SZ: Huh...three chapters in a row. Heh...kinda like how when we first started this story...though that was a LOT of chapters we worked on.
GT: Oh so very true. But we are on a bit of a roll.
SZ: Eeyup. And to keep the Pokemood going, we're finally getting the Ash-hat Pikachu's here in America.
GT: Wait, what?
SZ: But….there's a catch. You can only choose one, and it depends on when you use the code for it.
GT: ...Okay, so I need to pick which hats I want since I won both versions of Sun and Moon. ...Kanto/Johto Hat and Sinnoh Hat it is.
SZ: Lucky...I'm gonna have a hard time trying to decide because...I want both Hoenn Hat and Kalos Hat! *slumps*Ugh...j-just get to disclaimer and start the chapter, GT?
GT: Sure thing! We don't own anyone but the OCs! Now then…*walks over to a window and sticks head out* HEY! KETCHUP TASTES HORRIBLE AND YOUR MOTHER LOVED TO LICK MUSTARD! *closes window and runs off*
SZ: 0-0…*runs off just as a giant group of Pikachu came barging in, electricity going off from them all*
Entry 018: Um...hi. I'm Mai Natsume, a member of Team Remix Heart. *sighs* Sorry, sorry. Just my first time doing this. Normally, it's Kajun doing this report, but Makoto convinced everyone to do at least one entry for this….oh I can only imagine how nervous Noel is gonna be...ahem! S-sorry…Now then, we had just arrived at the port of Maiden's Peak a few days ago, and there was an annual Summer's End Festival going on. We were all pretty interested in it….except for Brock. He, well, was more depressed he hadn't found a girlfriend and a few remarks on girls in bikinis that Makoto did not take too kindly to that we had to hold her back from doing something to the poor guy.
Honestly...none of us were expecting what was about to happen next. Brock...he said he saw a beautiful woman while Noel claimed she saw a ghost. We tried to get our minds off it by checking out the festival, yet it was like Brock was just lovestruck and in some sort of weird trance. It didn't help soon after, we encountered an old woman claiming that Brock was about out have a cruel fate in the near future by a beautiful young woman...before stating that none of the girls in our group weren't the one she was talking about in a rather….ahem! Rude manner… And we had to hold back Makoto once more, even to the point we had to pull her out of town to break some large rocks.
Just...m-moving on. While Makoto was busy calming down, Kajun seemed oddly suspicious of that old woman we met, thinking that she and that woman Brock and Noel saw were connected. We decided to head on back...and that's where we ran into Team Rocket yet again, with James in the same state as Brock. ...I still want to know what happened to the jar Kajun screaming bloody murder into when she saw Team Rocket. A-anyway, we learn about the legend of the Maiden, who was waiting for her true love to return for over 2000 years, the stone statue behind the shrine apparently being the Maiden herself...and Brock and James seriously wanted to be with her, despite her being stone.
James managed to end up falling off over the railing with Jessie while Brock ended up staying out there when Ash and Misty went off to the Pokemon Center. Us, however...we stayed behind to look after Brock while Tsubaki and Kajun left to gather information on the Maiden. We didn't learn much later that night, but we learned that the Maiden's true love went to a war in the Ransei region and was killed by a shiny Rayquaza owned by Oda Nobunaga. ...I am not kidding. The Sengoku took place in the Ransei Region with all the people involved too. I….I just…*shudders* ...just knowing that was scary….but that's when it happened...we saw the Ghost Maiden. It managed to knock us all out with this weird wave of energy, but Makoto...That 'Maiden' caused her to be stuck in a horrible nightmare! I...I've never seen Makoto so...so...broken before…*shudders* Nightmare….what a truly horrifying move….thank Arceus Berry used one of her Electric moves to wake her up.
Makoto managed to find James and Brock, who had been in the shrine and seemed to have been drained and in lovestruck mode still. We learned from the old woman from yesterday that the Ghost of Maiden's Peak finds and lures anyone-mostly men that sees her, and drains them of their life energy...but Brock in his stupor didn't seem to care while James...he was in hysterics. As much as it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, at least James was more concerned about everything than Brock. The old woman ended up selling us some o-fuda to keep the Ghost Maiden away, but Kajun...she was still entirely suspicious about her...and we would soon learn why that same night when the Ghost Maiden returned for Brock and James. The o-fuda didn't even work for a second! Reason? They were fakes...we were sold fakes by an imposter! Oh...I forgot to mention...turns out the 'Maiden' and the old woman who ripped us off...it was a Gastly. Luckily, Kajun managed to expose him for what he really was...honestly, it almost felt like it was out of a courtroom drama with how bad Gastly brokedown.
But then everything went downhill from there. Gastly began to use illusions to transform itself into everything and anything possible to scare our Pokemon and even turned into a weird Pokemon called Pancham that reminded me of a panda...which terrified Tsubaki. ...Makoto, if you're reading this, then I am not licking Tsubaki to figure out why. Things were looking bleak until Luca threatened to destroy the statue of the Maiden...and Gastly stopped his attacks out of fear, worry...and regret? I'm not sure what Luca said to Gastly, but the ghost actually fled after he showed he knew Aura Sphere and had it aimed at the statue just before the sun rose. Phew...thank goodness that night was over and Brock was back to normal...and to add to the relief, Team Rocket agreed to back away from us for a few days...it might not be much, but I imagine Kajun is ecstatic to hear that…
We ended up spending most of the day sleeping, but we were able to get up early enough for the last parts of the festival, such as sending little wooden boats down the river to the sea and even getting to wear Yukata. Though...Makoto and I were a bit of an issue for the sellers since our…*clears throat*...our tops were bigger than the ones they had out and they had to go into the back for ones in our sizes. Even then those things were still a bit too tight, still it was great and we won a lot of prizes at the booths. Still...I wonder what's in store for us today? Well, I guess we'll find out as we head to Saffron City.
"Okay, it seems we have about another five days of walking before we make it to Saffron City," Kajun noted as she looked at the map.
"Five more days?" Ash repeated as he walked over, Butterfree on his head.
"Ree-eeee," Butterfree flew off his head and over to Hikari.
"Ralts…" Hikari smiled as the two shook hands/paws.
"So who'd ya send off to Oak?" Makoto asked.
"I sent Squirtle," Ash replied, "Krabby was with him on the call and Squirtle seemed to want to go when Krabby said something."
"Ahh…I wonder what it was?"
"(MY SUNGLASSES ARE NOT A RIPOFF OF AN ANIME!)" Squirtle roared as he chased Krabby around a small lake on Professor Oak's property, "(ANIME RIPPED OFF MY SUNGLASSES!)"
"(I SAID I WAS SORRY!)" Krabby yelped, "(OH SWEET KYOGRE HELP!)"
"(KYOGRE CAN'T HELP YOU NOW!)"
"I know that it's wrong to not try to calm them down…" Oak noted as he sat beside a brown and light-brown, humanoid Pokemon with a mustache and a cast on its leg-who just nodded in agreement-before Oak went back to writing, "But this is too good an opportunity to see the capabilities of a formerly wild Squirtle that actually ran a gang of them while contending with a gang of Buizel."
"Alakazam," the Pokemon nodded, holding up a video camera to record it to give to Bill for a fun watch later.
"Eh, I'm sure it was no biggie," Makoto shrugged.
"Beedrill!" Needles beamed as she popped out of her ball and flew over to Butterfree.
"Ree!" Butterfree beamed as the two flew around one another.
"Seems Needles missed Butterfree, too," Misty noted.
"Well of course! They are best buds after all," Makoto smiled.
"Y-yeah," Noel nodded, feeding Yuki a few beans as she carefully held the Alolan Vulpix.
"Vul~" Yuki mewled happily, her five tails wagging.
"Yuki's really enjoying those beans that came with the kit," Brock noted.
"Not just Yuki. Nymph and Umi like them, too," Noel replied, "Especially the rainbow ones."
"There were rainbow colored ones in that kit?" Mai blinked.
"Uh-huh. Though...I kinda used them all already," Noel replied as Yuki nuzzled into her, purring.
"Oh…And I guess there's no other place to buy them then."
"I don't know if there is or not," Noel replied, "I could ask La if we see her again."
"Good idea," Mai nodded, "Maybe we'll end up running into her in Saffron or Celadon City."
"...Speaking of the former…" Tsubaki began as she looked over at Brock, "Do you have any ideas on what Pokemon Type the Gym Leader there uses?"
"I'm not sure," Brock shook his head, "That place has always kinda been secretive. There's not even any footage of the Gym battles there."
"Seriously?" Makoto asked, raising a brow.
"Yeah," Brock nodded, "Though from what I recall Surge telling us, it's best to not challenge it straight away if you're heading to Celadon."
"...Huh. Must be pretty powerful th-" Makoto began before they heard screaming in the distance, before a Trainer came running inside the Pokemon Center they were staying in, "Eh?"
"Ahh!" he screamed as he skidded to a halt, letting them see his face was incredibly pale while his clothes were in tatters, "Stay...stay far away from Saffron City's Gym! That...that Gym Leader...she's...she's insane!"
"Excuse you?" Kajun raised a brow before the trainer noticed Hikari.
"?! No...not another Psychic-type monster!" the trainer freaked, "Demon…that Sabrina...she…" he then ran off, screaming, "SHE AND HER POKEMON ARE DEMONS!-!-!-!"
"...Uh...that...just happened…" Misty slowly blinked.
"But also informative," Kajun replied.
"...Excuse me?" Misty asked, looking at Kajun with a raised brow.
"He said Saffron City's Gym, the leader is named Sabrina, and from his reaction to Hikari-which was very wrong of him to call you a monster…"
"Ralts…" Hikari waved it off.
"...Then the most likely theme of the Gym is Psychic-Types," Kajun finished.
"...And what about that Trainer freakin' out, screaming that this Sabrina and her Pokemon are demons or something?" Makoto asked.
"It just means I need to train a lot to fight Psychic-types, right?" Ash asked.
"Exactly. Plus, it will be a great opportunity to train Hikari and Koko as well," Kajun smiled, the mentioned Espeon looking up from her tongue bath of Ash's Eevee at the mention of her name, giving Eevee an opportunity to flee...before he was brought back via Psychic.
"Oh...well I'm game for that!" Ash beamed, "Let's start right away!"
"Not in the Pokemon Center we're not," Kajun replied as she glanced over at the Nurse Joy at the counter, "Remember the last time you tried to have a battle or train in the lobby?"
"...I said I was sorry…" Ash muttered, blushing.
"...I'm going out for some fresh air for a moment with Luca and Astrea," Tsubaki spoke as she stood up, "We'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay. Just stay safe," Noel said as the redhead walked off and out through the doors.
"That should give us enough time to restock on some supplies, such as Potions and PokeBalls," Kajun spoke.
"Yup! I'm in a catchin' mood, s-" Makoto began.
"Actually Makoto, I was thinking I'd catch a Pokemon this time around," Kajun spoke up, "When I'm not busy helping Ashton with his training, of course."
"Oh...fair en-" Makoto began before Tsubaki walked back in, "Eh? That was fast."
"..."
"...Um, Tsubaki?" Mai blinked as Tsubaki looked over at her, "Are...you alright?"
Tsubaki just giggled before within an instant, she snatched Mai's ribbon and Misty's blue hair scrunchy.
"H-hey!"
"Uh, Tsubaki? Are you oka-" Makoto began before Tsubaki looked over at her with a playful smirk, an unsettling glint in her eye as she held the ribbon and hair scrunchy up, "...Why are you loo-" seconds later, Tsubaki giggled as she ran off, leaving behind a twitching Makoto with her hair pulled into pigtails on the sides of her head, "Why that…!"
"What's gotten into Tsubaki?!" Misty asked in an annoyed tone as Makoto pulled the ribbon and hair scrunchy off.
"I don't know, b-" Mai began.
"Sorry. I think I forgot some…" Tsubaki began as she walked back in with Luca, the two blinking as they noticed Mai, Misty, and Makoto looked at her, the former two in annoyance while the latter was giving an annoyed glare, "Thing? ...Why….are you looking at me like that? And why is Mai's ribbon and Misty's hair scrunchy in Makoto's hair?"
"Oh gee. I don't know...maybe it's because you snatched them and gave me pigtails!" Makoto shouted before Nurse Joy hushed her, "Sorry."
"Excuse me?" Tsubaki blinked.
"Rio?" Luca blinked.
"Wow. I can't believe you actually did that," Ash noted as he looked at Tsubaki with a surprised look, "I was kinda expecting Cherry or Berry to do that, maybe with Squirtle and Aqua if they wanted to help, but not you."
"...Ash, I was outside with Luca," Tsubaki frowned a bit, "You honestly expect me to do something like that?"
"Well...no but...we all saw you do it," Ash replied.
"H-he's right," Noel nodded, "We all saw you do it."
"If that's true, then where was Luca?" Tsubaki countered.
"Maybe he stayed outside?" Makoto guessed.
"Look. I'm telling you all I didn't d-"
"JOY!" the group looked to the entrance to see a livid Officer Jenny standing there, her normal hair colored dyed pink and her police outfit completely white, "DID YOU REPLACE MY SHAMPOO WITH HAIR DYE AGAIN?!"
"Oh my goodness!" Nurse Joy tried to not laugh, "A-Are you trying a new look, Jenny?"
"Don't dodge the question!" Officer Jenny snapped as she stomped over, "Did you or did you not replace my shampoo with hair dye again?!"
"...I assure you I did no such thing, Jenny."
"Liar! You did do it, I know it!" Officer Jenny snapped as she slammed her hands on the counter, "This is for getting back at me for 'drowning you in ice water' last week!"
"I know that it was you. You're the only one of your relatives with a beauty mark above the right cheek!"
"...Okay. I'm starting to think Tsubaki really didn't do it," Brock noted as they watched the two bicker.
"Riolu?" Luca rolled his eyes, everyone managing to pick up the sarcasm in his tone.
"...B-but, if it wasn't Tsubaki, then...then who…" Noel began.
"Ruff!"
"KYA!" Noel yelped as she jumped up, nearly dropping Yuki in the process, "Wh-what was that?!"
"Mmmm~"
The group looked down to see a small Dog-like Pokemon looking up at them. The dog-like Pokemon looked to be just a bit bigger than Yuki with primarily light brown with a darker brown muzzle, paws, and ear tips. It had big, blue eyes, button ears, a little muzzle with a little pink nose, and a short tuff of fur on each cheek. Around its neck was a ruff of greyish-white fur with rocks literally growing out of it along with an extremely fluffy tail the same color as its ruff and curled at the end.
"C….cute…" Noel whispered with a blush as Ash pulled out his Pokedex.
=Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon. Rockruff has an excellent sense of smell. It will never forget an odor after smelling it once. There are tales of it reuniting with its Trainer after becoming lost by following the faintest traces of scent. This Pokémon is very sociable and will greet others by rubbing them with the rocks around its neck= Dexter informed as the Pokemon panted while looking up at them.
"Odd...This Pokémon is normally seen around the Alola Region," Kajun noted, "I wonder wh-"
"RUFF!"
"Kya!" Tsubaki yelped as Rockruff suddenly knocked her over and pounced on top of her before it began to lick her face, "H-hey! Cut that out! Th-that tickles!" it proceeded to start rubbing the rocks on its neck on her, "Ah! Th-That tickles?!"
"Ri?!" Luca gawked before Rockruff pounced on him, rubbing the rocks on its neck on him, "Lu~?!"
"He seems affectionate," Brock noted.
"Well Dexter did say Rockruff are very sociable Pokemon," Kajun pointed out, "...Still, what IS a Rockruff doing all the way out here in Kanto?"
"Maybe he hitched a ride or something?" Makoto guessed, "I mean, he looks like...wait! We're getting off track here! We never found out who…"
"Um….M-Makoto?" Noel spoke.
"What?" Makoto asked as Noel pointed behind her, making her blink in confusion as she turned around to see….herself, "?!"
'Makoto' giggled before throwing the pie she had right into Makoto's face before running off at the same time.
"..." Makoto slowly blinked, trying to register what just happened, "...First off; I apologize for accusing you before, Tsubaki. Second off: What...just happened?! Why was there another me?!"
"...Hmm…" Kajun began to ponder, "Perhaps…"
"Something up, Kajun?"
"...I know this might be a random question but...did that other Makoto seem...different to you compared to our Makoto?" Kajun asked the group.
"Not really. Same figure, same height, same giggle when she's gonna do something devious and…" Mai began.
"I get it," Makoto deadpanned.
"...Actually, her cosplay looked a bit different," Misty spoke up, catching their attention, "Instead of looking like a Pachirisu tail colored brown and ears, it looked more like a small fox tail and ears."
"Not a co…" Makoto began.
"Exactly," Kajun nodded as she leafed through her Pokemon Notebook, "Though that is a bit concerning as well. Because if I'm right, then who that is shouldn't even be in this town, let alone this Region."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"Where is it…? Ah, here we go," Kajun turned her notebook around to show a small fox-like Pokemon with black fur, blue eyes, and hints of red including a large amount on the top of its head, "This is Zorua, a Pokemon native to Unova."
"Zorua?" Ash repeated as he looked it up on Dexter.
=Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon. To protect themselves from danger, they hide their true identities by transforming into people and Pokémon= Dexter informed.
"...Wait. So that other me and Tsubaki from before was a Zorua?!" Makoto gawked.
"More or less, yes," Kajun nodded.
"...Should we tell those two over there that th-" Makoto began, jerking her thumb over at the still bickering Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy.
"No, no, no," Kajun replied, starting to pull out a pair of vial, "If we wait long enough for a physical fight to happen, I can…"
*CLANG*
"S-Sorry…" Noel apologized, lowering the frying pan she had as Kajun crumpled to the floor with a large smoking bump on her head.
"You did the right thing, Noellie...you did the right thing…" Makoto patted her shy friend's shoulder.
"...Okay. Where the actual hell are those scouts and grunts we sent?" Karai asked with a slight frown, wearing a black dragon-themed hoodie and short shorts as she and Aoiro sat at a bench, "They should be back from checking out the Gym by now."
"Did you make sure they had their Dark Type Pokemon this time?" Aoiro asked, wearing a white blouse and sky-blue skirt with white and blue pantyhose.
"Of course I did! I'm not stupid!" Karai argued.
"Did you remember to have them wear the hats with Houndour fur sewn into them to not be affected by psychics?"
"...uh..."
"..."
'...She's gonna use the fan on me, isn't she?' Karai thought before a metal folding fan whacked her upside the head ,"Gah!"
"Ugh...what am I gonna do with you?" Aoiro sighed, "...Maybe I should convince father to enroll you in school."
"Pfft! Please...like I can handle all that boring stuff. Besides…" Kairai paused as she shot up, "I was born to be a rocker! YEAH~!-!-!" she shouted as she did an air-guitar riff...somehow making actual guitar noises.
"Serenade," Aoiro frowned.
"She bribed me with the usual."
"Ugh…" Aoiro sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose to quell the incoming migraine.
"...Okay seriously though, even if they don't have protecting, they still have Dark Pokemon, which are immune to Psychic-Types," Karai stated with a grin, "So even if they're found out, no way th-"
"Ugh...lady...Aoiro…"
"Hmm?" Aoiro raised a brow as she and Karai looked to the side...seeing a Rocket grunt staggering over, holding his arm as his outfit was in tatters, "?!"
"It...it's no use...she's...too strong…" the grunt panted.
"Serenade."
"I can't Teleport," Serenade replied, worry in her telepathy, "Someone's blocking it."
"...I see…" Aoiro whispered, worry now in her voice as she rushed over to the grunt, "I need details. Please tell me...what happened?"
"We...we used our Dark Type Pokemon like Lady Karai wanted us, but...even with them…" the grunt panted out before coughing up a bit of blood, "We...we couldn't even make a dent on her strongest Pokemon."
"...You were supposed to just observe, not assault."
"We did observe. But….she found us before we even reached the gym…" the grunt explained weakly, "Sabrina….she….she's far too dangerous…"
Aoiro frowned as the grunt passed out, "Damn it."
"...He's probably talking shit," Karai scoffed as she moved over to her, "All I need is to just sic Blackfire or Chaos on her, and I-"
"You will do no such thing," Aoiro ordered.
"Eh?"
"We need to report to father at once…" Aoiro stated, a hint of worry in her voice, "If worse comes to pass….we may need to eliminate the Saffron Gym all together. Or to be precise...Sabrina."
"Excuse me?"
"Yes?" Nurse Joy asked after exhaling from a deep breath, giving a small assuring smile, "How may I help you?"
"Yes. I was wondering if you knew anything about a Zorua in the area," Kajun questioned.
"Zorua?"
"That's correct."
"No, I haven't heard about a Zorua in the area," Joy replied, "In fact, I haven't had a Zorua as a patient here for a year or so now."
"I see…"
"Though...I am curious why you asked me," Nurse Joy admitted.
"I believe that there's a Zorua in the area," Kajun replied.
"Ahh. I see…" Joy noted, "...Hold on. If that is true…"
"Then it is most likely it's been pranking you and Officer Jenny."
"...I am a Pokemon Nurse. I do not harm Pokemon, I treat them."
"Excuse me?" Kajun pondered.
"I am a Pokemon Nurse. I do not harm Pokemon, I treat them."
'Okay. I think she's so mad, she has to repeat her job to herself repeatedly,' Kajun thought.
"I am a Pokemon Nurse. I do not harm Pokemon, I treat them."
"...Okay...maybe I should wait a while before having you checked up…" Tsubaki sweatdropped, carrying Rockruff in her arms as she and the other slowly inched away from Nurse Joy.
"Ruff…" Rockruff softly yipped in agreement.
"Maybe we can get a quick bite at the lunch buffet while we think about what to do about that Zorua," Makoto suggested.
"Good idea," Brock nodded, "We can't think clearly on an empty stomach."
"I'll say," Ash nodded as his stomach rumbled.
"In that case, to the buffet!" Makoto declared as she ran off with Ash.
"...Someone please go after them before they get us banned…" Tsubaki sighed.
"So long as none of us catch a Snorlax, we should be okay," Misty noted.
"Misty?"
"Yes, Mai?"
"Please don't tempt fate like that," Mai pleaded.
"(So what's your story?)"
"(Hm?)" Rockruff poked his head up from the bowl of Pokemon food to look at Aqua.
"(How exactly did you get here to Kanto?)"
"(Oh! That's easy. I hopped on a boat!)" Rockruff beamed...before his ears dropped a bit, "(Good thing I did...those Aether humans were starting to get scary…)"
"(Aether?)" Berry repeated.
"(These humans in white clothes that took care of Pokemon that got really hurt or there were really less of us)," Rockruff explained, "(But then they started to get scary, especially the lady that made me think of a Bug-type combined with a Fighting-type in how she looked, so I saw a boat and got on it and hid on it. Then I fell asleep and woke up at this place with a human that was made of rocks on a cliff and a funny Gastly that liked taking this paper stuff from humans for more paper stuff and scaring them before I got bored and walked to here.)"
"(I see...so you came here from Maiden's Peak,)" Luca noted.
"(Yup. I was happy meeting people that weren't scary, but…)" Rockruff paused as he tilted his head a bit, "(I don't get why that Zorua likes to play tricks on people..or rather 'illusion tricks' as he liked to call them.)"
"(Tricks?)"
"(He liked to call himself the Phantom Trickster, often pranking and tricking humans that come around this area,)" Rockruff explained.
"(Have you known him long?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Not really. I've only been here for thirty suns. I think he's been around for a lot longer)," Rockruff replied.
"(Oh...well he is aware that he's been causing that officer and nurse to argue constantly, right?)" Aqua asked, earning a shrug from him.
"(I never really paid attention unless the nice pink lady gave me something yummy like treats.)"
"(...I think you and I are going to get along just fine)," Cherry noted, patting Rockruff's head.
"(Ah! The nice petting!)" Rockruff's tail wagged as he proceeded to nuzzle his rocks against Cherry, tail going nuts, "(I love the nice petting!)"
"(Heh heh. Noted)," Cherry giggled a bit...trying not to grunt in pain from having rocks rubbed against her like that.
"Hey remind me again, why'd the boss send us all the way out here?" one of a pair of figures asked as they walked through the woods.
"Because this is the town closest to the next town with a dock. Trainers often come here with Pokemon from entirely different regions."
"Ah...still, why couldn't there be a Safari Zone near here? I was the Ultimate Safari Hunter before joinin', ya know? Kinda like how you're the Ultimate Analist."
"...That's Analyst."
"Yeah. That's what I said."
"...Just focus on our mission."
"Got it. I mean, we are the Ultimate Rookies after all, so there's no way we can botch this up, especially not old fruit boy and the hag."
"WHO JUST CALLED ME A HAG?!" Jessie snapped as she looked around, her eyes red with rage.
"Not us," James and Meowth replied, the blue-haired man focusing on cooking their lunch.
"Hmm…" Kajun mummered as she looked at some of her notes on Zorua, "Maybe...no no. That wouldn't work."
"What about if we…" Brock motioned to another line on one of the pages.
"Maybe. No, wait, we'd need a Donphan or Rhydon for that. Perhaps this one?"
"I don't have a Metal Coat."
"Drat. I could have sworn we got one on the SS Anne," Kajun frowned.
"What are you two up to?" the two looked over to see Tsubaki walking over, Rockruff and Luca following behind her.
"We're trying to figure out how to catch Zorua before it ends up doing something damaging," Kajun answered, "And so far….nothing."
"And the fact Zorua can take the form of anyone makes it even harder…" Brock sighed a bit.
"True...Though...We could always set up a system," Tsubaki noted.
"A system?" Kajun repeated.
"We keep a Pokemon out at all times while we're here. If we don't have one with us, that's the Zorua," Tsubaki replied.
"...That's not a bad idea," Brock noted.
"Even so, it would be hard to track Zorua down if it takes the form of someone else," Kajun stated.
"...Hmm…" Tsubaki pondered for a moment as her gaze trailed off towards Luca, "...What about Luca? We could use his Aura sensing abilities to track down Zorua."
"Ri," Luca nodded.
"Are you sure he's up to the task?" Kajun asked as she looked at two pages in her Pokemon Notebook, "Riolu are mostly beginners in Aura training, often only able to release it to call for help."
"True…" Tsubaki nodded before Luca made an Aura Sphere and dismissed it, "But most Riolu aren't Luca."
"...That is true…" Kajun noted before pondering for a moment, "...We'll have him as a last minute resort just in case."
"Fair enough."
"Okay...so how does this help us knock the lights out of that tricky fox?" Makoto asked as Misty finished tying a piece of fabric on her upper arm.
"You'll see," Misty replied, wearing one as well.
"Do you guys wonder why that Zorua's playing pranks?" Ash pondered.
"I'm….not sure," Noel answered, "M-maybe he's just lonely and wants to get attention?"
"But disguising himself as different people?" Mai raised a brow at that.
"Well...We could get some hair or fur off it and have Mai lick it," Misty suggested.
"That's still both cool...and kinda creepy," Ash admitted.
"Eh heh heh…" Mai sheepishly chuckled at that.
"Well as long as we find the little troublemaker, I'm good with just about any-" Makoto began before an explosion occurred outside, "..."
"..." everyone slowly looked at Makoto.
"That was not me."
"...It's gonna be Team Rocket, isn't it?" Misty sighed.
"Ahh! Run! This guy's insane!" a voice shouted outside.
"I told ya to not diss my threads!"
"..."
"That didn't sound like the trio we know," Mai noted.
"No kidding...should we check it out?" Makoto asked.
"Considering Ash just ran off to check it out, yeah," Misty replied.
"Huh?" the others looked at where Ash had been sitting beside Noel, only to see nothing there.
"...Ugh...darn it, Ash…" Tsubaki sighed as she and the others followed after him.
"Ahh!" a trainer screamed as he ran off, his eye black and his clothes scuffled as he ran from a pair of figures.
"That's what you get for dissin' my threads, idiot!"
"Did you really have to do that? I think we've attracted a lot of attention from that."
"So what? Nobody disses me, my threads, or my hair and gets away with it."
"Ugh…"
The first of the two figures was a young man with his onyx hair done up in a pompadour. He wore a pure black shirt underneath an opened long black jacket that rested on his shoulders, a stylized 'R' on the back of it, a pair of tattered jeans, and a pair of black combat boots.
The second of the figure was a young woman with ivory hair pulled up into a bun with a pair of black chopsticks. She wore a black shirt with a red 'R' on it underneath a white labcoat, a black skirt ending at her knees with a pair of black and white stockings on her legs, and a pair of glasses resting in front of her eyes.
"Tch. Let's just go and find that Pokemon. I'm gonna show th-" the man began.
"Hey you!"
"I believe this is where I say 'I told you so,'" the woman noted as they turned to see Ash running up to them.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Ash demanded before he noticed the R on the woman's shirt, "Gh?!"
"It appears he knows about our organization," the woman noted.
"Eh? ...Wait, is this that kid that keeps…?" the man began once more.
"There you are, Ash!"
"..." the woman sighed as Misty, Brock, and the rest of the girls catched up with Ash, "Ugh...again, I told you so…"
"At least it's not Jessie, James, and Meowth this time, right?" Makoto noted to Kajun.
"I'd prefer it to not be anyone in their organization for at least once," Kajun admitted.
"True...but we're gonna have to deal with the motto as well…" Misty sighed.
"Eh? Motto?" the man raised a brow.
"You know. 'Prepare for trouble, make it double', all that stuff," Makoto clarified.
"...What are you, high?! We're not some saturday morning cartoon villains!" the man snapped.
"I do believe they've had multiple run-ins with one of the teams that performs their own interpretation of the Team rocket creed," the woman noted.
"Oh...must be those old geezers Jessie and James then," the man noted, "Only they're stupid enough to use something stupid as a motto."
"WHO JUST CALLED ME A GEEZER AGAIN?!" Jessie snapped, an aura of anger around her and her eyes red with rage as she looked around.
"Not us!" James and Meowth replied, hiding in a tree nearby to not get attacked by her.
"...So who are you two supposed to be then? Team Rocket's B team?" Makoto asked.
"Heck no! We're the Ultimate Rookies of Team Rocket!" the man declared as he dramatically pointed to himself with his thumb.
"Ultimate Rookies?" the group repeated.
"That's right!" the man grinned as he assumed a dramatic pose, his jacket flowing in the wind, "Name's Billy, the Ultimate Safari Zone Hunter! No matter the region, no matter the time of day, no matter the weather, no matter my condition, I go out and capture every single Pokemon there is in the Safari Zone! They try and run away from me, but I chase them down! They try and overpower me, I overpower them with my partners! They try and scare me, I scare them back! I…!"
"We get it…" Mai sweatdropped.
"Considering you've blown our cover before we could even begin, I suppose I'll have to say my own name as well. My name is Kit and, regretfully, his partner in our duo," the woman sighed, adjusting the glasses on her face, "I am considered the Ultimate Analyst. I look over and analyze any given situation, whether it is programs, information, and Pokemon battles, and point out any flaws or weaknesses."
"In short, you all are screwed," Billy smirked, "Now stay out of our way! We're after some Pokemon here!"
"...You're not taking Pikachu," Ash frowned as Pikachu growled at the two, his cheeks sparking.
"Pfft! Pelase. Like we want your little electric rat," Billy scoffed, "We're looking for something rarer than a lousy Pikachu."
"Billy, if you read the reports involving this boy, you would know that his Pikachu can absorb the Thunder attack of a Dragonite that could possibly rival even the Legendary Pokemon Raikou, Zekrom, or Zapdos," Kit whispered to Billy.
"Wait. He's that kid who beat White Truth?" Billy blinked, "I thought that was just a rumor some stupid grunt who got mad at her made up!"
"Ugh…"
"...Know what? That makes things better for us then," Billy smirked, "We can take the kid's Pikachu, and get the rare Pokemon we're after too! It's like catching two Legendary Birds with one Master Ball!"
"And of his friends?"
"What about them? They look like a bunch of wimps anyway," Billy scoffed before a shadow came over him, "What's huh?"
"Iwark…" Onix growled, his lone eye glaring down at him.
"He's accompanied by two Gym Leaders currently on sabbatical," Kit responded to Billy.
"Say what?! Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?!" Billy snapped.
"Because you're an idiot who can't keep his mouth shut," Kit bluntly stated.
"Shut up!"
"These two seem more disorganized than Jessie and James…" Tsubaki sweatdropped.
"H-hai…" Noel agreed.
"We don't have the time for this," Kit sighed before tossing out a ball, causing it to open and reveal an even larger PokeBall with eyes on it.
"What the heck?" Makoto raised a brow as Ash pulled out Dexter.
=Voltorb, the Ball Pokemon. Because of its resemblance to Poké Balls, it is thought that it was created when one was exposed to an energy pulse. It has a volatile temperament, and will explode if bumped or agitated=
"Did Dexter just say it explodes?" Mai blinked.
"Selfdestruct," Kit ordered.
"Voltorb!" the ball shouted as it began to glow.
"Gh?! Hit the deck!" Brock freaked as he and Misty got behind Onix, the two dragging the others behind the rock snake Pokemon before...
*BOOM!*
Everyone kept their eyes shut as Onix wrapped around them quick enough to prevent the explosion from hitting them. After a few tense moments, Onix uncurled himself as the others looked to see a large crater where Voltorb had been with Billy and Kit missing.
"Holy…!" Makoto gawked, "Uh...when Dexter said Voltrb explode, I didn't think he meant they become literal suicide bombs!"
"Well, Makoto, to be fair, they were used as grenades during quite a few wars in history," Kajun noted, holding up a history textbook, "While their evolved forms were used as large-scale bombs meant to decimate large buildings."
"Seriously?!" Makoto gawked.
"Yes."
"...While that bit of info is gruesome, I think we need to focus on the matter at hand," Tsubaki spoke, "Those two are after a rare Pokemon, and knowing Team Rocket...there's most likely going to be collateral damage."
"Too little too late for saying that," Makoto pointed at the crater.
"I meant further collateral damage," Tsubaki clarified.
"Ruff!" Rockruff barked as he ran over to the crater and started sniffing around it.
"Hmm? What's Rockruff up to?" Mai asked.
"...Maybe…" Tsubaki began as she walked over to Rockruff, carefully moving into the crater as she knelt down to the puppy like Pokemon, "You're looking for any evidence leading to them, aren't you?"
"Ruff!" Rockruff nodded, panting happily for a moment before resuming his sniffing.
"Dad told me about this during our last chat on the phone," Brock noted, "Apparently, Rockruff and their evolved forms are used by the police in Alola as bloodhounds when they need to locate someone. He's been having his own practice it by letting my brothers and sister play hide and seek with it so it can be applied to trainers who use Dig in battles."
"I see...interesting to know," Kajun nodded.
"Ruff?" Rockruff's ears twitched a bit when he caught the scent of something; moving closer to the edge, he began to dig into the ground.
"Did you find something?" Tsubaki asked.
"Ruff!" Rockruff barked, digging a bit deeper before pulling something up with his teeth.
"Eh? An apple core?"
"Maybe he was just hungry," Makoto sweatdropped.
"...Or it could be a clue," Kajun spoke up, making them look at her, "If my assumption is correct, it belonged to Billy and it fell out of his coat pocket during his and Kit's retreat."
"...Okay, we haven't even known them for five minutes and that sounds completely possible based on what we've seen him do so far," Mai admitted.
"Agreed…" Misty added with a slight sweatdrop.
"...In fact, I bet we could use Rockruff's sense of smell to find and detect Zorua," Kajun said as Rockruff began to sniff the apple core.
"Ruff ruff!" Rockruff barked before he began to run off.
"After that adorable rock pup!"
"Gah! What did I do?!" a man exclaimed as a woman walked away in a huff, a bright red handprint on the man's face.
"You know what you did, pervert!"
"I swear that wasn't me!" the man pleaded, unaware of a similar man snickering a bit behind a tree before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Zor…" a small Zorua with a bit of red fur over his right eye snickered as his messy tail swayed a bit. He then poked his head out of a nearby bush to see a trainer walking alongside a dog-like Pokemon with the color pattern of a tiger with a cream underbelly, tuff of fur on its head, and muzzle while a nearby person was selling some cabbages nearby from a cart, "...Zorua…"
"Okay buddy, let's hurry up to the store and pick up something nice for dinner. Who knows? Maybe…" the trainer began before a meow went off, "...Oh no…"
"Growl?" the dog-like Pokemon paused in its following as it looked to see a Meowth licking its paw on the cabbage cart, "...Grrrrrrrr!"
"Nonononnononononon-AHH!" the trainer yelped as the dog-like Pokemon ran towards the Meowth, unintentionally dragging its master along the ground, "No boy, no!"
"Hmm?" the cart owner blinked as he turned...only to pale when he saw something charging toward him, "No...no no no...nonononon-"
*CRASH!*
"My cabbages!" the owner shouted as the dog-like pokemon dug through the cart remains and cabbages, trying to look for that annoying cat while its master laid knocked out on the ground.
"Meowth meowth meowth…" the Meowth snickered, hiding behind a bush before disappearing in a puff of smoke, letting Zorua take its place, "(Ah ha hah. It's always so nice to do a regular prank every now and again. Ooh...maybe I should mess with that nurse and cop again. Their fights are always a blast to watch.)" he began to walk off before he was suddenly grabbed, "?!"
"Heh heh...found ya," Billy smirked, holding Zorua by the scruff of his neck fur, "Told ya I could find it without needing any special device, Kit."
"Right…" Kit rolled her eyes, "Because you going the opposite way of every direction I gave you from the radar was brilliant and in no way intentionally planned to get you to go the right way."
"...Was that sarcasm?" Billy blinked.
"No. I was praising you…"
"...That was sarcasm, wasn't it?! I...know what? Nevermind," Billy scoffed before holding Zorua up to his face, "Hope you're good in battle, because you're Team Rocket's property now, ya little mutt."
*GABU*
"EEYOW!"
"And this is why you're supposed to capture them in a Pokeball first before you bring them close to your face," Kit sighed as Billy ran around her, Zorua biting down hard on his nose.
"Gah! Little mutt! Get off my face!" Billy shouted as he tried to pull Zorua off off, only for it to let go and jump out of his hands and off his pompadour, "Gah!"
"Heh...Zorua Zor…" Zorua smirked as he landed attempting to run before he sensed something highly dangerous behind him.
"You….you little turd…" Billy growled, a vein popping out on his forehead as he glared at Zorua, "What did you just say about my 'do…?"
"...Zor…" Zorua meeped, his tail pointing straight up as he was about to run for it.
"Oh no you don't! Houndoom, mess him up!" Billy snapped as he tossed out a Dusk Ball.
The ball opened up before releasing the Pokemon from its confides. Snarling at the now-worried Zorua was a fearsome canine-like Pokemon...or, rather, a hellhound-like Pokemon. Its fur was an ashy black and coarse all over as if it erupted from a raging inferno. The exposed skin on its underbelly and muzzle were a blistering red-orange color, almost becoming pure scarlet in shading. Bones grew out along its back like exposed ribs with two curved horns replacing its ears. Rings made of bone decorated the ankles of its four paws, seemingly emerging from the body itself, while a long, thin, pitch black tail ending in a spade completed the hellish look. It narrowed its pure blood-shot red eyes at Zorua before letting out a deep, menacing howl.
"Z...Zor…" Zorua gulped as he slowly began to back away.
"Use Sludge Bomb to prevent it from escaping!" Billy ordered.
"DOOM!" Houndoom roared before hacking up a large blob of toxic sludge from its jaws, crashing behind Zorua and exploding, startling the tiny fox into stopping its retreat.
"You're not going anywhere, you little freak…" Billy growled as he glared at Zorua, "Me and Houndoom are gonna make sure you know your place...and not to mess with my 'do!"
"We need to capture it, not k-"
"SHUT UP, KIT!" Billy barked, "Houndoom, use Crunch and toss it around like a ragdoll!"
"Hound…" Houndoom growled as he approached the frightened Zorua, the hellhound-like Pokemon barring his razor sharp fangs with the intent of biting his prey.
Zorua wanted to run away and transform to hide...but he knew all too well that Houndoom were very nasty hunters, especially Alphas in a pack. Just staring at the hellhound made his legs feel like they were paralyzed. Just as its fangs were nearly upon his tiny frame, a trashcan slammed into the side of its head, knocking it away with a yelp.
"What?!" Billy gawked.
"Excellent shot, Koko," Kajun complimented as Rockruff and Tsubaki stopped beside her, the Espeon giving a nod of acknowledgement to the compliment and the puppy Pokemon growling at Team Rocket.
"You punks again?!" Billy growled.
"Seems the info on them being persistant was true…" Kit noted as Ash and the others caught up.
"What Pokemon is that?" Ash pondered as he pulled out Dexter.
=Houndoom, the Dark Pokemon, and the evolved form of Houndour. It was once known as 'Hellgar' by ancient Johtonians since its howls were said to be the sound of the grim reaper. The flames it breathes when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever= Dexter informed.
'A...a hellhound...it's a literal hellhound…' Makoto thought...instantly shooting behind Mai as her tail shot straight up.
'They have hellhounds as Pokemon?!' Mai thought with wide eyes before suppressing a moan as Makoto squeezed where her hands laid on Mai, "Makoto…"
"It relieves fear…" Makoto shivered as Noel shot behind her, shivering with wide eyes as Yuki hopped right into Makoto's tail out of fear of the scary Houndoom.
"Hmm...It seems that two of them are terrified of Houndoom," Kit observed, "Perhaps they've heard stories of its flames containing toxins or exaggerates tales of them being Pokemon that drag damned souls to the Distortion World to be devoured by Giratina?"
"P-please stop…" Noel begged, her eyes completely blank with fear as she and Makoto shook further.
"Too tight, Makoto! Too tight!" Mai grunted a bit in pain.
"You try and calm down after hearing all that!" Makoto hissed.
"...Heh. If I were your two friends there, I'd do the same and back away," Billy smirked, "Or do you want to get chewed on or burnt by Houndoom?"
"Houn…" Houndoom snarled.
"...What are you planning on doing to Zorua?" Ash asked with a slight frown.
"Well we were going to...know what? Why should I tell a no good punk like you?! Houndoom can eat your little rat an-!" Billy began.
*BZZZZZT!*
"...What...just happened…?" Billy coughed, his body sparking a bit with electricity.
"You underestimated him, something of which Rocket Members Jessie and James tend to do…" Kit sighed.
"Wh...whatever. Houndoom can still take them all on…" Billy grunted out.
"Starmie, Hydro Pump!"
That was all Houndoom heard before a high-pressured blast of water slammed it into a wall.
"Another thing they've reported on them is that one of the two Gym Leaders is a Water-type Gym Leader," Kit sighed.
"...Seriously, why doesn't anyone tell me these things?!" Billy demanded.
"Again, because you are an idiot," Kit stated as she pulled out a Great Ball, "Froslass, come forth."
The ball opened and released a rather unusual Pokemon. It was a humanoid Pokémon with a hollow torso that resembled a kimono. It wore a red band around its waist, reminiscent of an Obi. Its body lacked feet and it floated a few feet in the air. Its arms ware connected to the sides of its head, and flared at the wrists. The flared portion had dappled, light blue coloration. Its hands consisted of three small fingers. Its head was shaped similar to a sideways water droplet, and was topped with two ice crystals that resembled horns. Its head had several holes on it, resembled a mask. Through two of these holes, crystal blue eyes with yellow sclera could be seen. It also had a mouth below the "mask".
=Froslass, the Snow Land Pokemon, and the evolved form of a female Snowrunt with a Dawn Stone. Froslass lives in snowy areas and has the ability to freeze foes with its -58 degrees Fahrenheit breath. It is thought to display its victims secretly after freezing them=
"It does what now?" Brock asked.
=Froslass are Ghost/Ice Type Pokemon= Dexter added.
'That thing did it on purpose!' Mai thought in her pain as Makoto's hands squeezed all that harder on her big bosom.
"Ice type, huh...nothing we can't handle. Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
"Pi…"
"Use Hail," Kit ordered as she adjusted her glasses.
"Fros…" Froslass swung her hands up and the skies darkened with clouds.
"!? Weather manipulation…" Kajun whispered as it began to hail on the area.
"Ow ow ow! Warn me n-ow! Next time when you use th-ow! That move!" Billy complained as he got hit by the hail.
"Noted...Froslass...Blizzard," Kit ordered once more.
"?! Starmie, block with Hydro Pump!" Misty quickly ordered.
"FrosLASS!" the Ghost/Ice-type shouted as she swung his arms out, unleashing a chilling blast of freezings winds at them.
Starmie fired its Hydro Pump once more. The two blasts collided and struggled with one another for a few moments before dispersing into shards of ice.
"?! Th...That move…" Noel gasped.
"Yukianesa," Tsubaki breathed out with wide eyes.
"...Froslass, Double Team into Confuse Ray."
Froslass released a wave of cold air before Starmie was surrounded by multiple copies of her. Froslass held a hand up and a purple beam fired from each extended hand and struck Starmie before she could move. When the beam halted, Starmie began to move about erratically.
"Oh no...Starmie, return!" Misty shouted as Starmie returned to its Pokeball.
"I suggest you retreat," Kit stated as Froslass floated next to her, "We are on a mission, and do not need…"
"Luca, Foresight followed by Force Palm!"
"What?" Kit blinked before Froslass was slammed into the ground by the Riolu.
"Shadow Ball, Koko!"
"Ho?!" Houndoom yelped as it was slammed away from its attempt to sneak attack Riolu by a sphere of shadows, sending it hitting a wall once more.
"Try to get the Zorua out of here," Kajun advised, "Tsubaki and I have this."
"Eh? But…." Ash began.
"We can handle these two, Ash. Please hurry and get Zorua out of here," Tsubaki spoke, unaware that Rockruff was looking at her from a nearby bush.
"...Got it," Ash nodded before shouting out to the still frightened Zorua, "Zorua, come with us!"
"Z...Zor…" Zorua whispered, not sure whether to trust them or not...but given the current situation and the fact there was a HOUNDOOM there...he quickly shook his head as he began running over to Ash.
"Oh no you don't! Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Billy ordered.
"Tactic 1, Koko," Kajun ordered.
"Esp," Koko nodded.
"Tactic what?" Billy blinked.
Flames gathered in Houndoom's jaws before the trashcan from before slammed onto its head, startling it. The lid of it, covered in a purple glow, proceeded to slam into its side repeatedly while it was still on Houndoom's head.
"Froslass, use…"
"Aura Sphere!"
"What?" Kit gave a flat 'what' before a sphere of aura slammed into Froslass and sent her crashing into Houndoom, "That wasn't in the report…"
"No kiddin'..." Billy whispered with wide eyes, "...Okay. These kids are better than we thought...now I see why the two geezers want their Pokemon so bad."
"THERE IT IS AGAIN!" Jessie snarled, "Who keeps calling me a geezer?!"
"M-maybe it's just the wind, Jess-HMPH?!" James muffled.
"Don't speak. Don't move. Don't. Do. Anything. To. Get. Her. Attention," Meowth whispered harshly, keeping a paw over James' mouth.
"...Think we should snatch them while we're at it?" Billy asked his partner.
"That is the fallacy many other teams tend to have resulting in them losing everything," Kit replied.
"...So that's a yes?"
"Ugh…" Kit sighed.
"...In that, case, let's use our aces!"
"Excuse me?" Kajun blinked a bit.
"You didn't think we'd use our strongest from the get go, did ya?" Billy smirked as he pulled out another Dusk Ball, "Excadrill, rev up!"
Erupting from the Dusk Ball was a burly mole-like Pokemon. Its body was a rich, deep, dark brown in color, almost akin to mud in coloration with multiple red splotches on its body in diagonal patterns. Its small white face was long and thin, tipped by its pink nose. Its eyes were set back, on either side of the bridge of the nose. Under them, on each side, were two thin, red stripes. A large blade roughly twice as large as its face extended from its forehead while the top of the blade contained two smaller blades, resembling fins. Its arms were thick and had three large blades instead of fingers, with two smaller blades on top of the middle ones.
=Excadrill, the Subterrene Pokemon, and the evolved form of Drilbur. Excadrill can dig maze-like underground tunnels for over 100 meters and is powerful enough to cut through thick iron plates using its steel claws= Dexter informed.
"Houndoom, go after the runt and his friends. Excadrill can handle things here," Billy smirked as Excadrill's eyes narrowed.
"...Froslass, accompany Houndoom to make sure it doesn't get lost," Kit stated as she pulled out a Great Ball, "Mienshao, Come forth."
Emerging from the ball was a white and long bodied Pokémon with a small head and small, triangular ears. Its forehead had a purple spot adorning it as well as a yellow one on its snout. It possessed a pair of long, yellow tipped whiskers which had split ends. Its arms were almost completely covered by a large amount of fur that was tipped in purple and split at the end. It also had purple fur on the bottom section of the torso, which resembled pants, and its bottom paws were clawed. It had a long, skinny tail that, like its paw fur, was tipped purple and split at its end.
=Mienshao, the Martial Arts Pokémon and the evolved form of Mienfoo. Mienshao's arm attacks are so fast they're almost invisible. It uses its long arm fur as a whip= Dexter informed.
"Mienshao…" Kit began as she adjusted her glasses, which gave off a rather unsettling glare, "It seems you are needed."
"Shao…" Mienshao nodded as she got into a stance.
"...And I think that's our que to run, Ash," Makoto whispered.
"Agreed," Ash nodded as Zorua ran past them, "H-hey, wait up!"
"Hound!" Houndoom snarled as he and Froslass chased after Ash and the others.
"Koko, plan A-1."
"Es…"
"Fake out."
Before Koko could attack, Mienshao appeared before her, giving a sharp clap in her face. The Espeon was startled by the sudden clap before Mienshao delivered a series of blows that ended with it grabbing Koko's tail and throwing her at a wall.
"Koko, return!" Kajun called, quickly recalling her Pokemon before throwing out her Premiere Ball, "Hikari, come out!"
"Ralts…" Hikari whispered as she formed.
"Luca, use Aura Sph-" Tsubaki began.
"Excadrill, run that mutt down with Drill Run!" Billy ordered.
Before Luca could form the sphere of aura, he was suddenly shot up towards the sky as Excadrill shot through him, spinning incredibly fast like a drill before skidding to a halt.
"Luca!"
"Hit him again, but this time use Brick Break!"
"Ex…" Excadrill began.
"Hikari, Plan D-7," Kajun ordered.
"Ralts…" Hikari nodded.
"Low Kick, Mienshao! Before it can use its attack!"
Mienshao shot out at Hikari, its leg glowing. It performed a sweeping kick at Hikari only to hit thin air. Luca's eyes widened as the flowing claws of Excadrill neared him. Excadrill nearly struck Luca when its claws were halted by a purple aura. The aura engulfed Excadrill before it was thrown away by the Confusion attack and into Mienshao.
"Did Hikari just teleport?" Tsubaki asked.
"Why yes. We've been practising the move if we ever needed to return to another town such as Pewter or Cerulean," Kajun replied.
"Ahh...good idea," Tsubaki nodded as Luca quickly landed.
"...This could be more interesting that I thought…" Kit noted as Mienshao stood back up, "Billy, do please try and not hold me back."
"Yeah, right! Like I'm gonna let a bunch of girls beat me and my ace!" Billy argued as Excadrill shot back up.
"...Noted…" Kit whispered, her eye twitching a bit behind her glasses.
"Excadrill are a combination Ground/Steel Typing while Mienshao are pure Fighting-Types," Kajun noted, "Tsubaki, Luca's Egg Move could be a tipping point in our favor with Excadrill while Mienshao is unable to use Fake Out now that it's already used it, so Hikari will be at a better advantage against it."
"...Kajun, remember our strategy in that tag team tournament back at school Makoto signed us both up for as a prank?" Tsubaki recalled.
"Indeed," Kajun smiled, "Feels like that time, but instead of us, it's Luca and Hikari."
"Indeed," Tsubaki nodded, "Let's show them how well we work together."
"Of course."
"HOUND!"
"T-they're gaining on us!" Noel yelped as Houndoom and Froslass chased after the group before the former fired a string of dark energy rings from its mouth.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"You too, Berry! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika/Pachiri…" the two jumped off their Trainers, cheeks sparking, before releasing a pair of bolts of lightning, "CHU/SU~!"
The bolts of lightning collided with the dark rings, resulting in a large explosion, followed by a large dust cloud.
"Did it get them?" Mai asked before a beam of ice-blue energy shot out of the cloud and struck both Pikachu and Berry's tails.
"Pi/Chipa?!" the two electric types yelped before they fell over, their tails now blocks of ice.
"That's a 'no!'" Misty replied.
"Hound…" Houndoom snarled as the smoke faded, revealing the two Rocket Pokemon as they stood ready.
"Guess we're not gonna get out of here without a battle," Ash noted, "Charmander, I choose you!"
"Geodude!" Brock called as both Pokemon came out of their Poke Balls.
"Fros…." Froslass whispered as she stood ready.
"Houn…" Houndoom snarled.
"Char~" Charmander whimpered, hugging his tail from the fierce glare Houndoom was sending at them.
"You girls keep Zorua safe," Brock advised, "Ash and I've got them."
"Got it," Mai nodded as she, Misty, Makoto, and Noel ran for it, only for Froslass to block them off by shooting an Ice Beam at the ground before them, creating a large wall of ice, "?!"
"So much for that plan…" Makoto whispered, 'Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Why did it have to be a ghost?! I thought we were done with that at Maiden's Peak and that Ghastly!'
"Char~!" Charmander roared as Froslass flew over his Flamethrower that struck the ice and caused the struck area to melt just slightly.
"Fros…" Froslass narrowed her eyes a bit before Houndoom let out a howl, unleashing another wave of dark energy rings at the two.
"Charmander, Flamethrower!"
"Ash, wait!" Misty called out, only for it to fall on deaf ears as Charmander already fired the attack at Houndoom, who dismissed his own attack to take the Flamthrower head on.
"Huh? Why did it just…?" Ash pondered before his eyes widened as Houndoom opened his mouth and devoured Charmander's attack, "Wh-What!?"
=This Houndoom has the Ability Flash Fire. Flash Fire is an Ability that allows a Pokemon to absorb a Fire-type attack without taking damage, increasing its power= Dexter informed.
"?!" Ash tensed at that.
'Of course it would have something like that. It's a freakin' hellhound!' Makoto thought.
"Grr…" Houndoom snarled as a dark-red aura surrounded him, the hellhound-like Pokemon opening its mouth before unleashing a massive Flamethrower at the two Pokemon.
"Geodude, Rock Tomb for defense!" Brock called.
"Geo!" Geodude jumped up before slamming down hard on the ground.
The ground around him and Charmander cracked before six large spikes of earth broke through, forming a tomb made of the six around them. The flames slammed into the Rock Tomb, creating a small explosion. Houndoom growled as he glared at the smoke before Geodude erupted from it, a fist glowing with a bright light. The Mega Punch rammed into Houndoom's face and sent it skidding back a good several meters.
"Yes! We got…!" Ash began.
"Fros…" Froslass whispered before unleashing Ice Beam right at Geodude.
"...I don't think so…" Mai whispered a bit, "Aqua, hurry and use Scald!"
The Buizel shot out of her ball and released the boiling water. The two attacks collided, creating a large amount of steam from the constant impact of the two attacks.
"Hound?!" Houndoom tensed as the area was now surrounded by a steamy mist created from the two attacks, "Houndoom, Houn!?"
"Fros…"
"Grr! Hound! H-"
"Aqua/Staryu, Swift!"
A barrage of glowing stars shot through the steam and aimed right at the two Pokemon. While the stars phased through Froslass, Houndoom was yelping as each one struck it multiple times with a few hitting its snout. Houndoom snarled before firing a Flamethrower into the steam. Houndoom snarled out as it waited for something to pop out of the mist, only to yelp as both Pikachu and Berry slammed their frozen tails on its head, sending it crashing into the ground while causing the ice to break.
"Pika!" Pikachu grinned as he and Berry high-fived with their freed tails.
"Chipa!" Berry beamed before both jumped back from the Ice Beam fired by Froslass.
"Froslass…" the Ice/Ghost type growled as she formed a Shadow Ball in her hands.
"Shrew!"
Froslass turned around to see several holes in the ground behind her. Terra was poking out of the middle hole with a stick in paw. He pointed the stick straight in the air.
"Sand!" Terra called.
"Eevuii!" Eevee, Nymph, Booster, and Celsius called as they poked their heads out of the four holes at his sides.
"Lass?" Froslass raised a brow.
"Shrew!" Terra pointed at Froslass and all four Eevee charged up a Shadow Ball, startling Froslass.
"Fros?!"
"Sandshrew!" Terra swung his stick to the side.
The four Shadow Balls fired out and slammed right into her face before Froslass could make a move. The evolved Pokemon gave a cry as she was sent crashing into a wall inside of the steam before falling flat on her face, her eyes replaced with swirls. Inside of the steam, Charmander looked around, shivering a bit at not being able to see anyone. He ran around before yelping as he tripped over something. Getting up, he turned to see he had tripped on Ash's backpack, having been dropped when Pikachu and Berry had blocked that initial attack.
"Char!" Charmander looked it over before seeing a piece of cloth stuck in it, "Char?"
He reached down and began to pull at it. As he pulled, he didn't hear Houndoom approach him from behind, bearing his fangs as a dark aura engulfed them. As he lunged at Charmander, the lizard managed to finally pull out the cloth, revealing it to be a blanket. The recoil of the pull caused it to snap out and wrap around Houndoom's muzzle, slamming it shut...right on his tongue. Before Houndoom could even cry out in muffled pain, Charmander pulled the blanket to get a better look at it, causing Houndoom to soar over Charmander and through the steam, crashing into a skidding halt before Aqua, who gave one look at the Dark/Fire Type before quickly using repeated Ice Punches to freeze him solid.
"(...I'm keeping this)," Charmander whispered, having seen what he had caused with it, before saying aloud and pointing excitedly at the blanket in paw, "(This is mine now! Mine!)"
"(Whatever floats your boat, kid)," Aqua rolled her eyes as she pushed the frozen Houndoom with her foot, sending him skidding and crashing next to Froslass.
"(...You guys are weird, yet surprisingly strong…')" Zorua noted with slightly wide eyes.
"(With the training regiment that gal Kajun set up for everyone? I'm not surprised)," Aqua snorted.
"(Training...regiment?)"
"(We all have our own kind that Kajun made specifically for each of us based on our types, preferences in battle, and a few other things that made my head hurt when she explained)," Charmander noted.
"(Though since you're keeping that, seems she'll have to rework yours, kid)," Aqua snorted.
"(Did you see what I did to that Houndoom when I got this out? I am keeping this! Mine!)" Charmander declared, hugging the blanket protectively.
"(...O...kay….)" Pikachu muttered as he and Berry awkwardly inched away from Charmander.
"(Think we can spread it all over via wild Pokemon that a Houndoom was beaten up by a Charmander with a human's blanket all while unnoticed by the Charmander?)" Berry asked in amusement.
"(...Very tempted to, honestly)," Pikachu retorted.
"Come on, Excadrill! What's the matter with you?!" Billy snapped as Excadrill skidded back, cringing from the burns on his arms from Luca's Blaze Kick.
Mienshao panted before attempting another kick at Hikari, who Teleported away once more. Hikari sent out a Confusion at Mienshao, who was too tired to dodge the hit and was sent skidding back before it began to sway almost as if drunk, its eyes unfocused.
"We got them on the ropes now," Kajun whispered as Hikari and Luca stood ready, "Mienshao's confused while Excadrill's now Burned."
"Ruff…" Rockruff whispered in awe as he watched.
"Dang it! How are these girls beating us?!" Billy demanded, "We should…!"
"Calm down, Billy…" Kit advised in a calm tone, "While we're at a slight disadvantage, do not forget your Excadrill knows that move."
"Eh? That move? What….ohh…." Billy realized before smirking at Tsubaki, "Ya shouldn't have burned my partner like that, red head."
"Eh?"
"Excadrill, use Facade!"
"Exca…" Excadrill growled before a red aura came off it.
"What's it…?" Tusbaki began.
"DRILL!" Excadrill roared as the aura released a pulse that slammed into Hikari and Luca, knocking them away and skid to a halt at the feet of their trainers.
"Luca/Hikari!" the two gasped.
"Ha! How do ya like that?!" Billy mocked as Excadrill smirked, "Normally, Facade would do semi big damage, but if the user is poisoned, burned, or paralyzed, it gets a big boost in power!"
"Is that true, Kajun?" Tsubaki whispered to her partner.
"Unfortunately, yes," Kajun bit her thumb with a worried expression, "I didn't think they would have that move."
"I see…" Tsubaki noted.
"Hey Kit, you gonna surprise them with that move, too?" Billy asked his partner as Mienshao regained her senses.
"Considering the Ralts keeps using Teleport...I might as well," Kit responded, moving her glasses up a bit, "Mienshao, start with Poison Jab."
"Mien…" Mienshao whispered as it shook off its confusion before it charged at the downed Hikari before a paw glowed purple, "SHAO!"
"RALTS!" Hikari cried out as Mienshao's glowing paw slammed into her, knocking her away and bounce off a wall.
"Now…" Kit began as her glasses gave off a slight glare, "Aura Sphere."
"?!" Luca's eyes widened as a familiar sphere of aura formed between Mienshao's paws.
"Oh no...even if Hikari uses teleport…" Kajun bit her thumb in worry.
"Shao!" Mienshao shouted as she fired the Aura Sphere.
"Luca, try and block it with your own Aura Sphere!"
"Ri…"
"Oh no you don't! Excadrill, Drill Run and Aerial Ace!"
Excadrill slammed his claws over his head, making him resemble a drill that shot off at Luca, engulfed in a white wind-like energy.
"?!" Rockruff's eyes widened as Excadrill crashed into Luca, sending him flying into the air.
"Hit him again, Excadrill, but harder!"
"Excadrill!" Excadrill roared, preparing to attack once more.
"RUFF!"
"Exca?!"
*CRUNCH!*
"DRILL!" Excadrill screamed as it jumped into the air, Rockruff chomping down hard on its bottom.
"Da heck?! What's a Rockruff doing here?!" Billy exclaimed as Excadrill tried to force Rockruff off his butt, unaware that he was heading towards Mienshao's Aura Sphere, "Gh?! Excadrill, look out!"
Mienshao fired the attack, but instead of hitting Hikari as was planned...Excadrill ran right in the path of the attack and was struck right in the face. Rockruff let go and ran out just before the attack exploded in Excadrill's face.
"Gah!" Billy freaked as Excadrill fell over, groaning as his eyes were replaced with swirls, "Damn it, kit! Look what your weasel did!"
"Excuse you?" Kit frowned as Mienshao glared at him.
"If you had just held off on the attack, Excadrill could've shaken that Rockmutt off him!" Billy snapped.
"He could have done that anyway if he had paid attention to where he was going," Kit replied.
"Well how was he supposed to know that Rockmutt was there when he bit his butt!?" Billy argued.
"Because you two a-"
"Don't you dare say it…!" Billy growled, unaware of Rockruff carrying Hikari over to where Tsubaki and Kajun were as Luca landed back on the ground.
"Ruff!" Rockruff panted happily at the two Trainers.
"Rockruff? Wh...nevermind," Tsubaki shook her head as she knelt down and gently rubbed Rockruff's head, "Thank you for helping us back there."
"Indeed. However…" Kajun began as she looked over at Mienshao, "We still have Kit's Pokemon to deal with."
"Ralts…" Hikari got up.
"..Rockruff, think you can do something for me?" Tsubaki quietly asked the puppy-like Pokemon.
"Ruff!"
"...What are you…?" Kajun began before Tsubaki whispered something to her, "...That could work."
"Mienshao, Poison Jab once more," Kit ordered.
"Mien…"
"Ruff!" Meinshao looked up to see Rockruff leaping at her, a dark energy coating its fangs before chomping down hard on Mienshao's head.
"Shao?!" Mienshao yelped.
"?!" Kit tensed up in surprise.
"Ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?!" Billy mocked, only to tense when Kit shot him a glare.
"Hikari now!" Kajun called, "Psywave!"
"Ralts~!" Hikari called, releasing a wave of psychic energy out at Mienshao as the Pokemon was distracted trying to get the tightly-biting Rockruff off its head.
"Ruff!" Rockruff shouted as he hopped off Mienshao's head.
"Miensh-?!" Mienshao began before she was sent back by the psychic energy wave, crashing into the knocked out Excadrill as they crashed through a wall.
"Aw come on!" Billy exclaimed, "Why does nobody tell me these things?! And don't say it's because I never read the reports!"
"..." Kit's eyes just stood there, wide in slight surprise before she regained her composure, "...Not bad. You managed to defeat us."
"Huh?! Why aren't you freaking out?!" Tsubaki questioned.
"Because it really wasn't a victory," Kit explained, adjusting her glasses a bit, "Had that Rockruff not come and interfere, we would've won."
"True, it was a near defeat for us," Kajun admitted before Kit and Billy froze as a purple aura covered them, "But I do believe that giving you two to Officer Jenny will suffice as a 'win' for the police force. Correct, Koko?"
"Esp," Koko replied, her eyes glowing as she was using Psychic to hold the two Rockets in the air.
"Gh?! You're gonna give us to the police?!" Billy freaked, " No way! I'm too pretty and cool to go to prison!"
"Tough," Tsubaki replied as they walked off, Koko carrying the two Rockets and Luca dragged their knocked out Pokemon.
"Okay...there," Makoto smiled as she finished tying up the two Rocket Pokemon, "That should hold them."
"...Were the O-fuda really necessary, Mako-" Misty began.
"They were ENTIRELY necessary for the Froslass, Misty," Makoto countered.
"Where did you even get those?"
"The priest that was at the festival in case we ran into anymore Ghosts," Makoto replied.
"Of course you found one…" Mai facepalmed.
"Do you want to deal with a Ghastly again?" Makoto asked.
"...Okay, so do you have any more extras of those sutras?" Mai asked quickly.
"Extras just in case," Makoto answered as Cherry and Berry popped out of her tail and unfolded a few.
"Hey~!" the group turned to see Tsubaki and Kajun approach with their caught Rockets floating behind them and the knocked out Pokemon being dragged by Luca.
"Oh! Y-you beat them!" Noel gasped a bit.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Kajun chuckled a bit.
"Th-they didn't beat us! It was just a fluke!" Billy denied, "That little Rockmutt j-"
"Rockruff."
"Eh?"
"His name is Rockruff, not Rockmutt," Tsubaki frowned.
"Ruff!" Rockruff agreed.
"What's the difference!? I-" Billy began before his mouth was suddenly taped shut, "Hmph?!"
"Oh sweet Giratina thank you…" Kit sighed in relief, "You have no idea how long I've waited for somebody to shut up him."
"Grr!" Billy glared at her.
"Still doesn't change the fact on what we're going to be doing," Tsubaki informed before a siren was heard.
"...Fair enough I suppose," Kit sighed.
Zorua recognized the siren. Looking around, he grinned at something. Officer Jenny drove up and quickly got off her bike.
"Okay, I've gotten reports of explosions and assault," Jenny informed before glancing at the two held up by Koko's Psychic and the beaten Pokemon, "I take it these are the culprits?"
"Correct, officer," Tsubaki nodded as Mai discreetly made Kajun put her notebook away.
"They were after a Zorua that was in this area," Ash explained.
"A...A Zorua? That's the Pokemon that's like a Ditto only more useful in that it can transform without using Transform right?" Jenny asked.
"Correct," Kajun nodded.
"...And there's been one sighted in the area?"
"That's right,." Noel nodded.
"..." Jenny facepalmed, "Okay, I know what I need to buy once I'm off work tonight." she looked up at the two before pulling out a pair of handcuffs, "Okay, you're under arrest for assault, destruction of public property, and endangerment of citizens with explosives using a…" she looked at the others, "Did any of you by chance…?"
"Voltorb, officer," Tsubaki replied.
"Endangerment of citizens with utilizing a Voltorb's Selfdestruct," Jenny finished as she handcuffed the two while removing all the Pokeballs on them, returning their Pokemon to them, "We'll be holding onto these until your trial."
"...It was mostly him on the assault charges," Kit pointed over at Billy once Koko ended her Psychic.
"HMPH?!"
"It was because they 'mocked his duds' and/or 'messed with his doo'."
"Mmm Hmh!" Billy muffedly snapped.
"I take it that the tape is there to prevent further charges?" Jenny questioned.
"Correct, officer," Kajun nodded.
"Please don't take it off," Kit begged, "You'll regret it if you do."
"...Hey. Where'd Zorua go?" Ash blinked, noticing the fox-like Pokemon missing.
"Guess it recognized Officer Jenny's siren and ran off," Misty noted.
"That, or he could be getting ready for another prank," Makoto guessed, 'If so...he's gonna most likely go for me or Officer Jenny.'
"If there's nothing else needed, I'll be taking these two to th-" Officer Jenny began.
*SPLAT! BOOMF! POOF!*
Everyone blinked twice and looked at Billy and Kit...who were now covered in syrup, flour, and feathers. Kit's eye twitched as Billy seemed to be screaming bloody murder behind the tape.
"...That was unexpected," Brock noted.
"Yeah…" Mai sweatdropped a bit.
"Well that was a day," Makoto noted the next morning, "Got pranked a lot by a tricky fox, caused a nurse to act like a blue screen, and got into a fight with two new Rockets instead of the usual trio of stalking."
"Agreed…" Kajun sighed, "Let's just hope we don't invoke m….I almost did just now, didn't I?"
"Yes...yes you did," Mai nodded as she finished pulling her hair up into its usual ponytail.
"Let's just focus on getting to Saffron City. We can rest there for a bit before heading towards Celadon," Brock stated.
"Shame we couldn't run into Zorua again. I would've liked having him on my team," Ash sighed a bit.
"As long as he doesn't try pranking any of us," Misty deadpanned.
"Ruff!" everyone looked to see Rockruff running up to them, "Ruff!"
"Rockruff? Wh-kya!" Tsubaki yelped as Rockruff knocked her over and began licking her, "H-hey! That tickles."
"What's Rockruff doing here?" Ash asked.
"...I-I think Rockruff imprinted on Tsubaki," Noel spoke.
"Really?" Misty blinked twice.
"It seems like it," Brock agreed, seeing Rockruff nuzzle his rocks against Tsubaki happily.
"...You..want to come with me?" Tsubaki asked, earning a happy bark from Rockruff, '...Well, I always did want a dog growing up...Guess I got my wish in a way.' Rockruff got off her, letting her sit up as she pulled out a Pokeball, "What do you think of the name 'Sorin'?"
"Ruff!" Rockruff barked happily.
Tsubaki just giggled as she held out the Pokeball, "In that case, welcome aboard, Sorin."
"Ruff!" Rockruff beamed before pressing his nose against the Pokeball, causing him to turn into red light as he went into the Pokeball, said pokeball shaking for a few moments before the 'ding' went off.
"Welcome aboard...Sorin," Tsubaki whispered with a smile.
"Great job, Tsubaki!" Makoto beamed.
Unaware to the group, Zorua was looking out at them as they began to walk off. He began snickering a bit as he began to secretly follow after them, changing into the appearance of a Rattata to be safe. This group was just too fun and interesting to ignore, and he wanted to continue watching them and whatever mischief they could get involved in.
GT: Almost time for Halloween and we finished! So many days left until USUM comes out…
SZ: Eeyup. And depending on how fast we get the next chapter done, we can get some more stuff in just in time for Halloween. Oh, and good news for Blazblue fans, we got more characters revealed for Cross Tag Battle, including Wiess from RWBY. Now all I need is Yang and Makoto in the game, and I am golden.
GT: ...The puns...oh kami above the puns those two will be slinging…
SZ: Oh yeah...that, and their deadly deadly punches...oh god they'd be the ultimate tag team!
GT: o.0 Well...Imma getting earplugs for when they start the punning.
SZ: *nods*Anyway, that's all for today. Tune in next time for...ahem. One of the saddest episodes of Pokemon.
GT: Aye…
SZ: Bring the tissue boxes folks...it's gonna be a real tear jerker. Till then, I'm Seanzilla115, he's Gammatron…
GT: And we say 'bye-bye'!
Ash Ketchum: Pikachu [Starter], Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle(At Prof. Oak's ranch), Krabby(At Prof. Oak's ranch), Eevee
Misty: Goldeen, Staryu, Horsea, Starmie [Starter]
Brock: Geodude, Onix [Starter], Zubat
Makoto Nanaya: Berry(Pachirisu) [Starter], Needles(Beedrill), Cherry(Emolga), Booster(Eevee)
Noel Vermillion: Yuki(Alolan Vulpix) [Starter], Nymph(Eevee), Umi(Feebas)
Tsubaki Yayoi: Luka(Riolu) [Starter], Astrea(Eevee), Sorin(Rockruff)
Mai Natsume: Terra(Sandshrew) [Starter], Aqua(Buizel), Celsius(Eevee)
Kajun Faycott: Hikari(Ralts) [Starter], Koko(Espeon)