Author's Note:
Ah! I feel well again. Well enough to go back and finish the last chapter (go back and check it out if you haven't already). So as for this chapter, it's based on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, with a little bit of Resident Evil 3 sprinkled in. Would answer some reviews, but I'm pressed for time at the moment (I'll explain everything next week) so I'll answer them in the next author's note. It's gonna be a pretty long one, I'm sure...but yeah, I'll hold off answering any reviews until Thanksgiving. Capiche? Enjoy!
Episode 361: Influx
Every three years, the Smash Mansion would welcome new Pokemon from a new region into its sanctuary. These Pokemon came in many different shapes and sizes, with some strong and others on the weaker side. Some Pokemon become somewhat of a safety hazard, if not handled properly.
The mansion was set to welcome more Pokemon into its sanctuary this year, all of them coming from the Paldea region. The professors of Paldea - Professor Sada and Professor Turo - were expected to deliver the Pokemon. Master Hand, Link, and Zelda would foresee the grand inquisition.
Thanks to some undercover snooping around a few Team Rocket grunts had done at the mansion throughout the week, Giovanni learned about the new Pokemon that would be added. Electing not to get his hands messy, the Team Rocket leader elected Magolor to do his dirty work for him and capture the Pokemon. What Dimentio needed the Paldean Pokemon for, he did not say, but Magolor happily agreed to his mission anyway.
"After I kidnap the Pokemon, can I please keep one as a pet?" Magolor spoke with Giovanni over his walkie-talkie, and Giovanni could be heard groaning like a disappointed parent on the other end. "Pretty please?"
"Pokemon are not 'pets'," replied Giovanni, saying the word 'pets' with a heavy amount of vitriol. He really felt strongly about his position. "They're tools meant for domination and power."
"Gasp! How could you say that about your own Persian?! Seeing them as only a tool...no wonder you and Silver never got along. Or at least I assumed that you never got along with him."
"Magolor...if you don't focus on the mission at hand, I will not hesitate to make Gnasty Gnorc kidnap the Pokemon instead. Do you hear me?" Giovanni's commanding voice sent plenty of shivers down Magolor's spine, and it got the alien to act right.
"My sincerest apologies, Giovanni! I won't let you down! All the Paldean Pokemon will be in my possession, don't you worry!"
Magolor: Gnasty was originally designated to steal all the new Pokemon, but he's been dealing with some kind of PTSD after encountering Spyro several times. Every time he sees something purple, he has an anxiety attack. He can't even drink grape juice anymore! So alas, I have to be the guy to reel the pocket monsters to the base. I'm already on thin ice, so if I leave even one Pokemon behind...I'll be done for!
Magolor put his walkie-talkie away, walking across the street as he was on his way to the mansion. He would walk past with a young girl and a large man, who seemed like they were lost.
"According to this map, the place should be a mile away..." the young girl said to the man, as she was looking at a map in her hands. The girl looked up and saw Magolor, thinking that the alien was good with directions. "...hey! Yoo hoo! Spiky egg thingy! Over here!"
"Spiky egg thingy?! Where?" asked Magolor as his head darted left and right, only for his eyes to fall upon the young girl waving to him with a smile. "Oh, she was talking about me..."
"Excuse me! Do you know where the Smash Mansion is?" The young girl was in luck, for Magolor had been to the mansion a few times (and also had his butt kicked out of the mansion a few times).
"Yeah I know where it is, I'm heading there right now!" Magolor ran up to the young girl and man, finding them to be a very interesting pairing to encounter on a busy street. "Are you delivery people?"
"Hmph, far from it," the big man chuckled, before extending his hand to Magolor for a handshake. Magolor shook the man's hand feeling a very tight squeeze. "I am Olberic Eisenberg, one of the fiercest warriors in Hornburg. Pleased to meet you."
"And I'm Tressa!" the young girl introduced herself to Magolor, nearly dropping her large backpack during her excitement. "Mind if we accompany you to the Smash Mansion?" Magolor didn't sign up for an escort mission, but at least his final destination was all the same.
"Uh, sure! Just, um, make sure you don't drop that backpack of yours on me. I don't want it to flatten me like a pancake."
In anticipation of Sada and Turo's arrival, the mansion had a welcoming committee outside in Master Hand, Link, Zelda, Mario, and Isabelle. Those were the five individuals meant to give the professors a warm welcome. However, there was an unwanted sixth member who had to butt his way into the committee without any permission.
"I can feel him breathing down my neck," Zelda whispered to Link, who looked over his wife's shoulder at Bowser. Bowser, wanting to make a good first impression, was wearing a black suit that Dr. Eggman had gifted him in the last episode.
"Bowser, go back-a inside," Mario commanded the Koopa King, who was checking himself out in front of a small mirror as he combed back his hair. Everything had to look right for Bowser. "We got-a this under control."
"NO! I must be here," shouted the undeterred Bowser as he put his mirror and comb away, not caring if he was only three/fourths done. "It's my job to determine how sheltered these Paldean folks are."
"What is it with you and..." Link was about to reprimand Bowser, only to look up in the sky when he heard a loud caw sound. Two Corviknight were flying to the mansion. "...look alive, people! Here they come!"
"CAAAAAAAW!" one of the Corviknight cried, as he and his fellow raven brethren were flying carriages. The Corviknight duo soon made their landing, as Link and the others took a few steps back.
"So Paldea has Corviknight...that's an encouraging sign," remarked Bowser as he nodded his head thoughtfully, while Mario rolled his eyes and Zelda pinched the crown of her nose. The cabbies got out of their carriages, opening their carriage door wide.
"Here they come!" exclaimed Master Hand, as a cabbie helped two Pokemon professors out of a carriage; one professor looked primal, while the other had a more futuristic aesthetic. A clash of styles.
"Professor Sada! Professor Turo! Welcome!" Link greeted the primal and futuristic professors, respectively, as he gave them a brief moment to dust off any debris on their lab coats. Once she was done dusting, Sada took a deep inhale and exhale.
"Ah, nothing like some fresh air to get the blood pumping," Sada happily remarked, grateful that her long ride in the flying taxi had finally come to an end. The professor saw the welcoming committee and gave them a small wave. "Hey."
"Good afternoon, to you all," Turo said to the welcoming committee, he and Sada taking a few steps forward. "It is truly an honor to..."
"Screw you guys, I"m cutting in line!" Bowser shouted at the welcoming committee, rushing over to Sada and Turo and shaking their hands aggressively with his arms crossed. "The name is Bowser, nice to meet ya!"
"Um...nice to meet you!" Sada responded with a fake smile, before using her available hand to point at Bowser and mouth to the welcoming committee, "What is this guy's problem?"
"This is why you should've taken-a my advice of dropping Bowser off-a in Alaska for the day," Mario said to Link and Zelda, as Bowser finally stopped shaking the professor's hands. Bowser then took the next few moments to look at Sada and Turo, from head to toe; Sada was first.
"Some professor you are! Why are your abs exposed? And what's with the attire? Are you a cavewoman or a scientist? Pick one, lady!"
"You look like you can barely fit in your suit..." Sada clapped back at Bowser, who moved on from the primal professor and focused his attention on Turo. Turo stared menacingly at Bowser, daring the Koopa King to pick on his looks.
"And you! You look too handsome for a professor. I mean, Kukui is handsome himself, but you just seem more of a tryhard to me. Might be the facial hair."
"I'll take that as a backhanded compliment," said Turo as he retracted his hand away from Bowser, while Sada quickly did the same. Turo then looked back at the other cabbies and saw that they were having some trouble with their carriages. "Can't open the door?"
"It's...jammed...shut!" replied a cabbie with his foot on the carriage door as he tried to pry it open, before finally opening it seconds later. The cabbie fell on his back as the door came off, and a young female Pokemon trainer wearing a school uniform stepped out.
"Phew! Thought we were trapped in there," the Pokemon trainer sighed in relief, as two other trainers followed her out of the carriage. One of them was a guy with long hair, and the other was a bespectacled girl who appeared shy.
"Something we forgot to mention in that call..." Sada said to the welcoming committee, who were understandably confused as to why there were three young Pokemon trainers who made the trip. "...these three students from our academy volunteered to assist us with delivering the Pokemon."
"We figured that you could use all hands on deck," added Turo, knowing that transferring all the Paldean Pokemon to the sanctuary wouldn't be an easy task in the slightest. Props to the students for taking initiative!
"I didn't volunteer..." the bespectacled Pokemon trainer meekly stated, sounding like she was forced to fly to the mansion against her will. She already had one foot in the carriage, for goodness sake.
"We know you didn't, Penny - that's why I signed you up anyway!" the trainer in the school uniform said to her shy friend, wrapping her arm around her and trying to be inviting. "This will be lots of fun."
"I really hope so, Nemona..." After she was done sucking up her dignity, Penny glanced at her long-haired friend who was analyzing an apple in his hand. "...Arven, what are you doing with that apple?"
"This apple...is ROTTEN!" proclaimed Arven, as if a rotten apple was a heinous crime that the whole universe deserved to know of. He was holding the apple up high, with heavy contempt. "Whoever left this to bask in the sun should be ashamed."
Ann: Hm? Someone left an apple in the front yard? Why would I care about some dumb apple? Are you asking me that to remind me of something? Because I honestly have no idea where you're going with this.
"I take it that he's an aspiring cook," Master Hand said to Sada and Turo, as Arven was still holding the rotten apple up to the heavens. Arven so far was embarrassing his classmates - and the professors.
"Certainly makes up for his battling skills," remarked Turo, before getting down to business as he whistled into his fingers. Arven dropped the apple as he, Nemona, and Penny stood front and center and looked at the professors. "Alright, you three! Take the Poke Balls out of the carriages."
"We're on it!" shouted Nemona as she and her classmates went inside their carriage grabbing as many Poke Balls as possible. Nemona held three Poke Balls in one hand and threw them to send out three Paldean Pokemon - Pawni, Lechonk, and Smoliv.
"LECHONK!" Lechonk let out its cry, as the hog Pokemon already embracing its new home. Mario pointed at Lechonk, as he recognized the Pokemon from some studies he had done.
"I've read about-a this Pokemon - Lechonk," stated Mario, who had done some prior research so that he wouldn't look like such a Pokemon noob. "It has Thick-a Fat as its ability!"
"Gluttony," Nemona corrected Mario, who was now 0-1; Mario stomped his foot in anger.
"Meh, same thing...and that right-a there is Pawni, the rat-a Pokemon! An electric-type."
"You mean the mouse Pokemon." Nemona had to correct Mario a second time, and so far it wasn't looking good for the famous plumber.
"Is Smoliv at least a pure grass-a type?" A rueful shake of Nemona's head was all that was needed to crush whatever confidence Mario had.
"Chin up - you'll get the next one," Cappy encouraged the slightly downtrodden Mario, as his eyes were poking out from Mario's hat. Nemona gasped when she saw Cappy, mistaking him for a Pokemon.
"Is that a talking Pokemon?" Already getting the wrong idea, Nemona reached into her pocket and pulled out a Poke Ball. Or more accurately a Great Ball, for a better catch rate. "I gotta see for myself!"
"Nemona, I don't think that's a Pokemon..." Turo tried to warn the Pokemon trainer, who went ahead and threw her Great Ball at Cappy. Cappy was spared as Nemona narrowly missed him.
"Dang it! I was so close, too. Still working on my aim." Despite her failure, Nemona had a grin on her face as she winded up her arm. Throwing Poke Balls, as just exhibited, was not her strongest suit.
"You three follow me - I'll show you where the Pokemon sanctuary is," Isabelle said to Nemona, Arven, and Peny as she beckoned to the three. The trio of students followed Isabelle into the mansion bringing the Poke Balls, as Lechonk, Pawni, and Smoliv followed after them.
"A few gym leaders from Paldea will arrive later with more Pokemon," Sada informed the welcoming committee, as another flying taxi was on its way from Paldea courtesy of a Corviknight. "These Pokemon are a bit more on the stronger side...we're confident that the gym leaders can handle them."
When Sonic visited Cloud and Aerith in Arcadia Bay, he noted how drab Aerith's house was. One thing he pointed out was that there were no board games in the living room closet, and it apparently bothered him that much.
That is why it came as a surprise that Cloud took Sonic's words to heart, and purchased a board game that he and Aerith could play together. That board game? Snakes and Ladders, which they were playing right now in the living room.
"Cloud, you're not supposed to be on the ladder," Aerith pointed out to the swordsman, who didn't seem to care as he had moved his token several spaces across a ladder. Total disregard for the rules. "Do you even know how to play this game?"
"I dunno, I only bought it because I thought you might like it," replied Cloud, before taking the die and giving it a good shake...only to eventually stop when he realized something. "Wait, it's your turn, right? I've hardly been paying attention."
"Yo, Cloud, let a brotha in!" Funky Kong shouted from outside the house, knocking on the door frantically. Sounded as if the gorilla had an emergency. "I need to use the bathroom!"
"Get lost, Funky Kong." Cloud remained sitting as he handed the die to Aerith, who gave the die a good shake and rolled a four. Aerith moved her token four spaces across the board.
"Seriously, you gotta let me in! I refuse to pee outside! There's a police car outside!" A police car present was good news for Cloud, for the swordsman hoped for the police to arrest Funky Kong and take him away.
Funky Kong: Ninety percent of our time in Arcadia Bay is keeping up with Cloud and Aerith - or just keeping a close eye on them. The ten percent is just us chowing down at the restaurants. Usually, I'm the one who's stuck paying the bill. This is by far the drabbest seaside town I've ever been to!
"You know what we need in this house?" Aerith said to Cloud, who looked up at the flower girl wondering what was missing so. Evidently, a new board game simply wasn't enough. "A pet!"
"I can have that arranged," responded Cloud as he stood up, digging into his pocket as he had his hand on his translocator. "Be right back." The swordsman left the living room, as he was on his way to the front door.
"Cloud, we haven't finished our game yet!" But Cloud didn't care, as Cloud left the house punching Funky Kong in the face on his way out. Aerith shrugged her shoulders afterward. "Guess I'll take that as a forfeit."
As a part-time worker at Cafe Leblanc, one of the perks Pit had was spending quality time outside and getting some fresh air. With his friends Kirby and Incineroar working at the cafe in his stead, Pit oftentimes found it difficult to find anyone to hang out with. But then he remembered that Dark Pit was an assistant groundskeeper, and assumed that the doppelganger was always available for anything.
"HAIL HYDRA!" shouted Pit as he threw a football at Dark Pit in the front yard. Dark Pit, who was raking the leaves, was struck in the head by the pigskin. "Your situational awareness is poor, Pittoo."
"It's 'Hail Mary', not 'Hail Hydra,'" stated Dark Pit as he used his rake to send the football flying over the pile of leaves. If the football struck the pile...would be the travesty of the century. "Do you think shouting 'Hail Hydra' makes you sound cool?"
"Yes, yes, it does. Glad you finally recognized." As Pit went to go retrieve the football, the angel came to a stop when he saw a certain alien out in the distance. "Oh no! Here comes Magolor!"
"You say that like Magolor's a threat." Dark Pit carried on with his usual business, raking up the leaves, while Pit was acting like Calamity Ganon had just stepped foot on the mansion grounds. "Dude's barbecue chicken."
"And he's got company!" Dark Pit cupped his hands over his eyes as he made out Tressa and Olberic - the two individuals that were accompanying Magolor. "Somebody sound the alarm!"
"Magolor's got company? Must be losers by association." Dark Pit still could care less about Magolor, as he raked up the last of the leaves into a very big pile.
"Glad I got that done."
Dark Pit: Never taken Magolor seriously ever since he got kicked out of the mansion that one time. The man was literally crying for his mom while Dovahkiin took him to church. He should lose his villain card for that alone.
"We can't let him know that we're here!" shouted Pit as he jumped into the pile of leaves that Dark Pit just raked up for safety. The audible groan that Dark Pit let out could be heard from a mile away, as Magolor brought Tressa and Olberic to the front yard.
"Here we are, folks - the Smash Mansion!" Magolor said to Tressa and Olberic, as Tressa was marveling at the mansion in complete awe. Olberic admired the mansion too but kept in his excitement. "With a side of Corviknight."
"CAAAAAAW!" a Corvknight cawed at Magolor and company, as he and the other Corviknight were perched on their carriages. Dark Pit looked at Pit, who was exposed to the naked eye with his hands over his head, before glancing over at Magolor.
"Come any closer and it'll be your last time breathing..." Dark Pit threatened Magolor, letting the alien know what would happen if he dared to cross him. Magolor shivered in fear, as the front entrance was clearly off-limits.
"You guys go on ahead...I'll find my own way inside," Magolor said to Tressa and Olberic, before darting off before Dark Pit got to him. Dark Pit, recalling how weak Magolor was, made no effort of chasing after the alien.
"Didn't get a chance to thank him...oh well," remarked Olberic, as he and Tressa made their way to the front of the mansion. The two passed by Dark Pit, as Olberic nodded his head toward him. "Good afternoon."
"Sup," Dark Pit returned the favor, seeing that Tressa and Olberic were nothing but good guys. Made him greatly question how they ended up with Magolor of all people.
"This is the spot!" Tressa said to Olberic as she and the man arrived at Anna's shop stand, which was unattended; Anna was nowhere in sight. Tressa stood behind the shop stand, placing her backpack on the counter and unzipping it.
"Don't mean to bother you, but that's Anna's shop..." Dark Pit told Tressa, who was taking all sorts of items out of her backpack and arranging them neatly on the counter. Most of which were typical merchant stuff.
"I know!" Tressa took one last item out of her backpack - a "now open" sign - and placed it at the front of the stand. "I got it covered."
"...okay then, guess I'll leave you to it." Dark Pit left Tress alone, as he walked over to Pit who was still hiding out in the open. "Pit, everyone can see you..."
Pac-Man had a particular fondness for ghosts (particularly the ones that don't chase after him), and so he was interested in seeing what new ghost-type Pokemon were brought to the mansion. The eater of ghosts was in the Pokemon sanctuary, interacting with a friendly canine from Paldea - Greavard.
"Greavard is one of the more affectionate Pokemon creatures," Turo explained to Pac-Man, as he oversaw the eater of ghosts gently petting Greavard. Greavard was wagging his tail with excitement. "The slightest bit of attention will make him happy."
"Who's a good boy? You're a good boy!" Pac-Man said to Greavard, treating the ghost dog Pokemon as if he was his own canine companion. The eater of ghosts looked up at Turo and asked, "Greavard won't hurt me, will he?"
"Provided that you don't play with him too much, you should be in the clear." As Pac-Man continued to pet Greavard, Cloud suddenly arrived in the sanctuary via teleportation, alarming Turo. "Ah! A time traveler."
"Not a time traveler - just popping in," Cloud said to Turo, who was fascinated by the translocator that Cloud was holding in his hand. The moment he heard Cloud's voice, Pac-Man stopped petting Greavard and looked up.
"Woah! Cloud!" exclaimed Pac-Man, as if he was face-to-face with another ghost; he hadn't seen Cloud in forever. "Haven't seen you in a minute."
"Same to you. Uh, who's that dog?" Cloud saw Greavard, who barked in excitement as he ran over to Cloud and was wagging his tail at his feet. Greavard was a true bonding expert.
"This is Greavard, one of the new Pokemon," explained Turo, leading Cloud to infer about the influx of Pokemon taking place today - an influx that he would sadly miss out on. "He's very friendly and likes to play."
"That's perfect; I have a friend of mine who wants a pet. Mind if I borrow Greavard, Pac-Man?" A tough decision for Pac-Man to make, as he was simply not ready yet to give up Greavard.
"He's not my dog but...you can have him," replied Pac-Man, understanding that Aerith's desire for having a pet while in Arcadia Bay was more important. "He's all yours!"
"I wouldn't take him if I were you..." Turo tried to warn Cloud, but it was too late as Pac-Man tossed Greavard's Poke Ball to Cloud. Turo was left biting his knuckle, afraid that Cloud had no idea what he was getting himself into.
"Thanks. Promise I'll take good care of him," Cloud said to Pac-Man, watching as Greavard rubbed his head against his lower leg. There was one last thing on Cloud's agenda. "Oh, before I go...how's Tifa?"
"Tifa is...well...she could be doing a lot better!" Pac-Man was too chicken to tell Cloud about how sad Tifa had been feeling lately, and he mentally slapped himself for his cowardice.
"Bet she misses me. Heh. Well, tell her that I asked about her. See ya, Pac-Man." Cloud picked up Greavard as he teleported away, while Pac-Man looked away and shook his head in shame.
Pac-Man: I couldn't do it...I couldn't tell Cloud the straight-up truth. What's so hard about telling him that his good friend is depressed? Is Tifa really depressed? I don't know, she just gives off the vibe!
The mansion got a surprise visitor last week when Leon Kennedy stopped by along with Claire Redfield because of a police report that Corrin had filed. Turned out that Corrin wanted Leon to help him with making Kana scared of ghosts. A black government vehicle pulled up to the mansion's driveway, indicating that Leon was back for a return trip...or maybe it was someone else?
"Let's get a move on, Carlos," said a woman that exited from the government vehicle after it was parked, carrying a gun. It was Jill Valentine, and she looked like she was about to handle some business.
"Are you sure that this report is legit?" asked a man that exited from the passenger side of the vehicle - a middle-aged man of South American descent. "From the looks of it, I see no sign of zombie activity."
"Don't be fooled by how the outside looks. It's what's going on inside that matters..." Jill checked to see if she had enough bullets in her chamber, and once she was done, it was time to roll out.
Carlos: Carlos Oliveira, mercenary for the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service. I used to be the Corporal of the UBCS and even served as a member of their Delta Platoon. Now I'm stuck as Jill Valentine's plus-one. Surely I'm not the only Hispanic dude stuck as a woman's plus-one, am I?
As Jill and Carlos went to the mansion's porch, Marth headed to Anna's shop. Marth was holding a deep fryer in his hand and was looking to return it.
"Hello, I would like to make a...purchase return?" Marth said as he arrived at the shop stand, only to look bemused when he saw Tressa and Olberic behind the stand instead of Anna. Tressa was going through the stuff in her backpack, hardly paying attention.
"I believe we have our first customer," Olberic informed Tressa, who left her backpack alone as she looked up at Marth. Tressa gasped happily upon seeing Marth as she zipped up her backpack.
"Hello, first customer! I'm Tressa Colzione!" Tressa greeted Marth, who turned his head back wondering where on earth Anna was. Anna's absence was becoming quite the mystery. "How can I help you today?"
"Where's Anna? Did she call out sick today?" On the occasions that Anna did get sick, Kasumi was entrusted to run the shop in her stead. But Kasumi wasn't running the shop this time.
"What's that you got there? Wanna make a return? I can make it happen!" Tressa happily took the deep fryer from Marth and placed it on the counter. "Let me give you your return fee."
"This is so unlike Anna, she would never let total strangers run her shop. Especially not after the..." Marth stopped speaking, as Tressa pulled some gold coins out of her pocket and handed them to the hero-king.
"Here you are, good sir! 500 gold coins." Taken aback by the amount of gold, Marth accepted his return fee as he stared at the coins. "Come again!"
"Uh...will do. Thanks." Marth stuffed the gold coins in his pockets, having got quite the golden haul for returning his deep fryer. As the hero-king returned to his house, he had a sadistic smile on his face.
"That first transaction was painless," Olberic said to Tressa, who agreed wholeheartedly as she gave a toothy grin. Tress had yet to miss a beat as the shopkeeper.
With Greavard in tow, Cloud returned to Arcadia Bay to surprise Aerith with her new Pokemon friend. When the swordsman entered Aerith's house, he hoped that Aerith was still alone by herself...
"Dang it, Aerith! You beat me!" frowned Funky Kong, as Cloud saw the gorilla playing Snakes and Ladders with Aerith when he entered the house. Cloud frowned intensely, as Funky Kong threw a fit.
"You gave it your best shot," Aerith said to Funky Kong, only for her face to sink when she saw the frowning Cloud. Funky Kong also saw Cloud. "Cloud, it's not what you think..."
"Get out..." Cloud commanded Funky Kong, who did as he was told as he got up and scurried out of the house. Cloud slammed the door behind him as he joined Aerith in the living room.
"I was really bored, so I let kindly Funky Kong in," Aerith explained to Cloud, who was holding Greavard discreetly behind his back. Held the ghost dog Pokemon's mouth for good measure. "He wasn't much trouble."
"After today, you won't be bored much longer. Guess who I found?" Cloud revealed Greavard to Aerith, who gasped happily as Cloud dropped Greavard to the floor. Greavard ran up to Aerith wagging his tail excitedly.
"Aw, you found a pet! You actually went through on your promise." Aerith went over to Greavard and petted the Pokemon, who let out a few excited barks. "What's his name?"
"Greavard - he's a ghost dog Pokemon." Cloud watched as Aerith was cuddling with Greavard, and knew right then that he made a perfect choice. It was like love at first sight.
"He's so cute and friendly!" As Greavard rolled on the living room floor, doing typical dog stuff, Aerith let out a big yawn which made Cloud raise an eyebrow. "I think he wants to play catch, Cloud."
"We can make it happen." Fortunately, Cloud thought ahead as he pulled out a ball that he found on his way to the house. He tossed the ball to Aerith, who seemed as if she was almost out of breath.
"Alright, Greavard...let's see how good you are at catch. Ready...GO!" Aerith threw the ball across the living room, and Greavard chased after the ball while Aerith was on the verge of fainting.
"Are you okay?" Cloud checked on Aerith, who almost lost his footing as she staggered a bit. Cloud grabbed Aerith in the nick of time to prevent her fall.
"Yeah I'm fine...just extremely tired, that's all." Greavard returned the ball to Aerith, and it was time for round two as Aerith picked up the ball. "Okay, Greavard let's do this...one more time..."
Aerith didn't have the chance to throw the ball, as she collapsed to the floor in an instant. Aerith was laying on the floor as Greavard licked her face.
"No way that game of catch took the wind of you," Cloud said to Aerith as he knelt down at the flower girl, shaking her awake. But Aerith wasn't waking up - she was seemingly out cold. "Aerith? Wake up already! Crap, this isn't good..."
"Tell me about it," remarked Funky Kong, who was consciously behind Cloud; Cloud turned around and frowned at Funky, who ran out of the house altogether.
As Bowser stated earlier, it was his job to determine how "sheltered" these Paldean folks are. While Mario, Link, and Zelda helped Sada and Turo get the new Pokemon assimilated into their new home, Bowser was quizzing Nemona about certain Pokemon with a few cards.
"Have you seen this Pokemon in person before?" Bowser asked Nemona as he showed her a card with Venomoth on it. Nemona recognized the poison moth Pokemon right off the bat.
"Of course, that's a Venomoth!" Nemona confidently answered as Bowser let out a huge sigh of relief; imagine the devastation Bowser would've felt if Nemona claimed that she had never seen all 151 original Pokemon.
"Right on! Now how about this Pokemon?" Dropping the Venomoth card to the floor, Bowser revealed another Pokemon - Eelektross. Bowser felt a drop of sweat running down his face.
"An Eelektross? Yeah, I've seen that Pokemon too. Even saw one crawl out of the ocean!" Nemona was killing it so far, and it gave Bowser great confidence for Nemona's classmates.
"Aha! So people outside of Unova have seen an Eelektross! Take that, Tails. Here's a third one." Bower revealed the third Pokemon to Nemona, and it was a Milotic. Judging by the look on her face, Nemona wasn't quite familiar with Milotic.
"Did read about Milotic before, in a Pokemon book, but I never got to see one in person." That was disappointing news for Bowser, who faceplanted unto the floor as Nemona had killed off her momentum.
"It's okay, you still have time!" Bowser picked himself up off the floor, confident that Nemona will broaden her horizons and see all different kinds of Pokemon. "Ain't that right, Professor Sada?"
"Wrong - Milotic isn't a native species in Paldea," stated Sada, who was watching over the three Paldea starter Pokemon - Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. Bowser was so angry that he punched a hole through the wall.
Bowser: Is it so hard to just have ONE region home to every known Pokemon in existence? Legendaries and mythical Pokemon included? Why do most of these regions have to be so picky and choosy about what Pokemon are allowed to live in their lands?
"Cheers love!" Tracer greeted Mario and company as she and Winston arrived at the Pokemon sanctuary. "Sorry for not answering your text." The pilot blinked over to Mario, who was cuddling with a small canine Pokemon named Fidough.
"It's all good, Tracer; as you can see I got my hands-a full," Mario said to Tracer, holding Fidough in his hands. Fidough smelt as good as he looked. "Literally!"
"Aw, what a cute little puppy...I could just eat him!" Tracer was about to take a daring nibble out of Fidough's ear, but Winston grabbed the pilot in time and pulled her away.
"No eating the Pokemon..." Winston sternly told Tracer, who let out a sad moan as she couldn't get over how darn tasty Fidough looked. Turo took a keen interest in Winston, particularly due to him being a gorilla capable of human speech.
"I take it that you're acquaintances of Mario," Turo said to Tracer and Winston, as he held out his hand to the latter for a handshake. "I'm Professor Turo, from the Paldea region."
"A pleasure to meet you, Professor Turo! I'm Winston." As Winston shook Turo's hand, Tracer took sight of a small Pokemon that appeared out of a treasure chest it was hiding in, holding a gold coin. "You're a Pokemon professor, are you? What is your specialty?"
"I'm currently doing research on the Terastal phenomenon in Paldea. Much of my research has been conducted with Professor Sada." The small Pokemon hopped out of the treasure chest and ran off, as Tracer was fixated on it.
"My goodness! So many new Pokemon phenomena I keep hearing about. First the Dynamaxing phenomenon in Galar, and now this!" Once the small Pokemon ran out on its own two legs, Tracer knew she couldn't stick around for long.
"Gotta go - there's a Pokemon on the loose!" Tracer informed Winston as she tapped the gorilla on her shoulder, before blinking out of the sanctuary. Winston hardly paid attention, too engrossed in his conversation.
"We have yet to figure out why this phenomenon only exists in our region," Turo said to Winston, who looked to his right and realized that Tracer was no longer there. Winston furrowed his brow momentarily.
"Huh? Where did Gimmighoul run off to?" wondered Nemona as she took a peek inside the treasure chest that the small Pokemon came out from. What if that small Pokemon was Gimmighoul himself...?
In light of the new Pokemon coming to the sanctuary, Sans had prepared several Pokemon-themed puns to tell at Cafe Leblanc. He might not have any based on the Pokemon from Paldea, but he had enough material to last him through the day.
"felt so drowzee waking up this morning," Sans discussed with Chrom, Cuphead, and Polar Bear, and two of the three gentlemen had already tuned the skeleton out. "like my head was about to exploud."
"Part of me wishes that your head did explode..." murmured Joker, trying to keep to himself as Sans carried on with his endless pun barrage. Sans was a major reason why Joker sometimes couldn't wait to close shop.
"it was horrible, you guys - i was weezing all over the place. it was very misdreavus how it all happened." Sans earned several groans out of Chrom and Polar Bear, while Cuphead kept quiet and did small applause in secret.
"I'd love it if you Leavanny puns at the door." Joker realized what he had done, his eyes wide with horror as several folks gasped. Sans looked on at Joker smiling in approval. "No, no that was purely unintentional!"
"Joker, some bad news!" shouted Pit as he entered the cafe, as Joker took his mind off the horrible thing that he let exit from his mouth and gave Pit his attention. "Magolor's here, and he's going to..."
"Is it only Magolor?" After Pit cautiously nodded his head, Joker happily went back to work. "Good, leave him alone and let him fail." Magolor was hardly a threat in Joker's eyes, least in comparison to Dimentio's other allies.
"Well, yeah, but...Magolor might change the tide!" No one seemed to believe Pit, as everyone was going about their usual business. Pit lowered his head as he left the cafe.
Magolor had likely found his way inside the mansion, and there had to be footage of the alien sneaking his way in on the security cameras. As Mario inspected one of the newer Pokemon Bellibolt, X stopped by.
"I like how he just sits-a there and lets me poke his eye," Mario giggled at Sada as he poked at a large eye on the side of Bellibolt's head. Sada imagined that Mario was having too much fun with the EleFrog Pokemon.
"That's not his real eye," Sada informed Mario, who stopped poking the large white bump as he looked shocked beyond words. Mario took his hand away and caressed it like it was infected or something.
"Hey Mario, have you seen Link or Zelda anywhere?" X asked the plumber, who looked at the pacifist robot despondently while still caressing his hand. "I can also get you some hand sanitizer if you need any."
"They're in-a the other room..." So X went to the adjacent room where Link, Zelda, Turo, and Winston were all gathered. Link was riding atop a motorcycle-themed dragon-type Pokemon, named Cyclizar.
"Please don't hurt yourself," Zelda said to Link, who gave a thumbs up as he was riding on Cyclizar. Underestimating Cyclizar's power, Link rode the mount Pokemon down the hallway, only to crash into the wall as the others winced.
"I'm okay!" assured Link as he fell off of Cyclizar, landing on the floor as he was in some slight pain. Zelda was about to facepalm at Link, only to see X quietly standing by.
"Hello X. What's up?" Zelda knew that X had some juicy info to share, as the robot came over to speak with her. The princess knew that whatever info X had couldn't possibly be any good.
"Just saw Magolor sneak inside the mansion on the security footage. He got stuck in one of the air vents, but he found his way in." Zelda took great solace in knowing that another visit from Gnasty was (so far) out of the question.
"He's the persistent one, I'll give him that. Does Master Hand know about this?"
"He does, I just told him. But on the footage, I saw Magolor take out a large sack."
"A large sack? You don't think...you don't think he's after the new Pokemon, do you?"
"Can't see any other reason why he would be back here again. Just wanted to give a heads up."
"Magolor can't be that much trouble, but we'll be on the lookout for him. He won't lay a finger on any of the new Pokemon."
"Uh, Zelda? Think my leg might be broken..." Link called out to his wife after Turo and Winston both inspected the Hylian for any wounds. "...can you get a Pokemon to possibly heal it?"
Tressa was running Anna's shop effortlessly, selling all sorts of goodies. The merchant was making good business, while Olberic stood by for moral support.
"Thank you, come again!" Tressa said to her latest customer after she had sold them an antique tea seat. Would make for a great Christmas gift for any sweet old lady. "Quick, Olberic, count up the money."
"I have counted five dollar bills," stated Olberic after counting up the money, overlooking the fact that the dollar bills were all five-dollar bills. "Hate to say it, but I believe you have been short-changed."
"What?! Impossible! Nobody short-changes me and gets away with it. Most of the time." Tressa took the five five-dollar bills from Olberic (25$ worth) and stuffed them in her bag where she kept the rest of the money.
Tressa: Anna took the day off to prepare for Thanksgiving next week, and her "side double" is off doing some Christmas shopping. When it's not even Thanksgiving yet! So Anna sent me a letter and asked me if I wanted to fill in for her, and I said yes! It's been fun running the shop; nobody has tried to take full advantage of me yet.
"Look who has returned..." Olberic said to Tressa as he saw Marth making a return trip to the shop stand. In Marth's hands was a small electric toaster.
"Hello, this toaster almost gave me hives," Marth explained to Tressa, as Olberic refused to believe that the hero-king's story was anything sincere. "I would like to return it, please."
"Put it right here!" exclaimed Tressa, as Marth placed the electric toaster on the counter. Olberic frowned intensely as Tressa dug into her pockets and handed Marth a whole bunch of gold coins. "Thank you!"
"You are most welcome." Marth put the gold coins away, cracking a smirk as he walked away from the shop. Olberic had his eye on the hero-king, hoping that it would be the last of him.
Fox and Falco's investigation was still ongoing, as they had yet to find out the person that leaked the info from the secret Star Records meeting. (Spoiler: it was Ashley.) While Ashley remained at large, Fox and Falco went about interrogating each and every Star Records employee.
"Man, I can't believe someone had to gall to even do that," Fox discussed with Falco as the two pilots were walking to the gaming room. "This is all your fault, by the way."
"My fault? Telling everyone was your idea!" Falco fired back at Fox, putting all the blame squarely on his best friend's shoulders. Fox looked offended as he clutched his pearls.
"Well, regardless of who fault it was, whoever did the leak is gonna get it." Fox and Falco soon arrived at the gaming room, expecting to see Little Mac, Doc Louis, or even an idol singer or two. Instead, they saw Jill and Carlos.
"Jill Valentine?" Falco uttered the name of the federal agent, who along with Carlos was apprehending Zombie. It was hard, given that Zombie kept getting away, but Carlos managed to keep a tight grip on him.
"Doubt that this is the zombie we're looking for," Carlos said to Jill, as he held Zombie's hands behind his back. Mostly everyone in the gaming room stood around and watched. "I don't think he even wants our brains!"
"He's the only zombie I see," replied Jill, who had just pulled out handcuffs large enough for Zombie's wrists. "Since shooting at him was a no-go, we'll arrest him instead."
"They were firing bullets? And we missed it?!" lamented Falco, turning his head around the gaming room for any bullet holes in the walls. Jill tried to place the handcuffs on Zombie's wrists but frankly, the handcuffs weren't as large as she imagined.
"Handcuffs won't fit...let me handle him." So Jill put the handcuffs away, and Carlos released his hold on Zombie as he allowed Jill to restrain Zombie herself. "Zombie, you are under arrest. This is so weird..."
Master Hand: Zombie has hardly ever been a problem with us. He's like your friendly neighborhood zombie almost - if he ever wants your brains, he'll either give you an option or ask kindly! And that's only if he could speak. That said, it perturbs me greatly to know that a resident filed a report and asked Zombie to be "executed". Executed for what? Do they value their brains that much?
"Anything you say can and will be used against you," Jill said to Zombie, who started making some typical zombie noises in response. "Don't push your luck..."
"Something's fishy, this screams set-up," Fox said to Falco, watching as Jill and Carlos walked Zombie out of the gaming room. Poor Zombie was being taken away because he was, well, a zombie.
"Ah, yes, couldn't have happened to a more deserving person!" exclaimed Arthur, one person who took some delight in Zombie's fate. Zombie had lost to Arthur in a game of pool one week and was taken away by Jill Valentine the next - what were the odds?
"Someone's enjoying Zombie's downfall." Fox gave Arthur a suspicious look, and Arthur petered off in his general excitement as he walked away. Fox still maintained a close eye on the knight in shining armor.
Tracer was still on the hunt for Gimmighoul that snuck out of the treasure chest in the sanctuary, and she was following it wherever it went. The Pokemon crept inside the arcade room, where Akira Yuki was playing Tecmo Super Bowl with Isaac.
"Don't rush me, I promise to score soon," Akira assured Isaac, playing as the Los Angeles Raiders as Bo Jackson ran all over the football field. Gimmighoul sneaked its way past the arcade machine, bringing its gold coin with it.
"But you've been running like this for ten minutes!" complained Isaac, as the first quarter had already ended and the clock had reached zero. Bo Jackson had yet to be tackled - or cross the goal line. "I'm never playing sports games with you again!"
"Haha, keep crying, kid!" While Akira relished in his dominance over Isaac, Tracer blinked her way into the arcade room. She kept her eyes peeled for Gimmighoul, whom she saw creeping past the Tecmo Super Bowl arcade machine.
"Found you!" exclaimed Tracer, spooking Gimmighoul who was frightened and ran off with its coin. "No! Come back!" Tracer made chase after the Pokemon, as she was blinking all over the place.
"'Insert Token'!" Peppy said the name of an arcade game, one that the Arcade Bunny strangely had yet to remove. "What a very straightforward game." The hare took out a token and inserted it into the coin slot.
"Congratulations! You win!" announced the game voice from the arcade machine, as the screen continued saying "Insert token!". Peppy dug into his pockets, and only pulled out lint.
"Shoot, Slippy only gave me a few tokens..." Not all hope for Peppy was lost, as he saw Gimmighoul run past his feet with its coin. Peppy grabbed the coin and held it up high, as Gimmighoul was holding on for dear life. Tracer ran past Peppy.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hare, but that little guy belongs to me," Tracer informed Peppy as she used her Recall function to bring herself to the hare. The pilot held her hand out.
"Oh, I just need his coin, that's all." Peppy tried to pull the coin away from Gimmighoul, who was holding on as it didn't give Peppy an inch. "If he would just...cooperate..."
"TOUCHDOWN!" shouted Akira, finally crossing the goal line with Bo Jackson as Isaac gave up and walked away. Peppy was momentarily distracted by Akira, as Gimmighoul pulled his coin out of the hare's hand and ran off.
"Who said you could run away like that?!" Tracer yelled at Gimmighoul as she continued her chase, with Peppy soon realizing that the Pokemon was gone. And his coin.
"Give me that coin, scoundrel!" Peppy shouted as he too left the arcade machine, now joining Tracer in the chase.
Cloud was holding the lifeless Aerith in his arms, as he ran to the nearest hospital. After spending much time in the hospital's emergency room, the swordsman was met with some bad news.
"I'm sorry, but our hospital is currently full," a hospital worker kindly stated to Cloud, who didn't get that vibe judging from how patients were being taken in.
"But my friend here won't wake up," said Cloud, bringing the hospital worker's attention to Aerith; Aerith was looking like Sleeping Beauty. "Can't you just give her a shock or something?"
"If we had any room for her, we would. But I'm sorry. You can try coming back later!" But Cloud couldn't simply wait until later arrived - he wanted Aerith revived at the earliest convenience.
"Forget it...I'll just do it myself." Cloud carried Aerith with him as he left the hospital, exiting through the nearby hospital entrance. Upon stepping out of the hospital, Cloud was greeted by Greavard who was patiently waiting outside.
"Woof, woof!" Greavard barked excitedly at Cloud as his tail was wagging away. Cloud stared at Greavard, unable to find the energy to give the ghost dog Pokemon a piece of his mind.
"This is all your fault, Greavard. Just had to suck the life out of Aerith..." Greavard did show how apologetic he was as he licked Cloud's feet, but it wasn't enough for Cloud to forgive him.
"Cloud Strife! Stay right where you are. We are coming to the rescue!"
Cloud stood where he was, rolling his eyes after he had heard Gex's voice. An ambulance pulled up to where Cloud was, lights flashing and all, as Gex was in the driver's seat.
"Alright people! Move, move, move!" shouted Gex as he stepped out of the ambulance, while Tharja, Henry, and Bandanna Waddle Dee exited from the back of the ambulance. Cloud looked confused as Tharja gently took Aerith away from him.
"Did you guys seriously steal an ambulance?" asked Cloud, as Tharja gently laid Aerith down on the ground. Tharja placed her tome underneath Aerith's head, before spreading Aerith's arms and legs out wide.
"Do not be alarmed, Cloud - Funky Kong told us the details," Bandanna Waddle Dee informed the swordsman, who stood by and observed Tharja as she checked Aerith's vitals. "What's the diagnosis?"
"She's not breathing...but I can sense the feeling that she's alive somehow," Tharja gave her diagnosis, with her hand on Aerith's heart. The dark mage slowly stood up as she peered at Aerith. "We'll need a spell to wake her up."
"Easier said than done!" Henry volunteered himself as he took out his tome and flipped through the pages looking for a spell. But then he stopped after Gex raised his hand.
"We don't need a spell; that's just too much work," stated Gex, as Henry closed his tome; Tharja stared at Gex as if the lizard was crazy. "What we need is a Pokemon that gives life - Xerneas!"
"And how are you going to find this Xerneas?" Tharja questioned Gex; Xerneas was a Pokemon that was native to the Kalos region, and its status as a mythical Pokemon obviously made finding it difficult.
"It's simple, really! All I have to do is access my Pokemon Box Link, and access Xerneas that way." So Gex closed his eyes and concentrated, as he tried to access his Pokemon Box Link.
"Is he constipated?" Bandanna Waddle Dee asked Tharja, as Gex squinted his eyes so hard that he looked like he was in pain. During Gex's concentration, Henry went to go play with Greavard.
"Give me a moment, it shouldn't take this long!" Gex had yet to work his magic, as Cloud checked the time on his cell phone. "I've seen Pokemon trainers aplenty do this."
"This Pokemon Box Link probably doesn't even exist," assumed Tharja, as she folded her arms; Gex was done concentrating, letting out a sigh of relief as he opened his eyes.
"The box link does exist...in Pokemon GO, at least," stated Gex, causing everyone except for Henry to groan. So much for easily accessing Xerneas. "Maybe that's where I goofed up."
Gex: I do play Pokemon GO from time to time; it's really good exercise. Like moonwalking on a treadmill at Richard Simmons' house. You get to travel across the world, catching Pokemon in the unlikeliest of places. True story, I caught an Arceus at a bodega in Berlin. While sitting on the toilet, no less.
"What a nice little doggy you are!" gleamed Henry as he was holding Greavard, who was licking the dark mage's face profusely. Cloud looked alarmed as Henry appeared greatly fatigued. "Think I'll name you Bloodmonger."
"No Henry, that's not..." Cloud was about to inform Henry, only for Henry to drop to the ground as his eyes went shut. Greavard was still cradled in Henry's arms, as he licked Henry's face. "...well, I tried to warn him."
"Looks like it's up to me to revive these two...perfect" groaned Tharja, seeing that Henry clearly didn't get the memo. Or maybe he just wasn't listening to Funky Kong. It was his loss.
Sonic was growing restless with Samus, who was tasked with reviving Conker's late girlfriend Berri. He had hoped for a new development from Samus after he returned from Arcadia Bay, but only got goose eggs. With every passing week, Sonic grew more restless.
"If you ask me, Conker would really love to be reunited with Berri for Thanksgiving," Sonic said to Samus, who was working on something with Mercy in the workshop. Mercy didn't mind Sonic, while Samus clearly didn't want to be bothered.
"That's nice, I suppose," answered Samus, who was trying to focus as she was working hard at her desk. Mercy wasn't working nearly as hard, but she remained diligent nonetheless.
"This device will help us accurately find Berri's remains," Mercy explained to Sonic, who was taking a long gander at the device that she and Samus were working on. Sonic was left satisfied as he gave a thumbs up.
"Cool beans! Can't wait to see the final product," exclaimed an optimistic Sonic, deciding to leave the workshop as he got what he wanted to hear. The blue hedgehog headed towards the exit, while Mercy looked on.
"As long as he doesn't keep asking us about this thing, we should be good," Samus spoke with Mercy concerning the device - which was actually a new arm cannon she was working on. She planned on taking it out for a spin later.
Mercy: Samus is holding off on finding Berri's remains, after learning that it's much more impossible than she originally imagined. It's very rare that you can find chipmunk remains floating around in space.
Once he was outside the workshop, Sonic took out a chili dog to snack on. As the blue hedgehog walked away, he came across an interesting sight - Zombie running away from Jill and Carlos. Albeit slowly.
"Get back here, you!" Jill shouted at Zombie as she tackled the blocky creature to the floor, keeping him pinned. Carlos would step in and help Jill as he kept Zombie pinned down.
"He's not putting up much of a fight," Carlos said to Jill, while Zombie moved his arms and legs in a frantic manner. That was the only thing Zombie could do. "You sure this is a regular Zombie?"
"Must be a dumb one." Jill and Carlos stood Zombie up to his feet, as Sonic watched from afar while eating his chili dog in peace. "Let's take him down this way. Nice and steady."
"I'm gonna lose it if he gets away from us the next time." As Jill and Carlos walked Zombie down the hallway, they would pass by Sonic. Carlos acknowledged Sonic by nodding his head. "Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Howdy," Sonic returned the favor, curious as to where Jill and Carlos were taking Zombie to. The blue hedgehog put his chili dog away in his imaginary pocket as he moved stealthily.
Gimmighoul was still on the run, as it now had Tracer and Peppy hot on his tail. The Pokemon ventured into Wario's room, where Wario was counting his gold.
"Drat! I'm missing a gold coin," Wario panicked after he was done counting his gold coins, as Gimmighoul snuck past Wario who was sitting on the floor. "Can't rain at the homeless shelter if I don't have my full stash!"
"I believe he ran into Wario's room," Peppy was heard shouting from afar, as the hare and Tracer entered Wario's room. Wario instinctively closed his treasure chest when he saw his two visitors.
"Why no, I wasn't counting my gold, why do you ask?" Wario grabbed his gold coins and threw them into his treasure chest, before closing the chest shut and looking at Tracer and Peppy. The fatso was smiling sweetly with his elbow resting on the treasure chest.
"Check his treasure chest - I saw it come out of from a treasure chest earlier," Tracer said to Peppy, who ran to the treasure chest to open it. But Wario was being super possessive, putting his hands over the locks.
"No! My treasure chest is off-limits!" Wario wrangled with Peppy over possession of the treasure chest, as the two were embroiled in a tug-of-war of sorts. "Keep your filthy hands off of it!"
"I just want to see what's inside!" While the tug-of-war over the treasure chest raged on, Tracer snooped around Wario's room for any signs of Gimmighoul. She reached for Wario's pillow, which triggered Wario.
"Leave my pillow alone!" Wario leaped at Tracer, who dodged the fatso as she used her Recall ability. Wario landed face-first on his bed, as Tracer checked underneath Wario's pillow.
"Let's see if this is where you're...hiding," said Tracer as she lifted the pillow, only to find several teeth. None of which looked like they came out of Wario's mouth, mind you. "Are these your teeth, Wario?"
"They're the Koopalings' teeth..." answered Wario, his voice muffled by his bed; Tracer had her lips pursed as she placed the pillow back where it was.
Wario: Sometimes I'll ask the Koopalings to offer me their loose teeth so that I'll get multiple visits from the tooth fairy. A couple of extra quarters can really take you a long way, trust me.
Ganondorf: *wearing a tooth fairy costume, sighs deeply* I hate my job...
"Wait, I see him!" shouted Peppy as he saw Gimmighoul emerge from behind the end of Wario's bed. Wario looked up as he saw Gimmighoul holding his gold coin.
"Ooh, la la! A final gold coin to add to my collection!" grinned Wario as he hopped off of his bed, only for Gimmighoul to make a run for it. Peppy tried to catch the Pokemon but only landed on the floor.
"He's getting away! After him!" shouted Tracer as she and Wario ran out of the bedroom; Peppy picked himself up and dusted his jacket off, before joining Tracer and Wario in the chase.
Thanksgiving was next week, and it would be Pyra and Mythra's second time planning the meal. Pyra would be doing most of the work, while Mythra would be...well, doing her best. But her best was not enough, and Lavenza knew it far too well judging from how many folks got sick from Mythra's awful corn pudding casserole. Which was why she came up with a brilliant idea.
"There you are, Sonic!" Lavenza exclaimed when she saw Sonic, who was standing behind a corner of the mansion peeking at something. The young girl ran up to Sonic. "I was thinking that maybe you can be Pyra's apprentice in the..."
"Shh!" Sonic quietly shushed Lavenza, before bringing his attention back to whatever he was looking at. Curious, Lavenza peeked around the corner and saw Jill and Carlos, standing over Zombie who was lying on the ground.
"He's not even disintegrating from the sun rays," Jill said to Carlos, as Zombie was burning from the sun rays but not dying. "What gives?"
"Told you that he might not be a real zombie," replied Carlos, pleased to know that his doubts about Zombie were confirmed. Jill frowned at Carlos as she punched the mercenary in his gut.
"I think you should go clear the air with them," Lavenza suggested to Sonic, who wasn't keen on taking action since Jill and Carlos weren't harming Zombie. That said, the two visitors had to lay off Zombie soon.
"What was that for? Did you not find it weird that he didn't...oh, hey Sonic!" Carlos saw Sonic approach him and Jill from the corner, as Sonic was now forced to play peacemaker.
"Uh, hate to break it to ya, but Mr. Zombie here isn't a bad guy," Sonic explained to Jill and Carlos, noticing that Zombie had turned to the side and was walking in place. "Well, he is a bad guy, technically, but..."
"We've tried to dispatch him, but he appears indestructible," Jill said to Sonic, frustrated that Zombie was not what she imagined him to be. "Also, he barely fought back and exhibit no brutality."
"Probably because he isn't a real zombie..." muttered Carlos as he held his hand over his mouth, only to look away when Jill gave him a quick death glare.
"I mean, yeah, Zombie is a peaceful, no-nonsense dude," said Sonic, who wanted to help Zombie up to his feet but found himself amused by Zombie's current walking position. "We have no problem living with him."
"Then how come someone from the mansion filed a report saying that Zombie had to be destroyed? Apparently, not even Master Hand was aware of this report being filed when we asked him."
"Somebody must really have it out for Zombie. Wonder who that could be..." Sonic scratched his chin in thought, thinking of a person that would possibly want Zombie to be history. Only a few names came to mind.
Elsewhere outside the mansion, Tressa was raking in the dough while running Anna's shop. She had sold so many of her goods, that her inventory was about to run low. She might even have to close up shop early!
"A lot of the customers asked me if they could scan their card," Tressa discussed with Olberic, as she had been asked multiple times if she had a card scanner just like Anna. "Why can't they just give me their card instead?"
"Some people just love to hold on to their precious belongings," assumed Olberic, who was counting up the money that Tressa had raised. The warrior had gotten better at counting dollar bills over time. "You're almost close to making a fortune, Tressa."
Fox: Anna wanted to buy a card scanner since most of her customers prefer to use a debit card to make their purchases. She didn't even spend her money to buy it - she used my money instead! Krystal gave her my card without me knowing! I shudder to think what would happen if people want to pay with crypto instead; that crap alone could run my bank account dry.
"Hello once again, I would like to make another return," Marth said to Tressa he returned to the shop, bringing another appliance with him - a high-tech microwave. Olberic looked on with a frown.
"Hi! Would you like to return that?" Tressa asked Marth, who nodded his head with a smile; Olbeirc was pinching the crown of his nose. "Okey dokey! Just put it on the ground right here."
"Much appreciated." So Marth placed the microwave on the ground next to the shop stand, as Tressa handed the hero-king a large bag of cold coins. "I cannot thank you enough for your service."
"Right back at ya! Come again!" Tressa waved to Marth, who looked satisfied as he walked back to his house. Marth was grinning from ear to ear as he walked past Chrom, who was standing in line.
"Close your mouth, Chrom - you'll make your mouth dry," Marth said to Chrom, whose mouth was agape; once Marth was gone, Chrom hurriedly took out his phone and made a call.
"Hi, Lucina...are you and Caeda still out shopping?" Chrom spoke into the phone after Lucina answered the call; he looked back at Marth, as the hero-king entered his house. "Anan, too?"
Fox and Falco had to put their investigation of the Star Records leaker on hold, for they had a new investigation on their hands - one that involved Zombie. The pilots inferred that Zombie was set up, which would explain Jill and Carlos were at the mansion to apprehend him. Frankly, they both had a hunch about who the culprit was...
"FREEZE, SUCKA!" shouted Falco as he and Fox entered a bedroom, kicking the door down aggressively. Inside the bedroom, they saw Arthur...sitting on the floor in his underwear while clipping his toenails. A truly disturbing sight.
"Dude, put on some clothes!" Fox shouted at Arthur as he had to turn away and shield his eyes from the horrific sight. Arthur kept clipping away,
"Nobody told thou to barge in," Arthur said to Fox, his armor lying next to him on the floor. The knight shook his fist at the pilots for disturbing his alone time. "Door was locked for a reason!"
"Then how did it go down so easily?" Falco questioned Arthur, who kept silent as he focused on clipping his toenails. One toenail flew across the room after it was clipped. "My thoughts exact...bleh! A toenail got in my mouth!"
"You seemed pretty excited earlier about what happened to Zombie," Fox said to Arthur as he towered over the knight, peering down at him. Arthur was looking guilty as he moved on to clipping his fingernails, focusing hard.
"Yeah, a little too excited..." added Falco, putting on more pressure on Arthur and making him feel the heat. A drop of sweat ran down Arthur's face, as his heartbeat was racing.
"I know that you can't stand most zombies." Fox knelt down at Arthur, who turned away from the pilot as precipitation was building on his face. "But Zombie was one undead guy that you were chill with..."
"Egad, I've run out of nails to cut!" panicked Arthur, who focused so hard that he had already cut all his fingernails at a record-breaking pace. He saw Fox looking over his shoulder, and shrieked.
"Maybe you know how Jill Valentine and her partner got here," Falco said to Arthur as he stood over the knight; Arthur quickly stood up and backed away from the pilots fearing for his life. "We could ask them ourselves..."
"OKAY, IT WAS ME, I WAS THE ONE WHO WANTED ZOMBIE TO BE DESTROYED!" Arthur finally admitted his guilt, falling to his knees in shame in front of Fox and Falco as he expressed his full regret. "It was all me..."
"Nice undies, Arthur," giggled Kairi, who saw the knight in full view thanks to his door being kicked off its hinges. It was her first time, too. Arthur blushed as he quickly covered himself.
Kairi: Nothing wrong with Arthur showing off his body in his underwear - if it makes him feel free, then so be it. But I do have a problem with his preferred choice of underwear - white boxers with red hearts. I've seen so many guys wear that same style! Men can be so unoriginal sometimes.
"You see, I would always smoke Zombie in a game of pool," Arthur explained to Fox and Falco - a miracle that Arthur ever won at all in cue sports, given his strange (and violent) technique. "He could never stand a chance against me."
"Okay, so you're essentially undefeated in billiards versus Zombie," stated Fox, able to imagine why Arthur would only excel against Zombie and not anybody else. The reasons were obvious. "So what happened?"
"I was undefeated versus Zombie...but then one day this week, he started beating me! For the longest, I've always had his number, but then the tide changed - and he was the one beating me!"
"And that's when you started being a sore loser," Falco said to Arthur, who acknowledged the very fact as he lowered his head in shame. Being a sore loser was one thing that no knight in shining armor should ever do.
"Alas, I let it get the best of me...I was so incensed, that I called a few zombie experts in town to have Zombie taken away. For good. I couldn't accept that my reign of dominance was cut short..."
"To be fair, your 'reign of dominance' should've never been a thing. Have you seen how you hit those cue balls?"
"What, there's nothing wrong with throwing pool sticks! It gets the balls in the holes...and nearly pokes someone's eye out."
"Exactly," stated Fox, as he stood back up, having understood what Arthur did and what he had done. "I think you should go explain yourself to Jill Valentine. And give Zombie an apology."
Bowser had already quizzed Nemona on her knowledge of Pokemon, and now he moved on to her classmates Arven and Penny. The Koopa King quizzed Arven and was left disappointed by the Pokemon trainer's answers, and so he expected Penny to redeem her peer.
"That's not even a real Pokemon..." Penny meekly informed Bowser, who showed the Pokemon Trainer a card with an ordinary ghost on it. Bowser frowned as he looked at the ghost, thinking that Penny was crazy.
"It is a real Pokemon, I saw it myself! With a Silph Scope!" claimed Bowser, yelling in Penny's face as he got saliva all over her. Penny had to look away. "Its index number is 184!"
"Index number? What is that?" Nemona asked Bowser as she was feeding Pokemon food to Farigiraf - Girafarig's Paldean evolution. Bowser looked at Nemona in shock in disbelief, dropping his cards to the floor.
"You dumb kids don't even know what index numbers are?!" As Nemona shook her head, Bowser looked at Arven and Penny, who also shook their heads. Bowser was in shambles. "Man, you kids are so sheltered!"
Bowser: Arven, I can give a pass - he's more a chef than a battler, so knowing Pokemon junk isn't his thing. But Penny on the other has disappointed me beyond words. She has an Eevee backpack, for crying out loud, how can she not know a lick about Pokemon?! Penny deserves to be kicked out of the academy for her stupidity. Nemona, too.
"Arven, are the Pokemon still in those Poke Balls?" Sada approached Arven, who was standing next to a large pile of Poke Balls. Arven stood front and center when he detected Sada's presence.
"Yes sir...I-I mean, ma'am!" answered Arven as he quickly corrected himself, giving Sada a salute as if he had just enrolled in the army. "Been watching over them, just like you said."
"Woah there, Farigiraf! Relax, buddy," Nemona said to Farigiraf, who was swaying around a bit as if he could detect danger afoot. Sada scooped up the Poke Balls that she asked Arven to watch over...and two Poke Balls slipped out of her arms.
"Thank you for watching over the Poke Balls!" Sada thanked Arven, smiling as she left the premises; Arven let out a sigh of relief, fortunate that he didn't somehow goof up on his duty.
"Oh, dear! She dropped these two," said Arven when he noticed the Poke Balls that slipped out of Sada's arms, as he picked up the two and held them up. "Professor Sada! Professor Sada!"
"I'm standing right here, Arven..." said a voice, as Arven turned around...and saw Sada standing right behind him. Arven appeared confused as his head was turning left and right in bewilderment. "...what happened to the Poke Balls?"
"Poke Balls? But...you...huh...wah..." Arven's brain was turning into mush, as he was unable to keep up with everything that was going on.
"But you just asked for those Poke Balls like a second ago," Nemona said to Sada, who furrowed her brow as she had never spoken to Arven about any Poke Balls. Clearly something fishy was afoot.
"Unless...the Sada that showed up earlier was an IMPOSTER!" inferred Bowser, and that was the worst possible scenario that could happen. An imposter getting a hold of the Poke Balls was no good.
"Maybe that's why Farigiraf was acting so funny," said Nemona, as Farigiraf was rocking his head a bit as he had a lot of psychic energy going on in his noggin. "He knew that something was up!"
Meanwhile, Mario was trying to get the Pokemon already in the sanctuary acclimated with their new Paldean friends. For instance, he attempted to get Smeargle to bond with Grafaiai, the toxic monkey Pokemon.
"Quiet everyone..." Mario said quietly to Link, Zelda, and Turo, as Smeargle and Grafaiai stood across from each other. The plumber wanted the bond to occur naturally, and some progress was made as Grafaiai held some paint in his hand. Maybe that paint was a peace offering?
"Grafaiai!" Grafaiai cried as the toxic monkey Pokemon tossed the paint in Smeargle's face. Smeargle wiped the paint off his face as Grafaiai hurled paint in every direction.
"Stop that! This sanctuary isn't your personal canvas," Zelda scolded Grafaiai as she quickly scooped up the Pokemon; in a matter of seconds, Grafaiai began to calm down.
"You owe me five bucks," Link smirked at Mario, who grumbled as he took out his wallet and handed Link a five-dollar bill. Once Graifaiai had cooled off, Zelda placed him back on the floor.
"This Klawf won't let go of my finger!" stated Winston as he showed up, holding his hand out; a crab Pokemon named Klawf was holding onto his index finger with his pincher. Everyone laughed. "This is no laughing matter - I am clearly in a LOT of pain!"
Turo: The paint that Grafaiai hurled...it wasn't paint. It was his saliva. A saliva that can immobilize anyone for three days, including that Smeargle. There isn't a Pokemon Center within this mansion, is there? Do they at least keep some antidotes in stock?
"Professor Turo, we have a problem!" Nemona shouted to the professor as she and her classmates, Penny and Arven, ran to the scene. Turo looked alarmed, interested in knowing what the situation was.
"I accidentally gave away some of the Pokemon to an imposter!" Arven explained to Turo, putting the blame squarely on his shoulders. Way to hold yourself accountable, Arven. "It was somebody impersonating Professor Sada."
"They didn't get away with all the Pokemon, though..." added Penny, as Arven held up the two Poke Balls that fell out of the imposter Sada's possession. Two Pokemon salvaged was better than none at all.
"An imposter, you say? Must be Magolor's doing," assumed Zelda, who had already filled Mario and Link in on Magolor having infiltrated the mansion. She was surprised that Magolor didn't start any possible troublemaking until now.
"Magolor! That's one of Dimentio's allies," exclaimed Winston; he and the other Overwatch members were informed about who was a part of Dimentio's league of villains beforehand.
"Perhaps his weakest one, if we're being honest. But he's still a crafty one." Well, Magolor had to make up for his lack of strength somehow.
"We can stomp him out for ya," Nemona said to Zelda, feeling confident as she pounded her fist into the palm of her hand. Arven shared Nemona's confidence, while Penny looked at the floor doubting herself.
"Magolor can barely even defend himself...I think you can handle him," Link said to the three students, as Arven handed one of the two Poke Balls to a reluctant Penny. "Gonna stop him with those Pokemon?"
"Only if push comes to shove. But we'll just kick his butt anyway - it's what he deserves!"
Tressa was all done for the day, as she had sold all the goods she had brought with her to Seattle. The merchant was ready to close up shop after she had raised lots of moolah from the city folk.
"Gonna need a new backpack for all this stuff," remarked Tressa, as she was trying to fit the items that Marth returned into her backpack. As Olberic oversaw Tressa, he looked up and frowned upon seeing a certain hero-king.
"Just had to do it one more time..." the warrior muttered, as he saw Marth carrying an entire electric oven to the shop. Marth, albeit struggling, walked with the confidence that Tressa would take in the electric oven without question.
"One more item to return before you close up shop," Marth said to Tressa as he placed the electric oven on the counter. Tressa ogled at the oven, fascinated by the appliance as she opened and closed its door repeatedly.
"You're in luck because I have three bags of gold coins with me." Tressa was really about to give Marth the last of her gold, what a shame. "I'd say this bad boy is three bags of gold worth!"
"I wholeheartedly concur. Would love to have the gold please if you don't mind." Marth placed the electric oven on the ground, hoping that Tressa or Olberic could carry it with them. Perhaps Olberic, since he was stronger.
"Okay then, I can..." Tressa's smile suddenly faded away, as something - or someone - behind Marth caused her to change her tune. "...yeah, I'm sorry, I can't take that off your hands. But thanks anyway!"
"No problem, I was just trying to get rid of it. My crazy wife is so about 'modernizing' our home; if you ask me, it's not all that necessary."
"Your crazy what now?" a voice asked behind Marth, who tensed up real quick as he closed his eyes. Mustering the strength, Marth slowly turned his head around...
...and saw his wife, Caeda, standing with Anna and Lucina. Caeda and Anna were both looking angry at Marth, and Lucina was quick to notice.
"...I'm gonna go put your things inside," Lucina said to Caeda and Anna, taking their shopping bags as she ran inside the mansion. Marth was in it now.
Caeda: Most of our appliances were already showing a little age, so I asked Anna to hook us up with some upgrades. Marth wasn't a huge fan, to no one surprise; I had yet to see him use the new oven since we got it. Always made me cook dinner. And so what does he do with our new stuff after Anna let somebody else run her shop? *groans*
"Look, Caeda, I can explain..." a nervous Marth said to Caeda, who went into angry wife mode as she grabbed Marth by the ear and dragged him away. "...ow, ow, ow!"
"You are going to return the gold you got from that girl and you are going to get our appliances back..." Caeda said to Marth, as her anger was growing with every step that she took. Anna looked on in approval of Caeda's actions.
"I'll be dealing with you later, Marth!" Anna vowed to the hero-king, who was flung inside his own house by Caeda seconds before Caeda slammed the front door shut. The merchant went over to her shop. "Good afternoon, Tressa."
"Hi, Anna!" exclaimed Tressa, finally meeting the fellow merchant in person; she had only conversed with Anna over a flurry of letters. "Sorry that I took all that stuff from that blue-haired guy."
"Ah, I know you couldn't help it - those appliances are too hard to resist! So how was it, how was running the shop while I was gone?"
"It was a lot of fun! Sold just about everything I had in my backpack. Thought I should've brought more stuff, but it is what it is."
"At least you did your part. Thanks for keeping the shop open for me! And thanks for keeping my shop stand intact, too."
"GERONIMO!" Wario was heard shouting from above, as Gimmighoul landed on the counter. The Pokemon felt a large shadow over him and hopped onto Anna's arm, as Wario landed on the shop stand. "Ouch..."
"Why didn't you tell me that the window was open?!" Peppy was also heard shouting from above, as he fell down on top of Wario and crashed through the stand. Both Peppy and Wario were lying on the ground, left in pain.
"That's gotta hurt!" remarked Tressa, before noticing that Anna was a little disgruntled by her shop stand being destroyed. "It's okay, Anna - I can have this stand repaired with the gold that the blue-haired guy will return."
"No need, I can have it repaired myself...with Fox's money," responded Anna as she smiled whimsically, knowing just who to ask. The merchant looked at Gimmighoul, who had climbed his way up Anna's arm and onto her shoulder. "What's your name, little guy?"
"Got ya!" shouted Tracer, after she blinked over to Anna and snatched Gimmighioul off Anna's shoulder. Gimmighoul tried to fight out of Tracer's grasp, but to no avail. "Can't run from me forever, you rascal!"
"Caaaaaaw!" a Corviknight cawed, as the raven Pokemon was making its descent to the mansion bringing a carriage. Tracer and Anna watched as the Corviknight landed next to its brethren.
"Well, back to the sanctuary you go. Thanks for keeping still, Anna - unlike this little scamper! Cheers!" Tracer blinked back inside the mansion, while she left Wario and Peppy to continue writhing in pain.
With Aerith and Henry having their life force drained by Greavard, it was up to Tharja to revive the two. Gex brought Aerith and Henry (and everyone else that was at the hospital) to Aerith's house, where the revival would take place.
"You really shouldn't have the ambulance parked at the side of the road..." advised Cloud, who was looking out through the window at the ambulance Gex had stolen. Or asked for, as Gex had falsely claimed.
"Shh! Tharja is busy," Gex shushed Cloud, as Tharja was in the living room looking through her tome for a spell. Bandanna Waddle Dee helped out by turning a page in the tome, with Tharja slapping the Waddle Dee's hand away every instance.
"Woof woof!" barked Greavard as he ran about in the living room, upset that nobody was paying attention to him. He was wagging his tail at Tharja, who pushed the ghost dog Pokemon away.
"Not now you stupid dog, I'm busy!" Tharja shouted at Greavard as she ran her finger down a page of her tome, only for her eyes to widen. "Aha! I have found the required spell."
"Good - now cast it on Aerith," demanded Cloud, who couldn't wait any longer for Aerith to be awakened. Tharja smirked, leading Cloud to wonder what tricks the dark mage was pulling. "What is it now?"
"There is one small caveat...only an act of true love can really make this spell work." An act of true love? Cloud knew what Tharja was getting at, and refused to follow up on any shenanigans.
"Yeah right; I know what games you're trying to pull." Cloud defiantly folded his arms, requiring some motivation to through with this act of true love. Fortunately, Gex was able to offer plenty.
"Do it, do it, do it..." chanted Gex, raising his fists up in down as Bandanna Waddle Dee eventually joined in on the chant. It still wasn't enough for Cloud.
"Do it, do it, do it!" chanted Big, Cream, Funky Kong, and Kicks...all of whom were outside egging Cloud on through the window. Cloud was startled upon seeing the four and knew he had to do something.
"Fine, fine, I'll kiss her..." sighed Cloud, as the chanting died down to a complete stop. Cloud knelt down at Aerith and gently held the flower girl's face, as his lips were about to meet Aerith's.
"Don't drag it on," Gex advised Cloud, who waved off the lizard as he quickly went in for the kill. Cloud kissed Aerith on his lips, giving Tharja the green light to cast her spell.
"Bifröst!" shouted Tharja, casting her spell upon Aerith; after Cloud was done kissing, Aerith awoke as her eyes gradually opened. "Yes! The spell, it worked!"
"What...happened?" wondered Aerith, as Cloud helped her sit up; the flower girl was rubbing her head as Greavard ran over to greet her. "Oh, hi Greavard."
"Nope," said Cloud as he scooped up Greavard before Aerith had the opportunity to pet him. "I'm taking this dog back. He's been too much trouble."
"Oh, well, okay then...have a safe trip! Bye, Greavard!" Aerith watched as Cloud left the house with Greavard, thinking that he was going back to the dog shelter - when in actuality he was going to pay the mansion another visit.
Cloud: Starting to see why those stalkers are in town. It's becoming clear as day. Not a big fan of it.
"Would an act of true love ever revive him?" Bandanna Waddle Dee asked Tharja as he pointed at Henry, who still had yet to be revitalized. Tharja stared at Henry with a bevy of doubts in her head.
"Bold of you to assume that anyone would like Henry," replied Tharja, unable to think of a single woman from the Plegian army that would take a chance with Henry. Not even she would take a chance.
Magolor had kept himself away from everyone, hiding inside a closet as he had his sack with him. Coming down the hallway to meet Magolor was Sada...but not the real one, per se.
"Did you bring the goods?" Magolor asked the imposter Sada, who was carrying the Poke Balls in their arms. The imposter Sada revealed its true identity - Hisuian Zoroark - before dropping the Poke Balls to the floor. "Cool! Thanks."
"I'm serious, Joker, I saw Magolor in this closet!" Pit was heard shouting from down the hallway, while Magolor was scooping the Poke Balls into his sack. Magolor quickly hid inside the closet and closed the door.
"Even if Magolor is there, I wouldn't even lift a finger to hurt him," Joker said to Pit, who brought the young man into the closet that Magolor was hiding in.
"Don't mind the Zoroark...now take a look for yourself!" So Pit opened the closet door, allowing Joker to take a look inside. The angel expected Joker to spot Magolor in plain view...but all Joker saw was a sack.
"Nice one, Pit - you actually fooled me." Joker left the premises, along with the Hisuian Zoroark, as a confused Pit looked inside the closet and saw Magolor nowhere in sight. "Time for me to get back to work."
"But he was in here, I promise you! You have to believe me!" Pit ran after Joker, and once the coast was clear, Magolor emerged from his sack and brought his sack out of the closet.
"Phew! That was a close one," the alien sighed in relief, hoisting the sack over his shoulders as he closed the closet door. "Now to make my getaway escape!"
"Woof, woof, woof!" some barking was heard nearby, making Magolor afraid for a brief moment; Greavard came running down the hallway, making a beeline towards Magolor.
"Oh no! Ghost dog! Aaaaah!" Magolor was spooked by Greavard, as he ran from the ghost dog Pokemon and to the nearest staircase. The alien went down the stairs, which led to the foyer.
Once at the base of the stairs, Magolor immediately froze when he saw three individuals - an androgynous person with long blue hair, a man with a thorny aesthetic, and a female streamer with colorful hair. The three were Grusha, Brassius, and Iono, respectively; and all three were Paldean gym leaders.
"Such fine art pieces - I must inquire who the artist is. Or artist," remarked Brassius as he analyzed the paintings on the wall. He was a lot gloomier than most grass-type gym leaders.
"Subscribers are still going up - even when I'm not streaming!" exclaimed Iono, checking her social media numbers on her Rotom phone. What professional stream isn't addicted to their phone?
"Sup babe - you single and ready to mingle?" King Dedede asked Grusha, as he was making a move on the gym leader - and former pro snowboarder.
"I'm sorry...I'm a dude," answered Grusha, as King Dedede was taken aback by how the gym leader sounded. He was genuinely shocked.
"Woah-ah! What a deep voice you got there. I prefer my babes to have a high-pitched voice, but I can rock with a contralto."
"I don't think you heard me well...I am a dude," repeated Grusha, and once King Dedede picked up the hint, he felt extremely awkward as he walked away.
King Dedede: *sighs deeply* Sometimes it's hard being a single bachelor these days.
"Who are you?" Grusha asked Magolor, whom he saw in the distance; Magolor was frozen in fear, too petrified to move a single inch. Or a muscle.
"No one...I'm no one, a nobody!" answered Magolor, identifying as a reject Organization XIII member as he hoised his sack. A Poke Ball fell out, and Magolor sheepishly picked it up.
"He's stealing Poke Balls!" gasped Iono as she pointed accusingly at Magolor, who stuffed the Poke Ball back inside the sack. "He's a bad guy!"
"Then we can't let him get away," stated Grusha, ready to take matters into his own hands. "Go, Cetitan!" The gym leader sent out his ace - Cetitan, a humongous terra whale Pokemon whose size made Magolor feel intimidated.
"Why does your Pokemon have to be so big?!" questioned Magolor, shivering in fear as Cetitan crept closer to the alien with his giant ice body. "Nice Cetitan..."
Cetitan got too close for comfort, as Magolor turned around and ran away from the terra whale Pokemon. But then he came to a stop, as he encountered three more Pokemon trainers - Nemona, Arven, and Penny.
"You must be Magolor!" Nemona said to the alien, who looked back in fear as he noticed the Cetitan creeping closer and closer. "I can tell since you got that sack full of Poke Balls."
"It's not a sack full of Poke Balls, it's a sack full of Poke...Dolls!" Magolor tried to correct Nemona, only to gulp loudly when he felt Cetitan bump into him from behind. The shivering feeling found its way back inside Magolor's body.
"It's time for you to meet your end!" Arven said to Magolor as he took out his Poke Ball - one of the two that the Hisuain Zoroark had dropped. "Pokemon, come forth!" Arven sent out his Pokemon - Armarouge, the fire warrior Pokemon.
"Go and do your best..." Penny said to her Pokemon as she threw her own Poke Ball - sending out Ceruledge, the fire blades Pokemon. Armarouge and Ceruledge were like polar opposites, in a sense.
"Alright, Armoruge and Ceruledge - attack the short guy before you!" commanded Nemona, as Armarouge and Ceruledge slowly advanced to Magolor. Both Pokemon were in the mood for fighting.
"Can't we all be friends?" a fraidy Magolor asked Armarouge and Ceruledge; with Cetitan behind him, the alien had very little room for escape.
Jill and Carlos remained at the mansion, for they had one last thing to do - a heart-to-heart involving Zombie and Arthur in the living room. Overseeing the heart-to-heart aside from Jill and Carlos were Fox, Falco, Sonic, and Lavenza.
"Out with it, Arthur!" Fox shouted at the knight, who flinched as he couldn't find the courage to apologize to Zombie. After taking a deep breath, however, Arthur got over his reluctance.
"Zombie...I am sorry for sending Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira on thee," Arthur apologized to Zombie, as every word that came out of his mouth was thoughtful and sincere. "Sorry for being a sore loser over a few games of pool. Shake on it?"
"He's going for the hug!" exclaimed Sonic, as Zombie walked up to Arthur who had his hand out and wrapped his arms around him. "That's what's up." Arthur, having no choice but to accept the hug, awkwardly returned the favor.
"Do any of you hear that?" Jill asked the others, as she heard some loud screaming coming from the very insides of the mansion. "Sounds like screaming."
It was indeed screaming, and it came from Magolor who was sent flying out of the mansion by Armarouge and Ceruledge. He landed a fair distance from the establishment and was left empty-handed as he no longer had his sack.
"That cannon move sure singed my hiney," remarked Magolor as he got up rubbing his singed backside, wincing in some slight pain. "Definitely gonna feel that in the morning!"
"All done at the mansion?" a voice asked Magolor, whose eyes went wide with fear as he recognized that voice from a mile away. Giovanni approached Magolor, as Persian accompanied him. "Where are the Pokemon?"
"Mr. Giovanni! You don't understand. A bunch of dastardly kids and some girly-looking man sent out their Pokemon and kicked my butt and..." Magolor's explanation was cut short, as Giovanni held up his hand.
"I don't want to hear it. You're already on thin ice, Magolor...one more major screw-up, and Dimentio might have to replace you!"
"I know...I won't let it happen again." Magolor held his head in shame and failure, knowing another failed mission could be the end of his run with Dimentio. "At least I lasted longer than that Boo."
"Be quiet, you! That is not even worth celebrating. Now come with me - you can explain your whole story to Dimentio once we get back to base."
Thanks to their efforts (and Grusha's efforts), the trio of Nemona, Arven, and Penny took care of Magolor. The students returned to the sanctuary, bringing Magolor's sack of stolen Poke Balls.
"Here's the stolen Pokemon," Nemona said to Mario and company as she dropped the bag onto the floor and opened it up to reveal its contents. Sada and Turo were most pleased.
"Good work, you three!" Sada commended the three students after she had double-checked the Poke Balls in the bag. "We'll be sure that Director Clavell awards you for your efforts."
"Now if you excuse us, we must see how the gym leaders are handling adding the newer Pokemon," said Turo, as he and Sada left the premises. They would walk past Tracer and Winston, who were raring to leave.
"It was lovely seeing all the Paldean Pokemon, but we have to get going!" Tracer said to Mario and the others, before blinking out of the sanctuary in the blink of an eye. Winston sighed, forced to leave the sanctuary by himself.
"We'll keep in touch," Winston said to Mario, Link, and Zelda as he left the premises, hoping that Tracer didn't get too far ahead. Wasn't the first, and wouldn't be the last either.
"Hey, where's Bowser?" inquired Mario, quick to notice that the Koopa King was not present. Not that anyone was complaining, of course. But Bowser showed up, consciously sporting a black eye.
"For the record, I wasn't flirting with Sada while we were left alone," Bowser tried to clear the air with Mario and company, holding an ice pack. "I asked her to accurately critique my suit, and she...as you can see..."
"We can see for ourselves," answered Zelda, as Bowser applied the ice pack to a red spot on his face and kept on walking. "What did he expect to happen...?" Zelda muttered under her breath.
Thank goodness for Nemona and her friends rescuing the new Pokemon - in the end, their volunteerism was worth it after all.