KRD: Hey there everybody! KRD and GKC here for another chapter of Pokémon: The Path of Truth & Ideals! And we definitely updated this story way faster than the last time!

GKC: Considering this only took us two days.

KRD: Hence why this chapter is also a bit on the short side. But regardless, we're happy to get this out as soon as possible. Ah, right. That reminds me. G, care to tell our readers about this story being connected to yours?

GKC: Indeed. For many of you that haven't noticed, Holmes is actually the MC of my Pokémon story. His adventures are essentially the prequel to this tale.

KRD: Will our readers be expecting some spoilers from your story here? Or is it enough that it wouldn't warrant that?

GKC: Eh, there will be subtle hints here and there.

KRD: Fair enough, also in that prequel and this story, our good buddy striberx will be helping us! So good to have him onboard!

GKC: Yep. He seemed like a good source of assistance for such a story.

KRD: So with that out of the way, let's get into this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All creative and production rights for Pokémon Black and White belong solely to Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda, Hitoshi Yamagami, Shusaku Egami, Hiroaki Tsuru, Shigeki Morimoto, Shigeru Ohmori, Tetsuya Watanabe, Ken Sugimori, Takao Unno, Toshinobu Matsumiya, Shota Kageyama, Go Ichinose, Hitomi Sato, and Minako Adachi. All IP rights for Pokémon Black and White belong to GAME FREAK inc.,Nintendo, and the Pokémon Company.

Chapter 4: Back on the Road

Okay, got the towels, everyone is drying up. We went into separate rooms of the Pokémon Center to change into our spare clothes. Thankfully, the spares are the same ones as the originals. Right now, they're being taken by Don George to the local laundromat to have them dried. As we changed into our spare clothes, the image I had of Hilda was burned into mind. Sure, she's a growing teenager, but damn she had a fine bod in all the right places.

"Kris."

I flinched, hearing Hilbert as I turned to face him, "Y-Yeah, what's up?"

"We need to talk." He said.

"Uh, about what exactly?" I gulped.

Hilbert narrowed his eyes, "My sister."

Again, I flinched at this. Oh man, he's gonna beat the crap out of me for looking at her that way. It was circumstantial that I just happened to see through her clothes! I couldn't avoid that! Dammit, I just hope that I could bear whatever punishment he may have for me.

"Do you have feelings for my sister?" Hilbert asked.

"Huh?!" I blushed madly. "W-Why would you think that?"

"You think I haven't noticed how you've been looking at her since we first met? I'm not dense, man." He pointed out.

"I never said you were, I-" I clamped my mouth shut with my hands. Dammit, I screwed myself over!

"Uh-huh. And that little moment where you were staring at her chest when her clothes got wet? Speaking of which, you and I will have words about that."

"I KNEW IT, YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" I wailed, kneeling in the dogeza position.

Hilbert gave me a dry look, "Dude… you're overreacting. I'm not gonna kill you. I'm only going to tell you that I'm giving you my blessing to date her."

…

…

…

"…eh?" I looked up at him, absolutely gobsmacked.

"Pretty sure you've noticed, or maybe not, you are pretty dense. But Hilda is not like most girls. She's a tomboy at heart but she is also a shy girl when it comes to guys. She hasn't had a boyfriend in her life so when you came along, I figured this might be a good chance for her. You seem honest even if you are hot-headed and, most likely, a crybaby."

I stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before sitting down, crossing my legs and arms, looking at him suspiciously. "Okay, who are you and what have you done to the real Hilbert?"

That made Hilbert fall over comically.

"How stubbornly stupid are you?!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." I sighed heavily. "Look, to be honest, I never dated a girl my whole life either, so this is new to me as well. Besides…"

"What?"

"There used to be a girl that I liked in my world. The common thing we had was anime, manga, and fanfictions. We got along so well, but then her old man told me to stay away from her cause I got too close. And… she was already dating someone. So that's why I'm being overly cautious with this…"

Hilbert looked at me for a solid minute then did something I did not expect. He laughed.

"H-Hey, what are you laughing at me for?!" I cried out indignantly.

"You didn't hear a word I said about my sister. I told you, she has a hard time getting a boyfriend. You're making a big deal out of this, you know?"

"Mmmmmmmm…" I pouted, with puffed cheeks, looking away with crossed arms.

"I seem to be the only smart one in our group. Whatever, I just wanted to say what I wanted to say. You two will figure it out eventually. Maybe not now or maybe not tomorrow but some time." Hilbert said, heading for the door.

I sighed in exasperation. Well… I guess I'm in the clear. I can't believe he'd give me his blessing to date his sister, and so soon no less. Still… how the heck am I gonna ask her out?!

Suddenly, Hilbert popped his head back in the room. "Oh, and if you ever break my sister's heart or hurt her in any way, I'll make sure they never find your body." He said with the most innocent look on his face with a rather spine-chilling smile.

Theeeeeere he is… the overprotective brother.

So after getting our clothes dry from the laundromat and Don George giving it back to us, Hilda, Hilbert, and I, alongside Ash, Pikachu, Iris, and Axew, are really to hit the road once more. Our next stop is Straiton City. According to the map, we should be able to make it within a few days. But this was also a gamble of whether or not Holmes will still be there.

"What's that look on your face for?" Iris, the up-and-coming Dragon Master asked me.

"It's nothing… don't worry about it…" I muttered, before shaking my head. "Anyways, I'm ready to go on our adventure! We got our Pokémon, our supplies are stocked, and we're ready to hit the road!"

"I hear that!" Ash cheered, raising a fist into the air. "Gym Badge, here I come!"

"Pik! Pikachu!" The Electric Mouse Pokémon cheered as well.

"Someone's rather eager." Hilda giggled.

"Aren't you the same?" Hilbert raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, yeah, but…" Hilda sheepishly chuckled in embarrassment.

"And I thought I only had one little kid to deal with." Iris said dryly.

"Hey, who are you calling, little kid?" I asked indignantly. "I'm a lot older than you!"

"You sure don't act like it." Iris retorted rather snidely.

"Why you-!"

"Whoa, easy there." Hilbert pulled me back. "Let's not have you strangle someone."

"Hmph…" I scoffed, but relented.

Soon we were finally on the road to Straiton City. It's still surreal to me that I get to travel with the legendary Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu. Along the way, I got to hear stories from his past adventures in the other regions. Of course, I already knew, but hearing it from Ash himself was a completely different experience. He even told me about the times he'd met Holmes and his adventures with him.

"Sounds like you've been through a lot." I commented.

"Yeah, it was really something. Though, the times that I've met with Holmes, he always had such cool battle ideas. He even came up with…" Ash paused then rubbed his chin as if trying to think up the word he was missing. "Oh, right! Combo Moves! That's what he always used. It's how he managed to win the Hoenn League." He said with a wide grin. "Man, the battle we had after the tournament was one of the most awesome battles I've had yet!"

"Combo Moves? Like, he used two moves at the same time? Like a fusion?" I asked incredulously. That's incredible! I never knew that was possible!

"Yeah! He taught and trained all his Pokémon how to do them. They're so strong that everyone called them his Special Moves!" Ash chimed with equal amazement.

"Wow, talk about innovation," Hilda said in surprise.

"You can say that again. He even taught me the first move that he ever created with his Absol!"

"Oh? Lemme guess, it was an Electric-Type move and most likely taught it to Pikachu." I chuckled.

"Yep! Though it was a variation of the move, it still works! He even gave me the opportunity to name it!" Ash said, still smiling.

"Well, what did you name it?" Hilbert inquired.

"I named it, the Electric Sword!" Ash declared, imitating swinging a sword.

"Electric Sword, huh?" I mused. "What moves did you use to make it?"

"Pikachu's Iron Tail that I supercharged with his Thunderbolt!" Ash explained. "It took us weeks to perfect it though. Holmes always made it look so easy."

"Huh…" I pondered. That kinda reminds me of the Program Advance moves from MegaMan Battle Network. It's not that far-fetched when you combine certain moves to make a stronger one. The same rules apply here. Now I'm getting excited.

"Oh right, that reminds me. Do you have any other Pokémon with you on hand?" I asked.

"Well yeah, I have my Pikachu, of course, then there's Pidove, Oshawott, and Tepig."

"Wait, what? You already have two Starters from the get-go?!" Hilbert gawked.

Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Well, Oshawott kinda followed me and I found Tepig all by itself two days before I met you guys, half-starved."

Oh right… that prick Shamus who abandoned him. Well, I'm gonna make my Tepig burn his ass the first chance I see him.

"Wait, your Tepig was abandoned by its former Trainer?" Hilda gasped. "Who would do such a thing?"

"A real piece of work, that's for sure." Hilbert scowled.

"If we hadn't found Tepig when we did, then it might have…" Iris paused, not really wanting to finish what all of us were thinking.

"Well, it's a good thing you rescued him." I said. "It could've been a lot worse."

Ash nodded, "Yeah, I'm really glad too. Finding Tepig reminded me of a small adventure I had with Holmes back in Hoenn." He said, feeling nostalgic.

"Oh yeah? What did that entail?" Iris asked.

"That involved a Zorua, a bunch of Zangoose, and a lot of running." Ash chuckled sheepishly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa hold up, a Zorua?! That Pokémon is from this region! What was it doing all the way in Hoenn?" I asked, shocked.

"No idea. Chris did mention that on some occasions, Pokémon from other regions would be smuggled or brought to another region by boat or plane." Ash admitted. "Funny enough, most of his team from Hoenn were from different regions. Even that Zorua until it evolved!"

"Given his own adventures, it's not surprising." I shrugged.

"Makes sense." Hilbert shrugged in agreement.

"Yeah, he had a bunch of rare Pokémon that I never expected him to catch. He had nearly all the Eevee evolutions too! It was amazing!" Ash said with stars in his eyes.

"Whoa, he's more amazing than I originally thought." Hilda blinked owlishly. "That makes me want to battle him even more!"

"I know, right?!" Ash chimed, looking at Hilda. "Every battle I have with him is just so exciting! Even watching him battle gets me so pumped!"

"Can definitely see where you get that battle mania from." Iris deadpanned.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Ash and Hilda cried out in unison.

"Just what it sounds like." Iris said dryly.

"Axew."

Meanwhile…

"ACHOO!" Holmes sneezed quite loudly while he sat at a ramen stand eating a big bowl of curry ramen. "Ugh, damn dust." He grumbled, wiping his nose with a napkin.

"Absol, sol."

"Nah, it's not allergies. Probably just a bit of dust from traveling." Chris remarked before he continued his meal. At least, until his phone suddenly went off. "Man, now what?"

Looking at what was happening, he noticed that it was a text. Reading it for a bit, his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, sweet!" He grinned widely before rapidly finishing his meal and paying for it.

"Come on, Absol! We need to get to the Pokémon Center!" He told his faithful partner.

"Sol! Absol! Sol!"

"Well hurry up and finish, or I'm leaving without you!" He shouted back, already walking off.

Absol rapidly ate her own meal and followed after her trainer.

After walking several more hours, our group and I decided to take a break at one of the local rivers nearby. Hilbert and Iris went on to cook our meals while Ash was giving proper care to his Pokémon, as well as letting our other Pokémon out to relax and play while waiting for our food.

As for me, I was sitting on the grass in one spot, a Poké Ball in hand as I was painting the top half of it. Yeah, you heard me, I'm gonna be painting my Poké Balls. I got a thin paintbrush and some watercolor paint from the local art store while stocking for supplies. It's gonna be a pain in the ass later on if I don't know which Pokémon I'm sending out to battle. And as much as I like the other Poké Ball designs, at least the ones I'll paint will have more uniqueness to them.

"What are you doing?" I nearly jumped when Hilda asked me out of the blue from behind.

"Ah, geez, Hilda! Seriously?" I cried out in shock, a hand over my heart.

"Sorry, sorry." Hilda hastily apologized then looked over my shoulder. "Are you painting your Poké Balls?"

"Yeah. I don't wanna get confused on who I'm gonna send out into battle." I chuckled sheepishly. "So this is the best way to do it."

"How could you get confused?" Hilda pondered. "All Pokémon Trainers can tell which Pokémon they want to choose."

"When you all have Poké Balls of all the same color?" I asked dryly.

"Our belts have identity locks. It's what happens when we register a Pokémon. They allow us to tell which Pokémon we have on hand along with which ones we want to use."

"…Really? It's that convenient?" I asked, not entirely convinced.

"Yeah, it's not like we can just look inside the Poké Balls or anything." Hilda giggled.

I slumped my shoulders with my head hung down. Well, that's great. I spent money on art supplies for nothing…

"But don't let that stop you. All Trainers can be as unique as possible." Hilda quickly reassured me.

"Really? I can?"

"Sure, besides, it's not like the Poké Balls you paint are gonna be on the Poké Mart store shelves." Hilda giggled again. "I think it's kinda cool."

*BA-DUMP!*

I felt my heart skip a beat at the compliment. She thinks it's cool.

"Come on, is the food ready yet?" Ash whined.

"Hold your Rapidashes, it's almost done!" Iris said annoyed.

"But I'm starving~!" The Pride of Pallet Town groaned.

"Pika, pika…" Pikachu patted his trainer and best friend's shoulder reassuringly.

"Heh, no matter how you look at it, he really is a kid." I chuckled.

"Yep." Hilda agreed.

Unbeknownst to them, a duo of strangers and a feline watched the events unfold in front of them from behind several bushes, several feet away.

"Look at that. The twerps have doubled their numbers." A female voice spoke.

"Which means they must have a plethora of Pokémon to poach from!" A male voice added.

"With Pikachu added to the mix, we'll give da boss those Pokémon and get ourselves a raise or even a promotion!" A second male voice with a Boston accent chimed.

"We're gonna be rich! Oh, so rich! Now it's time to get our pitch!" The trio cheered in unison.

"Woooooobuffet!"

Holmes ran as fast as he could to the Pokémon Center with Absol following behind.

"It's finally here! It's finally here!" He said with an excited grin on his face.

"Absol! Absol!"

"Oh, it's a surprise girl! But you're gonna love it!"

"Sol…" The Disaster Pokémon had the driest look on her face.

When the duo arrived at the Pokémon Center, the trainer ran up to Nurse Joy, "Excuse me, I heard there was a package for me?"

"Name?"

"Holmes."

"Holmes… Holmes…" Nurse Joy looked at the computer and nodded with a smile. "Yes, it had just arrived. One moment while I go fetch it."

"Thank you." Holmes said before he and Absol sat down at a couch to wait for his package. "Not long now, girl."

"Absoooooooool…"

"Oh, trust me, it's gonna be worth it."

"Mr. Holmes, I have your package." He heard Nurse Joy call out.

Holmes comically used 'Extremespeed' towards Nurse Joy, much to Absol's surprise. "Thank you!" Holmes said gratefully, taking said package before using 'Extremespeed' once to return to the couch.

"...Sol."

"Relax, this will make you happy." Holmes said, opening the package to reveal a case, which he opened to reveal a Poké Ball as well as a separate small box that had a heart symbol on it. "It's finally here."

"Sol?" Absol got out. "Absol, sol?!"

"Not just a Pokémon, but also some Kalos-only treats that I had specially ordered for us." Holmes said before grabbing the Poké Ball. "Speaking of which, we still need to greet our new friend."

He tossed the ball into the air which released the Pokémon within. What came out was a white, bipedal, bishōnen-like Pokémon. Its lower body consists of rounded hips with strong legs. It has a thin green torso with sharp, red horns sticking out of its chest and back. Its arms resemble tonfas with extendable, blade-like elbows. Its head resembles a gladiator's helmet with a white face, red eyes, and a teal head crest. It has spikes on the sides of its face.

"Galla." The new Pokémon said, looking at Holmes before bowing with courtesy.

"Good to see you too, Gallade. Glad to see that Cynthia kept her word." Holmes said, greeting the Pokémon. "And by the looks of it, you've gotten strong under her tutoring."

"Gallade." The Blade Pokémon nodded before performing a few moves akin to martial art-like movements with his arm blades.

"Well, my friend, ready to travel alongside me and Absol for old times sake?" Holmes asked.

"Gallade. Gall."

"Good to have you back. And… welcome home…" Holmes smiled softly.

"Gallade." The Blade Pokémon knelt before Holmes like a knight swearing his allegiance to their lord while Absol strolled up to her companion.

"Absol." She greeted Gallade with a nod.

"Ga." Gallade returned the gesture to Absol.

"Alright! Time to dig in!" Ash cheered. For today's lunch, it was the chowder that Mrs. Hilary made that day. Hilbert followed the recipe to the letter and was exactly how it tasted. The Pokémon were happily eating their own food and as for Pikachu, yup, he's still licking the tip of a ketchup bottle to this day.

"I gotta know, Ash. What got Pikachu so addicted to ketchup?" I asked, while I had a spoonful of the chowder.

Ash blinked owlishly before shrugging, "No idea. Pikachu's always liked it." He replied.

"Pika~"

"See? I think Pikachu just naturally likes it." Ash answered.

"Meh, fair enough." I shrugged.

"So what's with you painting your Poké Balls?" Iris asked.

"Uh… I wanted to be unique?" I answered sheepishly.

"That's why? I mean, it's your life but that kinda makes it seem like you won't know which Pokémon you might want." She pointed out.

I flinched at this. How did she know?!

"That's… actually why." Hilda giggled.

"Hilda!" I scolded, looking absolutely scandalized.

"Wow, you must be an even bigger little kid than I thought, if that's why." Iris said with a sly grin.

"Mmmmmmmmmm!" I puffed my cheeks in annoyance.

"Leave him alone." Hilbert waved off. "If that's how he wants to function in this world, then let him."

"Fine, fine. I'll leave him be." Iris said, eating her chowder.

Thank you, Hilbert, my future brother-in-law!

"So, what do you think the Striaton City Gym Leader is like?" Ash wondered aloud.

"From what I heard, it's also a part-time restaurant." Hilbert said. "It's run by three brothers who happen to be the waiters of said restaurant/Pokémon Gym."

"So Hilbert, Kris, and I thought of taking them on, all at the same time." Hilda grinned. "In a Triple Battle."

"That sounds so cool!" Ash beamed happily. "I've never heard of a Gym having three Gym Leaders!"

"Plus, it'll be easier for all of us to get our Badges at the same time." I added.

"Also true." Hilbert shrugged.

"Plus, we could score some pretty good eats at that restaurant." Hilda added.

"I hear that!" Ash cheered.

As we continued to eat, I noticed something at the corner of my eye, something gleaming until…

*POOF!*

A net shot out from the bushes?!

"LOOK OUT!"

"Pika?!" Pikachu squeaked before the net caught him, Axew, Snivy, and Hilbert's Oshawott. It was then suddenly pulled away into the bushes. "PIKAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"Who the-!" Hilda said, shocked.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Oh dammit, tell me this isn't who I think they are…

"Prepare for trouble, you know the drill!" A female voice spoke.

"And make it double, you'll get your fill!"

They then revealed themselves with the net of Pokémon attached to some net machine.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

And out came a familiar redheaded woman and a blue-haired man.

"It's Jessie!"

"And it's James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Hopping in front of the duo is a feline Pokémon.

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Woooooobuffet!"

"Team Rocket?! You again?!" Ash growled.

"Why can't you losers take a hint!?" Iris shouted, equally mad.

"You know them?" I asked. Of course, I knew who they were. They've been trying to catch Pikachu for over 25 years and they still fail! Like seriously, what's so special about Pikachu anyway? At the end of the day, he's just an Electric Mouse! Nothing fancy about him at all!

"Yeah, that's Team Rocket! They've been following me everywhere I go! They go around stealing other people's Pokémon too!" Ash said.

An idea then formed in my head.

"Really? They've been stalking you?" I asked in faux surprise.

"NOT YOU TOO! WE ALREADY HAD THAT ARGUMENT WITH THAT OTHER TWERP WITH THE ABSOL!" Jessie suddenly yelled.

Huh, so Holmes beat me to it already. Damn… oh well. Doesn't mean I can't mess with him.

"You've been chasing Ash around in… what, five regions?" I turned to Ash for confirmation, which he nodded. "Yeah, that qualifies as being a stalker."

"GRRRR! I AM NOT GOING THROUGH THIS AGAIN!" Jessie growled loudly.

"Hey, you're the one messing around, stalking a 10-year old kid!" I said. "I'm surprised that the authorities didn't give you a restraining order! Because that's just damn disturbing."

"Yeah, you buncha creeps!" Hilda snapped. "Keep this up and you'll be registered as sex offenders!"

*GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!*

That seemed to finally snap Jessie's cord. "Why you…! That's it! Woobat, shut those twerps up with Air Slash!" She yelled, throwing a Poké Ball. Coming out of it was a blue, spherical Pokémon, covered in shaggy fur and has a large, piggish nose with a heart-shaped nostril. Two tufts of shaggy fur hide its eyes, and its mouth has a single fang in the center of its upper jaw. There are two relatively small, black wings on either side of its body.

"Woobaaaaat!" Woobat sounded off, flapping its wings rapidly and sending slashes of air towards us.

"Oh no, you don't! Pidgey, counter with your Air Slash!"

"Crrrrrrrrroooooo!" The Tiny Bird Pokémon flapped his wings and sent out the same attack, neutralizing the attack.

"Do it again, Woobat! Air Slash!" Jessie commanded, fury written all over her face.

"Tepig, counter it with Flamethrower!" I commanded.

"Te! Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig!" The Fire Pig Pokémon unleashed a stream of flames that hit Woobat on target, before falling to the ground.

"Why you-! James, you do something!"

"Me? But I don't have a Pokémon." James complained.

"Grr! Meowth, you're a Pokémon, so why don't you help?" Jessie scolded the feline.

"Hey, don't look at me, sistah. I'm not the battling type." Meowth shrugged, but it fell on deaf ears as Jessie grabbed him by the back of his fur.

"Get! In there!" Jessie shouted, chucking the poor feline cat over to us.

"UWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Okay Pidove, use Wing Attack to send Meowth flying!" Ash commanded.

Pidove crooned fiercely as it flew towards the screaming Meowth and used its wings to rapidly slap the feline across the face.

"Why me?" Meowth groaned in pain with swollen red cheeks.

"Pidove, one more time! Wing Attack!" Ash ordered, which Pidove swiftly followed, smacking Meowth right into Woobat with enough force to send them both flying into Jessie and James. Inadvertently for them, the net holding the Pokémon captive was set loose and fell to the ground, and Pikachu, Axew, Snivy, and Hilbert's Oshawott made a run for it towards us.

"Hey, buddy!" Ash said, catching Pikachu in his arms with a smile.

"Axew, are you okay?" Iris asked her partner as it hugged her.

"Snivy, I'm so glad you're safe!" Hilda said, rubbing her cheek against the grass snake.

"Glad to see you're alright, Oshawott." Hilbert patted his partner's head, much to its joy.

"Oh, no. This is bad." James murmured in horror.

"We're in for it now." Meowth added.

"Wooooooobuffet…"

"Give it up, Team Rocket." I said, approaching them. "Why don't you find yourselves a more honest job instead of this? Like seriously, what do you get out of stealing Pokémon, besides the obvious? And another thing, Ash's Pikachu isn't that special if you really think about it. Cause at the end of the day, your boss could care less about one!"

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed in, sounding rather… indignant. As if I had offended him.

"No offense, buddy. You and Ash have something special, don't get me wrong." I said. "But they don't understand and appreciate that."

"What would a twerp like you know!?" Jessie shouted.

"Oh, I know plenty." I said before smirking. "Like how this next part is really gonna hurt."

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered his trusted partner.

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikachuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

A Thunderbolt was fired at Team Rocket, who took the blow like always before an explosion engulfed the trio and their Pokémon.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

"Wooooobuffet!"

*DING!*

Heh, that never gets old. But at the same time, this isn't the last we've seen of Team Rocket.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say." Hilda huffed, with hands to her hips.

"You say that now, but they'll be back." Ash said before deflating. "They always come back."

"Don't you ever get tired of them?" Hilbert asked.

"At this point, I just treat them like an everyday occurrence." Ash answered dryly. "They're not really all that dangerous."

"Yeah, I get the feeling that they're always not that serious when it comes to their heists…" I muttered, before turning to my Pokémon, kneeling down to their level. "Great work, Tepig, Pidgey. You two were awesome." I smiled.

"Tepig! Tepig!"

"Crrrrrroooooo!"

"Guess we can forget about having a nice lunch." Hilbert said, looking at the ruined food that had been knocked around due to the battle with Team Rocket.

"Man, I didn't even get to have seconds…" Ash whined, crying comical tears of pain at the loss of his meal.

"Hmhmhmhmhm…" I chuckled. "Not to worry, my hungry friends." I declared as I dug into my bag and pulled out… several instant ramen in a cup! "When in doubt and an emergency, always pack ramen!"

"Ahhhhhh, you're my hero!" Hilda suddenly hugged me.

"Uwhaaaa, Hilda! Wait, whoa, whoooooa!" I cried out as I fell over, the ramen cups falling over in several places. "Unnngh…" I groaned as I gathered my bearings, only to regret it when I saw Hilda… on top of me, her face being close to mine as we stared at each other in shock. "Uh…"

"Wow, I had no idea you two had that kind of relationship." Iris decided to tease the both of us.

"What relationship?" Ash pondered aloud in confusion.

Hilda immediately got off of me as we sat up with a heavy blush, "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

"Why are your faces red then?" Iris asked, slyly.

"YOU'RE JUST SEEING THINGS!" We shouted again.

"You're even speaking in unison. How adorable." The up-and-coming Dragon Master cooed.

"Ahhhh mou~ I'm gonna cook the ramen!" I cried out before quickly picking up the ramen cups and going over to the river to fetch some water to boil.

"And we'll clean up this mess." Hilbert said, sparing me and his sister further embarrassment. With this, he dragged his sister away to help with cleaning up camp, leaving Ash and Iris with nothing else to do except wait. Ugh… I'm never gonna live this down.

SAVE FILE

Player Name: Kris
Pokémon: Tepig, Pidgey
Badges: None

Player Name: Hilda
Pokémon: Snivy
Badges: None

Player Name: Hilbert
Pokémon: Oshawott
Badges: None

Player Name: Ash
Pokémon: Pikachu, Pidove, Oshawott, Tepig
Badges: None

Player Name: Iris
Pokémon: Axew

Saved On: 11/6/23