to approach. Floating in the water from the life preserver, Pineco waited with serious eyes as the flatfish-like Pokémon angrily continued to swim towards Keats.
"Now! "Self-Destruct!"' Keats shouted as Pineco proceeded to glow.
"Piiiiine-co!" Pineco said as she exploded, the smoke cloud forming as the shockwave sent the water in different directions and rocked the boat Keats was on as he put his hands on the sides of the pier to keep himself from falling into the water.
"Stunfisk!" Stunfisk exclaimed as it went flying through the air from the blast as Keats watched from his slightly damaged boat with the Rotom phone floating nearby.
"Haha! It worked!" Keats said with a happy tone and raised arms.
"Uhhh, your Pineco, Keatzzzz?" Rotom asked as Keat watched as the smoke dissipated.
Still in the water and in the still intact life preserver, Pineco had swirled eyes of unconsciousness and her body was charred black from explosion soot.
"Oh..." Keats muttered as he went back to the end of the motorized rowboat and pulled on the pump to start it up once again as he went in reverse to where Pineco was. "Come on, I gotcha..." He said as he picked up his Pokémon from the water, removed the life preserver and placed her in the boat.
Reaching into one of his bags, Keats pulled out one of the few remaining Revive pills he had left, cracked it open and let the dust sprinkle onto Pineco. With the soot from her explosion disappearing from her body and her swirled eyes returning to normal, Pineco blinked back to normalcy.
"Pineco..." Pineco said as she looked around.
"Good work." Keats said casually with a thumbs up before taking out Pinecos Pokéball and recalling her back inside.
"Zzzzomeone at this point in Unova probably thinks there izzzz a mad bomber on the loose in the region..." Rotom thought with an exasperated expression on its screen.
"When is that damn Pokémon just gonna leave me alone...?" Keats said as he pulled on the motor again to make the damaged boat go straight towards the pier once more.
"I don't know. I didn't think Zzzztunfizzzzkzzzz had that kind of tenacity." Rotom said as Keats docked the boat.
"I just want it to go back to whatever mud pit it crawled or flopped out of and just stay there!" Keats exclaimed in frustration. "Well... At least we made it to Castelia in one-...piece." He continued until he looked down at the boat and noticed a leak with water beginning to cause the boat to slowly sink. "Okay! Time to get away from the ocean!" Keats exclaimed as he turned his body towards the pier and jumped up to the ledge, pulling himself up.
"...That salesman in Virbank City is definitely not getting his boat back." Rotom said as it floated next to Keats on the dock.
"Nope..." Keats said as he turned around and walked towards the city.
Taking a stroll through Castelia City, Keats looked around at the many buildings and skyscrapers as Rotom floated alongside Keats as he walked.
"Welcome to Castelia City, the largezzzzt city in the Unova region." Rotom said as Keats walked while looking away from the phone. "Thizzzz city is known as the "heart of business" for the entire region but somehow isn't the most populated location in the region. In comparison, its sister location, Nimbasa City, is far more known for entertainment and leisure and is vastly more populated despite it being-" The phone Pokémon continued until Keats cut it off.
"Shut up Rotom..." Keats said with an unenthusiastic tone.
"...Smaller, zzzzt." Rotom said, finishing up its prior sentence.
"All I want to do is find this punk kid and get him to admit to stealing Maries Lopunny." Keats said in a semi-serious tone.
"...Fair, zzzzt." Rotom said.
"Noticed at the docks they don't have a set up yet for the fishing contest." Keats said as he continued to walk through the streets.
"Don George zzzzaid the contest is in two days." Rotom said.
"So roughly speaking, it's tomorrow since we were told that last night." Keats said with a sigh.
"This city also has a gym. A gym for Bug types. Oh and the gym leader named Burgh is an accomplished artizzzzt and-" Rotom said as it continued to make small talk.
"I don't really care Rotom..." Keats said with a more serious tone.
"Why do you zzzzeem so agitated?" Rotom asked.
"...I'm on edge, okay...?" Keats replied. "We're on the doorstep of the little dirtbag who stepped on my hand. I want to find him as quickly as possible and then ram Timburrs log through his obnoxious skull." He continued as he walked while looking at the various people on the streets as Rotom moved to looking in the same directions.
"Don't see Carter, zzzzt." Rotom said as its eyes shifted on its screen.
"We're probably not gonna find the punk out on the streets. If anything, we're probably gonna need to look in a certain place." Keats said as he scratched his head.
"The Battle Club, zzzzt." Rotom said.
"Bingo..." Keats replied as proceeded to walk further down the street, heading in the direction of the Castelia City Battle Club.
After a moment of walking, Keats had walked through Castelia City until stopping at the sliding glass front doors of a Battle Club facility. Looking up at the large symbol of a battlefield in the shape of a Pokéball in front, Keats shook his head for a bit before entering and approaching the front desk.
"Hello, welcome to the Don George Battle Club of Castelia City." The front desk worker said as Keats pulled out his Rotom phone and showed his trainer card.
"Yeah, I'm already signed up for the circuit. Is Don George around?" Keats asked as he put away the Rotom phone.
"Yes, he is currently officiating a bout in the arena. You're welcome to watch." The front desk worker said as he pointed towards the back area of the Battle Club.
"Thanks..." Keats said while looking at the doors as he walked past the front desk.
Opening one of the doors, Keats walked in to see the backsides of a large crowd of people, watching a Pokémon battle in progress. Shifting forward, Keats shuffled through the crowd so he could get a view of the battle as he got in front. Looking on, Keats saw an unknown yellow and green praying mantis-like Pokémon with red circular eyes and two tiny spike-like feet in front of a young boy in a t-shirt, shorts and backwards cap.
"What's that...?" Keats thought as he pulled out his Rotom phone and checked the Pokédex.
'"Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon. A Bug and Grass type. It keeps its eggs warm with heat from fermenting leaves. It also uses leaves to make wrappings for its offspring, Sewaddle."' Rotom said as it read off the Pokédex entry for Leavanny.
"Huh... That's mildly interesting." Keats said aloud as Rotom floated out of his hand.
"Who's it facing, zzzzt?" Rotom asked as Keats looked over as his eyes widened.
"...Him..." Keats said with a shocked look as he pointed at the familiar face opposing the child with the Leavanny.
On the other side of the arena was a teenage boy with a blonde mullet and sporting a brown and black pilot jacket over a green shirt, brown pants and brown sneakers with a ring with a rainbow stone on the middle finger of his right hand. Standing in front of him was a familiar brown and white furred rabbit-like Pokémon but unlike the one Keats was familiar with, this one had slightly longer legs with black fur around them and its ears looked like they were in braids.
"Carter and Lopunny..." Keats said as he looked on.
"She's in her Mega Evolved form, zzzzt." Rotom said as they looked on with the rest of the crowd.
"That kid is toast..." A random stranger in the crowd said as Keats overheard.
"Picking a Bug and Grass type is one thing but to face Carter, kid has no chance." A different stranger in the crowd said.
"Once his Lopunny is out, it's all over." Another random person said as Keats looked on.
"It's not even "his."' Keats thought as he made a disgruntled expression.
"Leavanny, use "Leaf Blade!"' The trainer in the backwards cap exclaimed as his Leavanny rushed at Mega Lopunny.
"Leeeavann!" Leavanny said as its right leaf-like hand had turned into a green energy blade.
"Dodge." Carter said confidently with his arms folded.
Mega Lopunny proceeded to jump over Leavanny as it swung its energy blade before landing behind the mantis-like Pokémon.
"Use "Close Combat."' Carter said, once again with confidence.
Upon his command, Mega Lopunny proceeded to form fists with both hands and begun to strike Leavanny in quick succession with alternating punches and kicks. Sending the Bug and Grass type flying into a wall, Leavannys eyes swirled in defeat.
"Leavanny is unable to battle." the Castelia City Don George said as he stood on his referee stand. "The winner is Lopunny!" He continued.
"Oh man..." The trainer in the backwards hat said in a defeated tone as Keats looked on with a twitch in his eye as Carter walked forward.
"Like I said when you wanted to challenge me, you were in way over your head." Carter said with a cocky attitude as he pulled out his Pokéball and recalled Lopunny.
"Yeah... No denial there." The trainer in the backwards cap said while recalling his unconscious Leavanny as he looked at the slightly taller Carter as the teen reached out his hand.
Assuming for a handshake, the backwards capped trainer lifted his hand to grab his Carters until Carter pulled his hand away.
"Aren't you forgetting something that should be in that hand?" Carter said with a smirk.
"...Oh..." The trainer in the backwards cap said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of dollar bills.
"That's more like it." Carter said as he grabbed the money from the kid.
"Another win for Carter..." A person in the crowd said.
"And another trainer with a lighter wallet..." Another person in the crowd replied.
"Hey." Don George said as he approached Carter. "Congrats on the victory but remember... Betting is a gray area when it comes to conduct in the club. If you had a bet of some kind, please handle that kind of thing outside of the facility." He said in a stern tone.
"Ah, yes, yes. I remember, Mr. George." Carter said with a nonchalant voice as he put the money in his pocket. "I'm giving my wallet some "stretches" before the big potluck." He continued.
"That being said, a reminder to all." Don George said as he turned towards the crowd. "The fishing contest to decide the eight participants in the PokéPotluck tournament is tomorrow morning." He announced.
"And all of you should just give up before you even enter." Carter said with a cocky tone as members of the crowd looked at him with scorn.
"You think you're just gonna win without a fight!?" A person in the crowd shouted in an angry tone.
"Bring it on you punk!" A different individual in the crowd exclaimed.
"...Someone's not trying to make any friends..." Keats thought as he looked at the brash teen and his nonchalant attitude.
"Bring it on! Like you could even hope!" Carter exclaimed with a smirk as he turned around and walked away from everyone.
"Not much of a charmer, eh Keatzzzz?... Keats?" Rotom said as it floated next to Keat just glared at the teenage trainer.
Sometime after the battle between Mega Lopunny and Leavanny, Carter was in a locker room area somewhere in the Battle Club facility as he sat on a bench and looked at a blue backpack. Walking into the locker room was Keats, trying his best to remain calm, cool and collected as he looked around past the lockers until he spotted Carter in the room.
"Don't threaten him... Try and talk to him first." Keats thought to himself as he approached Carter from behind before standing slightly behind him until Carter noticed someone was beside him.
"...Yo, you got a problem or you just gonna stand behind me like some-" Carter said as he stood up and turned around to see a tall and chubby man with a beard standing up behind him. "Creep..." He said, finishing his sentence and he recognized who was in front of him.
"Remember me?" Keats said with a scowl. "Screw the calmness, I'm kicking this kids butt!" He thought with rising rage as he grabbed Carter by the collar and lifted him off the ground, against the lockers.
"Ah!" Carter stuttered in shock as Keats snarled at him.
"You remember now!?" Keats exclaimed angrily. "Does the name "Marie" riing a bell? Or how about "Dibiase?"' He asked with agitation in his voice.
"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy!" Carter said defensively. "He found me?!" He thought with confusion and frustration. "I-I don't know who that is, and I don't know who you are!" Carter said.
"Oh really? Then let me ask you something. You don't recall you and five friends of yours breaking into my sister and husbands' home in Johto, stealing my sisters Pokémon and then beating me up!?" Keats said angrily as he recalled events from earlier in the month.
"Look, just calm down man! I-I..." Carter said frantically. "I'm just some trainer... And a good one!" He said.
"Yeah, a trainer using someone else's Pokémon like it's his own. Sure gives you some advantage over everyone else, don't it?!" Keats said with a scowl.
"I don't know what you're talking about... All my Pokémon are my own..." Carter said as he turned his head to the side. "Just gotta reach..." He thought as he moved his hand down slightly and out of Keats sightline.
"Oh yeah, and I bet this is something you just dug up in a ditch!?" Keats said as took one of his hands off Carter and pulled up his right wrist, showing his hand that sported the Mega Evolution stone on a ring.
"I mean... That could be true." Carter said as his free hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokéball, it expanding with a tap of the button in front.
"Oh come on! I make the stupid comments around here, not you!" Keats exclaimed in frustration. "Enough with the small talk..." He said as he put Carter down onto his feet. "Give me back my sisters Lopunny and the Mega Stone and then you're going to tell me where your friends are..." Keats said with a stern tone.
"Don't know if I can... But I can certainly do one of those things." Carter said until a smirk formed on his face.
"Huh?" Keats mumbled with a raised eyebrow as the Pokéball hidden in Carters other hand opened.
Emerging from the light of the ball was Lopunny as the female rabbit-like Pokémon stood nearby in her regular form with a blank expression on her face.
"Lopunny! Hey, its Keats. Remember, the guy your owner used to have brush your ears and then you would smack me for pulling too hard?" Keats said as he was distracted by Lopunnys sudden appearance. "Lopunny?" He said as he noticed the emotionless face the Normal type Pokémon gave him. "Hey, what's wrong?" Keats asked as she blankly stared.
"She's not your Pokémon." Carter said as Keats turned around back towards him. "She's mine..." He said with a smirk. "Lopunny, "Close Combat!"' Carter exclaimed as Lopunny made fists with her hands.
"Whoa, wait- plugh! Batugh! Pfugh!" Keats said until all he could make was grunts from being hit.
Alternating with kicks and punches, Lopunny begun to beat the tar out of Keats as her strikes hit him in the face, chest and sides. With one final strike from a kick by Lopunny, Keats went flying through the air and slammed into some of the lockers, knocking them over.
"Good work..." Carter said as he walked over to the now downed Keats, laying on his back. "I think I do remember you now..." He said in a mocking tone. "When we first met, I think I did... This!" Carter said as he lifted his leg and stomped on Keats hand, the same hand that got stomped on the night of the theft.
"Gaaah!" Keats exclaimed in pain. "Not again! Guh!" He thought as he clutched at his reinjured hand.
"How'd you manage to find me out here in Unova?" Carter asked as he bent down slightly.
"You were... Doing a... Crappy job... Hiding..." Keats said slowly.
"Oh please, like I needed to hide." Carter said, dismissing Keats comment as he pulled out his phone, looking up Keats' trainer card. "Only two losses in the club? What, you just started as a trainer or something?" He asked in a mocking tone.
"What's it to you?!" Keats said in frustration on the ground.
"I thought if anyone was gonna come looking for me, it'd be someone with experience. Not some tubby wannabe." Carter said mockingly as he stood up. "Lopunny, return." He said as he pointed the Normal types Pokéball at it and recalled her.
"How is she... Listening to you?" Keats said in pain.
"I'll never tell... Later loser." Carter said as he grabbed his backpack and walked away from Keats, exiting out the door to the locker room as Don George and some of his staff had rushed inside from a different entry way.
"What happened in here?!" Don George exclaimed as he looked at the damage to the facility and Keats on the ground. "Hey, you alright?" The Battle Club manager asked as he pulled Keats up to a seated position.
"No... Pride's damaged..." Keats muttered while holding his hand still.
"You two, get the lockers back up. Come with me, I'll see if I can help you- huh?" Don George said as he lifted Keats back up to his feet until another club staff member approached.
"Sir, there's a call on the phone for you." The staff worker said.
"Can't it wait?" Don George said in response as another staff worker from the Battle Club assisted Keats in standing upright.
"It's urgent. It's from one of your brothers." The staff worker said as Don George sighed.
"Fine... Hey, you." Don George said as he looked at Keats, still wincing in pain. "Do you need to go to a hospital?" He asked as Keats stood on his own two feet.
"No, I'm good... I just need to find a place to sit down..." Keats said as he walked out of the room.
"Well... There's a sitting area in-" Don George said until Keats interrupted.
"In the front, I know..." Keats said disgruntled. "Grrr..." He thought as he walked out of the locker room to the front of the Battle Club and sat down on the steps in front of the building as Rotom popped out of his pocket.
"Keatzzzz!" Rotom exclaimed.
"Don't shout at me!" Keats said in an upset tone.
"What happened, zzzzt?" Rotom asked as it floated back slightly to give Keats some space.
"Gee... Doesn't the bruising on my face and my busted hand give you a clear indication of what happened?" Keats said sarcastically and in annoyance.
"You confronted him and then got your butt kicked, I'm azzzzzzzzuming?" Rotom questioned.
"Yup..." Keats said with a headshake as he looked around. "I thought if I could just confront him and threaten him, it'd work..." He said with an upset tone.
"Well it didn't, zzzzt." Rotom stated.
"What else could I've done?!" Keats exclaimed in a questioning tone. "I'm not exactly a "powerhouse" of planning!"' He continued.
"We are low on ideazzzz..." Rotom said with a worried tone as Keats looked at the phone.
"The only ideas we had were mine and... Ugh..." Keats said until he realized what the only other options he had were.
"Marie and Don Georges zzzzuggezzzztion." Rotom said with a serious face on its screen.
'"Only way I can beat a trainer is like a trainer" or something like that..." Keats said in frustration.
"But he knows we're after him now, zzzzt?" Rotom asked.
"...Yeah..." Keats said with annoyance. "So our options are limiting, no matter what..." He continued as he stood up from the front steps.
Walking over to a telephone pole, Keats looked at a flyer for the "Castelia Preliminary Fishing Competition."
"It's our only chance of getting a definite moment to be around Carter, zzzzt." Rotom said as Keats sighed.
"...Guess I have no choice..." Keats said with a serious tone. "But first... I need a place to recuperate and sleep off some of this pain." He continued as he walked down the street.
"We gonna check into a motel, zzzzt?" Rotom asked as Keats turned around to look at the phone Pokémon.
'"Motel?" Hell no, you know what they charge for a bed for one night? Come on, let's find a dumpster that's uninhabited by any Pokémon." Keats said casually as he walked away as Rotom looked at Keats with confusion.
"...Pleazzzze tell me you're going to shower before the fishing contest tomorrow..." Rotom stated with a disturbed face on its screen.
Anybody else need to go to the bathroom? My private one isn't working, and I am not sitting on a toilet seat that's been used by other people who probably don't wipe after using them. I knew a guy named Joe, he misread the locked door signs to a stall in a combat situation and now he eats everything through a mechanical straw. Now that Keats is in Castelia City following another unfortunate run-in with that violent Stunfisk, he has found one of the culprits who stole his sisters Pokémon, Carter. And the teenage trainer has been continuing his win streak in the Battle Club over its participants and has shown zero signs of stopping or humility. One who shows much humiliation though is Keats who sadly got his butt kicked by "Carters" Lopunny and now with his hands tied, Keats has zero choice but to participate in the Fishing Contest Prelims for the PokéPotluck Tournament to get his hands on the teenage thief. Can Keats win an entry or will Carter box out the competition to make sure he's the only one standing? Stay tuned...
Keats' Pokémon:
1. Pineco.
2. Timburr.